JUNE 21 Thursday.

I see Celestia grin at my question and she looks around for a moment. "I'm not sure, any suggestions?" She asks after a minute of thought.

I pause a little and think, trying to come up with something she would enjoy doing. "You have endless options really. We could go to a range and throw spells around, that's more my thing though. There are a few good places to eat nearby, I even know of a game club and a few tea shops." I just laid out some decent options after not thinking of anything that stood out.

She tilts her ears and head to the side, before shaking her head. "No, today has been far too silly and spontaneous for something so, normal." She leans forward a bit and stretches a hoof out to the side so she can scratch Entropy. "Anything truly out of the ordinary, somewhere you wouldn't normally go maybe?"

I smile a bit, happy that she wants to do something fun and odd, it seems I got her in the mood for some adventure. I sit silent for a minute and stop as an idea pops into my head, a very odd idea. I'm not sure it would fit perfectly but it should work and I can see her enjoying it.

The last time I visited the orphanage I grew up in I talked with Magree Limestone and she mentioned a few things I had mostly forgotten. I still want to donate to them, and have even looked into it some, this would be a good opportunity to ask Celestia actually. However, my idea revolves around a different oddity.

You can volunteer at the orphanage to entertain the foals there, Magree talked about a few Ponies who would come with interesting pets or puppet shows. It's maybe a bit off base for a birthday party, but I know how much she likes interacting with Ponies and I feel like she would enjoy it.

Worse comes to worst and she doesn't like it, not everything is perfect after all. Plus it's not like it would ruin today, things have already gone very well. I threw her a nice little party, took her to a lovely spot in the park, and hell I could end today by buying, lunch.

I sit there as those thoughts repeat in my head a few times. Why does this sound like a date? It's very obviously NOT one, but it's still an oddly accurate comparison. I don't think either of us thinks this is anything but us hanging out. Still, I feel a bit off now. I shake my head and force my mind to ignore this thought ruining my day out with a friend.

If I remember right we don't need advanced permission as it's mostly an informal thing, we just show up and make the offer to any foals who aren't busy which is most of the young ones. I ponder for a moment before deciding it would be a nice little experience. "Well, I do have one thing."

She turns to me again and looks away from some Ponies talking in the distance. "Let me guess, it's a surprise and I'll know when we get there?" She asks with a humorous and joking tone. I roll my eyes and stand up, taking a moment to make sure I don't step on any ducks.

I nod enthusiastically. "I most certainly am now, shall we get going? It might be a bit of a walk." I let her joke backfire on her as she giggled while standing up to follow me. "I think you'll enjoy it though. Actually, how often do you play with Spike when he and Twilight are around?" I try to bring up something similar to gauge her reaction.

She looks curious, I can see her trying to figure out how this relates to where we are going, but she seems to give up after a moment. "Often, although I heard he was very excited to visit you again, something about a ball?" She asks back as we leave the park and once again walk though the streets.

I chuckle at the memory and try to ignore the idea of Twilight talking about me to Celestia. "I really should find out what that enchantment is. I got it in Feather Falls, it's a ball that flies back to you when you throw it. He kept trying to catch it and every time he failed he'd get this determined look, absolutely adorable." I remind myself of the memory to stay focused as we pass into a smaller market area.

Unlike the market district, this is just a few dozen stalls along a street, small but interesting. She laughs as well and nods. "I can almost picture it, he can be a little stubborn when he wants to be. Recently he's started more schooling, mostly me and Twilight teaching him more words. The book has been very helpful." She adds with a grateful tone.

I nod as I am curious about that, I remember that the mental development of a Dragon seems to vary. Spike is still young and is doing well from what I've seen, he's at the age where he should do well with more schooling. "Good for him, you know. I wonder if a Dragon could learn Runic Magic? What do you think?" I ask a question I never got an answer to.

She also looks thoughtful for a minute. "I have encountered a few who have shown interest in magic, none seem willing to actually try all that much through, to my knowledge at least. I assume you found none on your trip?" I nod. "Well, considering the culture I'm not too surprised, but it might be possible. It is best to be careful though, magic can be very temperamental when dealing with the unknown." I can see the wisdom in that and hum in agreement.

"Hmm, well, my trip and fight might have made a few curious enough. Maybe I should test a little with Larimar if I ever get the chance, she has proven to be a decent Dragon to deal with." I don't hide the idea but make it clear with my tone that it's more a random thought than any form of plan.

She looks over at a stand selling something like peanut brittle with a red color to it and a lemony scent. I know she probably isn't carrying bits as her wings are hidden and pulling things from nowhere is a bad idea. I just smile and walk over, quickly buying two small bags and continuing to walk with her after passing over a bag.

I try a little and it's a crunchy sugary mess that seems to be a mix of lemon, pine nuts, and raspberries. "Thank you." She happily eats the odd treat. "You never did talk about Larimar much, even in the notes you gave me. What was she like?" I move out of the way of a few Ponies carrying some boxes as we near the other end of the little market.

I think for a moment. "You remember how I am with Ponies I don't know? Unexpressive, reserved, secretive, but generally polite and to the point?" She snorts and nods. "That, she is that, and I now know how everypony else that deals with me feels." I joke and she once again laughs. "She was honest though, as far as I could tell, and honored her end of any deal. Also more well-spoken than a lot of other Ponies, let alone Dragons."

She hums and looks far off for a moment. "I did try to remember her, I haven't spent much time in the Dragon Lands, let alone talking to a Dragon polite enough to answer me. I do think I remember her, I was rather busy at the time though, and in a hurry." She sounds mostly uncertain but I can understand why as the interaction seemed to be very minor.

I tilt my ear in thought and look forward again, seeing the end of the little market, and remember the directions. A half second later though my eyes drift to a very familiar Griffon only a dozen feet away. Avalon is buying something or other from a stall at the very end of the market where the crowd thins out. :Shit:

I stop mid-step and I see Celestia look confused before following my eyes. And worse still Avalon turns his head and also recognizes me, looking a little excited but then stopping as he spots Celestia to my right. "Uhh, h-hello?" He squeaks out a little louder than needed to be heard properly. :Fuck:

I can't decide whether to chuckle or curse my luck because, of course I'd run into one of my friends today. :WHY NOT?!!: I stay calm and silent for a moment and Celestia actually takes the initiative to close the gap and walk closer to the Griffon, giving him a calm smile. "Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Sunny Skies." She says happily but keeps her voice down so as to not startle him.

I quickly follow after her and see Avalon giving me a confused expression, before looking bashful at Celestia's warm greeting. "Y-Ya, hi... Avalon, I'm Shade's f-friend." He looks a bit uncomfortable like I expected, but not overly so. "Hey, Shade, n-nice to see you. W-What are you doing?" He asks but quickly looks like he just said something he shouldn't have.

I know for a fact that Avalon would have a hard time even trying to insult either of us if he tried, so I wave his concern away. "Hey Avalon, I'm doing well. Sunny here is a good friend, and it's her birthday so we're heading somewhere to celebrate." I'm a bit vague but mostly truthful, praying to Harmony that Celestia doesn't involve him more.

He blinks and looks at Celestia with more attentive eyes, taking in her appearance. Celestia just keeps smiling at Avalon, "Yes, Shade has made today rather enjoyable. It's nice to meet another of his friends, did you enjoy the celebrations today?" She asks, making small talk.

He nods slowly and smiles a bit. "Yes, I even got to see the P-Princess raise the sun." I nearly slam my hoof into my face at the irony on display and I can tell Celestia is enjoying every bit of this interaction. "A-Anyway, I need to... Get home, I have mea- Things, that need to be put away." Avalon gives a valid if obvious excuse to avoid this conversation, lucky bastard.

In his normal nervous way, he tries to avoid saying meat to upset anypony, all while I sweat in the background and nearly cry in relief at his words. Celestia nods and even steps out of the way a little. "Of course, meat can go bad fast, don't let us hold you up. It was nice meeting you Avalon, maybe I'll see you around." I feel some pity as Avalon is blind to the depth of that statement.

He again looks surprised at her casual attitude but takes it in stride and nods. "Y-Ya, it was nice to meet you. Goodbye, Shade... A-And you too Miss Sunny." He walks by us and adds the second part quickly before moving away quickly in slight embarrassment at the long pause in between his goodbyes.

We watch him take flight a few seconds later and I turn to Celestia, watching her break down into giggles. "I normally don't get a reaction like that out of this form, and don't worry, nopony can hear us again." I slump in slight relief. "Although, it seems your luck strikes again." She teases me as I start leading her down the street.

I huff out slowly and take a deep breath. "You're not the Pony who will be answering his questions, and he will have questions." I lament as she just looks more amused. "Fine be mean, at least you got to see him. He's doing well actually, unlocked one of his affinities not long ago." I try to perk up and shove away my worry over the encounter.

It's not too bad, but now I have to lie about Celestia to my only friend who's personally met Celestia and talked to her. It should be fine though, as long as he doesn't talk to Maple, or Blaz, or magic forbid Daisy. I just shove all of that out of my mind for the moment and try to enjoy things.

It's not too much of a problem, Avalon is very unlikely to realize that this is Celestia, but it still means questions that I would rather not answer. She chuckles and shows an interested look, "Really? He really has made some great progress then, are you still teaching him?"

I nod as we move to a less busy street, less being the keyword. The celebrations are still in full swing and we've passed several large parties already. "It's not really teaching. I mostly just give him reading suggestions and answer questions, maybe explaining something when needed. But he is doing well."

She gives me a deadpan stare. "That is basically the definition of teaching, now stop being so humble." She ends with a cheery tone as we pass onto a street that only has a few Ponies on it, the street the orphanage is on only has houses, and not many Ponies seem to be home at the moment.

We're near the far end of the street so it will be a while yet before we arrive. I shake my head, "No, I think I need to try and be as humble as possible honestly. I do not want to get arrogant, that never ends well for anypony." I have had some more arrogant thoughts over the past few months.

Nothing big, but things I need to keep an eye on and keep firm control of, I refuse to end up as some arrogant asshole who can't see reason through his ego. My more serious tone is noticed and she smiles softly, "Walking the line between pride and arrogance is tricky." She agrees in a less direct way.

That actually gets me curious. "What do you do to deal with it then? I personally try to spend some time doing simple things, gardening or just reading a book. Things to keep me grounded, remind me that I am just a Pony." I offer my little bit of insight.

I catch her eyes glancing at the sky for a second, as if looking for something. "I find that failure is a good reminder, and I have failed many times before." Her tone is still happy but we've taken a slightly more serious turn in our conversation, and I feel a bit bad at the turn it takes. "How do you deal with mistakes? Mentally I mean." She asks back with her own curiosity.

I feel the weight of her words for a few beats more before giving her question some thought. I shrug, "Not well, I tend to panic and stress a lot, even if that mistake affects me but isn't my fault." I am just as blunt and honest as her. "But that all fades, and after I am calm there are only two things to do. Fix it as best I can, and continue on, always moving forward, never forgetting a single misstep." I once again go to the more philosophical side to be more vague.

Things that really help keep me humble are my understanding of the truly powerful beings in this world and my death. She keeps her smile, "Then you are already doing better than many others. It is startlingly easy to lose sight of the fact that things will be ok, especially when they don't feel like they will." She adds to my words in that always upbeat attitude.

I try to think of somewhere to go from here, a way to keep talking as we still haven't arrived. "We've talked about a lot of interesting things, but to add to the last one. Size. I think my best example is being on a mountain, have you seen how big the world actually physically is?" I still keep it vague as she probably knows something I don't about this odd-ass world.

She grins at that and laughs a little. "I know it all too well, I can fly you know?" I blush a bit in embarrassment as that slipped my mind. "The world is vast, and much of it has been unseen. It is a good way to be humble, to know that everypony is in fact very small. Maybe then it's best you just be more selectively humble." She suggests but I don't answer as we finally arrive.

I know what she means, I'm not the best at taking a compliment, but I don't think I really need to be. Something to think about later. As I stopped she looked around, spotting a sign for the orphanage, and tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, is this?" I nod and she looks even more confused. "Why?"

I smile widely. "Well, first I had a bit of a question. I want to donate to them, and I have no idea how to do that properly. So, how?" I mimic her a little for my own amusement while her face rapidly shifts. She looks excited at my questions, but there is an undercurrent of understanding.

She looks at the building for a few moments, the silence stretching just a bit too long. "What do you feel for this place? I know you said it was never really home to you, but what was it then?" I remember telling her that I never felt too strongly about where I grew up, I don't think I gave her much detail though.

I can see plainly why she's asking such a thing and answer clearly. "Not much, I liked the other foals and the caretakers, but they where just foals and caretakers. It was never home, it was... Like staying with a friend I suppose, you know them, but it's not home. The only reason I even want to donate is because I can, and it will do some good for others." I try to put words to the complicated feelings.

She gives me a soft and comforting smile, even though it's not really needed, and mostly drops the topic. "Even now I'm surprised how mature you are." She looks at the building more closely and spots an old mare on the porch. "It depends on a lot, but if you want to remain unknown." I nod in agreement.

She just shows a knowing stare. "It's not hard, most such places have a charity to accept donations by law, they need it to accept any monetary donations at all." I have heard that but I didn't know the details. "For things beyond bits, it's just a give-and-take informal system."

I can see the logic. Keep track of the money to prevent scams, a less common but still very real thing in Equestria. "So I just find that and send them bits?" I ask and notice that a caretaker has spotted us, I wave as we'll be with them shortly. Celestia does the same and smiles more as some foals are led outside to play.

She shakes her head. "Yes and no. Giving too much can be harmful, for a place as large as this? Five, maybe six thousand. That's probably a few months of expenses and enough to fix things without giving them too much." I take her warnings seriously as I'm not the best at knowing the value of things, I've sadly become rich and out of touch. "You never did answer me, why are we here?" She asks again and brings us back to the main point, dropping the last subject altogether.

I spend a moment opening the gate, leading her into the large yard with a simple stone brick path to the porch. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks. As for us? Well, how would you like to spend some time volunteering and entertaining a bunch of bored foals?" I ask, knowing the answer within seconds.

She blinks and glances around, grinning like a fool. "Really?" I nod and she looks downright excited, even shifting on her front hooves a bit. "I would love to! Do we need an appointment? Or do we just speak to the Pony in charge?" She quickly asks as we get near the porch. "And what type of entertainment can we do?" She asks rapidly.

I see for a moment a side to Celestia that doesn't often come out, the side that is so much like Twilight. I chuckle, "The second, which is what we are doing. I was thinking of magic tricks." I step up the few stairs and look over to the old mare reading something. "Hello again Miss Magree." I catch the old mares attention.

The old mare doesn't startle, she just squints a bit and smiles at us. "Shade, Entropy. And a new friend as well, welcome." Celestia gives her an excited nod while Entropy bobs her head. "Please, sit. So what brings you two here?" She asks while closing her book and placing it to the side. "I am Magree Limestone, a pleasure to meet you." She greets Celestia warmly.

Celestia and I take a seat across from her and I can see Celestia practically glowing. "Sunny Skies, good to meet you, Ma'am. And that would be my friend's doing, he said you let Ponies volunteer to entertain the foals, if that's actually allowed?" She asks to be cautious, something I was planning to do that she beat me to.

Magree smiles widely and looks at me, I nod in agreement and she slowly rises from her seat. "It is more than welcome. We don't often get volunteers today and so many of the foals can't go to celebrations." She shows some emotion in a slightly low tone. "Most are out back right now, I think a little show would be great before lunch, if you have the time? Anything in particular you want to show?" She says while slowly walking us inside through the large doors.

Celestia looks at me and I take out a deck of cards after a second of thought, seeing that things are moving faster than I thought they would. "I know quite a few magic tricks, the non-magical ones I mean." That gets me a slightly amused but silent look from Magree. "I also know a few small spells, and Entropy is quite good with foals. What are you thinking?" I ask Celestia.

She answers without hesitation and with an excited tone as if she's been waiting days for this. "I know a few entertaining illusions, they should be fun. Thank you for letting us do this, I promise we'll behave ourselves." She adds to reassure Magree. It's not really needed though, several caretakers will be watching us at all times and we'll all be outside in plain view.

Magree just smiles calmly. "I know you will, Shade always was a well-behaved colt and you seem like a friend he trusts." I try not to see that slightly knowing look she gives me. :At least it feels less like a date, NOT THAT IT WAS ONE!: As we walk out a door we're greeted by a familiar sight, the backyard of the orphanage. A mostly grassy area surrounded by the sides of buildings.

To one side there is a small wooded area that mainly has bushes and a few small trees, a place I practiced at when I was young. On the other side, there is a play area with a playground and a sandbox along with plenty of open grass to run around on. Magree walks over and speaks to a few caretakers for a moment and they all disperse, starting to gather the foals.

In total, I'd say around a hundred young Ponies, a bit less than when I was here but still a slightly sad sight. I keep a smile though as I see Celestia grin widely at the little Ponies as they are gathered into groups of roughly the same ages. Magree steps up and speaks to them all. "Alright, quiet down you all." Her tone is more firm, reminding me of how she was when I was younger.

The colts and fillies all settle after a few moments and the crowd stares at us curiously, with me and Celestia standing behind Magree and in front of them all. "Now, we have two guests who have agreed to put on a little show for you all. Miss Sunny and Mr. Shade." The little ones all turn to us and speak in excited whispers.

I remember days like this as well, my favorites being the days a Pony would come and show us magic, but I focus on the moment for now. Being the focal point of so many eyes still feels odd, but after the Dragon Lands, it's not really anything but annoying, turns out being watched by hundreds of Dragons can help you stay calm.

"Behave yourselves and treat our guests well," Magree warns them and turns to us. "Well, begin whenever you are ready." It's a quick and simple thing, but I don't mind and step forward while taking a deck of cards out of my saddlebags. Celestia walks over to one side of the large group, who are standing in a messy line. She stops near the younger foals, around five and under.

While the ones in front of me are in the six to eight-year-old range. I smile widely and make a show of taking apart and shuffling the deck of cards with ease. Originally they seemed more interested in Celestia as she started to cast a few illusions, making little animals in bright colors and having them hop or dance in silly ways.

As I start my display, their eyes shift back to me. Once I'm done I spread the deck out in a wide ark, "Pick a card from my deck and magic you will see for I know which card you took from me." I instruct with a rhyming and showpony-like voice. A large smile on my face while moving the deck near them and letting them pick freely from it. Little did they know these cards aren't perfectly flat, the ink just jutting out enough to be picked up by my senses if I really concentrate.

I glance over and notice the beaming smile Celestia has as she entertains the little foals, enjoying the looks of wonder several of them have and seeming to be on top of the world. It seems I made a good choice after all.

After every foal has taken a card I take out a small bag, holding the odd candy I bought earlier. "Now shall we see if you win a prize from me?" My only answer is the excited crowd of sugar-crazed foals.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :]
Current year is 996

I was just going to leave it as it was, but then I thought about them running into Avalon, it may have been short but I enjoyed adding it. And taking Celestia to the orphanage was just too perfect not to do.

Ps, 900k LETS GO!!!

Pps, I started off the new year by getting sick as a dog, good news is I have more time for writing now.

And I mean, come on! Like I'd pass the opportunity to have Shade be a literal magician! It's too good to pass on.