MAY 27 Sunday.

I look over my desk as I sit in my workroom with an odd expression on my face, a mix of trepidation and some uncertainty.

Over the past week, a few things have been on my mind, two main ones being the upcoming Gala and what I want to get Celestia as a birthday gift. I already have a few ideas for the second dilemma, but the first is a bit more complicated and is also the reason I am staring intently at my desk.

My suit sits on my desk and I can already tell it's not going to fit perfectly. Over the past year I've grown a bit, not as much as in past years but still enough to make the suit too small for me. I might be able to squeeze in but it wouldn't look very good and if I'm going to be at the Gala I would rather not embarrass myself like that.

Which means I need to get it refitted, that's not that difficult, but that means I need to go see Rarity. After the last, incident let's call it, I haven't seen her since. To be fair it's been a long time since I've gone to Ponyville at all, I've been busy with my own life and problems.

Still, I don't feel like it would cause any hurt feelings. It should be normal for a fashion designer to not see a customer until they need something. Then again, this is Rarity and I can bet every bit I own on her seeing the newspaper of me dancing with Celestia.

I need a suit though, at least it won't be as many measurements this time because I just need to get the suit adjusted. :I hope so. Please? Can I just have that?: I sigh and look over at the other object on my desk, sitting next to a pile of notes from my and Avalon last study session a week ago.

He's doing fine and is progressing about as much as I expected, mostly trying to gain better control over his fire magic. I reach out with my space magic and pick up the small trinket on my desk, it's made from white tooth and the Wind gem embedded in the middle.

The piece of the tooth was thick enough that we were able to cut a square hole in it and perfectly embed the gem inside, leaving only two of its faces open to the air on either side of the white material. After that, we mostly spent our time making a design for the carving.

In the end, we went with a simple but meaningful design, a tooth, yup. The piece of tooth was carved into the shape of a smaller tooth, with it being more flat on two sides to make the gem's faces flush with the surface. After that, we spent time engraving it and doing paperwork.

It was mostly just sorting the paperwork for me but I knew enough to help with some more simple ones as we took turns carving. Each semi-flat side of the tooth has a wolf silhouette engraved into it, one howling at the moon and another sleeping in the sun.

I was the one who added the sun and moon as I felt they fit well, Celestia just smiled when seeing the moon half, but there was some underlying sadness there. In the end, there was only one thing we couldn't really figure out, what to name this new little artifact we've made.

We decided to leave it for after I enchanted it with the proper spells. At the moment all it does is look nice, so after getting home with it I made one last modification before leaving it alone. I drilled a small hole on the top end where the base of this carved tooth is, just so it could be hung or attached to something if needed.

The spells themselves shouldn't be hard, I just need to find a few Wind runes and modify other spells I have. I decided to go with her last idea of solid magical platforms that I could walk on to move around. It is a nice addition and a good utility tool, so for now, I'm just going with it, it's not like we came up with anything better and I can always disenchant it if I want.

The rest of the tooth and the pieces I cut off are still at Gaia's Eden, I have plenty left so I'll need to think about other things I could make. I shake my head and push all that to the side as my mind tries to distract me with a mental rant, I sigh knowing full well I can't ignore what needs to be done.

I could go to a different Pony but I know for sure that Rarity would be the best at refitting my suit, and she's not likely to spread information about me. At least, not as likely as some random tailor in Canterlot, plus being in Ponyville makes it much more relaxed.

I take the suit and put it inside my saddlebags, while also grabbing a few bits to pay for things I may need. I head out into the main room of my apartment and chuckle as I see Philomena and Entropy together, both just lying on her perch side by side napping peacefully, they played quite a bit today.

I need to get going though so I pick up Entropy and she opens her eyes to look at me, or at least I presume she does as I'm unable to see them through the shadows that surround her. Over time they seem to have gotten a little bit thicker, nothing like her initial transformation but still an interesting change. "Yes?" She asks, sounding a little sleepy as I set her on my back.

I smile at her. "Sorry Girl, but I need to get to Ponyville, you can sleep in my shadow." I offer and she doesn't respond before the Void greets us both. A moment later I blink my eyes and adjust to my new surroundings, the forest I'm in is a thick mix of trees, bushes, and sunbeams.

Entropy slips into my shadow as I cast the Wing spell and take flight a few moments later. I notice a rainbow-colored thing flying quickly from one cloud to another before stopping, it's far off but it seems that Rainbow Dash is still around. I ignore it for now and glide down to the edge of town.

I try not to stare and look around too much as I really want to just get this over with. After dismissing my wings and a few minutes of walking I arrive at an all too familiar building. I stand there for a moment and take a deep breath before walking over and opening the door, hearing a small bell flick above me.

The inside is what I expected it to be, a little more decorated than the last time I was here but otherwise the same. Unlike a few times before I'm not alone though, there is another Pony inside and I also recognize them. Pear Butter looks all smiles as she glances over a few different fabrics displayed on the wall.

What really catches my eye quickly though, is her right foreleg. No longer is it just missing but a slightly worn out prosthetic limb is in its place, the wood a deep brown that contrasts her coat. I smile a bit at the sight knowing that she was able to mostly regain her ability to function with a missing leg.

After a moment I move my senses and sense that Rarity is in a back room, working on something from what I can tell. I think for a moment and slowly walk over to the Pear, making my steps a little louder than needed so I don't startle her. As I approach her ear twitches and she turns to look at me.

It takes her a few seconds of inspecting my appearance to recognize me, but when she does she smiles widely. "Shade?" I nod as it has been a while. I glance at her wooden limb and notice a few small words written into it, she chuckles and holds the limb up. "My fillies idea, she thought it would be nice to decorate it today."

I notice some small and slightly messy writing in a few colors, most of them being some variation of kind words. I smile at the odd sight. "Creative. It's good to see you, Miss Pear. It seems my words did a little good after all, I hope it's been working well for you." I be polite, and try to start some small talk so I can relax more and ignore my last memories of this place.

She nods and places her prosthetic down, still showing me a large smile. "I am more than well, I am great. I only got this a few months ago but... It's made a lot of difference. Thank you again." I shake my head a little as I don't need thanks for doing so little. "So, visiting again?" She asks while continuing to look at the fabrics.

I shrug a little. "Yes, I also need a suit refitted, and Miss Rarity does very good work. I'm glad to hear it's going so well, makes me glad we live in the times we do." I share some odd wisdom and use a few idle words. "And thanks for the recipes, they were a big hit at parties," I add to shift the topic away from her limb.

I can't imagine the will it takes to look at an event like that and smile in the end. Or maybe that's just how all beings are? Sure we get sad, but all things heal in time. No, maybe it's better to say all things fade with time, the pain is still there, just dull and more distant.

She still keeps her smile, even as her eyes linger on the wooden limb for a long moment. "Good to hear, and that invite to dinner is still open. Actually, why not stop in later today? If you have time?" She offers kindly and I get a similar feel to the royal family of Griffonstone.

I let that sink in for a moment. I could, but I'm not sure I want to deal with being in somepony else's home. I'm not that against the idea as it doesn't sound too bad, but I'm also not really that in the mood for dealing with more ponies today. She looks at my face, seemingly studying it, and smiles knowingly. "I'm not sure-"

I'm cut off by a small chuckle. "No need to be polite, I can tell when a pony wants to be left alone." She seemingly finds it humorous and unlike many others sees through my mask, at least a bit. I nearly give her an apology and she holds a hoof up to silence me and smiles more. "I'm not having a Pony uncomfortable in my home, you come when you are good and ready, you hear?" She says with the same light tone but a more firm expression.

I'm not too sure what to say so I just nod in agreement and turn as I sense Rarity coming back to the front of the store. A moment later she comes through a door and Pear nods to me. "Remember to drop by when you feel up to it." She reminds me, her tone sounding more like a demand than anything.

"Sorry for the wait dear. The fringe was being so uncooperative." Rarity's voice sounds out as she passes a bag to Pear. "Oh! Sorry, I co-" Her eyes flicker to me for a moment and she tries to greet me but stops a little short as she looks back to me, doing a double take as she looks me over. A large smile forms on her face as she recognizes me, "Shade! It's fabulous to see you again!" She greets me a little too cheerfully.

I hold in a blush as I try my absolute best to ignore my memories, I just nod back after a moment. "Rarity, a pleasure," I say nothing more and stay to the side as Pear counts out several bits and places a small pile on a Bit Counter, a moment later the number shows up above it.

I've seen that particular invention of mine more and more over the past few years. Most ponies have been using it as a way to not have to count out the bits they are given from a sale, it saves time. Rarity keeps a large smile on her face as she attends to Pear. "Agreed, I'll be with you in a moment. Thank you, Miss Pear, enjoy." Rarity keeps her excited energy as she collects the bits given to her.

Pear nods, collecting the bag handle in her mouth and nods to me as she walks past and leaves the shop. I turn back to Rarity and see her already giving me an excited stare. I suppress a sigh and walk over before placing my suit on the table, "I came to get this refitted, it's a little tight." I have a friendly but slightly awkward tone.

Rarity looks at the suit for a moment, holding it up and unfolding it, her smile only growing at the sight. "Of course! One of my favorite creations! I must say dear, you looked fabulous at the last Gala, I assume you're taking this to the Gala again then?" She seems very excited at the idea and also bluntly reveals she very much saw the newspaper.

I try to think of a way around talking about it, but come up with nothing and instead show a slightly tired look. "Yes, hopefully, it won't be as eventful though." I calmly reveal my dislike of the event and her brows seem to twitch before she stops it. "Who would have thought huh? One moment you're talking to some Pony and then THE Princess walks over to talk to them, and me." I chuckle a little and be honest about my surprise while telling half-lies.

Rarity giggles a bit, enjoying the gossip I'm giving her. "I can sympathize, Shade. I dropped my tea when I saw the pictures, although you did look rather dashing in the suit." She compliments me and I again force down a blush as my mind tries to pull me to certain thoughts. "Now a refitting will be nothing but a snap! Follow moi please." I almost feel like it's a trap as I'm led into a familiar backroom.

As I do so I notice it is a bit more cluttered around the room, still organized but definitely more filled in. "Thank you, you can send it to the same place as last time," I say to get it out of the way and reluctantly step on a raised platform as she motions to it.

I notice she does dart her eyes to the lower end of my belly but that's not rare among mares that are near me, hell some do it in public and don't even try to be subtle. "No problem at all, I do wonder how you sitting next to the Princess ended up with you dancing with her, it seems rather story-like." She subtly digs for information and takes out a measuring tape.

I wait a moment and notice she's moving a bit slower than last time, seemingly taking my sensitivity into account by making less pressured moves with her hooves. Still, it takes some concentration to keep my mind clean, knowing what's coming helps a large amount though, and talking also helps so I keep our conversation going.

I huff a bit in amusement. "Well, I had the pleasure of meeting the Princess student, mostly just some small talk." I start retelling my story, hoping the memories of my embarrassment from that event counteract the slight thrills from her hooves moving across my coat. "After Her Highness joined us her student left, leaving me alone. It was, I don't think I can really describe talking with her actually." I am mostly honest as I can't in so few words, but that lets me skip over it as well.

Rarity hums in agreement while continuing her work and paying rapt attention to the tidbits of gossip I'm feeding her. "I assume so, I've had the pleasure of hearing her speak at the Summer Sun Celebration, but to talk to her?!" She says and lets her excitement overcome her professionalism for a moment.

I nod in agreement as it can be pretty interesting to talk to her, both in private and public. "It was very interesting, at the end the dance came and she made the offer. As much as it's a little embarrassing to admit..." I pause to get her some suspense. "I panicked and agreed, I barely even knew how to dance, and I still don't." I make a joke out of it as even I find it funny.

She actually fully laughs at that, only for a moment but it seems to break through her lady-like mask for a moment. "Don't worry, I take the secrecy of my clientele very seriously." She reassures me after regaining control and looking a bit embarrassed at her outburst of laughter. "All done. The fix should be easy, I can have it to you in a week or two." She moves back with her measuring tape and I breathe out in relief as I step down.

She looks over the suit she brought with her and nods to herself as if confirming the time frame. I hum in agreement and before she can stop me I take out a bag of bits and pass it over, one hundred bits to be precise. "That should cover it, please keep the rest, I can't be bothered with counting it all out." I give a very lame excuse and literally place it on her back.

Her eyes snap away from her notepad and quill, but she closes her mouth a moment later as she now has the bits and I show a look that leaves little room for discussion. "Well, thank you. Maybe I could interest you in something else?" I can already see her trying to give me something for free so I shake my head. "A shame, thank you for the generosity." She gives a very slight bow.

Successfully evening the scores a bit I nod in satisfaction. "And thank you for doing the work, I barely know a thing about sewing." I share some useless information. "Anyway, I must be going as I have some other things to take care of. It was a pleasure to meet you again." I quickly try to get the hell out before she starts asking for more gossip about me.

She again focuses her eyes but smiles widely and walks me out to the main room again. "Like I said, not a problem. In fact, it's a dream of mine to have one of MY creations in the Gala! Let alone with Her Highness! I believe I owe you a thank you for that, hmm. Oh! I know just the thing." I fail to speak up as she lays out a trap and catches me in it.

She reaches under the counter and takes out a cloth bundle, one I know was there from before I even entered the building. She moves it over to me, "Consider this a small token of my appreciation, for making a dream of mine come true." Her tone and expression also leaves no room for argument here. This little back and forth is also a little tiring, if entertaining, so I just pick up the small roll of cloth with my hooves and take it with a smile.

I unroll it to see that she's had this planned from the damn start. A small cloth, three by four feet, depicting an interesting scene. It's a tapestry of the photo from the paper, obviously not as detailed but still there in its full glory, and unlike the photo it's in the proper colors.

The background of the Gala is a simple white color with a purple rim around the tapestry like a picture frame. The features of me and Celestia are simplified, but detailed enough to be obvious. She even added my cutie mark to it, even if the placement is a little off.

I'm a little blown away by the work Rarity has put into this gift and honestly, I'm a little touched. Being generous with bits and business is one thing, but making something so specific for another is something else entirely. I gently fold it up and try my best to sort my thoughts.

Rarity may like to gossip and might also be a little high and mighty with others, even if I haven't seen it yet I can tell it's there. But she is a kind Pony and despite the awkwardness I've had for a good amount of my time here I give her a large smile. "Thank you, it's a very kind gift," I say with complete honesty in my tone.

Rarity seems satisfied with my tone and words, nodding happily. "Of course, and please come back anytime you need some work done. I am more than happy to do so, have a good day, Shade." She says with a happy and less professional tone, lifting the mood above just politeness.

"You as well Rarity, and I will make sure to do just that." I turn and walk to the door, not having anything more to say. I step outside and take my cloak out seeing the heavy clouds above. I put it on and started to wander down the street. My thoughts pointed towards the gift I just got.

This gift was unexpected, but not unappreciated. I do feel a little odd about it though, I mean, what am I supposed to even do with it? I can't hang it anywhere but Gaia's Eden and it feels a little weird having it around there, especially when Celestia would inevitably come across it.

I guess I just keep it in a box, a keepsake to remember the entire story? I shrug a little to myself as I walk down the street at a slow pace. The rain starts to fall abruptly and heavily a moment later, and I can see several homes light up inside, almost as if to beat away the unpleasant weather.

After a little walking, I happen to cross paths with a place familiar to me, The Golden Oaks Library. I stare at the odd tree and notice the lights are on and there is an open sign on the door. After Willow's death, I didn't check who was running it, I guess I could, I can sense a single Pony inside so somepony does work there. I think for a moment and not having much else to do I walk over and open the door with a slightly muddy hoof.

I try my best to wipe off my hooves on the doormat before I enter and once I'm inside I see it's changed a small bit. Somepony has hung a few magical lights from the ceiling, even with the lack of sunlight from outside everything is bright and relatively well-lit.

As I look around I turn my head to a single Pony I sense inside, I blink in surprise as I take in the mare's appearance and try to place the familiar look. A very light brown coat, almost like sandy dirt with an off-white mane and blue eyes, all so familiar yet distant.

It takes a few seconds but I eventually place the Pony in my memories. Mayor Mare, I think? Did she have a full name? I don't remember. She's currently resting on the counter next to the entrance with a bored look as she reads from a book, eventually taking note of me and looking up. "Oh, hello, welcome. Tell me if you need help finding anything." Her tone is level and slightly disinterested.

I fold up my cloak so it doesn't drip inside and glance around the room, taking in its features before spotting a section many libraries have. Most libraries have a section where you can buy some books, just more common ones but still some of interest depending on where you are.

I look around for a moment and eventually find an interesting book on the weather and how Ponies create it. It's not a skill I need but it seems like a fun read and I'm already here so I might as well buy it. I take it with me back over to the counter and place it down. "Miss? This please." I get her attention and place the book down.

She nods and takes it with a neutral look. I break the short bout of silence as she inspects the book, "If you don't mind me asking, when did you start working here?" I ask curiously, trying to find more information on the little town and the many things the show has left out.

She looks up and me and smiles a bit, looking happy at the polite tone I use. "A year or so ago, the last mare who ran it passed away I believe. I actually came here looking for something more interesting, but this was all I could find." She shares openly like many Ponies tend to do.

I find it interesting that she moved here, and that she's not the mayor yet. I guess I'll have to see what becomes of all that down the road. She places the book down, "Fifteen bits please. I don't recognize you, what brings you into town?" She asks back with the same slight interest and politeness I had.

I shrug a little and pay her before putting away the book. "Not much, I pass through here from time to time, thought I'd see if anypony was working here again." I am honest as I have no reason to lie. She just nods after looking me over, trying to recognize me but failing.

"Hmm, well, have a good day Sir." I nod and turn before putting my cloak back on, ignoring the glance she throws at my flanks. That glance proves to be the point that makes me end this trip. I got what I needed, and didn't embarrass myself again, it's time to go home and relax.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 996

Not much in this one, just some simple talk and checking in on a few characters, along with setting up needless backstories for others. Honestly, I remember very little about Mayor Mare, so let's see how much I can make up before contradicting the show on accident.

Taking tomorrow off, see you all Monday, where the endless grind will continue.