SEP 13 Thursday.

I quickly look over the information I was just given as I assess yet another patient.

The past two weeks have been a change for me, and a good one all things considered. Or maybe I should say the past three days, as it took us a week to get everything ready for me to actually start apprenticing. In the meantime, Clear Water gave me a short list of spells to learn while I was waiting.

None of them were that complicated, mostly a few more Scanning spells, but they proved to be interesting. After that first week I started the real work, and by magic has it been different. As a start the place I'm at is always changing, I'm no longer working in any specific part of the hospital, instead we go where we are needed.

For now, I'm not actually healing that many Ponies, I'm mostly just shadowing Clear Water and watching her work while I get used to the change. I still do heal some things, but at the moment I'm the backup for simple stuff, something I don't mind all that much.

I've also been told to learn to quickly look over any patient information we get while inspecting patients. She was clear and wanted me to get better at spotting things. I look over the patient report and see we have a forty-year-old Griffon complaining of chest pain, it's inconsistent but has been there for months.

I try to think of anything it could be while Clear Water works on another patient in the ward we are in. :Possibly a sickness, but he looks mostly fine, no other signs you would normally see: I think to myself as I inspect the Griffon in question. "Have you been breathing in anything recently? A dust or powder?" I ask the impatient-looking Griffon, it's not a perfect guess but something could be irritating his lungs.

He huffs but thinks for a moment before slowly nodding. "I do carving as work, grind down rocks with sandpaper and tools." He mumbles out with a clear impatience in his tone. Griffons tend to be less patient about waiting around and I think that's part of the reason I'm questioning him.

That could be it then, rock dust can cause several problems if breathed in. I think I've heard about a spell to clean up things like this, I'll need to ask then. "Ok, sit still for now while I get somepony qualified to help you." I am blunt as using flowery language with a Griffon often doesn't help all that much. I turn and quickly walk over to Clear Water as she works.

When I walk over she doesn't turn to me and I wait for a moment when she's fully cast a spell on the still bleeding limb. A poor Pony got in some accident and half their hoof has been cut off along with added damage to the leg, it's something the doctors probably would have been able to handle but most likely wasn't deemed worth the risk. "I got A Griffon with a possible buildup of rock dust in his lungs, or possibly just irritation," I say with quick and clear words.

When we started she told me to ask things at times when it was preferable, but always ask regardless. Basically time my questions in between our work to not disrupt things while still getting answers. I was also told not to heal anypony without her permission for now.

She glances at him and nods, "Start casting Scanning spells to see if you are right, if you are move on and let me do it." I nod as she knows I can't fix this type of problem yet. I walk back over without another word and spend a moment asking for his permission and casting a few scanning spells on his lungs.

In the end, I get some results back from a few of the spells, all pointing to some type of build-up in his lungs. It really depends on what type of rock he was working with, but this is not my problem. I take the results and pass them off to Clear Water. "Confirmed, not sure what but it is there." I again keep my words short as she is still healing the Pony's hoof.

She takes the papers without a word and I move on to another patient in the ward, the next one on my list. I'm mostly being given patients with less visible signs today, good practice for trying to spot problems, and I get the feeling she wants me to talk to Ponies and see how I do.

However, as I make my way over and read the report I stop and quickly move. "Apprentice!" A single word called out and I turned on a dime before hurrying over back to Clear Water, already knowing roughly what she needed. As I was walking away I sensed some nurses bringing in a patient quickly, placing them near Clear Water, who promptly moved to the patient and left her other work incomplete.

As I quickly move over I see she's working on a Pony who is bleeding a fair amount from a large wound on their chest. She's already working on them and speaks without turning to me. "Heal them, the bone and hoof is fine finish healing the flesh." She instructs and I move just as quickly over to the patient she left half healed.

The hoof was damaged and separated, but that's all been healed back together along with the bone, the flesh is still raw and slightly bleeding. I assume she dropped the spell keeping the blood in to focus on the other patient fully. I quickly cast a spell to stop the bleeding and start healing the flesh.

As I do this I add a little of my life magic into the spell, roughly ten percent of the magic given to the spell being life magic. This speeds up the process but not to a large degree, and it also lets me practice adding life magic to my spells as I work. I make sure to not go over ten percent, but I don't think she will notice regardless.

I'm not using much of my magic throughout the day, so me overpowering my healing spells wouldn't look out of place. And visually there is no difference between me overpowering a Healing spell and me adding Life magic to it. So as long as I don't overdo it I can claim I was just overpowering a spell and nopony could really disprove me.

When we first started she spent two hours going over a lot of rules and things to keep in mind. She won't let me cast anything I want yet, but unless she asks for something specific it is up to my own choice. If she asks for a Scanning spell, I can't cast anything else, but the Scanning spell I use is up to me.

In this case, I was told to heal the flesh, but that also implies I should stop the bleeding, something she didn't ask for but is so standard I'd be stupid not to do it. That's another thing she made clear, if I need to stabilize a patient I can do anything needed no matter her previous instructions, but only to stabilize them not to fully heal them.

There are also several other things we went over and we already added a few new ones as we've started working, but for now, this is proving to be much more structured than anything I've done before. There are hard rules and I know she's watching my work closely, even if she's not looking at me.

She hasn't confirmed it, and I haven't asked yet, but it's clear she can sense her surroundings much like I can. There are several methods to do so depending on what affinity you have, and part of the reason I even started sensing my surroundings was because I saw it was possible with other affinities.

I have no idea what affinity she has, or if it's just some spell, but she can watch me even when I'm not in her line of sight, and she doesn't really hide that fact. I don't think it extends that far though, as she insists I stay relatively close. She said it was to keep me in earshot in case I am needed and to keep me in line of sight, but I think that's only half the reason.

I turn off the B.L.P spell I have on the Pony's hoof as they finish healing for the most part and the spell is now getting in the way. I heal the rest of the wound and leave it alone, not regrowing the fur as that is a waste of magic, I do cast a spell to clean up the blood on them and the bed. "Any lingering pain?" I ask the Pony as they start to relax in relief, I get a simple shake of the head in response.

I turn back and see that the other patient is mostly healed with Clear Water turning to me fully and nodding at the Pony's healed hoof. "Good, you are done for the day, I still have a few things to do. Write a report in my office and pick up the material." I nod and turn. "And read up on dust build-up." She adds something extra and I just nod again before leaving her to her work while walking through the hospital.

I haven't had her add something extra like that over the past three days, but I honestly was thinking much the same so I can't complain. It only takes me a few minutes to reach her office and head inside, a neat stack of papers on her otherwise blank desk waiting for me. I put them away in my saddlebags and move over to a filing cabinet.

I look through the cabinet and pull out the right forms before sitting down and starting to fill them out. This is another thing she said I would be doing, filling out some of the basic paperwork needed, apparently she thinks it's a skill I need if I even plan to work at a hospital, she also flat out told me she didn't want to do double the paperwork and wants to teach me to deal with my half.

She obviously will look it over for mistakes but it is an interesting thing I didn't think I'd be doing. After I get that done I take a blank piece of paper and start writing the report she wanted. It's not too in-depth but it's enough for her to read and see what I need improving on. I was also told to add anything I think I should learn to these reports so she can point me in the right direction, something we set up after I asked about some spells yesterday, so we'll see how this goes in the coming weeks.

All of this doesn't take me long and I leave it in a neat pile on her desk before walking out with a small smile. This is all a change, and I'm only three days in, but I can't say I dislike it. I've learned several things so far and she's proven her knowledge on the subject, at least to me she has.

Every time I ask a question she at least points me in a good direction or just gives me an answer outright. I'm also glad she's easing me into everything and not really dumping me in the deep end. My magic hasn't gotten anywhere near empty over the past three days and she's mostly focused on teaching me more practical things at the moment.

I stretch a bit as I walk out of the hospital, stopping at a restroom to do my business and let Entropy out of my shadow. Today was a morning shift, and now it's a little after twelve in the day. I wash my hooves and turn to Entropy as we sit inside the bathroom. "Hey Girl?" She turns to me from looking around. "Take us to the new training spot," I instruct.

She tilts her head as we normally do there at the beginning and end of the day, but she bobs her head and we vanish from Canterlot several seconds later. As we reappear I feel the colder wind from being up high and it being mid Fall. I take a deep breath and look out over the view.

Over time we've continued to move west from Canterlot, our goal being to get across Equestria to the opposite sea. At this point, Entropy can take us halfway across Equestria in one single jump, which is why I make sure she's comfortable as she sits down on my back and I take out several treats. "Thanks, Girl, here you earned it."

I stand on the rocky cliff edge and stare out across the landscape, this particular cliff being on a mountainside. At this point we're nearing the other side of the continent and the landscape has changed. The trees are still mostly temperate but the air is a little more wet and the plants are all different.

This mountain overlooks a city not far away in a valley, Rain River City, a mostly Pegasi city nestled in the more remote landscape. The terrain here is much more vertical with thick forests, steep hills and mountains carving the land into many smaller sections.

This mountain I'm on happens to be a lone peak that rises above all others in this small mountain range. When flying further west I thought this would be a neat place to set up a spot to teleport to, it's not only remote but it's also very peaceful and beautiful. Rain River City in particular is a sight in and of itself.

I only found this location a few days ago so I haven't taken a trip down to the city yet, but from here I can see the entire city. The mountain cliff I'm on directly overlooks the city and lets me see it in good detail. I sit down and take out my sketchbook while setting Entropy to the side to rest and eat.

Hospital work hasn't stressed me yet, but it's only been three days and I know there will be much harder times to come. And for that, I am actually lucky, I have three days dealing with all the stress and then four days to just live my life, a good balance not many get.

It's why I wanted to come here, to spend some time somewhere new and relax for a while. I think I'll explore this place sometime, maybe take some trips to the city as well. I sit at the cliff edge and look down to start my drawing, starting with the basic terrain around the city.

It sits in a deep and wide valley that has steep cliffs on both sides, but quickly levels off into gentle slopes that give plenty of room for a medium-sized city like this. The city has walls like most do when in the wilderness, and it is built around the large river that cuts this valley in half, farm fields spreading up and down the valley from the city entwining with everything.

A mountain range that starts the valley in the distance is the source of the river and it flows down and out of sight in the other direction. I've seen a few maps and I think the river ends in several large lakes. The city itself is interesting as it's built not just around the river, but also above it.

Homes made from clouds sit above the city in seemingly random spots, looking like giant floating snowflakes in a snow globe. They surround the city from above and even give off a similar shape to a snow globe as a result. It's an interesting sight and something that I find pretty fun to see.

It's one of the cities that mix completely different forms of architecture, even though there is supposedly only a small population of Unicorns and Earth Ponies here. I saw the name on my map and looked it up at the library, not too hard when you know a few books that explain cities around Equestria.

I also find it interesting what the city seems to produce, which is actually a lot of smaller things from the wilderness. I read its main exports are things like herbs and certain spices, along with rarer magical materials. It makes sense as Pegasi can move through this terrain faster than any other tribe, still nature-loving Pegasi city in the middle of nowhere was not on my list of expectations.

And that's one thing I can tell even without reading about it, this city seems very close to nature. I can see a great many trees and other plants on every building in sight, there are even a great many plants hanging down from the cloud homes. All in all it's a very nice city to look at and I'm definitely going to visit it, but for now, I'd just like to draw a little and enjoy the day.

I keep drawing and as I do so I also let my senses stretch out. I feel them, faintly beneath my hooves, the slowing currents of life magic that flow through the earth. Every year they slow and seep up with the coming of the seasons, it makes me wonder what is actually causing it in this world.

I know that the length of the day and night change and shift, I even asked Celestia about that once. Her response was actually much more simple than I thought it would be. She said it was like that before she started raising the sun, and that it seemed like a bad idea to change it, so she just left it alone and continued on the same.

A good choice, I feel like she probably knows more than just that, but there are some things she says she can't tell me. It seems to mostly be about being an alicorn, I don't know the actual reasoning but she doesn't want to answer anything about that. So I don't bring it up often.

I think I know one reason why, she doesn't want me to try and become an alicorn. I think it is like the time change I mentioned before, why tamper with a process like becoming an alicorn? If it happens, great, if it doesn't, leave it alone. She doesn't want to influence that process by giving me too much detail. Not that I plan to be an alicorn, because... Just, no.

I shake my head a little as I start to write out an idea next to my drawing. I take a deep breath and feel my back muscles twitch a bit as if to react to a gust of wind as it passes. I've also noticed that the more I use my wings the more my body seems to think they are always there.

It's muscle memory that can't do anything because the muscles aren't there anymore. I make a mental note to look into any research on the long-term use of spells that change the body temporarily. I sigh and go back to my drawing, trying my best to ignore any thoughts and ideas and just enjoying the wind and the view.

"I wonder what she's doing now? Probably annoying paperwork." I chuckle at the thought that slips through.

POV shift Celestia.

I slowly flip through a rather annoying document, this one being a modification to a few laws.

It's nothing large, but a few Ponies have found a loophole in a few laws and now there is a pile of paperwork to deal with. Still, it was minor and caught early on, it will be fixed in a few weeks at most. And despite the added work, things have been slowing down as they often do.

The approaching Winter slows trade and stops farming, two things that I swear make more paperwork than should be possible. I read through the last few pages and make a mental reminder to myself to ask Clover to schedule a meeting with the treasurer. I need to make sure preparations have gone well with the new trade deals we have proposed.

Things have looked up recently and are continuing to do so, despite less pleasant things moving underneath it all. I move the papers to the side and look through the report on the two Ponies that were returned to us, as I read through the details of what they went through I feel my anger rise up.

I take a deep breath and maintain my calm, anger will do no good here. I do not enjoy the idea of my Ponies being taken, not, one, bit. But there is a time and a place for that, this is not the time and this place is not the place. I feel some tension in my body and rub my muzzle a bit.

I know this feeling, I've had it more times than I can count. That feeling of being so close to the end and wanting to just have it be over already, and yet you must wait those last moments regardless. They stretch on and seem to extend the closer you are to that end, months and days feel so much longer than they used to when it was all a century away.

There are things that lessen it all though, that let me speed things along and endure the wait. I wonder what he is doing right now? Probably worrying over Cadance getting her revenge and his new apprenticeship, something I am very proud that he accepted.

I chuckle at the memory of finding out he had become a healer. I look away for a moment and he comes back with such an achievement, and yet it still isn't enough for him. It's not even greed or pride, he just seems to push more and more for a reason I still can't fully see.

That doesn't matter though, he is happy and doing good for so many others as well as himself, and that is more than enough. I smile at the pair of plants that sit in a pot on my desk. One for the moon and another for the sun, a gift I've maintained for a few years now and one I intend to take good care of for many more.

I place down the report and notice I am out of work for the time being. I stand up from my desk and leave everything in a neat stack, Clover will deal with it before the day is over. I look out my window for a moment before writing a note and placing it on my desk with everything else.

A simple instruction to Clover that I will be gone for a few hours and to just tell anypony asking that I am in my office and wish to be left alone. She knows how to contact me if I am needed urgently. I feel my magic shift and flow through my horn, and with a flex of my will and a flash of light, I am gone from my office entirely.

I open my eyes and am greeted by the calm absence of all city sounds, even the calm tranquility of the palace is never this quiet. There is something so freeing about simply being somewhere so isolated, so removed from everything else. I suppose that is why he chose this place.

I look over at the golden tree as its leaves shimmer in the slow wind, even now the grass around it refuses to wilt in the slightest, despite everything else dying off. I take off my crown and hold it as I walk over to my home, that is still an odd thought to me, but is very much a home to me now.

I never thought I would live in this place again, but I never thought of a great many things before Shade came along. I walk inside and move to my workroom, grabbing my woodworking tools along with a beautiful piece of wood, gold threads moving throughout it. "What did he call it? Golden Oak?"

I say to myself, letting my thoughts flow openly in this safe space. I take both and make my way outside again, choosing to sit under the pavilion in the shade of the afternoon. I place the wood and tools on a small table and settle down on the carpet, making myself comfortable as I take off the rest of my regalia.

I look off for a moment, across the river I see the pack of Timberwolves that Shade has been observing for a long time now, all of them sunbathing in the dead grass. I do wonder what draws him to such creatures. I still remember the respect he showed to that wolf, so much respect for something that tried to end his life.

He also seems so fascinated by other beings, the Griffons and Dragons come to mind. It is simply them being a predator that draws him? Is it something in how they act, some common element or trait? I don't know. I look in a different direction for a moment, staring into the forest blankly.

For a moment I feel that all too familiar weight once again, the feeling of sadness washing over me like many times before. So many times, it almost feels endless, and yet it will end.

Soon dear sister, soon.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :]
Current year is 996

You wanted more Celestia POV, enjoy the sadness. I think it fit well to have some of her not being fully happy or sad, but that odd in between.

Personally, I like both about the same, I do think peaches make better desserts though. I made it a vote, 14 for pears, 19 for peaches. Now I just need to, say... *Spots one vote on the ground and picks it up.* Bananas? What?

Anyway, I just wanted to say this vote will have non-serious... Consequences.