Airy hummed happily, as she read the spell book 'Enchantment location and identification by Star Swirl'. It was quite interesting, going to complex theory (of which her newly acquired knowledge from tome of runes was quite helpful at deciphering) of how to 'feel' the enchantments, identifying them from different sensations that could be compared to that of feeling a rash or smelling strawberries or even hearing music.

After spending a day with Daisy, she had returned to Sombra and Radiant the next day, informing them of her desire to learn runes. Of course, they were happy to help, with Sombra even teaching her a simple runic circle to place on her desk drawers, once he heard that she wanted to make sure nothing went missing from her room. It was a simple locking enchantment that prevented anyone but her from opening the drawers. Once Airy had caught up to what Sombra and Radiant had been doing, her study into different runes and enchantments began, with Sombra surprisingly knowledgeable about them.

When Airy asked about Radiant, she admitted that she had little talent for it, instead focusing on healing the body and mind. She even explained that one of her greatest feats so far had been to help deliver a foal after a case of extremely rare magical dystocia, which almost killed both the foal and the mother before she saved both: it had been this feat of magic that had first gained Princess Amore's attention.

Sombra on other hand knew a lot about runes, enchantments and other types of magical knowledge, which was why he could so easily recommend certain books for Airy to read. So now, she had spent nearly a week reading a rather thick tome cataloging runes and how they interacted with each other, explaining the specific laws that governed runic magic.

Airy had to admit, it was pretty easy once she memorized the rules and runes. Sure, she could have memorized it from cover to cover in one day, but she had actually spend time learning to understand the context; just because you remember something doesn't mean you understand it, which was why it had taken her a week to read the tome.

To ponies, the runes were complex and often dangerous but to her, they were surprisingly simple: they acted like circuits of electronics and codes of programs, each having certain logic behind them. The tome went to explain several different rune styles around the world, but Airy was starting to notice certain... design patters.

For example, half a dozen of different runes existed to create a simple flame, yet as Airy compared the runes, she noticed that they each had very specific spots that each rune crossed into, so no matter the shape, each of them roughly connected the same position compared to other points.

Thankfully, the tome cataloged the runes by type into sections, making comparing runes like those of Equestrian and ancient Minotaur shamans so much easier. The tome also explained both simple and complex patterns that the runes often formed; some were as simple as a circle or a pentagram (which had a different meaning here) and others were so complex, that they looked like Celtic circles, borromean rings, triquetras or even triskelions.

Thank god for video games; an idle curiosity on names of certain symbols was a great boon to her now.

Of course, with runes came differences on temperature, color, duration and so on due to different locations or even missing certain points. It was forming a pattern in her head as she looked through the tome, practically devouring the runic languages: she hadn't bothered even paying attention to Radiant and Sombra after that, spending the entire week memorizing the context of the tome dedicated to runes.

Airy of course wasn't going to experiment with them now: memorizing wasn't the same thing as understanding, which was why she had moved on to other things, as she'd need a background to understand magical theories before she could do more than most basic stuff. It was like she was given the Alphabets and list of all words, now she needed to read the dictionary for definitions.

So last night, she had finished memorizing the runic catalog: a task which seemed to impress Radiant and Sombra, since it had taken the latter nearly four months of studying to even partially memorize the important runes of the tome, while Radiant simply couldn't follow the logic. Airy easily lied, saying that she understood it because of her previous knowledge gained from the Crystals and the past vestals.

She didn't bother explaining that it was her memory recall which would make experimentation later so much easier, without having to re-read the same books ever again... not that it mattered; Even with a memory recall, she would need months to experiment with different runes, just to identify the specific points in each rune and how their altered positions, sizes and even lack of them altered each rune.

And that was if she spend all of her time purely on them... of course the benefits would be great, a way to invent her own rune controls: like a sound board where you slide the knobs to increase or decrease something, except with runes by simply changing their shape.

With hundreds of them, she'd need to pair them into groups, before experimenting and testing every single point in them. It was going to be a lot of complex math and science, which would be even slower due to lack of computers... which meant she'd have to manually test everything personally.

Which was why she was so happy right now: So much to study, she couldn't hold the giddy feeling inside herself as she deciphered texts on enchantment: First, she'd learn how to identify enchantments by their intent and most probable effects, then she'd finally get to spend time reading those secret books in the vault.

She already had so many plans in her head: once the Crystal Hear was repaired, she'd request a personal workshop to do her projects. That way, she could nap during the day while secretly read the spell books inside the Empire's vaults at night. With her current rune knowledge, she could easily rig a couple of rough inventions in a day or two, which of course would be released weeks between each other, to appear as if she was working hard.

Of course, she wasn't going to make it too big. One of the rooms next to hers would do wonders, as she'd mostly be merely designing and building prototypes; she'd leave the mass production to locals, as all she really needed to do was cast magic to activate the runes.

... or maybe she could save time by building a tool that activates runes: that way, she'd have even more times to- no, if she gave these peasants a way to activate magical runes without casting magic themselves, then what would they need her for? Nothing, so she had to abandon the idea. It seemed like she'd need to make a schedule once or twice a week to activate the products.

She'd make sure to take time off so she could get to know more nobles, as well as strengthen her current relationships with ponies she knew. She wasn't going to be some antisocial idiot; her plans would require that she become closer to these ponies.

This way, she could start identifying ponies with useful skills, as well as to see who she could coax into learning specific skills or... perform some morally dark actions. Airy glanced at Radiant, who she was already starting to identify as potential candidate for her white mage Asterisk, while Sombra... was more complicated. He had already proven that she could manipulate him, if it concerned Radiant, so while his skills were useful... well, she'd need to grow closer to the ponies before she started making real plans.

"Yes! If we combine it with this..." Radiance said, as she wrote something on the parchment, showing it to Sombra as he looked at her work, before nodding "With that, we might actually have the solution we've been looking for" Sombra said, as Airy left her book and flew over, coming to stop between the two as she started reading at their newest spell.

"So, did you figure it out?" She asked, as Radiant smiled "I think we did. See, here we started with..." she began explaining various parts of the spell, explaining each function and pattern that they had made. Airy found a couple of spots confusing, so she asked why they were there, only for Sombra to explain that simply studying the tome wouldn't give her the full insight she had hoped for, before starting to explain the various theories and magical laws that existed, pointing out why each of Airy's suggestions wouldn't work and why theirs did.

Airy was both happy and angry at herself, happy for knowing now how most of it now worked but angry at being arrogant enough to think simply learning what was equivalent of computer code would make her master of magic. As such, Airy asked for suggestions on books that taught her the needed knowledge, which Sombra was more than willing to help: though he suggested she finish her current book first, then learn the theories behind magical laws.

"Huh... thank you for teaching me, Sombra. You're a smart man... stallion" Airy said, correcting herself as Sombra raised an eyebrow at her mistake "So, with this spell Princess Amore should be able to fill the heart with happiness and love. Will we be performing it today?" Airy asked, as Radiant shook her head "Unfortunately no, we'll still need Princess Amore to make sure the spell doesn't react badly with the Crystal Heart" she said, as confusion crossed over Airy's mind.

"But surely the two of you would already know how it would react... right?" Airy asked, as Sombra and Radiant glanced at each other, before Sombra began speaking "While we technically know some parts of how the Crystal Heart works; only Princess Amore has the full knowledge of all the enchantments of it. It is an ancient relic, so without a full knowledge even a minor spell could cause a disaster" Sombra explained as Radiant nodded in agreement.

"But why is that? As her students, wouldn't the two of you need the full knowledge to fix the heart?" Airy asked, Radiant let out a sigh "While we are indeed her students, Princess Amore deemed the full knowledge of the Crystal Heart's inner workings to be kept a secret. Yes, it would have been easier to find a way to fix it if we knew, but..." Radiant paused as she straightened herself "I trust Princess Amore's judgment on this matter" she finished with a smile on her face.

Sombra on other hand said nothing, but Airy noticed a brief flash of... annoyance and doubt that crossed his expression, before he hid it behind a smile "Radiant, now that we have the spell ready, could you kindly bring Princess Amore here so that we can show her our work? No hurry though, she's most likely busy with court right now, so I’ll help Airy with enchantments in the meanwhile" Sombra suggested as Radiant happily smiled at him, before leaving to get the princess.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Sombra turned to Airy "While Radiant trusts Princess Amore's judgment, I find the lack of trust on us frustrating. Maybe with the full knowledge, we could have removed weeks from pointless tests" Sombra said, as he started pacing.

Airy looked at him curiously, before answering "I'm sure she has her reasons. Maybe she thought that if she was the only one who knew, then any potential villains that might come after the Crystal Heart wouldn't be able to use either of you to make the other spill the secrets. There's no need to be angry with her" Airy explained, before an idle thought appeared in her head.

"Speaking of anger... what would happen if instead of happiness and love, someone used darker emotions on this spell?" Airy asked, as she glanced at the spell below her as Sombra turned towards her, opening his mouth to reply before pausing and closing it as he stopped pacing, placing his hoof on his chin as he started thinking.

"I hadn't thought about that. Neither of us even considered the idea, we have no idea how such dark emotions would affect the spell" Sombra wondered aloud, before glancing at the other table where the crystal piece still stood. After a moment of thinking, he started walking towards it as Airy followed, stopping as they reached it.

"Well, normally I wouldn't suggest anything that could cause harm, but...." Airy began, as she landed next to the crystal "Someone in the future might try and see what would happen, if you wielded emotions that are opposite of love and happiness. Do you think we should test it out?" Airy asked, as Sombra stared at the crystal for a moment, deep in thought.

After a moment, he answered as he turned his eyes toward Airy "Yes, I think it would be best. There's a change that somepony might spread fear and hatred by misusing the spell, so we need to figure out what would happen in order to develop counter spells to protect against such magic" Sombra said as Airy took flight, coming to stop next to his head as they both looked at the crystal piece on the table.

"Well, if it's for the greater good.... Let's do it" Airy said, before she began to instruct Sombra "Close your eyes and synchronize your breathing to the feel of the magic around you" she once more spoke as Sombra obeyed, breathing in and out "Now, since we know what happiness and love do, we need to focus on the opposite: fear and hatred. So... think about all the time you were bullied when you were young, when the other ponies hated you and Radiant for being different" Airy said, as Sombra began to clench his teeth, anger visibly crossing into his face "Now, gather your magic and emotions in your horn" Airy said, pausing as the glow of Sombra's magic shifted color.

It turned from green to black with purple haze that had hints of green still visible. Airy also noticed a wisps of purple mist leaving Sombra's eyes, which were clenched close "Now, cast the spell you two invented into the crystal" Airy said, as a beam of black, purple and green left Sombra's horn, striking the crystal on the table.

The effects were immediate, as it turned black, shadows sweeping across the table before growing into black crystals. Airy glanced at Sombra, who as panting with a dark smile on his face as he looked at the crystals, neither his horn nor eyes leaking purple mist anymore "How are you feeling?" Airy asked, sounding as concerned as she could fake it while feeling an overwhelming glee inside of her.

Sombra's smile spread even more as he straightened "Wonderful" he spoke, before his eyes widened and he shook his head, a flash of fear spreading all over him "I mean terrible, it was like something just took over and..." he paused, as he began to think "Something you don't want to feel again?" Airy suggested, as Sombra nodded.

Both Airy and Sombra turned their attention to the black crystals now spread all over the table, with original crystal returning to its neutral state "So, what do you think these will do?" Airy asked, as she landed on a clear spot, carefully touching one of the crystals.

"Without thorough examination, I can only guess... but with how easily the spell was to cast, I suspect somepony could cover the entire Crystal Empire with these crystals" Sombra said as he observed them with a wonder in his eyes, a fact that Airy did not miss "Well, I think it's horrible" Airy lied, pausing before continuing "Maybe we should keep this a secret until you can figure out what they do and how to counter them" Airy suggested, as Sombra distractedly nodded "Yes, I think it's best I keep this to myself while I study them...." he trailed off as his horn glowed green, separating a piece of crystal from the table as he observed it closely.

"Well then, we need to clean this up before Princess Amore and Radiant get here" Airy spoke as Sombra blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as he quickly glanced at the door, before at the table full of black crystals.

"Good idea"

Celestia smiled as she watched the pegasus and thestral guards stand ready, half of them attached to the carriages they would be bringing to the Crystal Empire, filled with food and other supplies. Nearby, Luna was talking to Prince Topaz Chaser and Captain Storm Guard, making sure they'd be ready to take care of Equestria while they were away.

Prince Topaz was a unicorn with brown mane and light blue coat, who was the nephew to the royal sisters through their late elder sister. With her passing the sisters had taken him in, naming him prince as he showed talent for management. Of course he had protested but the royal sisters had insisted, wishing to honor their late sister who had taken care of them after their parents had died.

As such, Prince Topaz had taken their kindness to heart, learning the ethics of nobles and how to govern so he could help his Alicorn aunts with his best. He had since proven his worth, taking care of Equestria while the two sisters dealt with diplomatic meetings and royal visits to the Crystal Empire.

Captain Storm Guard was an old unicorn mare of white mane and coat, who had served as guard to one of the nobles before Equestria's formation, becoming the first captain of the royal guard once Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took over. Before the official formation of Equestria as a nation, it was known as region housing several minor kingdoms, which came under the rule of the twin Princesses and founded Equestria as a nation while the former royals now served as dukes of various areas.

Celestia watched as both Topaz and Storm gave Luna a salute, before walking off as her sister walked over, glancing at her thestrals as they finished preparations. They had managed to cut down the travel to nine days, thanks to the idea that the pegasus and thestrals could take shifts on pulling the carriages, thus reducing the need for breaks to minimum.

"Are you ready, dear sister?" Celestia asked, as Luna nodded "Yes: we are ready to face the challenges of the north. We hope Princess Amore has not lost hope just yet" she answered as she straightened herself. Celestia nodded her head, before the two walked to the royal carriage at the front: the two would fly alongside other ponies, but had their own carriage to sleep in, rather than sharing the empty ones with their guards.

To the princesses, the much delayed aid to the crystal ponies demanded all the haste they could muster.

Arriving at the front, the two sisters looked at each other before nodding and taking flight, starting the long journey to Crystal Empire as the guards followed, pulling the dozen carriages behind them....

Airy smiled innocently as the door opened, with Princess Amore following the smiling Radiant who practically galloped to the table Airy was standing on, next to a little guilty looking Sombra who tried to hide it behind a smile.

"Good afternoon, your highness. I hope we didn't interrupt you too much during the court" Airy said as she curtsied in her blue dress, smiling as Princess Amore nodded to her and Sombra "On the contrary, the interruption was welcomed. The court today has been slow, with each of my ministers’ busy going through evacuation drills and preparations. While I have informed them of the potential solution to the problem, they have agreed that it's still best to practice at least, as there has never been a situation before that required a possible evacuation of the empire" she said, as she levitated the parchment from the table.

"That is good to hear, your highness. As you can see, we have attempted our best to create the spell that would allow one to channel their emotions into the Crystal Heart, without causing it any harm. Unfortunately, we'll need your help in checking to make sure there is nothing that could conflict with enchantments already within the Crystal Heart" Sombra explained as Amore silently read through the spell, while Airy flew to hover near her head.

"That reminds me: I've never heard the story of how you acquired the Crystal Heart and founded the Crystal Empire, your highness" Airy mentioned, as Princess Amore kept reading while answering the fairy's unasked question "It's a long story, one I shall tell you in length one day, but long story short I defeated an ancient monster from Crystal Ponies past and freed the Crystal Heart, which grew the castle when it created the dome that protects the Crystal Empire to this day" She answered, as Airy's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, so you didn't build the city? it just... grew, like a tree?" Airy questioned, as Princess Amore lowered the parchment and turned towards her "No, the Crystal Heart grew the castle and the streets. It was the Crystal Ponies who build everything else" she answered, before looking at Sombra and Radiant "While I will need to examine your spell more closely later, it would appear that there are no conflicting magic involved. Good work, my students" She said, As Radiant and Sombra smiled as they bowed.

"Thank you, your highness. Finally, we managed to find a way to save the empire!" Radiant happily declared as she wrapped her hoof around Sombra and gave him a one-hoof hug, which made him give a genuine smile "Yes, we did it together" Sombra said as he looked at Radiant's happy smile.

"Now, until I can examine this spell more closely, the three of you are free to enjoy yourselves" Princess Amore stated as her horn gloved, picking the parchment as it rolled into a scroll "May I suggest sightseeing the Empire's many stores?" she suggested, as Airy shook her head "I'm sorry your highness but while that sounds like a good choice, Sombra here has already agreed to help me with identifying certain enchantments" she lied, as Sombra nodded in agreement to her lie.

"Oh, but I can help with that. It should be easy" Radiant said, as a flash of guilt spread on Sombra's features as Airy answered "But it's going to be so boring, going through theories and... I'm sorry Sombra, I can't lie to them" Airy said as she turned towards Sombra, who looked at her with surprise.

"Airy" Sombra hissed, as Amore and Radiant looked at the two curiously "Lie about what?" Amore asked with eyebrow raised, as guilty look spread all over Sombra, who let out a sigh before opening his mouth.

"Pony biology" Airy said, as the three unicorns turned towards the fairy 'nervously' fidgeting with her hands "See, there's so many things I don't understand about ponies. How do you hold objects with flat hooves? How does unicorn horns or pegasus wings work? How do romance and other stuff happen with ponies? There are so many questions, which is why I asked Sombra's help in understanding" Airy lied, as Amore smiled at her.

"But why don't you want my help? As someone who's studied medicine, I could easily help you with this" Radiant questioned, as confusion spread over her face.

"Well... one part of the lessons involves how stallions differ from mares and how... sex works" Airy answered, as both Sombra and Radiant started forming a slight blush "I mean, where I come from, ponies and horses are simple animals who live in the wild, often used for farm work or transportation of goods" Airy said, as Radiant gasped "Airy! That's a bad word, you shouldn't say that" she said as the fairy looked at her with confusion.

"What word?" Airy asked, confused as Princess Amore answered "Whorse. It's a pony who engages in... unsavory methods to gain bits" she explained, as Airy let out an 'ooh' as she understood "You mean a prostitute. I'm sorry; I didn't know it was a bad word here. Where I’m from, it's a word used to describe bigger equines, which are about the size of Princess Amore... but you know, without horn or wings" Airy explained, as the other ponies nodded their heads in understanding.

"It's alright, at least you now know" Princess Amore spoke, as she placed a hoof on blushing Radiant's shoulder "I hear that there might be few opportunities for you to practice your healing magic at the hospital. You could spend time there, unless you wish to help Airy with the biology lesson" Amore suggested, as Radiant's blush spread to her entire face, before she practically galloped out of the room.

"I need to go! Maybe next time!" she yelled as she exited the room, with Princess Amore giving out a small laugh as she turned towards Airy and blushing Sombra "Well then, I shall leave the two of you to it" She said as she walked out, taking the spell parchment with her as the door closed behind her.

"What was that" Sombra hissed, as Airy turned towards him "What? It was the only thing embarrassing enough that I could think of. Otherwise, Radiant would have insisted on staying" Airy explained, as Sombra let out a sigh of frustration, before walking towards the desk where he had hidden the black crystals, glancing at them as Airy followed.

"Now, once you're done cleaning those up, I’d like your help with identifying different kinds of enchantments: it's easier when you have practice, rather than merely reading a book" Airy said as Sombra began to cast spells, breaking the crystals into dust one by one.

"Sure.... and thank you" Sombra said as Airy landed on the desk, watching him work "For what?" she inquired, as Sombra glanced at her before picking a crystal and putting it under his cloak "For not revealing Princess Amore and Radiant about what you saw" he said, as he continued breaking the crystals with his magic.

"Oh, don't worry about that; it's your secret to keep" Airy said, smiling warmly as she sat down on the edge of the desk "I don't judge people by their appearance or what their personalities are like: even an otherworldly monster could have a heart of gold, so I try to look for best in everyone. So what if you have a temper or get joy from using your magic in interesting ways? The only thing that matters to me is what you do with your life" Airy explained as Sombra paused, turning his head to look at her for a moment before giving her a warm smile.

"Thank you" He simply said as the two of them entered a comfortable silence, Airy simply watching as Sombra worked to reduce the excess crystals into nothing...

"Get those fires under control! We can't let anymore escape!" A Pegasus guard yelled as he tackled an inmate, struggling before two earth guards took the inmate, dragging him away as the pegasus took flight over a blazing prison, looking around before diving for another inmate running across the yard, attempting to escape the rapidly approaching guards.

Elsewhere, the unicorn guards all across the prison and surrounding area were busy either attempting to put out the blaze or holding down the magic using inmates, while pegasus, thestral and earth pony guards hunted down as many of the escaped non-magic inmates as they could from the crumbling prison being evacuated.

Far into the distance, Snow Antler turned his head to look at the distant blaze behind him, before checking to make sure no pegasus or thestrals were flying overhead, hidden by the night sky.

"Come, we must move quickly: the ponies will surely know soon enough who's escaped" A voice came from the front, causing Snow Antler to turn towards the cult leader, nodding as he followed the much larger deer in black cloak and glowing antlers. As they ran through the Everfree Forest, the herd of escaped deer disappeared into thin air as the invisibility spell swept over them, escaping the sight of thestrals that barely missed them.

As Snow Antler ran, he felt a burning rage within him at the thought of the fool who had lead their capture. How dare that obnoxious pegasus stop them from reaching immortality, just because he cared about some unwanted, unloved beggars sleeping in the alleys of Crystal Empire?

He would get his revenge on Thunder Shield.

Sombra let out a sigh as the door to his room closed, opening his cloak as a lone black crystal levitated across the room, landing on the floor as Sombra just processed everything that had happened that day.

Spending time with Airy was... well, refreshing to be honest. She did not seem to care about his bad temper or impulses that he wished to keep secret, rather she encouraged him to explore his magic. It was after he had helped her with identifying basic types of intents in enchantments that she had talked to him, letting him know that she would always be there for him.

To Airy, it did not matter who or what anypony was: she merely judged people on their actions. It somehow made him feel... better about himself. Certainly more confident, now that he thought about it in retrospect.

Sombra glanced at the black crystal lying on the floor: Airy had seen him at his worst, yet instead of fearing or telling on him, she had encouraged him to explore, to harness whatever impulses he had and focus on the good. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all to experiment with his magic.

Sombra discarded his cape, throwing it on the floor as he walked to the lone crystal, staring at it for a while before his horn turned black once more, his eyes glowing green as a purple haze left them and his horn....

Author's Note

Yeah, I got bored so I posted 3 chapters in a row. Deal with it.