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...
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
The book was so interesting...
I had learned that it was, in fact, actually a journal of one of the first ponies to come past the Crystal Mountains.
I read the book, front to back, numerous times until I had memorized it.
It told of his, or her, life among a select group. They never said why they had come past the Crystal Mountains and into the arctic, but from their choice of words it seemed like they were running from something.
My favorite passage, at the time, and the most interesting read as so:
Day Forty-Nine, Sun High
We've been traveling for a day or two in this freezing snow. Sparkle Stone died as soon as we came over the mountain- slipped on a rock and fell to her death...But if we would have stayed there, things would have been much worse. At least she died knowing that it didn't get her.
But I don't want to talk about that, at least not right now.
I loved her, and she loved me. That much was clear between us, but I can't get her out of my dreams or my thoughts. It's starting to get dangerous. Yesterday I nearly fell into a cave shaft because my mind was elsewhere.
I...I kept her pendant. She gave it to me before we made it to the mountains, like she knew she wouldn't see the land past them.
I can still feel her magic on it. If I try really hard, I can even smell her a bit.
I've made up my mind- I'm going to do it, tonight.
I miss her too much.
After reading in some more, I discovered what the writer intended to do, exactly.
Something they called 'Necromatic Conjuration'. The writer didn't get into full details, but I gathered that it was a mix of Conjuration magic and Necromancy, where parts of the spirit of a dead being are manifested into physical form without the need of a 'container', like most necromancy. However, the effect is permanent, unlike conjuration.
You literally create lasting life out of almost nothing.
But, something went wrong. The unicorn casting the spell did something wrong by accident, and...The rest of the journal is just scribblings and seared pages.
It was past midnight by the time I had stopped reading, but sleep evaded me.
My mind kept racing back to the journal and the writer's last, frantic words: Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I had heard the phrase before in our government classes, but it made little sense concerning the unicorn's situation.
I pushed the thoughts out of my head and struggled to get to sleep.
But sleep never came.
I breathed in the comforting scent of the library as I walked along its shelves, gently brushing my tail against the books- making my way towards the back of the library once more.
I would have felt like a criminal if I asked for a book on Necromatic Conjuration, as Necromancy was illegal throughout the world and Conjuration was not incredibly common.
I doubted that such a book even existed- the knowledge passed down through word of mouth throughout history and likely lost by now.
And I was right.
However, my luck held out in some ways as I was able to find small comments and such about it in other books.
I learned that it is just below Terra-Forming in skill level, and has never actually been recorded in history as ever being attempted. It was all just theory.
But I knew better, as the creature who wrote that journal so long ago attempted it but unfortunately failed. I ran my plan through my head once more.
I knew that such a spell would require vast amounts of power, possibly from several unicorns at once if the spell was at the skill level just below Terra-Forming. So how had the unicorn done it? Was it even a unicorn? I assumed it was, as ponies are the only race able to use magic and Alicorns are incredibly rare.
I pushed that small, important factor from my mind and continued riding my train of thought.
A creature couldn't be created from thin air- it had to have an anchor of sorts to form around and give it 'shape'. If I was to create a friend, I would need at least a small fraction of a personality.
And that's where I took the first step down the dark path.
Elder Scroll had a ring that she carried around with her at all times. She would never tell me why she owned a ring that would fit only a baby Dragon and perhaps even a very young Gryphon, only that it was very special to her.
But Elder Scroll was a very old mare, and she claimed that the ring had been passed down through her family for generations. If whatever creature that had owned it before was magical, then it's magical presence would be long gone. However, Crystal ponies have a special type of magic- one that is used only for pure thoughts. It's what powers the Crystal Heart and keeps us safe from the cold winds and any other threats that may live in the wilderness.
I liked Elder Scroll, and her magic would do nicely in creating a friend.
I needed that ring, and at this point- so close to getting a friend that could always be there for me and whom I would bond so well with -I was willing to steal.
It was only the first step.
The second step consisted of me finding the right way on how to cast the spell and avoid whatever fate had befallen the writer.
Having no sources to work from, I sat in my house -self banished from the library- determining what exactly Necromancy and Conjuration had in common.
The only thing that I could determine the two shared was the art of creation. But would that be enough? Creation magic called for a special type of thinking, and I wasn't sure if I had the ability to do so.
Of course, once again, my emotions beat down my logic and I held the ring in my magical grasp, ready to greet my new friend as soon as he or she was created.
I was so happy I was crying a little bit.
But when I started the spell...I could tell something had already gone wrong.
The room darkened and my horn continued to flare and sputter as I struggled to contain the spell.
But something happened- something that shouldn't have.
I didn't create a being, no! I opened two doorways! One leading to Faust knows where and...And the other...
The other doorway lead into me.
And the creature that stepped out from the other doorway gladly accepted its new host.
It's too late to save me, Shining Armor. It's always been too late. I'm still helpless against this creature that controls my body, and it's only because the crystals it grew onto your horn am I able to tell you all of this.
I don't know where it hid the Crystal Heart, but when you find it- and you will find it, do not hold back.
This is my punishment for not realizing how close my friends really were all along.
Destroy this monster, and me with it; and remember, young stallion: Power corrupts.
Absolute power...
Corrupts absolutely...
