“Carnelian. Topaz. Citrine.” Maud was naming all the exposed gemstones she and Rarity passed by as they walked through Ponyville’s crystal caves.
“You sure do know your gems, darling,” said Rarity. “This is my favorite place in town, and I’m simply overjoyed to share it with you!”
“It’s my favorite too,” replied Maud. She stopped in her tracks. “Wait.” She walked over to a blank section of wall and examined it carefully.
Rarity looked puzzled. “Er… what are we looking at, exactly?”
Maud ran her hoof among some barely perceptible ridges in the wall. “Stalagnates. Formed by precipitation of calcium carbonate.”
“Oh! Well… it’s nice, but it doesn’t exactly glitter, does it?” They kept walking. “As a matter of fact, I did come down here for something. I need the perfect gem to tie together a dress I’m designing. Something spectacular enough to be a centerpiece!”
“Oh?” said Maud.
“Specifically, alexandrite! It’s a gem with a dual nature, you see. Sometimes red, sometimes green, its behavior is always changing and looks different in every light, so I thought it would be the perfect challenge to design an outfit around.”
Truth be told, Rarity had brought Maud to the crystal caves for one reason only: to impress Maud with her gem-finding abilities. She knew it was a skill that Maud would appreciate, and the perfect excuse to spend the day with a friend she didn’t get to see too often. Despite only having met a few times, Maud had left quite an impression, and Rarity was eager to spend more time with her.
“Alexandrite,” said Maud. “A variety of chrysoberyl. Formed by pegmatitic processes. I’m sure there’s some around here.”
“I can assure you it’s quite rare. But don’t worry,” said Rarity with a wink, “I have quite a reputation for sniffing out the rarest of gems. Observe!”
Rarity focused all her magic into the spell she was best known for. The glittering gemstones that lined the cave walls started to glow. Even buried gems shone brightly through the layers of stone that hid them. The tunnel became suffused with a soft rainbow glow, a field of twinkling stars in a sea of darkness, separating each piece of beauty from its drab stone matrix. It was a glimpse of the world as Rarity believed it was meant to be seen.
“Neat,” said Maud.
“Isn’t it?” said Rarity with pride. “Now it’s just a matter of finding the gem we’re looking for. Follow me!”
Rarity led the way through the tunnel, scanning every beautiful stone she passed by. She had become quite adept at identifying gemstones. Each seemed to have a certain character, a personality even, based on the sheen of its surface, the deepness of its hue, the shape taken by its curves and edges, and so on. She couldn’t quite explain where these features came from, but she grew to understand them.
Rarity stopped in front of a buried deposit of green crystals. “Aha! This could be the one!” She wasn’t normally one to get her hooves dirty, but she was eager to show Maud her skills, so she got right to work digging up the clump of gems. They were embedded in a larger rock, and she strained to pull the whole thing out of the ground. She was disappointed to find that the gems were dark green and opaque.
“Basalt with olivine inclusions,” said Maud. “Not alexandrite.”
Rarity groaned. What an embarrassing mistake! So much for impressing Maud… but she wasn’t about to give up.
The two of them continued along the path. Rarity peered at the gemstones lining the cave walls. She excavated another promising batch, but it turned out to be another convincing imposter. And once again, the next gems she found were the wrong kind. Maud was quick to identify them each time.
Rarity was growing desperate. “This is turning into a disaster…” she thought. “I’m going to look very foolish if I can’t find the alexandrite I promised. I don’t even really need it, that silly story was just to show Maud how seriously I take my gem hunting!” She glanced behind her to see Maud diligently scanning the cave walls. “What will she think of me?”
They walked in silence for a little while, Rarity too nervous to even try unearthing another gem. She was now acutely aware of the unnerving silence of the cave, broken only by their hoofsteps.
Rarity stopped, heaved a deep sigh, and sat down. “Oh, Maud, dear… I can’t seem to find a single speck of alexandrite in this whole cave! I suppose my spell wasn’t so useful after all…” By this time, the effects of her spell had faded, and the cave had returned to darkness. Rarity whimpered on the ground, afraid that she had disappointed Maud.
“Want me to try?”
Rarity looked up. Though it was difficult to parse her expression, she believed Maud was trying to be reassuring. “Of course, dear, please feel free to look around! Although you won’t have the benefit of a spell to help you, I’m afraid.”
Maud started down the tunnel. “I’ll manage.” Rarity got up and followed after her. Maud walked with such conviction, such assuredness, one couldn’t help but wonder what she was planning.
Maud stopped at a nondescript section of the cave wall. She examined it thoroughly and ran her hoof up and down its face. Rarity watched patiently. Though she didn’t have high hopes of success, she felt satisfied just to watch Maud do her work. Her dedicated, systematic way of approaching things was very soothing.
Maud chipped away at the wall with her hoof and sent rocks clattering to the floor. After a few precise swipes, she dug out a few brilliant red-green gems and presented them to Rarity.
“Guh? Why, that’s… that’s alexandrite! There’s no question about it!” Rarity held the stones gingerly between her hooves and gazed at them. “But however did you find them?”
“Like I said, chrysoberyl forms in pegmatites,” explained Maud, “but alexandrite needs chromium from its surroundings to achieve its unique optical properties. I just looked in the right place.”
The vocabulary was a little outside of Rarity’s expertise. “You mean… you can just look at the rocks, and figure out where it should be?”
“Yeah,” said Maud. “We actually passed a few deposits, but I didn’t want to steal your thunder.”
Rarity was dumbstruck by this turn of events. Maud didn’t have the same advantage as Rarity, but she had the skill and passion to succeed where Rarity had failed. But she didn’t feel bad about it, not one bit.
“I must confess,” said Rarity sheepishly, “I was hoping to impress you with my gem-finding abilities.”
“I was very impressed. You found some great specimens.” Maud dropped some rocks she was carrying, and they scattered on the ground.
Rarity examined the rocks and gems. “Why… these are all the things I dug up! And you kept them, even though they were the wrong ones?” Rarity picked up a plain-looking rock in Maud’s collection. “I don’t recognize this one… where are the gems?”
“That’s a limestone formation. I picked it up because I thought it looked neat.”
Looking over Maud’s collection of rocks side-by-side, it was obvious that to her, the blandest rock was just as important as any glittering gemstone. While Rarity was so discerning in the rocks she considered beautiful, Maud saw the beauty in every last one. And that, Rarity thought, meant that Maud had a much keener eye for beauty, and that Rarity had some serious thinking to do if she ever wanted to reach her level.
“Are you okay?” said Maud in response to Rarity’s pensive silence.
“Oh! Yes, of course,” said Rarity. “Just admiring your collection…” Rarity spotted a stone that looked like a bland, cobbled together mess of pebbles. “Can you tell me about this one?”
“That’s a clastic sedimentary formation. It has lots of interesting fragments in it. Let me show you.”
Maud held up the rock and expounded on the geological origins of every facet. Rarity listened with rapt attention. Maud explained the reason behind every curve, every color, every texture on the surface of the eclectic stone. Though her voice droned on, the passion behind her words was clear. With every detail that Rarity learned about this simple rock’s life, it became further elevated to a magnificent tapestry of geological history, and Maud’s voice alone brought its story to life.
As Maud talked, the two of them continued to walk through the gem-enctrusted caverns with no destination in mind. Rarity was enraptured by Maud’s words and engrossed in her beauty. She gazed around the cavern once more, but instead of looking at the gemstones, she paid attention to the stone they were embedded in. The once plain-looking stalagmites and stalactites were now fascinating sculptures. Each sedimentary layer in the rock face was a painting of the passage of time.
As soon as Maud finished a fascinating explanation of extrusive andesite, Rarity cleared her throat. “Maud, darling, do you mind if I try my spell again?”
“Alright,” said Maud.
Rarity focused her magic into her horn. Her gem-finding spell was powered by beauty; it would illuminate only the things that Rarity found beautiful, and reveal them from their unremarkable surroundings. She had a feeling it would be different this time. She thought about the limestone caverns, and the gentle drips of water that sculpted it. She thought about layers of stone that marked the passage of millennia. She even thought about her precious gemstones, forged by the patient, unrelenting force of sheer earth.
It wasn’t just the gemstones that lit up this time. Every cave wall, every stalagmite and stalactite, every pebble on the floor exploded into a canvas of pulsating magical colors. Sedimentary layers were traced by beams of light that outlined every chapter in their storied history. The contours of the columned caverns bathed the whole area in a warm glow. Rarity’s magic created a dancing light show that was less like a star field and more like a symphony.
“This is how you see the world, isn’t it, Maud?” gasped Rarity at the sight of it all.
“Pretty much,” said Maud.
The two of them sat together and watched the cavern walls as light played across them, taking time to appreciate every detail. Rarity turned to look at Maud, hoping to catch a glimpse of her transfixed expression. To her surprise, Maud stared right back at her.
“Oh dear, Maud, all this beauty around us and you’re looking at little old me?”
Maud paused. “Yeah.”
Rarity blushed. “Well, I do hope you enjoy it. You’ve taught me a great deal about seeing the beauty in everything. Just look how you’ve enhanced my spell!”
“I do enjoy it.” Maud returned her gaze to the cavern walls. “It’s not often that somepony… understands.”
Rarity beamed with delight. “Well… I got what I came here for. And more! If you’re ready to go, I don’t want to keep you waiting…”
“No,” said Maud. “I’m having a good time.”
Rarity couldn’t agree more. They continued to sit in comfortable silence. Even as the magical lights faded, they never took their eyes off the cavernous ceiling, and watched the geological formations like stars in the sky.