According to Fluttershy there's a book shop two minutes away from the flat. She was right. There in front of me was a small brown shop with a large sign reading 'Book Barn' hanging over the front door. It looked a bit run down, like no pony goes in very often.
Well that's about to change.
Before I left the flat I had a look in my wardrobe to see what my mind has given me to wear in pre-liberation Manehatten. Inside was a pair of dark grey trousers and a pale grey T-shirt. I decided to wear the trousers and my jacket, I left the shirt behind. The trousers had pockets like my jacket, but unlike the jacket these pockets were empty. I had a look at myself in the mirror in my bathroom. It was high up so I could only see my head, but I looked rather good for a pony in a coma if I do say so myself.
A bell rang as I pushed open the door to the book shop which alerted the pony at the counter of my presents. He had a chestnut brown coat, blue eyes and a dark grey mane. The brown earth pony looked up and smiled when he spotted me. He put down the newspaper he'd been reading and waved me into the shop.
"Come in! Come in! Oh, welcome young lady". He seemed really happy to see me.
"Hello there, Mr...?"
"Dusty, Dusty Pages. And you ma'am?"
"Twilight Sparkle".
He moved around from his desk and walked out into the centre of the shop, which wasn't that far since the shop was so small. He was wearing grey trousers like me, a white long sleeved shirt and a blue waist coat over the top. He looked like he was in his mid thirties, about ten years older than me. His cutie mark was covered, but yet again nearly every pony's cutie mark is covered around here.
"Hello Miss Sparkle. What brings you here?" I thought the answer to that would have been obvious since I am in a book shop.
"I was hoping to buy some books?" It comes out more like a question than an answer. Dusty Pages beams at me, I'm starting to think ponies don't come in here very often.
"Oh wonderful! Might I ask what kind of books you were looking for?"
"I don't know. You see I've just moved here and I only have five books with me, and I don't think that's going to be enough. So I thought I'd go out and buy some more".
He looked happy but slightly puzzled. "A good idea ma'am, but if you don't mind me asking, why would a lovely young lady like yourself be interested in buying books? It's just, not many ponies come in here anymore". I know he wasn't trying to be rude or anything like that, he was just interested to know why I was here. According to the books I read in school ponies didn't tend to read a lot at this time, in fact most ponies just read newspapers and nothing else.
"I used to live in a library before I moved here, I suppose I just miss it. The books I mean". And the library. Dusty had the same look on his face that Rarity had when I told her I used to live in Canterlot, I've learnt from experience to be wary of that face.
"You lived in a library!? Oh, I've always dreamed of living in a library". He sounded wistful. "To be surrounded by books, all that knowledge, all those stories". I know how he feels, I miss all of that so much. "Oh you must tell me what it was like". Is he really asking me about the Golden Oak Library? No pony ever asks me about it, not even Spike, and he lives there!
"I'd love to, but first may I have a look around?" He looked sheepish and smiled.
"Oh, of course. I'm so sorry, I just ramble on all the time".
"Don't be sorry, it's nice to have some pony to talk to". I looked from left to right and back to Dusty. "Um, do you have anything on comas?"
He looked puzzled. "Comas?"
"Yes, or anything on mental illness or brain trauma?" He still looked confused. "How about medical practice? First aid?" He perked up a bit at that.
"Yes of course! Follow me, I'll show you". He walked me over to a tall wooden book shelf at the back, past the desk. I scanned the titles. 'First Aid 101', 'How to Deal With The Loss of a Loved One', 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'. They were so unorganized, I felt an overwhelming urge to sort them into some sort of logical order. I'll talk to Dusty about it later. Wait, why? Non of this is real, I'm not going to be here long enough to care. So why do I care?
"Is there anything there you were after?" Dusty asked over my shoulder.
"Um, not so far. I'll keep looking". I heard Dusty walking back to his desk while I continued to scan the books.
'Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases'
'First Time Dad For Dummies'
'Twilight!'
I looked back at the last book.
'Twilight! Can you hear me!?'
I pulled the thick red book off the shelf and stared at the front cover.
'Stand back y'all... she's breathing! Quick call a doctor!'
I hugged the book to my chest, a tear rolled down my cheek. I really miss them. I looked back down at the cover which now read 'The ins and outs of the Pony Mind'. It was red with a golden border around the edge. It was as thick as a dictionary and slightly bigger. The only thing on the cover was the title, no pictures, not even the name of the author. I ran a hoof over the cover in disbelief of what I'd seen.
I looked up at Dusty who was seated at his desk reading his newspaper. He must have sensed I was looking at him because he turned to face me. I smiled a small smiled. "This one please". He smiled back at me and tapped the desk with his hoof signaling me to come over.
I trotted over and gave him the book, he looked at the price on the inside front cover. "That will be six bits please". I pulled the wallet out from my pocket with my magic and got out a ten bit note. I'd never used notes before, but luckily they were worth ten bits each so it wasn't to difficult to work out. He took the note off me and gave me four bit coins in return which I put back into my wallet. "Would you like a bag?" I shook my head with a smile. "Ok, have a nice day Miss Sparkle".
"Please, call me Twilight".
"Ok then, Twilight. Please do come again soon, I can't wait to hear about your library".
"And I can't wait to tell you about it. I'll come by later in the week". After all, six books isn't much better then five.
"That's fine, I look forward to it". I turn and walk to the door, I wave good bye and leave.
A book, the first thing I buy in my coma is a book. Well it is my coma. Let's see, my flat is practically empty. I need to go shopping, but for now I'm going to go 'home' and rest. Nurses orders after all.
After a two minute walk back to my flat I locked the door and flopped onto my bed. I opened my newly purchased book to the first page to see what it said. It just dawned on me that I actually have no idea what this book is about, I only bought it because I swear it spoke to me. It did! I'm not crazy! Anyway, the first page was the contents page.
'1- Introduction
2- Phycology
3- Headaches
4- Comas and brain activity
5- Brain Dead
6- Index'
I turned to chapter four in hopes it could shed some light on the world I'm stuck in. The page had a picture of a pony in a coma and a diagram of a pony's brain. The pony in the photo had tubes sticking out of them and were hooked up to a machine that I assume was keeping them alive. I wonder if I look like that? That's if I'm not still in the castle, or if the Changelings haven't killed me yet. The pony in the photo looks so sad and ill, I know just how they feel.
Underneath the photo the caption read 'A young mare in a coma'. That may not be the most useful information ever, but it's something. Underneath it said...
'A coma can be caused by many things, the main one being a traumatic injury such as being hit in the head or being crashed into by another pony in a cart. If you see a pony who has been in one of these accidents call for medical help as fast as you can. Until then check to see if they are still breathing and measure their pulse.'
Well this isn't helpful either since I'm the one in a coma not helping some pony in a coma. Further down it said...
'It is believed ponies in comas can hear things going on in the outside world, this is why doctors encourage friends and family to keep talking to their loved ones. We are unsure how they can hear us and how they interpret that sound but evidence does suggest that talking to the patient can help to calm them and aid recovery.'
That's it! The poster, the book! They're talking to me and I can hear them! That means they're ok, and I'm not alone. That also means that they're alright! Oh what a relief, they're ok. I lean down and kiss the page in joy. So, I'm in a coma and my girls are trying to wake me up. I have full confidence that they will succeed, meaning I can just sit back and relax.
I continue reading the book for a couple of minutes before I decide to call it a night. I got up from my bed and using my magic shelved my new book next to 'The Rules and Law of Manehatten'. I took off my jacket and trousers and put them back into my wardrobe. I may be in a coma but that does not mean I should be unorganized and messy.
It feels better not to be wearing anything. I was born long after the Liberation act, so I've never known any different. I've seen photos of my parents and grandparents dressed in clothes similar to this time, I wonder how they did it? After brushing my teeth and having a shower I got into bed and turned off the light.
I fell asleep smiling, knowing that the girls and Spike will keep me safe and wake me up. Eventually.