I spent the next month reading every book I could get my hooves on. Subject didn't matter. I couldn't leave anything to chance.
Sunburst and I fell into a groove. Once he brought one stack of books, he'd go to retrieve the next. it kept me going without breaks. The only problem was the librarian insisted on us putting back all the books ourselves every day. I suppose it was only fair as I was going through close to a thousand books a day.
Sunburst did his best to keep up and supplied me with everything A-Z. The only time we gave ourselves a break was to eat meals. I half expected him to be complaining after the first few days, but he never voiced any sort of discomfort.
We'd reached the end of Day 32 when he finally said something.
"Are we getting close?"
"I actually had the information I needed on Day 5."
He nearly fell over.
"What?!"
I shrugged.
"You just seemed to be enjoying yourself so much. I didn't want to spoil your fun."
"Fun? FUN?! This hasn't been fun! I could have-"
He stopped himself as he registered the smile on my face.
"You're joking, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. I've gathered a lot of intel on Mount Everhoof, crystals, the Empire, any exploration to the North... I know I'm missing something. And the longer I'm here reading, the angrier I'm getting. I should have found something!"
Sunburst nodded.
"I understand. It's strange that the mines wouldn't be on record anywhere."
"Right?! How could there be no..."
I trailed off as the gears in my head began turning again.
"No record..."
I looked around the room and found Emerald Dawn's book.
"This book has one of the few references. Why?"
Sunburst looked at the book.
"Emerald Dawn... I know that name! She was a prominent historian. She was known for being thorough with her details."
"I know that much."
"The Crystal ponies thought this book was lost for a long time."
"What?"
Sunburst nodded.
"It was discovered hidden away in a secret compartment in her old house. Along with a few artifacts and other papers."
"Would I be right in assuming there was another book?"
"I'm...not sure. Why?"
I shook my head.
"No reason."
That explained how her accounts of everything had survived. She'd hidden them away. It's like she knew there were things she'd written that were important.
"No records..."
Then it clicked.
"We're not finding anything because Sombra wiped every trace of the mines from the Empire."
Sunburst looked confused.
"What about the Crystal ponies? Surely one of them would remember... Of course, they wouldn't! Nopony remembers anything from before Sombra. He wiped their memories!"
I nodded.
"Once Emerald realized what Sombra was doing, she hid anything that might be important."
"But she didn't write the location?"
I shook my head.
"It might have been too risky. Or she didn't know exactly."
I opened the book to the proper page, looking at the passage.
The only thing that towered over the Crystal palace was the Great Mountain, home to the Crystal MinEs. It was from the MinEs our greatest resource came. Tales of the vast tunnels have become legend now.
Wait...
I looked over the passage again, my frustration growing.
"Curse my eyes!"
Sunburst flinched at my outburst.
"What's wrong?"
"It's been in front of me the whole time! But I didn't process the letters!"
I turned the book to him and pointed to the passage. He read it slowly. His eyes lit up once he saw it.
"She wouldn't have made a mistake like that! It must be it!"
I grabbed a map of the Empire and set it out in front of me.
"It would make sense to assume that the main entrance was somewhere on the south face. They had to haul huge amounts of crystal! You couldn't do it from anywhere else. But if Sombra was trying to hide the mines, he would have collapsed the entrance."
"how does that help us?"
I shook my head.
"Sombra was obsessed with crystals. He wouldn't have deprived himself of an entire mine full of them. If the mines are as vast as I imagine, that means there would have been multiple entrances."
"And he left one open for himself!"
"Exactly! And Emerald knew which one. It's on the eastern face of Everhoof."
I pointed on the map.
"I've read everything I could find about this mountain. The eastern face is dangerous, difficult to navigate, and..."
Sunburst looked uneasy.
"And?"
I looked him in the eye.
"It's the only place that has ever had an actual Windigo sighting."
"That's...not possible."
"Oh? You're so sure they don't exist?"
"Windigos are an old pony's tale!"
"And we're trying to see if a dead pony has come back! Do you really think that Windigos of all things aren't possible in this crazy world?"
That shut him up. I let out a sigh.
"We have to go the eastern face of Everhoof. There has to be something up there."
"That's a lot of ground to cover."
"East is the only direction we were given. The rest is up to us."
------------------------
As soon as we'd discussed our plans with Shining Armor and Cadance, we'd begun packing. I retired to the room Cadance had prepped for my stay. There wasn't much for me to pack. We couldn't afford to bring more than necessary. So, I packed as light as I could.
I placed my bag next to the door when I was finished. I'd be ready to go once Shining Armor returned with the snow gear.
My eye caught the open scroll on my desk. It was the letter Rarity had sent me a few weeks ago. I hated telling her how delayed I'd be, but she'd been more than understanding.
I hadn't told her about why I was up here. I couldn't bring myself to tell her of the danger I was in. I sighed.
"Maybe one day. After all of this."
Then the dark thought crossed my mind; what if I didn't make it?
I shook my head. I didn't want to think of that. But...
I approached the desk and pulled out a new piece of parchment.
My dearest Rarity,
If you receive this letter, then I'm not here anymore.
I'm sure Cadance and Shining Armor may have told you what happened.
I was too scared to tell you what I was doing up here.
I doubt I could ever express just how much I love you.
You've been the greatest part of my life by far.
I'm so thankful for everything everypony has done for me.
But you, more than anypony, helped me learn to live again.
I'll never stop loving you.
Shade
I rolled up the scroll and put a seal on it.
'Knock Knock Knock'
I turned to the door.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Shining Armor. He had a coat and a bag in front of him.
"Layers and climbing gear."
I took the coat and began putting it on.
"How long will it take us to get there?"
"Two days to the base. After that, I think it will be up to chance. I've got enough supplies to last a week. If we haven't found anything by then we'll need to come back."
I nodded.
"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. If we go back, the landscape will change too much. We'd be searching all the same spots again."
"Even with three ponies, it's going to be tough."
I smiled.
"I had an idea about the excavating."
--------------------------
We made a speedy exit from the Empire to avoid unwanted questions. The only pony who saw us off was Cadance.
I'd given her my letter in case of anything. She agreed to hold it.
"You'll be back. I'm sure it will turn out to be nothing."
I could see in her eyes that she didn't really believe that, but I knew why she was kidding herself. If I didn't come back, there was a chance that meant Shining Armor wasn't coming back. I'm sure that wasn't an acceptable outcome to her.
After that, we made for the border as quickly as we could. I wasn't prepared for just how cold it was.
"Sweet Celestia!"
Shining Armor snickered.
"Too cold for you?"
"How are you not freezing?!"
He smiled.
"I am. But I've come out here more than you."
I looked at Sunburst. He was shivering, but otherwise silent.
My eyes took in the tundra ahead. It was vast and white. There was nothing in sight except for the mountains. Our only company was the wind that was blowing us sideways.
We marched well into the night before Shining Armor finally called it. He set up the tent and we all crawled in. It was cramped, but at least it was warm.
Sunburst threw back his hood and shook his head.
"I never realized how much there was beyond the Empire."
Shining Armor nodded.
"The world is always bigger than you imagine."
His horn lit up and three small bags appeared from his saddlebag.
"Dinnertime."
We ate our meager meal gratefully, enjoying every morsel. Shining Armor finished first and unrolled his sleeping bag.
"We'll get a few hours of sleep before moving on."
I nearly chocked on my last bite.
"Only a few hours? So, we'll be moving in the dark?"
He nodded.
"You don't want to sleep for too long out here. Staying put means being found by some beast or freezing to death."
"Oh. Is that all?"
He chuckled.
"Didn't learn that in your books, huh?"
I rolled my eyes.
"I didn't come across any books on hunting ghosts in the snow."
Sunburst started laughing.
"We could have at least found you a wilderness survival guide!"
They both broke down, laughing at my expense. I let out a long sigh.
------------------------
We pressed on as fast as we could, taking short breaks to sleep after stints of several hours at a time. Shining Armor's estimate was spot on. After two days of walking along the tundra, we reached the base of Everhoof.
I looked up at the mountain, unable to see the top.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
"Come on!"
I looked to see Shining Armor moving to the east.
"We should look for any kind of path."
Sunburst and I followed him, keeping our eyes open for any signs.
We began to slowly climb as we searched for a path. I kept an eye on the peak above. With every passing minute we inched towards the east face. The only problem was that we still hadn't found a path.
After two hours of slow ascent, we stopped for a breather. The wind was picking up. Shining Armor looked up at the sky.
"A storm is coming. We'll need to make camp soon."
I stepped forward, still shivering.
"Then it's time to search. We can't risk a storm dropping more snow on us."
Sunburst looked crestfallen.
"How do we even start?"
I smiled.
"Leave it to me."
The idea had come to me after reading about some of the indigenous species of the North. I hadn't done a transformation like this in a long time.
I focused on the form and a green circle of magic appeared around me. It began growing bigger, covering a good portion of the slope. Shining Armor and Sunburst stepped back as quickly as they could.
I felt the magic engulf me. My body began to stretch and bend. I felt like I'd been turned into rubber as I grew larger.
When the green light died down, I found myself looking down at my fellow climbers. Sunburst fell over in shock.
"Sweet Celestia! I didn’t know you could change into something that big!"
Shining Armor grinned.
"I'll be damned. Never thought I'd stand this close to an Ursa Major."
I growled my amusement and turned to the mountain. It was time to dig.
I set a paw in the snow and let it sink, curling my claws and scooping the snow. I pulled the first scoop away, revealing the mountain surface underneath. Scoop after scoop revealed more mountain. Still nothing.
The wind began to pick up more. The storm must be close.
I kept digging, uncovering more rocky surface. I growled in frustration. The mine entrance must be further up. I reached up higher and took another load of snow.
There! A thin path was carved into the mountain's face. All we had to do was follow it!
I pointed to my discovery. Shining Armor and Sunburst made their way to it as fast as they could while I plowed more of the path.
The wind was really picking up. And it was beginning to snow. No! We needed more time.
And that's when I heard it. One of the most chilling things I'd ever heard;
A distant whinny carried in by the wind...
I began digging faster. I cleared the path, praying that the mine would be revealed sooner.
It was getting closer.
I was beginning to panic. It must have shown, because Shining Armor looked up at me and shouted over the wind.
"What's wrong?"
I didn't stop. I didn't dare. I kept following the path.
And then my paw disappeared into the mountain.
I smiled. One swift paw movement cleared most of the snow and ice out of the mine entrance.
Another whinny, much closer.
I turned around, my eyes darting around the nearby peaks.
And then I saw them. A herd of Windigos.
I released my magic and felt myself shrink rapidly. I was back to normal in the blink of an eye, standing at the entrance to the mines.
"Hurry!"
Shining Armor came around the corner first.
"What is it?"
I pointed out into the storm. His eyes followed my hoof, finding the Windigos instantly. He didn’t try to hide his shock and fear.
"Get inside quick!"
Sunburst came around the corner at full speed.
"Windigos! There are actual Windigos! Run!"
He sped past me into the mines. I followed close behind. I looked back to see Shining Armor cast a spell. A shimmer covered the entrance in a matter of seconds. I stopped, recognizing the spell.
"It's okay Sunburst. We're safe. I think."
Shining Armor turned to us and smiled.
"I've never met a creature that could break through my shield."
I couldn't help myself.
"Umm...didn't the changelings do that?"
He frowned.
"Well...no creature has ever broken through when I'm at my full strength."
Nice save.
I took a deep breath and looked around the entrance. Small crystals were sticking out of the stone walls. I couldn't help but grin.
We'd done it. We were in the crystal mines of Everhoof.