DEC 7 Friday.

There was a palpable moment of silence before Stone summed it all up well. "What the fuck?"

I sigh again and walk over to Entropy with a slightly annoyed face. "Really? You couldn't wait? We talked about this." My tone is a little stern and she starts to shift on her feet and look at the floor for a moment, cawing softly. "You're not in trouble, but maybe think about a better way next time," I advised in a calmer tone as now was not the time to scold her for this.

The other four in the room finally seem to get their wits together and Daisy speaks up. "Is- Is that Entropy?" She asks in a confused and shocked tone. I nod slowly and pick Entropy up to place her on a shelf, mostly so she could be even height with us. "What?" She mimics Stone's words.

I glance over at Blaz and Maple and give them a waiting look, already expecting them to have something to say about this. Maple looks profoundly confused and a little wary of Entropy, while Blaz catches my eyes and shakes his head, "I got nothing for this, Colt, what and WHAT?!" He exclaims.

I rub the side of my muzzle for a second before turning to Entropy. "Well go on," I say and she tilts her head in confusion. I smile at her, "You came in and said hello, it's only right you introduce yourself." I tell her and fall into silence. It is putting her on the spot but I need some form of consequence and this also makes her use some manners.

She looks over to the other Ponies in the room and shuffles on her feet again, showing herself to be a little nervous. "Hello, am Entropy. Nice bird, no fear friends." She uses a few fewer words than would be preferred but at least she makes an effort to actually introduce herself.

I sigh again as they look at her with more shock and confusion. "Alright that's the best I'm getting. Come on, let's at least get somewhere more comfortable for all of this. And you behave yourself, we'll be talking about this later." Entropy chirps quietly but I smile and pet her. "You at least had some good timing, a good job breaking the tension." My added words cheer her up a bit as she rides my back.

I walk out into the main room and just slump onto the carpet while my friends follow silently and I place Entropy on the carpet with me. They stand there for a moment, "Ok, so. What was that? What is she? Is that... Normal?" Daisy asks as she is the first to sit down, slowly followed by everypony else just lying on the floor with me.

I shrug. "I think so? I'm honestly not sure." They just give me looks that show my words don't really help. "Ok, this is also going to take a while. I'll explain the other stuff later when we won't be interrupted." They all stay silent and I move Entropy to be in between my forelegs so they can see her well.

"To start, you have to understand something about life affinity. Magic of that affinity doesn't just affect plants, but ALL life." I emphasize and they seem to understand. "That means I can use it to boost healing spells, yes that is part of the reason I went into healing," I add seeing a few of them open their mouths.

Two close their mouths but Maple continues. "So, do you actually like healing?" I nod as I do, I also feel some guilt from her having to ask it but she just seems curious. "I guess that explains taking up healing as a hobby." She remarks and I shrug a little while motioning with a hoof for her to continue. "How good are you at life magic?" She asks a different question.

I quickly answer. "Plants I’m pretty good at, but I'm no master. When it comes to flesh and blood beings I'm nowhere near as good, they are very different and the latter is much more complicated." I turn to Daisy before they can ask anything else. "Also while that is how I got into healing, I do actually enjoy doing it. Now Daisy, do you remember the auction where I bought an odd egg?"

She blinks not really expecting it before looking down at entropy and gaining a look of realization, while the other three look confused. "I took him to three or four auctions when he was young. One had a lot of magical items, he bought an odd black egg from there. Is that?" She trails off and points to Entropy.

I nod. "Part of my affinity is that I know when something is alive or not, I knew her egg was alive and I got curious. So after getting her egg, I started adding life magic to it, trying to hatch it. And before you say anything, yes I did take precautions." I add before they can try to scold me.

Blaz still huffed a little. "I think I'm starting to realize he might not have bad luck, he just sticks his nose in things." He makes a small joke but it helps break through the confusion that engulfs the mood. "So, what is she? Like some kind of phoenix or something?" He asks curiously and they all look interested in my answer.

"No idea." He gives me an unimpressed look. "No I'm serious, I got permission to look through the royal library to try and find an answer. I even got help to try and find one, and still, nopony has absolutely any idea what she is." That causes several brows to rise.

There is a moment of silence so I continue. "After a while her egg started getting darker, and darker. In the end, it absorbs so much light that it looks like a hole in the world itself. Basically what she looks like right now without the mist. All I found out is that she's a Night Crow and is obviously very magical in nature, and even finding that name took a lot of effort and it's a best guess that the name is actually talking about Entropy's kind." I start in my lecturer tone and they don't interrupt me.

"When she hatched she was basically a normal crow from what I could tell. She had normal feathers and everything, the only difference was that she was smarter." I reach down to pet Entropy as I keep explaining. "Around two years old she started changing, her feathers growing darker and darker over time."

They all seem fascinated and it makes sense for a group of librarians, and Stone for his part just seems curious. Daisy raises a hood and I look at her oddly but nod, "Wait, so how smart is she? The way you've been talking and her talking earlier. It's like a little filly." She reasons and she gets to the truth unknowingly.

I tilt my ears a little. "She basically is." They once again give me confused stares. "I'll get to that. After a while, I had to start putting an illusion on her just to let her be seen outside. And a while later her feathers started becoming what they are now, very much like a phoenix they have feathers made from magic with only the spines being physical." I move one of Entropy's wings to be outstretched to show them what I mean.

I reach out with my space magic and grab a juniper berry from my little bush, catching Entropy's interest as her tail starts to wag. "And much like a phoenix she doesn't just look magical, care to demonstrate Girl?" I ask before throwing the berry into the air.

A second later they all flinch a little as she vanishes from the spot and teleports to catch the berry out of midair before landing and happily eating it. Daisy and Stone look a little less confused and probably realize what happened before, while Blaz and Maple look amazed. "She can just, teleport?!" Maple asks.

I smirk. "Yup, she is very helpful when you need to get around. She is also a complete menace when she wants to be." Entropy lets out an indignant squawk in protest. "Do I need to remind you which one of us started teleporting into the food cabinet, because I can tell that story instead if you want?" I offer in a cheery tone, causing her to quickly shake her head.

That actually earns me a few chuckles from them and Daisy smiles at the cute scene. Blaz also raises a hoof, "Huh, feels like I'm back in school. Seriously, how smart is she? Because I'm starting to think it's more than a normal crow by quite a bit. Also, I still say your luck is absurd, like come on!" He asks and I chuckle for a second, happy to have him breaking the tension.

By this point things have settled into a nice calm, and the shock of all this seems to be wearing off. They are probably collecting their thoughts on it all. I look over at Entropy for a second and she hops back over to lay on my side. "She's sapient, completely."

I get a few head tilts, but none of them are really as well-versed in plants and animals as me. "First, she speaks like that out of choice, she can form full sentences and speak well enough when she wants to. And second, she's about on par with a Pony of the same age, soon to be five years old. She is, as far as I can tell, as smart as a pony, I'm currently teaching her to read and hopefully write as well." I lay it out plainly.

I let that sink in and stay silent while bringing over my teapot from the counter, I'm getting thirsty after all of this talk. Daisy looks both amazed and a little concerned, "That's amazing, she's such a smart bird!" But she stops abruptly. "Wait, huh, hmm. That's not really nice, so, she's not a pet? Oh, that's." She mumbles more to herself than me.

Still, it seems she's grasped the main point of my words. "She is family to me," I answer simply and she smiles much more at that but still looks awkward. "Don't worry about how you acted or how you treated her, she's still young and I think to a point she doesn't really care. It is best to ask though, what do you think?" I ask Entropy.

She looks at them for a moment and chirps happily. "Friends nice, all still friends. No worry, you all been nice." She again uses fewer words than needed but speaks up again after a moment. "Daisy good friend, maybe use my name more. Please." She adds slowly after a moment and I smile in pride.

She's just set her own boundaries with someone else, it's a good thing and I look at Daisy as she stares back stunned. "Ahh, sure, ok. I'm your friend?" She asks hopefully and Entropy nods. "YES!! Don't worry, I'll call you by your name as much as you want, Entropy is a lovely name after all." She treats Entropy with a more adult tone, but not changing how she normally acts.

Blaz joins in and smiles widely. "Well don't you worry little filly, we'll do the same if you want?" He asks with a jovial expression. "I didn't think I'd get to have a foal around outside of my grandfoals... Wait?" He mumbles and looks between me and Entropy for a few moments before breaking out into uproarious laughter.

We all look at him for a few seconds before I just continue while he gets whatever he found funny out of his system. "After a while, I was able to get Entropy's band made. It's enchanted with an illusion she can turn off and on whenever she likes, and more recently I made a second illusion spell, a physical one so she could be touched while disguised." I continue to explain over Blaz's laughter.

We all seem to collectively ignore him for the moment. Maple looks at the little band, "So, that's why she's letting us pet her now?" She asks. Entropy has been letting my other friends pet her, just not as much as Daisy. I nod, "Good." She remarks simply and smiles a bit more.

"Ok, well, it's a little more than just an illusion. She also gets a say in who touches her and she doesn't like strangers doing it." I add as Entropy still doesn't let anyone pet her when we are out and about. I look over with everypony else as Blaz finally calms down and tapers off, "I know I'm going to regret asking, but what's so funny this time?" I tempt fate with my question.

He gives me a beaming smile. "You have a foal, you are a sire! Congratulations!!" I open my muzzle to dismiss his words, but he's not completely wrong. I'm not entirely sure how Entropy sees me. I once explained to her what family was, or at least what I think family is, and she did say I was family but we never clarified.

His words cause the others to look at me and Entropy for a few moments before smiles and held in laughter abound among them. I blank out a bit and just sort of shrug after several moments. Daisy beams again and squeals a bit, "By Celestia that's perfect, Shade and his little filly!" I groan a bit at both the use of my friend's name and the new teasing method they have just made. "I am so proud!"

Stone just nods like any of this makes sense while Maple giggles softly. "He did scold her like a sire earlier for interrupting, do you think he's a good sire Entropy?" She asks and I have to cut them off by that point. I do feel fairly awkward about the topic as it's really not something I've given much thought to either.

I look down at Entropy and smile at her. "We're family, anything beyond that is our choice. And do keep in mind she is young." I add, it might not help my case about acting like a father, but she is young and doesn't need any pressure about this kind of decision.

Entropy tilts her head a bit and doesn't say anything for a few moments, Maple looks a little awkward as she realizes that might have been a little much. "Family, know he family, that enough." Entropy finally says and I can tell she's actually thinking about it more, something we'll need to talk about later.

Maple nods and looks at me and Entropy. "Sorry. Your family is right, you didn't need to answer if you didn't want to." Maple says the second part to Entropy and Entropy seems happy about the words. She caws a little and in a moment vanishes, reappearing next to Maple who jerks a bit in surprise.

Entropy looks up at the normally expressionless Pony and enters into some kind of odd staring contest for several long moments before walking up and rubbing against one of Maple's hooves. "Pets." She demands and gets what she wants after a moment. "Feel nice, thank you."

Maple seems to be experiencing the feel of Entropy's feathers while my other friends watch on amused. I sigh for what must be the thousandth time this week, "I guess I'll need to look into how other Ponies deal with adoption. Well, any questions that don't involve something I have no answer to?" I ask trying to change the subject.

Blaz gives me a large smile. "Ahh, I remember being a sire, the craziest thing I've ever done, no regrets though." He laughs a little and gives me a more serious look. "You ever need help with her, you come calling, I'm not asking." He states rather bluntly and I just nod. "Good, you've done well though, better than I did!" He makes a joke out of himself to lighten the mood once again.

He seems to have made that his job tonight to just help keep things light, or maybe that's just who he is. Stone speaks up, "True, I've never had foals but I have a younger brother and know it all well enough. We're all here if you need help." The others nodding as well.

I smile at them in silent thanks for their support. Stone continues, "Back to what this is all about, I can fill in some gaps for you three." That gets their attention. "Like him, I can't say much of anything, but I think it's best you take his worry over somepony stealing those documents seriously." He finally brings us back to the main topic.

His words and tone seem to sober us all up and they turn back to me. "It's not that bad, but I am concerned. The risk to you all is pretty small at the moment, but it IS THERE. Look, I'm sorry for getting you all into this, I really am. It's a mess from start to finish and I got you all in it." I just got it out as I've been waiting to say that for a week now.

I get kind looks back and it seems they have no intention of holding this against me. Blaz chuckles as he often does, "Colt, you are literally saving more lives than I can imagine. I mean, just the Light spell alone is amazing, I can't imagine going back to a candle. Now stop being so mopey and cheer up! We get to tease you in so many new ways now." He adds with a look that says he's going to do just that.

Daisy nods happily and looks over at Entropy like she wants to take her from Maple and shower her in affection. "He's right, you've done some amazing things and basically don't seem to care about the positives. So we will have to care about it for you." She decides to move over to sit next to Maple and lays down to look at Entropy from the same level. "Can I pet you?" Her answer is an excited caw and Entropy scooting over to get some more attention.

Maple leaves Entropy alone for the moment and nods along with the rest. "You've been nice and kind, and to go this far to keep it from affecting us? It shows you care." Her words are simple but mean a lot. "I am taking full advantage as a friend, I want a good Hearth's Warming gift." She demands in a tone most would think is serious but I know her enough to tell it's not.

I lower my head and chuckle to myself, feeling most of my doubts dissolve away after hearing that. "For such good friends? I would be happy to. To finish my point though, I do have something of a request. For your safety and my sanity, you all know I worry a lot, and this?" I trail off as they seem to get the point.

I move over to the small ruby I enchanted earlier and activate it. I let go and it locks in place midair while a one-foot shield extends around it. "I'd like to set up a magical shield around each of your homes and also give you all something enchanted to shield you when needed." I make the offer with a slightly hopeful tone.

Blaz shrugs. "Yup, that seems about right for you, I'd call you paranoid like before, but... Sure? I can't see why not? I'd say the shield inside the library is a lot but I'll take your word for it, it's not like it's hard." He agrees without really needing to think about it. "What will this actually look like though?" He asks a good question and I stand up for a moment to walk over to my workroom.

They watch me leave with thoughtful faces and I come back with a medium-sized diamond. "For where you live it would be something like this. The shield would protect everything in your homes and keep anything out. I could also add something small like soundproofing if you want it." I ignore the way Daisy's ears jump a little.

I show my wooden bracelet to them. "For personal protection, I'm thinking of something like a bracelet, or a necklace. I can get them done soon but I'd at least like to set up the shields within the next week. They will be simple but will need some instruction, I'll also write instructions for it." I think about it and add that as they might need it.

Blaz nods along with Stone and Maple. Daisy thinks for a moment, "Can you add anything more beyond the soundproofing? Also, where should these go? Do we need something like a specific location? Can we move them around?" She asks a few relevant questions and I just move the large gem I have to the side.

I sit up and stretch a bit while answering. "A lot, but it would depend on what you want. You can all write ideas down for when I come over. Fair warning though, I am good but not perfect at my craft, so don't expect a miracle. They can go anywhere inside, you can even embed them in the floor if you want."

A few of them glance down and I give them a deadpan look. "No I didn't do that, mine are in the workroom. The bracelets will take a little longer, the shields are mostly so you can sleep safely." That earns me some slightly concerned looks. "I know I said nothing bad should happen, but that doesn't mean I'm right. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best." I add some of my own wisdom.

That seems it and Maple stands up after a second. "Show us something." I raise a brow at that and she upturns her lips a tiny bit. "You took over our game night for this, I demand something in exchange." She makes a blatant statement and I look at her for a moment before chuckling.

I think for a moment and try to think of something that might be interesting to look at. "I have been working on my bedroom for a bit, and it's a pretty interesting sight. Come on then, let's go see my madness." I say with a laugh that has a comically evil flare to it. The mood is now about where it was before all of this began, and it's a nice comfort to see that.

They all follow me and Daisy also picks up Entropy to place the bird on her back and follow along. There are some exclamations of surprise and interest as they walk into my bedroom and stare at the ceiling. "Wow, even the gem is placed nicely." He looks at the diamond-shaped sapphire floating and spinning on its small table.

They look up at the ceiling as it reflects the twilight of the sky outside this room. This is one thing I've put a lot of work into when I didn't feel like working on other projects or stressing over the future. It's been a simple thing that I've enjoyed doing quite a lot.

The illusion on my bedroom ceiling is now basically complete. I did turn it off for a few days when I first made it because the rapid switch was something of a nuisance, I've kept it on after fixing that though. The switch from day to night and back again is now a full gradient with a sunset and sunrise mixed in.

I've also started the long process of adding in stars, mostly constellations from my crude star maps along with more from just observing the night sky. It's not accurate to the real thing but the major constellations are in roughly the right places and it all works well. I've even gotten it to have about as much detail as the real sky for both day and night, as long as you don't look at it up close.

"I want this," Maple states bluntly and stares at me expectantly. I just look back confused for a moment, "It's nice, I want one." She seems pretty set on it and actually gives me a slightly pleading look. "My room is plain, this would fix it." She reminds me of it to make a valid point.

I just shrug. "Sure? I didn't even explain though." She motions for me to do just that. "I like waking up to the sky but I have no windows here, so I made my own sky. It moves with the actual day and night and mirrors it, it only looks like this because it's near the end of the day. Actually." I cast a spell to check the time. "Give it a minute."

Time moves on as we all wait for a little, and just as expected the sun rapidly sets, and as the moon rises in its place. The ceiling above us shifts to match the sight outside and I cast a magical light in the now darker room. "There we go, just on time. I'm still working on the stars though, they are difficult."

I turn over and see Maple staring at me intently. "You are making me this, I'm not asking." She demands in a flat tone. I hold in a small chuckle, not used to her acting like this but glad she likes it. I walk out of my bedroom with them following, Maple being the last to leave the room, almost reluctant.

"I can do it, it's not hard to copy it all. It won't be much better than this one though, maybe a little off too as I have to remake the illusions." I explain as I bring over some games from a shelf. "So now that I've caved to Daisy's and Maple's demands, anypony up for some actual games?" I offer.

Maple seems to get an idea again and looks at me intently. "Or, you could make that illusion while we all talk and watch?" She counter offers and looks over to the other Ponies. They all nod and smile at the idea, and honestly, it sounds interesting and probably fun to work on something as we all actually enjoy the night.

I laugh at the united front they put on. "Fine, but I'm counting this as a Hearth's Warming gift so you are getting it then." She narrows her eyes but seems to accept that. "Good to know you like sky-themed things, now, ruby or sapphire? We'll need a gem to work with. We can even see what you'd all like in a shield." I add as they all seem open to the idea of having one.

In the end, I seem to have once again worried too much for too little, It's good to have friends.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading. :}
Current year is 996

I thought it would be a nice touch to give Maple something else she likes. I also added the whole family thing so I can see where that goes later.

Next time! On, what the fuck just happened! More! SLICE! OF! LIFE!

Ps, I got the new fan in, it is much better and I am very happy. And me working with two others only needed two and a half hours to do it. We only needed to improvise twice. And most impressive of all, we only needed to take it apart again two times because we messed something up. It was certainly one of the days of all time.

Pss, because I couldn't do anything big for 1M, I updated the map of Gaia's Eden for you all.