The Brighthallow Crisis

The sun beat down on the town of Ponyville, as it had for the last week. The market was bustling as mares and colts alike sought to spend their bits at the stalls of the traders who had entered town the previous night, wagons loaded with fine clothes, juicy fruit, exotic quills and other unusual products. The mud, hardened by the endless pounding of the sun, was a pattern of hoof-prints of various sizes. One trader called to individual ponies, making jokes and holding up a gown of turquoise satin for all to behold. Another had an array of quills on display, each made from the feather of a creature from the Everfree Forest (if the trader was to be believed).

Twilight stayed to the edge of the crowd, Spike holding tightly to her back to avoid being lost in the throng of ponies. Some traders called out to her, and more to Spike, offering to take him with them on their next trip, but for the most part they were ignored, the traders far too busy with the other ponies to try and convince one lone unicorn to purchase their goods.
Spike’s eyes darted from stall to stall, eyes alight with excitement. “Can you see him, Twilight? Can you see his stall? Does he have them?”

Twilight chuckled, “No, Spike, I haven’t seen him yet. But I’m sure he’s here somewhere, just waiting for his best customer to arrive.” Spike jumped up and pointed over the crowd to a stall with sunset orange covers.

“There, Twilight! I see him! And it looks like he’s got more than last year, too!” Twilight stopped and stretched her neck, peeking over the ever-shifting sea of ponies. Once she spotted the orange stall she began trotting towards it, apologising to everypony who she passed until she arrived at the stall. Spike hopped down off her back and dropped a bag of bits on the stall.

The unicorn colt manning the stall glanced down at Spike and smiled. “Well, if it isn’t my best customer! Y’know Spike, I travel all across Equestria, but I don’t think I ever sell more than I do in Ponyville, and that’s because of you!”

Spike blushed and mumbled denials that the enormous sales in Ponyville for the gem trader last year were due to his buying of every saphire the trader had been able to carry from the caves in the Everfree Forest. Twilight, amused by Spike’s modesty, produced from her saddlebags a purple bag filled with coins, which all jostled to escape the confines of the purple material as Twilight upturned the bag over the stall table.

Spike peered over the top of the table, only just tall enough to see even that high. The trader’s horn lit with a yellow glow as he placed a pair of spectacles on and began counting out the coins.

“How much will that get me? Twenty? Thirty? Maybe, forty?” Spike licked his lips, imagining the taste of the gems he could already see in his mind.

The trader removed his spectacles and looked to Spike, then to Twilight. “I have something you may be interested in. A gem I discovered in Brighthallow Cavern, deep in the Forest. This gem, it shines brighter than a Fire Ruby when held up to the light, and is the colour of midnight. This gem, the like of which I have never seen before, I will sell you.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed as she tried to picture which gem this could be. At the library there were several volumes on gem types which she had read several times to ensure Spike received his money’s worth, yet in none of them could she recall a gem similar to that the trader was describing. Meanwhile Spike was reaching over the table, pushing the bits towards the trader and nodding expectantly.

Twilight sighed when she noticed what Spike was doing and nodded to the trader, who produced from behind him a midnight blue gem glinting in the sunlight, every facet generating its own sparkle.

Spike eagerly grabbed the gem and hopped back onto twilight, who thanked the trader before turning to head back to the library. As she slipped through the crowds she noticed several ponies staring at Spike, mouths and eyes wide open. Then, as she was passing by a trader selling fireworks, she noticed a pink blur out of the corner of her eye before a large object knocked both her and Spike to the ground.

Climbing to her feet, Twilight noticed Spike picking up his new gem, which he had dropped when he fell, and none other than Pinkie Pie lay on the ground next to her, also getting to her feet and apologising as she did so.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight! I just didn’t see you there and I was really excited about these fireworks because they have all sorts of amazing patterns when they explode and I was racing to get them before they ran out and I didn’t see you and that’s when i hit you and I’m sorry and-” Pinkie stopped suddenly as she noticed Spike for the first time, “Wow! What’s that, Spike?”
Spike glanced at the gem. “This is my new gem. The trader said he found it in Brighthallow Cavern and it’s the only one of its kind!”

Pinkie leant in, captivated by the marvel before her eyes, watching the light glimmer off of every single facet of the-
"Ow!" Spike yelped and jumped back, dropping the gem Pinkie had been staring at as she trod on his tail. Pinkie, surprised, fell to the ground laughing while Twilight searched for the location of the gem.

Twilight spun around, desperately searching for the expensive stone. The crowd of ponies suddenly seemed thicker than before, and the gem was nowhere to be seen.

Mine

Twilight turned around to see who had spoken, but although there were numerous ponies in the crowd behind her, none seemed to be directing their attention at her. She frowned, wondering who had spoken and what they had meant. Nearby Pinkie and Spike were getting up and had started searching for Spike’s gem too.

Not his. Mine.

Twilight turned again, sure she would now be face to face with the pony who was speaking. She concentrated and gazed at each pony individually, wondering who had spoken. Thus, when Spike put his claw on her side she blinked, surprised.

“Are you okay, Twilight? We can’t see the gem, have you seen it?”

“N-no. I...I don’t think so. But it has to be here somewhere, it can’t have rolled far.”

Spike nodded, “I’ll keep looking here with Pinkie, can you look for it in that?” He pointed to the crowd.

Twilight nodded and trotted into the crowd, eyes glued to the floor as she searched for the gem. As she searched, she caught bits of other ponies conversations, most of which seemed mundane.

“Have you seen the trader over by the tree there? I hear she’s come from Manehatten-”

“Cherry Berry just bought this for me, does it go with my mane?”

“Did you see? That gem merchant had his stall upturned, all his gems scattered while he was eating lunch. Who would do such a thing?”

“Rainbowshine’s in charge of the weather this week. This sun’s nice and all, but it’s a little warm for me.”

You won't find it, Twilight. Twilight jumped and scanned the crowd.

“Who was that?” she called.

It was I.

“Who are you? Where are you?”

It does not matter who I am, Twilight Sparkle. All that should concern you is the gem is mine, and I have reclaimed it.

“No, Spike bought that gem, it’s his. And what do you mean, you reclaimed it? You took it when Spike dropped it?”

Yes, but you have much greater problems ahead.

Twilight frowned, “What do you mean?”

The gem found in Brighthallow Cavern belongs to me, and was used to amass a great store of magical energy. However when the gem was removed from the cavern, the energy escaped, much like when a box is tipped on its side and the contents fall out. This energy is very volatile.

“What can we do?”

It is quite simple, but will not be easy. The gem from Brighthallow will no longer serve, thus a new gem must be procured to hold the vast amounts of energy. You must then take this gem to Brighthallow Cavern, the epicentre of the magical tide. Once you are there we shall meet and I can do the rest.

“Why can’t you do this? Why can’t you help until we’re at Brighthallow?” Twilight waited, but the voice was gone.