Knowledge is Power

by Grandosco

Chapter 1: The Everfree Library

The forest was quiet – a little too quiet. It was a little unnerving, considering the creatures that were said to lurk in the foliage. The only sound that could be heard was the hoof steps of a very timid pegasus, slowly making her way along the roughshod path. The boughs of the trees above made it very difficult to see the forest floor, day or night. As “luck” would have it, it was currently the latter. Here and there the moonlight could be seen filtering down through the leaves, but it was still dark enough to make somepony who was not used to the forest stumble and easily lose their way. Still, Fluttershy was determined, if not a little bit scared…alright, maybe a lot bit scared…but she trudged on in her quest.
“Mr. Squiiiiggles…” she called out softly, “come out, please. I really need to take you back home before you get lost. It’s getting awfully late, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you-” a bird’s wail echoed in the distance, piercing the otherwise silent scenery. Gulp.

Fluttershy continued her search for her lost animal. She had so many back at her cottage that it was straining to keep track of them all. But of all animals to go into the Everfree Forest, who would have thought it would be one of her slugs? She had thought it would be fairly easy to find such a slow creature, but so far she had had no luck at all. Fortunately, the little dear had been leaving a convenient slime trail that was easy enough to follow, but he was surprisingly swift. The ooze was becoming increasingly hard to see as the darkness increased, but Fluttershy had a feeling that Mr. Squiggles was close. At least, she hoped he was, because walking while having the shivers is not too easy. She knew from experience that the Everfree Forest was certainly no place for a pony, let alone a defenseless creature; dangerous monsters are known to lurk about, especially at night – manticores, timber wolves, and cockatrices to name just a few. If poor Mr. Squiggles hadn’t gone off all by his lonesome, she would have avoided the forest as if her life depended on it…and it might.
Fluttershy was able to handle herself a couple of times in the Everfree Forest, but she wasn’t so sure about tonight. Something about the forest was a little…off. She couldn’t explain it, but it seemed as though the entire wood was standing still. There was very little noise, apart from the occasional bird or twig snapping, but nothing that sounded particularly dangerous. She went into the forest expecting to hear growls and roars, and thought she might have an unfortunate meet up with a potentially dangerous monster, but so far…nothing.

Maybe I’m just getting lucky…Fluttershy thought to herself. After all, her and her friends back in Ponyville had made the trip into the Everfree Forest plenty of times to see Zecora, and they usually did not see anything then. Even so, she couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to…

“Oh!”

Fluttershy looked down at the trail she had been following, to see it had arrived at a very…questionable location. Mr. Squiggle’s slime seemed to lead up to a random tree in the forest. Fluttershy looked up at the tree, and saw that the trail stopped at the tree’s base.

“Mr. Squiggles?” Fluttershy repeated fearfully, “are you here? Can you hear me? Come out, little guy, I have a nice warm bath all ready for you back home. So please come out…” She doubted Mr. Squiggles was up the tree, but there didn’t seem to be any other place he could be, unless…

Oh, what if something got to him? He’s so slow, anything could catch up with him easily…except me, I suppose...Fluttershy looked at the ground and poked at it with her hoof sadly. She didn’t want to even think that he might be gone…Poor Mr. Squiggles…he was the bravest slug in the world...She placed one hoof at the end of the slime trail that Mr. Squiggles left. As she applied the pressure, she noticed that the ground underneath the tree was giving way a little.

“Huh?” Curiously, she pushed harder against the ground near the tree. The ground gave surprisingly little resistance to her hoof. With hope renewed in her heart, Fluttershy peered inside to see if she could make anything out, perhaps something slug-shaped? No such luck, but she did realize – with a certain degree of anxiety – that the hole she eventually made was just big enough to fit something pony-sized.

Fluttershy hesitated a bit, naturally sensing the danger of entering a mysterious hole in the ground in the middle of Everfree Forest at night. She reasoned that if the above-ground area of the forest was really, really dangerous, then what in Equestria could lurk below it? Fluttershy began to step backwards, away from the opening under the tree, when she remembered why she dared go into the Everfree Forest alone. She stopped backing away, and stood there on the path, staring at the opening.

“Mr. Squiggles needs me,” she said firmly, “I can’t let him be in there all alone and scared! It may be dangerous…and scary…and dark…no! I have to go, I must!” she finished, defiant of her fear. She stepped over to the hole, and with one gigantic surge of courage, she…closed her eyes and poked her head in through the hole. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and tried her hardest to see inside, doubting the moonlight could make it underground…but nevertheless, from this new angle, she could indeed see a light, albeit very dim, in the distance. Wait, distance? How deep was this hole, anyway? She could barely make out a passageway underneath her, and, sure enough, a shiny, thin slime trail, certainly made by Mr. Squiggles, lead off through the passageway. Just where is Mr. Squiggles going? Fluttershy thought to herself.

The pegasus managed to squeeze herself through the hole at the bottom of the tree, and began to traipse cautiously down the corridor. The walls inside were made of dirt, but the soil itself seemed to have been built to last. There were roots growing out of some of the sides and the rounded roof, but other than that, no real wear and tear could be seen. As she approached the source of the light, Fluttershy wondered to herself: If there was light in this dark cave, then, could it be possible?

“Could somepony be living here?” she thought aloud. She felt a strange combination of comfort and trepidation as she approached the light. It turns out that the light was being cast by a lantern in the corner of a room at the end of the passage. Fluttershy peered around the corner to see if there was anypony…or anything inside the room along with the lantern. There wasn’t anything living, but the rest of the room took Fluttershy by complete surprise.

“Woooaahh…” she stood, mouth agape, as she gazed upon the most enormous library she had ever seen. Her friend Twilight Sparkle’s library home was one thing,and the book depository at the Crystal Kingdom was exceptional, but this was something else entirely. Books, everywhere, no matter which way one looked or turned, there were books. All types of books – hard-cover books, soft-cover books, ringed books, gigantic tomes, tiny booklets and more. Fluttershy hadn’t even moved from her stationary position and she could see all kinds of reading material. Most were on shelves, packed all the way to the ceiling, but there was a fair share that were hanging loosely on the floor, or precariously off of shelves, but still managing to remain standing somehow. The entire place seemed very old, with a noticeable layer of dust coating just about everything around.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy realized that she did not have the time to gaze in wonder at what she had just found, and instead opted to continue her search for Mr. Squiggles. Fortunately, the layer of dust, practically like snow, made it extremely easy to follow the slime trail Mr. Squiggles had left. She followed the trail further through the giant library, her way being lighted by more lanterns that were strangely still lit, despite their apparent age and the clearly long-forgotten state the place was in. She followed the trail all the way to the back, where a wooden door stood in front of her. The ooze lead under the door, and Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat as she realized her trek may finally be at an end. She put her hoof gently on the door, and pushed softly…only for the door to fall off of its hinges and crash onto the hard stone floor. Fluttershy winced at the sound, and stayed with her hoof up in the air for a moment before putting it down and taking a good look into the room before her.

It was much smaller than the grand library she had just come from. This room, too, however, was filled to the brim with books. It had a respectably-sized desk in the middle of it, with a chair sitting behind to accompany it. But what stood out the most was the rather large book on the center of the desk. It had strange patterns on it that Fluttershy couldn’t help but be curious about, but when she stepped forward for a better look-
“Mr. Squiggles!” Fluttershy cried with utter joy, “I’ve found you at last!” There sat Mr. Squiggles, right on top of the giant book. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” she said happily, but then she took on a sterner tone, “But do you have any idea how worried I was? I even came out into the Everfree Forest to find you…when we get back home, I’m going to have to teach you to never leave like that again mister. Now come on, little guy, let’s go home.” Mr. Squiggles stared at her blankly. Fluttershy didn’t want to grab him and his squishy slug body in fear of crushing him, tender as her grip usually was. Instead, she decided that the best course of action was to take the book he was currently…“standing” on?

She picked up the book, along with Mr. Squiggles, with her hooves, and it was then that Fluttershy got a better look at the book in question. She was rather surprised when she saw the title: Everything You Didn’t Know About the Animals of Equestria. The picture was of a very large group of animals standing all in a group. The strange part was that Fluttershy didn’t know any of them! They all looked so strange to her, but they also looked so cuddly wuddly and adorable, that she couldn’t help but wonder about them all. She put the book in her mouth, Mr. Squiggles in tow, and began her journey back to her cottage in Ponyville. She did wish she had brought a saddlebag with her, but she could endure it if it meant bringing her slug back home safely. Not only that, but she knew that Twilight was going to absolutely love her discovery! An enormous library, buried underground! At first, the thought had filled her with fear, but the only thing she could think of now was Twilight’s smiling face when she heard the news and then saw it for herself. Of course, there was also the matter of the book she now held between her teeth. Just imagine, Fluttershy thought, all of the animals that I don’t know about, all in this one book! Quite a find, if I do say so myself. She smiled contently, temporarily forgetting about the dangerous trip back home. But her journey had been a complete success, and then some! She had found Mr. Squiggles, safe and sound (more or less), and in the end, that alone was worth the trip.

Fluttershy, a spring in her step, made her way down the corridor to the entrance of the hole in the ground and, very carefully, hoisted Mr. Squiggles and the book, as well as herself, back up through the opening beneath the tree. After that, it turned out to be a rather routine trot back to Ponyville. She even flew a little of the way since she was in such a good mood! She returned to her cottage, gave Mr. Squiggles a bath, as well as a slightly stern talking-to, and then they both went to bed for a good night’s rest…

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Back at the library, shortly after Fluttershy and Mr. Squiggles had left, one by one, the lanterns began to dim, as the library underground was once again cast into total darkness, as it had been. If anypony were there to hear it, they might have heard a faint whisper, so soft that it could be the whisper of a whisper. If anypony was around to hear it, it would have sounded something like:

“Finally…”

Author's Note:

Attempt number one at successful fanfiction writing. But don't let that stop you! Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged! But whatever you do, I hope you enjoy the story!