SEP 27 Thursday.

I sigh as I continue to wipe myself down with warm water and soap after the day I've had.

Today I had the unpleasant fortune to witness a limb being reattached, it was a bit of a shit show. Turns out not all Ponies handle that sort of thing well. The poor mare who somehow got half of her front left leg cut off panicked hard when we came in with the detached limb and we started explaining what we were going to do to reattach it.

I'm not sure why she panicked like she did, we explained it to her several times and she still had a small meltdown about it. The mare was still in a fair amount of pain and obviously fear after losing a limb, Clear Water said she was probably in complete shock by that point.

After we got her calmed down enough to agree to let us reattach the limb before it was too late. However, that's why things went really sideways, halfway through the process of Clear Water healing it back on the mare panicked again. I had to make sure she was as still as possible, and in this case, I had to hold her down.

Only for a few moments to cast a Sticking spell on her, but it was still unpleasant to hold down a screaming and pleading mare who was having a panic attack in the middle of a medical procedure. And that was just the start of the day, thankfully things were much more calm after that. I even ended up getting an apology from the mare after she had calmed down again, I don't blame her for anything.

Ponies do not handle blood well and I've seen a fair few panic, I'm more surprised she didn't just faint from pain or shock like many others. I accepted the apology as it's part of the job I agreed to do and it seemed genuine. Still, I think I'm going to enjoy my next four days away from all of that, at least Clear Water complimented me, before giving me a fair amount of paperwork over the incident.

Turns out there is a lot of shit that you need to sign and write down to explain after reattaching a limb, paperwork is still less than pleasant but as always necessary. In the end I thought it was worth it to see the mare's thankful look and her relief at having all her legs back. Doing this work can be messy and fucked up, but I do good and that's something I enjoy.

I shake my head and move to more positive thoughts. Like the fact my Mantle Bloom project has made more progress than it would have normally, mostly due to Celestia's help. It was nice working on something with her again and seeing her mood be so much better than before was a nice bonus.

I leave my bathroom and move over to check on the bread I'm making for tonight's game night dinner. The last few have been at Daisy's because she got lucky, or unlucky depending on how you see it. We've decided that we'll pick game nights based on a game of our choosing and whoever wins gets to host, unless we have more serious reasons we can't host.

Last time I picked chess as the game and won, so we'll be doing game night at my apartment this time. I saw my friends once earlier this week when we went out to eat, Stone came along as always. He doesn't join our game nights as much as before as he's not the biggest fan of games and the like, but he always comes out to eat with us and sometimes tags along for game nights.

Stone's been the same as always and was pretty happy when he heard I became a healer, he even said he was proud. I'm still not too close to him though, we get along but we don't share many interests or talk that much outside of training and normal small talk. Still, I consider him a somewhat close Pony and a friend, but not like the others.

Tonight should prove interesting because I have news, that's for later though. Entropy and I both whistle a tune together as I check the bread and make sure the pasta I'm making is done. Once I'm sure it is I drain it and add it to a bowl with everything else needed to make a nice meal.

I notice a group of three Ponies walking into the building and smile knowing full well who they are from the shapes and sizes of the Ponies. It is the very late afternoon and they said they would all be arriving together. Apparently, they went shopping to grab a few things, but I couldn't make it due to having a later shift at the hospital.

I place the fresh bread out to cool and spend a moment looking over at Entropy. "They will be here soon," I call out and she chirps before activating her band. Over the past few weeks, I've been looking into Illusion runes and while working with Celestia I also asked about some she might know.

In the end, I was able to find the runes I needed to finally improve Entropy's band. It took a few days and I needed to test with several feathers I bought to get the feeling of her feathers right, but now she has a physical illusion over her. It took little time as I was just reworking a copy of the original illusion and adding to what was already there.

It's not perfect as it feels a little off, but with how small the difference is you'd need to be checking to really notice. There are also a few problems with the new Illusion spell I added to her band. It makes a physical illusion that can be touched and pressed against, it even bends a little to have some give. It mimics the sound and feel of feathers but it can't mimic the weight and it also costs too much magic despite my best efforts.

In the end, we figured out that physical illusion can only last for around four hours before draining the gems in her band, plenty of time for most circumstances but still not passive like I wanted it to be. So with it not being able to last forever, I decided to just add it to the band and keep the old illusion on it as well.

It was tricky, but I made it work and now she can pick which illusion she wants by pecking three times for the physical illusion and twice for the original. I'm not sure how excited she is to have the physical illusion though, or how much she will actually use it, but I feel it's important to have it for her.

She seemed happy that I could pet her in public without needing to be careful. However, the illusion does dampen anything she feels to a degree, kind of like feeling something through a glove. Still, I think she'll enjoy getting pets from others when or if she allows it.

I did need to remind her that when switching between illusions she needs to find somewhere private. When switching there is a moment when her actual form becomes visible, it's very short but it's still there. It's not worth the risk so I made sure to teach her well and explain everything fully about why I want her to be careful.

I see Entropy peck her band three times and raise a brow to myself, it seems she actually will try using it. I can't wait for Daisy's reaction to that, she always looked like she wanted to pet Entropy so bad but never got to. "Open up! We're hungry!" I chuckle as I hear and sense my friend outside my front door.

I flip a switch and open my front door with a smile while continuing to cook a few things. I see Daisy walk in first with a bag, but she stops after stepping in and looks around. "Wow! Maple was right, you actually decorated! I like it. Hello Entropy, you being the best Girl? Yes, you are." She asks as she walks in while looking around. "Hey Shade. Smells good." She greets me as well with a beaming smile.

I nod and see Blaz walk in with a curious look. "It's not bad looking, it could still use a little something on the walls, but it works. Hey Colt, you and that mare catch up yet?" He goes right to teasing me and I blush a little as he's not incorrect. "HA, good! You need something to do that isn't work or a hobby." I blush harder after a moment as his joke sinks in.

I turn away but sense the smiles and held in laughter of my two other friends as Blaz chuckles. "I wonder what would happen if I sent a letter of all those jokes you've said to me, right to your son. Oh, who am I kidding, he would just laugh." I sigh and act all dramatic for a moment while Blaz laughs harder.

I nod to Maple and try to get rid of my blush by pretending it doesn't exist. Daisy eventually placed down a few pies she brought on the counter before happily walking over to sit on my couch. "I do like it, that rose bush is beautiful. Ohh, where did you get the paintings?" She asks while taking out some treats she brought for Entropy.

I enjoy the nice feelings as Maple joins Daisy on the couch and Blaz lies down on the carpet at its base with a couch pillow. I finish up the last few things in the kitchen and walk over with some cups and a full teapot. "The market, they are just some random ones I thought would work. So beyond making me annoyed, how have you all been the past week?" I ask as we met up a little over eight days ago.

Blaz smiles widely and takes out a few photos, "My sonny paid me a visit, he even brought the foals. Those little springs couldn't keep still for a moment, the older one's flying already and was nothing but a menace. It was perfect." He says with a happy laugh as he lets us look through the pictures.

It's honestly adorable how happy he is being a grandsire, he will take just about any opportunity to talk about his grandfoals somedays. Daisy lets Entropy eat from her hoof with a smile, "Blaz, we said you would do this later. We're supposed to pressure him about his life first, otherwise, he won't share a thing and will just be his happy self listening to all of us." She somewhat teases me and I roll my eyes.

Blaz and Maple nod silently before all three look over at me, this is something new they've been doing. They basically refuse to talk about anything else before hearing something about my day at least. "Well, I do have some news. You remember me mentioning something I was thinking about when it comes to the hospital?" I gave in easily as I did have some news for them.

At first, I didn't want to tell them about the offer I got before I accepted or denied it. I wanted to not feel pressured about it and while they are good friends they tend to try and push me into things a little. It's not a bad thing most of the time as it gets me outside more, but I needed space for this one, and they gave it.

After I did accept the offer I just sort of, forgot? I never thought about keeping it a secret but it also never really occurred to me to bring it up as I had other things to talk about, so now seems like a good time. They all nod again and Maple speaks up, "Ya, you said it was still uncertain. So, what did you do this time?" She asked in a level tone.

They did ask about it the last time we met up, which is when I realized I forgot to tell them. But that was at a public restaurant and I didn't want to talk about it there, so I told them to wait and they did. As for why I'm not keeping this a secret? I can't see any reason to do so.

If one of them ended up at that hospital I could end up seeing them and what I'm doing there is not exactly a secret to anypony. Plus, I think it's good to be as honest with them as I feel is safe. Blaz chuckles and smirks, "Agreed, what did you do to upstage everypony else this time?" He joins in on the joke.

I smile slightly and shake my head. "Now I almost don't want to tell you." I get a demanding look from Daisy as she continues to feed Entropy. "I did well on my healer's test, fairly well actually. And now I'm apprenticing for, well, being a Journeypony Healer." I say slowly to drag out the anticipation a little more.

I nearly laugh at the faces they give me, mostly a mix between deadpan and unsurprised. "How am I not surprised? Of course, you scored so well that you can just get an apprenticeship and go mosey along." Blaz declares with a laugh and a happy smile. "Well, Colt, it looks like you beat every expectation, again!"

Maple just smiles and drinks some tea as Daisy looks all excited. "Go shade! Wait, who are you apprenticing under?" I raise a brow. "I got curious and looked into healers a bit, so I guess your apprenticing under a Journeypony Healer for a few years then?" She asks with excitement.

None of them seem too shocked and I can get why. Becoming a healer is a bit more impressive and this is smaller news in general. Her being that informed catches me a little off guard. "Umm, kind of? It's just one year and-" I trail off slowly as she looks confused for a few seconds, before smiling like a maniac and starting to laugh hard.

She laughs for a good minute as the other two look confused. "How?!! You scored THAT well?! What kind of luck or skill do you have? Was becoming a healer too easy for you?" She asks rapidly, apparently having figured it out and finding it hilarious.

Blaz and Maple give her demanding looks and she smiles widely, "He's apprenticing under a Master Healer, somehow!" She says and laughs more. "That's the only way it would last a year and not longer. Seriously Shade? This is just getting silly at this point." She says through her laughter.

They look at me and I just stay silent for a few moments as she's guessed it. " Ok, so. Hypothetically, if she's right." That's all I get out before Blaz starts laughing as well and reaches over to put a foreleg around my neck. "Ok look. They made the offer and I thought about it a lot, and it just sort of, happened, I didn't even ask for it!" I finish feeling a bit embarrassed as they laugh at my odd luck.

Even Maple starts laughing a little and I think they get a little caught up in it all as it takes them a full minute to stop. In the meantime, I try to not show my slight embarrassment and bring over the games we'll play. "I think he's just bored at this point. Are you going to actually get a job as a healer?" I shake my head as I don't think I will. "Yes, he's bored." Maple asserts.

Daisy smiles widely as Blaz lets me go. "Congratulations, and I'm just going to guess you forgot to tell us before now?" I pretend not to hear that and keep shuffling cards. "Welp, I suppose we have another celebration dinner to plan. Now let's play some games and clebra-" She trails off and we all look over at her.

She's sitting straight on the couch and is dangling her back legs off of the edge. What made her stop talking becomes obvious as we all see Entropy shifting to sit better in her lap. The large crow is now sitting on her back legs as Daisy looks down in utter wonder. "Huh, I guess she does let others touch her." I make a joke out of it to avoid questions.

They all look surprised but Daisy looks beyond happy. She smiles wider than ever and takes a deep breath. "YES!" Entropy looks up but doesn't move from her spot. "Can I pet her? Please?!!" She practically begs me and I let the thought settle in for a moment.

I shrug. "She has been more touchy lately, maybe she's changed a bit? Honestly, I can barely keep up with her some days." I half lie but also be honest. "Sure, but go slow and if she pecks you I'm not to blame." I'm honestly surprised Entropy is being that touchy already.

Then again, Daisy has always given her treats and Entropy often perches near her during game nights. Out of the three, Entropy is definitely closest to Daisy, even if that's just from being bribed with food. Daisy squeals a bit and slowly reaches down a front hoof to Entropy.

Entropy looks up but doesn't move and a moment later Daisy places her hoof gently on top of Entropy, slowly moving it alone with her fake feathers. "I take it back, we're celebrating this instead. Best day ever!!" She whispers excitedly and looks absolutely thrilled.

I just stay silent and enjoy the sight as I deal cards and settle in for a fun night.

time skip

I sigh tiredly as I look around my apartment, several things lying around from all the fun we just had.

I turn to Entropy as she sits on her perch. "You have fun Girl? You certainly made Daisy happy if nothing else." I ask while moving around to put everything back where it belongs. "Why did you let her pet you? Did you just want to?" I ask as I find her choice interesting.

Entropy bobs her head before tilting it a bit in seeming thought while dropping the illusion around her with a few quick pecks. "Yes, very. Daisy make happy. I make Daisy happy." She actually uses Daisy's name and seems a little proud of her actions. "Ok? Not break rule?" She asks back with slight concern.

I smile widely up to her as I collect a few dirty plates. "It's more than ok, I'm proud," I say with a confident tone and watch her tail feathers start to wag feverishly, the dark mist on her form wafting behind her. "And as long as you have that illusion on, feel free to do the same with anypony else you like." I encourage her happily.

She tilts her head again and looks down. "Maybe, not know others." She says simply and starts to preen herself. I know she might have some problem with being touched due to how I raised her, but she is safe and we can work on that. "Yes the big ones, they nice." She adds after a moment.

I snort at the unintentional joke she made. "Well, they get to pet you already, maybe Avalon? He's nice." I add as she can already get pet by the two large alicorns. She doesn't say anything at that but does look out the window in thought, I leave her be for the time being with some pride in my chest.

She let Daisy pet her for no other reason than to be nice, and knowing I raised her well enough to do that is something I can't help but smile about. I finish cleaning up and walk into my bedroom for a moment to place my cleaned bedding back on after I freshened it up with a few Cleaning spells.

I noticed that my bedroom is very blank. I still have the wooden cage from when Entropy was very young, along with the table it rests on. But the only other things in the room are my bed and a small bedstand with a simple bracelet sitting atop it. I tap the bracelet and see the time displayed for a moment.

A small band of metal with a few simple topaz gems embedded into it. I've had it for years and have kept it as a simple clock for when I wake up, I wonder if Daisy even knows I kept it all this time? Something to bring up another day. I leave the room after a moment and bring the dusty old cage out with me, realizing it doesn't need to stay in there.

The thing has seen basically no use for years now and actually, the last time I used it was the other crow I brought home a long time ago. Entropy normally just sleeps in my bed with me or on her perch, and this cage sure as hell won't hold her. Entropy watches as I move it into the workroom, but she doesn't seem to care about it at all.

I place it in a corner for now, maybe I'll just leave it at Gaia's Eden or something. I think for a moment and start to look over my workroom, picking out a gem I've had for a long time but never used, along with a large block of Maple wood and a small Steel wood cube.

The Maple wood is dead so I can't grow it, but I can still decompose it away and the Steel wood cube is alive and well. I keep them alive to have them on hoof in case I need one, although I only keep ten cubes around. I take it all into my bedroom and get to work on a simple idea I have.

It's not late enough to go to bed yet, and this room is far too blank even for my standards. So I place the one-foot block of Maple down in the small bedroom and start planning things out. The bedroom is actually the same size as my workroom and my bed doesn't take up much space, leaving things pretty blank.

I have several ideas popping into my head but the one that comes to mind at the moment is something for the ceiling. There is one thing about my bedroom I don't really like, there are no windows to see anything outside, and not much natural light gets in here during the day even when the door is open.

I move the maple block to the side and start decomposing material away, making a smooth small round table and sitting it in an empty corner near the back wall. With that in place I take the Steel wood and decompose enough away to form a small pyramid, taking a moment to enchant it to hold magic and to hold something above it with a Stasis spell like I did with the gem for my mini planet.

I place the wooden pyramid in the middle of the maple round table and decompose a small hole half an inch deep to place the wooden pyramid in, keeping the small wooden object firmly in place. Finally, I take out the gem I brought with me, an eight-sided diamond-shaped sapphire.

My little project won't need too much magic and the five-inch long gem will be enough for something so simple. I start by enchanting it to hold and gather magic before adding an illusion Frame spell to add more Illusion spells to. Then the real work begins.

I add several different illusions to the Frame spell, spending an hour working on each one to get them all right and to make sure they all blend together and interact properly. The shape for the illusion is simple and conforms to my ceiling and one foot down from it on all four walls.

The illusion stops there by thinning out and fading away to the regular walls in a nice smooth transition. The illusion is actually very simple, an illusion to mimic the night sky and another to mimic the day sky. Both don't take much work as I make them fairly simple, I was also able to get the illusions to give off light easily enough.

I filled the night sky with a moon and some stars, I'll need to actually map out some stars to copy over later. I also added a sun and clouds to the day illusion. I linked both together to a rune for telling the time and set it up so they move with the actual day-night cycle.

I didn't have time to add a sunset or sunrise, so for now, the illusion just shifts to the other one in an abrupt slide. It moves from one side of the illusion to the other and swaps the day and night. I place the gem I used for the illusion over the wooden pyramid to float and slowly spin in the air, looking rather cool.

The gem still has a good amount of magic capacity, mostly because the illusion is very simple despite its size. I'll be adding more detail and making it look much more natural over the next few days. But for now, I head to bed knowing I'll be waking up to something similar to the open sky for the first time in a long time.

And as I snuggle up with Entropy to finally sleep, I know today was a good day.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :D
Current year is 996

I thought some more decoration would be nice. I also literally just forgot to have Shade tell his friends about his new apprentice, so I just made it a joke and went for it. I think it was a nice touch.