Short Story Practice 2

“Yep. 'Yesterday's Charms and Curios' at seventy-one Bray Road,” Aero said while showing her the slip of paper with the address written down on it, “Looks like the kind of place that would have the book Gear and Sublime need.”

“I guess. I just wish they wouldn't send us to pick up stuff from places all the way across town,” the pegasus mare grumbled. Or at least not from places that give me such a bad feeling just looking at them, she added in her head. The slate coated stallion took the first step towards the door.

“It's not like we were doing anything back home anyway. Plus they owe us one now. I'm thinking the Friday night dinner special at The Greenhouse.” Pushing open the door to reveal how dimly lit the interior of the shop was did little to put Resplendence's nerves at ease. It only further highlighted how out of place it was, sandwiched between the much nicer and better kept buildings on its sides that were more in line with what one might expect from uptown Manehattan. It certainly didn't help that the one to its left was now catching the evening sun for itself, leaving the curio shop draped in shadow.

Her mind replayed the events that led to her walking into a place she'd normally avoid like death. Sublime, her younger sister, and Gear Tooth, their friend, had been trying to track down any copies of a book on spell conversions or spell recursions or something that no library or book store in town seemed to have. They knew that the royal library out in Canterlot would likely have one, but a particularly sour experience during a previous manuscript hunt had turned them off from doing that again unless no other alternative could be found. The two had even turned to seeking out private collections and specialty stores even partially related to magic, desperate to avoid having to call the royal librarians for an appointment. When they got a call back from this store claiming to have an intact copy and, better yet, were selling it for cheap they practically celebrated before even knowing if what the store had was what they needed or not. When she and Aero came to check what all the fuss was about they were roped into retrieving the book in a flurry of simultaneous explanations from the two excited ponies and promises that they'd be owed a favor for doing so. With a satchel bag, some bits, and an address scrawled on a slip of paper handed to them they were pushed out the door of their warehouse home before they knew it. Resplendence had only fully processed what had happened to feel indignant about it when they were halfway through midtown.

That at least took her mind off the present enough to walk through the door with Aero, but being inside the shop brought her feeling of unease right back. Maybe it was all the strange, indecipherable things on display, or how the fogged lightbulbs were seemingly only serving to make them look even more contorted than they were. Or maybe it was just how cramped everything was inside. There didn't seem to be any shelves or real aisles, just all the items on the store floor arranged to make walk ways. “Hello?” Aero calls out, “We're here to pick up a package for one Gear Tooth.” His voice helped ground Resplendence's mind and she was realized how much she was hiding behind him.

“Oh? Ah, yes, yes, please come in,” an older stallion's voice called out from deeper in the store. Aero walked forward without hesitation, but Resplendence found herself stopping after every step to look at the stock on display. Statues in strange poses, paintings of ponies with contorted faces, masks and carvings that must have been from far off lands, all clustered around and stacked on top of one another, catching all the worst parts of what little light there was go around. They were so closely packed that even a pegasus with normal sized wings would have trouble finding a spot to unfurl their wings without bumping into something, never mind even trying to open her own oversized ones. The worst part if it all was the echoes. Not of any footsteps or words being spoken, but the ones of memories she could feel coming from some of the more grotesque items. Not everything had them, but the ones that did were intense and it was starting to become harder for her to keep going further into the shop.

“We gotta grab that book and get out of here quick,” she whispers to Aero. It's only when she doesn't get a response from him does she realize how far behind him she'd trailed and how his dark coat made it harder to see him. “Aero, wait!” Panic got a hold of her for a moment, enough to make her dash to her companion's side.

“Huh? What's wro- AAH!” Aero could barely turn to see what was causing his sister's sudden outburst when she crashed into him, sending them both tumbling forward. By small stroke of luck they didn't crash into any of the store's wares, just the cashier's desk. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Guuh, sorry. Just, uh, got a little freaked out,” Resplendence tried downplaying how scared she had been as she picked herself up off Aero. It did little to change the look of indignance, or maybe just pain from the unwanted trip across the floor, on his face.

“Oh, did the statues talk a little too loudly?” the voice that had initially answered them when they stepped into the store chimed up once more, this time its speaker making himself known from behind the desk the two pegasi were leaning up against. A teal, bespectacled unicorn's head peers at them from over the desk, clearly amused by the sudden commotion the siblings were causing. “Or was the brushwork on the paintings really just that bad?” he joked, chuckling at his own remark.

“N-no, just never seen art pieces with such, uh, striking styles before.” Resplendence hastily tried excusing herself to the stallion as she got up to her feet. She might have explained that his first question was much closer to the mark than he probably thought, but she figured that would have led to more questions and more time spent in the store she was anxious to leave as soon as possible. “Ahem, So, may we please have the book our friend requested? My brother has the payment for it.” She gestures to Aero, still sitting on the floor adjusting his mane.

“Huh?” he looked up his mention. “Oh, right, yeah. Got it right here.” He stands up and reaches into the satchel bag Gear and Sublime had given him, bringing out a hoof full of bits.

“Ah yes, 'Lessons on Spell Guiding'. One of the oldest tomes in our collection. My grandfather himself already had it in his collection when he first opened this little shack. Hah, that old coot just needed a way to get rid of all the stuff he'd 'collected' on his expeditions outside Equestria. But then I guess me and my pop weren't much better!” The older unicorn breaks out into guffaws, the pegasi looking at each other in confusion.

“So everything here's from places like the griffon lands?” Aero asks. His question is first met by an elbow to the sides by his sister. “Agh, what?”

“Not everything,” the unicorn answers, wiping his eyes after recovering from his laughing bout. “A good chunk's from within Equestria's borders. Old treasures and texts found in places no pony has any business being in. That book your employer's looking for is one of them, actually. If I'm not getting his old stories mixed up, my grandfather got that book from a royal wizard. Won it in a game of horseshoes after the poor guy lost everything including the cloak off his back. But, between you and me, I think it's more likely he just swiped it from the wizard when he wasn't looking,” he says with a grin.

“Sounds like he led quite a life. We'd love to hear more, but it's getting late and we need to have the delivery finished before dark so if we could get the book we'd really appreciate it,” Resplendence hastily says trying to hurry the process along.

“Hm? Oh, yes, yes. I'm holding you up, aren't I? My assistant should have the tome ready for you right over in the books section,” he gestures to an open doorway some steps to the side of the desk that the pegasi could only just now notice after being pointed out. “Me and your associate here can count up the bits here while you take the item off his hooves.” He raises his voice a bit and directs it into the doorway. “And while you're at it tell him to do some real work instead of just looking busy,” he chuckles.

“Oh, that's a-- um,” she nervously eyes the doorway. What little light there was to share in the shop's main space wasn't being shared by the room beyond. The faintest glow and flicker of a candle just barely visible when she kept her eye on the room, but to her it may as well have been pitch black. By now Aero had caught on to just how scared she was.

“Actually, I think it's for the best I go with her,” he interjects. “Her eyes aren't so good in the dark. It's why we had that little trip up just now. And why we need to be back before the sun's gone.” Resplendence nods along, waving her wing in front of her face to back up his story.

“Ah, I see. Yes, same thing happened to my ma. She hated having to come in here with her eyes. But we have to keep the place as dark as it is, you see. A lot of the merchandise doesn't like being put in the light, if you can believe it.” The last words of his explanation had a much sterner tone than he'd been letting on until now.

“Does the book we're getting also want to stay in the dark?” Aero asks, now also feeling uneasy.

“Nah, pretty sure it's just a book,” the shopkeeper responds, back in his joking manner. “You hang on to the bits until you got the book in your hooves. I still got some paperwork to finish suffering through here.”

“Right, we'll be right back then.” Aero starts walking towards the doorway, leading Resplendence by draping a wing over her. “Lets get the book and go,” he whispers to her. “I can see why you got freaked out. A bunch of this stuff's setting off your sense, isn't it?” His sister nods, her eyes darting between the various sculptures and Celestia-knows-what-else they passed on their way to the book section.

Her sense. Her sixth sense, as they'd come to know it. For reasons unknown to her, or anyone she'd ever trusted enough to tell about it, Resplendence could feel the presence of spirits and their influence. It was something she'd likely always had but only began to be aware of during her later childhood. She found she could hear footsteps in old buildings at when no else should be around, feel the lingering emotions of ponies long departed from the world on belongings they held dear in life, and at times had even come face to face with full on ghosts that others were entirely unaware were present. It wasn't always a bad experience, though. Sometimes those lingering emotions were joyful and serene, like a paintbrush that held all the happiness a painter had felt while using it all his life. Sometimes those ghosts were quite friendly and excited to speak to someone that could both see and hear them. This wasn't like those times. Everything in this store that had any degree of spiritual energy in it was running the gamut of negativity, and it was adding up to make her feel like one favor simply wasn't enough to repay her for this trip.

Once inside the book section it felt like reaching an air pocket in a flooded cave. Sparsely lit by three candles at the corners of the room that made the space seem larger than it probably was and with the shadows of shelves, tables, and book piles moving erratically with the flickers of the lights, it certainly didn't seem any more inviting than the room before. But it was much quieter, hardly even a trace of spiritual whispers to be heard in it. In fact, it was actually quite jarring how all the noise that had been overwhelming her just stopped as soon as they were in the room. She would have stepped out from under her brother's wing had she not noticed the pony standing between some of the smaller shelves near the opposite wall reading an open book. Well, noticed his outline from candlelight, anyway.

“EXCUS-- uh, ahem, excuse us,” she tries to save face, “we're here for the book on order.” The pony looks up at the two, the light revealing him to be a unicorn as well. His maintained silence was making things much more awkward for Resplendence than she'd like. “The one under the name Gear Tooth? The owner said you'd have it in here and he's a bit busy so we came in to pick it up and be on our way because we're a little pressed for time so if it's ready--”

“Might it be this one?” the unicorn asks in a calming voice, levitating a bundled magenta colored tome up to her from a nearby table. Sure enough, the bit of the cover visible through the wrap and binding read 'Lessons on Spell Guiding' in silvered lettering that did a good job reflecting the little light that could reach it.

“Oh, yes, that's the one, thank you,” she reaches to take the book, but Aero's other wing suddenly springs between it and her. It's enough to make her jump back and would have had her scolding Aero if she didn't then notice the defensive stance he had taken, using his wings to shield her from the book.

“Rez, there's no one else in here,” he says alarmed, keeping his eyes on the book floating in front of him. It was only now she realized there wasn't any magic enveloping the book to keep it aloft or any glow on the unicorn's horn. “What kind is it?” Aero asks, snapping her attention back to him. He'd experienced enough ghostly encounters with her to leap past any sense of confusion or skepticism about the spirited undead, but he didn't share her gift of being able to see them the way she could. Given how on edge the two had already been, not helped by her own minor panic attack in the main room, she knew she couldn't blame him for springing to protect her.

“It's-- he's fine, he's just trying to help,” she explains softly, trying to calm her brother down as well as prevent the unicorn from from taking offense. It wasn't a good idea to make a ghost unhappy. “Sorry about that, my brother can't see or hear you the way I can,” she says to the spirit as she steps forward and places a hoof on Aero's wing to lower it, relaxing his stance some at hearing her own composed demeanor and taking the book from it's spot in the air.

“Is that so?” The unicorn asks, his words still as gentle as before, “A shame, he seems like a good fellow. Please, give him my apologies for startling you both.” He gives the two a polite bow. “Ah, and if you are on your way already, please, allow me to accompany you to the exit at least. I can't imagine it's very pleasant for you to be out there with all the ruffians making so much fuss.”

“That-- that would be really appreciated. Um, what's your name, by the way?”

“Hmm. I'm afraid I can't remember. It seems it's been so long since I've had to use it I've simply forgotten it. I'm sure it'll come back to me in time, but I doubt you'll want to stay around for that long.” The unicorn 'steps' towards them, through the stacks of books and chairs that stood between the three. With a better look at him Resplendence realized that his outline was all that could be seen of him. The shelves on the wall behind him could still be seen as he approached.

“Well, I'm Resplendence and this is my brother, Aero Dive. Thank you very much for your help.” She gave Aero a nod. “He's sorry for scaring us, by the way.”

“Oh. Uh, it's alright,” he said, speaking into the room in general since he couldn't tell where the ghostly stallion was. “Sorry about thinking you were trying to do some crazy ghost stuff to her. Ow!” His attempt at an apology is met with another elbowing and, unknown to him, a warm chuckle from their new friend.

 

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“Thanks for walking us to the door,” Resplendence said to the unicorn and the shopkeeper who had offered to lead them to the door to prevent them from going tumbling through his shop again. They did make it through the cramped makeshift aisles without incident, their unicorn companion humming a song as they went that drowned out the sounds of the restless spirits that had been making her so anxious before. Or maybe it was the owner's rambling as they went that did that and the humming was just nice to focus on instead.

“Think nothing of it, miss. I know this old place isn't the most cheery place even in broad daylight. I just hope that book can be put to good use. Always seemed useful, but so much of it goes over my head. I'm better at learning by doing, you see, which is to say I can't study for dirt,” he says with a chuckle.

“I'm sure our boss'll find a good use for it. He's good with this technical stuff,” Aero says, patting the satchel bag the book was now secured in.

While the owner went off on another digression with Aero, Resplendence took the opportunity to speak with Mr. Ghost, as she started calling him in her head. “Thanks again for the help. I was seriously close to having a full on panic attack in there with all the noise coming from the stuff inside.” She kept her voice low enough that the owner wouldn't notice her speaking to what surely seemed like thin air to him. Out here in the street lights' glow she could see more of his shape. He was still translucent, but unmistakably had a long flowing mane and tail.

“It was no trouble. Really, I should be thanking you for coming. I haven't had the chance to even have someone notice me in what is surely years,” he says looking around at the outside landscape.

“I can imagine. Are you sure you're okay here? We can try to find whatever it is you're haunting and move it somewhere else, if you want,” she offers her new friend, worried that it'll be years more before he has a chance to speak with anyone else. He simply shakes his head.

“Whatever is tying my spirit to the world of the living isn't something that can simply be moved, I'm afraid.” He rubs his chin in thought for a moment. “Or maybe it is. I don't quite know anymore. Either way, I'm fine enough here. There's still plenty to read inside and the shop's keeper brigs in more every so often. Even if I do run out of reading material I seem able to move about freely so I'm sure I'll find somewhere new to take residence should this place ever become too dull.”

“Well, okay, if you're sure,” she looks over to Aero. It seems like he's physically being worn down by how much the shop owner is talking. “Looks like we need to get going. It was really great meeting you.”

“Likewise. I hope life treats you well, madam Resplendence.” The two exchange bows and curtsies.

“Okay, looks like it's time for us to head off,” she steps over to save Aero from the auditory barrage he's being subject to. “My, uh, eyesight's going to make getting back to home base harder the longer we wait,” she says, remembering the little lie the two had made earlier.

“Yeah, YEAH-- er, yeah,” Aero snaps back to attention. “We'll let out boss know things went smoothly. Have a nice night.” He starts lifting off, joined by his sister a moment after.

“You two stay safe out there!” The owner waves them off as they take to the skies. They wave back as they go, Resplendence waving to Mr. Ghost who gave them a small salute in return.

“So,” Aero asks Resplendence, “you think we can squeeze two or three more favors out of them over this when we get back?”

“At least as many. I've got my eyes on that new spa in midtown.” She's in much higher spirits than when they arrived and already thinking of all the different things she can get away with asking of Gear Tooth and Sublime when she and Aero Dive tell them what happened in the shop. She took one last look back towards it to see Mr. Ghost walk back inside through the outer wall. And also saw another unicorn approach the shopkeeper as he was back inside, a bag of fast good in tow. Judging by the way the way he was reacting on seeing them, he must have been very surprised to see them out there. Oh, that's right, he mentioned an assistant we never actually saw, she thought to herself. Part of her thought it would be a good idea to go back and explain what had happened, but she figured that since nothing had really gone wrong in the end it would be alright to let this be another little story to add to the store owner's arsenal.

“Or maybe I just want to lay down in bed as soon as I can,” she thinks aloud to herself and turns to keep up with her brother as they headed back towards their home at the bayside.