They say that time flies when you're having fun; that seemed to hold true for many, because before they knew it, the preparations were done and the morning of the Crystal Empire's first Crystal Faire was about to begin.

Airy yawned as she sat up, stretching her body as she rubbed her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the sunlight peaking from the windows before she slowly stood up, barely paying attention as she began her morning routines; first the clothes, then the bell for the maid to come fill her bath, then a nice, long soak in the bath while she cleaned herself in the warm light of the sun.

Soon enough, she was ready to dry herself and put on the clothes once more before she rang the bell, flying out and smiling at familiar face of Shard Tackle.

Ever since their punishment were over, Shard Tackle and Glint Hoof had returned to their regular duties, though it hadn't lasted long before Shard Tackle had requested an official transfer to serve as Airy's guard and helper. Officially, Thunder had approved it due to Airy's upcoming new position (which she didn't know the title of yet) but Airy suspected that Thunder still held his suspicions about her.

He was rightly paranoid of course; she had heard about how some cannibal deer named Snow Antler had fooled the naive captain into revealing classified info, so he and his cult of idiots (Yes, Airy thought of them as idiots) could stay one step ahead of the royal guards, who were at the time investigating the disappearance of homeless ponies. So now that she appeared out of nowhere, he was extra paranoid about her (though from what she had overheard from his talk with Sombra, he was planning to drop it all after the Faire was done).

Eavesdropping was so fun; all she needed to do was put a link on Sombra's cloak and she could overhear their chat even across the entire city... not that she needed to, she was just cautious about Sombra spilling the beans about his dark crystal experiments, so she happened to hear the naive captain's paranoid concerns.

He was right of course to be paranoid, though she wasn't going to let him know that.

Now the eavesdropping spell was quite easy to perform, but focusing on two conversations at once was harder than it seemed; it had taken her some time to practice (A time spend idle talking with Shard Tackle), especially since she had been in a hurry to put it on Sombra's cloak during the initial incident, where Sombra rushes to hide the dark crystals before Amore and Radiant returned.

She still wondered why Star Swirl though an eavesdropping spell was best placed in the book of 'common household spells' that he wrote... maybe he was considering the poor mares and stallions that were being cheated on? Whatever, it wasn't worth pondering upon too much.

Airy hummed happily as she flew through the halls, greeting the passing servants and guards as she and Shard passed them by. It wasn't a surprise to see the increase in ponies moving through the halls, as most of the Crystal Empire would be spending the day celebrating the Crystal Faire; it was cute how small ponies could get excited over a party.

Her idle thoughts went to her little niece, who at her late teens still enjoyed the kids show about humanoid rabbits, mice, squirrels, foxes and so many other creatures going by their daily life as school students. She would have loved to be around these ponies... too bad Airy was going to have to harm them quite a lot down the line.

But that was a matter for another day to think; today, she'd relax, enjoy the Faire and watch as the Crystal Empire would be restoring to It's proper glory. Then she'd finally get to start planning her research and manufacturing projects; freeing a person (or in this case, a goat) from ancient prison and building an army to stand with (or against) him was going to be both time consuming and expensive.

Hopefully, she'd soon have both to spare...

The crystal ponies whispered and glanced at the balcony above, as they gathered into the crowds below, some glancing at the nearby stalls and other attractions where the ponies handling them were already prepared for today's events, though they were waiting for Princess Amore's announcement.

Some whispered excitedly about their shiny coats, others wondered when they'd get to see the lush green fields and the real sky once more, while few were whispering about what today's events had to do with the mysterious new friend of the Princess.

Rumors had spread in the last month of a tiny creature in the castle that glowed and fly, one who with her gentle and kind heart had seen the troubles of the Crystal Ponies and decided to stay and help them. Some had seen it when it had traveled the streets with a guard helping the little creature, speaking of wonders of It's home and promising to help them more once the Crystal Heart was restored.

To the owners of many businesses, the little creature was quite eager to introduce wonders of her world, providing helpful words of guidance and promises of new products that they could make; many of them had already signed contracts with the nobles in charge of distributing these wonderful products that would renew their work (and bring quite a nice profit too). Now all they'd have to do was enjoy themselves and in the coming days, the designs and ideas of new things would come to them, delivered by the one many had begun to consider a creature of good fortune.

The crowds started to silence as the guards blew their flugelhorns, before the balcony doors opened and Princess Amore stepped into the view, stopping as she looked down at her subjects below.

"Good morning, my dear subjects. For far too long, you have suffered the cold weather and rationing of food as the barrier around the Crystal Empire has weakened, even losing the beautiful glow of your coats that mark your birthrights. However, today is the day of celebration; your coats have been restored and soon, all of the Crystal Empire shall prosper once more as together, we shall restore that which has been lost" Princess Amore spoke proudly, pausing as the crowds below cheered.

"However, before we begin, let me officially introduce to you the newest citizen of the Crystal Empire, who's words of guidance has helped us restore that which we thought lost forever; Airy the Cryst-Fairy!" Princess Amore announced, as the crowd watched a small ball of light coming from behind her and stopping to hover at the same height as Princess Amore's head.

The crowd below clapped their hooves together while straining their eyes, as they tried to look at the tiny creature barely illuminated by her own glow. Princess Amore chuckled as she looked at her subjects, before speaking once more "Worry not, my dear subjects; while most of you can't see her right now due to her small size, many of you will get to meet her face to face today, tomorrow and years to come; as of today, I officially announce Airy as the new Royal Researcher" she spoke, smiling as the crowd cheered before glancing at Airy, who was waving her tiny hand to the crowd below.

Such a shame that only Princess Amore could see the excited little fairy waving her hand at the ponies below.

Turning back towards the crowds, she once more "Thanks to Airy, we have managed to create a solution. However, for it to work, we will need help from all of you" She announced, as the crowd fell silent, confused as they glanced at each other.

"From today onward, the Crystal Heart will be powered by the love and happiness of each and every citizen of the Crystal Empire; because of this, in order to renew the spirits of everypony, we will celebrate the beginning of a new annual celebration. Play the games, enjoy the food and drinks, watch the jousting and so much more, because after noon, we shall gather once more and activate the spell that will finally revitalize the Crystal Heart" Princess Amore spoke, as the crowds below happily cheered and clapped.

"Let the Crystal Faire begin!" Princess Amore announced, as the guards began to play national anthem...

Airy smiled as she sat down on the fence, watching as little Daisy giggled and laughed while gently petting the tiny ewe's while Glimmer and Rose Pedal exchanged some small chatter, watching as the little foal had the time of her life.

Around them, more than one pony glanced at her direction, while the little ones played with Ewe's in the petting zoo. Of course, no one had approached her yet with questions, though that was probably because she heard them whisper to each other that since today was the day of celebration, they shouldn't bother the new Royal Researcher until after the Crystal Heart was activated.

Such nice ponies... too bad they were so much behind in so many things.

A sound of horns nearby interrupted the chat between Glimmer and Rose, who turned towards Daisy Glow "Daisy, It's time to say good bye to the ewe's now; the jousting is about to start and you wouldn't want to miss your dad's performance, now would you?" Rose asked the little pegasus, who gasped as she galloped to the gate where her mother and nanny were waiting for.

It didn't take long for the four of them to walk through the crowds, before they arrived at the jousting field. Thunder Shield was already in his jousting uniform, waving proudly when he saw his wife and daughter arrive while the crowd cheered. Airy on other hand ignored the excited little filly in her nanny's hooves as she looked around, before spotting a familiar figure.

"Hey, you don't mind if I go talk to couple of ponies, right?" She asked Glimmer, who turned to look at her "Oh, no worries. Go have fun, we'll see you later" she answered absentmindedly, turning back to look at her husband as they did last minute checkups on the gear.

Airy merely hummed as she flew through the crowd, stopping and waving her hand to few ponies before she made way towards the old mare talking with two stallions in jousting armor.

Airy arrived just as they finished talking, stopping next to Swift Clean as Airy gave a friendly wave to the two stallions, who waived in return as they walked away towards the other guards in jousting gear "Good morning, Airy: how has your time been at the Faire?" Swift Clean asked as she turned towards the little fairy, having a small smile on her lips.

"It's been great! Everything feels so familiar and yet so new, i'm excited to see what similarities and differences ponies and my world's people have. Just between the two of us, staying in the castle studying was starting to grow a little... stale" Airy commented, before flying closer to Swift Clean "And now that Princess Amore has given me a proper job, I guess i'll be meeting a lot of ponies. I like helping others, so I'll be having lots of new friends soon... but if It's okay, i'd like to be your friend too, if you're not too busy on your... soon-to-retire age for a new friend" Airy lied, speaking in sweet voice as Swift smiled at her.

"Well, It's not every day one makes a friend with a foal tale creature... very well, Airy. Since we'll most likely be in regular contact with each other, I guess it could be nice to be friends: old mares such as myself rarely make new friends, after all" Swift said with a smile, with Airy cheering as she sat on the fence separating the audience and the jousting area, looking at the ponies.

"So, who were those two handsome stallions you were talking to earlier?" Airy asked, glancing at the old head maid as Swift chuckled at the description of her sons, before she started telling the little fairy about her sons and their various adventures, both before and after becoming royal guards with their late father...

"Sombra, come here!" Radiant yelled excitedly as she dragged the stallion in question by the hoof, ignoring Sombra's protests as he was pulled through the crowd. More than a few stallion and mare gave them a knowing look, though neither of the young ponies in question noticed as they arrived at where they kept the games.

"Isn't this exciting? There are so many games, I... I haven't played these since we were little fillies!" Radiant spoke excitedly as she observed the stalls containing the ring tossing, the ball games, the card games and so much more. Sombra on merely smiled and pretended it wasn't Radiant's own idea to add so many foal time games to the Faire, before chuckling as he remembered what they used to banter as little foals.

"Oh, why isn't it the cheater princess herself" he spoke, shifting his tone to sound deeper as Radiant turned to look at him with wide eyes "Has the thief of prizes come to secret away even more toys from young foals?" Sombra teased, with Radiant smiling as she played along "You dare accuse me of cheating? I'm the queen of games, while you are a mere round belly guard: Come, I'll show you my talents and make you eat your words" Radiant replied with mock high voice, pretending to sound like an uppity noble.

Silence between them lasted a moment before both burst into hearty laughter, remembering the old memory from their foalhood; when they had seen an old fat guard arguing with some old equestrian noble mare, who clearly hadn't understood that they weren't supposed to use magic to win the games.

As their laughter came to an end, Radiant turned her attention to the nearby ring toss, smiling as she pulled Sombra along without even looking at him.

Sombra's smile slipped away as he watched Radiant pick up a ring and take aim, his thoughts wandering to other matters. Here and now, they could be as happy as little fillies, but eventually they'd have to return to the castle and work. He knew that eventually, Princess Amore would be sending Radiant south towards Equestria, to study and learn under Princesses Celestia and Luna.

The thought of separating from the mare he had known and... and loved since they were little fillies made his heart ache, creating a sense of uncertainty within him: he knew that the future would be bright and wonderful for Radiant, yet he was conflicted on whenever he should insist in joining her to Equestria or stay and earn his way to becoming the royal court magician, a position that had stood empty for the last three decades.

He hadn't initially realized it himself, but after Airy had done some pointed questions and awoke his desires to impress Radiant, he had begun to realize that he may very well be in love with his oldest friend. The thoughts of wishing to confess to her and discarding those feelings in order to protect her as future royal count magician were shaking his world view, with additional stress from his research into dark crystals and their... intoxicating feeling.

But he knew Radiant and Princess Amore would never accept such magics, which was why he was so conflicted... He needed to learn more about dark magic, yet it was so intoxicating that he risked alienating those closest to him. So he was now forced to make a decision: To continue learning dark magic, even if he'd need to distance himself from Radiant in order to protect her... or casting aside his talent for dark magic and following his feeling for Radiant.

He simply did not know what to do. Maybe a chat with Airy would -

"YES!" Radiant yelled, raising her hooves into the air before turning towards Sombra, who barely managed to put a fake smile on his face, thoughts of self-doubt and decisions fading as he fully focused on Radiant's bright smile "See? I finally won high score" Radiant said excitedly, before receiving a small wooden trophy that simply said "winner" below a statue of pony holding their hoof up.

"Well my lady, it seems like I owe you an apology: you truly are the queen of games" Sombra once more said in mock voice, with Radiant smirking at him in return "Of course I was right. Now, be a good guard and escort me to the nearest stall that serves crystal berry juice, I'm feeling quite thirsty" she once more said in mock noble voice, before Sombra offered her his hoof "It would be my pleasure, my lady" he said, before both of them started laughing as Radiant hooked her hoof around Sombra's and started dragging him around, towards the direction of the food stalls.

Sombra wasn't even sure when his smile ceased to be fake: he just continued smiling as they passed Airy without noticing, while said little fairy paused her reply to the three nobles she was talking with to glance at the two unicorns who passed her by without a notice before returning her attention to the nobles.

"So, you'll consider it?" A light blue stallion with yellow mane asked Airy, who nodded her head in reply "As I said, Duke Light Mind, military wasn't something the vestals gave much thought about, as they preached peace, harmony and coexistence... but I do remember seeing a couple of automatons or as you'd call them, 'golems' in my travels. It wouldn't be too hard to design one shaped after ponies or other creatures of this world for dangerous mining or exploration duties... or even defense, as you suggested. I'll still need to fulfill my extensive list of other products first since it would free a lot of bits for government to use on other things, such as public schools... but I'll let you know when I have some time to take on your project: all you'll need to do is get a valid reason for Princess Amore to authorize such creations" Airy said, as the Duke smiled happily, as did his two companions.

Duke Light Mind was a middle-aged noble, one of the ministers on Princess Amore's government, charged with mining efforts that happen on nearby mines (Which due to barrier's shrinking were now inaccessible), while Duchess Stone Gaze standing next to him was an old mare of light pink coat and greenish mane (which had started to become grey) in charge of diplomacy and trade. Airy didn't pay much attention to stallion of dark brown coat and mane on other side of Duke Light Mind, as he was merely one of their underlings, a baron who's name she hadn't bothered learning.

"That will not be too hard: with lack of unicorns or pegasi in the Crystal Empire, we'll need to focus more on defense: who knows when some dragon or another set of fools like those deer cultists gets an idea in their head to attack the city. But thank you for hearing us, Airy. It's been a pleasure talking with you" Duke Light Mind said, bowing his head while his companions followed suit.

"Oh, you're more than welcome to come talk with me anytime you want, so there's no need to thank me, Duke Light Mind" Airy replied, with the nobles missing the malicious glint in her eyes that passed by when they bowed their heads.

"The pleasure is all mine"

The most exciting event of the last thirty years began after the noon passed with the sound of Flugelhorns being played by the royal guard, while Princess Amore herself stood in front of the gathering crowds, her back towards the Crystal Heart. As the citizens gathered to the plaza, it didn't take long till their eyes were drawn to a small fairy flying over them, coming to stop next to their princess.

Princess Amore smiled at Airy, before turning her attention to crowds around her "Citizens of the Crystal Empire! As I stand here today, it is my pleasure to..." Sombra stopped paying attention to Princess Amore's rehearsed speech as he turned his attention to Radiant standing next to him, watching as she hugged the stuffed princess toy with one hoof while paying full attention to the speech Princess Amore had prepared.

Sombra's eyes drifted from Radiant's gleaming grayish blue mane to her glittering heliotrope coat covering her beautiful face, her light blue eyes reflecting beauty and awe as her mouth was shaped in a natural, beautiful smile. She looked just as radiant as her namesake implied, especially those beautiful, slightly parted lips that-

Sombra blinked rapidly as he turned his eyes off Radiant's lips, clearing his throat as he turned his head back towards Princess Amore, feeling a slight burn in his cheeks and tight feeling in his chest as he tried his best to ignore the confused look Radiant threw his way before she too returned her attention to Princess Amore as well.

Sadly for him, Sombra seemed to have missed the speech entirely, as Princess Amore's horn glowed slightly before sending a spell to the Crystal Heart, with Airy moving to hover above the crowds.

"Now then... to activate the new enchantment, we have made the process as simple as possible. Listen to you heart, gather all the love and happiness within you till it shines like a beacon of light inside you... and simply bow your heads towards the Crystal Heart" Airy instructed, her voice echoing across the gathered crowds, gentle yet loud enough to be heard.

Sombra noted the slight glow of Princess Amore's horn: no doubt a speech enchantment so Airy's voice could be heard by even the distant edges of the crowd.

The gathered Crystal ponies glanced around in confusion, unsure of whenever to follow the simple yet strange instructions. It wasn't until a brave young filly took her first steps forward and with a happy smile bowed her head that the ponies gasped at the sight of blue light spreading beneath their feet. Then it was only a matter of fact before a second and third ponies bowed their heads that a chain reaction started, others following suit as Radiant and Sombra too bowed their heads, feeling a sense of warmth and happiness practically spread around them.

Airy on other hand was more than happy to see the citizens of Crystal Empire bow their heads, even if it was for the enchantment.

All across the Crystal Empire, the blue light spread through the streets to every corner of the crystalline city, before rapidly draining as the magic poured into the Crystal Heart, causing it to glow and spin rapidly, before releasing the magic within...

Author's Note

Yeah, i was supposed to post this a while ago. However, the damn speech for activating the crystal heart kept coming wrong, so i just finally gave up on it and skipped it. Didn't even bother running it through a grammar checker.

Enjoy your chapter.

Now, when you're done reading this, if you haven't already then go check Hotel Chicken's "Skeletor, master of the empire".