APR 11 Wednesday.

I slowly turn a page of the book I'm reading and wait in patient silence for my friend to arrive.

I've sadly not gotten to see either Twilight or Avalon for a while now, but Avalon did send me a letter asking to hang out recently. So I agreed and said he could meet me at the library, mostly so we could both check out some books before heading to my apartment where we could relax in private, something he and I prefer.

I'm just happy to get to see my friend once again, I should really try to set up a meeting with Twilight. She did send me a letter recently but it seems she's pretty busy with her studies at the moment, I guess I'll just send a letter back and see when she can make some time.

I smile a little thinking about friends as the memories of my recent birthday resurface in my mind. It was fun and I enjoyed myself quite a bit, if you don't count Celestia outing my adventures, not that I didn't have it coming because I did in all honesty. I did manage to ask Celestia about when the book will be published.

She isn't entirely sure but it shouldn't take more than a few weeks, and Celestia also made an edited version of the notebook I gave her. She's planning on giving it to Twilight a little before the public book releases, hopefully that helps Twilight and her family to some degree.

As for who will take credit for the book? Celestia decided to credit it to the crown itself with several Ponies that aren't named and combined them while adding a part to the book explaining that it is a combination of years of different Ponies studying Dragons.

It's far from a perfect solution but the vast majority of Ponies will never even try to look into it, most probably won't even notice that no Ponies are named as authors. Those that do will see it was the crown and likely stop questioning it, sometimes the extreme faith Ponies have in Celestia is rather useful.

I am excited to see the reaction the general population of Ponies will have to such a book, it's not often anything is published on Dragons so I suspect it will at least get a decent amount of attention. Or maybe none at all, it is a rather uncommon subject and sadly many Ponies don't think too much about races they don't interact with regularly.

I flip another page of the botanical book I'm reading, specifically I'm reading about the Prismatic Rose I was given as a gift. I'm mostly just interested in if I can do anything with the plant, but like I previously thought there's not much I can do with it. It is mostly just a rose, but I am still reading up on its preferred growing area and habits.

I stop reading after a moment and look up, sensing Avalon walking closer with a few books in his arms. I notice a few pieces of his wooden arm seem to have been swapped out, maybe from damage or simply because they wore down over time. I smile widely as he walks up to the table but Entropy beats me to it, "Hello!" She caws happily, excitedly wagging her tail at seeing him again.

He smiles in return and looks happy to see us. "Hi, Entropy." He sets his books down and takes a seat at the table with me. "Shade, I hope the trip went well, I-I mean, did it?" He slips into his regular slightly uncertain way of speaking. I did notice that the last time we talked he was a bit more put together than when we first met, I think the new arm has done his confidence a little good.

I smile and close the book I was reading. "I loved it, Griffonstone is an amazing city. The view from the top of the tree is absolutely stunning. How have you been? You end up making a decision on your work?" I ask, remember it was a topic he was very uncertain about the last time we met up.

He pauses a little and scratches the back of his head. "W-Well, I'm trying?" He says before nodding to himself. "I tried to just take a few more days off, work a little here or there, you k-know?" I nod as it seems like the logical place to start. "Anyway, I've been doing it for, six weeks? S-Somewhere around there." He finishes and smiles a bit more.

I look at some of the books he has, mostly things on basic spell crafting and on magic in general. "Well, you seem to have kept up your self-studying. I'm also guessing you used the extra free time to learn more magic." He nods after a moment and I laugh a little. "I did the exact same thing, still getting used to the change?" I enjoy talking with him again and settle in.

He nods again, chuckling a small bit as well. "I-I did, I've learned so much recently, I h-had to slow down actually." He looks a bit ashamed but I wave him off with a look of approval. "Ya, sometimes I take more deliveries to fill the time, I-I mean, what else would I even do?" He shrugs a little and seems to be facing the same problem as me.

I give him a sympathetic look. "I know, it feels like you should be doing something with your time, but there is just too much of it. I remember going a bit overboard, locked myself away for nearly two weeks on a project before I realized that I needed to slow down." I chuckle a little as while it was important it was also a little stupid.

My agreement seems to improve his mood further. "R-Really? I thought, well, that I was just being, lazy." I shake my head and he sighs a bit. "OH!" He seems to realize something and nearly jumps in his seat, his entire body perking up to show his excitement, only to realize where we are and stop short. "S-Sorry, I ahh, I have news? Not here though. Do, hmm, do you know anywhere we could practice spells? N-Not your apartment." He quickly adds after a moment.

I raise a brow but realize he might not really know anywhere he could cast some more dangerous spells without breaking some law, or something. I expect he learned some basic combat spells, maybe Firebolt? I suppose we'll see. He sees me thinking and shakes his head, "N-Never mind, we can do that some other day, we're going to your apartment, r-right?" He does his usual thing and drops his idea for our plans.

I don't let him though, whatever this news is he looked very excited to share and I'd be a poor friend for not catering to his wants. "Nope, come on, we have somewhere to go." I keep it vague to surprise him and pick up my books before standing up and having Entropy jump on my back.

He looks a little shocked and confused, but also a little bit excited as he picks up his books and follows after me. "W-Where are we going?" He asks in a confused tone as we walk over to the receptionist's desk and start to check out the books we want. I just turn and smile at him silently while filling out some information for the Pony behind the desk.

Once I'm done we both grab our books and I turn to him as we walk out of the library. "A good place to practice, I think you need one if your going to be learning any spells with larger or more destructive effects. We can walk, it's not far from here" I explain but still keep our destination secret.

He looks curious as we walk onto the busy streets and he closely follows me. "W-Well, it's not that important, we could go-" He's cut off by me shaking my head with a smile and denying him outright. "Ok, umm, it would be nice to have somewhere to practice, my apartment isn't that big." He smirks softly at me being so insistent. "T-Thanks." He adds.

I nod as we approach a large building, the same building me and Stone train at and the same building where you can rent a practice area. I tilt my head a little, "You could rent somewhere better, you have the bits for it now." I remind him that he has money now as we both seem to forget that sometimes. "Actually, where do you live?" I ask curiously as we move to the front door of the building.

He looks up and reads the sign, realization slowly forming on his face. "Umm, I live on the east side of the city, a little far unless you fly." He says with a distracted tone. "T-They let you practice magic here? I mean, this is a unicorn city... Huh, I- I never thought of that." He seems to put it together as we walk inside the building.

I let out a small chuckle. "Yup, a lot of guards actually come here to practice, it's pretty helpful if you don't have your own space." I leave out that I don't practice magic here, I have Gaia's Eden for that. I walk over to the desk and quickly rent out a training field for a few hours before motioning with my head to follow me while Avalon stops looking around the building's interior and catches up with me.

He's more focused on taking in the sights than talking and we reach the right area without a word spoken between us. I rented a larger training area, a field with sky access rather than a room, it's a bit more expensive but I could not care less. "W-Wow, all this?" He asks while looking around the field.

I see that there are already a few dummies set up, which would work just great for what I think he's going to show me. I move a little to the side and look at him expectantly. "Well, go on. You've got me really curious and I want to see how much you've improved." I try not to pressure him and use an encouraging tone.

He looks hesitant about being put on the spot, but after looking around he relaxes a bit as we are alone. He takes off his satchel and places it to the side. "Right! U-Umm, I'm not that great at this yet, b-but." He looks very uncertain so I give him a smile and a reassuring look. "Ok, here goes?"

I see his determination and his excitement come back a lot more after he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. A moment later he starts to draw out a spell matrix with a single talon, it's an easy-to-recognize spell for me, the very same Candle Flame spell I gave him to start off with.

After a few moments, he finishes and the matrix flashes before a small ball of flame is produced, around four inches in size. He seems to concentrate even more for a moment and then the spell matrix dissolves, yet the fire remains in the air, still burning and showing no signs of disappearing.

I wait a moment yet the fire remains there, despite it normally needing the spell matrix to keep it going. I raise a brow and gain a look of both shock and excitement as the realization clicks in my brain. "You unlocked your fire affinity!" I state matter of factly while he looks over to me, only to have the small ball of fire quickly disappear into nothing within a second. "Oh, sorry." I apologize as my outburst broke his concentration.

He looks a little tired but has a bashful and slightly proud expression on his face. "Yup, it took so long to do. But I, I did it! I spent hours staring at a fire and reading about them, b-but I did it!" He repeats letting his excitement through with a massive smile. "That method you recommended was really hard though." He complains a little, which is understandable.

I respond with a chuckle, remembering how long it took me to unlock my space affinity. I am glad to hear he used the difficult method of unlocking his affinity without forming a mental construct. "Well, I can now say with certainty that you're one of the few who have unlocked their affinities. Not many do." I voice some of my pride in seeing my friend come so far from where he once was.

He scratches the back of his head and continues to look bashful about the praise he is getting. "W-Well, thanks for helping me do it." He defaults to thanking me again but I can tell he's happy about his achievement. "I only unlocked it two weeks a-ago, and I can't do much right now, only keep a flame burning or move a candle flame a little." He explains slowly while walking over to sit down next to me.

I think for a moment and pass him my flask, he raises a brow. "Drink, it will help." I give him a little Blood Leaf Tea but keep things unsaid. "Well, fire is one of the more well-known affinities so you should be able to find a few things on how to train and use it. You are already doing what you should be by training, the more you use it the less magic you will lose during the process." I encourage him and remind him of what he could accomplish in the future.

He looks a little uncertain about that and sighs, showing signs of slight magical exhaustion. "I- I know, but I don't have the best reserves, it's just hard to train so often, I feel tired a lot." He has some frustration in his tone and I can understand why, training an ability is no easy task. "I-I'm not giving up!" He says with that familiar look of determination while standing back up. "But..."

I nod at him and take the flask back after he's done taking a few more drinks. I'm silent for a few moments as I think about something, I've kept a lot of secrets from Avalon and my other friends. Maybe I can show him what that hard training could get you eventually?

I'm not revealing my space magic to him, but my life magic... Avalon is not the type to spread around secrets and I've gained a good amount of trust in him. He stays silent and humble in the face of his newfound wealth along with him turning down the possibility of being known as an inventor of the new prosthetics.

Even when he got all that new wealth he insisted on giving me a share, even when he could have kept it all with zero complaints from me or anyone else. I feel as if I can really trust Avalon when it comes to some things, but to reveal a secret like this? It's not something small.

He looks at me and seems curious about what I'm thinking about, but lets me think without interruption. What is the worst that can happen if I tell him? Well, I trust him enough to not tell others but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be in danger from knowing about it.

Then again if someone is already going after my friends to get to me or because they know things about me, then the reason why isn't too important. I struggle with myself for a good few minutes as we sit in silence and Avalon recovers from his slight magical exhaustion. He already knows I work for the crown in some aspects as well.

I don't tell my friends things about me because I really don't want it to get out, I also don't want them to deal with any enemies I will inevitably make. Can I justify it to myself? Telling Avalon but not telling my other close friends? Then again I trust them in a different way.

I don't think any of them would intentionally reveal things, but Blaz has a tendency to talk when he's drunk and Daisy likes knowing things others don't and holding it over them, from time to time she's hinted at my other occupation but has kept the secret well. Maple, I can basically guarantee she won't say anything as she talks very little as things are.

Avalon's situation is also different from theirs though, he also has a large secret he wishes to keep hidden from the world, we are very alike when it comes to that. Daisy is something I worry about from time to time as she actually knows I'm Veil Winter, but the situation around that is complicated.

Can I justify this to myself? Maybe, but if I did I feel like I'd need to tell my other friends as well. Maybe not everything at once but I could at least tell Maple and Daisy about my life affinity as a start? I would really like to keep a few fewer secrets from them but it's all a risk.

"H-Hey, you ok?" Avalon's slightly concerned tone breaks through my thoughts and I look at him for a moment before sighing. I don't really have a reason to reveal my affinity to him, sure it could help him as a form of motivation but that's about it.

I look at his face for a moment. "I'm thinking about telling a friend something, a secret. I'm not sure though." I am honest but word it like I'm not thinking about him at the moment. I pick myself up from my thoughts, "I think it's something I should sleep on and think about more. Sorry for bringing down the mood a bit." I joke to lighten things up again.

He nods after a moment and he also lets out a sigh. "No, I-I get it." I raise a brow at that and he looks at the training dummy across the field. "I, well, I had- Have, I have a few friends that I saw when I visited my f-family. I didn't tell them about, well." He holds up his arm. "I don't know, it just didn't feel right." He finishes with clear uncertainty.

I nod in understanding before looking at the dummy as well. "Secrets can be a hard thing to bear, but we keep them all the same." I give some advice and stand up before walking a few feet forward. Half a second later there is a flash of light that makes Avalon jump to his feet, only to be deafened by a loud bang and a second flash of light.

I cast a sound shield around the area so nopony else would hear anything and half a second later I drained a large amount of magic into a single Lightning Strike spell, aimed right at the dummy. Avalon blinks a few times from the flash of light and is a little disoriented but eventually looks at me and the dummy.

I used nearly a third of my magic in that single spell and the results of that show plainly. The dummy was a pony made from straw and wood, the same size as a Pony as well, now there is nothing there. The blast of lightning was so violent and powerful that it flash-burned or simply obliterated everything in its path, hitting the stone wall behind the target and leaving a few cracks in it.

All that remains of the dummy is the wooden post that stood it up and some scraps of smoldering wood splints and pieces of straw. I turn back to Avalon and look at his face, seeing a mix of shock and awe. "Wow." That single word said under his breath is all he says as he looks in between me and the dummy's remains.

I chuckle enjoying his face for a moment before walking back over to him. "I find that magic is really hard, it takes practice and dedication, but with the right mind and the right will you can do great things. I don't have a lightning affinity, that was just a spell. Think about how far you can get with a fire affinity." I say as encouragement.

A moment later I see that familiar look of determination come back stronger than ever, a large smile stretching across his face. "I-I brought a book on fire affinity methods. And I'm fine now, want to head to your apartment?" He asks with a more steady and focused tone, while also giving me an impressed look.

Happy to see that my attempts to give him some needed motivation worked even if those earlier questions still remain in my mind. I leave those questions alone for now as he is right and we've been here longer than intended as it is. "Sounds good," I say while walking through the door with him following to my side.

Once we're outside we quickly take flight and fly for a short few minutes before landing on the roof of my apartment building. As Avalon lands after me, with Entropy landing on my back a second later, a question comes to mind. "Have you thought about any ways to use fire? For when you have better control." I ask to start our conversation back up again.

He titles his head a bit in thought. "Hmm, not really? I mean it is just fire. I'm not really sure what I could do with it." He says slowly as we make our way to the door of my apartment. "I guess I can make things? L-Like, that requires heat." He seems to be struggling a bit.

I nod as it's not a bad place to start with. "You definitely could, you could also move or put out existing fires. I recommend that second one actually, you're going to literally be playing with fire, it's a good thing to know how to stop it when needed." He looks thoughtful and nods along with me.

I open the door to my apartment and flip a small switch to let him in but stop right after as I notice a letter sitting on my countertop. I walk inside and open it, making sure he can't see the writing as he comes in after me. He looks a bit curious but doesn't ask about it and simply waits for me as I read.

Dear, Shade.

After some thought and a little planning, I've agreed to and scheduled another meeting with Queen Chrysalis, tonight at midnight to be specific. Your presence is not required but I would ask you to come, if you receive this letter late do not worry we aren't traveling far and as long as you are home before ten you will have time enough to get ready.

I hope to see you soon, and please prepare properly.

Signed, your friend Celestia.

I feel a little urgency rise in me as I fold the letter and put it down, but shove it down as it is still an hour before sundown, good thing I came home when I did. I turn to Avalon, who looks a bit concerned as I'm now frowning a little. "A-Are you ok?" He asks and I nod, causing him to let out a small breath in relief.

"I'm fine, but it seems I have something I need to urgently do. Sorry, we're going to have to reschedule for another day." I do feel a little bad about cutting my time with him short, but it can't be helped as I need to focus on this. Celestia did warn me that sometimes I'd have to leave on short notice and drop what I was doing.

Contrary to my concern he just nods with a slightly curious expression. "I-Its fine, I've had enough rushed deliveries to know it can't be helped... I-Is, is this about..." He hints at who I work for in secret.

I nod. "Sometimes I'm needed to help on something I've worked on before, if it has problems for whatever reason. It's not often I need to go so suddenly though." I make up an excuse that will work for what I've told him and he nods in acceptance before heading to the door again. "Goodbye Avalon, I'll send you a letter as soon as I can, we both have more free time now so it should be soon," I reassure him while still feeling a little bad about this.

He walks out of my still-open front door and waves it off with a smile. "It's fine, have a good night, Shade. And please do." He leaves quickly, apparently understanding the need for urgency from experience.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :]
Current year is 996

There you go, things. I thought this would be a nice way to show Avalon's progress and meet up with him again, while also letting Shade think about his secrets. I also thought the idea of his meeting being cut short would show that being involved in all this Changelings stuff is going to disrupt his life a little.

Tell me what you think. Also, any ideas for this meeting?

Ps, the holidays are near and that complicates my posting, I'll try my best to keep on top of it but I might miss some days, hopefully not though.