AUG 21 Tuesday.

I slowly look over my appearance in the mirror and make sure I look decent. My new suit fits well on my body and looks quite good.

It may have been embarrassing to get but I have to admit the suit works well for me. I stop admiring myself after a few moments and leave my small bathroom. The past week has been an odd mix of me and Celestia sending letters frequently and preparing for whatever this Gala will bring.

I'm not nervous but I have things on my mind, a big one being the NDA Celestia is making. First things first we had to determine what I actually wanted to keep from others, and that turned out to be a long thought process for me. To be blunt I'm not entirely sure how I need to go about this.

I might be jumping the gun a bit as I'm not even sure they will take a modified NDA, but Celestia said it was not uncommon. It will probably raise a brow or two but that's about it, and my request to meet Master Healer Clear Water is standard for apprenticeships.

I'm still thinking it over but after laying it all out with Celestia in a few letters I'll be sending the new NDA and a meeting request when Celestia sends me the finished NDA. That should give them plenty of time to respond and hopefully set things up so I can see if I even want to do this.

Celestia leans more towards me accepting but made it clear that it is my choice, mostly because an opportunity like this is rare. Plus if I even want to do this at a later date it would be much harder to set up and I might have to apprentice under a Journeypony Healer, which would take three years. That still leaves me undecided on what I should share with this Master Healer.

The NDA we've made will basically be much of the same, but more geared to personal matters and more thorough. She can modify and use anything I teach her, but only with permission, and I can do the same. The main differences come into play around private knowledge and inventions.

It will basically tell Master Clear Water that she can teach me anything she wants to, as long as it's owned by her or public information, so she literally can't tell me secrets. And I can't give her any private information either, for all the good that does. It also gives me the right to make things with anything she teaches me.

That might seem like a dead give away but Celestia said she would word it like it's just me covering my bases and being a little excessive, basically it will look like whoever wrote the NDA was just being paranoid. Another thing Celestia tried to convince me of was revealing more of my skills, something I'm not sure about.

She didn't push it but pointed out a few advantages that I can't really disagree with. At present I'm going to be doing something I normally would never do, I'm going to stop holding back to a degree. Celestia is making the NDA as thorough as steel and that gives me some reassurances.

I'm still going to hide a lot but I won't be hiding my skill in spell casting, at all. It's pretty far outside of my comfort zone but Celestia made a damn good point. If I hold back we'll just spend the entire time learning things I already know, and I'll learn even less than I already am.

Celestia is a teacher and she said a teacher needs to know the capabilities of a student to actually teach them, logic I can't really argue with. Sure I could lie and just learn the bare minimum, but that feels like a waste. And it's not like I'm just shouting out my secrets, I'm getting them under a strict and extremely well-made NDA before telling them anything.

On top of that they already know some of my capabilities in spell casting so lying would do little more than hamper me. So if IF I agree to apprentice with her, and IF she signs everything, I will try my best to be honest about this one thing. But only that for now, while Clear Water might be able to help me with other things I don't know her, let alone trust her.

I can't just ignore the possibility altogether though, I need to at least keep it in mind. On that same front, I've been thinking about my friends more often, and how much I lie to them. Over time it's becoming more apparent how little they would really care if I told them some secrets. The learning I was a healer was always going to happen, but their reaction made me less nervous about other secrets being revealed.

I may fear their reaction but I fear the potential consequences much more, getting my friends hurt is something I really don't want. I sigh a bit as I shake my head and turn to Entropy as she sits on her perch, wearing a tiny birthday hat she kept from Celestia's birthday party. I raise a brow at that as I walk over, "Why the hat?" I ask amused.

She tilts her head and takes it off for a moment. "Celebration hat." She says like that explains everything, but from her perspective, I guess it does, that is now the celebration hat and it will be used for its namesake. That thought just makes me chuckle. She puts the hat down and flies over to me. "Go, celebrate?"

I nod and she slips into my shadow without another word. I don't fear her being detected, I tried it out myself but even with her band active, she isn't detected by my bracelet, which probably has something to do with being inside a shadow. Over time I've been looking into my older spells and improving them, the illusion detector and the illusion Entropy uses being big ones.

I've been wanting to remake Entropy's illusion more and more recently, mostly because I want to achieve something specific. Entropy's illusion is complex and simple, with one main flaw, it can be disrupted by it being touched too much or something going through it.

That leads me to a small project that I haven't started yet, a physical illusion. It's basically the same thing but it mimics touch and feel while making the illusion solid to the touch. I mainly want to make it so there is no possibility of any accidents, there have been a few close calls with others trying to touch her in the past.

It still needs more work and it will take time to get right, but seeing her act more carefree would make it all worth it to me. And letting my friends pet her so she can get more love is a nice bonus. I leave my thoughts as I leave my apartment and head up the stairs.

I pull back some of my suit so I can form wings and take flight a moment later, heading straight for the Gala and making good time as I do so. I scouted the area a few days back so I landed on a building nearby but somewhat out of the way before dismissing my wings and heading down to the street.

Nopony sees me land and it doesn't take me long to walk through the busy streets, on the downside I get more attention than I would like as I walk the Gala. As I walk through the street I see several Ponies point me out and it seems I've been recognized from my suit, I pay it no mind.

I make it there mercifully uninterrupted and start to head to the entrance, ignoring the slight chill in the wind as fall has set in. I do the same thing as all times before, passing off my invitation and being let in with little delay. I notice the greenery around the Gala withering a bit, dying from the coming winter. It's not fully Fall yet, but soon it will be.

As I walk inside I see that I'm neither late nor early this time, I also see many more eyes on me than last year.

N.S.F.W starts here.

As I enter the large room I notice something though. I nearly trip as a few stallions stand in more uncomfortable positions. Several of them hanging low in a rather blatant way, their cocks hanging and bouncing about. For once I am very grateful I don't need to look around and stare to see things, I'd rather not stare. As I walk in more I notice many other stallions in similar situations.

An interesting fact I've learned is that much like the Ponies from my last world, mares here have their heat cycle varied and they lasts from two to three weeks. It's most coming to happen around Spring and especially Fall but it can be very random, how a mare deals with their heat is another matter entirely.

In more public places they will just go about normal life without much of a care, and stallions just deal with it as that is normal for them. However, it is not uncommon for a mare to just take two weeks off and stay home, with all jobs giving that mare time off by law, although it doesn't need to be accepted.

It's not exactly hard to prove you are in heat either so it's a pretty common thing to take that time off. And employers are fine with that as often while stallions getting excited is ignored, a mare in heat can get, insistent. They don't want a mare trying to fuck a customer or coworker so they just give them the time off.

Still, what is less common is a mare in heat coming to the damned Gala. It's not against any rules, and I can remember a time or two when a mare in heat came to past Gala's. They were at the end of their heat though and less of a problem. Coming here like this is just a rude thing to do. As I walk into the party I see many stallions in various states of arousal, a few clearly affected more than others. And as I step in I smell that odd scent as well, a mix of too sweet and too strong.

I think fast and flip a switch on my bracelet, sure I won't smell anything, but on the other hoof, thank magic I can't smell that. I quickly take a few deep breaths to get what little scent I inhaled out of my lungs, continuing to sense around and figure things out. As I look around I realize the problem is a bit worse than I thought.

I see several mares, at least a dozen maybe more who are clearly in heat. They are dressed well but the unmistakable sight of their tales hiking up when a stallion is passing behind them or sometimes just at random. I have no idea why the fuck they decided to all come here, and it's really awkward to see.

It's one thing to get an awkward reaction in public, but it's another thing entirely to be in a room full of very aroused stallions and mares. A few actually have their bodies more under control, mostly older-looking stallions. Their members are still inside their sheaths or only halfway to being at mast.

Others, not so much. I hear a smacking sound ring out not far away and try not to blush or think about the scenario around me. I am beyond thankful for the spell I made, as my sheath is mostly still for the moment, but I find my thoughts and eyes wandering a little too much.

I can't exactly ignore it all and while I'm not dealing with the mare's scent I can still see and I have eyes along with a working brain, unfortunately. On top of all of that, Ponies are taking notice of me as I walk into the party, their faces changing as they recognize me. And the worst part is how blatant Ponies are.

I'm probably one of the tallest Ponies here, if not the tallest, and that height difference is taken swift advantage of. I see a fair few mares, and stallions for some reason, taking a peek under me and to my backside. Staring openly at my sheath and balls as I walk, that proves to be a little too much as my cock slips free a little, the head peeking out.

I feel a slight blush trying to appear but I suppress it with all my will. I feel my sheath stirring some, trying my best to walk without interruption or pause. I ignore the stares and whispers as best I can and walk over to the food tables to give me something, anything, to distract myself with, and a place to sit so they stop staring at my slightly exposed self.

As I move through the Ponies I see a lot more take notice of me as I get deeper into the crowd, and then a mare I'm walking past hikes her tail up suddenly. I have the misfortune of being behind her and sensing the smile she has, she knows damn well what she was doing.

I look away like it's not bothering me and try to focus more, desperately making spells in my head and just walking through the room. Eventually, I arrive and immediately sit and start eating something, feeling my body relax more as what little scent I breathed in loses its effect and my member retreats into my sheath fully.

N.S.F.W ends here.

I sigh and retract my senses a little, trying my best to not think about the situation and not get certain thoughts stuck in my head, I already feel embarrassed and don't need to react now. It doesn't solve the problem as everypony else is still dealing with things, but I just focus on feeding Entropy under the table.

I don't have to sit for long though as evidently I arrived just in time for Cadance and Celestia to walk out in their full regalia. I stare at them both and after a few moments I look away, the sight of a very dressed-up Celestia proving to be a bit much at the moment, I focus on taking deep breaths instead.

I'm not alone in that as several stallions, and a few mares, have a reaction to the two princesses showing up. I promptly stop thinking about that as well and try to block this all out of my memory, if I'm lucky I won't remember anything about tonight. At least I made this spell if I was like them... I'd probably run.

After taking a minute to calm down and center myself more I look back to the princesses and try my best to ignore the lower half of everypony. Celestia is all dressed up, looking... Pretty, or... Not thinking about that, she looks good. And I noticed she once again decided to wear her necklace, the one I made her.

I think I remember something about it from Cadance, apparently Celestia wearing it last year causing a slight fashion trend around wooden jewelry, I can even see a few Ponies with wooden bracelets. I guess that's two fashion trends I've caused now, I wonder what Rarity would think about that? I chuckle a little to myself at the idea. "What are you chuckling about?"

I already knew the mare was sitting next to me, but she was a stranger so I ignored it. I turn and look down at the small Batpony mare sitting five feet away, she's maybe half my height at best. "Oh, didn't mean to interrupt your thoughts, my bad." She apologizes. "So, what do you do? Must be pretty important to be here two years in a row, huh?" The mare dives right into the conversation in a calm but slightly broad tone.

I raise a brow at the rather bold attempt to drag me into a conversation, but at the moment I really could use distractions of some kind. I turn back and take a bite of a roll, ignoring the mare as she glances down between my legs. "A joke I just got, and I don't do much, just investing." I am honest and vague along with keeping a calm tone, keenly aware that this mare is at least smart enough to point out I was here two years in a row.

That again, that's a pretty easy thing to notice. The mare nods and smiles, "Hmm, sounds interesting. Was it a good joke?" I shrug. "Not one for words are you?" I shake my head and pay close attention to her outfit. I can't sense anything like jewelry and my necklace isn't heating up, she's not a changeling then. "At least you're polite enough to be quiet."

I raise another brow at that and give her a sideways glance, silently asking what she means. She sighs, "Those mares in heat are getting, rowdy. They kept being very persistent and even interrupted a conversation I was having, that poor stallion." She mumbles with some annoyance. "You seem fine though, keeping it together rather well." She says in a friendly tone like that is a completely normal compliment.

For a Pony, it might be a normal thing to compliment someone over, but it's just odd to me. I may have become a Pony in my mindset, at least to some extent, but this part of me is still human. I shrug again, "You are quiet, I like that." I nearly give her another look but just stay silent.

She spends a moment drinking something from a glass, non alcoholic as it's not allowed. "By Celestia this is boring, so what does an investor do to look like they ate a wall?" She asks in a mostly serious but also joking tone. I turn to her and for the life of me I can't pin this mare, she's a little blunt but polite, she looks bored and excited, it's all over the place, and maybe she is drinking something she's not supposed to.

I don't answer for a long moment. "Exercise, mostly running, it's like walking but faster." I again am honest but vague, keeping things simple so I don't need to lie, while also adding some dry humor. "What do you do?" I ask back as this is proving to be a decent distraction. I keep my senses on the party and Celestia, trying my best to ignore the lower parts of each Pony in the room.

I can still sense a large number of eyes on me, I do literally stand out from the crowd so it's not odd, still uncomfortable though. She snorts, "Huh, you can make a decent joke, and take one. I make flowers, anything to do with flowers really." She gives me about as much detail as I give her.

But it's at this point that another Pony comes over, a stallion with the same problem as many other stallions in this room. I glance at them while they are still a little further away and see something that changes my mood. :At least this will be interesting: Walking over in a white suit that blends with his coat, and a blond mane, is Blueblood.

He is an interesting character as I actually know a little about his bloodline. From what I know his family are adopted nephews of Celestia, but only in name more than anything. I haven't talked about it with Celestia, but from the records I could find, around three hundred years ago Celestia started looking into her family.

None of the actual records around it are public, but Celestia backtracked her family line to her parents and their relatives. Their names are unknown to anypony, maybe I should ask about that someday? Anyway, everypony knows that Celestia was born from Ponies, we just don't know anything about them, it is also a common belief that Celestia and Cadance were born alicorns.

That last one is a point for much MUCH debate, there are some way more wild theories around it. Anyway, Celestia backtracked her lineage and found out she still had a few relatives around, her family line mostly having died out but leaving behind one family. And thus, Prince Blueblood, a title that means little.

His family has wealth and influence, but everypony knows that the prince title is more of a ceremonial thing. I watch as the stallion, being a fair bit shorter than me, walks over. From the fifth appendage he has I can tell the mares in heat have gotten to him.

He looks to be around twenty, maybe a little younger but it's hard to tell. He's well-groomed and is wearing a clearly expensive suit. He keeps walking to us with a smile, but it falters a little as he gets close and sees me. His eyes were locked onto the mare next to me and moved over to my large frame.

I stare back and the mare raises a brow before following my gaze. "Oh no, not him." I hear her quietly mumble. "Why by Celestia does he have to look half decent?" She continues and I nearly look over at her, it seems she's not unattracted to him, just seemingly annoyed.

As Blueblood gets close I nod in silent greeting, and from the look of slight awkwardness he gives me I can tell he recognizes me, probably from the paper. "Well, hello my good Mare." His surprisingly deep tone doesn't fit his appearance all that much, but he holds himself well enough, I can already tell he's a charmer. "And hello to you too, Sir?" He trails off.

I nod again, "Shade." I give a single name and don't bother with a last name, I don't need him looking into it. I stay silent and there is a long moment as he seemingly waits for more, but I just continue to look down at the smaller stallion. "Nice to meet you." I eventually say before turning back to the food, not really in the mood, I'm trying not to get embarrassed, and sitting next to a stallion with a stiff problem makes that hard.

As we speak I see the mare glance under him as well, being as blatant as every other Pony here, she shows no reactions to the sight though. "Hello Prince Blueblood, I hope things have been well since the last time we met. I think the flower decorations for it were one of my favorites to work on." The mare says in a far more formal tone than with me, I guess she thought I was more of a blunt Pony to talk to, she guessed well.

He smiles in a slightly cocky way, no pun intended. "They were, I truly loved the White ones, they matched my coat so well." He says in a happy tone, I nearly snort as a distant memory comes to mind. "So Scarlet, how are you enjoying the Gala? I think it could use a more energetic mood, a mood I am happy to bring."

I continue eating and basically ignoring him, keeping an eye on the mare just to not fully ignore her. She narrows her eyes at him a little and I notice that he seems to be reacting less, I spot Celestia casting a spell in the crowd. If I had to guess it is to cut down on the scents in the room, not that I can tell.

She looks him up and down for a moment. "Yes, it really is a bit slow. And it really is a shame nopony could lighten it up." She agrees in a happy tone, one I can tell is more of a mocking tone than anything. But the stallion seems completely unfazed. "I was just having a great conversation with this stallion here." She turns back to me, "So, like I was saying."

I nearly ignore her as I notice a few stallions having their problems lessened, but the effect seems limited at best, probably some air-cleaning spell. It will cut down on it all but the mares in heat are still around so the problem will continue. I nod slowly at the small mare, "Yes, please continue." I agree as I've been with Blueblood for all of five minutes and I think that's enough, I also nearly flinch as I hear a small smacking sound come from his lower body.

She nods and I can see Blueblood looks a little confused, but still doesn't seem to realize he's being snubbed. "Right. I do flower decorations, mostly roses, you would be surprised how many we go through. Have you ever seen a flower farm?" She starts talking and I'm somewhat interested.

I listen as I notice a large mare getting closer, a very recognizable mare to me, Cadance. I can sense the polite but barely contained smile she has as she gets closer to us. "Oh, yes! You did have some rather vibrant roses, they went swimmingly with my tie." Blueblood just inserts himself into the conversation.

I smile politely and in anticipation, all the while Cadance gets closer to us. She's coming towards us from an angle where out of us three I'm the only one that notices her, with Blueblood and Scarlet too busy staring at each other. "Right, I think I remember that. The tie clashed in a very, unique display." She again gives him a vague insult.

This time though he actually notices, a bit. His smile falters a tiny amount, but it is hidden well. "I suppose so, although I think that the rather, creative dress you wore was much more complementary." I find myself enjoying things and struggling not to chuckle as the two subtly insult each other.

Before Scarlet can retort him, I stand up straighter, bowing down in a more formal way than normal for me. Both look confused for a second and Blueblood smiles while standing a little straighter, "Oh my, I wasn't expecting thi-" That's as far as he got before Scarlet also looked in the direction I was.

Her eyes go wide and she also bows, pretty deeply as well. Finally, Blueblood turns around and comes face to face with Cadance, standing a few short feet away. "Hello, cousin."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :]
Current year is 996

Don't panic, this will be continued. I really wanted to add a NSFW scene as it's been, over 70 chapters, damn. Oddly, while I was finishing with it I thought it might be a bit much, as it felt awkward to write about.

It just feels really weird, but that makes sense. This is a Pony world and they don't care, and I think the fact I as a human got the same feelings as Shade from it all, fits rather well. Still, there is nothing important inside the scene so feel free to skip it.

Also, there will be teasing next time.