Diary Of The Banished

by DouglasTrotter

Unhindered Knowledge

A cold sense of dread ran up and down my spine; the sensation came and went like the waves at the beach as the stallion circled my body. Though the moon's beautiful glow gave a gentle aura of peace, I found myself terrified. The horrific experience ceased after a third pass. The stallion stopped in front of me. His breath misted in the light of the moon. For a second, I believed the night air had grown colder, feeling far colder than any winter I encountered in Gallopia. With a soft yet stern voice he said, "I know you are faking. So, get up."

I stood up. My hooves froze in place. I gazed into the darkness in front of me. Those eyes weren't illuminated by the brilliant moonlight. The black void -- residing in the cloak of the stallion's hood -- allowed them to shine through. With the hood lowered, the pony facing me, I saw an eye with no iris. It was white as my coat. The iris of the other had a color similar to my hooves. Otra dove of the side of the dark tower before I could speak. Her lifeless expression maintained, she flew to the stallion's side without a single word or sign given. My companion assumed a position on his back similar to what she had done with me.

"It seems she has brought a 'gift' to me," he said in an articulate, defined tone. He leered at Otra then turned towards me. With a gentle hoof, he motioned towards me. The hoof moved in a fluid motion when it soon pointed towards the door. My hooves' frozen state disappeared when he turned away. I proceeded behind him, the door closing behind us. My eyes were greeted by a semi-decorated stairwell. Though I caught glimpses of the paintings, I focused on Otra. She never moved. There was a invisible, tight leash around her freedom. In the medium sized stairwell, the stallion's hoof steps remained in unison with one another, not unlike a harmonious orchestra conducting a haunting aria.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and my dark desire took hold. When the door opened in front of us, obsession gnawed at me. It clawed at the back of my mind when I gazed at the wondrous sight of those beautiful tomes nestled on each bookcase. I was allowed to gaze into the library. Beautiful candles hung in a chandelier above a large oval table in the center of the room; their peaceful glow illuminated the grand room, almost mimicking the moon's gentle glow outside. My eyes bypassed the ornate rug below the large oval table. Each book, cradled in its individual spot, gave a slight glimpse of what it contained. A cold hoof pressed against my side. Broken from my trance, in his cold voice, the stallion said, "Are you a fellow seeker of knowledge?"

His deadened expression relented and gave way to a malefic smirk.

The pedestal in the back drew my attention before I could deliver an answer. Symbols were etched deeply into its strange shape. Claw like protrusions supported a book on top. My front right hoof crept forward. The book on the pedestal called to me, but the stallion's hoof steps broke me out of that second trance. Those steps grew fainter with each second that passed. Little time was left to catch up to him. I watched the stallion approach a door. It opened at his whim without the use of magic, from what I could sense. The spire, if that is the appropriate word for it, astonished me. Part of me believed the spire had to be alive the way it responded to his desires.

We neared the hallway's end, however, my fascination continued. The plain wooden door, with a window embedded in it, opened to reveal an eloquent bedroom. In his cold voice the stallion said while pointing his ebony colored hoof, "You should sleep. We will talk when you have rested."

I nodded and proceeded inside. Elegant couldn't begin to describe the room with objects placed in specific spots to derive the utmost beauty. To my delight, there was a semi-furnished bookcase which sat flush against the left side of the room. Before he left, the stallion said I could read any of those books to my heart's content. With a few books levitated onto the table, I opened one and began to read. When the door closed, a chink formed in the armor of my obsession. I peered through the small window of the door. Otra's cold, lifeless expression remained unchanged throughout our small trek. Her eyes were so beautiful, filled with such a wonderful lust for life. Whenever I looked into them, I got that sense of happiness from her. She was nothing more than a shell of her former self while at her master's side.

The armor's chink repaired itself. Though I felt exhausted, I couldn't wait to delve into those books.

*** *** ***

The structure remained silent. I flipped through one book before it was placed back onto the bookshelf. Several books had caught my eye -- one talked about an unusual yet interesting technique about magic -- before three tomes called to me. They were nestled at the end of the bookcase; their covers and binders were blank, covered in some weird material. The books' mysterious nature fueled my curiosity. To this day, I wish I had not discovered them nor read their contents.

I opened the first book. Under the moonlight that came from the window where the table sat, I read about the ancient creature Discord. While the information was mundane, it spoke of the possibilities that could be presented if a pony were to harness its magic. The writings turned into ramblings of an insane individual the more I read, speaking about how to utilize the creature's power. I placed the book back onto the bookcase and retrieved the second unnamed tome.

Chemical equations and magical formulas detailed advanced processes of alchemy. New forms of life could be created by using a chimera's "distilled essence" to combine other living beings together. The book bothered me, and I couldn't understand why. As I grew older, the library let me read about experiments that were long since banned, their procedures lost to time. Without a shred of emotion, I read those books about how several ponies experimented on animals. The mental image and cries of those animals drowned out my will to flip the final page of the book. With the book back on the bookcase, I levitated the third book off. It hit the floor.

The third book shook in my magical grasp when I levitated it off the floor. My concentration weakened. I shook my head and steadied my mind, determined to read its contents. An ethereal wail traveled down the grim hallway and caused the third book to shot into the air, slipped from my grasp, and then slam to the ground. I bolted to the door. The sound grew louder and fueled my ambition to force the door to open. Though the door looked plain, it glowed in a strange light when I placed my horn near it. My magical knowledge failed in comparison to the unicorn stallion's abilities. Every spell cast against the door was repelled. The hallway, the moment, or both, mystically amplified the horrible noise. In my frustration, I levitated the table off the ground and hurled it against the door.

The door, maybe sensing the action, fortified itself. The wooden table disintegrated into splinters. A few large chunks were scattered. One hit the bookcase behind me. In the brief moment of silence between those cries of pain, I heard a hollow sound come from the furniture piece against the wall. Without hesitation, I rotted the bookcase to the ground with a single spell. Despite my amazement at the fact it worked, the elated moment ceased when the dust settled.

A grim laboratory, Tartarus incarnate lay behind the bookcase. When I entered that place of unhallowed work, I heard primal screams from the cages along the walls. Creations hissed and howled at me when I walked by.

"No living creature should ever be in a room like this," I thought. My obsession clawed at me like these creatures wanting to get out of their cages. I wanted to know how these creatures were made, and, if these creations could be made even more unique. My mind shut out the noises when I saw that journal on the table near a freshly lit candle. Fresh ink on the page shimmered in the candle's dim light. It spoke about an "exquisite" find, a rare bird that was considered the last of its kind.

"Please... en-end the suffering. End the pain. Please, I beg you! end m-m-my mi-misery." a creature said. An octopus like appendage wrapped around my front hoof. The creature begged for relief. I asked what happened and heard a dark tale of it being a bird that lived freely in the nearby woods. As the creature continued its macabre story, the sensation of the appendage wrapped around my hoof disappeared. Its lone eye gazed back at me, begging me a third time to end the suffering. The words fell on deaf ears when I began to imagine how a simple formula could give a little bird such a form with the ability to speak Equestrian.

Those primal screams silenced the noises of that horrible place. I stared at the creature. I apologized. There was nothing I could do despite the knowledge I had gained in Gallopia. The creature apologized in return and released me from its grasp. Its tentacle pointed toward the back wall of the laboratory. My hooves couldn't carry me fast enough when I started for the brick facade, watching it vanish when I stood in front of it.

I found myself back inside the grand library. Though the candles in the chandelier were still lit, the library appeared darker than before. An eerie purple light surrounded an object on the table with three rings levitating up and down, almost locking it in place. I squinted. The object was Otra. The stallion stood near the table with his horn aglow. The rings contracted. That scream came again, shaking me to my core. It was unhindered by the spire's hallways and barriers, distilled to its rawest form. I felt my back hoof move, wanting me to run away from this place. My front hooves remained planted in place. With Otra's second scream my body went numb. It was the first time I said to myself, "I don't care."

"That was a rare piece, constructed during the night Nightmare Moon came into existence." The stallion said. I levitated the pedestal into the air then slammed it on top of the stallion's head. It disintegrated. The stallion turned, and I received the same malefic smirk as before. "I never introduced myself," the stallion bowed then rose with his horn still aglow, "You may call me Efficacy."

He turned toward Otra and told me to watch. Efficacy said I could learn the "real power of magic" if I would not interfere in Otra's punishment. I shrugged off the rather stupid idea he would allow me to flee. Instead, I focused my eyes and horn on Otra. Each spell I learned from Ms. Parabola about countering magic ran through my mind. Every spell I constructed she got around without breaking a sweat. This moment was beyond a colt's simple spell. The counter spells failed each time, repulsed by the rings. One ring stop when I casted my second to last spell.

Otra's beautiful eyes returned when those ethereal rings shattered like glass, casting the final spell. Her wondrous lust for life returned as well. She flew onto my back. Our reunion ended with Efficacy's eerily calm demeanor overshadowing the moment. Tense seconds ticked by and Otra let out a bold screech before she busted through the nearby window, escaping into the night. I found myself pinned to the back wall by the large ornate table. The stallion forced me to look into his dark eye. He looked at the broken window then towards me.

The table pressed further into my chest. I let out a grunt, unable to speak. The stallion leaned in close, like he did on the roof, and said, "I promise you, she didn't suffer like others did."

A bellowing screech resonated in the room before my companion returned through the broken window. As the stallion leaned back Otra flew towards him, ripped off his hooded cloak, and flew out the window then the dark attire into the night air. The stallion gritted his teeth. His concentration waned. I watched the oval table burst into splinters, just like the pedestal, when I wrestled it away from him with my magic and slammed it against his back.

*** *** ***

The clock's pendulum swung back and forth in the grandfather clock on the opposite wall. In my brief moment of peace, I remembered the times I practiced magic with my mother and father. They held back. Our teacher held back. Though I might have been stronger than some of my classmates, our games were docile. Thoughts of actual, full force magical combat like I read in our history books caused my body to tremble. Time resumed when that book slipped off the bookcase.

"An ice spell," Efficacy said.

My spell had barely finished when he said that. I sent the ball of ice flying towards him. In a single fluid motion he stopped the ball of ice, materialized an elegant champagne flute, shrunk the ball, and plopped it into the glass. He sipped on its contents then caused the glass to disappear. With a flash of his sinister grin, a gale force wind blasted against me. My body reacted on instinct by creating a reinforced stone wall in front of me. I found myself in a moment of shock and terror, feeling comfortable as our battle continued.

Otra's malefic master maintained his firm stance. Regardless of a spell's complexity, he could effortlessly cast spells like me, yet they were mastered to a degree I had never seen before. The battle took its toll. After seven successful counters, I could feel my stamina fading. I saw the flames of the candles in the chandelier flickering. The first spell I ever learned was taught to me by my mother. She showed me how to light the candles in the house by producing a simple flame that ignited the candles' wicks. I struggled to apologize to my memory of Ms. Parabola, the same to my mother. There was no choice.

I steadied myself. The stallion sighed at me, turning away. I never heard the words he uttered under that guttural breath. Inside my body, I tapped into the rawest magic I could muster. The spell pushed to its breaking point, I forced even more magic into it. A large ball of fire levitated above my horn, its blue flame calming.

Efficacy seized the moment and slammed into me. He showed little signs of effort to assert his dominance over the massive ball of fire I had conjured. The spell succumbed to his dominance as it turned into a dark mass that seemed to absorb the light from the candles in the chandelier. The turn of events shocked us both. The fireball took on a life of its own when it absorbed the nearby flames of the room and grew larger. It began to bulge and bubble like lava. More magic was poured into my creation by the unicorn stallion: it burst.

Dark embers flew to every corner of the library. The spire turned into an inferno. Even with his home ablaze, the pony's calm demeanor remained. A thick wooden beam from above landed between us.

"I will keep an eye on you, my fellow knowledge seeker." He said. Through the flames, his dark eye stared at me.

The floor beneath my back right hoof gave way. I found myself trapped. Efficacy disappeared into a cloud of red mist as the chandelier crashed to the floor. The back portion of the tower collapsed. In my heart, I believed this library and its dark knowledge would be my grave. The inferno's heat continued to grow. My last memory of that place was a familiar squawking sound in my right ear.

*** *** ***

My coughs resounded throughout the small area. I opened my eyes to see our small camp. Otra stood by my side with her wing draped over my body. As I sat up, a dark chill crawled up my spine. The hairs at the end of my silver tail had a char to them, smelling of smoke. Otra brushed her wing against my mane. I looked into her sky-blue eyes. Her kind gesture -- along with her beautiful soulful gaze -- couldn't quell my thoughts. I remembered those misshapen creations. None of them could have survived. The creature in that forsake laboratory got its wish. With that horrible price paid, Otra had gained her freedom from the stallion.

I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and nibble on a slight bit of breakfast. Otra gave me a tiny smile before she nudged her blanket towards me. She soared into the air while I cleaned up the last of the campsite. I stretched my hooves then felt Otra land on my back. A firm nod came from her.

As we resumed the journey, in that still moment, I promised to protect Otra. She wasn't some experiment. Otra was my companion.

Author's Note:

Any criticisms are welcomed.

Comments

[DouglasTrotter]

I've made myself a promise. I will get this story pushed out by the end of Season 5. This story is rather dear to me, but I can't hold onto it forever. I know it won't please everyone out there, and, while it may not reach the heights of greatness that I wanted, I do hope the story becomes something special that I can fondly remember in my pursuit to be an accomplished writer. I also hope this story gives readers an entertaining experience.