DEC 21 Friday.

I slowly look over the gift boxes and smile.

After some thought and talking with Entropy about what parties for Ponies her age are normally like she ended up making an interesting choice. She wanted to mostly do the same thing as the years before with the two of us, although she did ask for Philomena to join in.

I sent a letter to Celestia and got one back a few days later saying Philomena couldn't come over sadly. Entropy was a bit sad but I just said Philomena would visit when she can and Entropy seemed fine with that. From what Celestia said phoenixes take some time after their burning day to feel better, sometimes it takes weeks to fully recover. She also sent along a few book suggestions for Phoenixes that I'll be looking into.

As is becoming tradition I have bought and will be cooking a rather large bass, along with getting her the gifts she asked for. Most of them were small things like a few toys and it took my help for her to really think of something she would want. One thing that stood out was that she wanted a set of paints to draw with.

She might only have her talons but painting is still possible, so I was happy to buy a set of paints along with plenty of paper for her. Although I had to have Daisy look after Entropy while I went shopping for the gifts so it would be an actual surprise.

Daisy for her part was happy to play with and entertain Entropy for a few hours along with putting up decorations for the quickly approaching holiday. On that same topic, I have all my gifts ready for everyone, and in the end, I sadly didn't have enough time to make some great gifts.

For Maple, I was able to make a simple lamp like I planned. Made from some maple wood and with a cube-shaped small sapphire in the top to glow when needed. I did add some maple trees carved into the wood for more detail but it is a rather simple gift. That's made up for by the illusion I made her along with a simple card holder made from White Oak.

Daisy was actually simple, I made her a Prismatic Rose bush with a Companion Vine to keep it healthy. I also decided to get her some paints as is normal, mostly because I saw them at the market and they looked nice. I didn't get her too much but I can make something else for her when she asks or go bigger next year.

Next up is Stone, and he's getting a weapon, yup. After a little shopping, I found a rather good-looking short sword with a few rubies embedded in it. It's just regular steel and decent gems but that was more than enough to add some enchantments. I may have gone a little overboard on those.

I added my custom-made Sharpening spell along with a spell for durability on both the blade and sheath. Sure it's nothing massive but I know he'll like having a fancy weapon that actually does something instead of just looking nice. I also got him some chocolate for good measure.

Then there is Blaz, who gets a nice cloak along with an enchanted diamond. Again it's a simple gift but I thought it would be nice and convenient for a Pony without magic. The diamond is enchanted to stay in place so he can just let it sit midair and it also has a Light spell on it. I sent him off with his gifts when he left to visit family like he planned to.

With it, he can just place the thing at any angle or location he wants and light up the area. The diamond is only a small pure one but it's more than enough to make the effects passive and never need to be recharged. And the cloak is simply a slightly fancy one with good quality.

Next up is Twilight and Shining. I still write letters to Twilight every one or two weeks and while we don't meet too often we talk a lot through our writing. She's a friend if a slightly distant one, but we always enjoy the time we have when we do meet up.

For gifts, I'm sending over one of the books I bought in Rain River city. I bought two of them and one is enchanted to stay closed, I want to study those enchantments some. The other book has a gem in it but is unenchanted and blank, I thought it would be a good gift to send to her.

She can enchant it as she wishes or have somepony else enchant it for her, and having a cool book seemed like it would fit her tastes. I did also get some simple gems for Spike, and a nice wooden carving of the library building for either of them. That last one might seem odd but it only took me a little while to make and I think she'd like it and Spike can burn it if nothing else.

Twilight really is a friend but I don't know her well enough to get better gifts and with how busy she is with her studies it would be hard to deepen our friendship beyond letters and occasional hangouts. Still, I am happy to be her friend and I think to some extent I might have helped in some way by doing that.

For Shining I got a bunch of my drawings on different creatures and plants I've seen along with some horror books I thought he might like. The drawings are because he mentioned he actually runs an Ogres & Oubliettes game with a few guards he knows. Apparently, it's something the guards like as they have downtime together often enough. Either way, I thought the drawings would be a nice addition.

Finally, we have the big two. I chuckle a bit at that thought knowing full well I'd never dare to say it out loud. For Cadance I've spent a little time modifying another tree for her. This time I changed a Cherry Blossom tree to have heart-shaped leaves and flowers, all in pink and red colors. Along with a nice drawing of Shining in his armor.

It was fun to draw from a few sketches I made before when he and I were resting after training. Again Cadance is only getting simple gifts, but they have meaning to them so I think she'll like them. Finally, there is Celestia, the hardest one of all. I got her the gem seeds so that was a good start but the perfect solution ended up being the most obvious one.

I ended up growing a small Mantle Bloom flower and it was interesting to grow as I had to try and limit its size for my idea to work. It proved to be surprisingly hard to control the Mantle Bloom's growth but I was still able to do it without too much difficulty, even if limiting growth is one of the most basic methods it was still harder than it should have been. At least it proves I can control the plant's growth to some extent, but I can test that more another day.

After making the flower I took the small music box I bought and looked it over by taking off the cover. It really is just a normal music box with a metal piece that turns to make the noise as it spins, and a small gem to make it spin. The song is a simple tune and is pleasant to listen to, something I think she'd like.

I added the small Mantle Bloom flower to the top and carved out a spot in the wooded inside to place a small diamond. The music box doesn't have anything moving on the outside when it's playing and the only reason it's in a box seems to be to protect the delicate metal and gem inside.

There is a space in between the top of the lid and the musical mechanism though, just enough space to fit the small crystal flower while still being able to close the box. So with the tiny diamond, I linked it to the activation gem for the music and had the small flower spin in place when it was turned on.

It's a nice personal gift, even if I didn't make everything myself. I hum a little as Entropy sleeps on her perch with a birthday hat loosely sitting on her head. I spent all of this morning playing with her and after that, I took her to the park to play around in the snow for a while.

Because of the physical illusion, she was able to fully run around and roll in the snow, even dropping some on me as a little prank. After that, we came home and spent a while simply reading, and she demanded some time to practice her magic. She eventually tired herself out and is resting now.

I cast a Silence spell on her so I could get the food ready and set out her gifts without waking her. I get up slowly and leave her gifts on the table before moving over to the kitchen, but before I can start I sense somepony walking down the hallway. I keep an eye on it as a precaution but don't really care, I do however care when they stop in front of my door.

I pause and tense a bit, after everything that's happened I'm still on edge and I don't recognize this Pony's body shape or size. I wait for a moment before they knock on my door and I slowly move over. I open my door slightly and make sure to not let Entropy enter their sight. A mare pegasus standing there with a package greets me. "Hello Sir, are you one..." She looks at a piece of paper, "Shade Evergreen?" She asks and seems to be relaxed and professional.

I notice she has a full pair of full saddlebags along with a clipboard. I nod slowly and she smiles, "Perfect, I got a delivery from Avalon Tesis for you, direct delivery too." She adds after looking over her clipboard and I relax a little. It's odd he'd send me something through a courier but I take the clipboard and sign it silently. She takes it back with a smile and passes me a small package and letter, "Thank you, have a good day Sir." With that, she walks off and I close my door.

I place the package to the side and cast a magical shield on it while watching the mare leave the building before turning to the small package. Avalon did mention in his last letter to me that he would be sending a gift around Hearth's Warming, but I thought he'd use the regular mail system.

Then again the regular mail is imperfect and much like the mail in my last world things get lost or end up somewhere they aren't supposed to be sometimes. That's why I'm always careful about what I send through the mail, just to be safe. I keep the letter inside the shield as I open it.

Hey Shade.

This should be reaching you around the holidays, or a bit earlier if the carrier I left it with is going to be very busy on the holidays. Also don't worry about anything this courier was one I worked with before and they know what they are doing. But, I did make sure this letter didn't have anything unnecessary in it.

I just wanted to send this along as a thank you. You've done a lot for me the past few years and, well, it just means a lot. Sorry, I'm not the best at this. The gift should be to your liking though, I hope it is at least. Consider it thanks for everything you've done for me, and more.

I'll see you soon and would be happy to meet up, maybe at the end of February if that works for you? Either way, I hope you like it and have a good Hearth's Warming.

I smile at the letter and wait a moment before taking it out of the shield and placing it to the side. After a long moment, I take the package and place it in the corner under an overpowered shield spell. I trust Avalon but not the Pony he asked to deliver this, so I'll just watch it for a bit and wait, it's not like I'd be opening it now anyway.

I leave that alone and head back to the kitchen with a renewed smile and mood. I still need to think up a gift for him but I have some more time for that so no need to rush. Although, I could add something to his bracelet as a start? I also still need to do that as well.

Their homes are shielded but I'd like to get some good bracelets for my friends and I want high-quality ones. So I sent a letter to Metal Quake a week ago, well I sent it to the guild and they sent it to her, now that everything is more settled I realized she was my best option for this. I got a letter back saying she was on break until a week after the new year but could see me then and sent me a time and date.

That's fine by me as it gives me time to make a good shield spell to go along with the bracelets. I shake my head a bit and focus on the food preparation. I take out the bass I bought yesterday and start to take out the guts and descale it with a kitchen knife while also preparing a few other things like potatoes and Red Root. I get the fish mostly ready by the time something else interrupts me.

Yet another Pony at my door but this one I recognize and happily walk over to the door and wait a few seconds, once my bracelet doesn't react I open my door to see Daisy. "Hey, need something?" I ask as she glances at Entropy on her perch, Entropy has no disguise as I didn't feel the need to wake her up for that. Daisy smiles more at the sight of Entropy sleeping.

"I just wanted to ask when her birthday was." I tilt my head a little as she speaks softly. "I remember you mentioning it was soon, do you have anything planned?" She asks curiously and after a second I open the door fully while flipping a hidden switch and stepping to the side to let her in. "Thanks." she nods and walks inside as I close the door behind her.

I nod back. "No need to be quiet, she's under a Silence spell," I explain and pause a little. "Also, I'm cooking. It's messy." I warn her and she glances over at the scaled and half-cut-up fish for a second before wrinkling her muzzle. "Ya, like I said, messy. And, uh, it's today." I say slowly.

She blinks and seems to completely forget about the fish to glare at me. "And you didn't tell me?!" She demands, suddenly sounding annoyed. "I could have at least gotten a gift! You better have gotten her something good." She warns and I back up half a step as she moves close to me with narrowed eyes.

I back up more. "Sorry! Sorry!" I say quickly. "It's not too big of a deal, you can still get her something and she didn't ask for anything from you." I try to reason but her eyes narrow more. "Fine, I should have told you. Seriously though, the only one she wanted to invite was... A friend." I trail off a little and she raises a brow and I panic a bit. "Sunny has a pet dove," I say the first thing that comes to mind but nearly curse myself after realizing what I said.

At least my words stopped her from looking annoyed, instead, she now looked very interested and started giving me that damn smile again. "Well, are they coming over then?" She asks and I shake my head a little too quickly. "Well, why not?" She demands of me.

I actually thought for a second before answering. "Her dove was sick and is still recovering. They couldn't make it. It's not bad though, this is how we normally celebrate her birthday." I motion to the fish. "I spent the day doing what she wanted and with your help, I have some good gifts to go along with the fish. That's all for her by the way, she normally finishes it within a meal or two." I chuckle a little at the memory hoping to get Daisy off of the other topic.

Daisy knows what I'm doing but seems to let it go, for now. She registers my words a second later and looks at the fish with some distaste before looking at Entropy. "At least you're doing a good job, did you offer to invite others? And wait, she can eat all THAT?" She turns from the fish but points to it with a hoof.

I nod. "I did this before because she was young, this year I let her plan it with me. Normally it's just me making her a large meal and some gifts. I'm not sure she really knew what to do this year and mostly kept things the same. Like I said she only invited one other. And yes, two sittings at most, she is a monster." I say that last part in a deadpan tone.

Daisy rolls her eyes but she hasn't seen the things I have. She looks over at Entropy again and pauses for a moment before giggling, "That is, adorable! Did you make that for her?" I nod as she seems to have spotted the small birthday hat Entropy has. "Well, good job on being a sire." She teases me a little and moves to the door.

The smell of raw fish seems to be annoying her as well and I can tell she doesn't like the sight either, so I walk her to the door quickly. "You all really aren't going to give that up, are you?" She smiles widely and shakes her head while I sigh. "I'll see you in a few days, I'll be there with the gifts," I say as a goodbye.

She opens the door and nods before glancing back at Entropy. "Tell her happy birthday for me, and make sure she brings her hat." With that Daisy closes the door and I sigh again remembering the small top hat she gave Entropy. It's not something Entropy wears often but she still seems to like it.

I go back to cooking after that and let my thoughts wander to something else Celestia mentioned in her recent letter to me. She talked a little about the gems I had given her and for ease of use has decided to name them, although she said they were temporary names.

She decided to name them because as far as she can tell each layer of the Mantle Bloom seed is made of a unique kind of gem not known to anypony. She hasn't been experimenting with them much but has spent some time trying to identify and test some basic things.

The clear outer layer she's named Crystal Air, mostly due to the lightness of the gem. The ruby red layer she's named Rose Gemstone seemed fitting and works with the color. The final one she didn't have a fancy name for and just referred to it as Gem Core. She actually asked me if I had any name suggestions, she must have really just named them quickly to try and ask me of all Ponies for name ideas.

I honestly don't have anything better than what she already came up with but she seems intent on changing them later so I'll keep it in mind. From the tests she'd done, it seems that each layer is roughly ten times denser than the last and the Gem Core is about as durable as steel while also being very resistant to cracking and shattering.

The fact a gem can match up to a metal in durability is very interesting to me as it's probably a pretty stable gem, then again we won't really know until she does more tests. The Rose Gemstone layer seems to be on par with a ruby in durability but seems to be weak to forces trying to pull it apart while being more durable when trying to press on it.

The Crystal Air Layer is by far the lightest and the fact a gem can be that light is pretty interesting, the downside being obviously that it is very weak to most forces and can be broken with little effort. The last part of her letter mentioned she'd be trying to test them magically next when she found some time.

The information is small but gives me some ideas for possible uses. I stop my train of thought as I place the fish in the oven and settle in with a book to watch the food cook. An hour later I steamed the roots and mashed them up before taking out the well-seasoned fish from the oven and placing it out to cool.

The smell finally seems like enough to get Entropy to wake up from her long nap. She stretches out her wings and straightens her hat with her wing for a moment before looking over at me and cawing softly. I smile at her and close my book, "Daisy stopped by, she wished you a happy birthday." I say to get her attention and look over at the fish. "We can eat in a bit, it needs to cool," I add.

She caws again with more energy in her tone and flies down to land on the countertop next to me. I reach out and she leans into my hoof as I scratch her, "Daisy nice, could have woken." She caws out and I take a second to sort that in my head. "Food or presents?" She asks and looks between both excitedly.

I smirk. "I could have, but you seemed so cute while sleeping, and rest is important." She fluffs her feathers a little and starts to shift from leg to leg in impatience. "It's your birthday, you get to pick," I say while I do something a little odd and place five candles on the same platter as the large fish.

I asked about cake but she insisted fish was better so this will have to do. "Presents!!" She teleports instantly to the table and I chuckle as I bring over the food and place it down before settling in. "Go?" I just nod with a happy face and she descends on the small pile of gifts.

The first three she gets to are the smallest and mostly consist of a few toys to add to her box. Her response was to rapidly pick them up and teleport over to her box to toss them in with a caw. "YES!" I continue to watch from the side as she teleports back and starts on the two larger gifts.

She opens the first and inside is a collection of colorful jars filled with paints along with several brushes and a painter's book. She looks at it all for a moment before turning to me and in a waddle runs up to me before wrapping her wings around my chest. "Thank you!!! Love! LOVE!"

I slide back a bit as she hits me with more force than expected before I wrap my forelegs around her and give her a full hug. "You asked for them silly. And you helped me so much I couldn't just not get them. I love you too. Now go on, you still have a gift left." I take her off of me and she runs back over to her last gift.

This one is simple and just contains a large blanket and she looks back to me a little confused. "I thought you might like something to sit on comfortably whenever and wherever you like." I pick up the blanket a bit and show off the design. A deep gray fabric with an assortment of purple feathers sewn into it.

It's basic but I saw it while shopping for gifts and thought it would be a nice addition. "Can use, anywhere?" She asks and I can see where she's going with this. Still, I lay it out a little on the table and she hops on it and feels it with her talons. "OHH, comfy." She happily adds.

I give her a knowing look. "Anywhere but a bath, or any large amount of water. It if gets dirty I'll clean it for you, no bringing a muddy blanket into the house without telling me first though." I warn her but I give her a large amount of freedom over the gift. "Now come on, we have one last gift."

She stops feeling the blanket and looks up at me while tilting her head in confusion. "Another?" she hops on my back and I nod while walking her into our bedroom. This is something I've been doing that she has seen but hasn't paid much attention to, likely because it looked uninteresting when I started.

The bedroom has a lot of unused space so in the far back empty corner I placed a desk. I took some time while she was asleep and grew a few more additions, namely several stands for art canvases and a fair few wall mounts for air pieces. "What?" She questions while hopping onto the desk.

I smile and motion to the pile of canvases I bought next to the desk. "You need something to paint on, and somewhere to display your art. So this corner is now your workshop, where you can paint as much as you like." I reveal and expectedly I'm tackled by another hug a moment later.

She lets out rapid chirps and caws and seems too excited for words. She sticks to me hard and only says anything after a minute. "I love you! Best family! Make best art for room!" She declares and I laugh while picking her up off of me.

"I'd love to see it, but first we have a fish waiting. Let's go eat, ya?" She caws in agreement and I walk into the main room with a smile, a mood that can't be beat, and a sense of pride in my chest.

It's all worth it in the end, just for the little moments.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 996

One more chapter for Hearth's Warming and this year is over. Now, I couldn't think of good names for the gem layers, suggestions?

Cute birb is cute. And even number words is indeed, even.