Diogenes

There is a section of this magnificent library where to form a single syllable will bar you from its shelves forever. In some cases, a sneeze too loud or a cough too wet can get the perpetrator thrown out (and rather unceremoniously, mind you). The Diogenes rests among shelves of various import, marked only by an unassuming gold plaque reading The Diogenes Club: Members Only.

This is where Zefarin LeBrun rested, in a very comfortable wingback chair facing the towering windows out into Canterlot. The infamous black umbrella was hooked over one arm while a rather old and dusty-looking tome was propped in his lap, flipped almost directly to the center. The stallion greedily soaked up the fiction, with amorphous eyes darting across the pages impossibly fast.

Of the few ponies who had gotten lucky (or unlucky, depending on the situation) to know Rin properly, every single one of them would tell you that Rin is partial to texts on criminology, medical studies, and law. While it is true, it is a well-kept secret that Rin does indeed enjoy books of a fictional nature. Portraying the boring gentlecolt is much easier than explaining this.

But in the Diogenes, nopony speaks, and therefore, nopony cares. When every gentlecolt minds his own business, it is a matter of exuding the right aura to hide in plain sight.

Stargazer opened the large doors to the beautiful Canterlot Library. She silently closed the doors and glanced about, trying to choose a set of shelves to choose from. She chose one at random and started to stroll down it, her rosy eyes searching the book titles for something that sounded interesting. It didn't look like any of them were good.

That was when she realized she was in the realistic fiction, here least favorite genre. And so she quickly trotted out of that section, choosing instead to go down the science fiction shelves. She searched through the books more carefully this time. It didn't take long to find one of her tastes. This one was about supernovas, one of the coolest thing to happen in space, in Star's opinion.

She couldn't wait to curl up in the Diogenes and read this. It looked really good and she'd never read it before, so it would be great! She carried it with her magic down to the Diogenes, her hooves clapping softly against the floor. She hoped it wasn't too loud.

Once she arrived in the Diogenes area, she glanced around for a comfy spot to sit. There weren't that many ponies, like normal, which was just fine with her. The silence was deafening here, which suited Star perfectly. This was her favorite place to relax with a book. She noticed that there was one pony, a stallion with a notable black umbrella. Star didn't think too much of this, instead she just laid down on a plush cushion sitting on the floor. She held the book up and began reading through it, immediately immersing herself in the story.

Rin glanced up for a moment at the newcomer. She was clearly just getting used the the absolute silence requested of her, for though she was attempting to keep silent, her hooves brushed against the carpet enough to make her noticeable.

She wasn't the normal patron to the Diogenes. It was mostly filled with old and middle-aged stallions of the political class, with the occasional mare of high social standing. Rin swept his eyes over her and determined that she must have been of high intelligence to be accepted into this club. He supposed it was sufficiently backed up by her choice of novel and the simple calm she had in the silence.

He flicked his gaze back to his own novel and continued to read. A fascinating story about the perils of a secret agent and his adventures across the world, assassinating criminals and blundering his way into respect. Of course, if he really existed, Rin would probably turn his nose up at the stallion, but in a world of fiction, there was no point in assuming that this character really was going to ruin the world as they knew it. He could get his guilty pleasure in secretly hoping this one would succeed. How unprofessional of him.

In Star's quest to get to the floor cushion, she felt a tingle on the back of her neck. Someone was watching her, or, at least looking at her. The feeling went away after a moment. After she sat down, she looked to see who it had been. It was likely the stallion sitting in the chair reading the fictional book, in her opinion. But she didn't mind, it must've been how loud she was in entering.

She wanted to apologize, but she knew enough not to speak a single word in this room. That and she just wanted to read. And so she continued to do so, swiftly if I might add. Her eyes shifted from page to page, reading down to the last letter of each word. It was so entrancing, the facts of space! Oh how interesting the supernovas are! She glanced up ever so often out of habit. For normally when she read she was also experimenting, and had the habit of checking to see if anything had happened.

Soon she was already halfway through the book. What fascinating phenomenons, supernovas! In her opinion of course, most would find them tedious and boring. Or at least, not as intriguing as Star. She paused for a moment and looked around the Diogenes, noticing how most of the ponies within were a lot older than her, and mostly male. How odd. Are there simply no mares of the standard for this place? she wondered, then shrugged and returned to her readings.

Rin blinked when he reached the end of his novel. He was a bit surprised; after all, he had just started an hour prior, and surely he couldn't be finished. But, there it was; the very last page, the very last word, printed across the page like a black tattoo.

Of course the last word was 'Lucifer.'

How fitting.

He shut it silently, setting it on the side table next to the ornate lamp before he folded his hooves over his mouth and dragged them down to his chin. The stallion gazed blankly towards the window in an illusion of observing the outside world, but it wasn't what he was doing. Rather, he was musing over the moral lessons of the novel and lamenting the fact that he would have to return to his office in short time without any excuse to stay where he was. He supposed he could pick up a copy of today's Sun newspaper, but the stuff was rubbish and he already knew what was going on in the unfortunate world. Such were the woes of one so ingrained into the welfare of society.

After around 40 minutes passed, Star came to the last page of her book. She was okay with this, she knew she'd been reading for a while, plus it had been a rather short book. And it wasn't as drawing as a real story than a factual book. But she was still slightly reminisce about it. Now she had to find another book, or leave and go back to her experiments. Either or would be fine with her, there was a certain one taking place at her apartment in Canterlot right now....One that included fireworks.....It was scare the neighbours if she didn't return to take it outside..but she truly did want her free time.

Deciding to read just one more book, she got up and returned to the regular part of the library. She was in the mood for more science fiction. As she left, she noticed the stallion sitting in the chair appeared to be contemplating something. She wondered briefly what he was thinking about before continuing on her way to the aisle.

She wandered down the shelves before finding a suitable story. This was a lovely little tale of an astronomer who encountered aliens. The premise of the story seemed rather cliche to Star, but she couldn't find anything better or that she hadn't already read.

As the mare got up, Rin caught a flash of the cover of her book. It was remarkably similar to a novel he had loved as a foal; one so well loved that there was not only one, but two copies tucked away in hidden places around the LeBrun estate. It was not the same, but it still sent a spike of nostalgia through his mind, lancing through his carefully constructed thoughts and scattering them about the marble floor of his mind.

It was not as hard as it would have been to suppress the sigh if today had been his first day in the newly-minted Diogenes, but the fact that his carefully built indifference had been upended so easily made him uncomfortable.

To remedy the situation, he decided firmly that he would find a copy of his book and read through it. There. That would clear his mind enough for him to think again.

He rose from his chair and tucked the umbrella into the side of his waistcoat. A gentle protest from his empty stomach spiked through the air, quiet enough to not turn heads but still enough to make him cringe. However, this time, he would ignore it for something far more important: Mind over body. Always.

Star was just heading back to the Diogenes, book raised above her surrounded by pink light, when suddenly she bumped into somepony! Now this wasn't so surprising since Star often dazed off and stopped observing her surroundings while walking. However it did shock her quite a bit as she wasn't expecting it.

"Oh!" She squealed in embarrassment, stumbling backwards a few times to regain her balance, "I'm so sorry! My fault entirely, I simply wasn't looking where I was going. I'm truly very sorry!" She looked up at the stallion she'd bumped into, an apologetic look in her eyes. He was interesting looking, with the lovely suit and the umbrella tucked under his elbow, his grey coat and red-brown mane. He looked rather professional to Star.

And then it struck. How stupid she was to not have seen it sooner! It was the stallion she'd seen in the Diogenes. She almost wanted to strike herself in the face for being such a ditz. Normally she wasn't this ignorant. But the excitement for reading such wonderful books had made her rather forgetful. Plus she'd just run into him head-on. Either way she certainly felt like an imbecile.

Zefarin was usually very careful to avoid contact unless he was the one instigating it. It gave him a certain amount of security in his control. Therefore, was rather surprised when he was almost skewered through by the novice Diogenes member from before.

He let out a small 'Oof!' before regaining his composure and listening to the mare stammer her apologies, brushing off his coat with an air of superiority before realising she had trailed off and was suddenly staring at him in awe, a faint blush (he determined was from the embarrassment) adorning her cheeks. Under the uncomfortable scrutiny, he regained his senses and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring nod (he didn't really know what that looked like) before smoothly stepping around her and pulling his book from the shelf in a crimson grip.

Star gave him an awkward smile-more like a grimace-before trotting back towards the Diogenes. She kept her head down, hoping nopony would notice her reddened cheeks. She was careful to enter quietly this time, setting her hooves down softly before continuing on. She returned to the bean bag she'd claimed as her seat earlier and settled down. She raised the book in front of her face, opening to page one, and began to read silently, her embarrassment fading.

Unnoticed, another new, young unicorn had entered the Diogenes. This one had a very pale white coat (which looked rather sickly), and dark grey eyes. Though this wasn't the most noticeable thing about her eyes, no that would be the dark circles under them. It was clear she hadn't slept in a while. And her unkempt mane said she didn't care too much about appearances. Beside her, hanging in the air, was a stack of five or six books, being held by silver magic. She stood quietly in the doorway and looked around, choosing a seat-one that Sir Zefarin had been sitting in earlier to be exact-and shuffled towards it. She pulled herself up onto the cushion, and sat rather awkwardly to be honest. She rested her front hooves on the knees of her back ones, hunched her shoulders, and stuck out her neck. She looked rather like an owl this way. Shiny grey magic shrouded the book hovering in front of her eyes, which darted across the pages quickly. Beside the chair stood the stack of books, simply waiting for her to finish this one. Which would be rather soon.

Now, L normally would have a worn a mask upon leaving her home. But she decided it would be rather obvious to wear one here. So she could just pass as a strange book lover, though she wasn't much of one. She was merely reading because she had nothing else to do. She was so bored, and she'd already depleted her home of sweets to eat. Sebastian out getting more and she had nothing to do.