Power

by Darkswirl

Power Corrupts

There was a time where ponies paid no heed to me, and I was content with that.

There was a time where all I had to comfort me were my books, and I was content with that, too.

I spent most, if not all, of my days in the Crystal Kingdom reading inside the Royal Library- which was open to the public, as our King and Queen knew that knowledge was a glorious thing.

Their library consisted of exactly forty-six thousand, seven hundred and twenty-eight books. I organized half of them by myself.

I knew the librarian's full name by heart, Elder Book-Worm Scroll, because I spent so much time in her library.

But this story isn't about her.

I never really understood any of the other Crystal ponies my age. They all just seemed so...Different, although I must have been so foreign to them as well.

While most ponies my age were just starting to find their place in the world, I was still in the library, simply reading. It's been too long since I have been in that hall, and I can't even remember most of what I've read from those books.

But while I found comfort in books and their old pages, I knew deep down that I was missing something. Something that Elder Scroll just barely scratched the surface with whenever we talked, but never really hit home.

It was such a strange feeling that at first I believed I was sick with something.

Only after searching through hundreds of medical books, both ancient and modern, did I realize that I was not, in fact, sick.

But the source of my discomfort continued to elude me for quite some time until Elder Scroll, one day, suggested that I go outside and get some fresh air rather than breathing in the dust that had built up on books after ages of sitting on the shelves.

And so I tried- reluctantly. I ventured out of my second home and into the bright sunlight of the Crystal Kingdom. It was a little unnerving, at first, being around so many ponies. But I stuck to the sides of the streets and avoided the happy greetings and gazes of the passing ponies rather nervously.

I realized that I had been so unprepared for the outside world, just sitting in the library all day.

As I continued to wander the streets of the Crystal Kingdom, I began to grow more accustomed to the ponies around me. Why had I been nervous in the first place? These ponies meant me no harm and even went out of their way to say hello to me.

These were my kin, and yet I acted towards them as if we were two different species.

The sun began sinking beyond the mountain range before I knew it, and I returned home rather quickly. Despite my little adventure and how disastrous it didn't go, I was still wary and shy of the rest of the ponies.

I sat awake in my bed for the entire night, contemplating why I got along with Elder Scroll so well but shied away from the other ponies. I stayed like this until the sun rose and a rogue beam of light roused me from my thoughts.

I had come to my conclusion- my revelation, if you will.

I got along with Elder Scroll because I knew her. I knew nothing about any of the other ponies.

But I thought more on that, on my way to the library. How did I get to know Elder Scroll so well? The answer came to me in a heartbeat.

We simply clicked.

Our personalities were like to pieces to a puzzle that fit together perfectly. It was only by chance that the whole ordeal didn't blow up in my face.

I realized that the reason I was so nervous around the other ponies is because I feared them. I feared the rejection that I expected from them, despite the logical side of my mind screaming that I would never know unless I tried.

But my logic was beaten down by my emotions, and I resumed my seat in the back corner of the library, far from the entrance.

Although I do not recall exactly how many books I had read, nor where I even began, I knew that I was near completing the entire library.

What would I do after I had finished, I wondered? The thought scared me enough that I pushed it out of my mind and began scanning the shelves for an interesting topic.

Having found one, "Origins of the Crystal Kingdom", I gave a little tug on it with my magic; expecting the book to slide out easily so that I could begin reading it.

The book, however, had a different idea as it tilted forward before stopping. It was a switch.

The shelf next to the book lost its support and fell down, spilling the precious bundles of knowledge onto the floor roughly.

Had a shelf simply collapsed, I would have been all over it in an attempt to assess the damage and repair if need be.

But this was something different. In the small space that the shelf fit into to keep it upright sat a small, leather-bound notebook.

Leather. I could tell from the material used to make this book that either the writer was demented enough to kill and tan the hide of an animal to simply bind a book, or that the writer lived a long, long time ago. I prayed on the latter.

And it turned out that I was right.

This was a book that I didn't want the library to get a hold of, as wrong and out of character that may seem.

I knew that it wouldn't be on Elder Scroll's list of available books, so I simply galloped out of the library and back home.

What was written in that book? I wondered.

If only I had never found it...

Comments

[WaltTheUnicorn]

First!

Foxi Hooves has done it again.