>Time always seemed to do the opposite of what you wanted it to.
>Whenever you needed a moment or a brief pause, it would zoom by.
>When you had to sit and listen to the dullest dissertation of the comparisons of Equestrian and human economic structures, the hands of the clock came to a complete stand still.
 
>"Thanks to Anonymous' contributions about human economies, I was able to draw some interesting parallels to our own system of resources and production-"
 
>You were always forced to join human seminars as 'the guest of honor'.
>All you got was a front row seat to sit idly in while some prominent professor gave a lengthy oration about human culture and technology as compared to Equestria.
 
>Honestly, you made up a decent portion of the stuff you couldn't remember clearly and just nodded at whatever strange terminology they would use to try and relate to the ideas.
>At least you got a nice stipend of government money from doing this, it was a decent enough compensation for having to sit through these boring events.
>While you had to admit there were some interesting bits and pieces here and there, most of this stuff flew right over your head.
>The seminars would often go way over their time limit with all the academic ponies throwing out questions at the end.
 
>"-isn't it simply fascinating how the graphs manage to coincide at this point over-"
 
>The best you could do is try and get comfortable in the tiny chair you were given and ride out the storm.
>It didn't help that you pulled an all nighter working on some ridiculous notes to give your current researcher for her speech.
>The dim lighting and uninteresting nature of the lecture made it difficult to keep your head upright.
>You were slowly losing the fight against drowsiness within the first half hour, your eyes struggling to stay open.
>Taking another look at the pamphlet loosely clutched in your hand, you realized it would be going on for another three hours.
>Mentally waving the white flag, you let the sweet embrace of sleep finally free you from the auditorium as you slumped in your seat.
 
>You were awoken by a light but incessant prodding on your shoulder.
>There was something being said to you, but it sounded so muffled you couldn't understand anything.
>Blinking your eyes wearily, you turned toward whoever was trying to get your attention.
 
>The first thing you noticed was that the researcher's boring lecture had stopped, being replaced by a low and somber chanting.
>Second was the blurry face of the pony sitting next to you.
>They were offering you a small wooden box with some bits inside.
 
>It continued to talk to you in that muffled voice.
 
>The more you tried to focus on their appearance, the blurrier they seemed to get.
>You could make out they were a stallion however, one wearing a finely pressed suit.
>Craning your neck to get a better view, you could see that you were no longer in the darkened concert hall.
>Moonlight poured in from stained glass windows, providing a surprising amount of lighting.
>There were lines of finely carved stone pillars against the walls, and the ceiling vaulted so far into the heavens you could barely make out the large mural painted on it.
>There were rows and rows of pews in front and behind you, all filled with more faceless ponies in expensive clothing.
 
>The relatively rectangular room ended in a semicircle at the front.
>Deep blue carpets spilled out from the raised platform there, stretching all the way down both sides of the pews.
>There was a few steps leading up to a large podium, where you could see a much taller pony was waiting.
>It was difficult to make out any specifics about them though, as the they were utterly awash with pale light.
 
>Looking beyond the figure, you could see there was a vast altar with an enormous crescent moon supported from it.
>Purple cloth was laid across its marble top, and a pair of censers rested on each end.
>From your peripheral vision you finally spotted the choir of fillies off to the side, all of their little blurred out forms singing hymns with solemnity.
 
>An odd sense of serenity began to permeate your body as you took the whole place in.
 
>Again the box of bits was shaken in front of you, and more gibberish was spoken.
>You couldn't help but smile sheepishly as you realized just how long you had been making him wait.
>Graciously taking it from his outstretched hoof, you pulled some dollar bills out of your suit pocket and placed it in the box before handing it down to the pony on your left.
>While you don't ever remember having any human currency left on you, it all felt very natural that you'd have some in your pocket for this occasion.
 
>You watched the box make its way down the aisle, each faceless pony dropping in a few bits before handing it over.
>Turning back to the imposing figure at the head of the congregation, you sat there waiting for some unknown signal.
 
>As the choir began to fade away with the completion of their song, the intersecting rays of light flooding the altar began to part one at a time.
 
>After about half the beams had shifted, you had a pretty good idea of just who it was under there.
>Yet for some odd reason, you weren't shocked or surprised in the slightest.
>Her dark charcoal coat and ethereal star studded mane stood out prominently against the relative grays of the room.
>The cool blue of her armor caught the last few rays as they left, sparkling brightly as her piercing eyes looked over all the assembled ponies.
 
>You tensed up as her gaze passed over you, but then relaxed when you saw no indication of her reacting to your presence.
 
>Why would you be afraid of her noticing you though?
 
>It felt like you had an answer to that question, yet it kept slipping right out of your grasp.
>Shaking your head to banish the fog, you straightened up as you heard Nightmare Moon clear her breath.
 
>"If you would all please turn to page seven hundred and fifty one in your prayer books now, I will begin reading."
 
>In the dead silence of the chapel, her voice could be felt perfectly clear from your row.
>Yet it was not the booming or thunderous noise you expected it to be, but rather it carried an almost serene tone.
>There was a brief tumult of shuffling as all the ponies reached into the carved out pockets of the pews in front of them.
>Before you even recognized what you were doing, there was already a thick soft cover book in your hand.
>There was no label on the cover or spine, just the symbol of her cutie mark emblazoned brightly on the front.
 
>Cracking it open just slightly, you found you had instinctively opened to the correct page.
>As you heard Nightmare Moon begin to speak once more, your eyes were immediately drawn to the writings.
 
>It was as if they had some mystical hold on you, paralyzing you in place as the words levitated off of the pages and approached you.
>You couldn't help but be enraptured as the words slid right over your eyes, following their curve as they slipped inside your mind.
>Page after page you turned, every sentence curling and squirming past your eye sockets to lodge its information in you.
>Feverishly you started skimming through it faster, leaving a thick cloud of text all around you.
>Time continued to lose meaning as you listened to more and more of Nightmare Moon's scriptures, until you could acknowledge nothing else but the melody of her voice and the floating words.
 
>Your trance was broken by the prodding hoof of your neighbor to your right.
>More garble spilled forth from his foggy lips.
>The light inside the church was dimmer than before, as if hours had passed in the scant moments you spent with the words.
>Looking away from your book, you could see the pony that was sitting on your left walking down the carpet back to your pew.
>It was your turn to walk up to the altar and receive your blessing.
 
>You sidled past the rest of the seated ponies and began your approach to the podium.
>There was a feeling of awe you just couldn't shake as you took each step closer.
>A feeling in your heart threatened to overwhelm you as you grew nearer to her grace.
>The choir grew louder as they reached the peak of their song.
>Words and sentences buzzed in your head, the knowledge you took in seeping in and invading your every thought.
>Finally, you kneeled in reverence at the base of the platform, eagerly awaiting for Nightmare Moon to bestow her benevolence.
 
>Looking upwards, you peered into the depths of divinity as she met your gaze.
 
>A look of confusion briefly crossed her face as she examined you.
>She whispered something to herself, but you were close enough to pick up what she said.
 
>"Were you supposed to be here?"
 
>Even though you felt smothered by her mere presence, a thin thread of curiosity found its way back into your mind.
 
>Soon you began to question why you were even here in the first place.
 
>Weren't you somewhere else?
 
>Your expression eventually mirrored hers, both of you turning your heads at each other in bafflement before a sudden thunderclap made you jolt upright.
 
>The stomping of hooves echoed all around as you shifted in your uncomfortably small chair.
>It was the end of the researcher's presentation.
>You must have dozed off at some point, a shame you weren't still asleep to skip what was coming up.
 
>"Now, let's begin with the questions."
 
>You failed to suppress a groan as you rolled your eyes.
>How many more hours of this shit did you have to sit through?
>Your ass needed a break from this tiny plastic seat.
 
>Grumbling to no one in particular, you adjusted yourself once more and flipped open your prayer book.
 
>You didn't think it was possible to go from sitting to standing as fast as you did, but you certainly did it.
>The chair toppled over as you stared at your spasming hands.
>It was impossible to stop them from twitching uncontrollably as the ponies around you began to stare.
>Your heart was trying to free itself from your ribcage as the shaking spread to the rest of your body.
 
>Realizing what a scene you were making, you quickly placed your chair upright and sat back down like nothing happened.
>When the stares of the academics finally went back to the researcher, you took a quick look around for that damnable piece of literature.
 
>To your relief there was not a trace of it anywhere.
>Yet the ice encasing your spine refused to melt away.
 
>You were probably just seeing things from whatever your dreams were, all you had to do was just wake up a bit more.
>Dreams were always forgotten with time, there was no need to freak out over nothing.
>It kept bothering you though, and for once you decided to pay very close attention to the Q&A, trying to lose yourself in the tempo of the crowd.
 
>Time continued to crawl along at its own agonizing pace, but before you knew it the flood of questions had finally stopped.
>There was a light sheen of sweat coating you as you watched the audience finally begin to leave.
>Your breathing never improved above a constrained panting.
>One patron stopped nearby with a concerned expression on his face.
 
>"Are you okay?"
 
>It didn't take a physician to see you were in some manner of distress, but you tried to play it off.
 
"M-me? Never better. Just... really need some air conditioning in here, yeah."
 
>A little laugh played across your lips as you exaggeratedly fanned your face.
>He had a doubtful expression at first, but he seemed to buy your story.
 
>As soon as he turned around you made a break for the back entrance, slamming open the door and stumbling out.
>You felt nothing but relief as cool air blew over you.
>Taking a quick look around, you could see you were in some back alley of Canterlot.
>After taking a minute to compose yourself enough for public decency, you stepped out onto the busy streets.
 
>The sun hung low in the sky, painting the sky and land with golden hues as it made its descent.
>You estimated that it'd be dark by the time you reached the train station.
>All you could do was pray that you got there in time to catch the last train back to Ponyville.