I made it through all the books within a few hours. There was a lot to go through. And yet I had no new insight into the strange magic that was occurring in the kingdom.

“I’ve read as much as I can for now. I need to see the damage. Can you take me to the grass and where the crystal was found?”

Sunburst stood up, stretching his legs.

“Of course. Follow me.”

He led the way out of the library. We continued to the edge of the city and past the few houses that lined the outer edges. We were almost to the magic boundary that divided the snow from the Empire when Sunburst turned and followed the border.

“The patches of grass are just ahead.”

He pointed them out and I rushed forward to examine them. No specific shapes, no pattern among the numerous patches, and a total of eight. The majority were partially outside the border, covered in snow. But there were two of the patches that were about two feet further into the Empire.

“This is strange... It’s like something has been testing the boundary. And the last couple events got further than the others.”

“That’s what we suspected too.”

“Where was the crystal?”

“Out beyond the boundary. About thirty feet or so.”

“How did you find it?”

“A black crystal sticking out of white snow? Kind of hard to miss.”

“Good point. Thirty feet you said?”

He nodded.

“How cold is it out there?”

“The temperature will drop a full sixty degrees as soon as you step over the border.”

“Well... I only need a few minutes.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

I didn’t give myself the chance to answer. I jumped over the boundary and instantly got hit by the freezing wind. I wanted to turn back, but forced myself forward. Ten feet. Wow it was cold. Fifteen feet. This snow was up to my knees. Twenty-two. My teeth were starting to chatter. Thirty! I looked down at the spot. Fresh snow was covering everything. I began to dig.
I found the ground after a few seconds and began examining the area. I was beginning to lose feeling in my limbs, but I had to continue. I cleared away the snow and ice and found an indent in the ground. This had to be where the crystal had originated from! I couldn’t feel my ears anymore. I looked closer and noticed that the ground was discolored. Was that...a trail? I cleared away more snow and found that the discoloration went off in a specific direction! I began to follow it. Funny. I wasn’t feeling so cold anymore. I followed the trail for another thirty feet when my legs buckled under me. What was...wrong with them?

And why...why was my vision...getting......dark...

——————————

I woke up in a bed. I must have had four blankets on top of me. I tried to move, only to have a hoof land on my chest.

“Don’t even think about it.”

I looked up to see Cadance at the other end of the hoof.

“What happened?”

“You nearly froze! What were you thinking? Going out there without any protection? Were you trying to get yourself killed?!”

“I was following a lead. How long have I been out?”

“A full day. We’ve been trying to get your body temperature back to normal. Honestly Shade. How could you be so stupid?”

“I found something out there.”

That stopped her.

“What did you find?”

“The spot where you found the crystal. There’s a trail behind it. Like..the residue of dark magic. It has to lead to whatever is causing this.”

“Did you find anything in your research?”

“No. But now with this new info, I know what I want to look at next. Am I allowed out of bed?”

“No.”

“Then I need Sunburst to bring every book on dark magic and crystals.”

“Are you sure you’re well enough to be reading?”

“I’m fine.”

She seemed unsure, but conceded and went to pass along the message. I only had to wait half an hour before Sundburst appeared with a cart of books.

“I’m surprised you want to jump back in so quickly.”

“The mind never rests Sunburst. Pass me that one book. The uh...The Power of Crystals.”

He pulled it off the cart and gave it to me. I flipped through the pages until I was finished. The cold must have affected me badly. It took me a whole ten minutes to get through the book.
I see it on my lap and looked at Sunburst.

“There was a residual trail leading from where the crystal was found. I believe it was either a trail left by the magic used to form the crystal. A literal stream of dark magic, connecting the crystal to wherever it came from. Without the crystal there though, that trail could fade in a matter of days. It could already be too late.. We have to go back.”

“Cadance won’t let you out of the palace.”

“Maybe if I bring a guard?”

“Not enough.”

“The Captain of the Guard?”

“Oh! Perhaps... I’ll go and ask her. Who all would be going?”

“Me, you, and Shining Armor. I want gear ready in twenty. I’m going back, accompanied or not.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

He rushed out of the room. I sat up and began peeling back the blankets.

“You know I could keep you here by force.”

I looked at the doorway. Cadance was standing there, Sunburst behind her. I looked at her with all seriousness.

“But you won’t. You want to know what’s out there as much as I do.”

She frowned.

“If anything happens to my husband, I’ll hold you responsible. And trust me when I say that not even Celestia or Twilight will be able to protect you.”

“I understand. I take full responsibility.”

She gave a curt nod and walked away. Sunburst watched her go before turning to me.

“So...are we going?”

I stepped out of bed, letting my legs wake up again.

“We’re going. You have eighteen minutes left.”

——————————

The three of us approached the boundary. It looked like the weather outside wasn’t too bad. At least I was prepared this time. I had a large coat on that nearly buried me in wool.
I didn’t hesitate at the border. I walked straight to the original spot and began brushing snow and ice away.
Shining and Sunburst were right next to me, watching for clues. As I cleared away snow and ice, I noticed a faint gray.

“There it is!”

I began brushing along the grey vein and we followed it in a straight line. It was leading us far away from the Empire. We must have gone at least a mile or two when the trail suddenly stopped. I looked around in confusion.

“This isn't right. There’s nothing out here. It just sort of pools.”

I examined the area around the starting point. Nothing else was out of the ordinary. Shining Armor approached me.

“It’s okay Shade. Maybe it was nothing.”

“No. I’m missing something. I just can’t put my hoof on it.”

Sunburst examined the spot.

“There’s definitely energy emanating from this point. A very, very small amount. About the same amount of magic that the crystal was putting off. I can’t get a better reading than that.”

He turned to us.

“There is something we didn’t consider. What if the crystal was just leftover from when Sombra returned?”

Shining Armor nodded.

“A shard of his power, just enough to kill of some grass. Without him to sustain it though it would run out of magic.”

I shook my head.

“No. That can’t be it. The grass was the testing ground. Whatever was out here was pushing through the magic boundary into the Empire. Something is trying to break in. I know it!”

I slammed my hoof down in frustration. A second later there was an odd sound, like a thunder crack. And it went from where my hoof landed, out to the far distance. I looked down at where I had planted my hoof.

“What just happened?”

Shining Armor looked around us, his eyes growing big.

“Sunburst, help me clear all the snow around here.”

Their horns lit up and the snow swirled around in a circle. The circle got bigger as it expanded to a fifty foot diameter. They cut off the magic and looked at the ground. It was strange. The ground had a slight blue tint to it. Sunburst slid his hoof over the surface.

“Ice.”

Shining nodded.

“We have to move.”

“Why?”

He turned to me.

“We’re standing on an ice layer. And you just cracked it. There’s no telling how long we have until it starts cracking further. If we’re not careful, the whole shelf could break up and we could fall underneath.”

“What’s underneath?”

Sunburst swallowed hard.

“Nothing.”

I felt goosebumps forming.

“How can there be...nothing?”

Shining motioned around the area.

“These glaciers can cover a few square miles sometimes. And they can stretch thousands of feet into the earth. If you fall through, that’s it.”

“Thousands of feet? So how could I have cracked it?”

He stopped and thought for a second, turning to Sunburst when he couldn’t answer. Sunburst seemed puzzled too.

“That’s true. Normally the ice has to shift naturally to crack like this. If Shade actually did anything, that would mean...”

His confusion turned to horror.

“There can’t be more than a foot of ice under us!”

We all froze. Shining Armor slowly raised a hoof.

“Everypony stay calm. We’re going back the way we came. Take slow, light steps.”

Another crack sounded off in the distance. The sound travelled toward us. Shining swallowed hard.

“Okay. Maybe not slow.”

We began to move back. It was at that moment that the ice shifted slightly. It didn’t crack under us though. It cracked at the grey point. We stopped, all of our eyes fixed on that point. The ice indented, as if there was a weight on the point. And then the ice gave way. Shining yelled.

“Get back!”

As we did, the hole started getting bigger. It expanded to about ten or twelve feet before the ice stopped falling inward. We stopped again.
I was the closest to the hole. I leaned forward, trying to see down into the abyss. Except it wasn’t an abyss. There was more ice and snow about ten feet down. And a large opening leading under the ice..

“I think..there’s a cavern down there.”

Sunburst inched forward until he could see.

“You’re right! It’s like we’re standing on the roof. And judging by the color of the ice, it’s much thicker down there. The layer we’re standing on is just a secondary layer.”

Shining Armor looked down at the opening.

“I don't like it.”

I looked down at the cavern floor. It disappeared into the darkness, stretching to who knows where. And then I saw it. Right at the edge of the darkness. Right below where the grey point had been.

“Look.”

I pointed with my hoof.

“The vein continues down there.”

Sunburst and Shining looked to where I was pointing. Another grey line was leading further into the cavern. Shining shook his head.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Sunburst and I nodded in agreement. I felt a shiver go through my body. Something felt off.

“Can you guys feel that?”

Sunburst looked at me in surprise.

“Yes.. There’s magic down there. How could you tell?”

“I don’t know. I just..know there’s something. I can feel it in the air.”

Shining looked at me.

“I didn’t think that anypony besides unicorns could feel magic.”

“Really? I wasn’t aware of that.”

Sunburst stared at me. His eyes narrowed.

“Thats it, isn’t it? It’s been bugging me since I first met you. You used to have a horn, right? All changelings do.”

“That’s true. But Chrysalis took my horn and my magic away.”

“I’m not so sure she took both.”

“What do you mean?”

“She took your horn. That took away your ability to use magic. I’ve never heard of a way for magic to just be taken from a pony. Except by a very strong magical artifact. Nopony possesses the power to just take magic by force. You’d have to willingly give it up.”

Shining Armor looked at him.

“What are you getting at Sunburst?”

“I’m saying that Chrysalis didn’t take his magic. Just his ability to use that magic. At least...in a normal capacity.”

I stepped forward.

“Normal capacity?”

“Your speed-reading. And the changes your body has undergone. A regular pony doesn’t just evolve that quickly. You’ve been using magic, just at a subconscious level.”

“So... What does that mean?”

“Shade..I don’t know if you ever stopped being a changeling. You just lost the ability to perform your normal magic.”

Everything went silent.

I didn’t hear anything else Sunburst said after that. I began breathing faster. My heart was about to break out of my chest. What was happening?! Shining Armor approached me.

“It’s okay Shade. Slow down. You have to try to breathe slowly.”

“What’s happening to me?”

“You’re panicking.”

“Oh. Is that all? I’ve never panicked before.”

“It’s going to be okay. Listen to me. Try to match my breathing.”

I watched him take slow, deep breaths. I did my best to copy him. Each breath I took got closer to matching his rythmn. Eventually, I felt my heart rate slow down. I sighed and sat down.

“How could I have been so stupid? I should have known!”

Sunburst sat next to me.

“I’m sorry. I doubt anypony thought much about it.”

“If I’m really still a changeling, why don’t I need to feed on love?”

“The ponies around you love you. And honestly, you might have figured out a way to adapt. You don’t need to feed off love anymore. You haven’t for a while I’m guessing.”

A tear rolled down my cheek.

“Why didn’t I transform like the other changelings?”

“A transformation of that caliber would require full magical ability. Chrysalis stunted yours by destroying your horn.”

I felt the tears coming. They were ice cold against my cheeks, but I didn’t care. My life had once again been upended. I wasn’t really a pony. And I wasn’t really a changeling. I was...neither. I tried to control the tears, but to no avail. Sunburst put his hoof around me, patting my shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay.”

Shining Armor motioned to us.

“Guys. You need to see this.”

I wiped away my tears. I’d completely forgotten the mission! Thank Celestia there was something to distract me from my imploding identity. I stood up and walked to the cavern entrance. I looked down and froze.

“The vein. It’s..longer!”

Sure enough, the grey vein had extended several inches. But how? Sunburst looked down at the vein and shuddered.

“There’s something that’s giving it life. Giving it magic.”

I looked at the pile of ice and snow that had fallen from the surface.

“I think we could get down there easy enough. We need to find out what’s in there.”

Shining Armor shook his head.

“We should go back. We can’t do this alone.”

I turned to him.

“Who else is there Shining? The only other pony that could possibly help is Cadance. Do you really want her down there? We’re the only ones qualified enough to handle this!”

Sunburst nodded.

“It’s true.”

Shining stood there for a moment. I could tell he was wrestling with himself over the matter.

“If we do this..you both agree that if I tell you we need to get out, we get out. I’m the highest ranking pony here.”

Sunburst bowed.

“I would never forget that. If you deem it too dangerous, we’ll leave.”

I nodded my agreement. Shining squared his shoulders and began the descent. Sunburst followed behind him. I took up the rear, slowly stepping down the hill of ice and snow. When we reached the bottom, the cavern was in front of us, the grey vein leading into the dark.
Shining and Sunburst lit up their horns and we proceeded inside. The vein continued in a fairly straight line. I took the lead, keeping an eye on the vein.

“Uh...guys.”

We turned to Sunburst. He was looking at the walls of the cavern. I followed his gaze. And then I felt my heart drop.

“Sweet Celestia..”

The walls were covered in grey veins. Shining stepped back.

“What are they?”

It was what I had feared.

“Something is reaching out of this cavern. And it’s reaching for the Empire, trying to break in. First it’s some grass. Then black crystals will start forming inside the boundary. And once it takes root, it could be impossible to stop.”

Sunburst shook his head.

“What you’re describing sounds like King Sombra. But..he’s dead.”

He turned to Shining.

“Right?”

Shining nodded.

“The Crystal Heart destroyed him. It can’t be Sombra.”

I wasn’t so sure myself, but I chose not to voice my opinion.

“Let’s keep going. Keep an eye out for anymore veins.”

We continued forward. Sure enough, more veins were spotted. They were shorter, younger veins that hadn’t quite reached to the surface yet. And the further in we went, more of these shorter veins appeared. Soon there was more veins than ice. Shining leaned closer to us.

“This isn’t good. Do you feel the magic?”

We both nodded. It was thick in the air. It made me feel sick. I don’t know why, but I felt like I couldn’t respond in more than a whisper for fear of being heard by whatever evil was here.

“It’s dark magic.”

Sunburst shuddered.

“What could put off such a feeling?”

My first thought was Chrysalis, but I quickly dismissed that. This magic was darker. There was something sinister in here. Chrysalis was rotten, but she didn’t put off this strong of an aura.
The cavern came to an end, opening up to a larger chamber. The walls were entirely grey. Veins reached up to the ceiling, towards a small opening in the ice. A shaft of light shone through the hole, down to the icy floor in the center of the chamber. There was something embedded in the ice.

“What is that?”

I walked forward to get a closer look. Sunburst and Shining followed me. We approached the shaft of light cautiously. The object was small. It had a slight curve to it. Almost like...

“Is that..a horn?”

Shining Armor’s eyes grew big.

“Don’t...touch it.”

Sunburst was shaking.

“It can’t be.”

I stared at it as my mind connected the dots. I knew this horn. From illustrations. In...that horrid book..

The horn of King Sombra.

Shining stepped between me and the horn.

“We have to go. Now!”

I looked up at him.

“We can’t leave this here. Not with the chamber open.”

“He’s right Shining. We have to do something.”

Shining whipped around to Sunburst.

“You don’t understand. Neither of you do! You weren’t here when he almost retook the Empire! You don’t know what that maniac is capable of.”

I felt a chill along my spine. I knew all too well. That record of his rule had scarred me. His wrath was insatiable. His methods cruel. And his magic was nearly level with Starswirl.

“We have to destroy it.”

They turned to me. I motioned around the chamber.

“Look at the sickness that this thing is spreading. And it’s already reached the border!”

Shining frowned.

“It took nearly five years to make it that far.”

“The vein we broke when we opened the cavern has already grown again after a few minutes! Don’t you see? It’s gaining strength!”

We looked at the horn. It glistened in the light. That horrible, blood red horn. Everything was pouring out of it.

“We have to get it out of the floor. Whatever magic it still has is tainting the ice.”

“We shouldn’t touch it.”

Sunburst stepped forward.

“Let me try something.”

His horn lit up. A shell of magic appeared around the horn. It shrunk until it was right around the surface. Sunburst added another layer. And another. When there were three tight layers, he slowly began to raise the horn. It took a minute, but it finally pulled free from the ice. As soon as it did, the veins turned black. We stood still as every inch of black shrunk back. It was all coming towards us!

“What do we do?”

Shining Armor was visibly shaking for the first time.

“Don’t. Move.”

The blackness came rushing from all sides. I looked back at the entrance and saw that all the veins that had stretched out of the chamber were returning to this point. It was working!
We watched as the poison seeped into the hole where the horn had been planted. I looked down at the small hole. Only about two inches deep. So why was it so black? I lowered my head to the ground and looked into the hole.

“I’m guessing this is the nothingness you were talking about Sunburst?”

“It..it must empty into the abyss.”

I was staring into the black abyss. The poison veins were lost to it. Wait... There was something down there. A glint of color in the darkness.

Two green eyes were staring at me from hundreds of feet below.

I jumped back from the hole.

“RUN!!!”

The others didn’t need telling twice. We made for the cavern entrance as a low growl emanated from the chamber. Shining looked back at me.

“What did you see?”

“The horn wasn’t the source! It was the conduit! It’s his last tie to the living world!”

“What are you saying?!”

There was a loud cracking sound behind us. I didn’t dare look back.

“SOMBRA!!”

We reached the open air and hurried up to the surface. I turned to Sunburst.

“We have to destroy it! It’s the only thing keeping him here!”

Sunburst nodded and released the horn from his magic. It landed on the ice with a ‘thud’. The ground was starting to shake, causing the ice to crack. Shining looked around frantically.

“Hurry!”

Sunburst lit up his horn, muttering under his breath. The ice was falling away in the distance. No doubt where the chamber was.

“Shining! I need your help!”

Shining Armor lit up his horn and joined Sunburst. Their faces twisted in pain from the effort. I saw a dark cloud bubbling up from where the chamber had been. He was coming..

‘CRACK!’

I whipped around to the horn. A crack had formed in the middle! I looked back at the darkness and saw it had shrunk back.

“Keep going!”

‘CRACK!’

The shadow receded more.

“More!!”

‘CRACK!’

That last ‘crack’ echoed across the ice. The shadow screamed out, a roar as loud as a dragon, as it was pulled back into the ice. More ice crumbled and collapsed in on what was left of the chamber. The collapse continued toward us until it reached the original opening. A gust of snow hit us as the last of the air was pushed out of the now non-existent cavern.
I turned to the horn. It was splintered into several pieces.

“Burn those with that book I gave you Sunburst.”

Sunburst tried to laugh as he keeled over. Shining Armor was in no better condition. We all laid down on the ice, our bodies giving up as the fear and adrenaline drained from them. Several minutes of silence later, Shining was the first to speak.

“Well... At least we saved the grass.”

He started laughing at his own joke. After a moment, Sunburst started laughing too. Their infectious laughter finally got to me and I joined in. We laughed for far too long, putting the horror that had almost been unleashed out of our minds.

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