Onyx sat looking at the completed Runic scheme. He had spent the last few hours editing and taking apart and back together. When he looked up, he was surprised that Candance was just sitting there looking at him, smiling. He spoke slowly, sounding exhausted. "What on earth are you looking at, Candance?"
Candance could not help that herself as she smiled at Onyx, looking over his tired form. Candance could feel something that had surprised her from watching Onyx work. He loved the Runes, and surprisingly the Runes loved him back just as deeply as he did them. She spoke in a slight tone that could not really be described. "You really love the work you do?"
Onyx was confused before shaking his head at her question because, honestly, he would not do it if he did not love it. He turned back to the scheme and nodded his head, and looked at the heart that he could feel was judging him as well. He sighed and spoke in melancholy. "I wish I was an Alicorn now because from what it looks like, you lot have a better connection to your abilities than normal ponies, and I would be able to make this permanent."
Candance nodded her head while she watched his back because Onyx had described that he would not be able to make this a permeant solution to Filth which he had always wanted. Candance hummed out loud and looked at Onyx before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She could tell right away that it was her Shining that was hugging her. She decided to ask while she snuggled with Shining. "What are you going to be doing now that you are done with the Rune Scheme Onyx?"
"Most likely, the girls are about done with the festival preparations, so I will be resting, hoping that this works, and sleeping so I can regain my energy." Onyx could not help but look at the happy couple and smiled that it was looking better and better, and looked up at the sky. He slowly thought to himself and could not help but smile. 'So in the end, what does Canon matter in the end compared to a couple of people I consider friends happiness.'
Onyx slowly stood up and looked at the girls walking towards him and the happy couple. He could not help the smile that appeared on his face at the sight of the woman he was slowly falling deeper in love with. He was about to speak when he felt the wings on his back slowly twitch and his armor creak. He looked back at them and could see the bones and saw they were less ethereal and more natural. He could not help but sigh in sadness because he would have to honestly remake the armor and few other things. Before he could do anything, he heard and felt something poke the bones in his ethereal wings. Twilight was examining and speaking in the tone that most people that were a part of the researchers heard before. "This is really different compared to Shining's manifestation Onyx."
Onyx nodded his head because he had already figured out the most likely reason because, unlike future Twilight and the other Alicorns, his magic is part of the crafting process. He looked at Twilight and could not help but smile at her because it was honestly so nice to have someone like him who loves to research. Pinkie and the group looked over the wings and realized that it was just the bones that were real. Pinkie slowly spoke in question. "When are they going to get everything else that marks them as real."
Onyx looked at the tower that pulsing in happiness and slowly shrugging off the Oily magic. He spoke in a mysterious tone of voice. "Most likely when the festival is complete."
---Time Skip---
As the festival was going on, Candance could not help but feel her magic getting tired extremely fast. When she realized that she had been holding it for so long, she realized that her magic was low and that she was not as tired as she should have been. She looked over at the love being generated by this festival and could feel something caressing her magic. She slowly thought to herself in surprise. 'The tower is keeping me afloat while the festival is happing.'
Onyx slowly snored away on his front as his wings twitched, slowly growing more and more natural. Candance looked him over in surprise because Onyx was truly not worried at all. She slowly looked over at Twilight and could not help the question that spilled out of her lips. "How on earth can he sleep at a time like this with no worries?"
Twilight smirked and looked over at Onyx laying there like a slug on the window and could not help it as she burst into laughter. Candance looked at her little sister, annoyed and could not help it when she realized that Twilight was not panicking either. She spoke up, annoyed. "What is going on? Both you and Onyx are not panicking at all?"
"Onyx has done all he can by changing the Runic scheme, and I have done all I can in preparing the festival for you to generate the love from the castle as well." Twilight sat down under his window along with a couple of the other girls and could not help it when she smiled at Candance. Twilight spoke up with a strange tone that almost melancholy but was happy. "We have done all we can for you and have gathered all the things for you to banish Sombra."
---Ethereal Nightmare Realm---
Asmund looked at Clíodhna and Breaking, watching them cuddle into each other in happiness. He could not help but sigh before noticing for a split second a silhouette appear behind Twilight and could not help but smile before watching it dissolve. Clíodhna and Breaking did not see it all, but that was fine with Asmund because he understood that not everyone would understand. As he slowly looked at the bubble, he could not help the sneer that was slowly appearing in his face looking at Sombra through the shield. Clíodhna walked towards Asmund and could not help but look him over before speaking in sin. "Why do you hate so much, mister Asmund?"
"Because that is my job, in my opinion." Asmund answered and could already tell the question, so he continued in annoyance. "Onyx cares too much. He wants to save Sombra as well as everyone else, so he has no idea what is going to happen when the tower activates."
Clíodhna could not help the smile that appeared on her face as she realized that Asmund and Onyx were a lot closer than all the others were. She hummed and looked at the back and forth. "You two love each other."
Asmund did not even bother denying it because, in his opinion was that he and Onyx were the same person, and he loved himself. "He is mine just like my herdettes… anything that threatens my family, I would destroy them and leave nothing but dust."
Clíodhna let out a sound that was almost a melody making playing out of her mouth. Asmund looked over at her watching her laughter, and could not help but smile at her because Clíodhna got it. As Nightmares, their duties were to be the monsters that protected their light from the softness and come out when they need us. She spoke with a hardness that was usually missing. "Anything that threatens pony kind must be destroyed."
Asmund nodded while looking at Breaking, who was napping and could not help the snicker that escaped him. He slowly teased Clíodhna. "Attempting to kill your partner, your majesty?"
Clíodhna let out a growl because when they are not around Asmund, they were enjoying each other. She looked over at him and let out a low growl at him in annoyance. "I am already calming down. The love that we have for each other is already enough, and I know that I have been running him ragged compared to everyone else… but is that so bad he is the only one I can love and interact with compared to Candance."
Asmund nodded while looking at Pinkie in equal sadness, and Clíodhna realized that the girls would most likely never accept him like he wants. She sighed and sat next to him, and looked at her sleeping husband. She slowly hummed a tune that was relaxing both Breaking and Asmund, who could not help but sigh when they noticed that the barrier was starting to fail. Asmund spoke the sentence that was probably damning. "This will be ending one way or another very soon."
He slowly gathered his magical armor from the pocket that he had created using his runes and looked at them in sadness because if Onyx could not do this, he would. Clíodhna looked Asmund getting ready to go to war once more and looked saddened because as much as Breaking is a war pony, he hates it and is crushed when he needs to fight. Asmund was the only one of the nightmares besides Daybreaker that was willing to war as the first choice. She had plenty of words that could have stopped him, but she realized that he was the only one genuinely willing that was here right now.
---Ethereal Realm---
Harmony started dancing in happiness because she realized that this tale was coming to an end and watched Sombra slowly strike the shield and watched as Onyx slept and Asmund prepared to war till his death. Harmony smiled and sat down and listened to the various conversations, and looked at the sky in happiness. Discord stood closer to the Alicorn of Love because it was the closest to Chaos as he was getting right now. Harmony was the one who spoke up first and smiled with her eyes shining with a madness that was usually missing showing that she was revealing in her Harmony at the deepest level that was almost Wild. 'This is going to be amazing, Discord.'
Discord looked at Harmony in worry because this was the first time in a little over 250 thousand years since he has seen her like this. He hummed an old tone trying to get through to her, not knowing that Clíodhna was copying him in the Nightmare pocket dimension. Harmony let out a scowl because she was shaking her deep dive into Harmony. She looked him over and sighed because the last time she was that deep, she caused a cataclysm that needed an era of Chaos to heal from it. 'Thank you, Discord.'
'Anytime Harmony, my dear.' Discord answered while looking at Sombra in annoyance because the Filth spewing from his body was already affecting the environment and looked further north than they already were. 'We need to beat him soon, Harmony.'
Harmony nodded while watching one of the few creatures that she and Discord could not condemn to death because of the Filth. 'The wendigos are waking up if this continues, and they will come and wipe the entire north clean to stop the Filth.'
Discord nodded back at her and could not help the worry that was appearing on his face because the wendigos were not really sentient because they were magic, Specifically ice magic. Discord slowly spoke a question at Harmony. 'How long until they are awake enough to make a choice to start walking down here to destroy the settlement?'
'Few hours maybe more but definitely not less.' Harmony answered while she looked up at the tower in interest. 'Do you think they will stop if the blast of Harmony wipes out the Filth?'
Discord nodded because the wendigos preferred to sleep except for times of extreme stress or dark emotions awaken them, which the ponies did. 'This will be a perfect chance to check them for any problems, Harmony.'
She growled in annoyance because Discord was saying good things, but this was too important to leave to chance because if they could get the crystal ponies back in play, they could hold the north from the Filth because of the tower. 'I hope this works like we hope, Discord.'