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.
"Is this everpony?" Twilight gazed disbelievingly at the assembled ponies. Of her friends, only Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Spike were present in the tree library. Pinkie had accompanied a crestfallen Spike and an anxious Twilight back from the market before being sent off to collect the other four of Twilight's friends. Now she had returned alone, save for Fluttershy, who lurked behind Pinkie, nervous as to why Twilight sounded so worried.
Fluttershy nudged the door shut behind them as Pinkie began talking, "I started off going to Rarity's but she was really, really busy trying to get an order ready for an important client in Vanhoover so she couldn't come and even when I told her it was really important s said this client could make or break her career so-" Pinkie took a deep breath, "so then I went to Applejack's and Big mac was there and he said Applejack had gone with Granny Smith to Apple Loosa to pick up something from Braeburn and wouldn't be back for three days so then I went to see Fluttershy who agreed to come and she flew up to see Rainbow Dash but Rainbow wasn't there because she was getting water from Neighagra Falls up to Cloudsdale for the rain so it was just Fluttershy and me so we came here right away."
Pinkie collapsed to the floor, breathing in and out deeply while Spike rushed to get her a drink. Twilight stomped her hoof on the library floor, "I guess it's just us three then. Fluttershy, you-"
"Four, Twilight. I'm coming with you guys too." Spike had returned with the water and was staring at Twilight with defiance, willing her to oppose his choice; but, to his surprise, she simply nodded.
"Of course, Spike. We need you, especially if the other girls aren't coming. Plus it was your gem, so you have a right to come. Now, where was I?" Twilight gazed out of the window a moment as she collected her thoughts. "Ah, yes! Fluttershy, you know what's going on?" Fluttershy nodded and mumbled the affirmative. "Good, then we'll set off for Canterlot right away to see what the Princess knows about the voice at the market and Brighthallow Cavern." Twilight turned lazily to the spot by the door where her saddlebags were lay, horn glowing purple as she used magic to bring them to her feet. Slowly, she frowned, then began panicing as the saddlebags refused to move. Scrunching her face up in concentration, she tried harder to bring the saddlebags to her.
"Twilig-!" Spike yelled as he flew across the room and hit into the side of Twilight's head, dazing her. he continued across the rest of the library and slammed into a bookcase, which promptly tilted towards him, spilling books everywhere. Twilight scrambled to her feet and gazed in horror at what had happened as Fluttershy rushed to help Spike out from under the books and Pinkie began giggling.
A shrill scream from outside silenced her, however. Twilight and Pinkie rushed to the window to see what was happening as Fluttershy continued to assist Spike. Outside, smoke was rising from the hospital across Ponyville, billowing across the sky.
"Okay, Spike, you should be all fine now." Fluttershy turned to the others and made her way to the window, "Wh-what's going on? Is everything alright?" Fluttershy frowned in confusion at the look on both of her friends' faces. Twilight shook her head, still gazing out across the town. Fluttershy, having reached the window, turned to see the event that had both ponies transfixed. "Oh, my..." she trailed off as Pinkie bsuddenly turned and bolted for the door, followed closely by Twilight, who had gone very pale and was muttering under her breath.
It took them a few minutes to reach the hospital, despite having not rested once on the way over, and when they arrived they joined the back of a crowd of ponies gathered to watch the blaze, which still hadn ot been extinguished. The hospital was a husk of its usual self, the second and third floor windows had vast, unending trails of dark grey smoke pouring out into the sky, while the floor of the fixth story had caved in on the fourth story, hurling debris out in front of the hospital.
"Twilight! Oh, Twilight, thank goodness you're here!" The four of them turned to see Rarity heading towards them, looking quite perplexed.
"Rarity! Weren't you supposed to be doing work for somepony in Vanhoover?" Twilight's eyes darted from the hospital to Rarity, trying to view the fire without looking as though she was ignoring her friend.
"Yes, of ocurse, and I shall continue to do so the moment this mess has been sorted out."
"What happened, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked, wings folding and unfolding in nervousness.
"Apparently a doctor set three floors on fire whilst performing surgery on a pegasus after a tree fell on her this morning."
"A tree?" Fluttershy squeaked, concern radiating from her voice. Rarity nodded.
"Something went dreadfully wrong at Sugarcube Corner is all I've heard, I'm sorry Fluttershy."
Twilight shook her head, trying to get the conversation back on track, "What about the hospital? Why would a doctor set the hospital on fire?" Rarity didn't answer, however Pinkie gave a gasp and turned to Twilight.
"Don't you remember right before we went to the window and saw the smoke, Twilight? You made Spike fly across the room and hit you in the head, remember? Remember?"
Rarity gazed in disbelief at Twilight, who blushed, "I'm sorry, it was an accident. I didn't plan for a dragon to hit into the botany section of the library and disorganise it, did I?" Twilight focused on Rarity, "You haven't had anything go wrong with your magic today, have you Rarity?"
"No, of course not." Rarity replied in a shrill voice, eyes fixed upon a point above Twilight's shoulder.
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, certain Rarity wasn't being entirely honest. Rarity half-opened her mouth, but didn't speak. Twilight frowned at her though, and she shook her head, avoiding Twilight's gaze.
"It's not worked all morning." Rarity whispered, turning her gaze to Twilight again. Twilight recoiled slightly; Rarity's eyes were wide and tears were dripping down her cheeks. Fluttershy also saw this and hurried over to Rarity, placing her foreleg around Rarity and smiling reassuringly at her. Rarity smiled back at her, but it was a feeble smile, with no happiness behind it.
Pinkie joined Fluttershy in comforting their friend, as Twilight heard her name called. She twisted around, expecting the voice from earlier, but instead was greeted with the sight of Spike rushing towards them, holding a piece of parchment in his claw. Twilight headed across to meet him, worried by the events of the day and the look on Spike's face.
Spike gasped for breath, holding out the parchment for Twilight, who used her magic to hold the scroll in front of her. The wax seal of Princess Celestia was emblazoned upon it, however it had been broken, presumably by Spike. Twilight unravelled the scroll, convinced what was happening to Ponyville must also be happening in Canterlot, and that was why the Princess had wrote. However the words on the scroll, written hurriedly by a pony who Twililight knew couldn't be her mentor, were much worse than she feared.
Twilight, come to Canterlot right away, the city is in chaos and nopony knows what to do. People outside the castle are demanding to know what's going on, and some parts of Canterlot are burning. Princess Celestia was injured badly attempting to restore order, and asked that this be sent to you.
Shining Armor.
"What does it say?" Fluttershy asked, having joined Twilight and Spike while she was reading. Twilight wiped her hoof against her cheek and turned to Fluttershy, who could see she had been crying.
"We need to go to Canterlot right away."