A Castle and a Discovery

Knick Knack was all but blinded as she paced her way through the forest, but she was not afraid.

Her horn was lit pulsating purple in slow, throbbing waves as she followed the pull of magic through the trees. Her vision was made patchy by the magic and effort needed for such a spell, but this was worth it. She could tell she was onto something big. The detection spell did at times attempt to take her straight through trees, but on most occasions she was able to skirt around and continue following the pull of what had to be an enormous cache of ancient artefacts – the drag of it was captivating, so much so that it almost made her physically hungry. There was an ancientness about it, a strange loneliness that spoke of forgotten things, that begged to be uncovered and brought back into the light. There was a darkness too, that warned against her... but she was not a pony easily deterred.

After a little time, she stumbled onto a path – little more than a faint scar in the dirt, barely a track at all, but lined with a few stones and crystal shards here and there – they were almost at the Empire. Pausing, letting the spell fade, Knick Knack fished in her saddle bag and pulled out a little charm that would gravitate naturally towards magical energy. She smiled as it strained a little in the air, but was taken aback when it slipped out of her hooves and zoomed ahead along the track. After a beat, she gave chase, galloping along, excitement growing all the way. Whatever this was... It was something unprecedented.

Just beyond the forest, at the end of the trail, lay a massive castle seemingly carved from the mountain itself. But the hue of the stone was a deep and troublesome black, and it was built in such a way that the light of the sun would never touch it. Deep inside, an equally dark and troublesome stallion poured over ancient tomes scattered across a desk of ebon wood inside a library old and big enough to rival the one in Canterlot.

The inside was lit by torches ablaze with ghastly purple flames, and while the castles gate was open to all, seldom did those who venture inside return.

When she burst out of the trees, the castle burst into view ahead of her, almost sending her reeling backwards with the majesty of it. The structure was gigantic, grandiose, intact... but seemingly abandoned. The gates had been left open to whoever might deign to enter.

After the initial thrill of dread that had sparked in her on viewing the castle, Knick Knack's trepidation faded to awe. She reached out with magic, and, on finding the gates unresponsive, decided that they were unlikely to close unexpectedly behind her and chose to proceed. Her charm had long since escaped her view, so she trotted slowly forward, hooves crossing from dirt and grass to smooth stone.

When she passed through the wide doors, she stared about her at the enormous entryway. Now that she had entered the castle, it didn't seem all that abandoned at all... unearthly torches flickered purple in braces on the walls, and if not exactly homely... there was a presence about the place. Knick moved forward, more slowly now, hooves echoing in the cavernous space. She felt a weak little pulse from the beacon that had lead her here, somewhere further inside the corridors, and cautiously, ever so cautiously, began following its signal to where it must have stopped.

She met nobody on her journy through the corridors, but the deeper she went, the sense of another being in the castle with her only increased. She eventually came upon the little beacon charm, where it had fallen to the ground on the stone near a heavy, imposing door. She picked it up from the ground and was about to turn to go... but the magical energy behind that door. It hummed. It almost sang. It called, it begged. And before she could really think about the consequences, Knick had passed through the door and begun descending downwards into the castle vault.

((I assume it's in a basement of some kind. Let me know if you'd like to change))

In the dim library in the western wing of the castle, Wicked Heart looked up from his never ending studies, feeling the magic aura of another Unicorn. Slowly rising from his desk and stalking towards the entrance of his keep, he cast a small detection spell, quickening his pace when he realized where the intruder was. Though he was slowed by his stiff armor and stiffer joints, how long had it been since he'd last moved from his desk..? No matter, whoever was intruding would surely hear his heavy hoof falls now.

Leaving the library, he grabbed his cloak with his magic, fastening it around him to hide his form and drawing it's deep hood as to obscure his face and horn. By the time he was on his way down the stairs into the basement he felt the intruder enter his vault, and found himself more curious as to how they found it than annoyed that they were in it.