A Quiet Rune Scribe

AUG 30 Sunday.

I watch as a few birds fly by my window, I take a sip of my tea and focus again on the task in front of me.

It's been over a week since the gala and I'm in high spirits right now. Everything has been calm and steady, and I've started preparing for something exciting. In preparation for building a camp in the Everfree I've been researching several different ideas for my two main problems.

The first is simple, I need to find a spot to set up camp while staying safe. I previously thought about an invisibility spell, but I recently realized something, I've almost learned to fly. I don't need to walk through the forest and could just fly over a large part of the journey.

It's definitely safer, but it also has problems. While I'm flying I can't land or take off easily, I will also need to be safe and not drop my guard as I have no idea if there are any flying monsters in the Everfree. And while I don't have a good solution for the second, I can solve the first easily.

I can use my slow-falling spell to land easily, but taking off is another problem altogether. I could use a second more powerful slow-falling spell to get rid of all my weight so I can get above the tree canopy again. I write that down and move on to my next problem, the second main problem I have involves the shield the camp will use.

I want the shield to do two things, I want the shield to protect the camp and also hide the camp. The first part is once again easy, the shield spell I made for my home should work with a little modification. But the second part is harder, the only way I can think of to hide my camp would be an illusion.

Making an illusion like that will take time but is completely doable, powering both it and the shield is another thing altogether. I'll need a lot of space for my plans and both the shield and illusion need to cover all of it, so I'll need to dive into a branch of magic that I haven't used before.

Gem arrays. Normally I link gems with a linking spell so they can share magic and work together, and while that would probably work for this plan, I have a better idea. Gem arrays are not technically their own branch of magic, it's a sub-branch of enchantment.

It involves using a much MUCH more complex spell to link gems together, this lets them share and gather all of the gems magic combined into a single pool rather than the gems just being linked normally. This gives them a much greater efficiency and far greater stability.

The amount of magic lost when using gems like this is so much less it's amazing, but there are several big downsides to this. The gems are linked so closely that if they are ever unlinked they would immediately fail, and if those gems have magic then that will most definitely result in an explosion.

The gems will destroy themselves if unlinked for too long, or if moved too far from each other, and that's not the worst part as the other two downsides are arguably worse. To enchant these closely linked gems you have to enchant them while linking them at the same time, and you can never change or modify any enchantment on the gems after that.

If I use this method the resulting shield would be far stronger and able to withstand much greater threats, but if I ever wanted to replace it I'd need to start with new gems, and the old shield would either need to be used somewhere else or destroyed to prevent it from blowing up by accident.

And there is also one last downside, but it's much more situational. All the gems are very closely linked, so if one breaks all the others will go out of control and do the same. This combined with the fact that they need to be close to each other at all times when active means the gem array is delicate to sabotage, but I don't think that's something I need to worry about.

This is why most ignore this method unless they absolutely can't, it locks that gem to one purpose forever. But like I said this doesn't come without upsides. This method may lock the gems used into one enchantment, but it is also particularly good for shields.

The faster a gem can absorb magic and the more stable it is makes the shield both stronger and quicker at repairing itself. This makes gem arrays very good objects to enchant a shield into, and it's also why I've chosen to use a gem array for my Everfree camp.

I will lose some gems, but I can always buy more, and paying extra for safety is a good deal to me. That all leads to my current plan, first I need to make the shield spell and illusion spell, and then learn the complex linking spell. All of that will take a few weeks to complete which is why I'm currently going through my notebooks for runes and spells to start with.

The shield is relatively easy to make, I can just modify the shield around my home, it has the citadel rune which should work well for this. But I don't have a good rune for the illusion spell, I only have the bending illusion rune and the moving illusion rune, and both are not the best for a static shield.

So I've spent a few days trying to find the right rune, and I'm close but it will take more time. Speaking of time, I cast the Temporis spell and check the time, it's near noon and I have something to do today. The reason I thought about flying over the Everfree was because today is the big day.

Over the last few weeks I've gotten much better at gliding and keeping myself in the air with wing flaps, and at this point I'm basically just flying near the ground. So a few days ago when me and Blaz last met he told me we'd be trying to get me fully in the air and away from the ground the next time we meet, that meeting is today, and I'm very excited.

I've put a lot of time and effort into this and I really want to fly unimpeded, but that can wait until I don't kill myself. Which is why I'm bringing my old sapphire bracelet with me, I've enchanted it to let me activate a slow-falling enchantment in an instant if needed.

I bring Entropy with me under her illusion and make sure to keep her in my shadow while I walk through the streets, I rather not have a guard think I'm a Changeling because of her. I happily trot my way to the part of the park me and Blaz normally practice in, only to find a surprise waiting for me.

Maple, Daisy, and Blaz are all sitting down and talking while enjoying a picnic. After a few moments of confusion, I walked over to them, "What's all this?"

"Shade! good to see you. Get over here, we brought donuts!" Daisy says with her usual smile. I walk over and join them on a simple blanket laid out on the grass.

"Thanks? Daisy .. But, that doesn't really answer my question." I ask as Maple devours a donut in seconds.

Blaz answers me. "If things go to plan you'll be really flying for the first time, and it's not every day a friend learns to fly. So they came to support you." I'm a little touched by that, and suspicious. I've kept both Maple and Daisy up to date on my progress as this was never something I kept secret.

As for why I'm suspicious? Because I know Blaz. "Oh.... So what you're really saying, is Blaz invited both of you to watch me fail several times before I succeed, and fly around where you probably won't be able to even see me?" I just smile at them while sitting down.

Blaz smiles at that, and Daisy answers me without a hint of remorse. "Yup! He even brought the donuts to bribe Maple when she wanted to tell you about it. She almost ruined our surprise! Can you believe that? I'm not passing up the opportunity to see you crash." She's obviously joking with that last part.

I chuckle and turn to Maple. "Did you at least enjoy the donuts?" My answer is a small smile.

"Yes.... Shade, don't crash, it will make me sad." I try my best to not laugh at her deadpan tone and mostly blank expression, but I fail.

"I'll try." I turn back to Blaz. "Let's get started then, I'm excited to finally fly free, and we don't want to keep our audience waiting, do we?" He smiles and nods before walking a distance away.

"Hey Shade?" I turn around to look at Daisy. "Don't crash. It might be funny, but I'd rather you not get hurt." Unlike last time she's more serious and shows a little concern.

I give her a reassuring smile in return. "I don't plan to, but Blaz should be able to catch me if he needs to, why else would I deal with his teaching?" I joke while walking with Blaz to the highest part of the small but steep hill.

"You'll be fine Colt, just remember what I taught you. Also, don't panic, it will not help you fly better, I should know." He chuckles at his own, joke? I'm honestly not sure that was a joke. As I start walking I start feeling my worry act up a little. I've never been afraid of heights, but even with that and my months of practice I still can't fully remove my fear.

I take a deep breath and start drawing out the spell matrix, I'll need as much time as I can get with the spell so I held off from casting on until now. Once the spell is done and I feel the familiar weight of the wings I start a few stretches before finally starting.

I stretch out my wings fully and watch as Blaz flies into the air before hovering in place, something that I'll definitely need to learn. I focus my mind on the task at hoof and make sure Blaz is ready before making my attempt, unlike last time I don't get a running start and just start beating my wings while maintaining control.

It takes a moment to properly get off the ground and once I am, I immediately have to start moving forward. I carefully make my way a few dozen feet off the ground while also making sure to keep myself stable and not hit a tree. I slowly fly in circles to gain height while not flying away from Blaz.

After a while I rise high enough to start really flying around, and it is..... Liberating. It's not some spiritual awakening or anything like it, but liberating is the best way I can describe it. To be free of even the ground, the rushing air and the gentle breeze.

I don't fly off, I mostly just glide around the area and flap my wings every once in a while. "So, what do you think?" I turn to see Blaz flying next to me, he has to shout a little over the distance and wind.

I look forward again to keeping my focus. "It's amazing...... thanks."

"Thanks? Colt, we both know I'm a bad teacher. This is all you, enjoy the view." I can't see his face but I can imagine the smile he has. I decided to take his advice to heart and enjoy the moment.

The wind and the feeling of it passing over me and through my feathers. The most amazing part by far is the view, for the first time I see the city of Canterlot from above. The filled streets, the other pegasi flying around and in the sky with us, and the building stretching far away.

"It's beautiful."

"That it is, now let's get started on teaching you."

"Sure, but first let's land so I can recast the spell, I'd rather it not run out. And I need to give the mares a show when I stumble on the landing." I joke as I turn and start making my way back to the same area of the park we started at. During all of my flights, I make sure to take things slow and not make any fancy moves, simple is best for now. When I reach the right area I start descending.

I start circling an area again and slowly descend in a corkscrew, I straighten out as the ground nears and prepare for the hard part. I tilt my wings and start to break while flapping them quickly, I struggle a little to control my wings right and the landing isn't perfect, but I get my hooves on the ground again no worse for wear.

I smile as Daisy waves at me from the small hill, as I start walking over to Blaz to get further instructions on what to learn next, I smile as he starts. Today is a good day, let's just hope I don't crash.