the library

Cloudspree silently cursed her brother for his secret affection for cheesy romance novels. Not that she didn't think it was simply adorable that the intimidating chief of storms in Cloudsdale fancied that genre, but going out and borrowing all these damned books for him had been starting a couple rumors about her. Like she was seeing one of the authors, or she had a huge collection of several of the series here, stacked up on the grandeur bookshelf before her. She sighed. Spree didn't quite mind the latter rumor, but the first one had several different variations: she was a crazy fan of Gale R. Quill, she quietly pined after one of the characters, she would organize several writing conventions... the list went on and on.

And she wouldn't mind it so much if they were just kept as stupid little phrases tossed back and forth among the haughty unicorn in Canterlot, but oh, no-- several of them took it upon themselves to arrange meetings between her and many of the authors! The dates went on pleasantly, and a couple of the authors she actually didn't mind, but when her brother wasn't jealously giving her the cold shoulder now, he was begging her to get their autographs. She frowned. Lady Cloudspree of the Sampsonne family simply doesn't do autographs, she thought, but the red-maned mare recalled her brother's hopeful face. She couldn't have turned him down.

Shaking her head lightly to herself, she carefully picked out a book, adding it to the pile of novels to her left. She tried to remember the long list that her brother had scrawled down of the books he wanted her to borrow; she hadn't bothered to bring the thing with her. Sitting down, she sorted through the pile and neatly organized them by the last names of the authors. Now, which of these did he want the most...?

Star Sapphire walked into the library. She was looking for a book she was missing in a romance series. Even if she could not have the book, she at least wanted to read it. She had her mane curled and styled, and her reading glasses were on, just in case. "Hopefully this library has it. It has been very popular." She said. Star walked over to the romance section. She accidentally bumped up against the other pony there. "Oops, sorry." She said.

Star looked up and smiled. There it was, plain as day. "Aha! Passion in the Willows." She said. She pulled it off the shelf. "Maybe I'll also let Strider borrow this." She said to herself, referring to one of her patients.

Scryer had been in the library for a little while before either of the mares had entered and was currently poring over a book about, what else, but Tarot.

"Hmm... so the Thoth deck has a few different cards... Pierrot instead of Fool... Lust instead of Strength... Aeon instead of Judgement... ...The Universe instead of The World? interesting... Might be worth checking out sometime."

He lifted his head up a bit, looking at the two mares slightly. "Hmmm... all sorts of interesting pony folk in Canterlot. It's good to be home, even if only for a while..." The young stallion went back to his book, writing down notes.

Cloudspree restrained a surprised hiss as soon as she felt weight bump against her. Her cerulean orbs flickered toward whatever had touched her, eyes settling upon another mare. "It's quite alright," she said gently, her smile warm-- despite the fact that she was inwardly seething. No, it was just too damned hard for you to watch where you were going. She straightened out her fiery mane and continued to search for the book-- what was it called? Oak Passion? Oak in the Willows?

"Aha! Passion in the Willows," the other mare exclaimed. Cloudspree pivoted on her hoof and planted her stare onto the book in the mare's hooves.

"E-excuse me," she murmured gently, trotting up to the purple mare. Cloudspree would have to play the shy card-- her patience was wearing thin; she's been here the entire day and she was not looking forward to coming home without the book that Thundershot had been whining months and months for. "Um, that book... are you going to... to take it out today?" Cloudspree glanced up at the mare with a hopeful expression on her face, doll-like eyes widening innocently.

Star Sqpphire's smile faded slightly. "Why, yes in fact, I was planning in checking it out. I have been looking forever for it. I also planning on letting one of my patients borrow it." She said, sifting around uncomfortably. Hopefully this pony did not want the book to badly. Star had already been everywhere. Plus, she really hoped she could let Strider borrow it, who was very down recently . "Why do you ask? Star asked.

Scryer had heard the conversation nearby and glanced at the table he was sitting at; someone had so carelessly strewn the books they'd been reading over it and they had not yet been reshelved.

"Excuse me, but there's a copy of that book over here. Someone was reading it earlier and they left it here." Without removing his eyes from the book he was reading, the young stallion lifted said tome with his magic, holding it up."

Star Sapphire looked at the other unicorn with a look of relief. "See? There is another copy over there, you can go get that one and we'll both be happy." She said, putting the book in her bag. Now she did not have to let Strider down. "Thank you for finding it." Star said to the unicorn. "You got us out of a pickle."

Cloudspree ducked her head as a nod of gratitude as she trotted over to retrieve the book, slipping it into a pocket hidden under her left wing. "Thank you," she said quietly, returning to the pile of the books she was supposed to sort through, seeing as she certainly did not want to bring them all home for her brother. Which ones did he like the most? Which ones hadn't he read already? Which one had better reviews? Cloudspree sighed, bringing her hoof to her forehead. The young mare of the Sampsonne family had much better things she could be doing now, rather than sorting through stupid books, like sending her butler out for groceries, shopping for Fancy Pant's party tonight, perhaps arranging a date between her and one of her business partners...

She stole a glance in the direction of the purple pony. She seemed to want the romance book a lot, so Cloudspree assumed the mare knew enough about other books in the genre as well. She lifted her head toward the unicorn. "Excuse me, Miss, but could you lend me a hoof?"

Scryer nodded back to Star. "It's no issue. You're very welcome, miss." He turned back to his book, though he was now only partially paying attention to it; the other part was focused on the two mares' conversation.

Star Sapphire turned to look at the pegasus. "You need my help?" She asked. Then her smile appeared on her face. "Well certainly!" she said, walking over. To be honest, star just wanted to go home and read the book, but she could not turn the mare down. "What do you need? I'm no librarian, so if you need to find a book, I will be of little help. But I will do my best." She said.

Star Sapphire took a quick glance at the other unicorn, the one who had helped them. She managed to get a look at the book he was reading. Something about Tarot and fortune telling. "Interesting." she though, "I may have to talk to him later."

Cloudspree swallowed, knowing full well that her brother would kill her if she told anyone about his fondness of romantic novels. She tilted her head to the side. It was still a very tempting idea, though, especially because neither of these ponies looked like they were from Canterlot. After all, many ponies here can easily identify me as Lady Cloudspree... but then again, I don't really socialize with the lower classes...

She cleared her throat, bringing her hoof to cover her mouth. "Do forgive me if this takes too much of your time... It's a bit embarrassing to me, but I rather fancy the books of the romance genre. Seeing as how I cannot borrow too many books at once, though, I thought I should pick through them... but I need another pony's opinion. Which books in this pile--" Cloudspree motioned toward the collection of books on the ground with a manicured hoof, "--should I take out? Do you know which ones have higher ratings or better reviews? Do you have any personal favorites?"

Scryer shrugged. "My apologies, but I don't have much time for pleasure reading. Even if I did, I don't particularly care for romances. I feel she would know more than I." He gestured at Star slightly, turning back to his book.

Star Sapphire smiled. "Why I would be honoured." she said, finally recognizing Lady Cloudspree, but deciding to keep quiet about it. "She probably gets recognized and pulled over all the time, I won't bother her." she thought. Star Sapphire began to organize the books into two piles."Oh, this one is great! Oh, no not this one, I did not care for this one." After a couple of minutes, Star had organized the books into two small piles. "There you go!" She said.

Cloudspree's eyes shifted over the two piles, cerulean blue flickering across the bindings and covers of miscellaneous books, most of them seeming to follow the recurring theme of poor titles and cheesy reviews. The good pile still had a few too many books for her to bring home... Just pick a couple random books to bring home, she decided-- if Thundershot gets pissed, then too damn bad. She was sick and tired of putting on the romantic act for him. The mare had nothing against romance novels, but she wasn't too fond of running these sorts of errands for her brother, especially because the ponies of Canterlot were so quick to jump to conclusions, rumours and gossip flitting about at every chance they got.

"Thank you."

Cloudspree could have sworn she was forgetting about an arranged meeting between her and one of the authors of some book Thundershot had been obsessed with-- and of course, she had no say in the planning of this meeting. Her aristocrat "friends" had thought it a good idea to set up this date for her, originally meaning for it to have been a surprise. They were a bit of a stupid lot, childish and rather idiotic, but harmless. It wasn't hard for the mare to find out about the meeting.

Ah! The familiar name running along the cover of a book before her caught her attention. Yes, that was it. House of Secrets, written by E.G. Cotta. That was the author's name-- 'E,' Cloudspree remembered, was short for Elliot. She tapped her hoof in the direction of the book.

"Are either of you two fans of the writer E.G. Cotta?" she inquired, blue eyes slipping back and forth from the ponies before her, smiling, "I was supposed to meet up with him later, but I don't think he should mind if I send one of my new friends instead."

Scryer glanced at her. "Much though I appreciate the gesture, I have never read any of his books."

Star Sapphire looked at Cloudspree. Her face a mixture of surprise and glee. "THE E.G Cotta?" She asked, her eyes widening. "You have a meeting with E.G Cotta?" she said. Star held back a squeal of delight. Was Lady Cloudspree offering to let her meet this legendary author? "Oh I would love to meet him." She said. "I have read almost all of his works." She said. "Ok Star, keep calm, you don't want to scare her away." She thought, smiling at the pegasus.

Cloudspree managed a smile as she plucked a couple books from one of the piles. Four. That should do-- if Thundershot wanted her to borrow any more, than he should have come with her--

"Let me help you with that, sister."

Cloudspree suppressed the irritated twitch of her eye, her smile now extremely rigid as she turned, glaring at her brother. She didn't want to have to bring home any more books than four, but with her brother here... well, they would end up lugging home practically everything he set his eyes on. "Hello, Thundershot," she seethed. Anyone besides her brother and herself would assume that the two were on terrible terms, or perhaps were the primary characters of any cliche spy book-- two siblings, raised on opposing sides, one of justice and the other of injustice--

"Here, I'll take those books for you," he said, voice rather gruff, but his eyes were affectionate. He didn't want anypony to think he had a soft spot for any literature of the romance genre, but Cloudspree doubted anyone would ever manage even slight suspicion. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. Shuffling slightly, Thundershot eased all of the books into the packs hidden beneath his wings.

"Yes, E.G. Cotta." Thundershot's ears flickered toward Cloudspree when she said his name, but she ignored this. "Meeting at the Dulce Cafe, around... three fifteen, I believe. Tomorrow."

Unfortunately for Thundershot, the unicorn fortuneteller was very good at catching even little details. Scryer chuckled a little bit. "Hmhm. You enjoy romances, do you sir? I can respect that; romances can warm the heart quite a bit." He had seen the affection in his eyes, and the lack of enthusiasm in hers earlier. "And I can guess that you, ma'am, don't care for them as much?"

He gave a sly grin; figuring they'd be surprised. "My apologies, but it's hard to hide these kinds of things from me. I'm quite good at picking up even little details."

Star Sapphire smiled as another pony walked in. "Are you siblings? Thats nice." She said. Quickly, the room felt tense. Almost like you could cut the tension with a knife. Star Sapphire smiled awkwardly. "Um, so, I think I might need to go somewhere." She said, trying to leave the intuition. She did not want to be in between the siblings.

Star sat next to the other unicorn. She began to quietly read her new book, hoping nothing would go wrong.

Thundershot was certainly a bit shocked, though not as much as he was, well, rather defeated. The fact that this unicorn had suddenly found out such a thing that he'd hidden so well against even the best detectives of Cloudsdale-- after all, he did have to work with them sometimes when he was on duty-- left the slightest bit of a deflated feeling in his chest.

Cloudspree, however, was feeling quite irritable. And this time around, she made no effort to conceal it. Her cerulean eyes narrowing, lips pursing rather annoyedly, she fired a sliver of a glare at the unicorn. How absolutely rude! If he'd known her brother had been trying to hide his fondness, which he obviously did, then it was rather insensitive of him to so enthusiastically reveal such a bit of information to all the ponies in the current room. And he had the nerve to boast about it. She let out a quick huff through her nose and turned to the other mare.

"Do you still wish to meet with the author?" she asked, a bit of an edge to her voice. Nothing irritated her more than any sort of harm done to her brother, though she knew well enough that the damage, where there was any at all, was excruciatingly minimal. "I'll have to give you a note with my signature, then, just to reassure him that I wasn't stalked and knocked out by an overzealous fan." Cloudspree smiled, though she made no effort to hide that it was partially forced.

Cloudspree's irritation with him didn't really bother Scryer much, but he did feel rather bad about how Thundershot reacted. "My apologies, sir." He looked a little shamefaced. "I... am not the best with social skills. May I make it up to you?"

Star Sapphire nodded, although less enthusiastically now. "Um, yes, that would be great." She said. She hoped no real conflict would happen, which would force her to become involved. "I got a break today." She thought, "I don't want to sort out a dispute." star Sapphire then nodded. "Yes, a note would be good." She said.

"No."

Thundershot's remark was rather blunt and he remembered that his words were often taken the wrong way. And then he remembered that he was a blundering idiot comprised completely of social ineptitude. Basically, he sucked at talking to other ponies. "I mean, uh, you don't need to do anything. I should be fine. Thank you." He looked to the ground, heat pooling at his cheeks. "And, uh, could I trust," he said in a quieter voice, "that nopony will know of Chief Thundershot's, uh, liking for drippy, corny romance novels?" His azure eyes peeked up at Scryer, and what Thundershot had intended to come out as a sort of playful order sounded much more like a shy, suggested request.

Cloudspree shook her head warmly at her brother. That had been equivalent to a speech for Thundershot-- he never spoke that much at one time. She chuckled to herself, never lingering too long with one emotion. She was still rather irritated, but her brother seemed to be doing fine, and the unicorn had evidently expressed guilt, which left a haughty little proud feeling in her chest. But Cloudspree ignored it. The atmosphere was growing tense, and it was certainly rather unbecoming for a socialite such as herself to cause or encourage such a state. "Of course, of course," the pegasus beamed, easing a slip of paper and a pen out of her side-bag. She scribbled down the place and time in an elegant script, signing her signature the the bottom of the note. She handed the paper to Star with a smile.

Scryer chuckled a little, his face taking on his typical playfully neutral expression. "Very well then. I was perfectly willing to offer a free tarot reading for you, give a little advice on something in your life, but if you don't want it, that's alright with me." His eyes seemed to glimmer slightly as he cracked a slight grin to Thundershot. "And don't worry; your secret's quite safe with me."

"Oh, by the way, miss." He turned to Cloudspree, the playfulness disappearing. "I'd suggest you try to avoid the little games the nobility play. It wreaks havoc with your karma." He flipped two cards from his tarot deck down in front of her, the Tower and the Devil. "Just a word of advice from a lowly fortuneteller; take it at your discretion."

He then turned to Star, the hint of a smile reappearing. "What's your name, miss?"

Star smiled at Scryer. "My name is Dr. Star Sapphire. But just Star is ok. Titles make my skin crawl." She said. "And what is your name, good sir?" She asked.

Star Sapphire then grabbed the slip of paper. "Thank you so very much for this. You don't know how much this means to me. I swear I'll make it up." She said. "I owe you one."