To the book store

Russet entered slowly, keeping his eyes about, scanning for other ponies. While he already appeared shy and cautious, he gave each pony he met eyes with a nod before continuing on. Appearances were deceiving to his shy nature as he approached the front desk and asked. "Excuse me, where can I find the science fiction section?"

He put on a small smile, more for show than genuine joy though. A hoof brushed the multicolored mane out of his vision. He figured he might come across as a typical dork just asking that question alone here.

The store was slow, but Raynie did not care. She was loving her new life in Trottingham. She had time to read, work on another book, the ponies we-- nicer... She was finally beginning to enjoy things. She hummed softly and happily to herself as she placed a few books on a shelf behind her counter.

Her ears perked up a little at a new voice in the store. She froze a little, before slowly turning to see the stallion standing on the otherside of the counter. "'tis, ah, o'er there" she said, glancing to where she had set up that group of books. She got a little flustered in her nervousness as she realized her vagueness was useless, "Och!, ah mean, follow me" she stumbled over her words with her Sirish accent.

She flew over the counter and headed over to where the books were, she looked back over to Russet nervous, "c'n ah help y' find anythin'?" she asked anxiously.

Russet blinked, his eyes going a little wider for a moment. At first he thought this pony was just a vary fluffy looking pony, but now he knew that it was a....something. A griffon? He wanted to ask, especially about that accent, but he thought it would be rather rude of him to just say it first thing. Instead, he just nodded and played ignorant.

It wasn't until he realized he let a few moments of quiet go by that he was asked a question. "Oh uh...Umm...No...I'll find something. I'm new to this town and i thought i would just find something to pass the time."

Raynie shuffled her hooves a little nervously as Russet seemed at a loss for words. Terrified that he might just run out of the store as he seemed to realize that she certainly wasnt like any other pony. She glanced at Russet then to the books, trying to get her mind off the idea of what Russet may be thinking of her.

Her attention snapped back to Russet as he spoke again. "Oh, ah donnae know wha' y' like," Raynie said quietly as she skimmed the shelf and pulled a book off the shelf with her talon, "y' maigh like this one," she held it up for Russet

"Ah am also kind of new here," she admittedly quietly, "ah moved here about a month ago, opened this store, where are y' from?" she asked shyly.

Russet took the book, cradeling it with a wing and letting a hoof peek inside it. Fidgeted with it, not sure he even knew what he would like here, and infinintly more interested in this strange pony griffon before him. Easing up a little, he made eye contact with her.

"Oh, well I'm pretty new too. Two months here. Originally from Canterlot. Still trying to find a job for my apartment actually." He was pleased that they had some middle ground to meet on. Maybe he could start making relations in this city, starting with this pony....griffon...whatever.

"So...where are you from? Can't really place your...accent."

Raynie's head became filled with the stories of Canterlot she had heard-- she envisioned herself in a gown at the Grand Galloping Gala, an event she knew she'd never get to go to. She would be lucky to even make a friend, let alone ever get to go to a giant social event like that.

She blinked at Russet's question, he was asking where she was from? not why she was a freak of nature with a beak and hooves...? "Ah'm from, uh, 'tis a small island" she said, not really wanting to explain exactly where is is from, as they're known to be quite rude ponies over there, although thats the very reason she ran from there, "'tis off th' northwestern coast of Equestria, doubt anyone around here would even o' heard o' it." She danced around the subject.

"Why leave Canterlot t' come t' an average place like this?" she asked

Russet was a bit perturbed why he didn't get a direct answer. He wanted to question more, but another question was asked of him already. Noting to look up this island sometime later, he teetered his head at the question.

"Well....I kinda wanted to be independent and...start fresh. A fresh slate so to say. Start small and work my way up. And Manehattan seemed too busy for me."

He fumbled a bit on his hooves. He felt like poking more at this....griffon pony, but he refused to be rude so early. "I like your store. Its more homey than the larger ones. It should be easier to get books for...my cousin...You got any family here?"

Raynie smiled a little at what Russet said, "a fresh start is always nice" she said calmly, thinking about how happy she was to be away from Sireland. The stares and points from foals was almost a welcomed thing after the cursing and objects being thrown at her that she had actually grown used to back in her homeland, "Ah c'n relate wih y'" she said.

"Ah dinnae want a big store," she said looking over the homely store she had made for herself, "ah wanted a place which ah woul' like t' spend m' time" she explained.

"please, feel free t' bring yuir cousin in wih' y'" she said with a shy smile, "M' mum stayed back when ah moved here an' while ah hope she maigh eventually come here, ah dinnae think she's gonae leave her home," she explaining, her smile slowly fading as she blinked a few times and lowered her gaze as she thought about her mother.

Russet seemed to fumble more with his hooves at the mention of inviting his cousin. His nervous nature became even more obvious when Raynie seemed upset about her mother not coming. Changing the topic would probably be a good idea.

"So....Umm...Got any books you might recommend for my cousin? She likes to stay in a lot." He said with a hesitant smile.

Raynie blinked at the sudden subject changed and lowered her gaze, thinking some. "Uh-- what does yuir cousin like t' read?" Raynie asked curiouslly.

Raynie moved over to another shelf and slowly shelved a few books as she frowned. She did not really want to say what she was about to, but she was trying to become more open now that she was in a nicer place. She knew this pony was curious-- but he was not repulsed by her.

She lowered her head a little, keeping her back to Russet, "Ah'm a hippogriff..." she said kind of quietly, clearly not wanting to talk about it much, "m' mother was a earth pony, m' father a griffin..." she added.

She slowly looked back over towards Russet, it clear on her face that she did not really want to talk about it much, "y'd been wantin' t' ask," she said, looking at Russet then to the ground, "'tis na' been somethin' t' be proud of for me..." she sighed.

"Oh..." Russet blinked. "I...had been wondering. But I though't i should get to know you more first."

He looked to some of the books behind him, before turning to Raynie fully and getting comfortable. "My name is Russet Sunset. It's a pleasure to meet somepony as unique as you." He held out a hoof to her. While he was uneasy with her earlier, the sudden admittance to him made him feel like some barrier were broken. And he could, in a very small way, understand her feelings.

"Ah could see it on yuir face," Raynie said of Russet, seeming pretty blunt about it, "y'd been wantin' t' ask since y' got a good look at me." she pointed out.

Raynie blinked at Russet's kind gesture-- she was not used to such thing. Especially having just met this pony. "M' name is Raynie," she said hesitantly. She glanced between the ponies face and his outstretched hoof and slowly reached up with her talon, shaking his hoof for just a brief moment, frowning as she watched his face for any possible negative reactions.

She had been in Trottingham for a couple months now and this was the first pony to really seem to want to get to know her in any way. She assumed most of them were scared of her appearance. She was used to being an outcast among ponies. She had had an acceptable flow of business, especially for a new book store, you can't expect a huge flow of hoof traffic right away.

She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled a little at Russett, "'tis verra nice t' properly meet y'," she said shyly.

Russet smiled back, losing his shy attitude and now genuinely smiling with nothing held back. "Good to meet you too....Sorry about the funny look...I haven't got out much. Its difficult with my...cousin being around."

He hated saying it like that, but the issue with his cousin was...delicate and special. Every mention of it made him stutter or pause. Obviously a topic that was not easy to bring up the right words for.

"So, uh, i know this might be early since you just opened up recently, but do you have any room on the payroll for another?" He smiled wide in high hopes.

Raynie noticed something was off about Russet's cousin. He stepped around the subject very carefully and seemed to be a little awkward about the subject. She really wanted to delve more into it but, as Russet respected her by not going right out and asking about her appearance-- she'd respect his avoidance of it right now by not asking outright-- but she did know how to slowly work her way into a subject. She'd simply-- what?

"Job?" Raynie raised her head and blinked. She just opened her store recently and while her book series was bringing in enough money to pay for help-- the store was not busy enough to even keep her busy, let alone two ponies. "Ah'm sorry, 'tis nothin' t'do with y', but the store is na' verra busy an' even ah struggle t' keep busy," she said with a little bit of a frown, not liking to give bad news to one of the first ponies that was really being quite welcoming with her.

Raynie turned her attention back to a book shelf, glancing back to Russet and then back to the shelf, "le's see if ah c'n find a book for yuir cousin," she said, exampining some of the shelves, "what is she like? what interests?" she questioned.

Russet sighed. It was a practiced sigh he had done many times before when looking for a job. Being turned down was routine for him. He always seemed to ask at the wrong time or get things just in the right way to not be hired. The search would continue.

"That's alright. I just thought it was worth asking..."

As for books, Russet blushed slightly and tilted his head as if in hard thought. "Well....Ill have to think about what she likes but..." What came next was fast and rapid. "Probably 'The Feminine Mystique' by Betty Softhooves, 'The Hard Way' by Tranny Allantrot, and 'Stallion Enough' by Beth Burntrot....Are books she might like..."

He grinned shyly after the quick verbal burst.

"Perhaps if th' store gets more business, ah c'n hire y'" Raynie said, a bit disappointed she wasnt able to help Russet with his job search.

Raynie blinked in bewilderment. It was true that her expertise lied in foal and fantasy books-- but she WAS pretty familiar with a lot of books-- but none of these books were ones she recognized. Feminine Mystique... obviously about about mysteries about femininity-- that one was easy-- The Hard Way... that could be a reference to anything... Stallion Enough... Hmmm. All the books were written by mares as well-- well-- at least two of them-- that second one she couldnt place the gender of the writer.

"Ah-- am not familiar with any o' those books," she said a bit awkawrdly, "Ah could order them fof y'-- or yuir cousin, if y'd like..." she said to Russet, heading back over to her desk.

Russet sighed with some disappointment. He tried to keep it from being too obvious. "Sure...I can...She can wait." He looked about, thinking about perhaps getting some other books to throw off the rather specific set of books he ordered. Maybe some for himself too.

"So...Do you have anything you would reccomend for now? I myself am a bit short on reading material. I just finished Lord of the PonyRings not too long ago..." He said with a smile, hoping that maybe such a book series could give him something to relate on.

Raynie blinked. Russet was probably hoping that she had not heard what he just said, but she was very astute to dialogue of ponies. She wasn't quite sure what it ment, there was one option which she thought was a possibility-- but she did not want to make any accusations or embarrass Russet. She had --

"Recommendations?" Raynie looked up from her thought, then a smile crossed her face, "Sure!" she said as she came from behind the counter and going to a section right near the front of the store, which was labeled for Fantasy, clearly a section she intentionally placed to be easily attended.

She pulled a book off the shelf and handed it to Russet, "y' c'n read this one" she said as she began to pull off more books and adding them into a stack, "Oh! an' this one had a great end-- this one is cute-- d' y' like a good empowered princess story? who doenae? Oh the the twists in this one was wonderful!" she began to really seem to be getting excited.

She closed a book she had glanced into with a smile and began to hand it to him with her talon when she realized the stack was already up to six books. She frowned a little in embarrassment, "maybe y' can just start with this one..." she said, having lose the excitement in her voice, clearly a little embarrassed by her behavior, slowly handing the book to Russet.

Russet's smile got bigger and bigger as she put more books down. Seeing the hippogriff get so excited made him have to smile. All the books she put before him seemed interesting enough. He even poked at the one about the empowered princess.

"Hehe...I take it you enjoy the fantasy genre? Me too...Honestly the books i listed before are more...information than anything, so some fantasy would be nice." He looked to see what book she had selected for him, happy to read it no matter what it was.

"So, how much will....Oh.." His wing slapped against his side, feeling the lack of any coin purse on him. Going a bit pale, he sighed. "It seems I forgot my bits. Uh...I can run home and get them real quick."

When the new book store had opened about a month before, Threads had charged into the shop to satisfy her book fix. She had given the owner a beautiful stuffed swan as a welcoming present, and devoured books like wildfire. She usually blasted her way into the building, and today was no exception.

"Raaaayyyyynie! Rayyynie Ray-ray, ray of sunshine and greengrass, Ms Blue Sky, please tell me why I haven't been to your store today yet, so much to get and I'll stop here cause I'm far better at prose than poetry. I finished the books you gave me and they were fantastic! Literally causing fantasies and I made a dragon!"

Her wide grin grew even wider as her sight noticed the other pony in the room.

"Ooh, haven't seen you before, stranger! Though I doubt you're stranger than some of the other strangers that I could have met today. But you could be! For all I know you could have a strange obsession with your portrait and use it to retain eternal youth! You don't look like it though. You know what you do look like? You look like the sort of pony I need to give a stuffed toy to! Um, I wold shake your hoof, but it seems that they are currently occupied by Raynie Ray-ray's books. You look like a bananas in pajamas sort of pony. Hi! I'm Warm Threads! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Raynie frowned when Russet appeared to have no bits. She was more discouraged by her in ability to help him with employment than his inability to pay for any books, "Ah could just let y', y'know, borrow th' books, one at a time ah suppose" she told Russet.

Raynie jumped in surprise and looked towards the door wide eyed as Warm Threads entered. She blinked as Warm Threads spoke-- and continued speaking. Her mouth hung a little agape wondering if Warm Threads had an off switch.

She glanced to Russet as Warm did the same thing. "This is--" She was interrupted before she could introduce the other pony. She wondered if any pony could be quite as excitable and random as Warm Threads. Surely Warm had to be a one of a kind. What would a pony so-- excitable-- be like? She began to place together an appearance of such a pony, but was snapped to attention at the mention of her name again as Warm Threads continued to speak to Russet.

After Warm Threads finished speaking, Raynie hesitated, wondering if she was actually finished speaking.

Russet couldn't allow himself to be in debt to another pony....hippogryph. He pushed the books away and opened his mouth to kindly reject the offer, but then that sound...

Russet was open mouthed the whole time. He wasn't aware a pony could carry on a sentence for so long. His eyes dialated further when the attention was focused on him. Frozen in place like prey trying to not be noticed by a predator, he simply waited until the assault was over and he came to a coherent level of senses again.

"Uh...Hi. I'm Russet?" He said not too certainly, as if his name would only ensure more unexpected visits. "And thank you but I will pass on the pajama's banana." He looked between Raynie and Threads, thinking it might be an opportune moment to get the money he needed.

"So...Perhaps i should leave you two to chat while i grab a few bits?" He backed up a few paces toward the door.

"Wait! All new ponies that come to Trottingham should receive a stuffed toy. It's a thing. A thing that's more of a thing than things usually are!" The excitable doll maker magically levitated two stuffed toys out of her bag. "Russet? Meet B1 and B2!"



She wasn't finished yet. She put on a silly voice whilst waving the two toys.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking B1? I think I am B2! It's theme song time!

Bananas in pajamas/are coming down the stairs,
Bananas in pajamas/are coming down in pairs,
Bananas in pajamas/are chasing teddy bears,
Cause on Tuesday's days/they try to catch them unawares!"


With a flourish, Warm Threads placed the two toys on Russet. "Just in case I don't see you again because you think I'm weird and try to avoid me forever and that makes me sad except I don't want to be sad and I just try to shrug it off because I was able to give you a toy, or two and I won't be able to forgive myself if I didn't!"

"If y'd like..." Raynie said, turning back to Russet, "d' na' take too long, we c'n finish tha' discussion we were havin'" Raynie saying, looking at Russet with pleading eyes, hoping that Russet would understand that Raynie wanted him to come back as soon as possible so Raynie would not be left alone with Warm Threads.

Raynie turned back to face Warm Threads, a smile back on her, maybe a little bit too much of a smile, as she was forcing it. "Miss Threads, wha' c'n ah find for y' today?" she said heading back over to her desk.

Russet blinked with mouth agape in horror as the two stuffed fruits were put on his back. He stared at the banana's, Threads, and then Raynie, as if at any moment somepony would pop out with a camera and laugh it off as a prank.

When the silence after Raynie's pleading request was broken by the adress to Threads, he quickly took to walking out of the store, mouth agape still and clothed fruit still on his back. He made his way home to retrieve his things and drop off the...gifts.