“I simply cannot thank you enough for agreeing to help, Maud,” Rarity said as she followed Pinkie’s sister into Ponyville’s Gem Caves. She flicked on her helmet’s light with her magic as the light from the entrance grew dim.
“It’s my job,” Maud said, switching on her light a few paces later. “What gemstone did you have in mind?”
“Well, something that’s a sort of… greenish-yellow?” She levitated a strip of fabric out of her saddlebag and over to Maud, who inspected it within her helmet light. “Something along that shade, if you could, darling.”
Maud nodded, staring at the fabric for a few seconds, before offering it back. “Olivine,” she stated.
“Olivine?” Rarity tucked the strip back away.
“It’s otherwise known as peridot. It’s around the shade you’re looking for,” Maud continued. “We’ll have to head deeper into the caves.”
“Alright, lead the way then,” Rarity said with a warm smile.
Maud simply turned and headed down one of the adjoining caves. The pair were bathed in a spectrum of lights as they went – the gemstones deep in the caves glowed, shining small spotlights on them. They protruded as oddly-cut nubs – some as small as a pebble, some bigger than a hoof.
Rarity admired them as she went, but she kept sneaking glances at Maud. Though the stoic sister of Pinkie Pie was as neutral as usual, something kept eating away at the back of Rarity’s mind. She nibbled on her lower lip as they went further and further.
“It’s awfully kind of you to do this,” Rarity said, trying to make small talk to fill the void of silence. Even the occasional drips of the caves creating new teeth seemed to be absent. “While I do have the ability to locate gemstones, it’s often difficult to find specific ones.”
“Gems are rocks – they form under specific conditions. I could lend you my collection of geology textbooks, if you want,” Maud replied without looking over her shoulder.
“That’s also quite kind of you, darling, but I’m afraid I’m far too busy to be reading,” Rarity replied with a nervous grin.
When the air was again thick with silent tension, Rarity gulped. Her eyes were focused on Maud now, her gaze sharp enough to drill holes through the back of her skull.
“I need these gems for a new line, you see,” Rarity said again, trying to strike up a conversation. She’d forgotten how hard that was with Maud.
“I’m sure whatever design you have planned, these peridots won’t let you down,” Maud replied. “It’s a unique gemstone, filling the color gap between yellow topazes and green emeralds.”
“Quite, much like turquoise fills the gap between sapphires and emeralds,” Rarity replied. “You have a thing for colors?”
“Gemstones and rocks exist in just about every shade of color. Most can be identified through their coloration, which is one of the first steps in geological identification,” Maud explained. “But if you know what you’re looking for, and what traits exist in the rock, you’ll find it without issue.”
She stopped and turned by one section of wall, gesturing to it with a hoof. Rarity marveled that, in this one particular stretch, yellow-green gemstones jutted out of the rock. Their glow was fainter than the previous stones, barely enough to make their presence known.
“You really do have a knack for this,” Rarity said, pulling her pickaxe free from her saddlebags. She raised the pickaxe back in her aura to strike at one of the gemstones, but before she could swing, Maud reached out and touched her shoulder.
“Peridot can fracture easily,” Maud said. “The best way to mine it is through slow, gentle picks.”
“Ah, yes, thank you,” Rarity said with an embarrassed blush and nervous chuckle. “Can’t have fractured gemstones now can we?”
Ever so carefully, she angled the pickaxe close to her target gemstone and carefully began chipping away at the stone. However, beads of sweat rolled down her brow despite her best efforts – she could feel Maud’s scrutinizing gaze upon her.
Finally, the last of the rock crumbled away and the peridot rolled out of its socket. Rarity levitated it up to eye level – a loupe would be rather useless in such poor lighting, so she relied on her naked eye.
“This is a fine gemstone, darling. If half of these are as high a quality as this one, I’ll have more than enough for the dress,” Rarity said.
Maud nodded. “I’m sure Fluttershy would like it.”
There was silence for a moment, before the loud clang of a pickaxe hitting the cave floor. Rarity’s shrunken pupils slowly slid from the gemstone over to Maud, who seemed nonplussed.
“You knew?” Rarity rasped. “You knew this whole time, didn’t you?”
Maud simply blinked.
“All that talk about ‘specific conditions’ and ‘knowing what to look for’ was just to get me to crack, wasn’t it?” Rarity accused, pointing the peridot at her. “You knew all along I was looking for peridots just to make a dress for Fluttershy? To show her how much she means to me, didn’t you?”
Maud blinked again. “All I said was Fluttershy would like it,” she said. “That shade of green compliments her coat.”
It was Rarity’s turn to blink. “So… you didn’t mean… and I just…” The unicorn felt her cheeks heat up and dropped the peridot along with her head. “Oh.”
Maud blinked and reached out, patting Rarity on the shoulder. Rarity shot a frown up at her before it melted away with a sigh.
“I just wanted to make something special for her,” Rarity said, who, against her hatred for dirt, plopped down on her haunches in the cave tunnel. Her head sunk again. “She’s the closest, most compassionate friend I have. She supports us all, really, but that’s what endears her to me the most.”
“A peridot would make a good gift for Fluttershy,” Maud said. “I’m not sure a dress would.”
Rarity raised her head with an eyebrow arched. “What do you mean?”
“Fluttershy is like a peridot – you can’t mine them too hard or they’ll crumble.”
Rarity stared at the cave floor, jaw working in thought. “So… what you’re saying is something extravagant like a dress would make the poor thing crumble?” She looked up to Maud.
Maud blinked. “Yes.”
Rarity smacked her forehead below the horn. “Why didn’t I think of that? Of course Fluttershy doesn’t like extravagance – she likes the simple things. A simple, quiet thing, but something as beautiful as her…”
“Might I recommend a geode?” Maud interjected.
“A geode?” Rarity raised an eyebrow.
“A small, crystalline formation that grows within a rock. It looks like an ordinary rock on the outside, but you have to crack it open to see what’s inside,” Maud explained.
“That sounds perfect,” Rarity said, stowing away the peridot in her saddlebag and picking up the pickaxe. “Where do we find them?”
Maud looked around the cave. “Somewhere around here, but they’ll be harder to find.”
“Not with me it won’t,” Rarity said with a determined smirk. She used her magic to levitate over a rock, and used her gem-finding spell on it. She quickly cast it aside. “Find me some more rocks.”
Maud nodded, and quickly got to work. She plucked up rock after rock, either off the cave floor or dislodged from the cave walls. Rarity scanned each rock with her spell before casting it into a pile off to the side.
After a few dozen rocks, the spell finally revealed a glittering green mass within a stone the size of small loaf of bread. “Aha! There you are!” Rarity exclaimed, raising her pickaxe high to strike. She stopped herself, however, and looked to Maud with a sheepish smile. “Gentle pick?”
Maud nodded with a soft smile. “Gentle pick.”
Rarity lowered the pickaxe, and delivered a gentle tap to the rock’s surface. A thin line stretched from the impact and down the sides of the rock lengthwise. After a second, the halves split apart.
Rarity carefully levitated the pieces apart, revealing bands of green and greenish-yellow. Towards the center was a small, hollowed section in the halves that, in Rarity’s opinion, was vaguely heart-shaped.
“Oh my,” the unicorn whispered. “Maud, it’s beautiful.”
Maud simply nodded in reply, then blinked as Rarity levitated over one of the halves of the geode. She looked down at the geode, then to the smiling fashion designer.
“Keep it, it’s the least I can give you for helping me, darling,” Rarity said.
Maud smiled softly, then shook her head, gently pushing the floating half over to Rarity.
“What? You want me to keep it?” Rarity looked at the other half. “Oh… so I can remember what Fluttershy means to me. You’re a very clever romantic, Maud.”
Maud opened her mouth to reply with something, but then closed it and nodded.
“Now that that’s taken care of,” Rarity said, looking back the way they came, depositing the geode halves in opposite saddle bags. “Let us find our way out of here. I must ensure I look presentable when I give her this.”
“Follow me,” Maud said, walking past her. Rarity beamed, following behind her with a little more pep in her step, the silent tension long gone.
Though her saddlebags felt heavier, her heart felt as free as a butterfly.
Author's Note
Date of Creation (D.o.C.): 07/22/20
Yeah, I've been holding onto this one for a while.
So fun fact: I work on Word 2013 - and apparently "peridot" is not a word. Huh.
As a fan of Steven Universe, I've dabbled in gemstones. That means I've done some research into them. Peridots don't form the large crystals like some gemstones do, but instead form small clusters. I believe I read somewhere that peridot (or olivine, as it's sometimes called) can be found in meteorites.
A sequel to this is in the works - it'll be ready as soon as I work on some symbolisms for diamonds.
The music I listened to when I wrote this was "It's Raining Somewhere Else" from Undertale.
-yours truly,
The Legendary Bill Cipher, Equestria Enthusiast
