Gems

by Moheart7

Chapter 1: Manehattan Madness

Ponyville, a quaint little town that represents the best qualities of Equestrian Harmony, a place where ponies of all kinds live together in peace. There were many great locations in this town, from the delectably appealing bakery, Sugarcube Corner, to the humble farm of Sweet Apple Acres, however one place in particular that stood out the most... a magnificent castle. A first glance it looked very much like it were literally a crystal tree, which in a nutshell it was, it had golden roofs, purple and pink walls and had a shimmering crystal star decorated at the very top. Inside the castle it was just as beautiful, with crystal hallways leading into a huge assortment of rooms, one of which was a HUGE library, and inside this library was where our story truly begins.

“Starlight?” a voice called out and the doors opened up to reveal a lavender Alicorn coming in from the hall. “Are you in here?”

This was Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and the Princess of Friendship, she along with the rest of her five friends, who were of course the OTHER elements of Harmony, were the main reason that this castle existed in the first place, and needless to say having to navigate through the every hall can be somewhat of a chore, even if Twilight DID live here. The reason why Twilight was navigating the halls at this moment was for a reason that she seemed to find herself meeting every so often since a certain light purple Unicorn with a dark purple and green mane became the newest member of her household.

“Ah, there you are,” she said, greeting the said Unicorn and making her look up from the newspaper she was reading. “I was wondering where you’ve been all morning.”

This was Starlight Glimmer, Twilight’s first and only student, she may not have been assistant material like Spike, Twilight’s baby dragon was, but she was definitely a hard worker. Ever since Twilight gained her wings became the Princess of Friendship, she always felt that someday she would become the mentor for some pony just like Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, was for her. And Starlight Glimmer couldn’t be any more a perfect candidate, after making some… questionable choices in her past, Starlight Glimmer wasn’t exactly one for making friends, but after reconciling with Twilight, she now has a fair few friends, including all six Elements of Harmony, Spike and a traveling showpony named Trixie. After moving in with Twilight a few months ago, Starlight always liked to pay visits to the castle library, however in this case it wasn’t a book that she seemed to find her nose stuck in.

“Oh, sorry Twilight,” she said, finally noticing her friend’s presence as she put the Newspaper down on the nearby. “I just got caught up in reading this news article, I just can’t seem to put it down.”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at that, it was times like this that she was glad that she wasn’t the only pony among her friends who enjoyed a good read now and then. However once her gaze began to fixate on the particular newspaper that now rested on the table, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“Is that the Trottingham Gazette?” she asked, lifted up the newspaper with her magic. “I didn’t know we got that delivered here.”

“We don’t,” Starlight explained. “Trixie sent it over while she was there last week, though I can clearly see why.”

This of course wasn’t anything new, ever since Trixie and Starlight met and became friends a while ago they both have been sharing letters to each other to keep in touch, sometimes they would even send care packages, so it only made sense that this particular newspaper was something from Trixie’s travels. That fact, however, didn’t stop Twilight’s curiosity from peaking.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Take a look at the headline,” Starlight stated in response.

Inquisitive as she was, Twilight wasted no time in complying with Starlight’s request and proceeded to read the front page of the newspaper:

After reading just that one page, Twilight couldn’t help but cringe at the thought that just a thing could happen, after all, Equestria was supposed to be a place of Harmony, and all these fires and riots were far from anything harmonious. Needless to say the photo amongst the article didn’t exactly help ease her tension, in fact upon seeing the image of burning building only made her feel worse.

“By Celestia, this IS pretty disturbing,” she finally commented, putting the newspaper down.

“You really think what those ponies say is true?” Starlight asked curiously.

At those words, Twilight began to scratch her chin in thought, WAS it really true? Were there really creatures out there causing such mayhem, or was it in fact a cruel hoax? Either way, it certainly gave twilight something to think about for a while.

“I’m not sure,” she finally admitted. “But if there really was a threat then Princess Celestia certainly would have written to me about it.”

Starlight couldn’t help but sigh at that, even she had to admit that Twilight had a good point, if these events in the newspaper were really as big of a threat as it was making them out o be then Twilight and her friends would have definitely been the first to know about it, after all all six of them have saved Equestria more times than anyone.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Starlight finally said with a small smile. “Maybe I AM reading too much into this.”

At those words Twilight obtained a smile of her own.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of curiosity Starlight,” she joked, giving Starlight a playful nudge in the shoulder. “Now come on, everyone’s waiting for us. You know how Rainbow Dash gets if we’re late for one of her performances.”

Starlight couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that, ever since Twilight’s Pegasus friend joined the Wonderbolts, she has been performing many aerial shows with them more and more frequently than when she was in the reserves, which in turn meant that all of her friends wanted to be there for her to offer their support whenever they got the chance. In this case Twilight, along with Spike and her friends Pinkie Pie and Applejack, were the only ones able to get some free time to watch her perform, and Starlight, who always wanted to see the Wonderbolts perform ever since she was a filly, was more than happy to come along.

“Alright,” she said, her smile growing wider. “I’m coming.”

And with that, the two mares, exited the library and made their way down the hall, towards the front door. However even with the subject changed, Twilight couldn’t help but wonder whether what she read in the Trottingham Gazette was true or not, mainly because she had never heard of any creatures canine in body with crystalline appendages, but if such creatures DID exist, then where were they now?

Meanwhile, about a train ride away from Ponyville, stood the distinguished city of Manehattan. Though extremely different than the rusty town in terms of comparison, it was no less spectacular for being home to a great number of successful businesses, celebrities and many other attributes that play part in making this city a great success for it was not only home to the Haypacking District, it's also home to the Fashion District too. Another certain aspect of this city were the use of the many taxis that ran through the streets, yellow carriages pulled by a great number of strong ponies for just a small fee, some were opened up like a convertible so the passengers could enjoy the city air while they rode, and others were completely closed off for privacy. With one of these closed off taxi’s, a lanky looking Earth Pony stallion with a pale-brown coat and orange mane continued to pull the carriage through the streets with a cheerful grin upon his face.

“Big day today?” he asked, turning his head slightly behind him.

He was of course, talking to the passenger he picked up inside the Taxi, being a Taxi Driver, he always enjoyed getting into conversations with many different ponies that take a ride with him, after all some of the best stories he ever heard and he always looked forward to hear them every day. Today he was in the middle of transporting an elderly stallion up to Saddle Row, most likely a pony with a shop there based of his flashy jacket, so of course the Taxi Driver was curious.

“You could say that,” a voice answered from inside the Taxi, the figure completely blocked from view but still able to hear the one pulling his Taxi. “I’m actually meeting up with some friends in town. If I may ask, what’s your name?”

The driver couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing that, they’re aren’t normally a lot of ponies who ask their Taxi Driver’s names in this city, even if they were having a good day. Still, he didn’t want to be rude and gave his passenger an answer.

“Oh, uh… Copper Shoes,” he said, with a sheepish smile. “Metal names run in the family.”

“I should imagine so,” the passenger chuckled. “You can call me Topaz by the way.”

Yet another oddity the driver, now known as Copper Shoes had noticed, it was weird enough that his passenger asked his name but now he was giving away his own? This stallion must have been friendlier that he looked. Suddenly Copper Shoes’ passenger said something else that made him raise his eyebrow again.

“That you’re mare-friend?” he asked.

At first Copper Shoes had no idea who his passage was referring to, did he spot a passing mare on the sidewalk through the side window? It was then that he remembered that the front window of his Taxi was only tinted from the outside, and his passage could obviously see the photo of the pretty mare that was attached to Copper Shoes’ harness. Though he didn’t really want to say anything, Copper Shoes still didn’t want to be rude and gave his answer anyway.

“Afraid not,” he sighed. “Unfortunately she’s under the spell of my brother, Iron Horn, all because he’s just a little taller than me… and much handsomer.”

It may have been a bit of a too personal detail to tell someone he had just met, but unfortunately Copper Shoes was just too honest of a stallion to even twist the truth even a tiny bit. Surprisingly enough, his passenger didn’t seem to want to make fun of him like many others would have.

“Oh don’t say that,” the passenger, now known as Topaz, said. “I’m sure she’ll see that you’re the better stallion somehow, after all the heart will always get what it wants eventually right?”

Copper Shoes couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Thanks,” he replied. “I appreciate it, Mr Topaz.”

“And if waiting doesn’t work…” Topaz continued. “Then you can always shave Iron Horn’s head with a rusty breadknife and ship him off to Saddle Arabia in a trunk!”

If Copper Shoes had been taking a drink at that moment then he would have instantly have spit it out in shock, he even took a sudden stop for a moment and was almost backed into by another Taxi, thankfully he was able to regain himself long enough to avoid just a catastrophe and keep going.

“Excuse me!?!” he exclaimed.

“I’m just kidding!” Topaz quickly responded, making Copper Shoes feel a little more at ease. “Oh am I?”

Of course that last part he merely uttered in a sly whisper so Copper Shoes wouldn’t hear him, though it still didn’t stop the Taxi Driver from hearing his giggles for the next few minutes. Finally, after traveling down Saddle Row, Copper Shoes finally stopped the Taxi right in front of a shop known as “Rarity for You”, a brand new boutique that had only opened recently as the destination which Topaz had requested.

“Okay, here we are,” Copper Shoes declared, smiling respectively as he opened up the front window of his Taxi slightly. “That’ll be 8 bits.”

Now normally Copper Shoes would receive his payment via his passenger passing the bits owed through the window, however in this case the passenger in question seemed to be a little hesitant.

“Uh… do you accept teeth?” Topaz finally asked after a brief period of silence.

Needless to say, that question only confused the Taxi Driver.

“Uh…” he uttered, trying to find the best choice of words to respond with.

However, Copper Shoes wasn’t even given the chance to finish his answer, for at that moment, the muffled sounds of impacts and yelps rang from inside the Taxi. Needless to say this sudden episode instantly drew Copper Shoes’ concerns, but before he could even properly react, a small, orange limb poked out of the window and thrusted three golden molars into the Taxi Driver’s hoof.

“One tooth for the ride, one for the damages, and one to buy your mare something nice,” Topaz explained. “Have a nice day!”

And with that, the limb instantly flew back into the Taxi, leaving Copper Shoes completely befuddled. So say that this entire trip to Saddle Row wasn’t weird in general would have been an understatement, however upon seeing just what gave him the golden teeth in payment, Copper Shoes couldn’t help but grimace, for he remembered a fair few facts about the stallion who actually stepped into his Taxi, firstly his voice was definitely a lot more gruff when he first stepped in, his coat was white, not orange, and most importantly, he had HOOVES, not the paws that had gave him the teeth. However before he could press the matter further, Copper Shoes suddenly remembered the last sentence that this “Topaz” said to him as he received his odd payment.

“Wait…” he uttered with a raised eyebrow. “WHAT damages?”

Suddenly, as if giving a visual answer to Copper Shoes’ question, something burst out of the side of the Taxi, leaving a gaping hole in the side of it and startling Copper Shoes so much that he fell back with fright. As it turned out, while Copper Shoes’ REAL passenger got into the Taxi and gave him the location of which to go, someone, or rather someTHING, snuck in from the other side, bound and gagged the passenger up, and hitched a ride, paying the Taxi Driver with the passengers own golden teeth after he punched them out. Needless to say, upon seeing the small creature that caused such damage to his Taxi, Copper Shoes wasn’t one to stick around.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” he screamed, instantly taking off down the road, his broken Taxi still rolling behind him.

Now that the Taxi was gone, every pony within a small radius was able to see the creature that had burst out of it in full detail. It was a small creature no less than a head shorter than the average pony, from first glance, its body resembled that of a Diamond Dog, however it also had many key differences. For starter’s his fur was bright orange over which he wore a pale blue vest top, he had crazy looking eyes that spiralled with blue and yellow colours, thus making him look even more insane, but the strangest detail of all was the fact that the entirety of the creature’s body was completely encrusted with gems, as his given name suggested, both his arms and head had several topazes sticking out of them, even his jagged teeth were completely made of the jewels. As the creature known as Topaz laughed maniacally upon seeing Copper Shoes’ frightened departure, every onlooker ran away in panic, not one of them wanting to be in the way of this creature’s rampage.

“YEAH!!!” Topaz screamed, his eyes fixated upon the boutique in front of him. “IT’S SHOWTIME BABY!!!”

And with that Topaz jumped and smashed his way through the shop window, destroying the display mannequins and all, and forced his way into the shop, where he found none other than the Manager of the shop… all bound and gagged while five other creatures similar to Topaz guarded her.

“You’re late,” one of them said unenthusiastically, her white fur shimmering underneath the shop’s studio lights.

This was Crystal Dust, Topaz’s leader and big sister figure, like Topaz she too resembled a Diamond Dog with gems growing out of her, of course there were many differences too. Standing at least a foot taller than Topaz, Crystal had pure white fur, had a long flow of light blue hair atop of her head which she had tied into a ponytail, and like Topaz had jewels growing out of her upper body, only hers were literal diamonds, many of which encrusted the skirt of her metal armour.

“Hey, you try catching a cab in this city!” Topaz argued, Crystal may have been his leader but he wasn’t one to take a lecture from anyone.

It was then that another creature from the group spoke up.

“Well if SOMEONE hadn’t stopped to snack on that falafel cart…” she commented, her eyes peaking over a pair of sunglasses carved out of sapphires.

This was Misty Blue, and like her the others she too had gems growing out of her light blue fur, these being sapphires like her sunglasses, she also had dark purple hair with two bangs that framed her face and droops down towards her brown body suit. Of course Misty wasn’t alone in her comments.

“It WAS pretty foolish of you, Topaz,” the red group member added, causing Topaz to roll his eyes. “We were supposed to stay together.”

Ruby Rock, and as her name suggests her gems were that of large rubies poking out of her dark pink fur, she also wore a light green dress and a small, timid frown that she hid beneath her light blue hair. Of course, that wasn’t the ONLY thing Ruby was hiding behind, standing a foot taller than any of the others was a massive creature with deep purple muscles that looked as though they could crush steel, all of which were encrusted with amethysts, the same ones that made up the teeth in his massive under-bite, his name: Roughcut. And though Roughcut didn’t speak, his disappointed shake of the head was enough to give Topaz reason to smack himself in the head. However that was when the final group member spoke up.

“Oh come now fellas,” he said, casually trying on hats while looking at himself in a nearby mirror. “There’s no harm done. But now that you ARE here, Topaz, perhaps now we can start the fun. Right boss?”

At those words, he of course looked towards Crystal Dust, who in turn rolled her eyes at his statement as her second-in-command finally settled on a brown Fedora hat and placed it upon his head. This was Sheen, a creature with light green fur with shimmering emeralds sticking out of it and a small blue goatee sticking out of his chin, and as Crystal’s second-in-command, it was his job make sure things went smoothly amongst his peers… even if at times he can be a little self-obsessed. Either way, that still didn’t make him any less ecstatic when Crystal gave her command…

“Let’s get crazy, guys!” she declared, earning herself a roar of cheers from the others.

At that moment, every single creature in the room, lifted up their hostage over their heads and carried her towards the front door, kicking it open and then tossing the poor mare head-first into the garbage can on the sidewalk. After that they all ran back inside and started tearing up the place with manic ferocity, some even setting fires to some of the clothes, Topaz obviously being one of them. Once they were finished there, they all then ran upstairs and started to do the same thing to the Dance Club upstairs, scaring whoever was there off and then tossing the DJ’s turntables out of the window, causing it to smash onto the road below, and yet somehow was still able to play music, in fact the beat was so loud an intense that it completely echoed through the streets, so much so that the little creatures found themselves singing a merry little tune along with it as they walked out the front door:

At those lyrics, Crystal then pulled out a small device from inside her armour and pushed the big red button upon it, revealing it to be a detonator for at the same time, a huge explosion burst out of the top floor of the building, instantly setting it aflame. However neither creature payed any mind to the explosion and simply began spreading their own forms of mayhem, all the while singing their own verses to the song.

So then, after smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti for a minute, all six creatures jumped into the middle of the street, instantly causing a massive carriage crash behind them, after which they all began dancing in unison whilst singing the chorus to the song, revealing their name in the process.

At that moment, almost every other shop window burst open and even more of these “Gemnites” all jumped out, all of them encrusted with many different jewels and causing all kinds of mayhem in their wake. As it turned out, the initial plan was to lay low and wait for the opportune moment to make their move, and THIS was it, now it was time for the real fun to begin as the song continued.

It was at this point of the song that many of the other Gemnites joined the six on the street to join in as they sang the chorus.

It was a chaotic nightmare, with all the Gemnites swarming the streets like ants, no pony had any idea what to do other than their go-to method of panicking and running away, all the while their shops, and in some cases homes, were being trashed or burnt left and right. It was of course at that moment, Topaz and Misty Blue felt the need to smash the window of a nearby music store and snatch up a couple of electric guitars, feeling the need to let out a few shreds. Around the same time Roughcut and Ruby Rock and starting up a conga line with the other Gemnites, it was at this point that Crystal couldn’t help but laugh for things were going brilliantly.

“One more time!” she screamed, bringing everyone in for one last chorus.

On that final note, the Gemnites then all finished their tune by striking a pose, a small explosion of flame bursting out of the shop behind them to give an epic finish, after that the Gemnites all laughed maniacally and proceeded to continue their rampage.

During this time, watching all of this from the roof of a nearby building, another figure chuckled, his toothy grin shimmered in the light of the flames below as he chewed on a toothpick. Ever since he had escaped his tone prison a month ago, this blue figure’s crystalline creations have been providing him with the perfect amount of chaos in their wake, perfect for whatever plans he has in mind.

“Hehehe, nothing like a bit of mayhem to lift one’s spirits,” he chuckled.

Suddenly another voice rang in the figure’s non-existent ears.

“I couldn’t agree more, Tak,” it said, causing the figure to widen his eyes in shock, for no one had uttered his name in over 800 years.

Instantly the figure, now known as Tak quickly turned around to see nothing but the rest of the roof and the air, at this moment he quickly smiled for he knew of only one creature with such a unique voice.

“Discord!” he cried out, swinging his arms into the air with praise. “So nice to see an old acquaintance!”

At that moment, the roof suddenly became slightly more populated for in a bright flash of white light, another figure magically appeared on the roof, a creature with a head of a pony, a lion’s paw, and Eagle’s claw and a snake tail, the Spirit of Chaos, Discord. At any other time, Discord would have had a large grin plastered across his face, however in this situation he wasn’t in just a jolly mood.

“I’m sorry to say the feeling isn’t mutual,” the Draconequis said with a scowl, clicking the talons of his Eagle claw.

In an instant, Tak suddenly found his wrists bound in heavy shackles due to Discords magic, something which he only chuckled at as he easily shifted his hands into skinny tentacles, allowing the shackles to easily slip off.

“Oh come now, don’t be like that Discord,” Tak mocked. “After all you and I actually LIKE a bit of chaos, do we not?”

Discord only growled at that.

“Only if it’s MY chaos Tak,” he pointed out. “Yours is a little too dark for my taste.”

Once again, Tak chuckled.

“Yes, I should imagine so,” he replied, causally spitting out his toothpick and flicking it into Discord’s face. “Especially since you’ve actually joined up with those do-gooders up in Canterlot like a pansy.”

At those words, Discord’s scowl suddenly changed into a nervous frown as all of a sudden giant flower petals sprouted around his head, emphasising Tak’s comment on him being a pansy.

“Oh don’t act so surprised Discord,” Tak continued, easily taking notice of the Draconequis’ sudden change in emotion. “I’ve been doing a bit of traveling this past month and let’s just say everyone talks.”

It was then that Discord quickly regained himself long enough to rip the petals off his head and set them on fire, his scowl quickly returning as he gave Tak an angry glare.

“If you’re going to try to make me betray the ponies, let me assure you that I don’t intend of making that mistake again,” he declared, pointing an accusing finger at the blue figure in front of him.

Now it was Tak’s turn to scowl.

“On the contrary,” he said, casually putting his hands behind his back. “I don’t even intend on making such an offer, not after what Tirek said to me when I made a visit down to Tartarus last week.”

Discord’s jaw couldn’t help but drop with shock upon hearing that.

“You… you’ve spoken to Tirek?” he asked nervously, earning a sly grin from the blue demon.

“I’ve been speaking to a LOT of creatures recently,” he replied darkly. “Of course Tirek wasn’t one of my most pleasurable of conversations, especially since all he wanted me to help him escape again.”

“And you didn’t?” Discord asked in response, his fear of the answer easily noticeable by the waterfalls of sweat running down his face.

At those words, Tak scowled again.

“I only serve ONE master Discord,” he stated proudly. “And I won’t have a worthless centaur desecrating her presence with his own, so I did the whole world a favour and took advantage of his weakened state.”

Discord gulped at that.

“Meaning?” he asked, earning himself another grin.

“Let’s just say that for such a dark soul, he certainly made a very light meal,”

It was even worse than Discord first feared, not only has Tak returned to Equestria, but he has even gained enough strength to consume he who took his own chaos magic, albeit temporarily. In any case, whatever Tak was planning it needed to be stopped NOW.

“If you are seeking who I know you are, then you know I can’t let you go,” Discord finally declared, his magical flash of light donning him a military uniform. “This land ain’t big enough for both of us maggot!”

However, much to Discord’s surprise, Tak merely laughed out loud at the statement, a cold laugh that sent chills even down his spine.

“Oh Discord, you poor sap,” Tak finally replied after his fit of laughter. “You really think I would have been talking this long without something up my sleeve?”

At first Discord had no idea what he was taking about, however he soon came to realise what Tak meant when all of a sudden he found himself hoisted up by his legs by a blue tensile that used to be Tak’s forefinger. As it turned out, while Discord was distracted with the conversation, the blue demon kept his hands behind his back to hide the fact that one of his fingers was stretching out, slithering like a serpent across the roof and wrapping around Discord’s feet, now the Draconequis found himself completely helpless as Tak’s tentacle coiled around him like a python and spread across his entire body like a cocoon, leaving only his head free so he could breathe. Normally Discord could have easily have escaped this situation with just a click of his talons, but in this case he wasn’t so lucky, for whatever Tak was made off, it cancelled out all forms of magic.

“Now I’m gonna need you to send a little message for me, Discord,” Tak mocked as he swung Discord in front of his face like hypnosis watch. “Just a little message to dear Princess Tia, that’s all.”

Seeing that there was no escaping from Tak’s clutches after a series of struggles, Discord finally sighed in defeat.

“Just say what you want to say, Tak,” he growled angrily. “Then let me go so I can deliver it.”

However Tak’s grin only widened and he leaned in closer.

“You misunderstand me Discord,” he whispered darkly into the Draconequis’ ear. “I don’t mean to SAY anything, well except for this… DEFUSE.”

After that no other words were said, all that was left was a loud scream and a blinding blue light shining from the roof.