AUG 21 Saturday.

I move another piece of steamed carrot into my mouth and look up to see Daisy joining us at the lunch table. "Took you long enough, what were you even doing?" I ask as she sits down across from me. Earlier she told me to go to lunch early and that she'd catch up later, it's been nearly fifteen minutes since then.

She looks very excited and straight-up giddy. "I got an invite! I can barely believe it! Finally!" She holds a letter like it's made from gold and is acting like an excited filly with a smile to match. "By Celestia, I need to get a dress, and fix up my mane!" She starts to worry over her appearance and I begin to get an inkling of what this is about.

But before I can ask Blaz beats me to it. "Wait... No? How? If that's what I think it is I may just have to call you corrupt. It's the Gala isn't it?" His tone is a little disbelieving but he's still happy for her. "You know what, don't answer, I'll find out myself."

Maple and I silently watch as he takes the open letter and looks inside. He smiles a moment later as Daisy snatches the letter back with wide eyes. "Hey, hoofs off! I'm not having you get in the way of today. But if you must know, Yes! I'm going to the Gala!" She's beyond excited for the event and I can't help but smile at her reaction.

Blaz just chuckles at her excited face, while I raise my cup of water for a mock toast. "Congrats, I've heard it's an amazing party. Although, I'm honestly more curious how you even got an invite in the first place." I ask while also realizing I'll be seeing her later tonight, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, it's not a big deal either way.

She smiles at the latter and puts it securely on the table under her tray. "Well, this is more something Blaz would remember." She turns to him. "You remember that grumpy mare who had your job before? I think she mentored you for a week or two." She smiles knowingly and Blaz looks like he swallowed an entire lemon, peel included.

"Raining Cloud, and don't remind me. That mare is the only pony who could ever scold me." I laugh at him and give him a look silently asking how the hell that happened. He huffs at my reaction. "Oh, you can laugh, Colt. But how about you spend six hours learning how to correctly draw an S while being reprimanded the whole time." He says with some distant eyes and an odd look of begrudging respect.

Daisy also chuckles at his words and continues her story. "Anyway, she stopped by and gifted it to me. Apparently she got one somehow but didn't want to go." She explains while looking over the invite with a glint in her eye. I guess that explains what she was doing earlier.

Blaz looks a little annoyed but not surprised. "Of course, she'd give it to you, that stubborn mare would never do that for me. Then again going to a fancy party isn't exactly my thing, I much prefer a nice bar." He complains a little about this mare that tortured him. I wonder if I could get some blackmail from her? Maybe.

Things mostly wind down after that and we all get back to work while I mentally prepare for yet another Gala, and this one should thankfully be less interesting. Although, it seems Daisy will be joining me, not the worst thing though Daisy and I have been doing well recently.

When she first found out who I was she had many questions, but after a few weeks of that things were just back to normal. It does make me wonder if I should tell my other friends, it would make things easier in a way and a part of me does want to tell them, but I still think it's a bad idea to do that overall.

It's not even really about trust, I know they can keep this secret and I'd like to think things will be ok if I tell them, but no matter how I tell them they will be at risk if I do. My second life has dangers, and it's not just from my fame, it comes from the other things I work on, specifically with the Changelings.

At some point, someone will put it together and realize that Veil Winter made the spells that both help and hinder Changelings, and once that happens they will come looking for me. That danger is something I can probably handle, worse comes to worse I just live in Gaia's Eden and lay low.

But my friends do not have the training, resources, or mindset to deal with that threat, it could very well get them killed. So for now, I will keep my silence and hope that Daisy does the same, for the safety of us all. I shake those dark thoughts away as I enter my apartment and smile as Entropy greets me. "Hello."

"Hello to you too, I'm guessing you're excited." She wags her tail feathers in response. Entropy is smart enough to know where we're going and she knows how good the food is. I give her a more stern stare, "And you remember our talk about behaving yourself?" I ask while looking down at her.

She stops and looks up at me slowly, she shuffles around back and forth on her legs a little and tries to look cute, but I keep my stern look. "Ok. Be, good." She says while looking at the floor.

I smile again and try to compromise. "I'll give you some food, but no stealing." I reinforce the rules but I do also intend to pass her a few things from under the table, which she should enjoy. Hopefully, that's enough to get her to behave, and also not peck a certain part of my body again.

I leave her alone for now and start to get ready for the Gala, and that starts with a nice shower. I've had to buy yet another suit this year and it was also more expensive because of my size, yet another downside to being tall. The suit is the same as my last one, plain black with some white underneath.

I trimmed the thicker fur on my chin and thoroughly combed out my mane then I tied it back behind my head. Overall I think I look quite good, I could do more but I don't really care enough, honestly this year is going to be more boring than the last three.

In my normal paranoia, I asked both Cadance and Celestia to not talk to me at this Gala, it may sound like a bit much but I have my reasons for it. To be blunt, if I did talk to them this year it would mark the second time the two most powerful ponies in Equestria walked over to talk to a random earth pony.

Ponies noticed it last time but it could mostly be brushed off. I was a good few inches shorter at the time and from an outside perspective, the princesses were just talking to a Colt who was probably a student or noble's son. This time I look like an adult and talking to them again will draw much more attention.

So for my own sanity, I asked them to just not talk to me for the event, it's not like we can't talk later and I really don't want to deal with more questions. They agreed and just took it as a time to focus on their duties fully, as for me? Well, the Gala was looking to be a pretty boring night with some good food.

But now things are different, I have a friend to surprise and somepony to hang out with, so overall things are looking pretty good. I put on my necklace under my suit and attach my wooden bracelet, which has been successfully upgraded. The scent shield is now properly enchanted into the bracelet and the third switch to control it works.

It functions well, I tested it by walking around the market and even walked past a mare in heat without a single problem. Although there is a small side effect that makes it a little annoying, it filters out most scents, not all of them but most are gone entirely while the remainder are heavily muted.

It makes smelling anything almost impossible, only weak scents actually make it through as it blocks all strong ones because of the runes used. Still, it's much better than the alternative and I won't have to worry about literally hanging around in public, at least not from a mare in heat, my own thoughts try to do the same thing to me all the time.

I double-check my enchanted items and whistle to Entropy. "It’s time we get going, it's already dark out and it will be even more busy out there soon." She silently merges into my shadow a moment later and I use a small bottle before I leave. It's just mint spray I bought but it makes me smell better if I sweat in my suit.

Now smelling decent I walk out of my apartment and walk out into the already busy streets. Not many go to the Gala, but many other businesses and important individuals also throw parties at the same time, so the streets are much more busy than you'd expect.

I keep a slow pace and move with the crowd, I decide to walk through a more busy street instead of a less busy street like the last three years. It's busy, but that gives me a chance to really look around at the events and celebrations that are happening.

After a decent amount of time I arrive at the Gala, and it's still somewhat empty, it seems I'm a little early this year, but hey, no long line. I walk up and show my invite to the guard, and like last year I'm waved through without a problem, and after a short walk, I'm finally at the Grand Galloping Gala.

As I walk into the main ballroom I take a moment to look around and try to find Daisy, but it seems she's not here yet so I just leave the ballroom before anypony can talk to me. I didn't get a chance to explore gardens last year and I'd like to, even if it's uninteresting to most.

I walk along the large overhang on the outside of the building before descending some stairs into the large gardens. It's nowhere near as impressive as the royal gardens, but it is a nice place to relax. The tall hedge walls separate a few rounded areas with benches and fountains all connected with wooden paths.

The autumn season is now in full swing, the trees have lost most of their leaves while the grass and hedges are dying as the weather grows colder. After a while I find a bench to relax near the front of the gardens facing the Gala while still being a little out of the way, it gives me a good view.

I just spend a minute there, but after that short minute of peace, I feel a source of life magic grow closer to me from the path behind where I'm sitting. It's probably just another pony, but after my second Gala, I don't drop my guard and glance behind me at whoever it is from the corner of my eye, and color me surprised when I see Shining Armor walking towards me.

He doesn't seem to know I've spotted him, so I have some fun and do something stupid. The area has other ponies but most don't come over to this area, so I quickly turn my body and snap my head backward to stare right at Shining even though he's several dozen feet away and I shouldn't have been able to spot him from my position as he's behind me.

He freezes on the spot and stares back looking a little startled, after a moment I smile at him and wave a hoof, and turn back to look at the Gala while laughing a bit. It doesn't take long for him to arrive and move in front of me, I keep my smile and nod to him. "Shining, how's it going? I would have thought you'd be with your mare friend right now." I greet him a little cheekily.

He raises a brow before sighing and sitting down next to me, I take a moment to cast a silence spell around us. He seems to notice and looks over at me. "Every time we meet I remember how utterly paranoid you are." He chuckles. "It's going fine, just thought I'd get out of that busy mess for a bit and saw you sitting out here."

He's relaxed with me and doesn't question my actions, which is fine his reaction is good enough for me. "I know what you mean. Honestly, I rarely enjoy parties, the Gala is at least interesting though." I give a bland statement for some small talk as he nods passively.

He smiles. "Interesting? Sure, if you don't count all the overly polite talk and having to watch your words constantly." He says with a little snark. "Food is good though, even if it's ridiculously expensive." It's clear he's trying to make small talk and get to something.

I smile at him and give him a knowing look. "Shining, you know me somewhat, but something you might not know is that I'm hard to insult. Not many try, but even then it's not easy, I also don't take many words to heart. So, if you have something to say, just say it." I keep my relaxed attitude as I stare at the slightly shorter stallion.

He looks me up and down for a moment before slowly nodding with the same smile. "You're getting too tall, it's annoying." He states bluntly and I just chuckle at his words. He looks a bit more stern but I keep myself relaxed and ready for whatever he can throw at me. "Don't hurt my sister, I won't take it well." I raise a brow and give him a confused and surprised stare.

He keeps a stern look but a mostly relaxed tone as he continues. "She's got few friends and I'm not letting a Colt mess with her heart." :Where the hell did he get that idea?: I'm growing more confused as he talks. "But, you are a good Colt so if you wan-"

At that point, I decided to nip this understanding in the bud quickly before it got out of control. "Ok hold up." He gives me an annoyed look. "You can threaten me in a moment, but just to be clear. I do not have an interest in your sister, at least not like that. I barely know her, and to be blunt we're not even friends yet, and I'd need a lot more than that for any relationship." I say seriously while quickly trying to explain, I really don't want an older brother after me over this.

"Where did you even get that idea?" I ask as he gives me an odd look.

He looks me up and down again with a more level look. "Well, I wasn't threatening you." I roll my eyes a bit at that. "But, thanks for being straight with me. My point stands all the same though, you hurt her and we'll be having words." His tone is still relaxed, I also notice he doesn't answer my question and shows an odd lopsided smile.

It seems he did his brotherly duty so I just decided to move past his words. Me and Twilight? Why the hell would he think that? I mean, we are close in age and we get along well enough so I guess I can see why he guessed. It's probably just something to do with family that I don't get.

I give him a firm nod. "Ok, I don't plan to anyway but I'll agree anyway." There are several long moments of silence before I decide to break it. "Any good comics recently?" I ask, deciding to just change things up and move on. "Because I still know nothing about them," I added and he gained a new smile.

He takes the change of topic in stride. "Well, Power Ponies are always popular. Although, that's a little... Tame, maybe slow is a better word. Either way, I like more extreme things, battle comics, crime fighting, that sort of thing." I raise another brow at that.

I've read several of what are considered the most brutal and extreme pony horror novels, they were disappointing, the horror was bland and predictable while the descriptions were borderline PG. They barely mentioned blood at all and the monsters were weak. I widened my smile, "You a fan of horror? Because that is where my interest lies."

He does a double-take and looks a little surprised before laughing a little. "Of course you do." He says back a little mockingly, it seems he doesn't really believe me before realizing I'm serious. "Fine, only a real horror fan would know about the good stories. What is the monster in Canterlot at Night?" He says a little smugly while holding a challenging tone.

Am I really willing to get into a nerd argument over this? Yes, I absolutely am, because Canterlot at Night is horrible. I narrowed my eyes in a lighthearted way at his challenge, "A Cockatrice." My answer takes the proverbial wind right out of his sails. "Now, have you ever read Black Sky?" This particular novel is infamous for its extreme horror, at least by this world's lackluster standards.

He again stares me down for a moment before shaking his head. "Great, the super-talented Colt is also a complete horror buff." He laughs at his own words for a moment and I just smile wider.

"I've stared down an angry Celestia, any book I can think of doesn't hold a candle to that." I make sure to keep a joking tone so he has no idea if I'm being truthful or not. "But you didn't answer my question, have you read it?"

He looks surprised at my claim but seems to take it as a joke after a moment and laughs again, joking on him I was serious. "Yes, I got nightmares. But in my defense I was younger than you are when I did that, it was not a smart move." I laugh at his stupidity, not in the way he's expecting though. The truth is a lot of human children would find Black Sky stupid and boring.

He looks back to the party for a moment and back to me. "Well, I better go. I have far too many nobles to talk to and a princess to keep out of trouble." He stands up and gives me a nod. "Make sure to try and enjoy the party."

I nod back. "No promises. Have a good night Shining, and enjoy guard duty." I tease him a little.

He actually nods seriously in return. "If only, it would be so much easier. And same to you Shade." He walks off after that and I stare back at the party. I should probably get back in there as well, I have a friend to mess with after all.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 994

I decided to make this about ponies other then the princesses. I thought it would be a nice difference from the past three Gala's and make things more interesting to write.

Also, don't worry this will be continued next chapter. Although, I'm taking my day off so you'll have to wait a little longer then normal.