APR 5 Wednesday.

I stare at the large green gem in my hoof with an equally large smile on my face. I take a moment and shift some of my life magic into the large gem.

The life magic seeps into the gem without difficulty but I notice only a small amount of the life magic is lost to the world around it. I'm beyond excited to test and use this new tool, but for now, I have to focus on my friend, and the constant rain outside would make it uncomfortable.

I turn back to Celestia, who looks very pleased with herself and my reaction. "You made this didn't you?" It doesn't take a genius to figure out she cut the gem herself, she apparently has the skill for it after all. She spends a moment finishing her second piece of cake and nods.

She smiles brightly and looks proud. "Yes I did, it's not something I get to do often. And getting to work on a gem like that was a reward in its own right. I think I set some type of record." She explains while taking a tea set out from under her wing to make us something to drink.

"Maybe, a gem like this is unique." I spend a moment looking over the gem in more detail. I never saw the inside of the gem clearly so I never knew its quality, but whatever my expectation was at the time I underestimated it. It's not completely clear but I can see through it and there are no cracks throughout it.

I look back up to her. "It's absolutely amazing. This might just be the best-cut gem I own, and it came out so much better than I thought it would." I compliment her honestly and she actually looks a tad bit bashful, but she hides it very well and I can't be certain. "I remember different cuts help with certain things, what does this one do?" I ask and take another piece of cake before she can eat all of my birthday cake.

She takes the topic in stride and I see her face light up a bit at hearing a question about her work. "Well, the cut is called a Polyhedron Cut, named after the shape itself." I get an idea and open the book she gave me as she talks, I try to find a page on gem cuts of some type. " It's- Did something catch your eye?" She asks with an odd look as I start going through the book.

I flip through the pages and skim the contents before smirking at her. "I thought there might be relevant information in here. It may be harder to read but it is well written and-" I think for a moment and flip to the back of the book and find an index of the book contents. "Like I thought, you are always thorough," I say, showing the index to her with the same smirk.

I watch as her bashful expression comes back and she does a worse job of hiding it. I chuckle a bit at successfully teasing her. Her eyes narrow a bit, "Oh? And what did you say earlier? You like seeing this side of me?" She teases right back and I feel a blush creep on my face a little as she giggles.

I bury my muzzle in the book and quickly try to find the information I'm looking for while ignoring her words. She claims her victory, "You aren't wrong I suppose. I do think I added some notes in there about gem cuts, maybe not one this complex though, I was less skilled when I wrote that." She admits and seems to try and get past her slight embarrassment by relaxing and being more factual.

I really like being able to tease her a bit, even if she swings right back. "Please continue then," I ask while continuing to slowly read a few pages of the book. It seems to mostly be a relatively basic theory around gems and how they can help with magic.

If this book is as old as I think it is then this would have been uncommon information at the time. Back then you couldn't fill gems with magic as you can now, in fact, gems back then were very expensive and only magically useful to very rich unicorns.

She smirks and passes me some fresh tea. "As long as I'm not interrupted again, barely an adult and already so demanding." I roll my eyes at that but stay silent. "The cut is known as one of the most stable and consistent cuts you can make for a gem used in magic, while not still being too complex to make." She slips into her teacher's tone quickly.

The book itself is rather hard for me to read, there are several words I can't even understand and it's rather technical at points. But the small drawings and instructions given on how to cut gems and why it's done in certain ways are fascinating to me. It's a good book overall.

"The cut is difficult, but not the worst one I've had to make." She smiles fondly at some memory. "My best work, and one of my last when I was a gem cutter as a profession, was a one hundred and twenty-sided gem. That wouldn't have worked all that well here though."

She picks up the Life gem as if to demonstrate. "As a general rule, the more rounded the gem the more stable, while larger flat sides are better at absorbing more magic, and the more even and consistent the gem sides the more stable it is." She seems to think for a moment before taking out a quill and paper from under her wing to write out an example.

She draws out three shapes, a cube, a triangle, and an octagon. "A cube is the most common as it's easy to make it very even on all sides, and the large flat sides improve magical gathering. While something like an octagon would be more stable as it has more sides, it would gather magic slower."

She then points to the triangle. "The triangle is even better at gathering magic than a cube but is less stable." I nod in interest and fully put the book down to listen. "This is just a simplification though. The triangle for example is more efficient at gathering magic not just because it has more large even sides, but because it gives quicker access to the magical focal point of the gem, its center."

Giving it some thought and it seems about right from my experience. "So, the Life gem won't have the best efficiency when absorbing life magic, but it will be very stable?" I guess the cut has twenty flat sides which should make it stable. I guess you can't have everything and I'd prefer stability.

She tilts her head and seems happy to teach me something and talk about her craft. "You are half right. The gem's sides determine how quickly it can absorb magic, but it depends on the source of the magic as well. This cut will hamper the gem's absorption but only from the environment around it, if you directly pushed your life magic inside then this cut would make a relatively small difference. The clarity of the gem would matter more to determine how much magic it pulls from the world around it without an enchantment to assist it." She answers me expertly.

I let the knowledge sink in and decided I should read her book more later. "Huh. You make a great teacher, I see why Twilight can't stop praising you." She looks amused at the mention but also happy at the compliment. "But enough about all the theories and facts. How have you been?" This conversation is a little off-base for a birthday party.

I decided to start slowly emptying my life magic into the Life gem as we talked. She smirks down at me, "I have been very well. I got to practice an old skill of mine." She motions to the Life gem. "And while my faithful student was away, things were calm and quiet. At least there was before my student and niece returned in the same week." I chuckle at that as the exaggeratedly tired face she shows says it all.

She takes a long drink from her tea to quench her throat and drops the tired look. "Beyond that, the trade deal with Feather Falls has been a success." She smiles at me knowingly. "Apparently you make a rather decent diplomat after all. Look at you, making deals with nobles and attending parties hosted by royalty." She uses a babying tone.

I huff at the tone used but take the small compliment. "My student is catching up on her work, and seems quite determined to get it done quickly." She again hints that I choose to once again ignore the topic. "But I suppose your trip was far more interesting, and while I don't feel like scolding a stallion, I can't make that promise as a friend, and I do want answers." Her tone becomes a little more firm, but also reassuring.

I nod gratefully and try not to stress over this. Her attitude toward me doing stupid things seems to have shifted some. She once said she'd let me make mistakes and help me back up when needed, and this will probably be the first real test of that. I take a deep breath and answer her question.

"It started with a simple, but slightly risky plan. You've probably noticed that I see the Storm King as a danger, at least more so than others." I had an overly concerned attitude the last time we talked about this so she nodded and brought over the box I gave her seeing where this conversation is going.

I help her and pick out a few documents I think would be of most interest. "I wanted more information, and Feather Falls is close enough to get it. But to do that I needed to use... Less savory means." She flips through the documents I pointed out and starts to look more serious. "So, I went looking for a gray, or black market to buy information," I say with some hesitation.

She stops reading and looks up at me both surprised and concerned, but she doesn't get angry about it and seems to think it over for a moment. "What?" Her tone demands an explanation and my ears shift back a little. "You know how dangerous that can be RIGHT?" She demands and I nod vigorously.

She seems to stop at that moment and take a deep breath before sighing. "Please tell me you at least took proper precaution? Because if you don't I AM grounding you for the next two weeks, as your friend I will force you to stay at the palace." Her tone is more serious, but again not mad or judgmental, and she keeps to her word and tries not to scold me.

I nod quickly at the threat. "I would rather my new freedom not be taken away. Yes, I modified the illusion I used on Cadance. I made myself look completely different, wore a new cloak the entire time, I even changed my voice." I explain quickly and she seems to take that well.

She sighs a little and looks at me with a lopsided smile. "I will admit, I do not like the choice. But it is your choice to make. Please keep safe." She really is sticking to her promise and after a moment of thought continues. "Why are you so concerned about the Storm King? And what about the robbery?" She asks with a far more relaxed tone and drops the seriousness a good amount.

I know a large part of her reaction is that she knows I can take care of myself, and that I'm now a full adult. I also know that she just worries over me and is being a good friend letting me make my own choices. I nod again in a better mood, "Thank you. And not too much honestly. Some Diamond Dog tried to rob me, but it did not go well for them." I joke a little to try and lighten the mood.

She rolls her eyes like that's the most obvious thing in the world. "I sensed them following me, so I tried to get away and lose them in an alley, they caught up with me and pulled a knife. I took the knife, broke it, and then threatened them." She doesn't look all that surprised about that.

She looks a tad bit amused actually. "Yes, Cadance did mention something about you threatening to remove a limb. A bit far don't you think? Also, not something you should rely on." She cautions, she does seem to judge me a little as I kind of agree with her here.

I nod slowly after a moment. "Probably, but I was really annoyed and somewhat angry that this was how my trip started, and yes I'm aware it's ironic that I went looking for a black market and got robbed." She just smiles a little at that. "I did think it through after that and took a while to just relax and think about my actions," I reassure her a little and drink some of the well-made tea. The mood is more relaxed now, much to my relief.

She nods in turn. "Good, if you need to talk I'm always here. As for not telling Cadance, just try your best to do that if you take more trips with her, not that I have high hopes for that." Her tone is jokingly sarcastic at that and I'm again very thankful that Celestia is an understanding friend.

I laugh a little. "Agreed. Anyway, after... Pacifying the robber, I didn't feel it was a good idea to go to the guards as an outsider when they could be bribed and I didn't know the laws well. Instead, I took the opportunity." She looks intrigued at that. "That robber was also pretty odd. They asked for their knife back, after I took it from them. In a relaxed tone, like really relaxed." I say with a little humor as looking back on it that was rather odd.

She raises a brow. "What? That... Hmm, that is certainly an odd thing. You can't even make being robbed normal can you?" She asks just as confused as I was at the time.

I laugh again as she joins in on making light of the story. I shrug. "No idea, I broke the knife instead. After threatening them I basically demanded they take me to a black market, it seemed like the fastest way to go about it and get something out of that situation." I just say the last sketchy thing I did.

Her brow raises higher but nods after a moment. "Again, maybe not the best idea. But I can see the usefulness. And I myself have seen many of my guards do the same thing to great effect or great failure." She again doesn't really judge me and seems to be taking the approach of advising me.

I don't mind advice and listen intently before continuing. "I will. But the robber got even odder, they tried to negotiate a price to guide me. Literally, they tried to bargain with me while cornered and disarmed." I chuckle a bit and she just looks a bit baffled. "I did pay them, and they did lead me where I needed to go." I end my story on more of a high note than when we started.

She sighs again but laughs. "You are a conundrum of luck and strangeness, and... As loathed as I am to use such places, this information could prove useful." She flips through a few more pages and looks a bit concerned. "This situation is worse than I thought and very volatile. That brings me back to my question, this shows your worry wasn't unfounded, but what worried you so much about this Storm King, to begin with?"

That again makes me thoughtful. I can't just say I know the future, but there are other angles for an explanation. "It all seemed so uncertain. I like planning for things, and inaccurate information is the death of a good plan. To simplify it, better safe than sorry." I use a saying I've explained to her before. "I guess my paranoia strikes again."

She giggles a little. "Yes, it seems it has." There is a lapse of silence as she moves the documents back into the box and seems to move past this topic. "I don't like you putting yourself at risk, but thank you. This could very well save lives, and that is worth acknowledgement." I hear pride in her tone and feel better knowing she at least understands and recognizes my reasons.

Again there is a part of me that is happy Celestia is such a good friend. "I hope it helps in some way. But enough of all these serious topics. You were a gem cutter? What got you into that line of work?" The show was never accurate with the princess's pasts and all of that is from the show.

I've come across big historical events the show never talked about, so it's safe to say a lot of events the show does mention could be different than shown. And that's without knowing if the ponies in the show describing such events are telling the truth or if they are misinformed about things.

Celestia seems pleased at the change in topic. She chuckles a little, "Not something many would expect. Well, how did you start working at the library?" She asks seemingly to let me figure it out myself.

"An apprenticeship? Hmm, that actually brings a completely different question to mind. I remember you were unwilling to talk about alicorns, and that's not me asking, it's best that it is left unknown." I reassure her. "But I am curious if this was before or after becoming an alicorn," I ask gently as I know this topic is personal for her. "Because if it was after I'd question the intelligence of ponies at the time."

She snorts at that. "A bit of both, it was a rather complicated time. But yes, I was an apprentice to an old earth pony mare named Crystal Quake." She doesn't really answer me, but I don't press it. The name she said is spoken with some fondness. "Funnily enough she, much like you, was never one for formality or fancy words."

My ear tilts in thought. "Really, I'm no expert, but I thought gems were mostly used by unicorns at that time." Being an earth pony can make doing detailed work on delicate objects difficult, so being a jeweler is an uncommon job for them. That's not to say only unicorns and pegasus did such work but it was tilted towards them.

She nodded with a larger smile. "Ohhh yes. She was a master of her craft, even when others weren't as respectful about it." Her tone shows a little bit of disdain. Racism among tribes is pretty rare in modern times, but not so much in the past. "But that never stopped her. She was a good teacher."

I take a moment to finish off the last of my piece of cake. I enjoy hearing about her life, "I'd have liked to meet her. But for now, how about we test this thing? I am rather curious how well it holds up to my expectations." I pick up the gem. "Shall we Miss. Solis?" I offer and stand up.

She laughs a bit. "Of course Sir. Evergreen." I normally don't like others calling me sir, but I find myself not really caring when she uses it. "And I sure hope it does, my reputation as a gem cutter relies on it after all." She stands up as I move over to one of the Moon Glow Vines on the ceiling with a chuckle.

Throughout our conversation, I've been slowly dumping life magic into the gem and it now holds a decent amount inside. It's not enchanted in any way so the only thing I can really do is take life magic out and add it back in. I focus on my life magic and start to pull from the Life gem into myself.

I watched as the Moon Glow Vines started to grow more and more flowers that bloomed brightening the area more with my control over the life magic used. The Life gem seems stable and functional, I'm able to add to it without much difficulty, I can't wait until I enchant the Life gem. My mind swims with the possibilities that this gem will let me achieve and my smile splits my face in two.

I turn to Celestia with that smile, and I walk right up before hugging her. "Thank you, Celestia, today was... More than I could have ever asked for." I've come to realize a great truth, Celestia's hugs are the best. She wraps her wings and hooves around me. I sit there for several moments before backing off.

She smiles just as brightly down at me. "You're welcome Shade. And, it gave me a rare opportunity to plan a party. Now, let's finish this cake." I laugh at that as she takes another large piece and I join her with a large smile.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 995

I tried to make this fun, but it came out a little more mellow and gloomy then intended. But I hope you all like it.