It Didn't Just Kill the Cat
Ponyville Library, in no uncertain terms, is a haven of knowledge and learning comparable to the schoolhouse; it is a sanctuary for the literary attuned, bibliophiles of the highest order, and even for those that hide their interest for the written arts. The caretaker of such a fine establishment is none other than the prized pupil of Equestria's primary sovereign, Twilight Sparkle.
And this is the tale of how I came to be forbidden to come within thirty paces of this public place.
I'm just a simple stallion. A simple stallion that had a thirst for knowledge. While I found myself in that building mostly for books on current musical theory—having a cutie mark of a bass clef appearing to be bowed like a cello or upright bass pretty much guaranteed that—on that day I found myself perusing the many shelves for anything that might have captured my fancy.
Coming to a section that was generally deserted, I happened to notice a smaller book amongst the vast volumes of encyclopedic knowledge adorned with what appeared to be golden trim. Intrigued, I used my magic to lower the item to eye level and opened it to read words I never would have imagined seeing: "The Diary and Journal of Twilight Sparkle".
Thoughts were racing through my mind faster than I could keep up with. What should I do? Do I put it back and say nothing? Do I tell Twilight I found it so she can hide it someplace else? Do I do all those things, but only after having peeked at the contents? Questions, questions, and more questions!
Keep it together, Strings, I told myself in the most calming, monotonous inner voice I could muster. Take this one step at a time. First, make sure nopony else is here. A quick glance around confirmed that I was indeed alone. Ok, good. Now, you're pony of usually good moral character. It would be a complete violation of privacy to read the contents of this journal.
…
But you're also a pony of immense curiosity which is the drive for your hunger for knowledge. As such, reading one entry shouldn't be too bad, I foolishly convinced myself before turning to several pages in first third of the journal. It was dated some years ago. By my calculations, Twilight would have been just out of magic kindergarten around that time. I read on.
Dear Diary,
Today has been a most interesting day of all days. Why, might you ask? Because I just found a new section of the library! The wealth of knowledge was waiting for me, calling my name and begging me absorb it all and apply it.
So what might this new section have given me to ponder? Well, history of course. More specifically, the history of Griffons. I don't know why there was an entire section dedicated to Griffon history in the Royal Canterlot Library, but I've already learned so much.
The first few books that I found weren't all that exciting but they imparted valuable information on Griffon trade, politics, agriculture, and culture. But soon I came across an even larger book that focused on one specific part of Griffon history: something called "war."
After doing some research I learned that war is the result of two nations coming into conflict with each other. It may sound simple, but it's actually quite the affair. The war in this book was actually one that took place some thousands of years ago, just after the union of the three tribes.
It was a little scary to be honest. The book described all kinds of things, from military tactics, weapons used, methods of, dare I say it, …torture. It was certainly not a book meant to make somepony happy.
And then it got me thinking of what would happen if a war were to break out right now. Say that Princess Celestia goes missing and isn't there to protect us? What happens then? But I know that won't be happening. but still, it was fun to imagine what things would be like.
I saw myself as a powerful magician in charge of keeping vital information safe from the enemy. They would try with all their might to take me in, to take me down. But I wasn't about to let Equestria down. Using my awesome skill, I easily defeated the traitors and dealt with their treason personally.
They were locked up in the darkest of all the dungeons…
"Silent Strings? What are you doing?" a voice asked cutting through the air and piercing my ears as a well thrust spear would through armor and flesh. As I came to recognize the owner of the voice, I lost control of my magic entirely and in a bout of blank thought, the diary went up in flames before the two of us.
Ashes fell softly to the ground as if having reached the end of a peaceful life. Though unlike a phoenix, there would be no resurrection of what once was. My visage said all that it needed to say. It attempted to apologize an eternal number of apologies. It attempted to beg for swift but mild repercussion. It attempted to show the immense guilt that now consumed every fiber of my being. And it failed at each of those attempts, miserably.
As a result of that, my darkest day, I can no longer satiate my desire for knowledge. Not only have I been banned from the Ponyville Library, I somehow ended up on a secret blacklist shared by all librarians in Equestria and can no longer enter those establishments either.
It is a terrible, to be without knowledge. For knowledge, in this world, in any world for that matter, is power. This is an age old truth that many know, and indeed many live by. To gain knowledge is to gain power over those with less knowledge. To share knowledge is establish an empirical commonwealth using the bonds created between you and the ones whom you have shared your power with.
In this sense, one cannot lose their power, even when shared. But in my case, I lost my ability to rapidly gain power, simply because I was curious. Curiosity is thusly a gift and a curse, as it is with many things. Without curiosity, there can be no growth, no acquiring of knowledge. Yet, become too engrossed with its wiles and you will soon find yourself in the worst position for gaining knowledge possible.
My name is Silent Strings, and I have been rendered a simple stallion.
Author's Note
So, this little one shot is completely unedited and if you see any mistakes, please let me know. As always, comments on how I can improve my writing is greatly welcomed as I am still learning. Then again, aren't we all still learning something?
Sorry, no reason for me get all philosophical here. Anyway, say what you will about this story. It was done in about an hour and is entirely a first draft. I'm not sure on whether to make this canon to my other stories, but as far as the war that's mentioned goes, that's entirely canon to my other work, Bred for War.
