Beneath the shadow of the large Oak that was at the center of the city, I, a brown stallion, silently walked towards my usual spot.

The roof of an abandoned building. The place felt too natural after what had happened, but at the same time, I didn’t know what else to do. After all of this time, I had finally lost the pillar that had been my entire life’s center. The sun beamed down, and it was complemented with a cool breeze.

I felt betrayed, that the weather wouldn’t reflect my own inner feelings.

Walking up the staircase of the abandoned apartment building, I soon arrived at the roof. Sitting down and looking towards the sky, I saw the breeze slowly caress the lower branches of the oak.

“I’ll never get used to that…” I mumbled to myself, looking up at the massive tree that controlled the entire city.

Behind me, I heard a thump, and, craning my head to see the rainbow mane, I heard her say, “I thought you’d be here...”

Normally, I came here for solitude, but it wasn’t the first time she had stumbled upon me in this haven. But this time, it felt almost as if there was additional meaning to her being here. Sometimes, we would sit here, under the shade of the Giant Oak, and I would tell her stories of her ancestor, and of the Wonderbolts, a flying team whose legend had long since vanished. Sometimes, I would tell her of the days when the sun and moon rose with Celestia and Luna, or of the legendary Sonic Rainboom. I would tell her of Discord, and of Nightmare Moon.

I briefly nodded, though my face didn’t show any emotion. Thinking about my past, I took a slow, deep breath. I still found myself at a loss for words when I thought about how large the tree had grown, to the point where it overshadowed the largest city in Equestria.

“It was a small library when I was a little filly,” I said.

Walking up beside me and putting a wing around me, the pegasus sat down silently, and at that moment, I knew she wanted to hear a story. I always told her stories of my childhood, and, realizing perhaps that she also needed to be comforted as I did, I decided to tell her another story.

However, this story was unlike any I had ever told before. This wasn’t a story about the world of the past, or of other heroes or the original Elements of Harmony.

This was a story about the world of the present.

This was my story.

For the first time in my life, I was doing something exciting. The thing was, I was jobless, my cutie mark was just a pile of two small bits for reasons I still couldn’t remember, and my solidary lifestyle wasn’t promising at all. I had never accomplished anything before in my life. I had never had a real relationship that lasted any length of time, and I had no real friends. Still, as I walked up the staircase, I really began to think, “This is my destiny.” Surrounded by famous and wealthy ponies dressed in priceless gowns and tuxes, I could barely believe the reality right in front of me: I was a guest at the Grand Galloping Gala.

The invitation came out of the blue. A single, golden ticket found its way, unexplained, into my mailbox. I spent the next several days panicking over trivial matters. What was the proper way to arrive at such a party? Would I be ready as emotionally and mentally as I was physically? Where dates allowed? Were they mandatory?

However, in the end, I simply went with my gut. I dressed up, and, taking the train by myself to Canterlot, arrived at the entrance of the largest, most extravagant party in Equestria.

“Hello, and welcome to Canterlot Castle!” Princess Celestia greeted each and every guest as they entered. Looking around, I suddenly felt my best attire being dwarfed in comparison to even the most casually dressed ponies around me. My hair was, in comparison, shoddily combed, and I became aware that my half-off tux-collar was slightly more asymmetrical than was pleasing to the eye.

“Maybe I should just go home...” I mumbled to myself as I approached the entrance. Shaking my head back and forth, and reminding myself I was invited, I forced a smile and walked up to the Princess at the top of the staircase. Each step felt more difficult than the last, and it felt as if I were being pushed away from the entrance by an invisible set of hooves.

“Hello, Princess. I- it’s a pleasure to have been invited.” Somehow, I managed not to stutter throughout the entire sentence. Still, self-doubt welled up in my chest, and my hooves began to sweat. Perhaps it was a blunder, and one of the ponies who had delivered the invitations accidentally sent it to my home. Why should a nothing-special blue Earth stallion like me with a few bits for a cutie mark be important enough to spend an evening with the Canterlot nobility? Sure, the words, “To Shimmer” were on the front, but perhaps I was insane and had just misread it.

However, I was met with a warm smile, “Shimmer. Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

My jaw slightly opened, and I took a reflexive step backwards out of the surprise from the fact she knew my name and that she had welcomed me so easily.

Chuckling, and, as if guessing my thoughts, she continued, “I remember the names of all of my subjects. Oh, and I hope you enjoy your night.”

Nodding, I walked into the crowd of ponies ahead of me. Getting lost in the halls, soon, I bumped into a white pony with a beautiful purple mane and tail.

Recognizing the figure from a picture I had once seen in a book, I suddenly, instinctively replied, “W-wait, are you Rarity?”

Nodding, she laughed and introduced herself, “Yes, I am. And you are?”

Unsure of how to continue, I responded, “Uuh… I’m, uuh, Shimmer.”

Smiling kindly, she continued, “Well, Mister Shimmer, I’m pleased to meet you.”

She was one of them. The Elements of Harmony. Heroes of Equestria. Remembering the textbooks I’d been reading, I remembered their many exploits. From saving Equestria several times, to helping return Princess Luna from banishment, to helping Princess Mi Amore Cadenza save the Crystal Empire, it was obvious that they weren’t your average ponies. However, as I wandered about the halls, I made a resolution that my goal for the night was to meet each and every one of the ponies who I had read about. Perhaps I would find inspiration from one of them that would give me some form of direction… It was a stretch, but while I had come to the party with high expectations, I really hadn’t known what to do once I was there.

Finding a rainbow mane in a Wonderbolts Uniform among a different crowd after saying goodbye to Rarity, I navigated through the busy crowd to get a glimpse of her and perhaps even introduce myself.

“Yeah, I’m Rainbow Dash. Whatcha want? Want an autograph or something from the best flier in Equestria?”

“Um… yeah!” Nervously nodding, I watched as she pulled grabbed a small Wonderbolts poster from a nearby table, and had her sign it with a marker she had. Folding it up, I quickly moved it to the small saddlebag I had left at the entrance of the Castle. After a short discussion, she took off to speak with some other ponies.

Fluttershy, however, I didn’t hold much of a discussion with, and, as shy as I was approaching her, the only words she said were, “Umm… hi… I guess…” before she quickly rushed away. Shaking my head, I decided to not chase her down.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were together when I found them. Introducing myself, I didn’t get a single word in before I was pounced upon, drawing the gazes of several surrounding ponies.

“Hi, I’m Shimmer. Are you-”

“Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’m suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper happy to have met you! Want to play a game!?”

“Whoa, Pinkie. Ya might be a bit loud fer the Gala, and yer scarin’ our guest. I’m Applejack, nice ta meet’cha.”

“N-nice to meet you.” I said, laughing due to being caught off of guard. After a short conversation, that due to the pony pony’s constant exclamations and outbursts, was shockingly tiring, I slowly began to mingle around the crowd, wondering where the final pony, Twilight Sparkle would be. I wandered throughout the halls, outside among several fountains and throughout the entire castle, but still couldn’t find her.

As I walked into the main ballroom, however, I was struck speechless. Suddenly, though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when, everypony had vanished. The ballroom seemed covered in dust, and there was a stream of sunlight entering through the stained glass. There were no candles or tables, no celebrating ponies, and it was completely silent. An echo sounded of a pebble, somewhere in the large, empty ballroom, falling.

The room was ancient, and nopony was nearby. Daylight streamed in from some of the stained glass windows and a few cracks in the ceiling. Vines snaked up a few of the walls, and the floor was clear of everything except for dust and a small amount of debris.

However, as soon as this happened, I blinked, and, shaking my head, was suddenly surrounded by the loud chatter of the ponies at the party. There were candles again. It was night. The party continued. Unsure of what I had just seen, I convinced myself it was simply that I had too much to drink and returned to my search. However, as I continued on with the night, a small headache in the front of my head formed and it quickly became worse.

I had come to this party thinking that this night would be memorable, that I would be able to somehow leave the party a changed pony. However, I was wrong.

Sometimes, the thing that needed to change wasn’t yourself. It was everypony else.

While standing next to a table near the entrance of the main ballroom that had been set up, it suddenly became worse, and, involuntarily, I collapsed near a table, knocking it over. Hearing gasps and shocked cries, I began to lose consciousness. In the last few moments, I saw the Princess of Day standing over me, looking down with a worried look on her face as several guards placed space between me and the other ponies.

Then... nothing.

Author's Note

Attending a University is a difficult job. With all of this work I have, it's a wonder I'm able to write at all. Sadly, I don't have anyone to proofread these, so I'm stuck doing it myself, and, admittedly, I'm not as good at it as I wish I could be. Still, this idea is one I came up with near the beginning of Season 3, and it's been on my mind so much lately that I'm finally going to share this world with you.

Oh well, right? Hopefully, you'll enjoy this story as much as I have enjoyed creating this world. Still, it's only just beginning, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
~Eyeclops.