Horsing Off at the Library

21 May 2014

15:36 Ruzeth enters the library

15:39 Saphling sees the zebra enter from her perch on the reference section and decides to have a little fun. She picks a bit from her saddlebag and tosses it at his feet

15:56 Ruzeth perks his ears up at the jingling of the coin as it hits the ground, his eyes swivelling down to see it. The zebra looks around to see where it could of come from and upon seeing no obvious answers picks it up.

15:59 Saphling smirks. She prowls along the tops of the shelves until she reaches the window sill above the entrance and waits...

16:02 Ruzeth looks around the room and finds a shelf that looks intersting, pulling out a random book and flipping through it. He walks over to one of the tables near the entrance and takes a seat on a cussion in front of it.

16:11 Saphling jumps down silently behind him and looks over his shoulder. "Hi there. Whatcha reading?"

16:13 Ruzeth jumps up from his pillow, startled, catching Saphling's head with his shoulder. "Wha!?" He spins around quickly to face the earth pony. "Oh, umm just some stuff about unicorns..."

16:15 Saphling stumbles back a bit from the blow and rubs her nose with a hoof. "Ow... That smarts..."

16:20 Ruzeth crosses his hooves and rolls his eyes, "Well, thats what you get for sneaking up on somepony."

16:35 Ruzeth blushes and smiles back at her, "Ya...just a little bit, I've only been in Equestria for a couple of days."

16:42 Saphling smiles. "In that case, welcome. Are you here for business? School? Perhaps pleasure?" She gives him a small, mischievous wink.

16:50 Ruzeth blushes at the implication, pink showing through his white fur. "I umm...well...I'm here because I was told I needed to be here for some reason, but that reason hasn't made itself clear yet."

16:50 Saphling eyes him curiously. "Hmm... Shamanist?"

16:56 Ruzeth shrinks down a bit in shame, biting his lip. "Well...just in training..."

17:01 Saphling waves a hoof dismissively. "I was just curious. Believe me, I'm the last creature who would judge by status. I'm sure your purpose will make itself known to you in time," she says with a smile. Then she looks at the books. "You said you were studying about unicorns. May I ask why?"

17:09 Ruzeth blushes even further and leans over the book to hide it. He kicks a the ground before answering. "Well...you see, I just kind of find unicorn magic really facinating after getting to see it over here. Its just so cool and strange..."

17:14 Saphling cocks her head and raises an eyebrow. "I agree. It's neat stuff, isn't it?" She tries to look around and behind the zebra at the book. "Which book did you pick out? Maybe I can point you toward some similar reads."

17:17 Ruzeth covers the booke even more protectivly, but the mare can see the title, 'Learning your magic, a beginners guide.' The zebra gives a nervous laugh nad shakes his head, "I think I'm good for now, just glancing around is all."

17:24 Saphling nearly suppresses a smirk. "If you say so. Can I ask you one more question? I'll leave you alone after that."

17:25 Ruzeth gives the mare a and a smile, easing off of the book slighlty, "Alright, sure, whats that?"

17:27 Saphling holds out a hoof. "What's your name? Mine's Sapling."

17:29 Ruzeth lets out a breath he'd been holding and sticks his hoof out, giving hers a shake. "Nice to meet you Saphling, I'm Ruzeth."

17:33 Saphling gives a small bow. "It's good to meet you, Ruzeth. Good luck with your studies, and may your purpose find you at the appropriate time." She starts to trot off toward the history section, but she pauses and looks over her shoulder. "Oh, one more thing."

17:35 Ruzeth nods back back at the bow. "Thank you for the sentiments." He watches her intently as she begins to move off till she's a couple steps away, soon returning to his book. He perks his head back up at her curiously, "whats that?"

17:37 Saphling grins. "If you ever see a batpony named Inky behind that counter..." She points toward the front desk. "Shush her as loudly as you can. If she asks why, tell her 'She-who-is-innocent' says hi."

17:41 Ruzeth cocks his eyebrow in confusion but nods back anyway, "Well...alright I guess...wait? A bat pony?" The zebra stands up from his book excitedly, "I thought those only existed way up north. And arnt they supposed to be scary blood sucking creatures?"

17:47 Saphling chokes and holds a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from laughing. "Inky?" Her giggles start to break free. "Scary?" Her giggles became chortles, then exploded into full belly laughter.

17:52 Ruzeth raises an eyebrow and cocks his head at the laughter, "But dont the like drain ponies dry and turn them into zombies and stuff? Thats like super scary! I wouldn't want to make her mad or anything, maybe even not see her at all. What if she's like really hungry?"

17:54 Saphling rolls around in laughter. "Oh, that's painful! My sides! Make it stop! Heeheeheehee!"

17:56 Ruzeth huffs loudly returns to his book, trying to ignore the loud laughter.

17:58 Saphling picks herself up and wipes away her tears. "Oh, buddy... Oh goodness..." She trots back over to Ruzeth's table and sits down. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but that was one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Tell me, what other stories have you been told?"

18:01 Ruzeth leans forward, putting his body accross the book to block it as saphling returns. "Well, not much really. I hear they like to go into ponies huts at night and suck their blood and then turn them into zombies. Some of them even turn ponie into other bat ponies." The zebra has a look of concern plastered accrosss his face.

18:01 Inky slips a bookmark into her book and closes it a little hard, heading out from behind the desk towards where she hears loud laughter coming from. Rounding the corner of a shelf, she addresses the pair. "Excuse me, but I have to ask you to keep it down over here -- this is a library, after all!" When she notices it's Saphling being loud, her eyes widen and her wings flare out. "You again! You've had ...

18:01 Inky ... more than enough warnings, Saphling!"

18:03 Saphling takes one look at the batpone, then bursts into another fit of laughter.

18:08 Ruzeth droops his ears as he grabs the book in front of him protectively. He gets to his feet, staring at Inky with fright as he backs away. "It... It wasn't me. I promise..." He squeaks out.

18:12 Inky narrows her eyes as the earth pony bursts into laughter yet again, and she points a foreleg towards the door. "Leave. You can come back once you learn how to behave in a library!" she says, instinctively baring her fangs at the mare. Without taking her slitted eyes off of Saphling, she waves her hoof dismissively at Ruzeth. "You're fine. Don't worry."

18:19 Saphling can't contain her giggling. "Well then, I have nothing to worry about. I know exactly what the code of conduct is in a lbrary, and I choose to ignore it." She takes another look at Inky, now baring her fangs and dies again. "Pffhffhffhffhff! I'm sorry! It's just... The fangs...! Zombies...! Myuuuuuhrrghghlglgl!" She says, contorting her muzzle and legs like a zompony. "Pahahahahahhahaha hahahaha!"

18:20 Ruzeth shivers where he stands watching fearfully as she confronts Saphling. "Please don't suck our blood and turn us into zombies." He begs

18:26 Inky points at the door again, seeming quite incensed. "OUT!" She walks past Saphling writing on the floor and approaches Ruzeth. "Don't be lewd, and don't believe those old mare's tales. We don't do anything like that." The bat pony tries to give him a friendly smile, unintentionally giving him a great view of her fangs.

18:37 Saphling wipes the tears from her eyes. "As you wish, but at least put your wings away. The way you're grinning makes you look like you're really hot for zebras." She walks behind Inky, then turns toward Ruzeth and mouths silently, "Super scary!" She makes a set of fake fangs with her hooves and pretends to bite something before continuing on.

18:45 Ruzeth stares at the mare's fangs, seeing her flared out wings from the corner of his eye and shrinks back even more, dropping the book he was carrying on the ground. "Heh heh... I'm sure you don't..." He responds unconvinced in a shaky voice.

18:54 Inky shoots Saphling a glare and then looks back at Ruzeth and sighs, wincing when he drops the book. She folds her wings and tucks her fangs into her mouth, this time giving him a smile without showing them. "I'm friendly, I promise. Here; I'm Inky! What's your name?" The mare extends a hoof in greeting, giving the zebra a friendly, fang-less smile.

19:05 Saphling makes it to the door wearing her grin, but that falters when she reaches out and touches the handle. She hesitates for a moment before sighing and walking out.

19:10 Ruzeth relaxes slightly under the now fangless smile, his quivering less intense than it had been moments ago. He timidly extends his hoof forcing a half-hearted smile. "I-Im R-Ruzeth-th." He sputters out, voice wavering.

19:13 Inky shakes Ruzeth's hoof vigorously. "Nice to meet you!" She bends down and scoops up the book he dropped, glancing at the cover before holding it out for him to take. "You should be more careful with books, y'know! Don't drop 'em like that."

19:34 Ruzeth sees her look at the cover and blushes slightly, taking it from her and cradling it against his chest on one leg with the title hidden. "I'm sorry" He's mumbles out, looking down.

19:41 Inky tilts her head when he blushes, but doesn't say anything. "No worries! Just be more careful next time." She grins at him, either not bothering or not remembering to hide her fangs. "I hope you find what you're looking for! I'll be at the front desk if you need me." The bat pony waves and turns to walk away.

19:52 Ruzeth takes a deep breath at the fangs and gives a half smile. He nods and considers her offer as she begins to walk away. The young zebra moves forward and taps her on the rump. "Umm miss Inky? Can you help me find some books on teaching magic?" he asks timidly.

19:55 Inky looks back at the tap. "Hm? Teaching magic? Sure! Follow me, and I'll look some up in our catalog." She smiles and motions for the zebra to follow her as she heads towards the front desk.

19:59 Ruzeth trots behind her, glancing around the library. He hmms as he moves along before piping up with another question. "Do you have any Zebrican books by chance?"

20:06 Inky slips behind the counter and opens the catalog. "Hmm... Zebrican books?" she says, rubbing her muzzle. "We might." She flips through the folders, looking for something. "We do have a couple, it seems. What about the books about teaching magic, though? D'you wanna see those first?"

20:11 Ruzeth jump withe excitement letting out a squeeze at the thought of having some, forgetting that he's in a library. Beaming brightly he gives a nod. "Ya, magic comes first, unicorn stuff is super cool." He seems to have finally completely relaxed around inky.

20:16 Inky giggles at the zebra's enthusiasm. "Settle down, Ruzeth," she says, grinning. The librarian rifles through the catalog, pulling out a few cards. "Okay, these look like some good ones. Follow me!" She ducks under the counter and heads off towards the magic section. "That book you have looks pretty solid, too," she adds as they walk, keeping her voice to a low whisper. "I gotta ask, though-- what's ...

20:16 Inky ... gotten a zebra like you so interested in unicorns? Y'don't have to say if you don't wanna, but I'm curious!"

20:25 Ruzeth giggles slightly and calms down for the most part. His tail dances around though, the metal rings clanking together like wind chimes. He follows close, this time walking beside her. "Well... It's just that before this week I'd never seen one before and magic is /so/ cool. I almost wish I was one..." He admits, leaving off the bit about Lucent.

20:30 Inky smiles at the young zebra. "Oh? Did you just come to Equestria this week, then?" She leads Ruzeth upstairs and turns left into a long aisle of bookshelves. Grabbing the cards from under her wings, she starts scanning the shelves, looking for the right books. "You know, not just unicorns have magic. All kinds of ponies have magic, it just shows up in different ways! Unicorns are just the flashiest ...

20:30 Inky ... of them."

20:42 Ruzeth looks up at her a grin on his face. "Yep, came to Equestria all by myself and arrived this week," he states proudly, puffing out his chest some. The looks around at the tomes before looking back at her confused. "They do? But I've never seen the earth ponies that I met in Zebrica cast any spells, nor any zebra's.

20:43 Saphling opens the door to the library and pokes her head in.

20:45 Inky giggles good-naturedly. "Well, it's not like spellcasting," she says, pulling some books off the shelves and stacking them on her back. "Earth pony magic makes them strong, and gives them a connection to the land. Pegasus magic lets them fly, shape clouds, and do weather magic stuff!" She unfurls on of her wings and gives it a flap, then folds it away and shrugs. "I'll admit I'm not very familiar ...

20:45 Inky ... with zebras, but I'm sure you have your own magic too!" She pokes at his chest with a hoof, grinning.

20:47 Inky gives Ruzeth a friendly pat on the back. "All by yourself, at your age? That's very impressive! You have somewhere to stay and all that?"

20:57 Ruzeth bobs under the pressure of the pats with a smile before frowning and looking down, kicking his hoof at the floor. "Well... Kind of. I found a friend to stay with but, I don't have a spot of my own yet and I'm not sure if he actually wants me moving in..." The zebra lets out a little sigh.

21:05 Inky 's ears droop slightly. "Aw. Well, I hope it works out for you! The ponies in this town seem fairly nice."

21:10 Saphling , not seeing the librarian, leaves a note on the front desk before leaving again.

21:12 Ruzeth looks a little forlorn at that statement. "Ya maybe... But I keep getting odd looks around town." "and I can't manage to find what I'm supposed to be doing"

21:17 Inky tilts her head and steps closer, a little wary of initiating a hug while she's working. It'd be slightly improper, after all. "Well... I can sympathize with the odd looks," she says, grinning and flapping one of her wings. "But what do you mean, you can't find what you're supposed to be doing?"

21:22 Ruzeth shakes his head and begins to speak. "Well I... Ugh never mind. What was that you were saying about magic? But like I don't think I have any magic..." He says quickly changing the subject away from that painful one.

21:24 Inky looks a bit reluctant to change subjects, but complies. "Well... I was saying that all kinds of ponies have magic! I don't know how it works in zebras -- like, how it manifests -- but I'm sure there's something!"

21:31 Ruzeth still seems quite skeptical. "Not that I know of... I mean potions are the magic of mother Gaia and it's the work of spirits that provide our arcane objects..." He argues back

21:35 Inky shrugs. "I mean, I've never heard of the spirits... maybe spirit magic is a zebra thing?" She looks unsure. "Anyway, I have some books on basic unicorn magic here." She nods her head at the books balanced on her back.

21:40 Ruzeth looks wide eyed at Inky in surprise. "But if you don't know the spirits who do you go to for advice? And thanks for the books. I'm sure I'll find them usefu--err interesting."

21:45 Inky tilts her head. "Advice? Um... our friends or other ponies I guess?" She raises an eyebrow at Ruzeth's verbal slip, then turns and motions for him to follow her back to the checkout desk. "This is just what I think," she says as they walk, "but I'd suggest you try to develop whatever magical talents you have as a zebra, rather than trying to do things like a different race."

21:54 Ruzeth pretends not to have noticed her look following her. "What?" he asks confused, "Oh no I'm not trying to learn magic, that would be just silly," he giggles out.

21:58 Inky steps behind the checkout desk, raising her eyebrows at Ruzeth. "Well, then I hope you find what you're looking for in these /instructional books/..." she says as she checks out the books for him. "Since this is your first time here, I'm gonna need to set you up with a library card. Name and address? ...Temporary address, at least?" The bat pony digs around in some drawers and pulls out a fancy ...

21:58 Inky ... pen and some official-looking cardstock.

22:06 Ruzeth smiles innocently back at her, shaking his head "I'm sure I will." He eyes her cardstock curiously and asks, "what's that for? I'm Ruzeth of the Zeneeth tribe." following it with Lucent's current address.

06:45 Inky nods and takes the pen in her mouth, writing down Ruzeth's name and address with precise, careful strokes, then gives the card a signature to make it official. She jots down a copy of the information for the library's own records, then hoofs Ruzeth the card. In addition to what she's filled out, it has some pre-printed ID number on it. "Here! It's how we keep track of who checks out what, and how ...

06:45 Inky ... we know where to go to find somepony if they don't return a book. Y'know, so we can break their kneecaps." She winks at him. "Or ask them politely."

06:49 Ruzeth smiles at her brightly. "Well, alright then. So, I guess I'll take all of these books, and waht about those two zebrican books you wanted to show me? We never got them." Ruzeth looks at the stack of books he was already getting and hoped she'd let him take out a few more.

06:52 Inky scratches her head. "Oh right, those! Um, I think they were actually on the reserve list." She pulls open the relevant section of the catalog and leaves through it. "Yeah... you can't actually check those out and take them with you. You'll have to read them here if you want them."

07:00 < Inky> ( Ruzeth )

13:49 Ruzeth folds his ears flat against his head putting on an extremely pouty face. "Aww you don't trust me... But didn't you tell me to reach after my own magic?" he pleads.

13:59 < Ruzeth> (Inky)

14:01 < Inky> hola on, gonna be a bit slow

14:01 < Ruzeth> Ahh alrighty

14:10 < Inky> in a car en route to airport

14:11 < Ruzeth> Yay!

14:12 < Ruzeth> Wait that means we better finish before you get cut off from Internet huh?

14:17 < Inky> Heh.

14:18 < Ruzeth> 1 week dungeon! I mean no Internet!

14:23 < Inky> I'll have wifi. no cell service.

14:29 Inky waves a dismissive hoof. "It's not that, it's just the rules! Nopony can check them out. You'll just have to come here if you want to read them."

14:37 Ruzeth scrunches his face into an even more pitiful expression. "But... But I know how to treat my peoples books. They'll be fine."

15:25 < Inky> oh i misdrf bod

15:26 < Ruzeth> What?

15:38 < Inky> I missed that post. at the gate rn

15:39 Inky sighs and shrugs, giving Ruzeth a rueful smile. "Sorry, but they're not my rules. I can't do anything about it."

15:43 Ruzeth slumps down. "But... But I thought you were the librarian... Can't you just grant me a special exemption?"

15:54 < Inky> on board

15:57 Inky looks at the slumped zebra, her own tufted ears tilting down slightly. "What, you don't even want to come back and visit sometimes? You still afraid of me?" She smiles weakly. "I suppose I /might/ be able to bring them by if I go with them... I'll have to ask."

15:58 < Inky> ( I don't think that this plane has wifi :< )

15:59 < Inky> Ruzeth:

16:05 < Ruzeth> Aww

16:06 Ruzeth perks up quickly at the new suggestion. "Oh that would be great. It's just I'm sure those books don't describe quite activities and I don't wanna see a mad bat pony again. That's scary."

16:11 Inky giggles, her ears perking back up. "That makes sense! Well, I'll ask later today and you can come back tomorrow and we'll figure out a time." She shrinks down in her seat. "Sorry you had to see me mad, by the way," the bat pony says, embarrassed.

16:14 Inky picks up the stack of books and puts them on the other side of the counter, in front of Ruzeth. In doing so she uncovers a note left on her desk. "Huh?" She picks up the note and reads it, her ears twitching. "Seems that pony from earlier left an apology... though I'm not sure how much of it I believe."

16:15 Ruzeth dances about excitedly, his metal rings clanking together noisily. "Yay! Thank you Inky!" He leaps up onto the counter and gives the mare a big hug before proceeding to load the books into a saddle bag.

16:18 Inky squeaks in surprise as she's hugged, before leaning back to give Ruzeth a quick hug in return. "You're welcome! Please get off the counter, though," she whispers into his ear.

16:19 < Inky> (gotta go soon D:)

16:20 Ruzeth hops down and finishes loading his books before turning away. "See ya tomorrow miss Inky!"

16:21 Inky grins and waves at the excited young zebra. "Seeya, Ruzeth!"

16:25 < Inky> ( I guess that scene is mostly done then. Lucent and Ruzeth messing with the books next, then? Or Ruzeth /trying/ to get him to anyway? :P)

16:27 Ruzeth dashes out of the library, flinging the doors open.

16:27 < Ruzeth> (sounds like a mighty fun scene

16:29 Inky frowns at how eager Ruzeth was to leave... and at how hard he slammed the doors open. The librarian rolls her eyes and grins to herself. "Colts."