A New Beginning Mlp (Wip)

Chapter 3: Reading of….Time?

After several hours, reading well into the night, I managed to read nineteen chapters of the massive book. "And she said she has read it several times..." I mutter under my breath.

I heaved a heavy sigh before turning another thin page, the title read, Chapter 20: The Sun Celebration. I skimmed it and saw only a few interesting things. Like it is a generally new holiday, only about a thousand years old. It's a fairly short amount of time, considering that Equestria has been around for over two thousand years. "Oh, how time has eluded me." I whisper to myself.

The gist of it is that Princess Celestia raises the sun in front of the town in the start of spring time. Effectively "taking the ponies out of the darkness and into the light", or out of winter and into spring. "Interesting." I say to myself, not really thinking it was interesting all that much.

I had been sitting still for so long that when I looked up to see the sun shining through the wide windows I was generally confused. Had I been here all night? Strange.

I stretched my stiff muscles and stood. My legs weren't stable, though, and I fell onto the floor. I cussed under my breath as I heaved myself back to my feet. I grabbed the giant, heavy book in my arms and walked from the room to find Twilight. She was already awake and flipping through a brightly colored book titled, Unicorn Magic For The Advanced Student, and I smiled at the fact she was kind of a nerd.

"Twilight?" I spoke quietly, but she was so absorbed in her reading that my voice made her jump.

"Sorry, Austin. What's up?" She asked, slight lines under her eyes as if she didn't sleep last night either. I glanced at the window, feeling uneasy as I recalled all the stares I got the first time I came into town, and how one of the ponies followed me. I was probably overreacting, but I still didn't want to do the same thing twice.

"Do you think I could borrow this book for awhile? I'm not nearly finished with it, but I don't really wanna be around when all the ponies start waking up." She nodded, looking a little too tired to have a conversation with me at the moment. "Please remember not to tell anyone I came here. I'm not sure how the people will react just yet. Now, thank you for letting me stay here, I'll probably come back tonight." I said, feeling a little awkward that all I could give her for all her generosity was a "thank you".

She got down from the table she was sitting at and said, "Okay, then. Nice you meet you, Austin." She gave me a small smile, "Make sure you're careful with that book, though, It's very old."

"Gotcha." I smiled, now anxious to get out of here. She didn't say another word as I walked out of her tree-library-house and into the street. At this point I was running because more and more light flooded into the town with every minute. When I made it out of the town limits and into the forest I took time to slow down and look at the sun rise.

I had watched hundreds of sun rises in my lifetime, but the sun rise here was different. It filled me with anticipation instead of tiring me. It's more alluring, somehow. On the long but beautiful walk back the my bunker I got to see each phase of the sunrise. By the time I walked through the door it was probably eight in the morning. I probably would have made much better time if I didn't have to tow along the insanely large and heavy book, but I wasn't about to complain.

I turned on the power and walked quickly to my bed. I dropped the large book on the bed, feeling relief in my sore fingers and arms after having to carry it for so long. jumped onto the bed and let my body relax, settling into a comfortable position and opening the book to the place I left off.

"The Solar Sun Celebration is a yearly occurrence to honor the sister-ship of the Princesses and to celebrate their relationship." I read aloud to myself. Was the book talking about Princess as in... Luna? Hah! I met not only a Princess, but one of the most important people in this land.

Instantly I feel a pang of sorrow. I would probably not meet Luna again -- the first pony I met here -- unless she sought me out for some reason. I sighed and pushed the thought from my mind, reading on about the "Princess of the Sun" and "Princess of the Night". When I read "Princess of the Night", Luna's face was the first thing that came to my mind.

The Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia, and the Princess of the Night, Luna, lived in immortal harmony for thousands of years. Only recently was Luna accepted back into the kingdom, after a thousand years of banishment for some crime I'm not really interested in. Something about her throwing a massive, destructive tantrum because nopony noticed her.

I continued to read for another hour or so, learning about Equestria itself and its culture. It was pretty incredible to read such things about a town! Luna and Celestia are both incredibly generous. "That explains why she was so gentle and kind." I whisper to myself. It was almost noon when I shut the book, my eye lids barely staying open, my vision blurred with exhaustion. I set the book down and fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. I dreamt about Princess Luna. I was some invisible observer as I watched her and her kingdom. Only at the end, when she somehow noticed me, she transformed into some dark, evil figure the book claimed her to have been, that I woke with a start. The room was dark and I was frantic.

The picture in my head of Luna differed so much from what I remembered of her that I wondered, for a moment, if they could ever possibly be the same person. The darkness didn't help, but after so long without the lights detecting motion they automatically shut off. As soon as my eyes adjusted I jumped from my bed and started the power as quickly as I could. For the first time since I got here it was comforting to see the familiar room I spent so many years in, and I wasn't all that excited to go into the darkness that more than likely lay outside. I slept for so long that it must be dark out.

When I pushed the door open, sure enough, the sun was gone. I moaned at the thought of having to walk through the dark, but if I didn't go now I was going to have to wait an entire other day.

Without bothering to close the hatch I walked back to my bed and grabbed the book. I shut off the lights in the tiny room and began to walk through the darkness. I peered up at the sky to see a perfectly full moon, and was struck into silence by its beauty. Princess Luna does this every night? W-o-w.

After another hour heaving the heavy book, I reach Pony Ville's opening. I waste no time looking at the pretty houses before I'm running. I don't really want to be with anyone in this town I don't know. I knocked on her door loudly as I reached the tree-house. I stood there impatiently for a few minutes.... what if she left? I would have to walk all the way back to my bunker, back through the darkness. Ugh. Just as I began to turn around and leave, the door swung open and Twilight was there, looking at me, her face confused.

Then a flicker of recognition flashed across her features. "Oh. Austin. Sorry, I was just sorting through a few books. Come in," She motioned me with her hoof, "did you finish the book?" she asked when I was inside.

"Not.... quite yet." I admitted, feeling a little sheepish. I felt as if I was wasting her time, but she said that if I had any questions she was the pony to ask. I took in a deep breath before speaking again. "I wanted to ask you about Princess Luna." I told her in a rush, feeling a little embarrassed.

"The Princess?" She asked, "What about her?"

"When was she.... Uh, un-banished?"

Twilight's face lit up at the question. "She returned only a few years ago, but it's a long story." She told me.

"One you would be willing to tell?" I asked, my curiosity at the tipping point. What did Luna even do?

"Of course, Austin. Take a seat." She said happily, bouncing over to a table and taking a seat herself. I followed her, sitting across the table from her and setting down the massive book. "She returned only a few years ago." Twilight explained. Then she explained about the jealously of the sister, and the evil that bred on that jealousy.

"But why was she jealous?" I asked, confused.

"Because the ponies loved the sun, and played all through the day, but slept through her beautiful night." I had to agree that it was beautiful. She continued the story as if I had not interrupted, talking about her coming to Pony Ville and warning Princess Celestia of her sister's return. The Princess, of course, didn't take it seriously, and when Luna returned, as Twilight had predicted, it was Twilight and her friends that had to save the day.

She explained about the elements and her friends. She explained about her relationship with Princess Celestia. I just listened, wondering how I found this pony. She was smart and famous!

"Sounds like a ton of fun." I said sarcastically, chuckling.

"It wasn't." She mumbled, smiling, "Why do you ask about her?"

"I ask because she was the first pony I met here. She found me in the middle of the woods. How did she even find me in the first place?"

Twilight thought for a moment before saying, "That's weird. She doesn't usually show herself. Maybe she thought you were a special pony?" It sounded more like Twilight was thinking out loud rather than answering my question. Probably because she had no clue either.

"Maybe." I said, only more curious. We were both staring off into space for a moment before I snapped back into reality by saying, "I better finish reading this book, then." and picked it up from the table.

That snapped Twilight out of it. I was almost out the door when she called my name. I turned around and she said, "Why don't you stay here and read? I'm sure you don't want to be walking all alone at night."

I didn't want to tell her how restful and beautiful the night was to me, so I simply nodded and set the book down again. I was almost finished with it, since I skimmed over the unimportant and uneventful parts.

"Thank you," I said to Twilight, smiling at her.

"Absolutely, Austin. Can I get you something to eat?" It wasn't until that exact moment that I realized I was ravenous.

"Yes. Please." I said quickly, cracking open the book and picking up where I left off and Twilight went into a different room, getting my food I assumed. She came back a few minutes later with a place off lettuce, sliced apples, and carrots. It wasn't what I was expecting, but, hey, they're ponies.

I nibbled on the food as I read page after page of the thick book. Finally, as I snapped it shut, I announced proudly, to no one, "I'm done!" Everything here was so new, everything controlled by Princesses and ponies, it was strange to think about. Those kinds of things, like weather and the sun rising happened on their own where I came from.

I walked in the general direction I though Twilight had gone last night, and called up the steps, "I finished the book. Thank you for letting me read it! It's on the table!" There was no response, so I began to turn around.

"You're welcome, Austin. Come back again soon if you need anything else. Or just someone to talk to." I turned to see she had appeared at the top of the steps. I nodded and thanked her again before saying goodbye.

It was still dark out when I reached the forest, so I looked up at the moon in all its beauty. It was breathtaking! I sat down where I was and just stared up at the moon for what seemed like hours. Just trying to unravel and comprehend the secrets it possessed. It was like I was in some sort of trace when I heard an approach. My head snapped around, and my jaw fell slack as I saw a dark figure coming out from the darkness. It was.... Luna? Luna!

"So we meet again, Human." She said softly. It was almost a relief to see Luna again and prove to my subconscious that she was not evil or dark.

"Luna!" I said excitedly. I smiled up at her and got to my feet. "Actually, my name is Austin." I told her.

"Of course, Austin. Why are you out here at this hour?" She asked, looking at me as if I was doing something very odd. I didn't know how to explain it right... but I could try, I guess.

"Well, it's weird, but ever since I was a kid I was always more... attached to nighttime than I was to daytime. It's so mysterious and beautiful. There's nothing else like it, and I haven't seen such a beautiful moon for..." I chuckled, "a long time." I finished, gazing up at the stars again. She didn't say anything, but I knew she was touched by my statement. I was complimenting her nighttime. She moved closer to me and gave me a smile.

"So do I. Not a lot of ponies appreciate the simplicity of night. I'm glad to know that somepony does." She confided.

I wasn't sure what to say, so we were silent for a few minutes, both of us looking up at the moon and the stars. Finally, I broke the silence, "So why are you here? I hear that you don't visit people-- er, ponies, often." I was going to have to get used to calling everyone "pony".

"You are very intriguing, Austin. No one alive has ever seen a... human, so you are a rare occurrence to say the least." She met my eyes but didn't say anything more. I had a feeling she didn't know what else to say.

I smiled and looked at my feet. "If you want to know anything about my species, just ask away." I said, trying to earn her trust.

"Well," She began, "I want to study you in Canterlot, would you go there with me?" She asked, looking at me intently. She was as curious about my species as I was about hers. I sighed.

"Why not?" I smiled. "Just make sure I'm back soon, I'd like to clean my bunker and get water back. I've been having to shower at Twilight Sparkle's house." I admitted, feeling I should put in a good word for all of Twilight's generosity.

"You can stay in the castle." She offered.

I felt a little uneasy, but I trusted Luna, "Let me think about it Luna. Let's just get there. I know it's gonna be a long walk." My legs felt tired already just thinking about it.

"Can't you fly?" She asked seriously, observing me a little more closely.

"Does it look like I have wings?" I asked sarcastically with a slight chuckle. She seemed a little disappointed.

"Very well." She said, undeterred. "Have you every teleported before?" She asked in a very serious voice. I see. Talking, flying, magical, teleporting ponies. I shoulda seen that one coming.

"No," I sighed, "humans can't teleport." I explained.

"Well, that's the only way we can go. Since you can't fly." She smiled at me like I was a lab rat.

I nodded at her, unsure of myself. What if I did something wrong, and came out on the other side with no arms? I gulped but stepped closer to her. I felt her hoof touch my shoulder and then I couldn't feel anything.

Then... came the pressure. It was like my body was being forced through a drinking straw and I was being suffocated at the same time. It seemed like forever, but it probably only went on for a few seconds. Then... POW, I was on my hands and knees gasping for breath and  feeling like I had just been punched square in the chest.

I stared at the brick ground beneath me and it all started to come back to me. I looked up quickly to see Luna looking over me. "Are you coming?" She asked, holding her hoof out to me. I took it gratefully and got to my feet.

I looked straight ahead and Luna followed my gaze. I gasped in a breath of air. A real castle! Where the Princess lives? This was amazing! I began to walk forward when Luna did and then stopped dead in my tracks. There was a line of guards all the way up to the castle entrance.