Blackbook was closing shop as the sun dipped below the horizon. Her book store was dusty and smelled faintly of old leather. She counted the days profits with a worried frown. It wasn't enough, it never was. Already she was two months behind on rent and had made the sacrifice of moving out of her apartment to keep the shop open. In what used to be a janitorial closet she now kept a small cot. As much as she loved her book store it provided no emenities such as a kitchen or fireplace to cook meals from. She had been living off of canned foods for weeks and was tired of cold vegetable soup.
She had sold only two books today. One to a regular who had bought out her whole collection of Daring Doo novels on multiple occasions, making BlackBook wonder if the pegasi had an entire book shelf at home covered in the same five books. The other she had sold to a strange grey earth pony mare, some book about space rocks. She mumbled something about normally reading from stone tablets before exiting the shop.
It was far too little. Only a dozen bits, with her current operating costs it was gonna get sucked down the drain fast. She sighed and looked out the window, it was overcast and the ping pang of rain beat against the roof. There was a hole somewhere on the roof and sure enough a stream of water began to poor down right onto a bookshelf. Blackbook launched herself into action grabbing a bucket that she had ready for these occasions, she put it under the leak and sighed in relief when she saw none of the merchandise was damaged.
Small miracles she guess. She hastily flipped the open sign to closed and locked the door before going to the storage loft upstairs. Inside the cramped space there was a single window that pushed outwards on the frame. On the windowsill sat a ceramic ashtray and her lighter and smokes.
Smoking was a nasty habbit no doubt. But there was something about the smelled of a lit cigarette and the dancing of the cherry red ember against the cold darkness of the night that was deeply alluring to BlackBook. She knew she shouldn't be spending money on such luxuries when she was so close to losing it all. But with the pressure mounting and the day's going by without a solution to her problems.. the only time she felt all was right was on the first drag.
She lit a cigarette and instinctually pulled the vapor in. Then out. For a moment she was transported to a world where her problems didn't exist, where she felt good about her business and about herself. Then quick as it came it was gone. Reality set back in.
BlackBook stared out the window watching the rain patter against the rooftops of nieghbooring homes. Through a window she saw a family sitting down the dinner. Two fillies and their parents. The fillies we're talking loudly about something. Possibly something that happened at school that day, their mother polietly pretended to listen but was looking at the father for his reaction to her cooking. When he bit down and closed his eyes in delight a small smile escaped her.
Blackbook looked at the scene for awhile through the haze of smoke dragging occasionally on her cigarette before putting it out. Where had that time gone for her? Why was she trapped in this situation? Had she made a mistake by pursuing something she wanted since she was a filly? It felt like so long since she had felt joy like that family was having. Her family long since estranged or simply gone. She had thought of finding a special some pony once, but she had been so busy just trying to get by. Nopony wanted somepony who didn't have their life together.
She held her head and went back downstairs into the store and to the closet which served as her room now. A messy pile of opened cans sat in one corner waiting for her to clean up. She said yesterday that she would do it tomorrow, but despite not being busy at all she had failed to do so.
Blackbook curled up in a ball on the cot and began to sob softly into her velvet mane. She hated herself and all of this. She hated how she had isolated herself from others to the point that she didn't know how to talk to them anymore. The few ponies who were nice to her, her customers didn't really know the depth of her pain. And she didn't want to tell them, fearing that they might never return.
Blackbook thought about the reason she still woke up in the morning and continued her work. She couldn't think of a reason, and settled on the idea that perhaps she was only exsiting out of habit. Maybe she was just too scared to destroy any chance of happyness that remained in her life, but she quickly sank into the depressing idea that maybe she would never be happy again.
While she was on her downward spiral of dark thoughts a sharp knocking on the front door made her jump out of the cot. She recovered but not before bending one of the metal hooks that kept the padded part of the cot aloft. Blackbook cursed and looked at the doorway in anger. The knocking continued and got more frantic as she approached the door.
"We're closed!" She shouted.
A few moments went by.
"Oh.. um I'm sorry.. but could I trouble you for a book?" A female voice said from behind the door.
"Don't you know what closed means? " BlackBook said annoyed. "It means we're not open, even if I wanted to sell you something I'd have to restart the counts and change a lot of paperwork." She lied
"I'm really sorry to inconvenience you, but you see.. I don't have anywhere that I can go right now"
Blackbook sighed and held her hoof to her face. She hated last minute customers even before she had owned a business. "Come back tomorrow, were open at 9" she said turning away from the door.
"I'll pay double" the voice said.
That got her attention. She really couldn't refuse his mare, not with her land lord up her tail for bits.
"Huuumh fine" she said in defeat. Opening the door.
To her suprise when she opened the door wide she saw a unicorn mare.. with wings and lavender coat that was absolutely soaked. It took a moment to recognize her but when she did. BlackBook's jaw dropped.
Standing outside in the now torrential down poor was Twilight the Princess of Friendship. And she did not look happy.
