Silverfly hadn’t stopped grinning ever since Book Keeper, a stalwart ocean-blue unicorn with dark green mane and tail, began studying her from head to hoof. It wouldn’t have surprised me if her cheeks and jaw were frozen in place. She was trying to give him a good impression, but knowing Book, he was trying to find a legitimate reason to refuse her. I even spotted his mouth opening and closing a few times, as if trying to figure out the right words to tell Silverfly that she wasn’t going to cut it.

Not that it was going to happen, of course.

Silverfly and I were inside Book’s office. Like the rest of the building—well, other than the storage room—it was well-lit thanks to the strategically placed glass panes that let sunlight in. Other than that, it was a rather unimpressive squarish room that had a desk, metal file cabinets, and large stacks of books filed neatly in one corner. I guess that says something for Book’s passion for the written work, and it’s probably one of the reasons why Keeper’s Tomes was the success it was.

It didn’t excuse his prejudice against pegasi, though.

“Well, come on, Book,” I said with exaggerated loudness. “We don’t have all day.”

He glared at me, and I returned it with a small, knowing smile. He rolled his eyes, went back behind his desk, and sat down on his haunches. He gave Silverfly a small glare. “Leave us.”

Silverfly looked at me unsurely, and I gave her a small nod, motioning towards the exit. It took her a moment, looking back at Book, before she took a few tentative steps and left the office.

Once the door was closed, Book sighed. “Lumi, Lumi, Lumi. What am I going to do?”

“Say thank you?” I offered. When he gave me a look, my smile widened. “‘Thank you, Lumi, for going beyond the call of duty to find more help for the upcoming peak season’? Or maybe, ‘Thank you, Lumi, for making an effort so that we don’t get swamped again’? Any of those will work, Book.”

His lips thinned. “I will admit, having you bring in more help is a welcome boon,” he replied. “However, a pegasus?”

“Hey, help is help, Book,” I countered. “You do remember what happened last year, right? We were short on workers, got overworked, and you shelled out nightmare overtime pay rates? Tartarus, I even remember a unicorn running out, never coming back.”

“Bah, she was never going to cut it in this business anyway,” Book said.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we are in need of more ponies,” I replied.

“But a pegasus?” Book repeated, sighing. “Pegasi don’t belong in book stores. They belong in the sky, making it rain and creating lightning bolts. You know what books don’t like? Water. And you know what lightning bolts cause? Fire. Books don’t like fire, either.”

I laughed at that. “Okay, the fact you’re saying that means you’re seriously considering her.” I slowly approached the desk and gave him a meaningful look, turning my head just slightly towards the left. “Now, Book, let’s stop the pretenses. Is she in or not?”

Book gave me a resigned look before nodding. I smiled.

“Thank you, Book.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. He pointed a hoof at me, punctuating it after every sentence. “You make sure she doesn’t cause a disaster! And I don’t want her flying too high or causing wind funnels!”

“Relax,” I replied, chuckling, taking a few steps back. “She’s in good hooves. I promise.” I gave him a wink, and half-turned to make my way towards the exit when I felt a spike of worry emanating from him. I frowned, then looked back towards Book.

“Celestia, I hope so,” Book muttered, almost inaudible. His staunch body language seemed to have withered, his shoulders sagging.

I took a moment, curiosity getting the better of me as I slowly walked back towards the desk and sat down on my haunches as well. “Book, what’s wrong?” I asked, gently placing my hoof on top of his.

He didn’t reply immediately. He just looked at his desk, at my hoof over his. Before he spoke, he took a breath. “Lumi, you’ve been working for me for three years already, right?”

I nodded, wondering where this was going.

“And I know you frequent other bookstores, right?”

“Occasionally,” I replied.

“Then, be frank, Lumi,” Book began, “Is Keeper’s Tomes old-fashioned?”

My eyebrows raised at that. “What?”

“I mean, is it not connecting with the younger generation?” Book continued. “Is the bookstore no longer relevant?”

“No longer—hold on, Book,” I said, raising my free hoof to stop him from talking. “Our facilities are up to date. We even have those new telephones. Where are you even getting the idea that we’re old-fashioned?”

Book sighed, taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth, but immediately closed it afterwards. I let Book gather his thoughts, getting a little worried myself. It was unusual to feel sadness, dipping almost to depression, from Book. Or him being so quiet. He was the type of pony that always spoke his mind, whether it was his dislike for pegasi in general or giving honest opinions of the books he sold.

After a few more minutes, I felt his resolve surfacing.

“Purple Quill canceled her appearance,” he finally said.

My brows furrowed. “She what? I’ve never heard of this. When?”

“Of course you wouldn’t have heard,” Book replied. “It was around yesterday, after lunch. Her agent came over.”

I frowned. Yesterday was my day off, and I never really expected to worry about anything more than how convincingly I acted as Wind Chaser to Brad. “Okay, that is a bit annoying,” I replied, remembering how the whole staff spent the last few days promoting Purple Quill’s appearance. “We’re going to have to pull down her signs immediately, maybe have floor associates give customers a friendly reminder that Purple Quill won’t be making her appearance. Still, I don’t see why her cancellation is making you all mopey, Book.”

“Her agent said she’s never going to book an appearance here anymore,” Book said, finally sagging completely, almost lying on top of his desk.

“Wait, what?” I couldn’t believe it. “Purple Quill made her name here. Why would she do that?”

“Apparently, she’s getting more advertisement in Paged Crossroads.”

I frowned. “That bookstore?” I asked, unable to hide my disbelief. “The only thing it has is that it’s newer and sells stationery.”

“I did my research,” Book began. “They have been getting increasing visitors for the past few weeks.”

“Yeah, because it’s almost the start of the school year,” I replied. “Most of the visitors there are mothers who are buying things for their foals. And like I said, it’s newer. Once the appeal wears off, Purple Quill is going to come crawling back here, Book. I promise you that.”

He beamed slightly. “You think so?”

“We have a coffee shop,” I replied. “I don’t see this Paged Crossroads offering that.”

“Maybe,” Book said. “Thanks, Lumi.”

“No problem,” I replied, giving him a gentle smile. What a big softie. “Now, just because one prolific author is cancelling doesn’t mean we can’t have another make an appearance. I’ll write some letters, make some calls. Let’s see who we can manage to whisk away from their precious schedules.”

“I, um… actually did that already,” Book said.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Book replied. “He was already going to do an appearance after Purple Quill. I called his agent, who said that he wasn’t busy and was willing to take Purple Quill’s place.”

He was scheduled to make an appearance after Purple Quill? My mind raced, trying to remember dates and names. I did recall another author who was going to promote his new book, and in the haze of my memory, I tried to remember why I considered him special. Then, it hit me.

“R. S. Bradley?” I asked. “The human writer, right?”

Book nodded. “I know, it’s a risk, considering how dark a lot of their fiction is.”

“And Purple Quill’s Mare Pack series wasn’t?” I countered, eyebrows raised and a small smile on my lips. “Feral mares kidnapping young, barely-of-age stallions? Tartarus, its selling point was lots and lots of sex.”

“Okay, point,” Book conceded. “However, Purple Quill is a known name. I mean, have you even heard of R. S. Bradley? The name doesn’t even flow well with our tongue.”

“What has he done?” I asked, curious. “Have you read his work?”

“A bit,” Book admitted.

“What does he write?”

“Thrillers, mostly,” Book replied. “His older works are well written, I admit, but definitely geared for humans. There are some terminologies there that I’m not too familiar with, and he seems to include a lot of machines that you could only find on Earth.” He paused. “His… new novel is a little different.”

“You got an advanced copy, right?” When he nodded, I asked, “So, how different is it?”

“Well, his new series is set in Equestria,” Book said. “He’s still maintaining that thriller genre, but he’s been concentrating a lot on the romantic aspects of it.”

“Well, that could be interesting,” I admitted. It could also be helpful, I added silently. A deeper look at human romance could potentially help me groom a human asset. “Have you met him?”

“His agent said he’ll drop by tomorrow,” Book replied. “Apparently, he wants a feel for the place.”

“Well, we’ll be ready to welcome him then,” I said. “And who knows. Maybe his new series will be successful, and he’ll owe his allegiance to Keeper’s Tomes.”

Book snorted. “Yeah, and maybe some newer bookstore will steal him away, too.”

“That’s what I love about you, Book,” I replied with a small wink. “You’re always so positive.”

“Hmph. Get back to work, Lumi.”

I gave him a nod. “Yes, boss. Going to work,” I replied, turning around and walking away.

As I opened the door, I heard him say loudly, “And tell that pegasus she only has three strikes! No rain! No lightning! No anything!”

I rolled my eyes. Book always wanted the last word. And if the new hire, who he reluctantly just added to the staff, was there to hear it, the better. Unfortunately for him, Silverfly wasn’t even waiting in the office entrance, but was chatting away with a rather handsome earth pony stallion—grey coat, black cropped mane and tail, and a castle tower Cutie Mark. Judging the way she was blushing, he was laying it pretty thick.

“Bastion,” I called, getting both their attention. The stallion gave me a wide smile.

“Lumi, my sweetest, my most delightful—”

“—pain in the rear if you don’t drop the sweet talk,” I finished with a wide smile. “Corrupting the new hire, I see.”

“Oh, this?” he waved a dismissive hoof towards Silverfly that had her raising an eyebrow. “Lumi, ‘tis nothing! You know I only have eyes for you.”

I shook my head, chuckling. I approached, looking at Silverfly. “I see you met Bastion?”

“Yes…” she slowly replied.

“Don’t believe a word he says,” I said, good-naturedly. “He likes to think he’s Celestia’s gift to mares, but for some reason, has trouble keeping one.” I looked at him. “Who was the last mare you chased away? Pegasus, I believe. You know, I do remember seeing tears.”

Bastion scoffed. “Lumi, why do you have to spoil my fun?”

“One, because Silver Lining is my little pet project,” I replied. “Two, she’s already on probation. Book is having one of his episodes again.”

“Ouch,” Bastion muttered with a shake of his head. “You did convince him with your silver tongue, though, right?”

“Nope,” I replied. “Book knows we need more staff. I didn’t need to convince him. However, I’d like to keep Silver Lining on his good side. So unless you want me to use that silver tongue of mine to convince him to reassign you to the back and reorganize the book storage…” and I trailed off.

Bastion rolled his eyes. “Got it. No touchy-feely.”

“Good,” I replied. “You’ve heard of Purple Quill’s cancellation?”

“Yeah,” Bastion said, his face now losing that easy-going smile. “Honestly, I think she is going to regret that.”

“Regret or not, we have to keep working as if its business as usual. Have you heard that we’re going to get a human writer instead?”

He nodded. “Orders, boss?”

“Have the floor associates remove the Purple Quill signs. Anyone asks, just advise them that there was an unforeseeable change in schedule. And for the love of Luna, don’t have them say ‘cancelled’.”

The stallion nodded. “Should I also have them advise about the human writer?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” I replied.

“Anything for you,” Bastion said before turning around and walking towards the floor.

I turned and looked at Silverfly and motioned her to come with me as I followed Bastion’s path. He was already directing the other floor associates into action, leaving me to teach Silverfly which shelves held which genres. I advised her that all the books were arranged in alphabetical order, using the writer’s name.

“And upstairs is the coffee shop,” I finished. “Drinks are strictly to be kept up there, though. If you see any customers here with a mug, floating via magic or held by hoof or wing, tell them, nicely, to take it back upstairs. Practise your charm. If they won’t move or if they turn aggressive, call for me or Bastion. Questions?”

Silverfly nodded. “Um… about Bastion.”

I looked at her. “Yes?”

“Are you grooming him?” she asked.

“Tried,” I replied with a small smile. “Unfortunately, one thing you’ll realize is that while we can’t be choosy who to groom as an asset, not all of them are going to be cooperative. Bastion likes to be single. I think it has to do with his father having a traditionalist as a First Mare. He was almost married off, once. He ran away.”

“Huh. And Book? What do you know of him? Like why was he...” she trailed off.

“Oh, that’s very easy. His first love was a pegasus. Broke his heart to pieces.”

“Wow,” Silverfly whispered.

“Don’t sound too impressed, Silver Lining,” I advised. “What makes us dangerous?”

“Information,” she answered immediately.

“Yes. So make sure to gather as much as you can, whether from your neighbors, coworkers, friends, or lovers.” I looked around, noticing a few customers coming in. “Your first assignment: discover any interesting news or gossip while maintaining your cover. Then report back to me later before the end of your shift.”

Silverfly nodded, then began to walk around the area. I stood by for a few moments, watching her strike a conversation with a stallion. Later, she was directing him towards a row of shelves. There were a few moments where she hesitated, but recovered well enough that the customer didn’t mind her stumbles, smiling as he picked up a book from the shelf and brought it to the cashier. Silverfly even looked towards me, beaming. I smiled back and approached her, about to ask how that went when somepony caught my eye.

She walked in, her rose-colored eyes shifting from side to side, looking a little lost. Her two-toned blue mane looked even more frazzled than usual, while her mulberry coat looked like it hadn’t been brushed for a few days.

What really got to me was her depression. It was leaking out in sickly, sticky waves that even had Silverfly looking at me. She closed the distance, looking towards the source of the negative emotion.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“Sea Swirl,” I replied immediately. “A friend.”

“Asset?”

“Potentially,” I answered. I looked at Silverfly. “I’ll take care of this. You go and find another customer. Remember your assignment, okay?”

Silverfly pouted, but nodded as she went back to the floor, finding another stallion to help. I shook my head and approached the disheveled mare, who brightened a bit after seeing me. The sickly feeling of her depression wavered as she trotted towards me, and a second later, we both hugged, laughing.

“Lumi!” Sea Swirl said with a small smile. She offered her hoof, which I gently hit readily with mine. The warmth of happiness encompassed her. “Oh, Celestia. I’m glad to see a friendly face.”

“Me too,” I replied, honestly. “It’s been what? A week, almost? How was Neighagra?”

Just as quickly as it appeared, her happiness faded to obscurity once more. This close, I could even taste the sourness of her emotion, which almost overwhelmed me. Even without reading her emotion, her face said it all. Her smile disappeared, her eyes squinting, as if trying to hold back their tears.

“Oh, Sea Swirl,” I whispered.

“I’m okay,” she muttered, sniffing. “I’m okay.”

I patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you some hot chocolate. You know how those always cheer you up.”

“Oh, no, you’re working.”

I checked around, making sure that there was no additional influx of customers before looking at her. “It’s still morning. We won’t get too busy until later afternoon.”

“Well… if you insist.”

“I do insist,” I assured her. Still, just in case, I looked for Bastion, telling him where he could find me if there were any problems, before leading Sea Swirl up the stairs. And just to be really sure, I checked the floor halfway up the stairs to ensure that customer numbers weren’t overwhelming our floor associates.

So far, so good.

After ordering from Cherry Blend, Keeper’s Tomes unicorn barista, I found us a secluded seat near the corner, a place where I could visually keep an eye on anypony coming up to the cafe, whilst still keeping my attention on Sea Swirl as she began to talk about her trip.

“... and we picked up Tara Fields and her marefri—I’m sorry, girlfriend, Nadia Banks I think was her name, in Manehattan. Berry Punch and and Lightning Bolt really hit it off with them,” Sea Swirl began.

“You didn’t?” I asked.

“Well, not at first,” Sea Swirl replied. “You know how I am with new ponies… well, they weren’t ponies, but you know what I mean, right?”

I nodded, remembering how closed off she usually was. Growing up as an Equestrian Misborn tended to make a mare nervous around strangers.

“But… they were nice,” Sea Swirl continued, smiling. “They really were. We chatted quite a bit during the train trip, and even when we arrived at Neighagra. That’s when I met…”

She sighed, and a tornado of emotions began to stir around her. Hot anger, saltiness of lust, bitterness of disgust, with sourness of distress all rolled together in an almost overwhelming force. I had to brace myself on the table.

Luckily, at that point, Cherry walked towards us, magically lifting a tray on her side and served up two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Sea Swirl immediately partook in hers, the force of her emotions slowly fading, giving way to more of her warm sweetness of happiness.

I smiled a bit, taking a slow sip from my own cup. Changelings really didn’t get much sustenance from biological food, but I always found it interesting that we could still taste it at all. Not as concentrated as emotions, but once in awhile, after a hard day, partaking in hot dark chocolate was sometimes as enjoyable as a little feeding.

I looked back at Sea Swirl, who was already halfway finished. I called the Cherry’s attention, signalling her to make another mug. She gave me a nod. I concentrated back on Sea Swirl.

“Did you meet someone you knew? From the old days?” I asked carefully.

Sea Swirl shook her head. “No. Well, maybe not that day. But… I met”—she shifted uncomfortable as her lust came back in full force—“him.”

“Who’s ‘him’?”

“A human. He introduced himself as Harry,” Sea Swirl said. I could see a hint of blush forming in her cheeks. “H-he gave me a Noble Greeting.”

I whistled. “Pretty daring.”

“Well, he said he didn’t know what it meant, that he was new,” Sea Swirl whispered. “But even if that wasn’t true… I can still feel his lips on my hooves.”

I blinked. “Even what wasn’t true?”

Anger—hot anger spiked as one of her forelegs began to shake on top of the table. “He is a liar. A deceiver.”

I spotted a human climbing the last few steps up the stairs. He was firmly facing an open book that he held with his hands, deeply engrossed in what he was reading. He only looked up when Cherry called his attention.

Shaking my head, my eyes went back to Sea Swirl. “What do you mean he was a deceiver?”

“He wasn’t new to Equestria!” Sea Swirl almost shouted. “He was a Gentleman! Can you imagine that?”

Gentleman… Gentleman. “Aren’t those…?”

“Human comfort horses,” Sea Swirl seethed, once more her emotions spinning around her—disgust, anger, lust, and... longing. “I should have known! He was so good in—ugh!”

Sea Swirl drank until she drained her cup. She turned to call the barista, who was now approaching us with a fresh mug. When Sea Swirl got ahold of that, she gave me a nod of thanks.

“Okay, so, he sounds like a jerk,” I offered. “But it’s not like you’re going to see him again, right?”

“I don’t know about that,” Sea Swirl replied. She took a gulp. “He was actually in Ponyville once, to service Cheerilee.” Seeing my confused face, she added, “She’s a teacher there. Anyway, she seems to have even convinced Rarity to give him a call.”

Rarity… the Element of Generosity, if I remembered correctly. She and her other friends, the Elements of Harmony, helped stave off the invasion Queen Chrysalis planned all those years ago.

Before I could even wonder the implications of what I was hearing, Sea Swirl drained her cup again, and slammed it down hard on the table, loud enough to even get the attention of Cherry. Oddly, the human hadn’t even spared a glance, now apparently concentrating on deciding on his order.

“Whoa!” I raised my hooves. “Calm down.”

“Sorry,” Sea Swirl muttered, fuming. “Its just… I’m mad, you know. I mean, Cheerilee is nice but biased. I mean, she dated Macintosh before, so she might like them. Comfort horses, I mean. She talks about Harry like they connected. Obviously they didn’t. He was paid to be her companion. And she’s now convincing Rarity too. And she accuses me of being…” and she finished with a sigh. “Am I a bad pony?”

I shook my head. “You aren’t.”

“Oh, you’re just saying that,” Sea Swirl replied, trying to smile and failing. I couldn’t blame her. She felt a little too wired, anger and sadness barely contained. Clearing out the table, I leaned a little closer, forelegs spread, offering her a hug she readily accepted.

She came forward, hugging me tight. She sniffed, most likely trying to hold back a few tears. I gently patted the back of her neck, feeling her emotions slowly balance out to something more palatable. Anger and sadness tempering as relief flooded in her, happy that she had someone supporting her.

Our hug caught Cherry’s attention, looking at us curiously before turning back to her work. The human was once more looking at his book, and oddly seemingly deciding to wait on his order. I didn’t know whether to be glad that he was minding his own business, or angry at his apathy.

“I’m not returning to Ponyville,” Sea Swirl muttered after one more sniff. She made a move to separate, and I let her, leaning back to my side of the table. “Well, not yet anyways. I don’t want to be anywhere near that place. Especially when that deceiver gets hired and goes there.” She sighed. “Actually, I’m thinking of moving here.”

I shook my head. “Moving here because of one human?” I asked. “Come on, Sea Swirl. That’s silly.”

“Yeah, maybe I am being silly,” she admitted, chuckling a bit. “I mean, its not like I’m going to see him again. And if I do, well, I can always just…”

Another spike of lust and longing emanated from her. Wow, he must have been very good to leave Sea Swirl so conflicted. Ignoring the invitation to partake and feed, I just grinned, and suggested, “Buck him in the face? Strong enough to knock his teeth out?”

Sea Swirl giggled back. “Tempting,” she said, “but I’ll probably just hide, and hope he doesn’t see me.”

I patted her hoof. “Well, whatever the case, how long are you staying?”

“Maybe just a few more days than usual,” she replied. “I’ll be hitting the beaches tomorrow. Maybe take a nice trip to the Dolphin Islands.”

“Well, you’re always welcome here,” I said. “Heck, maybe we can hang out more if you’re staying here longer.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Sea Swirl looked at the wall clock hanging above the barista counter. “Hey, I’m going to start making arrangements with the ferry. What time do you usually get off?”

“Around five. Why?”

“To take you up on your offer,” Sea Swirl declared with a smile, slowly standing up. I followed afterwards, and we hugged again. I could feel the warm sweetness of her happiness leaking out, almost filling me as she hugged me tighter. “Maybe I’ll visit someday this week.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” I replied with a wink.

Sea Swirl giggled, floating a small bag of bits until I told her I’d take care of the bill. She shook her head. “You’re always good to me.”

“Considering you were the first to commend me to Book three years ago, it’s the least I can do,” I replied easily.

“And look at you now, floor manager,” Sea Swirl said whimsically. “Time flies, doesn’t it?”

Both of us walked towards the stairs, with Sea Swirl insisting that she could let herself out. “Besides, you still haven’t finished your chocolate,” she said, smiling. She looked and felt happier than when she had entered the bookstore. I couldn’t help but feel happy too.

“Fine, but we’re definitely going to hang out, alright?” I called. She just nodded before trotting down the stairs. I watched as she made towards the exit, waving at me from the door. I waved back.

Once she disappeared from view, I shook my head slowly, turning around. It seemed that the humans were getting more widespread than I had thought. Spending more time to research the species would probably help us in the long run. Once we could feed ourselves, I could—

Something hard hit me, strong enough to make me back away. Hot liquid spilled towards my fetlocks, and the smell of strong coffee surrounded me. I blinked softly, seeing the human, book in hand and mug in the other, curse as he looked at his white shirt, stained in brown liquid.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. I felt anger and annoyance expanding outwards. His face slowly lifted. “Would you watch where you’re… Five Stars?”

Author's Notes:

Thanks to coandco, shira, Permanent Temporary, Ponyboy245, TownCrier, Jack-Pony, Denim_Blue

Additional thanks to Starman Ghost and grey_conscience

Okay, time to take care of Feathered Heart first. I'll keep you guys posted on the next update.