Shade knows the practice of wearing metal shoes is a thing of the past, but she is a woman of practicality not fashion that is Rarity's department. After enjoying the tapping of her shoes on the cobblestone street for a few minutes, she casts a silencing spell on the shoes. She walks to her favorite place of solace to contemplate.

When she reaches the lone hill with the solitary willow, she casts a sad smile at the tiny headstone buried in the ground inches away from the trunk for Charlotte. She folds her legs under her and sits beside Charlotte to stare up at the waning crescent moon. A heavy sigh escapes her nostrils with heavy thoughts weighing her down. Meeting and talking with Grey exhausts her mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Her short mane swishes around as she shakes her head to clear her weary mind. Enough thinking about the past she has promises to keep in order. First, lunch with Pinkie Pie; second, go back to Death's place to her lab to ready the spell for Muffins; and last, while at the lab, run more tests on Vinyl's blood to find a cure. Speaking of Vinyl. . .

Boo! Vinyl exclaims as she jumps in front of Shade on her back hooves.

"Hello, Vinyl," Shade greets the unicorn with a smile. She pats the grass beside her for Vinyl to sit.

How did you hear me this time? Vinyl pouts as she removes her tinted glasses to reveal a pair of annoyed crimson eyes.

"Smelled you this time," Shade shares as her friend sits down. "New shampoo?"

Yeah. Tavi likes the stuff. It really makes my mane shine!

Shade chuckles, "I noticed." Shade cocks an eyebrow at Vinyl's strange glance, "What?"

I was starting to get used to the idea of you being green. Puberty was certainly good to you!

"So you've been thinking about me? How would 'Tavi' feel?"

Jealous. Vinyl smirks.

"I was just thinking about you, to be honest."

Oh?

"I was thinking about taking more of your blood to run tests for a cure."

Vinyl looks away from Shade and stares at the ground. A sigh escapes. I don't care anymore. If I die, I die; if I don't, then I'll just die on my terms.

Shade stares at Vinyl. "I will find a cure," she states.

A smile tugs at the corner of Vinyl's mouth. She stands up and starts to walk away, I know.

The first rays of dawn twinkle on the horizon as Shade watches from the isolated hill unblinking. One can easily mistake Shade for a statue when she stays perfectly still, deep in thought, one may say she is sleeping with her eyes open. Shade remains fully conscious of her surroundings; she just stays silent and unmoving instead of sleeping. I guess you can call it her being on "standby."

She blinks.

She stands to her hooves and heads over to Sweet Apple Acres. So far, this year's harvest is the largest Shade has ever seen. Applejack and company will need her assistance.

Shade enters the barn to set up for the morning bucking. Heh. Bucking. She shakes her head to keep her mind out of the gutters. She notices Big Mac standing beside a wagon with one front leg in a sling.

"Good morning, Shade," the red stallion greets.

"Hello. What happened to your leg?"

Big Mac flushes pink, "W-Well, after I walked down Stirrup Street in one of Granny's girdles, I came home to take it off, it got caught in my leg, and I fell on it. I popped it back into place but it still sore and I'm afraid I can't be of much use for a while."

Shade smiles as she remembers yesterday. "That was quite the show, Big Mac. You're a good sport. Let me fix you up," she says as her horn lights up with golden magic. She channels the magic to Big Mac's injured leg which wraps around his leg and absorbs into his skin. Shade removes the sling with her crimson magic.

Big Mac beams from ear to ear as he flexes his fully healed leg. "Thanks, Shade! You're a life saver!" he exclaims and hugs Shade.

"Big Mac?" Applejack calls out. She enters the barn where she had heard her brother talking and finds him hugging a ragdoll Shade.

Shade notices Applejack and politely demands, "Please, put me down, Big Mac."

Big Mac chuckles nervously, "S-Sorry 'bout that. I was just worried sick that Applejack would have to buck all the apples by herself today."

"As if I would allow that," Shade throws a grin at Applejack.

"You healed my brother, Shade?"

"Of course."

"Did you. . . lick. . . him?" Applejack cautiously inquires.

"No. I used my magic, naturally. Licking is for disinfecting cuts," Shade replies.

Big Mac looks back and forth between Shade and his sister confused.

"Golly, I've never heard of magic like that before."

"It is common among my people. Also, specialized ponies can use a broad range of healing spells."

"Huh," Applejack grunts in amusement. She turns around and motions for the others to follow, "Well, these apples ain't gonna buck themselves."

A couple of hours later, Apple Bloom had raced out of the house to hug Shade. She stays to help with the apple harvest. She assists by moving full buckets of apples over to a wagon so Big Mac can load them. When one gets full, Big Mac hauls the wagon over to the barn where Granny sorts the apples. An hour before lunch, Granny starts cooking, and the smell of food entices everpony in the field. Granny rings the lunch bell, Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom heave a tired breath as they walk to the barn.

"You sure you don't wanna stay?" Apple Bloom asks and blocks the barn doorway.

Shade smiles at the filly's big puppy eyes, "I already made a promise to Pinkie to have lunch with her."

"Like a date?" the filly questions innocently.

Shade removes the filly out of the way with her crimson magic, "Something like that."

"See ya tomorrow!" Applejack hollers to Shade as the tricorn walks out the gate.

As Shade draws closer to town, a familiar rainbow tail catches her eyes dangling from a cloud. A sinister smile spread across her lips.

Rainbow Dash had spent most of the morning doing her job as a weather pony clearing the skies over Ponyville to deliver them a beautiful day. The rest of the morning, she had devoted for training and practicing her new trick. Now, she lays lazily in a cloud resting her athletic frame. She almost has her new trick down; she just needs to figure out a way to get enough sp-EEEEEEEED!

She yelps as a force tugs on her tail and yanks her through her comfortable cloud. A second later, she is muzzle to muzzle with the perpetrator.

"Allo," Shade greets the upside down pegasus with a smug grin.

Rainbow Dash snorts in Shade's face and crosses her forehooves, "Not. Funny."

"I thought so." Shade relinquishes her magical grasp on her friend's tail. She snickers when RD crashes to the ground.

Rainbow Dash dusts herself off as she clambers to her hooves. "Rude! What was that for?"

"You like pranks, don't you?"

"So that was a prank, huh?" Rainbow Dash grins and glowers at Shade, "I will remember that." A flash of red makes her close and rub her eyes. When she can see again, a single golden ticket floats in front of her.

"Here. A ticket to the Gala."

"Oh. . ."

Shade stares at Rainbow Dash. "Lemme guess: Twilight gave you one already."

"Y-Yeah," Rainbow Dash chuckles and rubs the back of her head, "Sorry."

"No problem," Shade dismisses the ticket. "Did she give one to the others, as well?"

"Yup."

"Splendid," is Shade's dull reply.

"Hey, at least we can all go to the Gala! I'll be able to meet and impress the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash elates as she flies into the air.

"I know you will knock them dead."

"So what you up to?" Rainbow Dash questions as she sets down on the ground.

"Going to meet up with Pinkie Pie for lunch. Want to come?"

"No thanks. I think I'll just practice my new trick a little longer." Rainbow Dash hovers back up to the air and adds, "We should hang out some more."

Shade watches Rainbow Dash fly away. A thought pops into her mind, Would she mind if I ran tests on her to explain how she leaves a rainbow trail when we 'hang out?'