MAR 29 Thursday.

I move my hooves slowly as I carve out another small chunk of wood, making sure I don't damage the small sculpture as I work.

Today is one of those days where I have little to do, my practice is done, my volunteering was completed this morning and I don't really have much to fill the time. So I do what I normally do on these days, I spend that time enjoying a simple hobby or craft, in this case wood carving.

The past two weeks have been a nice calm, mostly filled with me dealing with my friends and life as normal. My meeting with Celestia is still fairly fresh in my mind, the topics may not have all been cheery but I enjoyed spending time with her once again.

That line of thought makes me stop for a moment and sigh a bit before cutting the wood piece again. Celestia, a topic I try not to think about in the wrong context, it really does feel weird to have thoughts like that about a close friend. I can't say the idea is unappealing though.

I shake my head a little and focus on my work again to distract myself. After our conversation, Celestia did ask what I was planning to do for my birthday, and I honestly have no idea. Normally me and my friends just wish each other a happy birthday and maybe give a small gift before moving on with the day.

The problem being that Celestia has shown just how willing she is to celebrate my birthday, so after some thought I decided to ask my friends to have a normal game night on my birthday and just relax. This way I can enjoy my time with them and probably celebrate earlier in the day with Celestia, a nice win-win situation.

When I said this Celestia just nodded so I guess I'll see what kind of surprise she has for me then. It would be nice to have another little party at Gaia's Eden, I did enjoy the last one quite a bit. I look over the sculpture I've spent an hour carving away at with my enchanted knife, something I've enjoyed doing.

The sculpture is made from Redwood and is a very simple one, it's just a carving of a Griffon. There's no real reason why I picked this combination, I'm mostly just bored. I pause again and think for a moment before shrugging to myself. :I could walk around the city? Why not?: After a moment I silently agree with myself and stand up.

I find myself not leaving and getting out as much the past year, I just don't have much of a reason to do so beyond my normal schedule. As I reach for my saddlebags another thought comes to mind, I've been low on medium gems for a while and it's the right season for caravans to visit Canterlot.

I put on my saddlebags and head into my workroom, looking around my shelves for a few moments until I find what I'm looking for, a small metal pendant I was given a long time ago. I pack it away and whistle to Entropy as she sits on her perch, who looks up to me curiously. "We're going out, come on."

She pecks at her band and turns on its enchantment before flying over and landing on my back while I leave my apartment. As I walk I make my way to the bank, spending a while taking out enough bits for the purchases and also getting a receipt, before flying towards the outskirts of the city.

It's not a long flight and I enjoy the sunny afternoon day. I have to land by the city walls as Ponies aren't allowed to fly into or out of Canterlot, even with wings you have to land and check in at a gate like everypony else. It takes another few minutes to get through but eventually I arrive outside the city gates.

Like other times there are several caravans all trading goods outside the city, set up at different locations around the area. It's been a few years since I last bought from the Diamond Dog caravan I did business with, but I'm still able to spot the banner above one caravan camp not far off.

I'm not sure if this pendant will still mean much, the leadership of a caravan can often change depending on who is leading or backing the caravan, so this might take a little more time. Still, compared to last time I'm an adult, and that means no extra suspicion or using my card.

As I walk closer my mind drifts to something I had mostly forgotten about, the place I grew up in this life. I've stopped by once and passed by a few times, maybe I should visit? I may not feel too much of a connection due to not actually being a foal while I was living there but it still means something to me.

I leave my thoughts as I approach the caravan and see a few guards walking around, like I did once long ago I simply sit and wait for them to take notice of me. It doesn't take long for a Diamond Dog guard to walk over, they eye me with a little suspicion as it is their job, but they just nod in greeting after a moment. "Sir?"

I nod back and hold out the pendant with my hoof, "I'm here to trade, it's been a while though so I may need to talk to whoever is in charge." I notice they have more respect for me than last time, then again last time I was some random colt walking around alone, I have changed since then.

I look them over as they inspect the pendant. Diamond Dogs are taller than Ponies on average but have a thin build, most having lengthy limbs that seem well adapted to digging and reaching ledges for climbing out of their subterranean homes. The Diamond Dog guard takes the pendant and looks it over closely, eventually passing it back to me with another nod. "Follow me."

I do as asked and we walk into the camp, me keeping a closer eye on things around me than the last time I was in a caravan camp. I watch as a few Diamond Dog pups play and others go about the business of maintaining a camp like this, cooking, cleaning, or moving crates of goods around.

I do notice that the caravan seems larger than before, but from what I've seen in the newspaper Celestia's attempts at securing more gems have already picked up some steam. More traders from the Diamond Dogs specifically and I think Cadance might try to secure more trade with them as well, that's just a hunch with no proof though.

Eventually, I'm led to a large tent, inside is filled with a large table where a few are eating and a single Diamond Dog is doing paperwork to one side. I think for a few moments and search my memory as I recognize this individual. Grey fur, red eyes, Beryl Granite, the first Diamond Dog I ever met in this world.

As we approach she looks up and her eyes look over to me with some confusion, focusing for a few moments before showing recognition in her expression. She waves away the guard and looks me up and down for a moment, me now being a few inches taller than her from the last time we met. "Well, this is certainly a surprise... Shade? Right? It's been a long time." She greets me with a relaxed but professional attitude and holds out a paw.

It has been a rather long time since we met and I'm surprised she remembers me at all. I shake her paw with a small smile and a nod. "Beryl, it has been a long time. After a long time, I'm once again looking for gems, and I happened to remember I was given this." I take out the pendant for a moment. "I am surprised to see you though, is your father around?" I ask as he was in charge last time I was here.

She looks at the pendant and nods again. "Well, you've come to the right dogs then." She looks off for a moment. "No, actually my father retired last year, I'm in charge now." She says simply and I accept it without question as It's not my place to dig. She moves further away from the table, "You also came at a good time as well, we brought a large stock with us this time, care to see?" She asks, getting right down to business.

I don't mind, I would like to ask more questions about Diamond Dogs but I can understand that she's here to work and I'm taking up her time. "Sounds good, I'm not sure I brought enough, we could do a receipt if you want? Or the same way we did things last time." I offer something I wasn't able to before.

When I was still a colt there were a few things I couldn't do easily. One of them involved receipts, a way to transfer bits from a transaction without lugging around so much gold. It's a fairly simple but effective method and it is much more convenient, as long as I remind myself I can actually use it.

When I was a colt I couldn't use receipts for transactions, I'm no expert but it's not illegal, it's just that no bank would take the risk of a colt handing out receipts as they might be liable to pay even if that young pony can't. The receipt is basically backed by a bank and giving them to young Ponies is a bad idea.

Beryl nods after a moment of thought. "I can do that, you are an adult now, right?" I nod and take out my card, which while no longer needed for everyday use still has my date of birth. "We'll do a down payment with the rest on the receipt." I nod in acceptance. "Anything in particular you are looking for this time? We have a lot to offer." She says while leading me out of the large tent.

I think for a moment as we move to the center of the camp, an area much more guarded as it holds all their trade goods. "Only gems above medium size, and preferably diamond, the purer the better." I shoot high as I have no shortage of funds for this.

She raises a brow but nods with a small smile, showing she likes what she's hearing. "Most of our small gem stock is gone already anyway, business has been prospering." She makes a comment as some small talk while we move past several carts with crates in them. "Are you interested in affinity gems as well?" She offers in a friendly tone.

"Very." I agree as she waves over a few other Diamond Dogs and they start opening crates. As a last thought before we begin I realize that this all might weigh a large amount and I would rather not lug it through the city. "How much to have you deliver it all somewhere later today?" I ask, guessing that they would be willing.

The small twinkle in her eyes is all the confirmation I need. It takes nearly two hours to look through their stock and by the time I'm done, I have a large collection of gems that will be delivered to a location I've specified. I turn to Beryl and hold out my hoof, "pleasure doing business with you." I pass her a large bag of bits to cover the down payment.

She takes the bag with a nod and shakes my hoof. "Agreed, here." She passes me a piece of paper. "It's our route, it's never perfectly accurate but it should give you a good idea of when we're at Canterlot." I take it with a smile and pack it away before taking out a receipt and writing down the needed information before passing it over as well.

After a moment of her looking it over she turns to one of the guards and motions them over. "Anything else you might be interested in?" I shake my head silently. "They can lead you out then, have a good day." She ends our conversation bluntly and I just start to follow the guard, not seeing much of a reason to say anything more.

After a little walking, I'm back inside Canterlot's city walls. Entropy has been sitting on my back silently this whole time but speaks up as I walk through the outskirts of the city, "Lunch? Hungry." I nod and chuckle a little at her regular cute act, or maybe she's just like that? With how smart she is I honestly can't tell sometimes.

I walk for a while and I end up at a building I remember using once long ago. The area is just a large building for renting storage space and I spent a few minutes with a Pony working there. I rent a storage room and specify that the Diamond Dogs will be delivering here and to expect them.

I didn't want them delivering so many gems to my apartment so instead I'm renting a space to retrieve them from. After that's taken care of Entropy and I spend a few more minutes letting her memorize the inside of the storeroom so she can teleport here before leaving to find some lunch.

After a little walking, I found a decent-looking cafe. The building looks a little old but it's clean inside and neither Entropy nor I care too much where we eat. I head inside and see mostly tables with a few more secluded areas off to the left side against a wall, I head over and sit down letting Entropy jump onto the table top as I do so.

Entropy snuggles right in by lying down on the table and becoming a new decoration for the little cafe. I pet her, earning me a few adorable chirps in return before taking out my sketchbook to draw as we wait. After a while, we're approached by a mare with a pad and quill. "What can I get you?" She asks with a cheery disposition common among most Ponies. I take a moment to look past her at a menu on the wall.

"Some ginger tea and a few pastries, anything's fine." I decide to leave it up to chance, I turn to entropy, hearing a squawk from her. "And some diced fruit if you can." I chuckle a little at the demanding fluff ball. The mare looks oddly at the crow as it's not the most common pet, but nods and walks off leaving us alone again.

As I sit I start to flip back through the sketchbook, looking at all the drawings I've made over the years. I have a few sketchbooks but this one is special as it's my oldest one, actually? Maybe not, I think I still have a sketchbook or two from when I lived at the orphanage.

I wonder where I put those? If I even still have them, then again I'm not the type to throw them away. Again my mind drifts to the place I spent the first eleven years of this life. I wonder if it is doing fine? Maybe old Magree is still in charge, she seemed like the kind of mare who would never really retire.

I think and doodle in my sketchbook until our food arrives, Entropy digging right into the fruit and eyeing my pastries already. "Finish your food and you can have some... Oh, who am I kidding? You'd never not eat everything I give you." I mumble to her and receive a happy chirp in return.

I sip my tea and munch on some type of apple pastry while enjoying the small moment of quiet in this ever-busy city. I should do this more often, I do go out and eat with my friends every few weeks but this is different, it's calm and gives me time to just... Enjoy, to enjoy this city and everything in it.

Again my mind goes to the place I grew up in this life. I never felt too much from the orphanage, I suppose it was home to some degree, but not in the same way as my apartment or my room at the library. I enjoyed my time there, but it felt more like visiting family and staying with them, sure you have your own space but it's not really yours.

I was never treated badly, well a few of the other foals could be rude, but they are foals so it's to be expected. You know I think that place saved me in an odd way. I've never had any close family and the idea of growing up in my second life with a mother and father seems weird, or maybe just off-putting.

If that was my reality I'd feel bad for them, they probably would just want a foal and they'd get me instead. Oddly I'm also glad I got to grow up again, to spend so much time simply playing and enjoying the days as they pass by. Without it, I'd still be thinking about and maybe even looking to return to my old home.

I do miss many things about Earth, but it's all so distant now, it's been nearly sixteen years since I died, and isn't that an odd thought. My time growing up let me accept this life as my one, a continuation. Maybe I really should visit? I don't really have much of a reason, but I am curious about how it is doing after all this time. I think for a few minutes while enjoying my treats, and feeding pieces to Entropy as she also relaxes.

After I'm done I just sit for a while, thinking. I'm reminded of a thought I had earlier today and repeat it once again. :Why not?: I smile at Entropy. "Do you want to see where I grew up? As a little foal." I ask abruptly and she tilts her head a little before shifting her weight from foot to foot and cawing in excitement. I stand up, "I'll take that as a yes."

I spend a moment paying a Pony behind the counter before heading back out into the afternoon streets. I could fly but I take my time instead and slowly walk down several familiar roads before finding the right one. I look up as I approach the large building.

The building is old, weathered in several places and showing its age, but it is clearly well-kept. I feel a little odd as I look around, it seems as if nothing has really changed at all, even the garden boxes where they grew some fresh produce are still in the same spots.

I notice several foals playing in the yard behind the brick wall, just tall enough to make foals have to climb it but still short enough for a Pony to see if a foal is running off without permission. I always found that a little odd, why not just make it taller? A particularly adventurous and capable Pegasus foal reminded me that they very much can fly short distances.

I chuckle a little at the memory and walk over to the gate, pushing it open and walking into the front yard. The building was some old nobles mansion I think, large with many rooms and fairly opulent even after it was converted into an orphanage. There are definitely worse places to grow up.

As I walk closer I see several playing foals watching me from the side, a few pointing to Entropy and talking with each other about her. There is a caretaker off to the side but they don't come over to me and just keep their eyes on the foals, which is good considering how often they tend to get curious and wander off.

Sitting on the front porch in the shade is an old mare, Magree Limestone, looking as if the years have caught up with her a little more since the last time we met. Although, that was a brief meeting and I wasn't paying too much attention to her appearance at the time.

As I walk over her head tilts up from a little toy animal she seems to be knitting. As I walk closer she adjusts her glasses, still having to squint a little when I get close. After a moment her eyes widen a little bit, and she looks me up and down for a few seconds.

"I knew you'd grow, you were a quick one even for an earth pony, walking so soon after you were born, I never thought you'd grow this much though." She shows a rare bit of humor, something I did not often see. "Shade Evergreen, come sit." She offers with that kind but firm smile.

I look at the bench opposite of her and take a seat as asked, Entropy sitting next to me as I stare at the much shorter unicorn mare. "Miss, Magree. It's been a long time, sorry I didn't visit sooner." I do feel a little bad as I basically never came back here after I left nearly six years ago.

She keeps her smile and waves me off slowly, her hoof taking its time. "Few ever do, they are out living their lives and that is more than enough. You look well, are you still working at the library?" She starts up some small talk and I settle in. She looks at Entropy as well, "And who is this?" She smiles at Entropy, seemingly happy to have more visitors.

Entropy caws quietly at her in greeting. "I guess, life can certainly be busy at the best of times. This is Entropy, she's been with me for five years now." I carefully scratch Entropy and make sure to not disrupt the illusion. "No actually, I finished my apprenticeship last year. I'm studying spell work and I also volunteer at a hospital." I am mostly honest, not seeing much of a reason to lie.

She raises a brow and giggles a bit. "A spell crafter? And healing as well? Fitting, you always did love any bit of magic you found, sneaking off so often to practice when you thought we weren't looking." She says with some humor. I raise my brows in slight shock and she just smiles more. "I have seen many Ponies grow up, I know how to keep my eye on them, but sometimes they need the space." She gives a bit of wisdom with some humor in her tone.

I chuckle a little and let go of any lingering fear that tries to rise up. There is no need to panic, if anything was going to happen it would have happened years ago. "I guess I was just a colt, and stealth is one thing my size doesn't help with." I joke back a little. There is a beat of silence as neither of us talks.

After a moment I take out my teapot, "Would you like some tea?" I break the awkwardness as best I can. She nods and watches curiously as I cast a spell to gather water before letting the teapot heat up. "Any flavor you prefer? I have a few here." I add while looking through my saddlebags.

She watches the spell matrix flash when I start to gather water and she jumps a little. "Oh my, you really have taken to magic. A Journeypony caster at your age, congratulations." She compliments me with that firm but genuine tone. "Any will do, is the teapot Enchanted?" She asks as the water starts to rapidly boil.

I nod and take out some regular ginger tea I keep with me, mostly for situations like this where Blood Leaf Tea is not an option. "It is, I enchanted it myself a while back, it took a while to find the spell though." I'm somewhat more open about my skills as at this point it's interesting but not immensely out of the realm of possibility for me to do these things.

She nods and looks a little proud as I take out two teacups and fill them before passing one over. "So, what brings you here? I am glad to see you visit but you must be busy." She asks while taking a sip of the tea. "Hmm, ginger works well for a day like this." She says approvingly.

I think for a moment and shrug a little. "Nothing I suppose, I was having a slow day and thought about this place for the first time in a long while. I thought I might as well visit, see how things are. How are things?" I dive head first into the polite conversation and try to enjoy it.

The old mare gives me a happy smile and seems more than willing to talk my ear off for a while. I listen intently as she talks and enjoy the change from my normal days. Maybe I should visit more often?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :D
Current year is 996

I know we've had a lot of calm chapters without much happening, and the next one is likely to be like that as well, but I got in a mood and this was the end result.

This is a small thing, but one or two of you have asked about a Discord Server, and after a lot of thought and some encouragement, I made one.

https://discord.gg/MnY2K9QtAy

I'm not sure how often I will be on there, so it might take more time for me to respond. But if it's something you're interested in, it's there, if not ignore me. Also, I'm not the best at using Discord, so if you find any problems that is why.