Mirage and the Quest for the Bamboozle Gem

In a far off land, beyond the stretches of space, was Equestria: the colorful, beautiful land of ponies, dragons and other seemingly mythical creatures. The sun was high over the small town of Ponyville, bringing a little heat along with its light.

Rarity and Twilight Sparkle were having a picnic just outside of Ponyville. They sat atop a red and white striped blanket, enjoying a mixed berry pie made by their friend, Pinkie Pie. It had been a while since Twilight had gone back to see her old friends. Most of them were busy at the moment, but Rarity was more than happy to make time for her best friend. The two ponies spent their day looking up at the clouds and discussing their lives, catching up with each other's top past stories.

"I'm telling you, Twilight, I don't know how you are able to keep calm when confronting such foul creatures." Rarity exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air from the sheer stupidity of the topic.

"It's not easy, Rarity. But as the princess of Equestria, I have to do my best to make sure I represent this land at its best. Any screw ups and I'll just make matters worse." replied Twilight.

"Yes, well I guess that is why Celestia and Luna chose you to be the next in line for the throne." Rarity said almost enviously. The girls giggled and continued eating their pie. The sweet flavors of cherry and blackberry overwhelmed their taste buds, the richness and texture of the pie never dulling with each bite. "I don't know how she does it, but Pinkie never ceases to make an outstanding delicacy."

"I agree! If I had half the skills that she possesses then I don't think I'd have to bother her to make so many ever again." Twilight said with a giggle, holding her hoof to her mouth so as to not spill any crumbs. "Not like she's bothered by my company or anything."

"Twilight!" A shouting voice came from behind their backs, startling the two mares. Twilight looked back and saw Spike, running towards her. The expression on his face exclaimed danger, stress and worry. This caught Twilight's attention almost instantly. When the young, purple dragon made it to the princess, he placed his clawed hands in his knees and propped himself up, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"Spike, what's going on? Where have you been?" Twilight inquired.

"Yes, dear. Don't you know it isn't polite to sneak up on ponies?" Rarity said with a stern look.

"I'm sorry, really. It's just that *gasp* there is a strange portal opening at the edge of town. No one knows *gasp* why it's there, but it's starting to grow in size!" explained Spike.

"A portal?" Twilight wondered. "Who could possibly be opening a portal here at a time like this? Heck, why would there be a portal appearing at any given time!?"

"I don't know, but I think that you should come and see for yourself." Spike insisted.

"You're right. I'm heading over there right away." Twilight got up on her hooves and stood next to Spike. She glanced over at Rarity apologetically. "I'm sorry, Rarity. I'm gonna have to cut our afternoon short."

"Wait, don't think for a moment that you are leaving without me." said Rarity. "Anything that threatens Ponyville has to go through me, first."

"Calm down, Rarity. Maybe this thing isn't even a threat at all." said Twilight. "Maybe we are just misunderstanding the whole situation. Perhaps nothing is as bad as it sounds."

"Maybe, but I'm not waiting to find out." Rarity trotted over to Twilight's side and pursed her lips. "Let's go see what this is really all about." The girls, plus Spike, began their walk over to the mysterious portal, checking to make sure that nothing was meaning to harm Equestria and it's citizens.

Once they made their way to the scene, Twilight stared at the spinning vortex with curiosity. She wondered why a portal of all things appeared at this point in time. She cautiously approached it, her horn glowing bright as she charged it with magic, just in case any threats appeared before her. The portal began to sputter and glitch in a way. Twilight stumbled back in surprise. Rarity and Spike rushed to her side, ready to protect their leader. The portal jerked again, this time expanding like it was gonna burst.

"Stand back." Twilight ordered, charging her horn to its full potential. With one final jitter, the portal burst into a wave of molecular particles, sending the vortex flying in all directions for a short distance. The group shielded their eyes from the light, careful not to let the explosion blind them. As the particles dissipated, Twilight, Rarity and Spike looked back at where the portal was, only there wasn't a portal. Instead, there were four humans standing in front of them. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the light, but their confused looks were soon replaced with that of joy and happiness once they recognized the humans.

"It's the Legends!" Twilight exclaimed. Twilight had to hold herself back from jumping into their arms and giving them a big hug. Wraith laughed at the pony princess' gesture, holding her arms out and allowing her to do her thing. Twilight smiled and fell into Wraith's embrace, nuzzling into her neck. Wraith's stoic attitude was immediately broken as she felt the warmth of Twilight's fur press against her body. Wraith lifted her hand and stroked her fingers through Twilight's mane, petting her and showing affection. It has been so long since I have last seen you, Wraith."

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Wraith replied, lovingly squeezing the pony with her arms before breaking the hug. "It's a pleasure to see you again, and so coincidentally at that. I wasn't expecting to see you so soon once we got here."

"Yeah, Spike warned us about a random portal appearing out of nowhere. We didn't know if it was because of somepony evil or something like that, but needless to say, I'm glad it was just you guys." Twilight explained.

"I bet that's a relief." replied Wraith. "I'm sure I would expect the same thing if I was in your place."

"Hello, little pony." Wattson said, waving her hand and smiling from cheek to cheek. Wattson was delighted to see her colorful animal friends yet again.

"Wattson! A pleasure to see you again!" said Twilight. "You look great."

"Merci!" Wattson replied giddily. "You look good, yourself. Ya know, all regal and such." Twilight nodded in reply, her smile never leaving her face.

"Mirage, what a joy to see your face around here." said Rarity, hugging the bearded man.

"Rarity, you remember me!" Mirage exclaimed with pride. Mirage wrapped her arms around her and stroked her mane, making sure not to ruin it, as he knew just how protective she was about her grooming.

"Well of course I do. I don't think I could possibly forget about you." Rarity giggled at the thought of forgetting someone such as Mirage, considering the fact that all he ever sought out was fame.

"Right…" Mirage rolled his eyes, feeling stupid for making the greeting become so awkward.

"Spike, how are you?" Crypto asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm doing very good!" Spike replied with his best manners, making sure to be very respectful to the Legends. "Yourself?"

"I've been… better. There have been a couple bugs in the system that I have had to deal with." Crypto glared over at Mirage, who was to no surprise making a fool of himself in front of the others. "But in all seriousness, things have been going smoothly."

"You know, Crypto, it's okay to make mistakes. They only make you better." Mirage said, knowing that the master hacker was no doubt making fun of him.

"Maybe… but it's also wise to just simply avoid them as well." replied Crypto.

"See, this is your problem. You don't ever have fun. Live your life!" said Mirage.

"I do. Just in my own way." Crypto turned away from the others, giving himself a moment to process the sheer stupidity that was being thrown out at him from Mirage. Although, as much as he hated to admit it, part of what he said was true in a sense.

"Why do you two always have to fight?" Rarity asked, shaking her head and laughing to herself as she watched them bicker at each other.

"Uh… I, he started it!" Mirage exclaimed, pointing his finger at Crypto. Pursing her lip, Rarity looked over at Crypto, seeing what he had to say about the subject. He had nothing to say, so he just shrugged and shoulders and apologized for his behavior.

"I am sorry, Rarity. I will keep my mouth shut." said Crypto.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Crypto. I know you weren't the troublemaker." said Rarity. Mirage's jaw went agape after hearing her say that. Crypto just smiled and stared at the bamboozler, giving him a malicious wink.

"While it's great to see you here again, what brings you to Equestria?" Spike inquired.

"Yeah, I was just about to ask that same question?" Twilight added. "Why have you come all the way here?"

"Well, long story short," Wraith began. "Mirage was hired to find a special gem that can be used to create a new hop-up, which wouldn't be a problem if the Outlands didn't have such heavy security. He got us to help him in exchange for a cut of the profit. Upon further investigation, it appears that Equestria holds the same type of gem, although we aren't sure where it is exactly located. We came here to find it and bring it back."

"With your permission, of course." Crypto added, not wanting to make them all look like the bad guys. "The last thing we want is to be marked as thieves."

"Is that why?" Twilight was surprised by the Legend's reasoning. "Don't worry, I know that you guys aren't thieves. Expect for Loba, but that is another story."

"And here I thought you just wanted to see us again." Rarity teased. "Shame, I thought you loved us enough to even care to visit from time to time. Guess I was wrong to think so highly of you."

"Hey, come on. Don't put zat on us. We always love your company." Wattson said, placing her hands against her hips.

"Just kidding around, darling. Don't fret for a second." said Rarity. "I know you all care."

"So, do you give us permission to look around?" Mirage inquired.

Twilight Sparkle placed her hoof against her chin and thought about the situation. She knew the Legends were true to their word and wouldn't start trouble. However it didn't seem like they knew where to look, at least compared to what they had stated. After some thought, Twilight lowered her hoof and responded to their question. "Ok, I'll let you look around. On one condition."

"What!? Another condition!?" Mirage was beginning to feel light headed and betrayed. "Is this going to happen every time?"

"Mirage, don't be rude. Baegchi" said Crypto. "Do not forget that her words decide if you get your gem or not."

"Yeah, but… I… she…" Mirage fumbled over his words, unable to speak due to the mixed feelings plaguing his mind.

"It's okay, Mirage. This isn't that bad." Twilight said, hoping to ease his conscience. "All I ask is that you let me and Rarity come with you."

"Oh, is that it?" Mirage said with curiosity. "Uh… of course. But… why do you want to come with us? Do you think we will blow something up?"

"No, of course not. At least, I hope I can trust you not to do anything like that." Twilight said with a giggle. The Legends joined her laughter, knowing that they were known quite well for being destructive, being part of such a violent bloodsport and all. "But in all seriousness, I ask you this because it seems like you will be needing to go into the mines located in the Crystal Empire. There have been a lot of requests from ponies all around Equestria requesting to search the newly constructed mines in hopes of finding untold riches. Princess Cadance won't be so easy to persuade, as she has enforced all lot more security measures due to the overwhelming number of ponies coming to the mines. But I think I can talk with her and make her grant you access into the mines. Also, Rarity knows almost everything about gems and such, so she could be very helpful with finding the type of gem you seek."

"Wow, that's very kind of you, Twilight." said Wraith. "We accept your offer. It should make our job a lot easier with your help."

"It will also make the trip a lot more fun and enjoyable." Wattson added, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Glad to hear it!" Twilight turned to Spike, who was already awaiting further instructions. "Spike, fly back to Canterlot and watch over the castle for me. I won't be long."

"Yes, Twilight." With that, Spike spread his wings out and flew into the air, making his way to the castle.

Now that their job was beginning to take action, the Legends looked to Twilight for advice. "So, how do you plan that we get to the Crystal Empire from here?" Mirage inquired. "Last I checked, it's not exactly walking distance from town."

"Oh, don't worry about that. We will just take the train there." Twilight answered. "It shouldn't be too long to get there, and in the meantime, we can catch up on things."

"Sounds like a plan." said Wraith. "Let's move."