From Darkness, Light

by Centralius

Enlightenment

Oleander knew that starting fresh as the Headmistress for Barrad's 'School of Applied Sciences' wasn't going to be easy. What she hadn't known was just how quickly that reality would set in for her.

"I'm telling you miss Oleander, deciphering the Pentarchy's written works is a fool's errand. We simply must start over!" said one Griffon schoolmaster from the Elisay province.

"No!" The cultist schoolmaster from the Roughers province stomped her hooves. "We must do everything we can to decipher these texts. The secrets they hold would make our nation the most advanced in the world!"

For two months now it had been the same back and forth spiel between two factions of schoolmasters: Those who want a curriculum based upon the most developed nations of the world and those that want a curriculum based upon the interpretations of the Pentarchy's works. The arguments from both sides for and against their respective curriculums each had their merit.

On the one hand, copying a curriculum like Yale's would produce more innovative students in the long term at the cost of a slower pace of modernization for Barrad in the short term. This also made education more expensive for the average Barradian. Especially for those who are still struggling to pull themselves out of poverty.

On the other hand, the alternative curriculum promised Barrad wealth and prestige through advanced technologies made from the Pentarchy's discoveries. This was under the assumption that the Pentarchy's various schematics, formulas and recipes could not only be deciphered, but also mass produced for the benefit of the common Barradian. A risk that might not even bear any rewards given that said works were written in a near disorganized way. It would also make the new generation of Barradians heavily reliant on the nobility for new innovations in science and technology.

After Oleander had thoroughly examined each of their curriculums and their arguments for them, she finally made her decision. She then grabbed a pen from the desk with her magic and began writing letters that would be sent out to the staff members of the school.

The next day, all of the school's staff gathered and sat down inside of school's the auditorium as they waited impatiently for the headmistress. They did not have to wait long however as the neatly dressed unicorn entered from the right side of the auditorium's stage and took her stand upon the podium.

"Greetings esteemed faculty and staff." The headmistress' voice boomed throughout the room. "I have gathered you all here today to inform you about the school's finalized curriculum for the next ten years."

The faculty and staff looked at each other with confusion on their faces. Muttering amongst themselves as they wondered why the headmistress had decided on having the curriculum last only 10 years.

"I have decided that our school's curriculum shall focus on deciphering the written works of the Pentarchy. As the goal of this school is in the application of science, must do our best in bringing forth the light of reason from the depths of insanity and ignorance. What better way to show this than to bring the discoveries of the Pentarchy to the public and pave the way for a modern society. said Oleander.

"That's all well and good headmistress but how do you plan on making the decipherment process faster? asked a school reporter.

"By basing the curriculum's core values on the tenets of the scientific method and literary criticism. This shall allow the students to be critical thinkers as well as giving them the tools take part in the decipherment process.

"Yes but how will giving these two tenets help the students of this school make the Pentarchy's discoveries more accessible to the general public?

"It shall help the students by giving them the ability to remove the excess language that makes the Pentarchy's works all but impossible to read. The mixture of purple prose and insane ramblings evident within said works necessitate the need for the students to be both creative and critical thinkers which is what our 10 year curriculum intends to accomplish. Now are there any other questions you'd like to ask?"

Oleander was now trying her best to hide her frustrations at the student reporter. Was she talking to a rude moron when she answered those questions? She then held that thought and now tried to hide her embarrassment as she remembered that it was only recently that the ponies and griffons of Barrad were even given the right to education. As such, some of them had little idea common courtesy.

"One more thing headmistress. Why is the curriculum that you have made only valid for 10 years?"

"Because we as a society currently need to modernize and I believe that once we have done so, the needs our society will changed drastically as we acquire new knowledge through these changing times." Oleander smiled happily. Envisioning a brighter future for Barrad ahead.

...4 Years Later...

The excitement in the air was palpable as the Ponies and Griffons of Barrad soon gathered all along the forgotten coast to watch a special announcement by none other than Count Ambrosius himself.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts. Griffon Men and Women. I have gathered you all here today to witness the dawn of a new age for our humble nation." The Count's voice reverberated throughout the short patch of coastline where the crowd had gathered.

"We have come far from the madness of old and here we now stand as beacon of science and reason. It is we who had discovered the world of wonder metals and it is we who had discovered the elixir of knowledge that now enlightens our society. And yet even now, there are those who covet what we have achieved. Those who wish for us to go back into the dark!"

The crowd yelled with patriotic fervor, their hooves stomping and their claws clapping in agreement.

"For too long we have lived under fear that our existence and our way of life shall be destroyed. Swept away by barbarians and brutes who seek only to destroy rather than build. I tell you now that this fear shall be but a thing of the past for today our best and brightest minds have guaranteed our independence."

The crowd now stood mystified at the Count's statement. Amongst those watching was Oleander who pondered the meaning behind what he just said. She began wonder kind of invention could possibly be powerful enough to guarantee a nation's independence.

Unless...

Out of nowhere, a countdown had started and eyes and ears from all over the coast had turned towards the horizon as they waited anxiously for something happen.

"Barrad. May I present to you"- The count paused as a massive explosion appeared from the horizon behind him -"the Wendigo device."

All the Griffon and Ponies gathered had been momentarily blinded by the massive blast before turning their gaze back at the horizon where a mushroom cloud had sprouted from the sea.

"This device, so aptly named after monsters that feed on hatred and war, shall be our nation's sword and shield. For now, it shall only be used as a last resort during times of war against a foreign aggressor. In the future, it shall render the concept of war unthinkable as to do so would bring about the end of the world. Mark my words all creatures of this world, the age of light is here!"

The crowd stood in silence for a few brief moments before cheering loudly at the dawning of this new age. Oleander meanwhile, felt a large pit in her stomach for only she and select few knew where that power had come from. New questions filled her mind as this event was reminding her of how foolish and naive she was. How easily she used to justify dark magic as a means of saving the world. And now Barrad seemed to be on a path to mirroring her experiences with the nation using powers that it does not fully understand.

"Was this truly the way to save the world?" she wondered.

Whatever the answer may be, one thing was now certain. Barrad, Griffonia and the rest of the World would never be the same again.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed my first fic here on Fimfiction. Not too proud of the execution of this one but it seems good enough for now. Might've rushed this one out too quickly as I wanted to put more stuff in it and flesh those ideas out more. Regardless, I fun challenging myself in writing a lot of words in a short time.

Comments

[Nikita Fenek]

This is cool

[Eltirions]

Interesting fic.