AUG 21 Saturday.

Twilight is dressed more than I'd expect, she even has a dress on, unlike the last three years.

Her dress is an odd fractal mix of purple that matches her coat and a clean white. It's a standard type dress that stops at her midsection and overall looks decent on her, after a moment I force my eyes away from her dress as my mind tries to make me have some less decent thoughts.

Twilight is also mostly silent and stares at my own suit. "I-I like the suit. I mean, it looks nice on you." She stumbles over her words and blushes a little, probably in embarrassment. She really is not good at being social, but teenagers are like that, and being a nerd doesn't help.

I wave her concern off immediately. "Thanks, I think the dress looks nice as well." I try to give a basic complement and move on, but she blushes even more. I guess she doesn't have many ponies who flatter her. "Anyway, like I was saying you remember that spell?" I changed the subject and moved it back to what I just asked.

She seems split on changing the subject but nods and moves on to the next topic with me. "Well, I learned it, but at the same time it's proving to be a little subpar." I didn't bring a quill with me so with a flex of my mind and will a small-sized version of the spell matrix appears in front of me so we can look at it.

Twilight is now more interested in the magic and seems to pay more attention to my casting than the last time we met. "OH! you are a... Journeypony caster?" She guesses and I nod. She keeps her smile and looks excited, "That's amazing! Not many get that far with spell casting, let alone runic casting." She compliments.

I shrug. "It's, well, it's what it is. ... But, I've noticed this spell is a little off, the runes just don't line up well." I wanted to ask her about this and see how good she is at theoretically modifying spells, but I just overshared a little. I salvage it by scratching the back of my head and pretending to look uncertain, "That's just what I guessed though, I could be wrong."

She smiles at that and also takes a few moments to look over the matrix. "I don't recognize those two runes, this one I know and it makes sense, but that final one does seem a little out of place. It should still work fine though, are you having some difficulty with it?" Her words are pretty accurate.

The spell has four runes and her recognizing two of them is pretty good considering I don't think she's learned many healing spells. I shake my head, "No, I can use it just fine. But, hmm, that rune doesn't sit right with me, can you think of a better one? I can just swap them out." Another small test for her.

Normally most don't modify spells, but changing a rune to another rune that is similar enough works well. It's one of the most common ways to modify a spell as it doesn't need math, just two similar runes. "Oh, umm." She looks over the rune for a few moments. "Maybe? Do you know the rune's meaning?"

I smile as we both start to dive down a rabbit hole of facts and runes, neither of us notices two Princesses taking the occasional glance over at us. We go back and forth several times and at some point, we start using an assortment of random items to represent things and help us work on the problem.

It's interesting and she is decent at working on the spell, but eventually, I learned she's not the best at thinking outside the box when it comes to spell creation. She's great at magic and using spells in some creative ways from what I can tell, but spell creation is just not her area of expertise, even if she can do it.

But that's just what I observed over the time we've talked, she might be different if I knew her better, and after a while, we do move away from spell work. Twilight keeps her small smile as my matrix dissolves into nothing, "Really good at magic." She mumbles out to herself like she's noting it down.

I nod. "I'd like to think so." She seemed a little surprised I heard that considering she spoke so quietly. "But I suppose that's only compared to untrained ponies, I think most ponies from the Princesses school could beat me soundly." I downplay my skill some and tamper expectations like normal.

She tilts her head and raises a brow. "No... I m-mean, not really? How old are you?" I raise a brow in return and she blushes again. "Sorry. I-If you don't mind me asking of course!" She adds quickly.

I find her fumbling a little funny honestly and I don't really mind, it's not like it's important. "Fourteen this year," I answer and she pauses for a moment.

"Huh-h, same age as me. B-But, umm, anyway. Most ponies from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns aren't at the Journeypony yet. I can think of a few, several actually, but it's still not common to get that far before graduation. It's a-an achievement, so congratulations?" She ends with a little uncertainty.

I take in good humor and just smile wider. "Thanks, it's not often I get a compliment like that." I just take the uncertain compliment and we move on again. It is interesting to know I'm decent at magic, maybe not as good as others though and I think to a point she's overstating my abilities to be nice.

She smiled at that and honestly, she looked a bit cute, like a seal. "S-Sure, so how were you invited?" She asks curiously trying to do more small talk, and I stop for a moment. I can't just say the truth and I also can't say there is no secret as getting invited to the Gala four times in a row is not easy or normal.

After a long moment, I crush any small amount of panic and focus again. "I have a... Friend. They normally have a spare invite and give it to me. No idea where they get them though." I tell a half-truth and a full truth. Celestia is my friend more than anything else and I have no idea where she gets the invites, for all I know she makes them.

She's definitely curious but seems to think about it for a moment before saying anything. She has a look of slight realization and I'm almost worried she knows something. "A noble friend? A-Actually, you don't need to answer. Sorry again." She guesses half to herself and half to me and quickly apologizes.

I nod and feel any leftover tension leave me. "Something like that, though they are private, so I won't say much about them." That is another half-truth, Celestia is technically private. "Anyway, do you have any fun stories?" She raises a brow but drops the topic. "Because I have a few if you like?"

She looks more intrigued so I continue. "Well, have you ever been to New Trotten? Because it's an interesting city to visit." But before I can continue we're interrupted by the music changing and many ponies move off of the main ballroom floor to clear it out.

The dance is the last part of the Gala and it is also the most popular, anypony can dance as long as they don't cause a scene. As we watch ponies start to pair up, sometimes a stallion and mare and also mares with mares, even a stallion couple. Along with complete strangers dancing at random while talking to each other.

As we watch I see Twilight start to get more nervous and jittery. "S... Shade?" I turn to her and raise a brow again. She seems much more nervous about me staring at her. "Would y-you... Would you like to dance with me?!!" She quickly blurts out so fast that I almost don't understand.

My brain just freezes for a moment and I stare back confused. After a long moment of her getting more and more nervous, I give her an apologetic look and decide to be blunt and honest. "Well, sorry." I see her face fall at that. "No! I'd like to... But... I literally don't know how to dance." I quickly try to let her down easily before admitting that last part a little sheepishly.

Her ears lower some and she looks a little downtrodden, but hearing my full answer she doesn't look fully rejected. There was a long moment of silence as I rapidly tried to think of a solution that wouldn't end with Shining kicking my ass for this, and after a few moments of panic, I found a solution.

"But, umm, if you do know how I wouldn't mind learning?" I offer with uncertainty really hoping this will work. I honestly don't mind dancing as it's not necessary for couples and many ponies dance with whoever they want, plus it sounds interesting, but I really don't want Shining mad at me. My words do seem to have the desired effect.

Her ears abruptly pop up and her eyes widen and almost sparkle with excitement. "Really?!! I-I mean yes! Of course, I can!" She grabs my hoof and in her excitement pulls me away from the tables with some strength. Abruptly I'm now out on the ballroom floor and have a pair of hooves on mine as I stand on my back legs.

It's a little abrupt and odd to stand like this, but I adapt quickly before looking up at her. We just sort of stare at each other for a moment as she seems to realize how forward she just was. "Ummm." She looks a little panicked and doesn't seem to know what to do at this point.

After another moment I give a half smile. "So, which hoof do I move first?" I ask and that seems to slowly move things forward from there. She snaps out of her own thoughts and panic and looks split between embarrassed and beyond excited.

It starts with her moving a hoof back. "Just... Hmm, follow my lead?" She says uncertainty and I quickly have to use my spatial senses to my advantage. As she slowly starts to move us back and forward, we almost slip right away, but I pull back a little and we stay upright. "Sorry!"

I keep my calm attitude and try to memorize the moves while guiding us away from other ponies with my senses. I even limit my spatial magic and life magic senses to only a dozen feet to pay extra attention. "This is, good. Yea." She says more to herself as we actually start to have some form of rhythm.

"It is, thanks for teaching me." I compliment back, even if this is more for her than me. She blushes a little at my words and I brush it off as just being who she is, another personality quark.

"You're welcome. No! Wait, thank you for... For agreeing to dance!" She corrects herself as she saves me from a misstep by pulling me a little. From there we fell back into a silent rhythm.

time skip

I step out into the dark and mostly empty streets of Canterlot once again.

The dance with Twilight was certainly interesting, even if we were both obviously horrible at it. But I learned a thing or two and as the Gala finished up I got to wish Shining goodnight when he came over to grab Twilight and go home, he looked pretty happy so I don't think my ass is on the line. After they left I didn't have much of a reason to stay so I did the same.

The big dance was the last part of the Gala so I just left as well, but I did catch one last look at Celestia, who just smiled back happily. Honestly, this Gala proved to be more interesting than I'd expected, even more interesting than the year I got stuck in between two princesses.

I wander the streets a little slowly as I move through the night. Talking to Twilight is fun, if a little awkward, I'm much more comfortable with ponies that are more mature. She's fun, but she's also hormonal, not that I can blame her. I think we both took a few glances at each other's bits while watching our hooves during the dance.

Boy was that difficult to not have a certain part of me react, in the end, though things worked out fine and I was only embarrassed about how badly I danced. I turn another corner and see my apartment not far away. It's been a long night and honestly, I'd like to unwind somewhat privately.

When I enter my apartment I let Entropy finally leave my shadow. She was a good girl so I took a few minutes to make us both a few snacks to enjoy even though we ate dinner at the Gala. "Here you go Girl, enjoy." She digs in with gusto and a few minutes later she looks up at me for a long moment. "What?"

"Happy?" She asks a little abruptly.

I raise a brow. "Yes? Why do you ask?" I ask back, but she just stays silent about her thoughts and after a long moment I just shrug. "Well, ok then. Can you get us to Gaia?" I know the answer already, a moment later she hops on me and we both vanish from my apartment.

The sounds of a sleeping city are replaced by the soft sound of crickets and the slowly blowing wind of the Everfree forest. It's a nice reprieve from the chaos of the city and all the parties, here at least there is silence. "Thanks, Girl, do what you like, I think I'm going for a walk for a bit," I tell her while leaving the small shack we appeared in.

It's a cool and mercifully quiet night, the crunch of dead leaves in the wind as many trees in the Everfree are now leafless. Many trees resisted the coming cold and stayed green longer than anywhere else, but they too would fall to the cold eventually. I don't have much of a reason, but I felt I needed time to think.

Entropy apparently decided to come with me and rode on my back as I walked. So many things happen in life, but I think things in my life are going well. But some things are just ticking in my mind, not of the problems I have now but the problems yet to come.

What remains of canon events is creeping closer, I still have years but that is not a long time all things considered, especially with what I'm up against. Thinking about all these problems makes me want a plan, even if it's early I should start considering how to actually help with events.

At the top of that list is the first major event, Nightmare Moon. The first villain and one of the more dangerous ones, it might not seem like it but she could end this world easily. Just the ability to and intentions of messing with the sun and moon is more than enough to end this world with ease.

Honestly from what I understand about magic and the sun if it disappears for even a day, the consequences are messy. Every magical flow of the world even remotely reliant on the solar magic from the sun would shift, not by a lot, but even a small amount can change environments.

As a very good example take life magic, for it to function and flow around the environment properly it needs plant life and animal life to be active. But if every plant stopped moving the life magic they use at the same time, well like I said things will shift somewhat.

A forest could have some of its plants die, or animals migrate from the event. It won't be large in any way, it's more the fact that everything will shift at the same time. Honestly, nopony could ever truly know just how much will change or how it will change, but it will happen.

So, for the safety of literally every living thing, it is for the best that this never happens. But preventing it is not an easy thing, in fact it is immensely dangerous, maybe more so than even the sun being gone for a day. Messing with the very start of the Element's journey is no small thing.

The main thing is Celestia, I have no idea what happens to Celestia during the whole event. She only appears at the end, and that makes messing with the sun much more complicated. At the low end, we can say Celestia was trapped or distracted by Nightmare Moon in some way.

I find this the most likely because I know Celestia and she would not leave something like this to chance, she would immediately intervene if she could. I still don't know what she knows about the future, but I doubt she'd not involve herself even if she knew the future events in detail.

So, if we work on that as a base, then she will not be able to stop the sun from lowering for whatever reason. I could see Nightmare Moon trapping her in some way, she has had the time to plan for such a thing after all. That doesn't really leave many options, hell the best option might just be me finding a way to raise the sun myself, but that is ridiculou- .... Actually, that might not be completely crazy.

Well, it is still a bat shit crazy idea, but it's not an impossibility. I know about spells and magic, and I have considerable resources to devote to such an idea. On top of that magic is sort of working in my favor here, even if I have no idea how this sun works I probably know more about stellar bodies than even Celestia.

It wouldn't be easy and I'd need a lot more skill, but getting enough magic isn't too hard. I'd need to gather several dozen high-power gems, probably pure diamonds, but beyond that, I think it is possible to make such a spell, although it might actually be better as a ritual.

Rituals are more finicky but they would work better for something so large scale. As my mind tries to think through the logistics of such an idea I lay down in the dried grass next to the small pond made by the Water Tree. It's doing well and in fact seems better at handling the cold than many of my plants.

I stare into the crystal clear water under a bright half moon lost in thought. Entropy snuggles up in between my hooves against my chest and a thought pops into my head randomly as she does so. "You know, I've never told you my real past." I ponder out loud.

She looks up at me as I cast a silencing spell around us. "What?" She asks, confused at my seemingly nonsensical words.

I smile down at her as I think of how best to tell my closest friend about my past. "I think it's long past due then. Let me tell you a story, a story that makes no fucking sense."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :D
Current year is 994

I could have had the dance go on longer, but I ran out of idea and just decided to end this Gala. Three chapters for a single Gala, next year may take longer, hmmm.