The 'airship funds' were going to have to be put on hold.

Practicing magic was hard. She could barely levitate two objects at once, and, while being a changeling meant that her reserves were virtually unlimited under the right circumstances, to make them grow larger she first needed to be really full and let her meridians (one of the names for the 'veins' of magic in her body) stretch to fit more. Too bad she wasn't a queen type, since they had huge reserves from birth. Well, there was 'exercise' to increase reserves, too, but she needed a better grasp on the basics first.

Genetics played a part, yes, but it was more like a muscle that had to be exercised anyways, to get used to it.

She didn't understand all of it, and so she needed some time to adjust.

That and Ponyville was an insane place and everypony in the town was crazy.

Rainbow Dash still tried to goad her into a flying race, even after a month of being told daily that she wouldn't risk her identity like that. Sure, she could make a new pegasus one to race, then have it disappear, but it was still too risky! (In reality, she had not yet managed to solve her flight problem without consuming all of her magic quickly; the best she could do was improve her glide a bit).

She had no qualms about a race by hoof, though, and the obstacle courses that the weather pony thought up were rather ingenious; the practice allowed Forest to vent some stress (and practice non-spell magic use) with parkour, which earned her Rainbow's respect - 'flight without flight' she had called it, and the occasional twirl and flip in mid-air Forest threw in in her route made Dash 'officially' declare her 'cool'. Rainbow gave her a pair of shades, now resting next to a picture of the seven of them plus Spike on her fireplace.

She had to decline Rainbow's and Applejack's challenges to 'roughhouse'; the real reason being that just stepping on them wrong would break their bones like twigs while doing it right would pulverize them, but she could give the excuse that her hoof-to-hoof training was dangerous and a facet of her life she would rather not show to her friends.

Technically true - it would not do to let the girls see their refined friend rip the stinger out of a manticore with her bare hooves and stab his throat with it, grow wicked claws to finish it off, then consume the thing as a mass of writhing tendrils. Which was what had happened, obviously.

Curiously, that now made her the leader of the pride - how was she supposed to know that the overly-aggressive, exceedingly prideful thing was the Top Cat? Well, after scaring the hell out of them, she was going to enforce a 'no witness' policy due to ponies like Fluttershy... but they knelt down before her.

At least there was one manticore that had recognized her - the same one from that night, in fact - when she approached with her magic in the 'I mean business' position. So now Simba was in charge whenever she was gone (almost always), 'cuz obviously he was the smartest. He had better threat-assessment skills, and listened to his senses when they had screamed 'PREDATOR' at him - unlike the now-defunct leader. He agreed to keep her secret (more like, he was too scared of what Forest would do to him to keep said secret) and, in exchange, Forest would let them eat whatever she didn't consume. She'd keep (and consume) the heads, and the others had free reign to the remains.

She could not speak with them the way Fluttershy did, but they could at least nod or shake.

At first, life in Equestria wasn't really bad. She (metaphorically) devoured books on history and nature, earning Twilight's admiration.

"I have photographic memory, dear Twilight." She had said once, thankful for all the intense training of those scientists and the changelings; it had improved the already impressive mental abilities that the virus gave her.

"That's amazing! To think that somepony would try to repress an intellect like yours with propaganda and false information!" Twilight said, indignation at such an injustice quickly replacing her admiration. Of course, she knew better than to talk about Queen Chrysalis in public, but she could still feel angry at her.

"Indeed. That is why I must read - to make up for lost time and to sift the lies from the truth." She said, while Twilight gave her a hug filled with warmth and camaraderie. Forest rolled her eyes and mentally sighed; Twilight was enthusiastic about studies, making her a little hyper and/or touchy-feely from time to time.

Adorable, a little dorky, but a tiny bit irritating if she got carried away, requiring her to ground the excitable unicorn with a sharp glare. At least Forest wasn't in any danger to be buried under an avalanche of books again, not for a third time.

Three days after her reveal went by like that, getting up-to-date with the world's history, reading the newspaper archives for more recent events... she had her run-in with the manticores...

Then Applejack asked for a little help with her apples.

As a changeling, part of a tight-knit hive where everyone is always doing something, she was no stranger to 'tough, honest hoof-labor' - even if she much preferred other things. Twilight, too, offered to lend a hoof, even though her interests lie elsewhere. Despite the frictions in their interactions caused by their different ideas, personalities and interests, Applejack was willing to make an attempt - to repay her for the insensitivity- and Forest was willing to listen. They had the 'hard worker' angle in common, after all.

Then, when they were about to finish... Spike got that fu-fu-fudging letter.

It was a form letter containing three golden tickets to an event in celebration of Princess Celestia called the Grand Galloping Gala. The tickets were addressed to 'Twilight Sparkle plus one' and 'Forest Benedict Riddle'.

"My oh my, dear, you have just begun to understand friendship, now you are expected to bring a date?" Forest teased, quickly taking her own ticket to admire it before placing it inside a pocket of her ever-present white tracksuit (A new, actual cloth one somehow made simultaneously functional and fabulous by Rarity; there were tasteful splashes of color through it).

'A high-class gala? Well, that just opened up a few options.'

Twilight blushed, and Spike said it was the reason he'd give it a pass. No frou-frou girly gala gunk for him. Nope. He was macho. Yup. A boy, through and through.

His emotions said he was dying to be asked.

Applejack wanted to sell apple treats, which Forest figured was odd.

"A high brow event that doesn't offer free food? That's strange." She said, and Applejack froze utterly; the smile was still pasted on her face, but her heart was crying out 'Oh shit!'.

"No prob!" Applejack had a burst of inspiration. "I bet those ponies wouldn' know good home cookin' if it bit 'em, so once they try it-"

"If they don't recognize it, what makes you think they'd try it?" Maybe she should stop seeing AJ for a while; breaking minds that often can't be healthy. Maybe an alternative solution? "Why don't you try selling to others, the ones not invited to the party? Or try to offer a 'catering business option' to them instead?"

"Alright!" AJ whopped. "That's great! The gala-"

With a crash, Dash made her entrance.

'So much for being too busy to help.'

Dash wanted to wow the Wonderbolts with her tricks.

"If Security doesn't hit you with a dozen paralysis spells as soon as you cross the line." That one junkie (tried to mug Forest for quick cash, then got consumed) learned the hard way that elbowing her way through the bodyguards equaled getting shocked and tackled by three really angry, really big men that fold people into pretzels for a living.

"No problem! You got that invisibility spell, no? Don't you see, Twilight? This could be my one chance to show 'em my stuff. You gotta take me!"

Then Applejack and Rainbow started a silly competition to get Twilight's guest ticket. Looking back on it, she should have cheated and participated herself to get those two to relent.

Twilight tried to get something to eat, not having the benefit of Forest's viral body granting her near-supernatural stamina, but that only made them run into Pinkie. She sang some song about the gala and acted as if Twilight had already given her the ticket.

"Do you even know what a gala party implies?" Forest asked, incredulous, making Pinkie look at her as if she had grown a second head. "Piñatas are not exactly standard fare in parties above 'formal', and this has all the signs for 'super fancy'."

"They're not?!" Pinkie gasped, almost sucking in the tickets. "I must research! I'll study so much, I'll earn a degree in Partyology and Partyonomy!"

A gasp, and Rarity's surprised voice graced them. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Twilight's taking me to The Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot."

Alrighty, so Rarity is a designer of more renown that what Forest had guessed. And wanted to meet (and wow) a prince.

"Of your dreams, huh? Sounds like a romantic fairy tale; just hope that you aren't in a slapstick comedy and find out that he's a ponce."

"I am sure he is a most noble stallion - the most Noble of the nobles! The prime example of what it means to be of a noble family!"

Having read a few additional volumes of Equestrian history, Forest grimaced. The same noble families that caused the 'Flare Disaster', where their sheer incompetence, rampant hedonism, and misuse of their unchecked authority while Celestia was away on a diplomatic mission made her flip her lid so bad that she actually exploded when she returned, then exploded again when they had the unmitigated gall to try to defend their actions and present them as their divinely-granted right? The event that caused the next generation to take the reins earlier than usual? Celestia had a motherly style of ruling the country, and if there was one thing that must never be done, was harm the children of a mother.

"Wait, Blueblood, right? Descendant of both Blue Bell and Princess Platinum?" Alright, that line actually did good while she was gone, but... "Isn't he an 'eligible bachelor' because he drove away that mare of the arranged marriage he didn't want? And the next one, too?"

Rarity did not have time to formulate a response, as Angel Bunny took the tickets.

Twilight informed them that she hasn't decided who to take yet, and, while trying to get them back, listened to Fluttershy's reason to go to the Gala.

"I can honestly say that I cannot find anything wrong with that motivation." Forest said, nodding. Fluttershy was alright by her - sweetly demure, the pegasus never pressed for anything, and understood if her animal friends told her that Forest was creepy. "Trying to befriend the residents of Celestia's Haven for Mistreated Animals sounds like an admirable goal. I bet you'll be fine."

"It sounds... beautiful?" Twilight commented, or tried to; her emotions were a confusing mess, both because of the situation, and because her brain functions took a really big dive when she was hungry enough.

Things just got worse. They tried buttering her up with random favors, only to make her incredibly tense. It was starting to affect Forest!

Then the rest of Ponyville found out.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your mane?" "I'll wash your dishes!" "Would you like any help with your gardening?" "I have a cartload of extra carrots." "I'll paint your cart."

Forest had briefly entertained the idea of auctioning her ticket for cash, at first figuring she would get easily a lot of silver bits, then made the jump to a gold spur, or even a silver stirrup, if the desire that oozed out of the five mares was any indication.

"S-sorry, Twilight, d-dear, but this is too much emotion for me." She apologized as she turned invisible, doing what she could to avoid jumping on Twilight and doing... things.

She'd have to keep her ticket to herself, lest she cause a free-for-all war.

As such, she snuck into the library with her teeth clenched hard enough to crush stone. She would have got to her own house, but the da-danged impulse to 'want Twilight' accidentally overrode the destination. She did an about-face, intending to hide at hom- her house until everything blew over.

Then Twilight teleported in, intending to bunker down and wait out Judgement day too, but the others were already there. Forest didn't even feel them until literally the last second!

Twilight had a breakdown, and even Forest felt bad. That was an awful lot of pressure for a girl her age, doubly so for one who was still new to the concept of having friends outside her family.

It was her decision, then, that if her friends could not go, she would not go either. She was not sure she would get 'socializing' down by the time the Gala came, and the prospect made her nervous without moral support from the rest of the girls.

As it turns out, since Celestia seemed to be sitting on tickets, she sent them one each - including Spike, who giggled in glee.

Unfortunately, the whole gala debacle reminded Pinkie that Forest hadn't had her own welcoming party yet, and had one scheduled for the very following day.

That many ponies in one place with their attention on her was a double-edged sword. As Pinkie had correctly guessed, even mere friendliness was empowering.

But she had to spend all of that day with a really annoying smile taking control of her face.

Author's Note

Darn that Forest and her pesky 'Logic'! How dare she be informed and quick on her feet! She's derailing the plotlines!