The Grand Galloping Gala was in two weeks...such a stupid name. The others already had dresses, so they knew what to wear, but mine -How I loathe it- was constantly worked on by Rarity. I tried to keep her from touching my h-mane, but she would go into her psycho-mode and fanatically work on every which way possible to suit me to her tastes. The little, spiky curl of Silver was flattened against my forehead. Irritating, but normally, it was a natural thing. It'd certainly get back to normal afterwards. Rarity added some type of headband or hair pins with blue petals on them into my hair. They meshed well with the 'motif' of my dress following a blue flower on the back, stretched out across my sides and dropping several of its petals into the sparkling, silver base. The background unhindered by the petals was a faded white, likely to prevent it from being confused for my body. Just because I liked white and blue didn't mean this wasn't...overwhelming!

A few other things happened during the week, such as my attempt to learn how to take care of animals from Fluttershy. To 'tame' them, in a sense. She called it befriending, so I tried to 'befriend' a bear. No. I wasn't screaming when I was being chased by it. Er, I wasn't screaming loudly. Shut up.

Pinkie Pie had also decided to follow me everywhere, blabbering non-stop! She was so annoying! Even when I thought I lost here, she was right around the corner. I know she's not mean, but she doesn't seem to understand the concept of 'personal space'. At least she was saying nice things to me rather than berating me. It was a nice change of pace. I almost felt like my inner wounds were healing. No, not wounds like internal wounds! But, while I was really happy, I was still very scared of the princesses. They casually tried to kill me then switched to negotiations when they realized they couldn't. What exactly were they going to do at this gala?

I enjoyed my stay at Ponyville despite Rarity's insistence on my 'getting closer' to Big Mac. I helped everyone around here, especially Twilight. I don't want them to just kill me and send me back to where I was...I think.

Pffff. The gala was starting tonight, though. I had just now gotten used to these gummy ponies and now they wanted me to go with them to the celebration or whatever it is. Everyone was dressed in their gaudy lanks of cloth, although I found Rainbow Dash's dress to be...cool. As for my...dress -blech- everyone seemed interested in the motif that Rarity had used. The flower especially attracted attention.

The nerd circled around me, taking in everything she could. "You really outdid yourself this time, Rarity," Twilight congratulated her friend.

The marshmallow put a hoof to her chest and smiled affectionately. "Thank you, Twilight, but it's just one of the lighter things I've created. I needed elegance and some haute couture to make it attract the eyes, but not blind them." she danced her forelegs around. "Enough that she stands out, but not to steal the spotlight from anyone else when she walks into the room." She opened her eyes and blinked several times, then leaned towards Twilight with worry. "You...understand what I'm trying to say?"

Twilight giggled. "Don't worry Rarity. I understand."

Applejack jabbed me in the back of the neck, knocking the air out of me. I grabbed the spot she hit and glared at her with bared teeth.

"Ya look amazin', SIlver. Just as good as an apple polished fer a week to look like a red diamond!" She had the biggest smile saying that. Her cowboyisms were grating.

Rarity leaned in, a little concerned, and spoke in a not-so-subtle whisper. "Um, I think you mean a ruby, darling."

The cowpony frowned and straightened herself out. "Ah know what ah said, Rarity," she declared dryly.

Ignoring their exchange, I shrugged. "I don't know what to say...You all look nice too?" I said in a confused tone.

"You might've said that a few times already," Pinkie bounced.

"Guess I'm nervous," I chuckled nervously.

"You don't have to be nerrrrr~vous," Rarity coo'd. "Big Mac came along too."

You squishy bitch!

Big Mac wasn't the most stylish pony around, but he had a knack for pulling off red and yellow in his suit. Just because I'm living as Silver doesn't mean I need to accept herfeelings. I'll do this in my own way.

"Good evening, Big Macintosh," Rarity started in regal vocals. "Would you be so gentlecoltly as to accompany Silver and I to the carousel when it arrives?" she asked.

She was likely expecting some kind of fresh, prince-like response. Instead, she got an 'eeyup!' and frowned with disappointment. I heard her grumbling away. Clearly, she wanted to approach me about some manner of infatuation I have for that horse, but the reaction seemed to have rendered her bitter and dissatisfied. And so we waited until Twilight came by to create a carriage for us. One of magic. She seemed insistent on reassuring the others that it's only a temporary spell. Not sure why. Something something business. Pegasi were pulling it this time. Armored ones from the princesses' castle. They had apparently come on their own to bring us to the gala just because said princesses told them to. Pffff. I'd rather go back to that astral scorpion residing in...what was it? The Everwhee fortress? Something like that.

I waited in the carriage with everyone while we were taken to the castle, and although I felt it to be kinda boring, at least we weren't bouncing everywhere like jelly. Spike was all red and flustered, but I'm not sure why. Must've been some embarrassing memory that came up suddenly. Those are fun. It looked like everyone was inside, and Rarity thought it cute to at least get Big Mac to sit next to me, but...where was Pinkie Pie?

"Woohoo!" I heard shouted from outside the carriage.

"What was--" I tried to say, but was cut off by Rainbow.

"That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," she deadpanned. I stared at her blankly. "You'll get used to it if you stick around with us."

I sighed. I figured she was somewhere outside, crazy as she is. That said, being next to Big Mac made me feel uneasy, and the sides of my hind legs felt unusually warm. I think the marks on them were protesting the proximity. Could they even do that? Worst of all, I'd have to deal with this for fifteen minutes more-or-less. Actually, that wouldn't be too bad. Pegasi sure are fast, even when they're carriage a magical wooden carriage that shouldn't be floating about in the first place.

Their incessant chattering and the cramped positions were about to make me burst in anger and frustration when we finally reached the castle grounds. I was the first to literally tear down the gates and startle the pony meant to open it for us. Oh! It was so good to have some fresh and space. The others were shocked at my behavior, but what do I care about what they think about me at this point?

Once my stress subsided, I got to marvel at the sight of the castle from a perspective not behind bars. The white walls shown in the dark thanks to the blinding lights bursting through the many door-sized windows everywhere. Some above the large, brown wooden entrance doorway, others leading directly to the main hall. Lots of colorful flowers and tinsel-like vines wrapped around each other as they grew above the walls. Several guards were patrolling the grounds, and some were dragging unwanted guests out, ignoring the kicking and screaming. Most of this entrance was entrapped by tall, trimmed walls of green and brown bushes. A natural wall makes things cheaper, I suppose.

Twilight forced me out of my contemplating by pushing me and gesturing to follow her. I could hear people greeting Celestia from behind the doors, making it all the less surprising when I saw her and her sister standing on a one-step-elevated platform blocking the way to doors leading to the rest of the castle. There didn't seem to be many people here, though. I was half-expecting a massive line or something. Twilight and the others went to greet the princesses, giving me the opportunity to slip away into the yard and go around back...where light was glaring behind the corners and voices were getting louder. But I snuck away successively anyways. Nyahaha! Now to leave...somehow. They only said they wanted me to come, not to stay.

This place was where all the guests were, and where all the people were eating meals like prissy wusses they were. Teeny weeny platters with nothing on them. I felt my face contort into pure disgust when I watched them eat. I'll look for the exit here since the guards are all blocking the one we came in from, so I'm going to have to suffer through this crowd. During my sneaking, some idiot decided it'd be 'cute' to block me off. He was wearing golden armor without a helmet, and a suit underneath it...for some reason. It was blindingly bright, and his shitty smirk made me want to punch him in his face super hard.

"Woah woah woah!" he pressed. "Why do you want to pass by me so quickly?"

Judging by his tone, he was clearly full of himself. A type of 'ladies man' like back on Earth. His brown mane had a yellow tint to it, but it was too poorly done to be unnoticeable. Clearly compensating for his ugly, and it being smoothed back against his skull made him kind of look like a fancy mushroom. Following his armor color, his eyes were blindingly golden as was his coat, although I couldn't see much of it through his suit and armor. Is he using magic or just diving into pools of yellow ink? I'd say he's just about stupid enough to drink the ink seeing how yellow he was. Hell, he was so full of himself that he had his own armor encrusted with rubies and some type of orange gem, and his butt mark was a golden trident surrounded by a circle of white. Really exaggerating at this point.

"I wonder if his blood is gold?" I thought as images of bloodletting entered my mind.

My muscles were tensing up. I had to. Resist. The Urge. To. Strangle him!

His friends, or rather, his colleagues -as I'm sure he had no friends- stood by, expecting some fancy trick to woo me. Let us play along while I pretend to stroke my evil mustache.

"You are splendid looking tonight, young filly," he cooed. I held back the need to vomit. I could see some red on his cheeks, though. Was he drunk? "What is your name?" he asked me.

"Silver," I said bluntly.

"Really?" He pretended to be taken aback, then leaned forward with a toothy grin. "Such a coincidence. Mine is gold!" He walked about me, displaying his drama school studies. "Our meeting was fate, not coincidence! Silver and Gold!" He grabbed my hoof and stared into my eyes. "I can see our future together, with you illuminating every day of my life! Would you--"

I used his hoof to lock his foreleg and flip him onto his side, then I laughed at his face, attracting the attention of the other people around.

"That's so adorable," I mocked. "You expected a cheap wooing tactic like that to work at all?" I shook my head. "That's...actually pretty funny." My chuckling apparently shocked him, and I saw his face turn pale. Somehow. What is this fur made out of? Octopuseses? "We both know what you really want, don't we?" He frowned, insulted. "Good. Now piss off," I chided him.

He did as he was told, undignified, and returned to his colleagues who mocked him for his failure. I pointed my head up to look down at him, and harumphed. I overheard something about a challenge, but I decided to ignore it.

There was some charm to this place, honestly. Sure, it was filled with other people, but the mixture of classical music and the soft, sweet aromas of the dishes were quite soothing. Everything come from the inside of the castle, kept accessible by wide doors left open. Just the typical 'ballroom'-like area with yellow tiles on the floor, a podium for the musicians to work on, and tons of people and tables covered in treats. Fatties. I refused the offer from one of the servants going about with their smug expressions.

Applejack was here with Twilight, and they were talking with...Luna? Is that the blue one's name? Before I could make another tactical withdrawal, Twilight saw me and called me over. As much as I am loathe to say it, at this point I can't just brush her off and continue on my merry way, so I went to her. I went to her while suppressing the anger in me as much as I could. I didn't want to get close to that would-be murderer.

"His Silver," Twilight started. She coughed and smiled sheepishly, her eyes darting between me and the blueberry. "You've met Princess Luna, but not on good terms, I think."

"No. Not good at all," I hissed.

There was a long moment of awkward silence where I glared at Luna, but she didn't budge an inch and gave me a silent, displeased stare in return. Then Twilight's almost imperceptible whispering to Applejack broke the silence.

"Soooooo...Applejack. What were we talking about?" she forced herself to say.

That farm pony looked around nervously, her lips flopping around but releasing no sounds. "Ah uh...can't remember."

Twilight jabbed AJ in the side, making her growl in pain. "C'mon, Applejack. We have to do something to change the situation. Look at her! Silver wants to kill the princess!" she whisper-yelled.

I saw Applejack nod. "Ah can see 'er twitchin' already."

"But--"

"Silver, my hard-to-reach-treasure-chest!" a voice cried out. My anger flared out, distracting me from the initial problem in front of me. The golden ass was rushing to me. "Why must you attempt to douse these flames of passion when they burn at your sight?! This flame, even if extinguished, shall be relit on but the smallest of candles, and still it shall burn brightly, like the eternal stars in the sky!"

Doesn't make sense, but okay.

"Actually," Twilight chuckled. "Stars only last for billions of years, not forever."

"I'm surprised you know so much about our stars, Twilight Sparkle," Luna commented with a hint of satisfaction.

"Oh, I just know a bit of astronomy," she blushed.

Gold on the other hand, or hoof, I don't care, was shaken by the presence of the princess, and annoyed by Twilight, but he tried to keep his composure and continue applying his false étiquette.

"May I accompany you for the evening?" he asked me with an extended hoof.

It was slapped away by a white hoof, and Rarity stood beside me. "No, you may not, sir," she declared.

"Oh great. Not only do I have King Midas to deal with, now I have a living marshmallow here as well."

Gold was rubbing his wrist against his chest and looked to Rarity with childish contempt. "And who are you?" he asked.

"I am Rarity," she stated hautily. "And this mare is already accompanied by somepony."

"Yes, me!" the ass insisted.

Rarity huffed at the claim before I could protest. "As if somepony like you, a noble no less, has the character for her." She looked him up and down. "And your colors aren't even real. Anypony can see that," she snobbed him.

"Yes, and your character isn't obsessed with appearance by wearing twelve gallons of make-up. Are you not happy with your appearance?" he asked her with a heightened tone.

"I could say the same about you!" Rarity countered.

The two continued attacking each other with words, and that ass kept bringing me into it. I was so embarrassed, turning red right on the spot!

"You are exactly like Prince Blueblood!" Rarity shouted. "Arrogant, stubborn, egotistical!"

Gold mellowed out. "Prince Blueblood you say? I know of him. Quite the arrogant pony, it's true." He shrugged. "Heard that he became depressed when some allegedly, mmm, attractive white mare rejected him and insulted him in front of the whole castle.

"Attractive?" Rarity blushed. "Well, maybe that's--" This vapid idiot was interrupted by Gold.

"But I don't see her here." He shrugged.

Rarity was appalled. "Why you-What cheek!"

"Twi, can we get Silver and skidaddle? This whole exchange feels like holdin' bruised apples."

"Allow me to help you with that problem."

It was Luna she spoke. She didn't even blink before her horn flashes and we were elsewhere in the castle, most likely the dining area judging by the smell of cooked food and the surprised chefs waltzing about. Big Mac and Rainbow Dash were here, but the rainbow pony was darting about, trying to talk with some ponies in blue uniforms. I took a step back once the shock had gone away, and I started feeling sick. I don't think I like teleporting. A funny thing I noticed, was that many of the cooks around were outright terrified of the blue pony, and why wouldn't they be? Bitch.

"Hey Applejack!" Big Mac called out. He wiped some food from his mouth.

AJ laughed. "Eatin' a 'snack', Big Mac?" she shouted at him. He nodded silently.

Snack?! That plate was the size of a table, which was easily the diameter of ten Big Macs. How much did he eat?

"Hey Twi 'n Silver," he called out between chomps.

"Um...H-hey, Big Mac," I stuttered.

Luna stepped next to me and placed a wing above my back. "Please excuse us," she started. She looked down at me, a darkness in her expression of anger mixed with disgust. She looked at me like a parent would a murder of their child. "I must have a private session with Silver here."

Before the others could say anything, I found myself back in the throne room, clenching my stomach and holding back the need to beat the world-record of furthest vomit.

"What do you want?" I asked between involuntary heaving. "To try and kill me again?" She remained silent. "Well, I've got news for you: I'm not going to let you! This time I'm the one who is going to be avoiding you! I'm not going back to my world. I'm quite happy here! Just because I'm this thing doesn't change anything. I even made my first friends! Friends!" I started laughing. "I never even had friends before! Now I know what I was missing in life. No family to go through. No one to visit!" Luna stared at me, her face unchanging from her scowl, but I could still see pity in her eyes. "My parents didn't care about me, and my only family member is dead. I'm staying here! And there's nothing that you can try to do that will get me to return!" I stomped the ground angrily.

I was panting heavily. I felt like I just ran a marathon. Luna, however...her expression was changed. It was lighter. Calmer. I turned to go towards the doors, but something pulled me back. I struggled for a moment, but noticed it was not aggressive. Luna was holding me in her wings, then she let go.

"I know your feelings of loneliness, Silver. I had similar circumstances..." She looked away, apparently trying to repress a memory. "Even when I was banished to the moon, I could still feel her. Even after all that, even after all that has happened and the ponies came to despise every bit of me, she still loved me, and she was still here for me afterwards." She looked to me sternly. "But I did not bring you here for tales of shared strife in our lives. My sister believes she might have a solution for the dangerous magic within you and the creature that produces it. We will go to Twilight Sparkle's abode tomorrow and share it with her." Ger tone took on a more disturbed volume with regret. "I...don't really wan to go there. Her obsession with understanding how magic functions bothers me, but I trust that you will be ready for our arrival."

"Maybe," I doubted. "Will I...Will I have to return?"

Luna shrugged. "You will know that tomorrow. For now, I believe someone owes you an apology. Let us met with my sister."

Another teleport, this time in front of a large crowd. I didn't know where we were. I threw up finally. People were sickened, and then Luna teleported my melted innards away without looking, then she flew to a balcony overlooking this area. We were outside, apparently. Unsure how I missed that, but the combination of artificial lights from the light posts and the darkness of the night gave them a rather impressive appearance. Scary, mostly, though.

"We have gathered everypony present at this gala to present an apology to Silver. While the circumstances are too important to be shared amongst you without reason, I still must give my apology before you all." She bowed. "Even a ruler must know humility to rule."

Luna followed, then began speaking as she raised her head. "However, one guard disobeyed our orders and acted far too aggressively in the line of his duty. His punishment has already been meted, but he must present his own excuses, in front of you all, to Silver. "Come, Cyclon Opal."

That silver armored bastard came out from behind a line of guardsmen...ponies...whatever. A line of guards with his head held low and stopped right in front of me, mumbling incoherently."

"Come now, Cyclon. Act not like a foal," Luna chastized.

He looked like he was physically in pain and clenched every muscle in his body. "Mmmgrbl...I'm sorry," he muttered.

The perfect opportunity. "I'm sorry? What was that?" I mocked him. I leaned in with an open-mouthed smile and a hoof to my ear.

"I said I'm sorry," he said more angrily.

"I can't quite hear so well in my old age," I mocked.

"I said I was sorry! I apologize for my behavior, but something overcame me at that moment." He sat down and looked at his trembling hooves. "I don't know why the rage and fury enveloped me, but--"

"That is enough, Cyclon," Celestia interjected.

He looked down, pensively, then to me. "Do you accept my apology?"

"Yes, but!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"But what?"

A loud 'bam' filled everyone's ears and caused the crowd to gasp. "Ow! That hurt a lot!"

"You deserved it," I said stoically whilst placing my hoof back down upon the grass.

His head bobbed left and right with his hoof on his swelling muzzle. "Fair enough."

"Eeeh...you deserve a bit more, but I'm feeling forgiving today," I said. "So, I'll let you get off easy this time."

He walked away, rubbing his nose, and the sisters just watched the scenario silently. I don't know what they were expecting from me, but I returned to Twilight and the others who had been watching whilst conversing together during that whole scenario. Another satisfying moment, and now I could maybe enjoy the evening. It would probably be my last in Equestria.