FEB 26 Tuesday.

I sit perfectly still at the edge of the Ritual Matrix as I push life magic into it.

After a lot of thought and several ideas, I eventually decided to start out small with a ritual involving life magic. The branch of Vita wood that I've had lying around for a few weeks was finally put to use. I'm using it as the object being imbued. I concentrate more and add my life magic into the ritual as steadily as I can.

This doesn't take much concentration, but it can go wrong if something were to mess up, so I take my time and add more magic slowly and steadily. After a few minutes, the lines of gem dust are saturated in a vibrant green color that flows along the lines in slow waves, almost like a pulse.

Everything flashes a little as all the magic starts rapidly flowing into the center where the Vita branch is. The flows are visible to the naked eye as they all rush and merge into the golden branch over the span of a few seconds, and then it is all over. I breathe out and drink some tea from a flask to recover the half of my magic that has just vanished in a few minutes.

After a lot of thought and some work, I came up with an interesting idea for the Imbuing Ritual and life magic. I looked around some and for the first time in a very long time, I looked into plant spells, spells made to speed up plant growth with neutral magic.

The reason I never did this much before was because it was basically pointless. The problem with these spells is that they don't use life magic and just use neutral magic. That means they don't inherently help a plant thrive and grow, just force them to grow by throwing magic at them.

This often leads to plants growing incorrectly or very often just dying shortly after or during the process of trying to grow them. That on top of the high magic cost makes it basically useless to me. On top of that some plants like the Blood Leaf Tea can't be grown at all with these spells if you want it to work as intended and have the correct effects.

The spell doesn't give the life magic many plants, especially magical plants, need to grow properly. Combine that together with the fact that you don't have control of the plant and just have to hope for the best a lot of the time. I did look into them when I was younger but after unlocking my life affinity it became useless to me. The method is certainly interesting and a few spells have ideas that could be of use, but with all the problems that crop up, it's just not worth it most of the time.

The reason I got interested in plant magic is actually something completely different. Those spells don't add life magic, but if I added some on my own then I could basically do the same thing as my life magic, to a much lesser extent at least. And with the Vita Wood able to store a lot of life magic I thought it would be a good combination.

Much like with Enchanting, you can Imbue anything you like with magic, but some things are much better than others. I walk over after a moment while Entropy flies back over to me with some excitement. "Green pretty." She points out and looks over the golden branch. "Shiny."

I chuckle a little and pet her with my hoof as I stop in front of the Vita Wood branch. With a very simple but pretty robust Plant Growth spell added to the ritual along with a very simple activation method of three taps, I've made an interesting creation.

The branch looks the same visually but I can feel the stable and very slowly shifting life magic now settled into the branch. I did some testing and while Vita Wood wouldn't be good to enchant, it is great for Imbuing. It's able to hold a good amount of life magic but it needs to be bound to the branch firmly to make sure it doesn’t simply flow away.

The branch is an amazing life magic conductor and when trying to enchant it the life magic just flowed right in before flowing right back out. The spell I use to enchant an object and add a magical reserve to it isn't powerful enough and I'd need to add an external source of magic to keep it all stable.

The wood was so good at conducting life magic that it overpowered the pull of the spell on the life magic, which I might be able to solve but was annoying regardless. Either way, in the end Imbuing it was the better method and it seems to have worked properly as well. I take the branch with me and move over to the grass field before stopping a distance away from anything else.

This branch is enchanted to do something simple, mostly because I need to keep the parameters as simple as I could. Imbuing an object doesn't let you get anywhere near as specific or accurate as enchanting would. I plant the stick in the ground with the y shape standing high and the pointed bottom piercing the damp ground.

I tap the branch three times and watch as a slight green glow seeps from the branch and all the grass in a five-foot circle around the branch starts to rapidly grow higher. It grows halfway up my legs but the height quickly rises and after around half a minute it reaches my neck and I turn it off.

I check the branch to see I've lost basically no life magic from what I put in, which is what I expected from just growing some grass. An interesting thing you need to keep in mind when someone adds their affinity to an Imbuing Ritual is the potency of that individual's magic.

A good example would be if Avalon Imbued his fire magic into an object versus someone who's practiced the same fire affinity for many more years doing the same thing. They could both do it but Avalon's result would have a lot less magic in it because his magic is far less dense.

I added half of my magic into this branch and with all my practice and constantly being around beings and things with high amounts of life magic I have very dense life magic. This branch has enough life magic to grow an orchard of full trees before I'd need to Imbue it again.

I smile around at my success and after cutting the grass down by decomposing it away I start to make notes on this new side project. This branch is certainly interesting but its uses are limited, sure it can grow a lot of plants but there is no way to specify what plant or in what way it should grow.

It is after all just a Plant Growth spell on a branch with life magic instead of neutral magic. And it's not something I could mass produce with any good results. The only way I could do this is by having the Imbuing Ritual gather magic from another source besides me and the only thing that would fit that is my Life Gem.

The problem is that gems act as something of a filter for magical density. When I add my life magic into the Life Gem or let it charge it will still only hold the same amount of magic no matter how it is filled. Why? Well, once my life magic is outside of my control and added to the gem it decompresses to normal density and sits in the gem and ambient magic always tries to be at an even level if it can.

So anything I'd Imbue with gems as the source of life magic would be far less potent and have far less magic inside of them. The Imbuing Ritual can only channel so much magic as well, but that is limited by the amount added, and not its density. In the end, the only way to make something like this again is to do it myself.

I look over the branch for a while and after making some notes I take it with me back to my shack, with Entropy flying off to do something, probably nap. She's been doing well with her practice and we are both just taking a day to relax in Gaia's Eden before the trip starts in a few days.

I officially asked and agreed to go with Clear Water, and it's now far too late to back out, even if I wanted to. The last time I met Clear Water she gave me instructions on where and when to meet up, that being the early morning of the twenty-eighth at a train station. I can honestly say I'm excited about the trip.

I have everything ready and packed, I even got myself a good amount of medical herbs and other medical supplies to take with me. I'm still traveling lightly, only my saddlebags and what I can fit inside and on them, but that still gives me plenty of room with a few empty pockets left over.

I wipe my hooves as I step into my shack and place the branch to the side on an empty shelf. It's not massively useful to me but it's a proof of concept that it works and I could also give it to someone. I'd say Celestia but honestly, any of my friends might like it, then again a branch that looks like it's made from gold and that grows plants might be a bit much for a gift, something to think about.

I may not have a massive use for it but if nothing else I can reuse the wood later. I leave that alone and move over to another project splayed out across my desk. I set a proper desk up here instead of just a small table when I was decorating Entropy's art room.

After some work, she now has a wall of shelves in there along with many places to hang paintings and a few tables to work on. I also converted two walls into nothing but large windows to let in plenty of light for her to see well, although she can see in complete darkness so it's less for light and more for the view.

With my shack's position the window looks right out into the Everfree and is a nice window into the forest depths. I look over the many notes I have lying around the desk, all about the Imbuing Ritual and many things involving space magic. While working on modifying the Imbuing Ritual to Imbue the branch with life magic, I had a thought, what about space magic?

See there is a lot I could do with space magic, but I have no real way to enchant anything with it. So, I asked and Celestia was kind enough to send over two Teleportation spells and a few runes for space, with the promise I would cast neither spell. That was nice of her but turns out what she sent me is just a mess. I'm surprised she can use these spells, even if she's just brute forcing it with massive amounts of magic it's amazing she can do it.

The spells are both Grandmaster Rank, and even with my skills, modifying them would take months of work and give only halfway decent improvements. It's something I might look into anyway, however, the runes she sent are somehow worse, and for all the right reasons.

Out of the five runes she sent, three had partial or no Runic Context at all. From the letter she sent, it seems these are runes that she's found through a lot of trial and error. The simple fact is that if somepony is skilled enough to make such a rune they are not going to just tell you about it and normally keep it completely private, often until they die.

So what she recovered was always minimal, and the two space runes that do have their Runic Context are absolutely horrible. They are really well-made runes, but the sheer lack of knowledge on the creator's part still makes them subpar at best, despite Celestia saying a Grandmaster Rune Scribe made them.

In the end, this world just doesn't have enough knowledge of space to make anything truly amazing with space, not yet at least. But if nothing else, out of the two complete runes one is actually useful, even with the quality being a little fucked. And that's coming from someone who has a minimal understanding of space from his last life.

I know some and I've discovered a lot but they knew even less when making this. The rune is a rune of Spatial Stability, and by magic that might have just been the best news I could have gotten, even if it still doesn't help too much. The rune is made to help with Spatial Rebound.

Celestia's Teleportation spells seem to work on the simple principle of moving space. It takes the area around her, moves it a great distance away, and lets her stay in place as that piece of space is flung back to where it once was. The reason her Teleportation spell only makes a flash instead of an explosion when she immensely stretches the fabric of reality is that there is no rebound and to keep space stable.

This rune uses magic to force space to be stable, removing rebound and letting space warp without affecting other things. To say that this is amazing to me is an understatement, but it is also far from perfect. Like I said the runes were made by someone who didn't really know what they were doing.

The Runic Context shows they understood what Rebound was, along with the fact space stretches. But it basically just takes that knowledge, along with some knowledge on what stable space is normally like, and applies the latter to the former. That means it takes a large amount of magic to use.

It's basically just using regular magic to push against the Rebound and cancel it out, but it works. That is something I can do with my space magic, but the control needed is something that is still beyond me on a small scale. This rune also gives me so many opportunities.

The other effect is to keep space stable and not let it collapse immediately without someone controlling it. To teleport you need to form a Spatial Structure, and keeping control of that is hard when you are moving through it. This rune's second effect keeps it stable and in place while you teleport, but it should work on any Spatial Structure.

The bad news is that any spell I would try to make with this rune would need the other space runes, because this one just keeps things stable and deals with rebound when it happens, that is it. The other runes are responsible for bending and moving space, and they are so fucked I am not touching them at all, the magic cost for them is a large weight to bare.

Honestly it's not worth learning teleportation spells, mostly because trying to improve them is going to be harder then just training my space affinity. I could probably cast one of these spells, I'd be pretty drained but I could do it. But to improve them I'd need to find better space runes, or make them, both very time consuming. It's easier just to train my ability as that is both less limited and has more potential.

However, while I can't add the rune to a spell effectively, I can do a ritual. The Imbuing Ritual only applies an effect that can be far more vague and flexible than a spell. And with this rune, I had an idea of what would happen if I bent space relative to an object, and then Imbued it with space magic and the simple effect of keeping the space stable with this rune.

If done right, it would draw on the Imbued space magic to keep it stable over time, letting the bent space STAY like that. The possibilities are terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time. There is however a flaw in this idea, Rebound builds, it will only get more powerful over time. Used in this way the rune would be a dam, blocking the building pressure.

By the time that Rebound does hit the rune won't do shit to stop it. So, I need a way to deal with that, or a way to make sure it doesn't end badly when things finally do detonate on anything I make. I sit in thought and glance over to my side to look at the two-foot across and three-inch thick magical silver frisbee I got delivered to me a few days ago. I had to overpower a Lightening spell to even move the damn thing.

It took Metal Quake longer than expected but she got it done and I sent her the second half of her pay. The silvery blue metal sits quietly as I stare at it in thought. This thing is the Gem Array Base I commissioned with the bracelets and it would really let me improve the defenses around Gaia's Eden.

I do want to improve the Shield spell for Gaia's Eden a little more before I upgrade it but that will all have to wait until my trip is over. I look back at my notes before hunkering down to get some work done and try to find a solution to this problem. I don't want to but in the end, I might just need to make my own rune for this.

Something to stop Rebound from getting too bad, or at least somewhere to throw things when I don't need them anymore and before they become a literal timed bomb. I sit in thought as I get to work.

time skip

I smile as I look out across the view that stretches before me. Entropy sits on my back and also looks across the scene with a soft chirp, "Pretty view, going to be long?" She asks me.

I shake my head as we look over Ponyville from a distance atop a hill. After thinking and pondering for a few more hours we got hungry and I thought getting some lunch was in order. I could have had Entropy just take us home but I wouldn't mind a visit to the little town and they do have a few good places to eat.

At least two, I found a second place to eat last time I was here. I chuckle a little at the memory of a baffled Rainbow Dash. I stand up after a second and form my wings to head down into the small town, feeling the familiar twitch as they settle on my back. It's near the end of the day so it looks like it will be a rather late lunch already and I should get some food before everywhere closes.

Me and Entropy land at the side of the town in short order and after some thought I decide to see if Sugar Cube Corner has a dinner or lunch menu. That and I haven't seen Pinkie Pie in a very long time, over two years actually. :Would she even remember me?: I let the thought sit but I can guess well enough she would.

I take a steady and even pace as I make my way there and when I arrive I see that there is a sign out front. A simple stand-up one listing times for meal changes, and it seems I'm here just in time as they do make a few things for the evening. I turn to Entropy before we enter, "Be good, and we'll get dessert." I promise.

Her head snaps to me and she caws in rapid agreement while I walk inside the building. It's busier than I've seen it before and many Ponies seem to be inside talking and relaxing with each other. My timing is also pretty good as only two booths remain empty, with me happily taking one a moment after I walk in.

As I settle in I let my senses sweep around for a few moments before fully relaxing, letting Entropy sit on the tabletop in front of me. I drew a few eyes when sitting down and I could sense at least one group of mares motioning to where I was and talking to each other.

I breathe out slowly and really hope none of them come over to try and ask me out, or worse. It's not something that's happened too much, as while I look nice many can tell I don't look too interested in talking. But it's still happened a fair few times over the years, not that I can do much about it, unfortunately, there is no spell for that.

Nopony comes to bother me but eventually, somepony comes over with a notepad, and it's who I expect it to be. I look over and grin a little at the sight of Pinkie Pie, she also looks at me and narrows her eyes while leaning forward almost comically. "Wait! YOU!" I nearly chuckle at the reaction as she points with a hoof. "You have the cute bird! Did she get a good birthday party?" Her tone goes more level and she looks at me expectantly.

I blink as out of everything and all my mental preparation, she still manages to catch me off guard. I nod slowly, a little hesitant, "She did? I got her plenty of gifts." I answer Vaguely as the question seems far too accurate. "I assume you are doing well then, Miss Pie?" I ask back not really knowing what else to say.

She smiles widely at that and bounces in place a little. "I'm doing absolutlyfabuloshios!" The words blend in a mix that makes it impossible to sort fully. "Oh, look at you, all fluffy and solid!" She says to Entropy before looking at me as well. "What can I get ya, Shade? And what can I get Entropy?" She actually uses both our names. "And no Miss, I am Pinkie, like the color." She insists.

I stay silent for a moment and just look back slightly confused, once again her wording is, too odd. But eventually, I just sigh a little under my breath and let it go, it's Pinkie after all. "I know, but it has been a long time. Anything you recommend, surprise me, just make sure she can eat it too." I decide to go with the flow for my own sanity.

Her words are already getting in my head though, mostly because she comes off like she knows every secret and is the only one in on it. Or maybe she's just like that? The line is so thin I honestly have no idea. She quickly sucks in a deep breath and I pin my ears back in preparation, "I LOVE surprises!! That's why getting to make a surprise is the best surprise." I digest that and I can't really say she's wrong. "I'll be back with it soon, WAIT! Does she like pears?" Again her tone changes rapidly.

I just nod and a second later Pinkie is off like a rocket heading to the counter. As I sit there processing everything that just happened, I am reminded why Pinkie can be... Well, Pinkie. I do notice a mare walk to the front of my booth after a few moments and prepare to turn her down. "First time meeting Pinkie?" The mare asks.

I raise a brow as I turn and notice a rather normal-looking mare, nothing really stands out. She's eyeing me a little but is being at least somewhat subtle about it. Her topic is a little odd though. I shake my head, "No, we've met a few times, she is certainly interesting. Can I help you, Miss?" I keep a level and neutral tone with the mare.

The mare across from me blinks before showing a more confident smile and looking up at me, dead in the eyes. "Then you know she can be, a lot." Something about that tone is, off, not bad but something not quite right either. "I just wanted to come to see one of the rare few visitors our little town gets, what brings you to Ponyville?" She tries to start a conversation.

I don't show much of an expression beyond a slight smirk, and even then it's rather flat and just there to be polite. "Just passing through, getting a late lunch." I don't say much and add some unwillingness to my words. I don't mind talking to strangers sometimes, but this is not really one of these times.

She nods and looks down at Entropy, her face shifting a little. "Odd pet you have, you find birds interesting?" She continues on even though I'm not exactly forthcoming. She puts an amount of emphasis on the word odd and she's also starting to annoy me some.

It's at this moment Pinkie decides to come back with my food and save me, something I am eternally grateful for. Pinkie trots up to the other side of the booth near my side and places the food down. "Here you go, Shade. Oh, hi Peral!" Pinkie greets the other mare happily but the expression she gets back is dismissive at best.

Having had enough of this mare and seeing a few red flags already I make a snap decision at that moment and turn to Pinkie. "Thank you, Pinkie. How have you been? It's been a while and I thought we could talk a little, but I understand you might be busy. This place is like a party already." I make my tone more upbeat just to change it even more from how I was talking to the mare.

Pinkie's eyes light up at the questions but the other mare looks annoyed at both of us before slinking off past the side of the booth. I don't know what that is about, but not everypony likes everypony else so I don't mention it. I do notice that Pinkie glances at her leaving as well. "Sure! I'm on break anyway, I even brought food for my break!"

She sits down opposite of me and somehow pulls a bowl of ice cream from her mane, spoon and all. I ponder it for half a second and decide to have a little fun myself. I quickly bend space and move a card inside my saddlebags at the same time. A second later I pulled the card out from behind her head.

She actually pauses and looks at the card hanging in the air. "And I brought a card because it looked cool, and I get to do magic tricks with it." I smile back widely at her slight confusion before quickly moving the card behind her head and teleporting it back into my saddlebags before she can stop me or notice anything. "I like magic tricks," I state like it explains everything.

She shifts to look behind her and the cushion behind her before turning to me with a massive smile. "A magician! I always wanted to meet one! You make the BEST birthday parties!" I laugh a little at the happy mare and settle in for what should be an interesting meal.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 997

Jokes on you all, the chapter number is nothing but a countdown for Pinkie's return come to fruition! Did I just make an entire chapter just for that joke? .... Maybe.