Forge sits in the Carousel Boutique, having prepared and gone over the fashion show effects with Rarity. "Illusionary magic's pretty hard for non-specifically talented unicorns apparently. Luckily, I've got my own illusionary magic, so this should be fun."

Hoity Toity enters the boutique, and the show begins. Forge focuses on the stage, making sure the illusions do their job of maintaining consistent transitions between outfits while highlighting their features at the same time, fading out to show the actual pony and outfit before going back up to give the mares enough time to switch out from behind the illusions. The performance, and the outfits, all captivate Hoity Toity to the very end.

Once the show is over, Rarity walks up to Forge. "Thank you for your help, the show was absolutely spectacular! If there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know!"

"Well, I kind of wanted to order a suit for the Gala. But, not right now specifically. I've had time to mull it over, and I think I am going to ask that particular plus one. Maybe I could bring her in and have you make us outfits to complement one another? That is, if she accepts my invitation..." Forge says.

"Ohhh I see. Sure, that won't be a problem. But, why did you come by now of all times to ask about it if you're not even sure she'll say yes?" Rarity asks with a puzzled look.

"I didn't originally come here for that, remember? I came here to help with your second show, and thought I'd ask since I was here anyway." Forge explains.

Rarity nods. "Well, I wish you the best of luck then."

"You too, you're gonna need it." Forge says as Hoity approaches Rarity.

"What do you-" Rarity was about to ask, before being caught in a conversation with Haughty.

Forge waits to open the door to leave until after Hoity orders the dozen of each dress by next Tuesday. Once Rarity starts eye twitching, Forge winks at her before exiting the Boutique.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Aurelic practices using his newly upgraded saberstaff in the most secluded place he knows, the old castle of the two sisters. Currently, he's using his old human form, using magic to assemble pillars from scattered debris, only to slice through them. "Focus. As long as I know where one end is, I know where the other will be. Just like with the broomstick back home."

Wasp observes from afar, in the form of her namesake, while currently whispering into her device.

"This is bad! No wonder the science division can't replicate it, it's not even meant for ponies! And it cuts clean through stone. STONE! Yet he somehow hasn't cut through his own body! He's clearly had training of some kind with the weapon before, in that form. Perhaps he's more of an anomaly than we thought, possibly not even a changeling!" Wasp panic rants.

"He's used it on timberwolves before. Cut them into pieces too small to reform. And that was with a single side active. Even if we attack him as a group, he may prove too much to handle. We'll have to wait until we find a creature immune to it. I won't risk my subjects' lives unless absolutely necessary to our survival. Until he turns that weapon on us, leave him be." Chrysalis relays.

"... Understood, my Queen." Wasp whispers hesitantly.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Forge sits awkwardly in Sugarcube Corner, in the place with the most space from other ponies as possible. That is, until he notices more clear room by the table of food where Applejack is, wearing an eating bib and nervously looking at all the food in nervous indecision. "Even if it's a party for Celestia's visit, I'm still fucking socially awkward." He thinks as he walks over to the table.

"Hey Applejack, how are things?" Forge asks as casually as he can.

"I'm not too sure what's appetizers and what the entrees are. Would you mind helping me out? You eat at the castle all the time right?" She asks.

"I can try, I only really eat at the castle to uh, keep appearances, if you catch my current." Forge says. He looks over the food on the table in thought. "Okay, salad... Not sure about that one, maybe it's still an appetizer. Desserts... That's my best bet. Somehow infused with love. No idea how that works."

Celestia cuts the party short, leaving to attend an audience with the mayor. "Fucking bitch, schedule an appointment properly instead of cutting into a party like this." Forge mentally scoffs.

Soon enough, the tablecloth and food are all taken away, Applejack having nabbed the salad beforehand. Forge simply waits for Twilight to finish up.

"Okay, I'll help you with those seeds now. I'm curious about how they work too, it'll be a great research subject!" Twilight says enthusiastically.

"Glad you're excited too. I don't quite know how the chemistry stuff works quite yet, so I figured you'd be my best bet to figuring this out." Forge says as he follows Twilight to the treebrary. For science!

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Much later in the day, Forge sits idly by on a park bench as Philomena runs all around town, with everybody that's looking for her being a complete dunce. When Philomena wears a moustache and reads a newspaper on the park bench, somehow, Twilight and Fluttershy were both fooled by that.

"Seriously... they can't be that fucking stupid. With all the time they've spent with Philomena, they shouldn't be fooled by such a poor disguise." Forge thinks with a shake of his head.

Then, there's the door gag straight out of Scooby Doo. "I'd question the physics behind that, but I don't want to fry my brain. What's left of it, anyway."

Forge gets up, strolling towards the fountain to witness the absolute trolling Celestia and Philomena pull. "Philomena has learned from the best of the trolls ever. With millennia under her belt, Celestia's had eons to get this good at horseplay."

Soon enough, Celestia hops into her carriage, Philomena in tow. Right as Forge is about to leave, she waves him over. Forge teleports over, before stepping in and taking the seat Celestia offered.

"So, where do you usually keep Philomena anyway? I haven't seen her around the castle at all in my entire stay so far." Forge asks, wondering why he hadn't asked sooner.

"Philomena has her own room, and free reign of the castle grounds. The cage is only a formality really. I'm surprised you haven't seen her flying around at all. Perhaps it's chance that you've never been in the same area as her before?" Celestia offers in an attempt to explain it.

"I guess. I also tend to hyperfocus on things sometimes, so maybe she's flown over me without my noticing it. I swear I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached." Forge admits, now thinking to keep a lookout for any phoenix shenanigans in the castle from now on.

"I'm sure you're not as unobservant as you think. You know, you remind me of somepony..." Celestia says.

Forge turns his attention back to Celestia. "How so?"

Celestia laughs softly. "When you've been around as long as I have, you tend to see the same eyes in different ponies. I vaguely remember somepony that would often accompany Starswirl around. Though, that was before my sister and I became the co-rulers of Equestria."

Forge acts like he's thinking about this for a moment. "Would that pony be named Stygian? I think he was referenced by Starswirl a few times in the scrolls and books of his that I've read. From what I gather, Stygian was more or less a chronicler of sorts."

Celestia's eye twitches for a moment. Thankfully, her guards driving the carriage didn't notice. Forge however, did.

"Okaaaayyyy, I think that was a bad move." Forge thinks, nearly shitting bricks.

Celestia starts to snort, before going into a laugh. "Oh, the look on your face. Am I really that intimidating?"

"Considering you're double my height and have powerful gravity magic, and are one of the current diarchs of Equestria, yes." Forge says with a nervous smile.

Celestia pauses. "Gravity magic?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you raise the sun literally every day, and had been raising the moon for a full millennium, and they're both part of the solar system our planet's in, it's got to be gravity magic. Something so powerful that it takes ten unicorns to wield, whereas you and Luna can both do it on your own." Forge explains.

Celestia just pats him on the back, opting to ride the rest of the way in silence.

Author's Note

Edited 2/11/22. Forgot that the show explicitly states they're completely vegetarian, so no more ham sandwich joke. Also, vegetarianism is the one that means no meat only, while veganism is the one where all animal products like eggs and dairy are also banned.