Throught all the land of Equestria, throught the dark forests and tall mountains the shadow moved, always silently so nopony would notice his presence.
In the artic north Chrysalis and her group of survivors reached the warm cavernous sistem deep inside the Crystal Mountains, and began it's exploration.
The Queen explored throughly the site and the coal black crystals that were found inside it.
"How are this crystals gonna help me call back my Changelings?"
She wondered while contemplating the seeming endless labyrinths covered with crystal stalactites and stalacmites.
Those kind of warm, wet and isolated caves were the ideal enviroment for the Changelings to live.
After a lot of meditation and with a deep sigh Chrysalis prepared her summoning spell
"I can only hope my Changelings hear my call and make it back alive"
Said this words Chrysalis casted her spell towards one of the crystals, instead of the sky like she always did, causing the green beam of the spell to reflex into other crystals, and this beams bounced into more crystals causing a chain reaction through the cave, amplifying the power of each beam every time it went to a crystal until finally they reached many natural exits from the cave, ejecting into the clear skyes.
exploding into a massive wave of green energy that was dispersing throught all the lands of Equestria.
From the Crystal Mountains to the Macintosh Hills, from Vanhoover to Manehatten, only the Changelings could feel this magic wave, calling all of the survivors from Canterlot battle back with their Queen.
Meanwhile in a small forest somewhere in Equestria.
Trixie Lulamoon, the great and powerful Trixie had been feeling uneasy, she had not slept well, she had being dreaming with the painful events of the past.
About how Twilight Sparkle had humilliated her in the past, about the sadness she felt when she was kicked of all the towns she went, about her feelings of hatred, how she adquired that damned amulet, about all the damage she did to innocent ponies and the regret she felt.
She always wake up with dried tears, sometimes with the tears still rolling throught her pretty face.
Still she had been trying to live her life as normally as she could, taking her show from town to town, making an enormous effort to earn back the respect of her public.
But she would never fully recover from the damage her own lies caused to her.
That's why she now lived in a small and far away forest, to stay away from the mockery of the others, and to learn and practice new spells to reopen her show and impress her public.
But that left her vulnerable to a certain ominous shadow.
A shadow that had been with her in the past days, always watching, always silent, like if it was stalking a prey.
One night, after a long day of practice an exhausted Trixie went back to her humble cart for rest.
After the dinner, the blue little pony settle herself to have a much deserved sleep.
But as she turned off the lights of her home she realized something disturbing.
She found herself in absolute silence, and that was the most unnatural thing in the forest.
There was always noise from the living creatures like owls, crickets, frogs, and insects, the noise of the wind moving the leafs, she could see the fireflies outside her windows iluminating the dark forest.
It was a relaxing and beautiful sight to watch, but not today.
Today was dead, not a single sound could be heard, as if all the living things were gone very far away.
Her own home was covered in a deep unnatural shadow that didn't allow her to see the very border of her bed.
She was about to get up from from bed, but as she lifted her head there were three stangely glowing orbs staring at her.
She stared back at them, frozed with fear, then she got caught in a horrid and very lucid vision.
She found herself being abandoned by her newfound public she had been trying so hard to please, her new show ruined, and what was the most painful thing for her.
There was Twilight Sparkle as the responsable, laughting at her misery and humilliating her with the most possible cruelty in front of everypony.
"Why Twilight, why do you do this!"
She was screaming in despair while struggling against her inner demons.
"I thought you had forgiven me, please stop i beg you please!!!"
The little mare's screams were so intense that her vocal chords were in danger of tearing apart if she continued like that, she had never cryed worse than that in her life, the dispair and the pain that she was living were the worst she had ever experienced, she struggled with those invisible demons at the point of turning upside down the inside of her house and hurting her own body...
If a hell existed she was in it at that very moment.
"Please forgive me, have mercy don't do this, plase Twilight i beg you"
Time passed and she was sobbing quietly defeated in the ground with her body and spirit broken, whispering those words with what she had left of strength.
The infernal visions that she had, only she knows them with detail.
When she finally realized that she was safe at her home, alone.
The animals had returned and the noise too.
But still Trixie spent that night painfully crying and trying to wonder what was the meaning of such torture.
Obsessed and traumatized, Trixie began a research in all her magic books about visions and their possible meaning.
She had not slept in since last night, and throught the course of the day she had been hearing a incoherent whisper inside her head.
"Come on Trixie. Don't lose it!"
She kept repeating to herself over and over while looking for any kind of clue in her books.
Once again the night had fallen over Equestria, unleashing a terrible and real nightmare.
Being submerged in her research Trixie didn't realized that the very same circumstances of last night were repeating.
"Those fears will be your future"
A deep voice came out of nowhere while Trixie turned abruptly to confront the intruder.
But there was nothing exept for that grim shadow, a shadow like a black mist that covered everything inside the cart leaving her blinded.
"Get out of where you are and face The Great and Powerful Trixie you coward!"
Trixie shouted to the enveloping darkness.
"You are the responsable for last night aren't you, what was the point in making The Great Trixie suffer like that?"
Trixie asked to the air, still questioning if what was happening was actually happening.
The shadows that enveloped the cart materialized into the dark figure of an unicorn.
Trixie gasped in surprise as she fired an spell from her horn towards her unwanted visitor but the intruder had vanished in thin air, making the spell harmlessly hit the wall.
"I have not come here to fight you, Trixie Lulamoon!"
The unicorn spoke with an imponent and intimidating voice.
"What do you want from Trixie!?"
"I have come to save you"
The unicorn said now being behind Trixie, as she turned around in terror.
"Who are you!?"
"I am King Sombra, i am your savior"
"A King!?"
Trixie didn't wanted to believe him, but his imposing way of talking, his garments, his movements, and most importantly the almost unreal and powerful magic aura he emmited for being an unicorn.
"I have never heard of a king in Equestria, the only rulers here are Princesses Ce-"
"Watch your toungue!"
The King shouted with fury.
"Listen to me carefully, i have come to warn you about the posible future"
"That thing you said before about my fears and my future... My visions... Is that's going to happen to me?"
Trixie had now forgotten her own character, and was now very afraid for herself and her future.
"Unless you do as i say"
"What... Do you want me to do?"
She wanted to cry but wouldn't allowed herself such weakness.
"You were the last bearer of an amulet i created long ago... The Alicorn Amulet... It's magic is still latent in you, That's why you could see your future... That magic is connected to me as well, that's how i knew about your existence, you have been chosen worthy by the amulet to be it's bearer, it is calling you back... Your visions are a warning to the amulet's curse... If you reject the amulet's power and influence a future of suffering shall await you... The thing you need to do is to get it back to avoid that fate"
Trixie was shocked by the abrupt revelations.
"But, the amulet is probably in Canterlot now, there's no way i can get it back if it's on Canterlot"
"It does not lie on Canterlot, i can feel it's power surging from somewhere southwest of Canterlot"
"Oh no... That must mean they have it... I can't go back there... Not after what i have done... I can't go back to Ponyville!"
"Then you shall suffer"
Afraid that the unicorn may go Trixie asked him a question.
"Why do you want to help me?"
"My amulet chose you as it's bearer, it means you have the potential to unleash it's real power... A power that allows it's wielder to fulfil a grater destiny..."
"You mean that i wasn't using it at it's fullest!?"
"You were using just a fraction of it's real power... If you get it back you can still fulfil the purpose you had originally"
"Purpose?"
"As i have said before i have a connection with the magic of the amulet, and hence with you... I know you wanted revenge on a particular somepony... But you didn't knew how to handle it's power and it fired back at you... I shall help you to control it's power in order to fulfil the true destiny"
"And how am i supposed to know if you are just using me to get your hoofs on the amulet!?"
The King barely contained himself to apply Trixie the same punishment as when Chrysalis dared to insult him, keeping a calm demeanor.
"Celestia casted a curse on on the amulet... She was afraid of it's potential... It challanged her rule... And i am no longer able to weild it's powers, That's why it needs a worthy bearer... you"
Trixie was stunned, impactated beyond what she thought could be real, and then the king made his movement.
"Will you accept this gift of power beyond limit, will you fulfil your revenge, will you fulfil your true destiny as one of the most powerful unicorns there have existed and save yourself...
Or you will neglect this gift and suffer the curse of the weak?"
Trixie's mind was storming, that monster she had tried to bury deep inside her was resurfacing, reviving from the ashes while the regretful part of Trixie was fighting this temptation.
And then, she made her choice.
"I shall rest this night and depart to Ponyville at down, i shall reach my destiny in a day or less"
"You indeed have the potential, Trixie Lulamoon... But tell me do you have a plan?"
"Indeed i think i may have a plan"
"Then i shall depart, don't worry i'll come to you when the time has come... After all we are connected"
"Yes...majesty"
Trixie said while bowing to the King, as he drawed a dark grin on his face.
"So long then, we shall met again on the day of the destiny, Trixie Lulamoon"
The king said while turning again into a shadow and began his way back to the Crystal Mountains.
The night passed and so when the sun began it's way up in the skies, Trixie began her way to Ponyville.
"This isn't over yet... Twilight Sparkle... We are not done yet!"
Trixie said while making her way out of her training grounds.
Meanwhile at the Crystal Mountains Chrysalis army of Changelings began to gather again in the caves, and had begining their reproduction process inside those caves by feeding on the mountain creatures including Windigos and other malicious creatures.
The abandoned weak Changelings were the only Changelings left on her kingdom, so it was considered lost and with her invasion plans foiled Chrysalis and the last of her Changelings had newfound hope in Sombra's plan.
The wheels of fate had started turning.