Black Rock Spikes

The **Black Rock Spikes** are mysterious sharp spikes of rock that came out of the ground surrounding the spot where the magical flower sprouted from, and later played a part in the return of Rapunzel's long hair.

These black rocks are located around Old Corona village and in "The Alchemist Returns", it is revealed that the black rocks were spreading to the kingdom of Corona, where the ancient Sundrop Flower descended to.

## Background

### Appearance

The black rocks vary in size. The grow just about anywhere, (although it has not yet been confirmed that they can grow in the sea or any other body of water) and are normally a black color, except they glow a bright blue when they are near (or come in contact with) Rapunzel, or they just spike out of the ground. When touched by Rapunzel, they usually create a large, powerful, and dangerous bright-glowing blue blast. Most of them have a small spike on the side of them, near the end. They often grow in clusters, and after Rapunzel uses them, they all pointed in the same direction.

## History

### Season 1

Sometime before Rapunzel's return to Corona, these mysterious rocks started to sprout out of the ground where the royal guards found the flower that saved the Queen Arianna and her unborn child. The only thing that is known about the rocks is that they are unbreakable and that the rocks are tied to the Opal years ago. Cassandra, brought Rapunzel to rocks while sneaking her out for some downtime. When Rapunzel reached out to touch one of them, a powerful blast from the rocks knocked the two girls off their feet and somehow grew back Rapunzel's long hair.

Afterwards, the rocks began to sprout throughout the land. They started to appear around Varian's village, Old Corona. Every time Rapunzel went near them, her hair would glow along with the rocks, indicating that they are somehow connected. Varian promised to help Rapunzel and Cassandra understand the rocks better and to keep their work a secret. As the number of rocks grew started to destroy the village, Varian knew that they would not stop "growing". Once they had destroyed his village they would start making their way to Corona. Varian desperately tried to use alchemy in his attempt stop them, until his experiments got his father "crystallized". in gold amber infused with the spikes.

In "The Quest for Varian", Rapunzel used her hair to interact the rocks and triggered a shock wave to stun the troops chasing her, but it caused the rocks rapid growth and destroyed the Tower eventually. An ancient scroll revealed that the rocks may be caused by the drop of moonlight, with reference of the Magical Golden Flower which came from the drop of sunlight.

In the two-part season finale "Secret of the Sun Drop", the rocks slowly begin to encroach on Corona. Following Varian's abduction of the Queen, King Frederic confesses to Rapunzel that he had known all along what the rocks were, revealing that the night of her birth, he was warned by Quirin against removing the flower, least he would reap unimaginable consequences and awaken a darkness, which resulted in the emergence of black rock spikes.

During the battle in Old Corona against Varian's army of automatons, Eugene gets an idea to lead the automatons to the rocks to destroy them. Meanwhile, Rapunzel and Frederic are trapped by Varian in a failed attempt to ambush him. Varian then uses her unbreakable hair as a drill tip in an effort to drill through the amber, but it fails. In the end, the black rocks converge on Rapunzel when Varian threatens her mother and Cassandra with a giant automation. Rapunzel realizes that this was her destiny and she shouldn't run away from the rocks, but she is supposed to face them. Rapunzel then grips the rocks and successfully controls them to defeat Varian and his automatons. Having an epiphany, Frederic admits he thought their purpose was to destroy Corona, but ignoring them only made the danger worse. The rocks then breach the kingdom's border wall and begin to lay flat, pointing to the certain direction, which Rapunzel was encouraged to follow.

In the aftermath, the black rocks are revealed to be breakable by Adira with her black sword.

In "Beyond the Corona Walls", the episode's prologue reveals that the rocks had existed and corrupted a kingdom twenty-five years ago (years *after* the Sundrop Flower had rooted its mystical healing/life-bestowing powers onto Corona). Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene, Lance, and Hook Foot are on a caravan following the path of the rocks - with Shorty as a stowaway - being pulled by Max and Fidella. It eventually leads them to a once great town called Vardaros. In the evening, Rapunzel tries to destroy Eugene's wedding to Stalyan with one of the black rocks. When nothing happens, Adira states that it's because the rocks have found the mystical Sundrop (now having transferred to Princess Rapunzel) in this case.

### Season 2

Having left a trail for the Sundrop Flower (Princess Rapunzel's blonde hair) to follow in order for the Sundrop and Moonstone to unite and call upon the greatest power of the heavens for one to wield as he/she saw fit. At the Dark Kingdom, from which they originated from the all-powerful Moonstone as a defense mechanism, their allegiance seems to have changed.

As Cassandra takes hold of the Moonstone Opal and unleashes its immeasurable powers, she merges with it and thus the black rocks grow at an incredibly fast pace and point toward her. Their evil magic has now given Cassandra a black-and-blue bodysuit made from them. It is then that her hair and eyes turn a light blue; the very same light whenever their powerful dark magic is activated.

### Season 3

Now having merged with Cassandra's body, mind and spirit, the Moondrop Opal bestows upon the lonely and luckless teenage daughter of the late Mother Gothel its array of supremely powerful moon-based abilities. Its supreme strength and evil magics seem to have grown considerably stronger since it had called forth the magical shadow sword, which was forged from its **ever-moving defenses**, to its host's hand.

Later on, at the urging of Zhan Tiri, Cassandra succeeds in tapping into the depths of her deepest rage and hatred she now feels towards Princess Rapunzel and completely control them with the second Moonstone spell. She was fully capable of creating an entire tower out of them as well as a throne, staircase and cages and a bind and elevator.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Before Ever After, Part 1 (first appearance)
* Before Ever After, Part 2
* What the Hair?!
* Great Expotations
* Queen for a Day, Part 1
* Queen for a Day, Part 2
* The Quest for Varian
* The Alchemist Returns
* Secret of the Sundrop, Part 1
* Secret of the Sundrop, Part 2

### Season 2

* Beyond the Walls of Corona
* The Return of Quaid
* Goodbye and Goodwill
* Forest of No Return
* Freebird
* Vigor the Visionary
* Keeper of the Spire
* King Pascal
* Happiness Is...
* Curses!
* The Eye of Pincosta
* Rapunzel and the Great Tree, Part 1
* Rapunzel and the Great Tree, Part 2
* Rapunzel: Day One
* Mirror, Mirror
* Rapunzeltopia (nightmare)
* Destinies Collide, Part 1
* Destines Collide, Part 2

### Season 3

* Rapunzel's Return, Part 1
* Rapunzel's Return, Part 2
* Return of the King
* Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?
* Beginnings
* Be Very Afraid
* Islands Apart
* Cassandra's Revenge, Part 1
* Cassandra's Revenge, Part 2
* Race to the Spire
* A Tale of Two Sisters
* Flynnpostor (nightmare)
* Once a Handmaiden...
* Plus Est En Vous, Part 1
* Plus Est En Vous, Part 2
* Plus Est En Vous, Part 3 (final appearance)

## Heavenly Properties

Being an essential part of the ancient, all-powerful Moonstone of the Heavens itself, which is the heavenly force of darkness and evil, they arise mainly to keep any from managing to possess the almighty Moonstone Opal and harness its dark powers fully:

* **Negative Force Manipulation:** As with the decaying spell, the Rocks have power to bring forth intense destruction, death, weakness and decay to those around them, even on the verge of death itself.
* **Nigh Indestructibly:** Most physically substances have no affect, with the exception of Adira's shadow sword; made from the rocks themselves.
* **Encasement**: They even have power great enough to surround its enemies and trap them into impenetrable rock-like prisons. Quirin is the first ever to become utterly encased in them, though their evil magics were notably assisted by the gold amber in Varian's laboratory.
* **Feeling/Emotion Response & Manifestation:** Now that they have a human host to harness their sinister moon-related powers fully, they now change to a certain color reflecting to her deepest feelings; first were "fear" and "doubt."
* **Lunar Matter Manipulation & Control:** Thanks to the secondary Moonstone spell, Cassandra can create and reshape the black moon rocks to her will, from a cage, to stepping stones, Cassandra's Stronghold.

## Vulnerability

They can indeed be severed, but only with the magical shadow sword wielded by Adira, which was forged by the Black Rocks themselves a quarter of a century ago.

## About the Black Rock Spikes

### Season 1

* "They're beautiful. What are they?"
* "Don't know. They just sprouted up here about a year ago."
* "They're unbreakable!"
* "It's just like those stupid rocks- It's unbreakable!!"
* "You snuck out last night, went beyond the walls of Corona, were you touched a mysterious rock that somehow caused your hair to return?"
* "This is the last we will speak of mystical rocks or magic of any kind!! To anyone!!"
* "I think they're what made my hair grow back."
* "And when we got far enough away from them, they stopped growing."
* "I actually got the idea after seeing a cluster of black rocks by my village."
* "The rocks are demonstrating an actual physical response- to you."
* "My dad has forbidden me from telling anyone about these rocks to *anyone*."
* "I have known about these black rocks all along. At first, I didn't want to believe that they were the result of my actions. And when that became impossible, I choose to ignore them."
* "The rocks are destroying Corona, and you...you are connected to them somehow."
* "Unbreakable."
* "These things are almost as tough as...wait a minute!! *The rocks!! Use the rocks!!"*
* "It's like the rocks want us to...follow them."
* "At first, I thought the Rocks purpose was to destroy Corona. I was wrong. I can see now that they're pointing in a direction; pointing you in a direction."

### Season 2

* "Where is it taking us, Pascal?"
* "It's clear now that these rocks were looking for you."
* "I've never been happy to see those black rocks."
* "This trail of black rocks is your destiny!!"
* "You're right, Cass. These rocks are my destiny and that's terrifying. What if they lead to...somewhere I'm never supposed to come back from?"
* "If we wanna stay on the black rocks trail, we better make it fast."
* (*to her dream self*) "I know you remember the black rocks."
* "The only way to escape Dream Corona is to go where the Sunflower once grew and grab-"
* "Grab the black rocks?"
* "She wanted me to lead her to the black rocks."
* "Max, to the Black Rocks!!"
* "If the Sundrop does not unite with the Moonstone, the Black Rocks will reawaken and seek you out forever. They will destroy everything in their path!"
* "Demanitus says that if I don't grab the Moonstone, the Black Rocks will destroy everything."
* "This Opal's defenses spread and, from that, grew a kingdom."
* "The King has my shadow blade which has the power to cut these rocks!!"
* "The rocks- they're working with us!! They're pushing us *toward* the Moonstone!!"
* "The black rocks made a path for Rapunzel, leading her here."
* "Leading you here to put an end to the Moonstone."

### Season 3

* "When Rapunzel touched the Moonstone's black rocks, they gave her their protective power. This kept the Sundrop safe until she made her way to the Dark Kingdom."
* "You're connected to the rocks. They respond to your feelings. Even fear."
* "This is new."
* "Where did all these red rocks come from?"
* "Looks like there's more of these rocks here."
* "I think it has something to do with these new rocks. I mean, I've only been able to study them for a few hours, but their affects appear to be extremely dangerous."
* "So that solution only works on black rocks?"
* "Yes, but I don't see any black rocks."
* "I do."
* "I see Corona-It's covered in black rocks."
* "When I touched the rocks, I sensed her."
* "It will allow whoever possesses the Moonstone to wield complete control over the black rocks."
* "You do realize I have complete control over the rocks now, and you know what this tower is made of."
* "Your rocks made rifts in the floor, which are evidently leaking poison gas."
* "Maybe someone could shoot a rock into the floor and push it."
* "I thought you said more black rocks would bring the mountain down on us!!"
* "With a little black rock help- Our exit"

## Trivia

* They are one of defensive capabilities for the darker opposing heavenly force of the Sundrop Flower, having originated from a single drop of pure moonlight.
* As of the Season Two finale, the Moonstone Opal's supremely dark powers have merged with Cassandra, granting her their supremely powerful life-draining abilities and many others.