During the next six days, Twilight and her friends had mostly stayed separated, except for Moon Dancer, who often visited Twilight mid-afternoon for an hour or so. It was good for her to have at least the company of her best friend, as Shining's odd behavior was continuously becoming more severe. Studying was becoming more difficult as she constantly worried about his decline. Besides that, Twilight had to fight with her urges of adventure and the discomforting thoughts of the haunted Stormrider. It was a lazy and quiet six days, but not quiet for her bustling and concerned mind.
However, upon this particular day, slumber found her quite easily. It was almost mid-morning and she had her face buried in a book she had barely read. Soft filly snoring sounds came from her drooling mouth. The drool was sliding out over her lips and onto the delicate pages that she, in her wakened state, would protect with utmost care.
The sun was not shining down on her like the average day, as clouds of various shades loomed over the paradise the ponies called home. No rain fell, no lightning brought terror to the island's equines, just inconvenient darkness. In fact, it was almost alarmingly dark, with some ponies requiring torches to read fine print or to see in the blackest of corners in their very huts. This was also one of reasons Twilight had fallen asleep reading. She tired herself out struggling to decipher each word of the cluttered text that the pony language used. She lost interest in the story she was digesting and thus the boredom and darkness drove her to nod off.
On the wicker couch she rested on, she was deep in her home, far from the noises of the docks. The sounds of the sea and sea birds still infiltrated the hut, being also played in her dreams. However, none of these passive noises interrupted her sleep. Not even her mother, who was right outside the front door, trying to take care of a small palm tree, disturbed the filly.
What did disturb her was the sounds of galloping hooves up the mountain trail. Twilight opened her eyes, a bit startled, but not enough to prevent her from yawning much like an awoken cat. The sound of hooves was plenty, meaning it was more than a few ponies racing towards her home. Her head popped up from the book and she stared out a window where she could see her mother, though only a silhouette in the day's unusual darkness.
"Velvet! Velvet!" a stallion Twilight did not recognize called to her mother. "We have terrible news!"
"What is it?" Mother's sweet voice was full of sudden distraught. "What has happened?"
"It's your son, Shining," the stallion told her between tired breaths. "Something is wrong with him!"
"Take me to him!" Mother told them and together, they all ran down the hill towards the docks. Twilight was wide awake now. Her brother in trouble? Her heart started to panic and she jumped from the couch. Her small legs made her bounce across the floor and with adrenaline running through her frightened veins, she, with the quickness of the adults before her, chased after them down the hill in the dimness.
Several times she almost tripped or tumbled down the rocky trail. Tears started to swell in her eyes just at the thought of her older brother being hurt. What could have happened? She could not even begin to guess. All that mattered to her was getting to his side before anything worse happened.
She could see the docks, being lit with torches. The pack of ponies that got her mother were ahead of her, too close to lose, but too far to catch up with. Still, she kept running with all her might. She was starting to wonder if she was dreaming, but it felt too real for that. Besides the darkness, what else could be dream-worthy? No, this had to be real life.
The pack of ponies went all the way to the storage house where Shining should be at this part of the morning. There was already a crowd of the Day Island residents in front of the storage house's door. Apparently the town knew of it all before the victim's mother did. Mother passed by the standing ponies and rushed inside. Twilight, being a bit behind, also rushed by them, but some other ponies went in after her mother and now were blocking her from entering.
Twilight could only tilt her head in some odd manner to see past a mare's leg and see the inside. Her brother was on the floor, breathing heavily, with Father and Mother crouched beside him. with Dr. Mild there between them. Twilight lost her breath for a second when she saw her brother in such an awful state.
"What happened?" Mother asked.
"Not sure," Dr. Mild answered. "I believe it is some sort of magical wound."
Shining yelled out in pain. Half of his face was burned and some smoke rose from his cheekbone. It was a terrible sight and Twilight could not bear to look at it. More parts of him were burned in similar fashion, such as his hooves and parts of his front legs. The worst was his horn, which appeared to have lost its tip.
"But how? Why?" Father tried to understand.
"Only a magical presence could create such burns," the physician noted. "I've only seen such wounds during one of the Hoofprint wars. They were burns from unicorn attack beams."
"A unicorn blasted my son?" Mother was about to wail.
"The cr....the crystal..." Shining forced out. "It did it..."
The adults looked at each other. Father then turned to see the black crystal, laying on the floor with a small crack that was not there before. The black crystal, so innocent before, now appeared to be a demon in their mist. Dr. Mild was the first to get up to his hooves and approach it. His green magic enveloped the crystal and he lifted it up carefully. Mother and Father moved back and also moved Shining a few inches away.
"This was traded from Rock Island, yes?" the physician questioned.
"Yeah," Father nodded. "We thought it was just a harmless precious stone."
"Perhaps at one time," Dr. Mild huffed. "A skilled unicorn could have made it a trap. Shining could have triggered the trap and received the consequences."
"What unicorn would do such a thing?" a mare asked.
"That's the biggest hole in my reasoning," he answered. "Why would anypony arm a single crystal?"
"Well, no matter!" Father said. "We must do something to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"I understand," the physician nodded.
With care, the doctor covered the black crystal with a cloth that he found on a nearby shelf. Twilight watched with uncertainty. With her own knowledge of magic, she presumed that the physician did such a thing to prevent the trap's trigger from being sprung again. Some of the worried ponies began to leave, so she was now able to force her way through the remainders and reach her harmed brother.
"Twilight?" Mother gasped. "Why didn't you stay at the house?"
"I had to see him, Mama!" Twilight insisted. "Shining! Can you hear me?"
Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Of course, Twily. I'm not dead. My face won't look the same though."
"Your brother will need to be in my care for at least a day," Dr. Mild reminded them o his presence. "Magical burns can become worse if the magical presence is not eliminated."
"I understand," Father said with a sigh. "I needed him for a short trip northward, but I guess I'll have to do it myself. Take care, my son."
Father patted Shining lovingly on the side. Shining was able to get up to his hooves, but had to limp. He gave Twilight a smile, or at least, what he could of a smile. Some of the burns reached his lips and thus did not allow them to turn up in confidence. Twilight tried to return the smile, but her worry was still too much and she could only stare at him with concern. At least, she thought, he was returning to his good humor that had been absent for the past week.
"Come along, Twilight," Mama said. "We must return to home. Let Papa get on with his work and let Shining get to Dr. Mild's hut."
Twilight allowed her mother to push her forward out of the storage house. The filly did not mind, as her thoughts remained on the now hostile black crystal. The picture of it stirred within her head. Such a fascinating object, now full of terror and distraught. What? How? Why? All these questions filled her mind as her mother led her onward back to home.
~~~~
"Wow, a dangerous crystal? Sounds frightening."
Twilight rolled her eyes at Moon Dancer's curiosity. The two fillies sat at the edge of the cliff outside of Twilight's home. The Twin Islands were still shrouded in darkness. A lone candle was being levitated by Twilight's magenta magic. A slight wind was present, but not powerful enough to blow the small flame away. Moon Dancer rubbed her cheeks with a bit of excitement. Such an event never occurred on Day Island before. Yes, it was a frightening experience, but it was evident that some of the islanders felt that it brought some needed liveliness to the usual dull routine. Ponies needed their weekly dose of fresh gossip.
"Something isn't right," Twilight sighed and looked intently at her friend. "A black crystal from Rock Island shouldn't just attack somepony like that."
"You heard Dr. Mild. It was booby trapped," Moon Dancer retorted.
"Yes, but that doesn't seem right at all," Twilight shook her head. "It's so impractical. I think it's an evil relic."
"Really? Where would such relic come from?"
"The south, like Old Fareye would tell us. A unicorn pirate could have had it and...and used it to keep his crew from mutinying. Or...it could have been something vile created from the far, far south."
Moon Dancer was beginning to see Twilight's reasoning. Perhaps this crystal was some relic that nopony should possess. Oh, what horrors it could behold! The beige filly gulped and adjusted her large spectacles with concern. Twilight nodded to emphasize her point before continuing.
"I think we need to show it to Old Fareye," she suggested.
"But he's been by himself ever since Little Bublo!" Moon Dancer protested. "And Dr. Mild will never let anypony have the crystal now."
"I just think Old Fareye would be the only one who'd know where such a thing came from. He has journeyed farther than anypony we know. Well, maybe Mrs. Pine would know."
"I think we should just avoid the darn thing. Like really, it's just a dumb crystal. It'd probably be best to pitch into the sea!"
Twilight gave her friend a disapproving glare. She did not like Moon Dancer's rejection of her ideas. This crystal could not simply be forgotten, not after it severely damaged her older brother. No, this required a proper investigation. This was also entering her domain, which was magic. Being a Day Island pony, she had taken more interest in magic than most of her peers and maybe it was now to take advantage of her studious habits.
"Moon Dancer, we need to look into this. Whatever we do, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm starting to think that Shining was lucky. The next pony that comes across something like this crystal may not be so fortunate."
~~~~
"Now, Shining, please don't exert yourself."
Dr. Mild told Shining Armor this while he stroked his red beard. Shining obeyed him and laid himself carefully on a cot, his wounds now bandaged and cared for with magical treatments. He did so with his usual confident air. Dr. Mild took it as a good sign. A patient that was still in a good mood despite bodily harm was a sign of future progress.
"What are you gonna do with the crystal?" Shining asked.
"I believe I'll place it in the back room. I use that room as a lab of sorts. This island doesn't have any proper lab, so I must make do with what I have. Whatever you do, do not come into this room. If my theory of it being a trap is correct, it could be activated at any time. You were quite fortunate to only take edges of its beams. A direct hit could kill you."
Dr. Mild then took up the covered crystal and walked back to the room he spoke about. His dark green eyes inspected the cloth as he placed it on a table softly. His instincts told him to walk away and leave it there, but his curiosity told him to unwrap it and investigate. His ears drooped upon his indecision. With an adjustment of his round glasses, he let his magic untie the knotted cloth to reveal the crystal.
The black crystal was the same, including the crack from earlier. The physician cocked his head. Something was immediately eerie about it. A magical presence invaded the room, not with ferocity, but more of a soft, slow fog. The feeling of magic enveloped the doctor, making him quite uneasy. He backed away as the disturbing feeling wrapped itself around his legs and shoulders. A sudden coldness took his breath away.
"My eyes see you...."
A heinous voice uttered from the black crystal. A voice so deep and menacing that every syllable was felt. Dr. Mild gasped and almost fell to the floor. With effort, he took the cloth and covered it again, only slightly hiding the magical presence that now engulfed the entire back room. He took more cloths, wrapping them tightly around the crystal until its presence was dampened enough for him to collect his thoughts.
"What a monster..." he muttered. "How did such a terror reach our shores?"
His glasses shook upon his muzzle. His hooves rattled as they tried to steady his stance. He watched in horrid awe as the many-colored cloths slowly turned to a uniform black. The blackness almost seeped through the fabrics much with the characteristics of water. Some of it dripped onto the table, leaving stains. This darkness was so incredibly dense that it appeared to have physical qualities, something that could only be achieved with high level magic that was perhaps, beyond even the wisest of unicorn mages. It was now for certain that this crystal was no mere magical energy source. It was full of magic unheard and unseen in these parts of the Labyrinth Isles.
Suddenly, he felt the blackness reach him. He started to choke on the air that was as thick as molasses. He stumbled across the floor. His lungs felt clogged as if he was drowning. Still the blackness continued to drip out the cloths, now spreading its staining qualities to the floor. Dr. Mild began to cough, black liquid being spat from his throat.
"Don't ignore me! For I am above you!"
The physician made it out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. The barrier seemed to have lessened the effects of the magic, as some fresh air reached his ailing chest. He fell to the ground, coughing what remained of the liquid. Shining Armor watched in fright. With a dismissing wave of his hoof, Dr. Mild signaled that he was alright.
"This is beyond anything I imagined," Dr. Mild croaked. "Don't let anypony see that crystal again. What an evil!"
"Then we must get rid of it!" Shining said boldly.
"I'm not sure if we can," the physician wailed as sweat poured down his face. "It's too strong, my boy. Much to strong for any of us."
Shining did not reply and their eyes met in mutual worry. Then they stared at the closed door that kept the evil blackness at bay. They both knew quite well that the door was only a momentary restraint on the crystal's brutal magic. It would not be long until the crystal broke through the barriers and engulfed the island in its killing magical aura. In their panicked minds, they thought hard of what to do. To the physician, he could only think of more wood to pile on the barriers to slow it down. So that was what he did.
~~~