“Are you almost finished, Rarity? I’m starting to get a bit antsy…” I say with a huff as I watch the mare take a few more measurements using the length of tape held in her arcane grasp. It feels like she’s already taken at least twenty-three of them. Certainly, she must almost be finished now, right?

“Mhm, just ooooone more,” the word “one” trails off as she extends the tape measure between my hind legs and down to my hoof, the mare remaining utterly focused on her task.

“There!” She snaps back up and reads her measurement, using a quill in the grasp of her magic to jot the measurement down without looking. Honestly, I’m still impressed by that. Seeing her do it for a prolonged period with multiple objects and such fine precision only makes me more so.

She rolls the tape up and sets it on the table next to us, giving me a patient smile. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Thank you for still for me as long as you did, most stallons tend to start getting a bit squirmy after the first few minutes. You did an outstanding job, darling.”

Even though I should consider myself patronized by that statement, I cannot help but get just a tad flustered by the way she said it, slightly averting my gaze and pawing at the floor. “Oh well, er, I did not want to make your job any harder than it needs to be, especially when you are being so generous.”

“Think nothing of it, Rose. I’m merely happy to have such a marvelous canvas on which to display my work. And try not to paw, dear. You’ll leave marks on the carpets, and you’ll ruin that lovely hooficure.”

“Oh, my bad. Sorry,” I say quickly, doing my best to stop fidgeting. It’s hard. It’s always hard to stop fretting when I’m nervous, which is…frequently.

She clicks her tongue and chuckles softly as she reads over her complete list of measurements. “Just trying to help you break a bad habit, darling. If you’re going to be going to the spa more frequently, you need to be aware of these things so as not to ruin the good work Aloe and Lotus are doing for you. But enough of that. You go ahead and just relax on the couch. I’ll have this piece done fairly quickly.” She says as she trots off towards another room further back in the building. She carries the book in tow behind her in her aura as she shuts the door behind her, and I can hear the sound of a sewing machine firing off not long after.

I sigh as I walk over and let myself slump on the couch a bit, running a hand or… hoof through my mane. I really do need to get used to that soon. It seems there’s a lot here I’m going to need to get used to. I’m not sure if the kindness of strangers being something I need to adjust to makes me the luckiest man to walk my old earth or the most unfortunate pony to walk this one.

I take a break from my self-absorbed musings and look down at the coffee table in front of me, reading the titles of several magazines. “Hmmm…Stallions Weekly, Cosmopolotan, Royal Geographic, Oooooo, Popular Arcanum, that seems like my speed,” I mutter to myself as I levitate the magic over and begin pouring over an article entitled “Nature or Nurture?: Long-Term Study On Cutie Mark Predestination Theory Yields Mixed Results.”

I pour over the article for several minutes before a small, sweet voice pulls my focus away from the magazine and towards its source.

“Excuse me, mister? Could I ask you something?” the voice of a young girl rings out from in front of me between the couch and the coffee table, and I feel a gentle tug at my tail.

I lower the magazine and see a filly. Her soft white coat and curly mane almost resemble a miniature Rarity. But the mane’s color was more pale, with an even lighter streak than that through it, and her eyes were a soft, pleasant green, almost like one of the odd little lizards I would see peppering the gardens during the summer back home. Her flank bears no mark.

“Hmmm…” this must mean the foals are out of school for the day. I hope that Rarity will be brief with that garment.

However, then again, I don’t need to be here for her to make it. I’m sure Rarity wouldn’t be too upset if I left a note and returned for it tomorrow.

Then again, she did ask me to wait. She must be pretty excited to see me in whatever she’s making, and I’d hate to disappoint her.

In any case, this filly is still waiting for me to answer her. I clear my throat softly and give her a friendly smile, nodding as I speak. “If you don’t mind introducing yourself first, perhaps I could be convinced to tell you what you want to know, little filly.”

She pouts at my response adorably and stamps her hoof. “My name is Sweetie Belle. The pony who owns the Boutique is my big sister, and I’m not *that* little. I’ll be getting my cutie mark any day now!”

I chuckle a bit at this and nod along with her explanation. “Oh, I’m sure you will, Sweetie. You certainly seem like a little go-getter.”

“I said I’m not little!” She insists more firmly with a hint of annoyance. Her eyes trail over to my bare flank, and I feel insecure at the focus the look holds. After a few moments, she breaks the dramatic pause. “You don't have one either, huh? But you’re a lot older than me. Is something wrong with you?”

I raise an eyebrow at this and feel an unflattering remark about the size of the filly’s head prepare to emerge from my lips. However, I am interrupted by a distressed cry from the next room over as the door opens.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity calls out from across the room as the door opens. She trots back out, looking down at the foal reproachfully. “That is not an appropriate question to be asking anypony. Apologize to the nice stallion for being rude this instant!”

My mouth snaps shut, the snide remark that had been brewing moments earlier evaporating from my mind as I try to smooth things over. I shake my head quickly and hold up a hoof, giving Rarity a reassuring smile. “No, it’s fine! She’s just curious, is all. I’m not upset.” I say as I raise a hoof in supplication before turning my attention towards Sweetie Belle to answer her. “And not as far as I know. From what I understand, ponies in the Colonies, where I am from, sometimes don’t get their cutie marks for a really long time because there is less Harmony all the way out there.”

I sigh internally as I give the little one a patient, kind smile. That was a close one; I almost let the intrusive thoughts win for a second. Gonna…gonna need to watch that.

Sweetie looks ready to pepper me with more questions, but Rarity quickly clears her throat and interrupts. Her horn begins to glow, a garment floating out of the room she had exited as she clears her throat. “In any case, your new outfit is finished! Here!” She shoves the piece of clothing into me, resting it over my back. ”Take this, go behind that blind, and put this on for me, Rose. I want to see my hoofwork!”

With a small nod, I quickly make my way over to the blind and start figuring out exactly how to get the darned thing on. It takes some doing, but after about ten minutes of fussing and fiddling, I manage to get it onto my body without ripping or damaging it. “Alright, I’m ready, here I come!” I say as I strut out from behind the concealment of the blind.

Some might call it a bit gauche. Some others may call it a little plain. That means it falls somewhere in the happy medium as far as I’m concerned, and that suits me just fine. It’s a dapper little thing, a double-breasted vest and dress shirt combo. The vest is a pleasant burgundy, with a plunging neckline that shows a good deal of the cleanly pressed white undershirt below it. The buttons on the vest are brass, and the shirt has buttons made from a woody material, perhaps the husk of some sort of nut?

Rarity had seen fit to provide me a new tie with the outfit, a deep, pleasant shade of purple that complements my eyes nicely, with golden floral stitching.

A pair of dress pants, the same color and material as the vest, had also been provided. Getting my tail through the provided flap had been a bit of a task, and It felt a bit odd rubbing against…certain portions of my anatomy. But it seemed as if enough room had been made in the appropriate places to keep it from being uncomfortable or unpleasant.

I do a little twirl, showing off the garments from different angles for the seamstress and her sister to get a better look. “Well, how is it? Do I make it work?”

Rarity smiles wide, stamping her hooves against the ground in a rapid, enthused pitter-patter as her eyes sparkle. “Ohhhhh, Rarity, you gem, you’ve done it again! I mean, er, y-yes, yes, you pull it off quite well, Rose. She says as she regains her usual graceful composure. “And on the subject of Cutie Marks, I would be happy to embroider yours onto your outfit once you acquire one if you wish. I know most ponies are a bit iffy about concealing their marks with daily wear, but I figured the pants would be fine as-is for now, seeing as you don’t have one.”

“Oh, well, that sounds lovely. Thank you, Rarity.” I use my magic to straighten and tighten my tie slightly, walking over to a full-body mirror across the room and inspecting myself. “It really is a nice fit, I don’t think I’ve ever had clothes this well made. I’m honestly not sure how to thank you properly for such a lovely gift.”

“Oh hush, you silly colt. A gift doesn’t need repayment. Besides, even if it did, getting to see my work appreciated is work enough.” Rarity responds with a playful tone, waving her hoof at me dismissively. “Hmmm…something is missing though….” She says, her face taking on a focused look as the gears turn behind her horn.

“I know, but I’ll feel like a bum about it if I don't give you something. I always feel kind of sleazy just accepting things from people for free. Are you sure there’s nothing I can-”

“OH! That's what's missing. Here…” She says, cutting me off as her horn begins to glow, pulling a pair of brass half-moon spectacles from a small box on a nearby shelf and placing them on my face. “My old magnifying glasses. Oh, do go on, darling! It pulls the entire look together beautifully, and on top of that, it’s practical! We wouldn’t want you straining your eyes squinting at old books all day, would we?” She asks as she ends the spell and adjusts the glasses on my snout with her hoof.

“Now, If you’re so keen on repaying me…” She trails off momentarily as she glances at the clock and then back to me. “Would you be open to joining Sweetie and me for afternoon tea? It will still be a while longer until Cheerilee finishes her after-school duties.”

I falter for a moment before giving a sigh and nodding. “If that’s what you want, I’m happy to oblige. It’s been a busy day, and tea sounds wonderful right about now.”

“Wonderful! I’ll go and put a fresh pot on. I recently acquired a lovely imported Eastern blend on my last trip to the market, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Sweetie, please be a dear and grab the biscuit tin for me, would you?” She asks as she walks through another doorway that leads to a dining area

“Okay!” The little filly chirped her response brightly as she darted into the dining room after her sister.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several minutes later, the three of us are all comfortably sitting in front of the coffee table in the living room. I am on one side of the sofa, with Sweetie Belle on the other and Rarity taking the spot in the center. The tea smells delicious as she holds the kettle in her magic to pour us each a cup. I look over at her, tilting my head slightly as I try to figure out how she’s doing that so damn gracefully.

Her horn…the magic around it doesn’t glow nearly as much or chime as loudly as mine. She’s clearly doing more with less, that much is obvious. But how?

She puts the kettle down, and as she turns to look at me, she catches me staring. She looks a bit confused, but thankfully not upset, clearing her throat softly. “Ahem, is something the matter, Rose? You seem distracted.”

I blink and lean back, my face turning a bit pinker than normal as I feel a flash of embarrassment. “O-oh! Sorry about that. I was just watching how you do magic, is all. Your control and technique when using Grasp is admirable. I can’t really levitate more than one thing at a time, and not nearly as well as you can. I was just trying to figure out how you do it so proficiently.”

Rarity listens to my explanation, seeming almost disappointed before smiling again. “Oh, is that so? I certainly can’t hold it against you if you find yourself mesmerized by my grace.” She says with a hint of smugness as she runs her hoof across her chest. “As to the how, well…years of practice certainly doesn’t hurt, but I can show you a few tricks if you’d like. Here, why don't you show me how you levitate things? Sweetie Belle, please pay attention. This will come in handy when you start doing magic.”

The foal doesn’t need to be told twice. She’s already leaning in, eyes gleaming with curiosity. She isn't the only one. I can barely contain my excitement, bouncing slightly in place as I give the mare my undivided attention. I nod at her request and light my horn, weaving the Grasp spell together again from memory. After the few moments it takes me to hastily run the weave together, I focus on the teapot. It begins to float in front of me, a few inches off the table. It’s a bit shaky, and the height dips up and down by an inch or two but-

I hear a tongue click from Rarity as she leans over to inspect my horn, rubbing at her forehead with an exasperated expression. “Darling, what is this?” she asks as she gestures at my horn, a hint of disdain laced through the last word of that question.

“It’s uh…my Grasp spell?” I answer hesitantly, not sure what answer she is looking for here. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“Well, I do hate to nitpick, but…you barely spent any time focusing on the form of your spellweave, and it’s extremely loose and sloppy. As a result, you are using far more energy than you should need to lift a single teapot, and even then, your actual focus on the spell is dismal. You have little control, and your stability is frankly lackluster if I’m being generous. Honestly, Rose. It’s as if you’ve never cast a spell before in your life!”

I look down at my hooves bashfully, my ears flattening as I set the teapot down on the table again. “I mean er…you see, the funny thing about that is er….that’s actually pretty accurate. The first time I ever tried to cast a spell was yesterday. This is the only spell I know.”

Her face falls bit by bit as I explain myself. “Ah, I see. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…” The sound that escapes her through her nose sounds halfway between a deflating balloon and a barely muffled scream as her eyes betray the pain of an obvious error in judgment.

I try and fail to stifle a chuckle and shake my head. “H-heheh, no, it’s fine! I’m not upset. A little embarrassed, maybe, but you’re just trying to help, and I understand that. Please keep explaining. You were saying something about me not focusing enough during and after the weave?”

She takes a few moments to collect herself, letting out a soft huff before speaking again. “Yes, that’s the general problem I am seeing here. Let’s put aside the idea of holding more than one object at a time for now and focus on your fundamentals.

“Firstly, you are not spending nearly enough time actualizing your spellweave. It’s a common mistake for novices, but one that can lead to bad habits. Generally, the more focused you are, and the more time you take to properly visualize your weave, the more stable and reliable the spell you cast will be. I have been using magic for most of my life and have an eye for detail, so I make it look a lot easier than it is. But you are very new to magic, so it is important for your development that every time you cast a spell, you take plenty of time to ensure that the weave is not only fundamentally correct but that you have put it together properly.”

Her horn begins to glow again. I watch with rapt fascination as she creates two ethereal strands of magic, slowly braiding them together in front of me. “You want to make sure that you intertwine the strands of magic together carefully, being sure to eliminate as much of the empty space between the strands as possible and to make sure that wherever they intersect, they do so in a way that leaves them tightly locked together. The more compact your weave is, the more stable the spell will be, and putting more intent into the weave while manifesting it makes casting and maintaining the spell take much less energy.”

She ties the weave off, but not around her horn. Instead, she does so around the teapot. The weave disappears after a moment, and soft glowing lines appear for a few moments on the ceramic of the vessel where the weave had been before it begins to float a few inches off of the table, seemingly on its own! “Sometimes, enough so that with a bit of tweaking, you can oftentimes supply the magic needed by tapping into the ambient magic in the air to sustain the spell passively, if need be. But that’s a bit more advanced.”

An enthused “OOOOooooo” escapes both my lips and those of Sweetie Belle as I drum my hooves excitedly against the table at the sight. “Rarity, that’s amazing! I didn't know you could do that. You sure are good at magic.”

Her cheeks turn a light pink at the praise, but she simply waves it off, brushing a hoof through her mane dramatically and playing it off cooly. “Really, it’s nothing too special, darling. These are just a few tricks I picked up in the course of my profession. When you are working with fine detail and multiple small objects that need to be held and guided into specific positions repeatedly for long periods, these sorts of little shortcuts are just too useful not to take the time to master them. I only know a small hooffull of spells that relate to my talent, like most ponies do. But A unicorn is not a proper unicorn without style, grace, and beauty. So naturally, I want the spells I do know to be as polished and presentable as possible. And so should you, Rose.”

She places her hoof underneath the teapot as the lines fade away, and it falls toward the table again. She catches it and sets it down gently where it had been before with a satisfied smile.

Compared to that display, the rest of the afternoon is fairly uneventful. Rarity talks to me about gossip on this and that pony I’ve never heard of a day in my life. Still, I sit and do my best to smile and nod and pretend like I even remotely care about what she’s telling me, if only because it seems like the right thing to do after how generous she has been to me today. I think she can tell my eyes are glassing over a bit, but she’s being very gracious about it if she can.

After about an hour, we finish the last of the tea. I brush off my hind legs with my hooves and sit up with a small grunt before extracting myself from the comfort of the cozy couch. “Well, I think I really should be going now. Cheerilee is probably at the library waiting for me.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Rarity says as she gets off the couch and walks over to the door, opening it for me. “Please, do stop by again any time you like and let me know if you need an adjustment on your new outfit.”

“Of course! I appreciate your help, Rarity. You have a wonderful afternoon.” I respond in kind as I trot out the door, which she closes behind me.

“Well, that was a lovely afternoon,” I say to myself as I start toward the library. It must be a bit later in the day than I thought. There isn't anyone shopping at the storefronts, and most of the stores seem to be closed.

I pick up my pace a bit, not enough to break out into a full gallop, but certainly a rather brisk, worried little trot as I make a beeline for my destination.

I make it back to the library pretty quickly, getting my key from under the mat with a spell and unlocking the door, quickly entering with the item still in my arcane grasp. “Sorry if I’m a bit late, Cheerilee, there was this nice mare at the spa who took me back to her house and er…wait, no, that probably isn’t the right way to phrase that…wait…” I take a moment to look around and notice that the lights are all off. That’s odd, I could swear I left at least the entryway light on, and Cheerilee should have turned a few on when she-”

“SURPRIIIIIIIIIISE!”

The lights flick on all at once, and confetti is blasted into my face as dozens of ponies all seem to materialize at once where there had previously been darkness concealing their presence. Naturally, I respond to this with all of the dignity and grace that can be expected of a unicorn in my predicament.

I let out a shrill, girlish scream as I back up with a start. In my shock, I blast the key in my grasp forward like a bullet, embedding it into the wall with a dull thud directly next to the head of that poofy-haired pink mare from earlier.

She looks over at the key, polling on it and making it vibrate back and forth like one of those little silly door stopper springs before giggling and walking up to greet me. “Hi there! Welcome to your super-special-welcome-to-Ponyville-slash-congratulations-on-not-being-homeless-and-getting-a-job-slash-I'm-sorry-you-got-into-an-accident-and-ended-up-really-from-from-home-slash-try-to-meet-some-nice-mares-PARTYYYYYY!”

I blink slowly a few times at this as I attempt to process it. “A party, well that’s very nice of-wait what was that last-”

“Questions later, party time now!” She chirps as she grabs me with a hoof and pulls me further into the room. Cheerilee stands nearby, loitering at a punch bowl and pouring a glass. She sees me and walks over, a sheepish expression on her face.

“Sorry if this is a bit of a shock, but once Pinkie finds out someone needs a party, well…it’s not feasible to tell her no,” the mare says apologetically as she looks me over a few times. “You look nice, by the way. I’m guessing Rarity got to you?”

“Hah, yeah. Mayor Mare told me the good news, and she insisted I take a spa day to look good for my first day on the job. Rarity was there, and we chatted while they worked on us. Then she invited me back to her boutique to make me something to wear on the clock. Something about…” I gesture flamboyantly with a hoof, waving it over my head. “Having a vision.”

“That sounds about right for her. I have to say she was right, though. I’m *definitely* seeing the vision.” She says with a smirk before she offers me her glass. “Punch? You look a little thirsty.”

“Oh! Well, thanks, Cheerilee,” I say as I look down at the glass. Hmmmm….

I concentrate, the same way I did the first time I tried to cast the spell as I light my horn up. Not nearly as much as that time, though, just a little bit. The last thing I want to do is get this all over her….or embed this into the ceiling…or cover the other partygoers with shattered glass…or-okay, that’s enough, focus!

I visualize my spellweave intently, making sure that I do it not only correctly but also elegantly. I emphasize tightening the intersections and eliminating empty space between the strands.
Once I am happy with the weave, I execute, wrapping it around my horn and focusing on the glass itself only slightly, with the same intensity I might focus on holding a glass while not looking at it with the hands I used to have.

After about a minute of preparation for the spell, the glass floats out of her grasp and steadily, evenly towards my lips, where I tilt it forward and take a small sip before returning it to level, where it sits dead still. Enshrouded in only a faint aura.

“Hmmm…that poofy pink party pony knows how to prepare a pleasant punch,” I comment idly, taking another sip. I was fairly parched after that little jog, and this is definitely hitting the spot juuuuust right.

Cheerilee stares at me as I float the cup in front of me, seeming a little flabbergasted. “Rose, I uh…thought you didn't know how to do magic?”

“What? Oh! Yeah, that was yesterday. I Practiced the levitation spell after you left, and the nice mare who made this outfit for me showed me how to do it more efficiently over tea a bit ago, so I thought I’d try it out. Pretty good, right?”

“You…practiced. For an afternoon?” She repeats the statement as if unsure she heard me correctly. “And then Rarity showed you how to incorporate weave refinement, and you’re doing that after an hour or so?”

“Yeah! I mean, it’s a bit inconvenient that it takes me a minute, but Rarity told me that it was important that I do it like this so I can develop the reflexes to do it by…I don’t think muscle memory is the right word. Whatever the magic version of that is, I guess.”

“Hm, I see, that’s certainly something Rose.” She says, looking as if she is thinking about something for a long moment. “I don't want to monopolize you for the whole party, so why don't you walk around a bit and introduce yourself to some Ponies, hm? I’ll probably be over by the punch bowl if you need me.” She says as she walks back to where she was before we started talking.

Huh, that was a little weird. I shrug it off and finish my glass, levitating it back to the table before turning around and deciding who I should talk to first…

I chuckle softly as I watch my King from just outside the window. The weakness in my prison was only momentary, the byproduct of a wave of chaos rippling through the orderly fabric of this world, but it was enough to at least send out a feeler. This tiny fragment of myself does not carry enough power to do much, but its small form factor is certainly useful for staying out of sight. As much as I typically love to make a scene, subtlety will be required if I don't want to end up right back where I started.

He seems to be settling in nicely. That’s good, and I’m happy to see him thriving. And making such progress! Even helpless and lessened as he is, his penchant for The Art seems relatively untarnished.

Good, I will have great use for it, and for him.

I take the form of a wisp of smoke. It is not too difficult to slip through a crack in the window and pretend to be a byproduct of that silly smoke spewer the Kindred brought for the party. From there, I assess my options. The punch bowl? No, it's too public. Perhaps I could simply make my way into him through the respiratory system. Oh, but that might be too direct. I might get caught out.

Ah, there we are! Somepony, a blue mare with a wild, multicolored mane, has seen fit to raid the fridge. The perfect opening

I creep along the ceiling and do my best to blend from there with the cool vapors emitted by the device. As the door closes again, I settle on my target: an apple.

I subsume it in my essence, infusing what little magic constitutes this feeble shard into the produce. I make it bigger, redder, and juicer to entice my king with its visage. I do not have much power left, but a simple illusion should be enough to make this vessel seem less than appetizing to any other nosy passerby looking for a snack.

From there, I simply sit and wait. Soon enough, everything will fall into place, and soon enough, we shall undertake the beginning of something truly marvelous.

I sincerely hope all of you enjoy the show. I’ll certainly be doing my best to make it interesting. Too much stability can get a bit boring, don’t you think?

And there we go! I think 30-40k words is a decent place to start picking up the pace a little bit. We can have a little bit of intrigue and plot progression, as a treat

I would like to thank my Supporters on Ko-Fi for sending a few dolans my way since the last chapter update!

Exiled Path Continues to be the MVP, and we have a new donor, X_Optic_Troll_X. Optic, if you have a fimfic account, please do DM me so I can amend this author's note with it.

As always, I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter.

See ya next week!