NOV 25 Saturday.

I swing Storm and Frost as the snow around me swirls in the rush of air created by my actions. The names I chose in the end were simple and plain, but I believe they fit my new weapons well. Frost for the dagger and Storm for the greatsword, again they are simple names but I've never exactly been the best at names to begin with so simple is best.

Everything over the past three weeks has smoothed into a nice calm of normal everyday life. I've been practicing with my new weapons as much as I can without burning myself out and I'm getting comfortable with them. It will still take some time to fully get used to them but progress is progress.

I stop after another swing and stand still in the snow as it slowly falls around me. I look at my blades and their new dark color I've given them with a little work. Turns out you can buy metal dye, it's made from a few things and you heat the metal a bit before applying it.

It was easy to do with a Candleflame spell, but it did make me question how it works. But I don't think I should throw myself down the rabbit hole with everything else going on right now. Yet another curiosity to look into down the road, but either way it did work.

They look the same as before but the metal is now a really dark gray or faded black. It will be obvious to others they are dyed or painted but it hides the metal's real color and that's enough for me. I look around at the snow now covered in hoof prints.

Winter has been snowier than normal and things are truly starting to slow down. The titanic flows of the world's life magic also slow with the cold and even the plants in Gaia's Eden have succumbed to the cold finally. I've taken to studying what little I can sense of those flows, but that is just observations for now.

I take off my helmet and start to walk over to my shack to remove my armor and get home for a nice warm shower. I cast a cleaning spell over all my equipment before I place each piece of armor in a wooden crate and my weapons into a Steel Wood box that I grow shut.

After everything is put away I turn to my shadow with a whistle, a moment later Entropy leaves my shadow with a yawn and a stretch "You feel a bit better?" She bobs her head still looking a bit tired. "Think you're fine to take us home?" She nods again before teleporting both of us back to my apartment. A few days ago I had a thought about something I was too occupied to really notice at the time.

The night before Nightmare Night Celestia teleported us both back home, but Entropy was in my shadow at the time it happened. I didn't even realize and I actually got a bit concerned when I finally remembered it happening, but Entropy seemed to be just fine after I inspected her. When we reappear home I go to the bathroom to clean myself off.

I turn on the shower and let the warm water wash over me while I get lost in thought. As far as I can tell when Entropy is in a shadow she is linked to that object in some way. I came to the theory because she's able to stay with me in my shadow even if I'm in a completely dark environment.

It's either that or she can inhabit a shadow no matter how faded it is. Even in the darkest night, there are shadows, our eyes just aren't capable of seeing them and picking them out of the darkness. So she might just be inside a shadow I can't see but she can sense with her shadow magic.

Either way, I do think she is linked to a shadow when in that form, and I might have a way to test it. If nothing else she can manipulate shadows a bit. She can form herself standing on them and that odd effect I noticed of the shadows stretching a bit when she leaves to another shadow is still there. It hasn't changed but she also still isn't really able to do anything with it right now.

She can also keep her band attached to her own shadow form as she travels with it, I've seen it on her when she's in my shadow. I think she was linked to my physical form through my shadow and because I was teleported so was she, I guess she could be forming a temporary likeness with myself with her shadow magic.

I leave the shower and cast a spell to quickly dry myself off and leave the bathroom. I can't really do too much with most of this information right now, but it gave me an interesting idea that I can test. If she can form links between my shadow and herself and a link between herself and her band, then can she link an object to me?

If I Imbued another item with shadow magic and had her link it to my shadow could it just stay in there? A sort of shadow storage that keeps an item in a different state. It's a possibility so I've been meaning to do the Imbuing ritual again with something simple to test this theory.

The ritual doesn't consume the gem dust used or need to be changed so I can just have the entire thing activated again with Entropy's help. But Celestia isn't going to be there in case anything goes wrong so I took things slow and double checked all parts of the ritual before using it again.

After doing that over the past few days I sent a letter to Celestia. Both to see how she's doing and if there's any news, and to ask if she's fine with me doing my own rituals now. I could just do it without her knowing or just do it and tell her later, but that's not needed and I don't want to be scolded again.

Although she's willing to let me get involved in a mess of things so this seems like a given, and earlier today I got a letter back basically saying don't be stupid and have fun. So before I started practicing with my weapons I had Entropy do the ritual again, this time on a small ruby.

Interestingly enough, Imbuing an object stores the magic used in a different way for how gems normally do so. It's more like I'm saturating the gem itself without just feeding the shadow magic to be used like the other magic that is gathered by the gem naturally or with a spell's help.

After a little looking I found that a few runes in the ritual actually impart this effect for safety. When rituals like this were more common filling a gem with magic was hard so messing with the enchantments on a gem by adding unstable ritual magic to its stored magic was not desired. So their protections were added to the ritual.

This is all to say the Imbued shadow magic won't just be consumed by the gem. I look over to see Entropy sleeping again, she's resting after expending so much magic. After we did the Imbuing ritual I fed her and let her rest while I did my practice. After an hour or so she recovered enough to take us home.

But for now, I don't want her to test my theories while she's tired like that, so things will have to wait for another time. But if my theory is right then she could store things in a shadow which would help me with a problem I've had for a long while. A certain gem is currently hidden in the pavilion at Gaia's Eden.

That gem has very important information and being able to store it somewhere safe like a shadow would put my mind at ease a great deal, at least for this problem. I look at the ruby we Imbued and see no difference from before, it looks the same and the enchantments to gather magic also work fine.

I place it in my workroom before grabbing my saddlebags and a few other things that I'll need. Once I have everything I turn to Entropy on her perch and gently shake her awake. "Sorry to wake you Girl, but I got something to do, you want to stay here?" I ask and despite how tired she is she slips into my shadow without a word before presumably going back to sleep.

I smile and nod. "Alright then." With that, I make my way out of my apartment and down into the streets of Canterlot. The weather is a bit too messy to make flying a good idea so I'll have to just walk. I wrap my scarf around me and put on my cloak before I start to head towards the library.

As for why I'm going there now? Well a week ago Twilight sent a letter asking to meet at the library today, and it's a meeting I look forward to. She's a busy pony and we don't really get to meet often, every few weeks at best and sometimes more than a month.

But that's just how some friendships are, some you see daily, some every week, and some every year. But that doesn't mean you aren't friends and you don't enjoy each other's company. As I reach the library I take off my cloak and enter the library.

It's a really snowy day so the library is quieter than normal and there are only a few ponies inside. I came a bit early so I spend a while finding some books and sitting down to read and wait. I arrived a bit earlier than needed because I wanted to read a bit without distractions.

Right now I'm looking into more scanning spells for different organs and parts of the body. After that one time with the metal shrapnel, I thought it was best to learn them as a lot of a doctors work uses them as a base for a lot of things. I don't have to read too long before I sense a pony walking over with a small dragon on their back.

I look up and see Twilight walking over with a smile and a curious Spike. "Hello Twilight, been a while, have you been well?" I ask as she joins me with a few books of her own. I notice that Spike has once again grown some since I last saw him, both in terms of size and intelligence.

She smiles and Spike climbs her back to reach out and climb on the table. "Shade, nice to see you too. I'm well, how are- Spike, you know not to do that." She stops him as he tries to open one of her books but doesn't seem to have the best control over his hands and claws, which really seem to have grown a lot since I last saw them.

He does as asked. "Sorry, Twi." His adorable voice says before he looks at me with his overcurious eyes. "Helloo." He waves a bit with a small smile and some hesitant words and I nearly laugh at how adorable he is. "I'm Spike." I smile back as his squeaky and slightly off words greet me.

I wave back. "I'm Shade, nice to meet you, Spike. Would you like some berries?" I ask abruptly and I smile more as his eyes light up a bit. I glance at Twilight looking for permission, she looks a bit surprised but nods to me silently. I take out a bag filled with berries normally for Entropy and give some to him. "Enjoy."

He looks at me like I'm now his friend and happily takes the berries into his outstretched hands. "Thank, yoou. Mmm, good reds." He says his thanks to me while happily eating the berry's and taking a particular interest in the raspberries.

I turn back to Twilight. "Well, he seems happy enough. Your dam having you watch him?" I ask happy to have made a good impression on the small dragon. I do keep an eye on him to make sure he's fine after eating the berries, I don't think any of them should be a problem but better safe than sorry.

Twilight smiles more and giggles a bit. "Well, you figured out how best to make friends with him, I swear his stomach is a pit." I chuckle at that and make a mental note of it. "Yes, dam said she needed to do something so I'm watching him. It was, sudden." She sounds a bit embarrassed but I could care less.

I nod. "I don't mind, I find dragons really interesting. Although the last one I met was much bigger." I joke a bit and notice most of her books are about different spells and spell theory, more of the usual. "Anyway, I'm doing just fine. Mostly volunteering-"

I'm cut off as her eyes widen a bit and she quickly pulls some paper and a quill over to her. "You met a dragon! Where?! When?! What were they like?!" She gets a bit closer and focuses intently on me while throwing out questions. "What did you learn about them?"

I smile at her and decide to cut her off before she asks too many questions. "I was taking a small trip and stopped at a really small town. Their name was... Andradite? That seems right. And they were, well, interesting. It took a LOT to get them to actually talk about anything though." I pull out a notebook and start writing.

Twilight looks even more interested while Spike just entertains himself after finishing his treat by playing with some type of toy he apparently brought with him. "Andradite? Isn't that a gem? Are gem-based names common then? They do eat gems so it's possible." She starts to rapidly make theories.

She actually has a point so I make my own note of that. "I'm not really sure. But she was not the best at explaining things in detail. I learned some interesting things though, like a few short words of their language." I flip through my notebook. "I don't think this has those notes though." I enjoy talking to Twilight about theories so I keep going.

She looks a bit disappointed about that as I continue. "I can find them for you though, might help with this cutie." I smile at Spike who looks at me when I address him. "Another interesting thing is why she was there, she was trading raw gems. I even bought a few." I explain while leaving out a few things on purpose.

Her ear tilts a bit and she looks curious. "Right, they have a language." She rapidly flips through a few notes. "I think a few books say they did, but none had any actual information." I nod in response as I've looked and also found nothing. "Wait? She was trading for bits? Why?"

I pause for a moment and almost answer as she's almost an adult and she can handle something like that. But I think Spike is slightly following our conversation, even if he's off in his own world. So instead I write down the answer and pass it to her, "This, or at least that's what she said, she didn't know much on this topic though."

Twilight picks up the paper confused. "Why did yo- ... Oh ... oh" She gains a slight blush and folds up the paper before taking a breath. "Ok, that's, hmm." She thinks on it for a moment but is interrupted by me not being able to hold in my laughter. She looks embarrassed and glares a bit, "What did you expect when passing me, THIS." She defends herself to my continued amusement.

I stop and smile back. "I know, still, that face. Plus you got the less flavorful explanation, I used much more direct words than she did." Twilight looks a bit perturbed. "Anyway, she was getting gold to trade with older dragons, which is interesting as it means they have some form of courting." I use clinical words to keep things clean.

Twilight nods a bit but stops and looks hesitant for a moment. "Y-Ya, so about the Gala." She used more informal words and I can tell she's digging into it more. To be fair I didn't go into too much detail in my letter. "Are you doing ok? I-I mean with the news and ponies not leaving you alone!" She quickly adds.

I nearly laugh again but just nod. "I'm fine, most ponies stopped caring a while ago. I do get the occasional question though. Honestly, that entire night was surreal, I mean ME dancing with THE Princess." I act up my role to make it seem like I'm reacting like she expected.

She giggles a bit and then pauses before full-on laughing. "Wait." She keeps laughing more. "Shade? Di- Did you get more practice after... You know, we danced?" She hesitates and looks a bit uncomfortable bringing that up. Not that I blame her, we all look back on things with clear eyes and new perspectives, causing discomfort sometimes.

I go silent and stare a bit blankly which is enough of an answer on its own. "Maybe?" She laughs more and Spike giggles seeing Twilight so happy. I can't bring myself to glare at her as she's not wrong with how silly it is. "In my defense, I was NOT exactly preparing for something like THAT."

I huff a bit as she keeps laughing for a few moments, once she recovers she looks back at me with a smile. "That's even better than the jokes my sire makes." She giggles again. "Sorry, sorry, it's just." I wave it off despite the reaction and there is a moment of awkward silence. "Are you reading up on more healing spells?" She asks to obviously change the subject.

I push over a book that I've already read through. "Yes, mostly scanning spells right now. They are used a lot but can take up a decent amount of magic, so I'm thinking that having them means I can help out in more ways." I answer simply and flip to another page to continue reading.

She watches me move over a book with my space magic and gains a look of epiphany. "Right, I did that!" She smiles widely and I look back at her with a raised brow. In response, she looks a bit bashful but keeps her smile, "Well, that field thing, did you ever name it?"

I shake my head. "Oh, hmm. Anyway, I tried it, and well nothing actually happened for a LONG while. I didn't really get it to do much though, but I'm not the Princesses student without reason." She brags a bit and holds out a hoof, she then lifts up the book from the table without using her horn.

I smile widely at the action and look a bit surprised. "Wow, not bad, getting even that far can take a while." I compliment her honestly as I still remember how it took me months to get that far, I was a small colt at the time but my point stands. "Thinking of using it more? It can be useful but I doubt you'd get too much use out of it."

The proud smile she has falters a little and she looks down at her book again. "Not really, I kind of, gave up already." She admits slowly with some guilt and I chuckle a bit, she just huffs a bit at that. "Well you're right, it's not like I could do anything new with it. And it took WEEKS to get just this far." She defends herself.

I pick up three books and start to float them in a circle before placing them down again. "And that took me five years of constant everyday use." She looks a bit incredulous at that and I nod. "Yup, trust me, with a horn my method is just not worth the time commitment. To be honest, even getting that far takes some impressive dedication." I compliment her again to dissuade any doubts about her ability she might have.

Her ears perk up again and she smiles more. "I guess you're right, but it just feels so, lacking to just stop here. I do have my studies to focus on though." She sighs a bit and moves the book I originally moved to her closer. "Thanks, for showing me it, I even got to surprise the Princess with it." She giggles a bit but stops and looks at me, "Please, don't tell anypony that."

I nod with another laugh and move over to my book. "Sure, as long as you can help me find which of these books has a scanning spell for the liver. I've been through six books already." I bring the topic back to something more productive and she looks over the books I have before bringing one over to look through.

"There's a lot here. How many scanning spells are you learning?" She asks while looking over to check on Spike for a moment. The little dragon apparently decided to take a nap on top of the table and curled up to sleep. I smile a bit and move over my scarf as the library is pretty cold. "Oh, thanks." She smiles back and uses my scarf as a small blanket for him.

I nod again and keep my tone at the same volume so as to not wake Spike. "No problem, I just need it back when we're done. Today? Two so far, one for the heart and the other for the stomach." I answer and she flips through pages with me. "So how about we find a third to add in?"

She keeps her smile and nods with some determination. "Agreed, OH! I think this might be close." She brings the pages closer to her face and I go back to my own book. I settle in and enjoy the snowy day of research with a friend.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :)
Current year is 995

A few things. I still have no idea how to write Twilight, but I think I'm getting better. She's smart and curious but also a bit introverted to those who haven't broken into her little bubble, or those who fell out of it.

Now onto the weapons. Most of the names focused around their elements so I decided that Shade would continue his history of obvious, simple, and very blunt names.

The main reason I wanted to name them at all is because it simply makes writing about them more simple and smoother. Thank you to everyone who suggested something. :D

I had a pretty hard time picking names for the weapons and honestly, I felt a little bad for going with something so simple. In my defense, I did need to pick and I mostly try to include you guys by asking for suggestions so I hope you are fine with my choices whenever I ask something.

One final thing. Metal dye I found out is a real thing. But I rather not go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how it works in real life and if ponies could make it. So for now let's just say this mystery dye is from some slightly magical plant that Shade may or may not encounter in the future.

PS, taking tomorrow off, see you all Monday.