JUL 12 Thursday.

I sigh as I look at the letter on my counter, a letter I have been hesitating to open for three hours now.

My friends have done as I expected them to do, bothering me with questions and teasing me as much as they can. At least they are taking no for an answer, even if that doesn't stop them from asking again and again. Even Stone made some jokes at my expense when we were training, although he seemed uninterested in digging into my life with questions, thank Magic for that.

After the rather embarrassing events two weeks ago my head has been running through a topic I've thought about before., and it's safe to say I have some confusing thoughts about everything. I did enjoy the event and I know there is something in me that wants to do it again, I'm just not sure what that means yet. I don't think either of us thought of it as a date at the time, but the idea still lingers in my head and I'm not sure how she feels about it.

I do very much care for Celestia as a friend, but the idea of that going further is both terrifying and persistently intriguing. I really don't know what to think at this point. On one hoof I don't feel like I can just, do that, take such a step. On the other hoof, I can think of several logical reasons why it's not impossible, which really hasn't helped me get my mind settled.

And bringing it up to Celestia is not something I want to do, even if it involves her this is my own thoughts messing with me. To be blunt, I'm confused as hell about everything involving this, and I can't seem to bring myself to do anything at all in the end. Maybe that's for the best though, it gives me time to think instead of acting.

I want to just throw the very concept into some deep corner of my mind, but it's fucking persistent, and ignoring it isn't really helping. For now, I guess I'll just live and keep thinking over it again and again. I really REALLY don't want to mess up what I have with a great friend for something that I'm not even sure I would want, let alone whatever she would want, but something about going further is so... I don’t know, I guess I don't have a word for it.

I take a deep breath and bring my mind back to the letter sitting in front of me, a letter from Cadance. There is nothing that terrifies me more than whatever the hell Cadance has sent me. I never heard anything about my prank, I'm not even sure if it was noticed, but considering the last letter I got from Cadance, I'm concerned to say the least.

I sigh knowing full well that Cadance will hound me at our next meeting if I don't read it, and ignoring her doesn't really work that well no matter how satisfying it is. I bring the letter over and open it with some hesitation, slumping in relief as nothing happens when it is opened. I take out the letter and start reading it.

Dear, Shade.

So, Aunty and I had a lovely conversation about the little party you threw for her. I will say she's been smiling for a week straight now, thank you for that, it's good to see her so happy. From the way she talked about everything in detail she seemed to have loved the entire day, you even got her out of the palace and let her be a normal mare for once. I love it!

I smile as that is more than I thought I'd ever do, it is good to know I made her life a little brighter even if just for a day. "Wait... Fuck." I mumble as I read it again.

Now, how was your date? Oh, I know you and Aunty will deny it every day of the week, but come on, really? You took her on a trip to the park and to the place you grew up, if I didn't know how dense you were I'd be celebrating. You should have seen that shocked look she had when I called it a date, it made my week.

In all seriousness, I have questions for you, don't even try to run. But also some advice, whatever you think about all this in hindsight, GO SLOW. You have the time, so take a deep breath, hold it in, and think about just how much you like her. Because if you do something rash, so will I.

Now, keep those happy thoughts in mind and think things through like a good paranoid stallion. And if you need any advice AT ALL, I expect a letter immediately. Beyond you looking like a tomato while reading this, how have you been doing? Are things going well? Are any new inventions in the works? Any thoughts you want to share?

By the way, I know what you did, and I will give you points for getting creative. I WILL have my revenge, I'm busy right now though so you'll have to wait, enjoy the uncertainty.

Signed, your confidant, Cadance.

I glare at the letter as I blush, thankful that I am at least alone with my embarrassment. She is far too good at hitting my buttons, in my defense she goes for cheap shots. Again the thoughts I've been trying to control pop up as I fold up the letter and hold it in thought.

Well, Celestia at least knows it looked like a date, isn't that thought terrifying? By magic our next meeting is going to be a shit show, how do I bring it up to talk about it? Do I even want to talk about it at all? Magic damnit Cadance you just had to drop this shit on me today.

I place the letter to the side after resisting the urge to burn it to ash and take a few breaths to calm down again. I need something that isn't this to think about and luckily for me, my day has plenty of free time to mess around with. First and foremost though, is my newly finished artifact.

I walk into my workroom and look at the small artifact on my desk, something I still don't have a name for. I took my time as I was in no rush and after a few weeks, I finally got it fully enchanted and finished. The end result still needs testing but should work well.

For the time being, I've attached the artifact to a loop of twine so it can hang from my neck. I pick it up and look it over for a moment, the carvings of the wolves trying to pull my mind to the previous topic again. I shake my head and put the necklace on while walking back out into the main room.

I don't need to test it at large heights as it will work the same at any height so doing it here should be fine. I take a deep breath and move a foreleg forward, bringing it down onto empty air. A second before it can move too far the artifact kicks in and I feel my hoof come into contact with something solid despite my hoof being several inches off of the ground.

I move my other foreleg forward and do the same, now having my front legs standing on nothing but air. I can see wisps of what looks like white mist around both hooves as I stand on them. I lift a hindleg off of the ground to a similar height, stepping on another platform of air and lifting myself up into the air fully.

I move my last leg up and step on a fourth platform, taking a moment to get a closer look at one of the air platforms by craning down my neck. Somewhat transparent platforms are only slightly larger than my hoof and made from swelling streams of air that seem to condense and flow away at random. It's an odd feeling to be standing on seemingly nothing and it is seemingly solid, something my brain is making very clear with some worry as my instincts fight me.

The spell to make the small platforms of air is actually very simple, and as far as I can tell the spell will use far less wind magic than the artifact can provide, making it passive. I could actually add something else to it if I wanted to, but for the moment the main feature I wanted is working.

I try to keep my balance as I stand several inches off the ground. After a moment I take another deep breath and take a step forward, hoping I won't faceplant into my floor. I take a step and feel another platform appear as the old one under that hoof vanishes. Then another hesitant step, and another.

After a moment I start slowly walking through the air to one side of my apartment. Each step I take with more certainty and after a minute I smile as I walk steadily through the air at a normal pace, the platforms keeping up just fine. It seems everything is working, even the Intent runes.

When I first started making this artifact I didn't want an artifact that would just let me walk through the air, I wanted a platform I could walk on and move off of as needed. But I had a hard time finding a way to implement that properly so they would always appear where needed, in the end, I got creative.

I don't normally use intent-based runes, for several reasons I've laid out before, but in this case, they ended up working the best for this task. I needed the platforms to appear when wanted while also allowing me to not make one at all when needed. The spell I made was an attempt at doing that, and it is a combination of a few runes.

Every time I have the intent of stepping on something solid it will make a platform, it's as simple as that. On the upside, this means it's basically an unconscious action that won't take my focus away from anything more important. But that also means it could be activated unintentionally if I don't pay enough attention.

It's a balancing act I'll need to keep in mind but it should prove useful. Running over terrain no matter how rough is now something that won't even slow me down, and I can even climb stairs that aren't there to reach high locations in narrow spaces.

Honestly, most of this thing's uses are pretty specific and I knew from the beginning that this was not going to be some groundbreaking artifact. I really just wanted to make something and this was the best idea Celestia and I could come up with at the time.

If I ever have a better use I can just disenchant it and make something new. I spend a few more minutes just playing around with my new toy as Entropy watches from her perch with interest. Eventually, I get tired of just walking around and step back onto the ground before walking back into my workroom.

I take the artifact off and spend a few minutes making notes on things that I could use this artifact for and other ideas for the rest of the tooth I have. Another good thing about this artifact is that anypony can use it, it might actually make a good gift if I can explain away its origin, or a useful tool to give out when needed.

Once I'm done with that I sit at my desk for a few moments before checking the time, still seeing that I have a few hours before my shift at the hospital. More than enough time to think up some ideas and try to come up with something to improve or invent.

I haven't made anything for the public for a few months now and I think it's time I get back to my job. But like many times before I have trouble finding something to make, it's not as easy as picking at random after all. I could go with a plant? But that would take a while and would only give me time, it's not a great distraction.

I have been learning a lot of healing spells recently, there are actually a few in there that could use some improvement now that I think about it. I shrug, bringing over a different illusionary notebook and start to look through my collection of healing spells. After a while, I note many spells that could use improvement, but one stands out as particularly bad.

The spell itself is pretty simple, it's made to help with swelling and inflammation, the name is honestly the most interesting part, and not for a good reason. Reversed Swelling spell, yes, really. Beyond the name, the spell is not the best, out of its six runes three don't really fit that well and parts of the math are just sloppy.

I have no idea who made this but it seems like something I'm better off remaking than just improving, and with little else to do I get to work. This spell is actually pretty interesting in function, it's odd but it seems effective. Like many healing spells it basically brute forces things with runes and magic.

There is room to fix things though. I remove all the math and copy the runes to the side, keeping the three that work well and trying to remember any runes that would work well as replacements for the other three. The math is bad enough that just rebuilding things from the ground up is preferable.

The spell works by using a rune to target swelling and then using a rune of Shrinking to very literally shrink the problem away. It's an odd solution but it seems to work well to cut down on swelling without actually changing the body itself, just manipulating its size. Shrinking spells are actually interesting in and of themselves.

They normally cost a lot of magic and can be temperamental, but the idea behind them seems closer to space manipulation than anything else. I know it's not because I would be able to sense it if it was, maybe it's just compressing the physical matter? That could be its own problem though and trying to figure that out is a whole different thing.

I'll need to look into other shrinking runes to see what I can find. The shrinking rune used here is subpar at best and that's being generous. I could also use some math to make the parameters while still making the spell more magically efficient. Another component of the spell is a Protection rune that keeps the magic from shrinking anything it shouldn't.

That one is too vague and widespread to make the parameters with just math so I will need to also find a different Protection rune to replace this one, it's not too specific so it shouldn't be hard. The last rune is one that just confused me for a while, but by the time I figured it out I nearly face hoofed in annoyance.

Some healing spells are given much more attention than others, a spell like this is used far less often than something like a herb to do the same thing. This spell is mostly used by healers, the same group that's far less likely to complain about higher magical costs.

The last rune took me a while to find and it's a damned Anti Theft rune, it's effectively used to hamper anypony without permission from using the spell by upping the magic cost. Because only the creator would have the runic context it's a somewhat effective way to prevent theft by making it less worth it.

I don't know when or why as I don't have any information on how old this spell is or who made it. It seems that at some point the runic context for this rune was either lost or the spell was just stolen before it ended up becoming public, and instead of remaking the spell they just tanked the extra magic cost and changed nothing.

It's honestly stupid that no Pony has fixed this yet and this alone is enough of a reason to remake this damn thing completely. I sigh in mild frustration and get to work, starting off with the basic math a lot of these spells use to function at all. Things like parameters for how the spell is cast, and how much it can vary depending on the caster's will.

After that I start to flip through my library of runes, my collection having grown more and more over the years. Learning more advanced spells also takes learning more runes so over time I'm not just collecting more runes I'm collecting them faster. At this point, I have well over a thousand and I've even started organizing them into categories.

I spend an hour going through rune after rune and in the end, I can't find any good shrinking runes, so it seems I will need to go and find more of those. I did find a Protection rune that will work well so that's at least some good news, but I should also look into a few similar spells to this type to see if I can find a perfect fit for this spell.

I spend another hour finishing most of the math for the spell, saving a few larger parts for later as I'll need to come up with some formulas and find the right shrinking rune for this. Once I've done everything I can for the moment I make meticulous notes on everything, you do not want to forget anything when making a spell, that's just asking for trouble.

After I'm done with that I stand up and stretch, feeling a few joints pop as I walk back into the main room and see Entropy happily sleeping on her perch. I still have a little time left but I don't feel like starting up yet another project on a spell or invention.

I look around my apartment for a few moments, I may have a decent amount of decorations but my apartment is still fairly empty. My walls only have a single painting. My furniture consisted of a carpet, one bookshelf, and a small table with seating cushions. My little statue of a Griffon carved from ruby, and also my plants.

My original Iron Oak Tree. My cactus and fern, each in their own mini climate. My juniper bush and a small Moon Glow bush. It's not all that much and I just keep them around as mementos of my early days of plant breeding. I could add to it though.

I still have plenty of space and adding something with more color would be interesting, it would also liven things up even more. I think for a few moments and remember I kept some of the Prismatic Rose seeds Celestia gave me in my workroom, I only took one to Gaia's Eden as that's all I needed to make more.

I nod after a second of thought and walk back into my workroom, looking for a way to add something to my home. I still have a few large blocks of maple wood from years ago along with paint from several other projects. I can also be more crazy with my ideas than before.

My friends now know more about my skill in spells and enchanting so making something stand out wouldn't be too odd or out of the ordinary. I smile a bit as several ideas come to mind, but I start with the Prismatic Rose. I fill a larger pot with soil before grabbing a seed and heading back to the main room.

The right corner of my apartment near my front doorway is completely empty, being a small area in between the wall and my kitchen. I place the pot in the corner and plant the seed before adding some water and life magic, controlling its growth with practiced ease.

It only takes me a short minute to grow the Prismatic Rose into a bush, one foot wide and three feet tall with a cylinder shape. It looks like something you'd buy at a high-end plant shop, with its many colored roses sitting on the outside and the plant having a very well-trimmed look.

I'll have to trim it occasionally but I think it looks nice, a little addition to this empty spot in my home. I already have a few other ideas for things to make or add, if nothing else I should get a couch for more seating. Normally my friends and I just use the table or floor but I can do better than that.

With that done I decide to leave everything else for another time and get ready for my volunteer work. I grab my saddlebags and spend a moment collecting some important paperwork. After two weeks of thought, I eventually decided to take the test to become an Apprentice healer.

Sure I will get some attention but I realized that being able to heal others legally and having a legitimate excuse to heal others could be very useful for future events. I have no idea how the future will go anymore and even if things stay the same this is not a show, Ponies can and will get hurt as things happen. Being able to heal them is a valuable tool that I can't walk away from just because I will have some more attention on myself, I'll just have to deal with it I suppose.

I've studied everything I need to know and at this point, I'm just trying to learn the laws I'll need to follow in more detail. I might not get anything like a perfect score, but if I focus over the next two weeks I should be able to pass any written test with a decent score.

After I have my things gathered I gently shake Entropy awake from atop her perch with my space magic. She looks at me tiredly, "Time to go Girl." She already knows where I'm going so she just merges into my shadow a second later to continue sleeping and I head out.

I make it to the roof and cast the Wing spell to take flight and get there in time. It's a bit of a rainy day, and my coat gets a little soaked by the time I arrive. I land at the back entrance of the hospital and cast a drying spell on myself and my things as I walk inside and move over to the lockers.

I arrived early as I needed to pass off this paperwork, so instead of meeting up with the nurses, I headed to the offices. A few minutes later I arrive at the office of Mellow Meadows, a mare I haven't interacted with that much. To be fair I've just been doing the same thing my entire time here so I haven't really needed to meet her much.

The only times have been when asking for patient files and when I went on my trip to the Dragon Lands. She's mostly been a very professional mare, not very friendly or unfriendly but very much willing to help out and get work done. I sense the inside of the room for a moment to make sure she's here before knocking on the door. "Come in."

I open the door and see Dr. Meadows doing paperwork, not uncommon for a Pony in administration. She looks up at me and nods in greeting while waving me inside. "Ah, Mr. Evergreen. What can I help you with?" She looks fairly busy so I don't mind the blunt attitude.

I nod back in greeting and pass over the forms I've filled out. "Just here to turn these in and ask if there is anything else I should know about the tests." She stops for a moment and looks over the papers with a bit of surprise, then shifts to a happy look a moment later.

Despite her very professional attitude, she's not the best at hiding her expression. She reads through the documents and smiles a bit while placing them down and looking fully at me. "It is always good to see an aspiring healer, and from what I heard you might be a good fit for it." She says with a pleased tone.

I've heard a few staff members talk about me, more office gossip than anything, and something I just ignore, but a few have taken notice that I'm skilled for my age. She seems to think for a moment, "Hmm, I can't give you much advice beyond studying well." She says levelly.

"However, I will compliment you on the work you have done and encourage you to try your best." She continues after a pause. "A Pony with the magical skill you have is a great thing to see in our field, and I hope to see you go much further in the future." She is surprisingly kind with her words.

I brush off the kind words. I know she's probably part of the grading for the tests in some way, she probably can't tell me much without crossing a line. I just nod as I wasn't expecting much. "Thank you for the advice and the kind words. Is there anything else I need to fill out?" I ask just to be sure as I know little about the actual process.

She shakes her head and writes something down on some paper. "No, everything seems to be in order. The test is on the thirty-first at noon so please try to be here early. It also lasts three days, you have made arrangements, yes?" I nod and she smiles more.

After a second she moves a few papers to the side and focuses on me for a long second. "You have been a good volunteer in your time here, and have helped a lot from the reports I've gotten. No matter where you end up, thank you for your time with us." I am again taken aback by the much more emotional tone and genuine words.

I smile back after a moment and nod, not knowing her well but still appreciating the encouragement. "And thank you for having me. It was a pleasure helping so many." I am genuine as well but keep my response short. "Have a good day Dr. Meadows." I give her a simple goodbye as I turn and leave the office.

She does the same as I walk away. "You as well Mr. Evergreen, I wish you luck."

Author's Note

Thank you for reading. :]
Current year is 996

Not too much in this one, but I have noticed that I haven't really made any standout characters in the hospital. I think I just never had the time to flesh them out enough, but at least I added a few for later.

Also, any ideas for furniture?

Ps. I'll see you all Monday, have a good weekend.