(Canterlot) Tome and Torch Library[OPEN]

[soraos21]

Grim yawned and slowly climbed out of bed, opening windows as he passed by them on his way down to the front door of his library. It couldn't compare to the Royal Libraries that the Princesses had unlimited access to, but it was good enough for most ponies here in town. Making sure that the library was sufficiently lit, he placed the open sign his uncle had made for him outside and calmly waited behind the counter for the first customer of the day, slowly eating his breakfast and going over the notes he kept to keep track of which pony had either borrowed or bought which book.

[RarityDash]

Dazzle Dawn had a troubled expression on her face as she frantically wandered the streets of Canterlot. Just what was she going to do? She had been working hard on an experiment for her Advanced Magic course at the university, when she had accidentally caused an explosion. Her textbook had ended up a casualty of the blast and she really needed to replace it so she could finish her reading assignment before class.

It was still really early though. A lot of book stores weren't open yet and the ones that were so far hadn't had the book she needed. Dazzle was beginning to get worried. That was when she spotted a library she hadn't ever visited before. The sign in the front said it was open. Smiling, Dazzle opened the door and walked in.

She saw a unicorn stallion there. He was striking colors, black and purple. Dazzle had to say he looked really cool. She approached him readily and gave him a pleasant smile. She then began to look around the library. It had a nice atmosphere to it, and lots of books. Dazzle liked books. It just seemed like a really cool place. Eventually her eyes returned to the stallion.

"Hi! I'm Dazzle Dawn!" she greeted him eagerly, having forgotten what she was there for. "This is a really nice library! Is it all yours?"

[soraos21]

Upon hearing a pony enter his store, Grim put down the notes he was reading and smiled warmly at the unicorn.

"Hello, Dazzle Dawn. My name is Grim Moire, but most ponies call me Grim. Yes, this library is indeed mine. Is there something in particular you need? You look a little frazzled, if I may say so."

[RarityDash]

"Hi Grim! It's really, really nice to meet you!" Dazzle cheerfully replied, smiling brightly. "I'm here to..."

Dazzle stopped to think. Why was she there again? Oh yeah! "I really need a book. Do you have textbooks here?"

[soraos21]

Grim stepped out from behind the desk he worked at and began walking toward the shelves.

"I most certainly do. Which one are you looking for?"

[RarityDash]

"Ooh! I'm looking for Advanced Magical Theory by Lexis Grey," Dazzle started, eagerly. "You think you have that one? We have a quiz in class today and I really need to finish my reading..."

She smiled brightly, hoping the pony would have good news for her.

[soraos21]

Grim began looking at the shelves, looking for the right section.

"I... do believe I have a copy available for you to borrow. Or are you planning on buying it? Either way it's here somewhere."

Grim stopped at a bookcase near the middle of the library and began looking for the requested book.

"Advanced Magical Theory... I actually had Lexis as a customer once. Was pleasant to work with, until somepony recognized her and proceeded to have all the unicorns gathered throughout the library commence screaming, chasing Ms. Grey out into the streets. When the sad fanfillies returned to collect their things I reminded them of one of the rules of my library: remain silent. Since they broke the rules, they were barred for a week. All twenty-nine of them. Ah, here it is."

Grim used his magic to levitate the book from its place on the shelf and passed it to Dazzle.

"Now, if you will follow me up to the front desk, I will be more than happy to check out the book to you."

[RarityDash]

Dazzle's eyes widened as she heard the story. She hadn't ever heard much about the author of the textbook. The books was kind of old; it was on like it's tenth edition, with a long list of editors and contributors. The original author, Lexis Grey wasn't even on staff at Canterlot University anymore, and the book itself didn't contain a biography of any sorts for her. As a result, Dazzle hadn't ever heard much about her before.

"That's a really interesting story!" Dazzle started excitedly as she followed Grim. "You must get lots of really interesting customers in this place?"

[soraos21]

Grim smiled at the unicorn as he weaved through the bookcases and went behind his desk.

"Every now and then, yes. It seems almost every other day that some famous pony comes through those doors. Including the Princesses themselves. Now, are you buying the book or borrowing it?"

Grim used his magic to move the book from Dazzle's saddlebag onto the desk, along with his notes and quill from the cabinet behind him.

[RarityDash]

"I can buy it so long as it's not too expensive..." Dazzle answered in a low voice before letting the unicorn's other words sink in.

"But wow, you've actually met the princesses before?" Dazzle started, eyes gleefully wide. "That's so cool! I've always wanted to meet Princess Celestia face to face! She's like the best pony ever."

[soraos21]

Grim wrote down the name of the book on his notes and passed the page over to Dazzle along with the quill.

"That'll be fifteen bits for the book. Please sign here, next to the title. Would you like a library card? It's only one bit, and it helps me keep track of how many books you've checked out or bought. And, yes, I've met not only Princess Celestia, but Princess Luna as well. If you come back often enough, you may just meet her yourself."

[Tempest Rime]

A scruffy-looking, scarred, blue unicorn pushed open the door. Upon her back, she had balanced a large stack of thick textbooks, which she carefully sidled up to the desk before shoving them off onto it. They were not particularly well cared-for, but most of them were still new enough that the occasional ring where a drink had been left sitting on the cover, or the odd bent spine where they'd been thrown against the wall in frustration were the only damage they had suffered. Malediction was running out of space to store the books she'd been keeping at home, so she figured why not see if the library would take 'em.

"Hey, Doc," she said to the librarian, rudely ignoring the other unicorn at the counter. "You take donations? I need to clear out some of my useless textbooks. Don't worry about copies, I've been in here plenty of times, I only order the books you don't already have." Her eye drifted to the book the other customer was purchasing. "Some light reading, eh?" She chuckled darkly. "You know, in all these volumes, not one was as useful as the Lexis AMT, if you can get past her smug way she tries to shove her ethical philosophies down yer throat all the time. Seriously, in the chapter on elemental forces you can't go 2 pages without another nagging reminder not to electrocute living beings or burn down forests or whatever. Yeesh."

[RarityDash]

"Oh, really?" Dazzle replied to the librarian as she brought out her money and smiled. "I guess I definitely should get a card then!"

It was about that time that the door opened and another customer entered. Dazzle stared at her. She was a unicorn like Dazzle and roughly the same age. She was blue and had a rather rough look about her. She looked overall really distinctive. Dazzle thought she looked cool.

The pony then approached Dazzle and the librarian. She asked about donating her textbooks. That was nice. It was always good to be charitable. After that the unicorn approached Dazzle. She said some kind of strange, not very nice things about her book. Dazzle wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Oh, you've read it before?" Dazzle asked in an upbeat voice, wondering if this was another opportunity to make a new friend. "You don't go to the University too by any chance, do you?"

[soraos21]

Grim glanced at the new arrival as they walked up to the counter. He recognized the blue unicorn as one of his regular customers, but he just couldn't remember the name. As the books were placed on his desk, he gazed at the books and assessed the damage they had suffered. He was relieved to see that, aside from watermarks and bent spines, the books were in otherwise good condition. He looked at the blue unicorn and was a bout to say something when Dazzle spoke up. He gazed at his watch and then interrupted the conversation between the two customers.

"I don't mean to be rude and interrupt, but I believe classes at the university begin in about thirty minutes. Here, take these papers, read them over and sign them and return them to me by tomorrow. Also," he looked at the blue unicorn, "I have completely forgotten your name, even though you are a regular customer."

Grim passed the necessary papers to Dazzle and handed her the book after taking her bits, then deposited the money in a drawer in his desk.

[soraos21]

OOC: EDIT: Sorry, double-post.

[Tempest Rime]

"The University? Heck, no. Those *******s wouldn't take me. Though, if the drivel that comes out of there in written form is any indication, they couldn't have taught me anything worth knowing anyway. The basics, like magical theory and whatnot are nice to know, I guess, but all the applied magic is useless to me." Mal paused. "My magic works different from most ponies," she said in explanation.

"Word of advice, don't take everything your professors tell you as the only truth. I know for a fact that a lot of the older textbooks have been censored, or rewritten with 'sensitive' material taken out. You aren't gonna find anything teaching you how to drastically increase your powers, like Princess Luna did when she became Nightmare Moon. Man, what I'd give to see Luna's private collection, I bet there are secrets in there that would make your eyes bleed."

Having said her peace, she turned back to the librarian. "Name's Malediction," she said impassively. She couldn't care less if he remembered her, in fact, she kind of liked it better when he didn't. It mean fewer bridges to burn in the future, so she'd done her best to avoid making a lasting impression. "I got a card he-" She levitated her bag up, and pulled out a pouch normally filled with all the collected library cards from everywhere she'd been. Unfortunately, the contents had shifted, and she pulled the pouch out upside-down, sending library cards everywhere.

"Horseapples," she muttered, darkly. "Just a sec, I'll get 'em."

[RarityDash]

"Thanks so much!" Dazzle told Grim, smiling as she took the papers and the book from him.

She then listened to what the pony who called herself Malediction said. She smiled. This pony was really starting to remind her of a dear friend.

"Ooh, my best friend ever, Arc, says stuff like that all the time!" she started happily trotting toward the other pony. "She always tells me there's nothing worth learning in these books and she also really admires Princess Luna! She's always talking about increasing her magical power too."

"Although I'm not really sure... I mean, I think I've learned lots since I've started at Canterlot University... and I always thought Celestia was the more amazing princess," Dazzle said, tilting her head. "Not that Princess Luna isn't amazing too..."

[soraos21]

Grim looked at Malediction darkly, The Stare creeping into his gaze. "Please watch your mouth. You may be a consistent customer, but I will not abide foul language within these walls." he relaxed his gaze and continued speaking. "Besides, I doubt that Princess Luna's personal library contains such tomes. Also, my guess is that anger fueled that change, and it happened over time, not all at once." He then helped Malediction collect her things and put them back in her bag, pulling the card he had issued to her from the pile. It was, according to other ponies, a very strange card. Edged with gold, the card was a glossy black, with a pattern reminiscent of light reflecting off of water, the colors in varying shades of blue, purple, and red. The name of the library, Tome and Torch, was a mystical shade of green, surrounded by silver. Of course, there were no metals present on the card, but many wouldn't know this without studying it for a while.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal rolled her eyes at the librarian's request, but didn't comment. She didn't feel like getting kicked out of the library when there was always the chance that she'd need to reference one of the books here. "If anger was all it took to go nightmare-mode, I'd have mastered that years ago. But even so, there has to be forgotten lore and secret rites in her library. She's the princess of the night! It's all part of her domain." She shook her head. "Besides, I know full well that there are sides to magic that conventional wisdom doesn't even touch upon. My own magic is proof of that."

She glanced back to the University student. "Your friend sounds like a clever pony. But you're right. Celestia hasn't revealed all her secrets to the world, either. You can look at the moon and see the crater patterns on its surface, but the sun veils itself in blinding light. For all her visibility, Celestia's got her share of secrets, mark my words. And after all the time she's ruled, she's probably got a collection of secret spells nopony even guesses at."

[RarityDash]

"Ooh..." Dazzle started, impressed. "I never even thought about that! You must be really smart, Malediction!" Both these ponies seemed really cool and knowledgeable actually. Dazzle just had to tell Arcana about this place if she ever saw her again. She was sure the other unicorn would like it here.

The unicorn nodded with enthusiasm. "I bet Celestia's secret spells are the most beautiful anywhere! Oh how I'd just love to see something like that..."

[soraos21]

Grim just smiled warmly at Dazzle's comment about Celestia's private spell collection. He knew that, indeed, the Princesses had beautiful spells in their repetoire, but he also knew that, no matter what, they always had spells to protect themselves from harm. No self-respecting spellcaster wouldn't. Giving Malediction her card back, Grim looked at Dazzle and cleared his throat to get her attention.

"I believe time is running out for you, Miss Dawn. As I stated earlier, I believe classes are about to begin, and I certainly wouldn't want you to be tardy to your classes. I expect you to return soon with those papers filled out by tomorrow, and I certainly wouldn't mind having more ponies come to my shop. Now, you'd best hurry if you are to arrive on time."

[Tempest Rime]

"Yeah," scoffed Mal sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "Better run along, wouldn't want to miss one moment of your brainwashi-I mean, 'learning experience.' But seriously, don't let 'em fill your head with too many fairy tales about 'friendship' or 'honor' or 'compassion.' Even your friend the Luna fan isn't looking in the right place. You do what you want, and don't take..." She paused and glanced at the librarian, censoring herself for his sake. "Er... don't let anypony keep you down."

Mal shook her head. "Ugh, why am I even wasting my time, you aren't gonna listen to me." She sighed and looked at the stack of books again. "So, do you need anything else from me? I just don't want to deal with the books sitting around my place, I'd still like to be able to check 'em out if my research demands. You won't go selling 'em off or anything, will you? A few of those I went to a lot of trouble to get ahold of."

"Ugh, listen to me, I'm all attached to them or something, this is why I need to get rid of those books. Material possessions, they're the shackles of modern society. It's insidious." She rambled nervously as she waited for the librarian to give her the OK to leave. Small scale social interactions like this were not her strong point, and she never really knew who might be an informant for the guards, ready to turn her in for her radical opinions. She decided she may be saying too much and bit her tongue, falling silent for a while.

[RarityDash]

Dazzle nodded. The librarian was right. Classes were to start soon, and even though she didn't have one of the very earliest classes on her schedule, she always did like to give herself time to prepare. However, as important as it was to be on time to class, making new friends is something that only happened once.

"You're right," she said to Grim with a smile. "I really don't want to be late..."

"But before that... I don't think I got a chance to introduce myself to you," Dazzle said, stepping toward Malediction. "My name's Dazzle Dawn. Though it might be kind of silly, my dream is to someday help everypony everywhere, no matter who they are, smile."

"I think we should be friends!" she finally added, smiling cheerily.

[soraos21]

"Everything's in order, Malediction. I'll browse through these tomes for damages to the pages and store them in private in case you wish to come back and read through them again. Besides, the only thing wrong with having lots of books is moving them from one house to another. That, and finding the one you need when you need it." Grim levitated the books over to a cupboard where he kept books on hold for ponies who were currently unable to collect the book, due to it not being available when they ordered it, or due to them queuing them up. He set the books that Mal had brought inside it, then closed and locked it.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal groaned at the student's cheery disposition. "Uuugh, what is it with you University students, always wanting to be 'friends' or whatever. You should go look for... Scale Model, I think his name was. He's from the U, too. Helpful little whimp, I'm sure he'd be friends with you." Aside, she muttered, "And maybe that'd keep the both of you busy away from me."

"Sounds good to me," said Mal blithely to the librarian's assessments. She paused for a moment, considering the implications of a private storage area for the book. "Um... I don't really need them stored privately though." She frowned. "I mean, it's got information you can't get easily elsewhere. They might have it in, like, the royal libraries, but those aren't open to just anypony. I don't wanna restrict anypony's access to knowledge that really should be freely available."

She fidgeted a little. "N-not like I'm trying to be charitable or nothin', I just don't like it when knowledge is hidden away like that." She sounded slightly sullen at the thought that her donation could possibly be considered benevolent. "Well... whatever, I'll let you figure it out, it's your library." Her business concluded, Mal was in no need to avail herself of the other books in the library today. "I'm out."

With that, she gave a flustered harrumph, turned about and walked out as fast as she could without breaking into a trot.

(Exit)