Crystal Inkantation

"and fall off the castle due to a trapdoor orso?" Fantasy mentioned. he wasn't sure if it -was- possible, and if he had eyes, he'd look to elegance to see what she thought about it, but he wasn't going to support the idea either way. It was by far the safest to let the ghost scout ahead. Atleast, until the three were absolutely sure they were dealing with no physical traps, and only magical conundrums.

"There shouldn't be any traps that way, none built into the castle, anyway," Elegance thought out loud, "What is concerning is the manner of magical force that created these black crystals. They obviously are not benevolent. I fear that whatever created them may know of our presence already." She gave a sharp glance at where she thought the spectre was. "That includes the existence of our ghostly companion."

She tapped her hooves on the floor. "I propose this. Flicker shall lead, telling us everything he sees and does as they happen. Ridge, as you are hurt, we need to make sure we do not leave you behind, so you shall follow. I will take up the rear and keep a look out for anything that might come from behind. Any objections?"

"No objections from here I guess..." Ridge Cut replied with a slightly dissapointed look.

Fantasy Flicker had little choice to agree with the plan. Especially if ridge cut was unwilling to learn such a simple spell. With a mental sigh, he created a simple sound. "Alright. Moving out now." He said, keeping it short but blunt. Following the black crystals closely, moving ahead. He kept an eye out to rogue magic, but didn't pay much attention to other elements of the surroundings. He'd snap back into it if something dangerous happened, but for now, he couldn't care all too much.

He couldn't see as far as the other two could, due to his unique sight, but if he sensed some odd excess of dark magic he'd be sure to mention it. For now, however, there was little that piqued Fantasy's interests. There were more dark crystals in the direction they were heading, but not one which seemed especially magical or something, atleast, not to Fantasy's eyes.

((Hey guys, I think my OC Knick Knack could be perfect for this story, so if it's still open and it's okay with you, I'll write myself an intro below! If not, please ignore and move on with your own story.))

The sensation of a spell shattering around her was wrenching and unexpected – and for some time now, Knick Knack had been lying, stunned and collapsed, with her cheek against the cool crystal floor of the palace.

When she had arrived in the Crystal Empire for the annual Traders' Fair and found the Crystal Heart stolen, she had galloped to the palace immediately, moving as close to the Heart's Cradle as she could before beginning the tracking spell. She let herself reach out with her magical detection, thin tendrils of purple spell projecting through the palace and then beyond, trying to locate the heart – but when the palace had been ripped from its foundations, her spell had been ripped too, and it had dazed her until it was too late for her to make her way back to the ground.

Now, something woke her from where she had been collapsed, and she got shakily to her hooves, moving out of the antechamber to the heart through to the main corridor. Through her blurred vision, the sight of black crystal encroaching over the walls like a poisonous growth chilled her, and she called out, uncertainly –

"Anypony? What's going on?"


((if you don't want another person just let me know))