The Trouble a Book Can Cause
BRRNNNNNNGGGGG-SMACK!
The unicorn groggily sat up in his bed after slapping off his alarm clock. He opened the curtains with his magic, and then blinked at the harsh and sudden light. After his vision adjusted, he felt the need to blink a few times more at his surroundings. It took him a couple moments in his still-waking state to remember that, oh yeah, he moved to a new house, no wonder this didn't look like his room.
He stumbled down the stairs and entered his new kitchen. Brushing his green mane out of his eyes, he poured himself a cup of coffee. Thankfully, he had set up his coffee maker the previous night, because he had neither the time nor the wakefulness to do it now. He sat at the table and sipped; taking what he felt the only slow time he had this morning to enjoy it.
Feeling more alert already, the unicorn’s horn glowed with a pale blue aura as he used his magic to levitate an itinerary he had made a couple days prior for this day. After he was more settled in, he could perhaps loosen up his daily organization a tad. But today was far too important. Not only did he have to set up his mail at the post office, turn in some paperwork at the town hall, and go to market to pick up some groceries and other assorted necessities, but today he had to meet with Princess Twilight Sparkle at the newly-rebuilt Golden Oaks Library.
Although the library wouldn't open to the public for another week, today was the day he would assume his duties as Ponyville's new librarian.
About forty-five minutes later, the unicorn gave himself the once-over to make sure he hadn't missed a detail. His mane was properly groomed, check. He looked backward, across the image of an aged book that served as cutie mark, to his shortly-cropped tail. It was also properly groomed, check. Looking down, he examined his grayish-brown coat to make sure (again) he didn't dribble any coffee on himself. Also check. Looking backward again, he used his magic to open his tan canvas saddlebags and peer inside. His coin purse was securely inside and had enough bits inside to cover today’s expenses, with a little bit more just in case. All the paperwork he needed for today was also in order, as was the notepad and pen he foresaw he would need when meeting with the princess. He closed the saddlebags and frowned to himself a little.
“Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?” he pondered to himself, tapping a hoof on the wooden floor.
He shook his head and smiled. Of course he didn't forget anything. Past experience had always taught him that the only times he forgot something important were the times he never felt he forgot something important. With a sigh of relief, he opened his front door to face the day.
Stepping out into the crisp morning air, the unicorn took in the beautiful scenery. Having arrived in Ponyville last evening on the late train from Canterlot, it was too dark and he was too tired to take in the sights. But now that he had a full night’s rest, he began to appreciate the new town he would call home. It was smaller and a bit more rustic than the Canterlot he grew up in, but he felt that was a good thing. Too much hustle and bustle became a distraction, and distractions caused mistakes, and he did NOT like to make mistakes. That’s why he got into the habit of planning everything. His day, his reading list, his research time, all were planned and pre-organized. He even made arrangements to have his furniture delivered and moved in to his new house on the south side of Ponyville the day before he arrived.
A feminine voice beside him snapped him out of his thoughts. “Excuse me; are you the new gentlecolt that moved in here?”
The unicorn started a bit and looked at the owner of the voice. She was a reddish-pink earth pony, with a mane comprised of lighter pink shades. Her light green eyes took in the unicorn while she presented a friendly, almost maternal smile.
“Oh, hello! Um, yes, I just moved into this house last night. My name’s Aged Manuscript, but you can call me Manny for short,” he said, before offering a hoof to the mare.
“And I’m Cheerilee, your new neighbor,” she said as she took his hoof to return the greeting. “So what brings you to Ponyville, Manny?”
“Actually, by the end of the day, I’ll be the new librarian at the Golden Oaks Library.” Manny nervously shifted back and forth on his hooves a bit. He did not count on having a conversation with his new neighbors today.
“Oh! You’re the new librarian? That’s… well, I suppose it’s both good and odd.” Cheerilee said with a tinge of confusion.
Now it was Manny's turn to be a bit confused. “Odd… how?”
“Well Twilight has been the town’s librarian for the past four years and it’s kind of hard to imagine anypony else doing that job. No offense.”
“None taken, I can only hope I do just as good a job as she did. And no offense to you, Miss Cheerilee, but I have a lot to do today,” he said apologetically. “Perhaps we can talk later?”
“Of course, didn't mean to keep you. I should be heading to the schoolhouse myself!” She smiled at Manny as she turned to head down the street. “Have a good day, and welcome to Ponyville!”
Manny allowed himself to get lost in thought as he headed north toward the library. He completed the other tasks on his list with no problems. He registered his residence at the post office, so now he’ll be getting mail. He dropped of further residency and registration paperwork at the town hall, which irked him a little. Why couldn't he just mail it in ahead of his arrival, instead of being required to walk in to do it? Would have saved so much time and trouble that way. He did his shopping at the market; he even splurged and picked up some fresh apples from an orange mare with a Stetson hat. He came home and put his groceries away before heading back out with a little time to spare in his schedule. All in all, everything was going right for him today.
So why did he feel like something was wrong?
His thoughts flashed back to his conversation with Cheerilee. She said she couldn't imagine anypony but Twilight Sparkle being the librarian at Golden Oaks. He could sympathize; somepony does a job for four years, they tend to be something of a fixture. They might have trouble filling his old position as assistant librarian at the Canterlot Royal Archives for just that reason. But Princess Celestia herself requested him personally to fill the position in Ponyville, and he very well couldn't say no to Princess Celestia, now could he?
Another thought clicked into Manny's head. Why would Princess Celestia request him to become Ponyville's librarian? Sure, he was good at his job, but so were many other ponies who worked there. And for that matter, why would the princess request anypony to be Ponyville's librarian? For one, most of the books in the Golden Oaks were lost when Tirek flattened the place. Those that survived were moved to Princess Twilight's new castle, which should have a library of its own. Second, even when they decided to rebuild the Golden Oaks and move the books back in, he was sure Princess Twilight could take over her old duties again. So why isn't she? Does she not have enough time now that she’s the official Princess of Friendship? Since the order came from Celestia, did Twilight even have a say in the matter?
And why did his side hurt and why was he on the ground?
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? Maybe I should watch where I’m going? Or maybe you should watch where you’re going instead of walking down the street with your head in the clouds thinking about stuff other than watching where you’re going Mr. Pony-I've-Never-Seen-Before and… waitaminute… NEW PONY!”
Manny barely had time to look over at the owner of the very excitable voice before she was running off somewhere. “Okay then.”
A couple minutes after his “surprise run-in”, Manny arrived at the newly-rebuilt Golden Oaks Library. All that was left of the original structure was a smoldering tree stump, so the town council decided that the best course of action was to pull the stump and build a more traditional building. Much of the construction on the three-story building was already finished, but a few ponies were still working on the finishing touches, one of which was the sign hanging above the door, which in a nice touch of tribute was made from a portion of the old library’s door.
Inside the library proper, more construction workers were milling from one job to another. In the center of the room was a lavender alicorn with a dark striped mane, watching with a smile on her face as the workers continued their duties.
So this must be Princess Twilight Sparkle, Manny thought to himself. Funny, he kind of expected a more, well, regal appearance; or at least for her to be wearing her crown. Then again, maybe she intentionally forewent the royal appearance to help him feel more at ease around her. No, that couldn't be it. Perhaps she’s remembering the old library, and all the good memories that went with it. It was something that Manny didn't think about until just then.
This library wasn't just where she worked. It was where she laughed, cried, and lived. For four years, Golden Oaks was her home. And, six months ago, it was gone. Then the town builds a new library on top of the old. Then some strange pony comes in to replace her. Now, not only did Manny feel unneeded, he felt unwanted.
Manny decided that the situation should move on before it got more awkward than it already was. He cleared his throat to get Princess Twilight’s attention.
She turned to face him and smiled a bit wider. “You must be Aged Manuscript!”
Manny bowed before the princess. “It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Your Highness.” He hoped he got that right; he wanted to make the best possible impression on the princess, so he had practiced a lot on the train ride to Ponyville.
“Um, you really don’t have to bow before me, Mr. Manuscript.” Twilight said with a bit of a nervous chuckle. “I’m not really all that big on formalities.”
Well then, apparently his attempt to minimize awkwardness had failed. He got up and rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly smiling.
“In that case, maybe we should get down to business. I’m eager to learn how you’d like me to run this library!”
It really didn't take long; the meeting was only about twenty or so minutes. As they talked shop, Manny began to feel more relaxed. The main points were certain rules and regulations about loaning books out to the public, such as loan duration, late fees, and the like. The library was a public building of Ponyville, so all fines and fees were essentially paid to the town coffers. Likewise, the members of the town council would be the ponies signing his paycheck. Otherwise, he could run the library any way he saw fit. In all reality, the only reason it was Twilight having this meeting with him instead of, say, the mayor, was because Twilight ran the library before him. Essentially, this was a passing of the torch.
The last of the notes he needed jotted down, Manny levitated his notepad and pen back into his saddlebags. “Thank you very much for meeting with me, Your Highness! I promise I won’t let you or Ponyville down!” As he said “Your Highness” this time, he thought he noticed a slight twinge in her demeanor.
“That’s good to hear, Mr. Manuscript! Glad to see somepony taking this job with gusto!” she replied smiling.
“If I may make one request, Your Highness?” he asked.
Again with that twinge. Was he just imagining it, or did it really bother her? Or was he bothering her?
“Yes?”
He never actually made a request of a princess before, and this one was kind of trivial. It might work, or it might just make her angry. But he got this far, so what the hay.
“I prefer to be called Manny, Your Highness.”
The smile disappeared. Her expression became grave. Oh boy, here we go.
“On one condition.”
He had a bad feeling about this, but he already crossed the line, so he may as well go with it. “Yes, Your Highness?”
She smiled once again. “Stop calling me ‘Your Highness.’ Twilight is fine.”
He didn’t know that he was holding his breath until he suddenly exhaled in relief. He smiled at her.
“Yes, Your- I mean, Twilight!”
He honestly didn’t know what to do at that point. Venturing a guess, he offered her his hoof. She took it and gave a friendly shake, and then they exchanged farewells. Just as he reached the library door, Twilight spoke up.
“Oh, Mr. Man- er, Manny! I almost forgot!”
He turned around and faced her. “Yes, Twilight?”
“Princess Celestia mentioned in her letter to me that you were supposed to be delivering a book to me?” Her smile grew even wider in anticipation.
“What? A book? I don’t remember a… D’OH!” He forgot the book. So much for past experience.
The day the moving company he had hired was to pick up everything for transport, Manny got a surprise visit from Princess Celestia. Among pleasantries and wishes of good luck, she had asked a favor of him. That favor was to deliver a specific book from her personal archives to Princess Twilight. He had already made out his itinerary for the morning after he arrived, and it somehow slipped his mind to add this new task.
Twilight frowned. “Don’t tell me you forgot it at Canterlot…”
“No, I definitely didn’t leave it at Canterlot. Jeez, how could I forget an order from Princess Celestia?” Manny smacked his hoof to his face. He made a mistake. He did NOT like to make mistakes.
“Then you left it at home?” Twilight asked.
“Only place it could be. I packed it in a sealed crate with all the books in my personal collection before I handed the crate off to the movers.”
Twilight started walking slowly toward Manny. He could not mistake the vibes coming off her now. She was not amused.
“You… what?” she asked calmly but forcefully. “At least you were still on the train with it.”
“Nooooo… the movers came in to Ponyville the morning before I did. I wanted everything to be there and in order when I arrived. So your book pretty much got to Ponyville before I did.”
Twilight Sparkle had the look of wanting to strangle somepony. And that somepony just happened to be standing in front of her.
“You… WHAT?!”