Stargazing

by explodingdagger

Reading

Chapter 1 - Reading

I moved to Canterlot a few months after my mother had died. I would say I missed her, but to be honest I didn’t really remember her much. She was always away on some business trip or other. I can’t say the same for my father though. I remember wanting to burst into his office every time I heard him crying through the walls, to tell him that he still had me, and feeling a crippling sense of worthlessness when I realised I had no idea how. I’ve never been very good with sentimentality.

Ironically, the loss of my father’s greatest source of happiness meant the boom of his greatest source of pride – his business. Turned out my mother wasn’t as good at being an executive as she was at being a wife. Soon enough, my father had garnered enough money to secure a deposit on a house in the heart of Equestria.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less. I was only a colt, and the status as a Canterlot resident was wasted on me. My father was torn between excitement and sorrow. Everypony (that is, everypony in his business) told him that this was a fantastic opportunity and that it was time to get over his wife. If I saw any of them today, you’d have to try hard to stop me from tearing them to shreds. Even if I couldn’t really remember my mother, I knew that she meant a lot to my father and our old home had a lot of sentimental value. The fact that, if we moved, the house would be knocked down and the land would be sold off, just made matters worse.

However, the prospects of success and wealth beckoned, and 2 weeks later, we found ourselves in the bustling city of Canterlot.

And that’s where I met her.

The first day of school was exciting for me. I’d always enjoyed learning. When my father found me leafing through his old astronomy textbook, he was certainly surprised. What surprised him even more was me asking if he had any more books like this. Learning felt more like a hobby than a chore to me, and my old school had been fun, so I was certainly looking forward to this one.

Still, I was apprehensive. While school was great learning asset, what about the social aspects? It wasn’t that I didn’t want friends, more that I didn’t know how to get them. I’d always had my nose too far into a book to develop any social skills. That, and nopony seemed to get along with me. My old town wasn’t exactly the friendliest of places, and most ponies in the town were more interested in sports than books. Being academically oriented didn’t exactly help me to fit in.

Most days I would just visit the library or gaze at the stars rather than socialising. I’d always liked to watch the stars. It gave me a serene feeling, like nothing else mattered. There was just me, a telescope and the night sky. It’s part of what made reading so enjoyable, since most of the books I read were on astronomy and science-fiction. Still, I always felt a lingering sense of social pressure at the back of my head, telling me I was wasting my time and I should go and make some friends rather than be cooped up in my bedroom all day.

In the end, I decided to put that at the back of my mind. I enjoyed learning, and I didn’t want myself to worry about the baggage that might come with it. I wandered into the classroom with the rest of the fillies and colts and took a seat.

The collection of foals was eclectic to say the least. There were ponies of all races and colours, manes of all shapes and sizes and personalities of all kinds. One even had his cutie mark. However, there was one filly who caught my eye. She had a purple coat and a dark blue mane and tail, both with streaks of pink and purple running through them. Multicoloured manes weren’t common, but that wasn’t what caught my eye.

She had her head buried in a book.

That certainly wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t know much about the area, but from what I’d gathered, reading wasn’t exactly popular among foals. Curiosity got the best of me and, trying my best to appear idle, I carefully leaned toward her desk, trying to catch a glimpse of the title. I edged closer and closer, until finally my goal was within reach. Mod-

“You know, you could just ask.”

The voice took me off-guard. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I turned to see the filly looking at me, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“Sorry, I just… I didn’t want to be… invasive,” I replied nervously.

She rolled her eyes, and levitated the book over to my desk. “Here.”

I suppressed a gasp when I read the name. Modern Spellcasting. On one of my daily visits to the library in my old town, I had absent-mindedly pulled this book of the shelves, and was met with a barrage of confusing words and complex diagrams. I asked the librarian, and she told me it was an advanced magic guide, one that laid the foundations for unicorn magic for centuries to come. It was the kind of book that would be used to train gifted magicians, and certainly not the kind that I’d expect to be read by a foal, although it did explain how she was already able to use magic at such a young age.

Before I could contemplate the situation any more, the filly had already levitated the book back to her desk.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my book.”

Minutes passed and the surprise still hadn’t subsided. Scratching my head nervously, I decided to try and alleviate the awkward tension.

“So… you’re interested in magic?”

She nodded half-heartedly, still fixing her eyes upon the book. She seemed very apathetic towards me, although I can’t say I blamed her. I would’ve acted the same way if I’d been in her situation.

“I’m studying,” she said. “One day I want to attend Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns”

“I see… it’s just that, uh… that’s a very advanced text you’re reading.”

“Thank you.” She smiled proudly. “I need to work as hard as I can if I want to study magic, and if this is what it takes, I’m ready and willing.”

“Well, it’s certainly admirable.”

“So, you’re a new student here?” she asked, still mostly concentrated on her book. I knew she was just making small talk to try and appease me, but I answered nonetheless.

“Yes, I just moved here from Hoofington. If you don’t mind me asking, how is the school?”

She pondered the thought for a while. “Well, I’ve always enjoyed it, although not everypony does. I suppose it’s just because I like finding out new things. Most don’t.”

“Well, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one.”

“Oh?” Her ears perked up. “You enjoy learning too?”

I nodded. “I’ve been reading my Dad’s old astronomy books since before I even went to school.”

She was certainly interested now. “An astronomer, how fascinating! Have you read the Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to All Things Astronomy?”

“Have I?” I replied excitedly. “I know that book like the back of my hoof! I always keep a copy on me.”

It was true. It was the first book my father had given to me when I asked for other astronomy books I could read. He was by no means an astronomer, but he’d taken up stargazing as a hobby when he was younger, and it seemed I had taken after him.

I pulled the heavy tome out of my saddlebag and plopped it on the desk. The filly’s eyes lit up, gaping at the book.

“Is this a first edition copy?” she asked inquisitively.

“Yep. My Dad bought it from an antique bookstore decades ago.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could even get this anymore.”

I turned to see her fidgeting with her hooves.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just… can I borrow it?”

I was caught off guard again. “Um…”

“It’s just that my parents told me this copy has information about the correlations between astronomy and magic, and I’m sure it would be useful for my studies. I’ve been trying to get a hold of this copy for years but I’ve never been able to find it. Please?”

“That’s fine, I gue-“

Before I could even finish the sentence, she was levitating the book over to her desk and clapping her hooves together, beaming.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said, grinning. “I’ll be sure to get it back to you as soon as possible.”

I smiled warmly, even feeling my cheeks redden a little. I didn’t get gratitude a lot, so this was a nice change.

“Oh, I forgot ask, what’s your name?”

Once again, the filly had caught me off guard. I really needed to get more used to conversation.

“Star Dreamer. And yours?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

---

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at any "published" creative writing, and I think it went quite well. I realise there isn't much content in this chapter, but I'm using it to build a premise. I'm trying to make this relationship as realistic as possible rather than jump into romance straight away. I'm not even sure if this will even turn into proper romance, there are thousands of ways I could take this story. Hopefully I'll be uploading these on a semi-regular basis, so stay tuned for more.

Comments

[Criticul]

I swear, if this OC is a mary sue/ gary stu, desks will be flipped. I will be back once I've read this.

Edit: Hmm, I'm not sensing a Gary Stu-ness from this OC so far. You have intrigued me to read this further. Please proceed.

[Evocator]

“I know that book like the back of my hand!"
.....you made a common mistake my friend
if you cant find it, here
“I know that book like the back of my hand!
“I know that book like the back of my Hoof"
is what i believe what it should be

[Mard93]

I like it so far, keep it up sir

[Municipal Engines]

Interesting... tracked so I don't lose it.

[SFC Ponycron]

I see potential here...

*tracked*

[DrunkenClouds54]

*sees that the chapter has ended* FFFUUUUU- RIGHT MOAR! ........If..thats alright with you, that is.....

[smashbrawlguy]

It's too early to know if this will be good, but I remain cautiously optimistic.

[-Brutus]

290351 same here *plus track*

[explodingdagger]

289224 How did I miss that? Thanks for pointing it out.

[Evocator]

291699
s'ok
need another helper? i am GREAT with spelling and errors

[bacon96]

i shall track this
do not let me down
lol

[Dovahkiin]

291751 I can tell you are amazing with grammar, considering how you left out capital letters and a full stop.
Let's fix your sentence shall we?
Original: "need another helper? i am GREAT with spelling and errors"
Fixed version: "Need another helper? I am GREAT with spelling and errors."
Let's review:
Capital letters, use for; the beginning of sentences, for the word I, for all proper nouns, in acronyms, the start of speech, days of the week, and titles.
Full stop; use at the end of sentences.
AMAZING.

Good story, will track.

[Evocator]

335637
yeah yeah fuck you two buddy, no need for another damn grammar douche

[Dovahkiin]

335725 You don't seem to have learned anything from my previous post, and still have quite few errors, let's fix it up shall we.
Your original sentence: yeah yeah fuck you two buddy, no need for another damn grammar douche
Fixed version: Yeah, yeah fuck you too buddy, no need for another damn grammar douche.
Let's review:
Capital letters, use for; the beginning of sentences, for the word I, for all proper nouns, in acronyms, the start of speech, days of the week, and titles.
Full stop; use at the end of sentences.

The difference between to, two, and too:
To as in "I need to go to the store."
Too as in " That's too much."
Two as in "Johnny had two apples."

Remember kids; always use grammar.

Did you know: More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines.

4.bp.blogspot.com/-vXHjGecJ9Nk/Tza-SimS1_I/AAAAAAAAAtU/mjlZZiXYFiY/s1600/TheMoreYouKnow.jpg

[Evocator]

340525
i really dont care