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Chapter 1: More Than She Bargained For4,412 words
Chapter 2: Learning Of the Past5,365 words
Chapter 3: A Recovery, a Royal Dinner, and Sketchy Plans5,333 words
Chapter 4: The Challenges of Going Home5,030 words
Chapter 5: Three Contests and Three Hearts5,563 words
Epilogue: Successes, Parties, and Princesses3,666 words

Chapter 1: More Than She Bargained For

Rare Gems Embracing Shadows

Chapter 1: More Than She Bargained For

Rare Gems Embracing Shadows

Chapter 1: More Than She Bargained For

A ragged appearing pony made his way into the store and up to the counter. The proprietor took one look at the pony and smiled. “Haven’t seen you in a while, what have you got for old Glittering Stone today?”

The rough pony grinned. “I think you’ll like these.” He pulled a bag from under his cloak and poured out its contents.

Stone whistled, as he looked over the goods. Finely worked strips of silver, loose precious stones, and jewels set in finely wrought settings littered the wooden surface of the counter. “Where did you find these? You didn’t do anything inappropriate to get them, did you?”

The pony snorted in response. “My name might be Shady Deal, but I have never stolen a thing in my life. Remember when our beloved king bought it?”

Stone nodded a cold glint in his eyes. “Oh yes. I can’t say that I was upset to see him torn to shreds.” He began examining the items in detail, noting that they were of even finer quality than he had first thought.

“Well, when he went, I noticed that some bits were thrown out of town. Our dear king always liked adorning himself with fancy gems. With a little detective work, and some digging in the snow, I found them.”

Stone slowly looked up from the piece he had been scrutinizing. He lowered the jeweler’s loop he had been looking through, and nervously wet his lips with his tongue. “You’re telling me that these are some of Sombra’s gems?”

“Don’t act like that. He’s dead and gone. We both saw it. He won’t be coming back for these, and leaving them out in the snow would be such a waste.”

Stone leaned back from the counter, still hesitant to handle things related to Sombra. “Shady, I just don’t know about this. I can turn just about any deal when it comes to gems, but this might be one I want no part of, even if I could make a tidy profit from it.”

Shady grunted. “I thought you might say something like that. What if I add a little something to sweeten the deal?” He pulled out a smaller pouch, and slowly poured the contents out. A cascade of fine, red sand formed a dune shaped pile, and then, with an impact that made Stone jump back, a stone fell onto the red pile.

Stone whispered in awe, “By Cadence’s mane. Is that what I think it is?” He looked the brilliant red stone over, not daring to touch it. At first blush, it seemed like a particularly large and fine specimen of a ruby. However, upon closer examination, a faint, pulsing light could be seen in its facets.

“If you’re thinking it’s the core from Sombra’s horn, you’d be right. I found the horn, and when I picked it up, it turned into that sand, all but the core. I was lucky not to touch the thing when the horn fell apart. You want the pretty little pieces? Then you’ve got to buy this too.”

“I can’t, Shady. Everypony in the Crystal Empire would recognize this on sight.”

“Then don’t sell it here!” Frustrated at the dealer’s reluctance, Shady’s voice began to rise. “It’s been months since the Empire returned to Equestria! I know you! You have to have made some connection outside this kingdom!”

Stone raised his hoof, silencing Shady. He held it there for a moment, and then bobbed it up and down slightly, pointing at Shady, as he thought of something. “You’re right. Not too long after Sombra was defeated, a pretty mare came in and bought a bunch of my loose gems. She said that that having gems from the Crystal Empire would give her designs a little something extra.”

Shady grinned widely, showing that he was missing a couple of teeth. “You wouldn’t happen to still have that mare’s name?”

While Stone’s grin was not as large, and had more teeth, it was clear that he liked where the conversation was going. “I have more than that. I have her address.”

“You think she would be very interested in these?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Well then, my friend, if your price is right, I think we have a deal.” Shady carefully put the core back in its bag, making certain not to touch it, leaving the sand on the counter.

Stone raised an eyebrow, noting that Shady would not touch the core.

Shady smiled. “Better to be cautious when it’s not necessary, than be proven a fool.”

*****

Rarity paused in her work, at the sound of somepony knocking on the shop’s door. She put down the bolt of cloth she had been looking over, and went to open the door. She was slightly irked, since the shop’s sign had turned to announce that her business was open. Her mood lifted, when she saw who was standing outside. “Derpy, dear, how are you today?”

The grey mare smiled. “Just fine, Miss Rarity. I’ve got a package for you, sent all the way from the Crystal Empire. I took good care of it for you.”

“Thank you darling, let me sign for it and I’ll take it off your hooves.” Rarity quickly filled out the couple of sheets of paperwork and handed them back to Derpy. “Thank you again, I’ve been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks.”

Derpy grinned. “That’s what makes my job great. I get to see all the happy faces when ponies get their packages. You take care!” With a couple of flaps of her wings, she was gone.

Rarity gave a muted, yet excited, squeal as she levitated the box in and shut the door. “Let’s see what I got. Stone’s description of the gems was almost too good to be true, especially at the price he quoted.”

She pulled out a cushioned tray for the gems, opened the box, and removed the gems from the larger pouch. “These are nice, but I don’t see the gem I was really looking for. He made it sound like a natural wonder.” She peered back into the box, and noticed the smaller pouch. “That must be it.”

She levitated the pouch, and was impressed by weight of its contents. “If this is a single gem, it must be enormous.” She pulled out another cushioned display tray, and upended the pouch. She gasped when she saw the gem. “Stone, you were right! This is a marvel.” She retrieved her set of calipers, and measured the gem’s dimensions. “Exactly the measurements he gave. It’s simply gorgeous! Oh Rarity, this gem is going to make your design perfect.”

She had started to create the garment that she thought would have suited the gem, as it had been described to her. While it did not consist of much more than the neck piece and a crude pining job, at that point, she could not wait to set the stone to see how she could change the design to suit the gem. She lifted the gem with her magic and headed back into her workroom. She noticed that she felt slightly dizzy, as she made her way. By the time she reached the workroom, and set the gem in its place, on the neck piece adorning the mannequin, she was all but swaying on her hooves. She magically let go of the gem, and after a couple of moments, her equilibrium returned.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. “That was odd. I guess I got a little too excited over that gem, or maybe I’ve been doing too much without a break.” She looked over at where the gem set, and made a disapproving noise. “That just won’t do. For such a gem, I will have to create a magnificent piece. That gem makes my current design look plain, and I just can’t have that.”

Rarity began pulling out the materials she would need to start a new design. She hummed, as she let her ideas flow onto the paper. After a couple of minutes, she felt something was off. She turned towards the mannequin, for reasons she could not explain, and waited. She watched carefully, and right before she was about to turn back, she saw the figure move. She laughed, trying to convince herself she had been wrong. “Rarity, you’ve clearly worked yourself too hard again. You’re seeing things. You need to go to the spa, relax, and then catch up on your sleep.”

As if signaled by her words, the mannequin began to thrash around violently. It fell from its stand, and in a jumble of legs, body, and tail, began to try run. It tripped over itself and careened headlong into a wall at a painful speed. It picked itself up, and frantically began to feel it’s way around the room, knocking over other mannequins, supplies, and designs from their rightful places.

Rarity, in a perfectly understandable response, ran to the other side of the room and screamed as if she were being murdered. The thing did not even turn its head at the sound, and she realized it could neither see nor hear. After taking a moment to calm down, and seeing that the thing was probably more terrified of the situation than she was, she gently wrapped it in her magic and lifted it to the center of the room, where it could not hurt itself or anything else.

For a few moment’s it thrashed around, but gave up its struggles as it realized that it was trapped. She cautiously lowered her captive, and took one of its hooves with her own. The thing recoiled, trying to free itself from the touch, but could go nowhere. As if sensing that Rarity’s touch did not mean any harm, it seemed to calm down, and she lowered it to the floor. She lay down, facing the distraught form, and touched its cheek. “I know you can’t hear me, but please understand I want to help.”

There was a crash, as somepony burst into her shop. “Rares, where are you?! I heard you scream all the way down the street, are you alright?!”

Rarity turned towards the voice. “Rainbow, I’m in my workroom!”

Rainbow appeared in the doorway, and looked around at the disaster that the room had become. “Jeeze Rarity, getting frustrated is one thing, but this is…” Rainbow stopped what she was saying, and her eyes widened as she watched the mannequin reach up and put its hoof over Rarity’s.

Rarity looked up at Dash. “Rainbow, I need you to go get Twilight. There is something magical happening here.”

Rainbow swiftly nodded. “I’ll be back in ten seconds flat.”

Rarity began to stroke thing’s face. As she did so, it kept hold of her other hoof. “It’s going to be alright. I’m right here, and nothing is going to hurt you.”

There was a flash of purple light, and Twilight stood in the doorway. “Rarity, are you alright? Rainbow said there was some kind of monster in your shop.”

Rarity barely looked away from her former mannequin, as she answered, “I don’t think it’s a monster. It’s almost like a pony was trapped in my mannequin.”

Twilight began to examine the spontaneous automation with her magic. “Tell me what happened.”

Rarity told about the delivery of her order of gems. "I should have known something was wrong when I felt dizzy when I used my magic on the stone. I had no idea something like this could happen by me putting it in its setting on the neck piece."

Twilight paused in her efforts, and then centered her power on the gem. “You were lucky that you didn’t touch it directly. Celestia only knows what it would have done to you.” Her eyes widened, as she made a discovery. “Rarity, you’re right, there is a pony in the gem. I’ve read about this kind of thing. Back when artifact creation was at its height there were cases where the masters would be pulled into their works.”

“You think that is what happened?”

Twilight focused internally for a couple of seconds, before answering, “I think so. This gem is very old and very powerful. Whoever is trapped in the gem has been there for a long time.”

Rarity looked over at Twilight, not liking where Twilight’s thoughts seemed to heading. “How can we get them out?”

Twilight’s eyes held little hope. “We might not be able to, I’m sure their body has long since been lost.”

“Could the princesses do anything for this poor dear?”

“Rarity, I just don’t know. I have never read or heard about anything like this. I doubt they have encountered something like this either.”

“Like what, sugar cube?” Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow entered the room. Applejack looked at her friend as she comforted the living mannequin, and softly whistled. “Rarity, what have you gone and got us tangled up in?”

“I don’t know, darling, but we have to help this pony.” She lowered her hoof, and held onto one of the mannequin’s with both. It lowered its head, and put it on top of her hooves much like a dog would. Rarity turned to Twilight, tears forming in her eyes from the afternoon’s stress and the thought of a pony trapped in such a state. “There has to be something we can do.”

“Why don’t the pair of you start off by telling us what happened? Then maybe we can come up with something instead of running around like cows seeing a snake.” Applejack paced around the pair on the floor, examining the strange pony as if was a new animal that she had never seen.

Rarity explained what happened in the shop, and Twilight went over the basics of the magical principles involved.

Pinkie tilted her head, as she looked the form over. “So, it’s a pony that’s not a pony? I don’t know whether to throw a party or not. It would be kind of strange, what would I put on the invitations?”

Rainbow faced hoofed. “Pinkie, I think you’re missing the point.”

Pinkie looked over at Rainbow, with a confused look. “No I’m not silly, if it’s not a full pony, I can’t I set up a ‘Welcome to Ponyville New Pony Party.’ We have to turn them back into pony before we can have the party.”

Rainbow smiled at her friend’s innocence. “Whatever works for you, Pinkie, you go with it.”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not so simple Pinkie. We can’t turn the pony back, since they weren’t transformed to begin with. We would have to create a new body for them, and I don’t know if even the princesses can do that.”

Applejack rubbed her head, reaching under the brim of her hat. “You can’t replant a tree without a tree to plant.”

Pinkie looked around at the gloomy faces of her friends, and shrugged. “Sure we can, I did it.”

“Pinkie, we don’t need your joking around. We have a serious situation on our hooves.” Twilight gave Pinkie a glare, which had no impact on the party pony.

“I’m not joking; there were a whole bunch of copies of me when I used the Mirror Pool. We could make a copy of the pony stuck in the gem.”

“Like graftin’ a branch on an apple tree, Pinkie, you’re a genius. Twi, do you think it could work?” Applejack looked over to the magical prodigy with renewed hope.

Twilight blew a breath of air through her lips. “It would be difficult. I don’t know how the Mirror Pool even works. I studied up on it after Pinkie had her adventure with it, but even Celestia doesn’t know how old it is or how it got its magical properties.” She rubbed her chin with a hoof. “We can try. It may just create a copy of the mannequin form. I might be able to help the process with a little research and the right spell. We’ll just have to see.”

Rarity’s voice cut through the conversation, with a tone the others had not heard in her voice before. “Please be quick. I don’t what this poor soul to be trapped any longer than they have to be.”

Twilight nodded. “Give me a few minutes.” With that, she vanished back to the library.

Applejack noticed the absence of a certain pegasus. “Rainbow, where is Fluttershy?”

Rainbow laughed. “Oh sure, let’s bring the most timid pony in all Equestria to help handle a magically possessed doll that is wrecking her friend’s workroom. That would end well.”

Applejack snorted at the sarcasm, but could not argue.

Rarity stroked the trapped pony’s neck and shoulders, keeping it calm and quiet. Almost a half-hour passed before Twilight reappeared. “I think I’ve got it.”

Pinkie leapt to her hooves. “Great! Just teleport us there, we can get the pony out, and then we can have a welcome party!”

“I wish it were that simple, Pinkie. I don’t remember the spot well enough to risk teleporting there, especially with five other ponies in tow.” After a harsh look from Rarity, Twilight amended her words. “Six, make that six other ponies. I don’t want to be worn out before we get there either, in case the spell I’ve come up with requires a lot more power than I think it will. We’re going to have to hoof it.”

“How are we going to manage to lead the pony through the forest? It’s not exactly easy travelin’.” Applejack looked over the form, hoping to come up with some idea. “I got it. I’ll get my rope.”

Rarity gasped at the thought. “You are not going to lead a pony around with a rope around their neck as if they were some common bovine. It would be uncouth, it would chafe, and I can come up with something better. Just give me a moment.” Rarity gingerly led the mannequin towards her workbench, and got it to stand near her. She went through what was left of the organized part of her supplies and pulled out a roll of pink ribbon. She used her skills as a seamstress to fashion a simple harness around the form’s chest. The mannequin tensed at the initial touch of the cloth, but it held still. Rarity looked the harness over. “Not my best work, but I think it will do.”

The mannequin reached up, felt of the harness, and then followed the leading ribbon to its end. Rarity had put the end of the ribbon in her mouth, as she adjusted an aspect of the harness that did not meet her approval. The inquisitive hoof made its way to her mouth, and she froze. The hoof gently felt around her face, exploring her features. It stopped its examination, and then caressed her cheek in gratitude.

Pinkie jumped up and down. “Aw! It likes you!”

Rarity blushed, but did not say a word.

*****

The trip to the Mirror Pool was thankfully uneventful for the ponies. Due to the trapped pony’s sensory limitations, the trip took much longer that it normally would have. With care and patience that would have done Fluttershy proud, Rarity led her charge through the forest. It took the combined efforts of Twilight’s and Rarity’s magic, Rainbow’s and Applejack’s strength, and Pinkie’s cheering, to move the boulder that had been placed over the Mirror Pool’s entrance out of the way.

The five ponies cautiously made their way down to the pool. The steep slope and wet stones made their footing treacherous, but all made it without injury. Twilight waved each pony to a point around the pool and explained what she was going to attempt. “I think the spell that I have found will allow the Mirror Pool to create a copy of the pony in the gem as if they were still in their own body. When that happens, the spell should immediately transfer them out of the mannequin, and into the copy.”

Rarity turned to Twilight, concerned with complexity of what they were about to attempt. “What happens if the spell doesn’t work? It will be almost impossible to tell which of the ponies coming from the pool is which.”

Twilight grimly nodded. “That is a possibility. However, I doubt the pool can recreate the enchantments on the gem. All we would have to do is find out which of the pair has the real gem still attached to them and then we would banish the other.”

Pinkie flinched at the mention of banishment to the mirror pool. “I don’t want to see anypony banished again. It wasn’t fun at all.”

Rainbow flew over to Pinkie, and enveloped her in a winged hug. “Twilight’s spell is going to work just fine. Has she ever failed us before?”

Pinkie hugged her back, and answered, “No, she’s the best magical pony in all of Equestria. She can do it. It just still scares me sometimes. I might have lost all of you and gotten stuck down there.” She pointed to the pool and shivered.

Twilight smiled at Pinkie, trying to lift her spirits. “The thought of sticking you down there scared me too. That’s why I did so much research on the Mirror Pool. Celestia pointed out something to me when I wrote to her about the spell I used. I couldn’t have ‘sent back’ a real pony into the pool. It would have violated one of the basic premises of magic. Well, technically you would have been transported to the pool and ended up soaking wet, but you could have just swam out again. You’re our genuine Pinkie, no doubt about it.”

Pinkie perked up. “Then let’s do this!”

Applejack’s smile at her pink friend was cut short, as she thought about something. “Twilight, I hate to be a wet blanket, especially since you seem to have gotten this all figured out, but how are we going to get our friend here to jump in the pool?”

“That’s up to Rarity. She seems to have a touch with the pony.”

“Thank you Twilight, though I don’t know why you have such confidence in me.” Rarity, despite her words, instinctively knew what to do. She undid the harness from around the mannequin and led it to the edge of the pool. She took one of its hooves and dipped it in the water. The pony turned its head towards her, as if to ask a question. She repeated the action, this time dipping the hoof in faster. Upon the third time, the pony seemed to get the idea, and it started to lunge into the water. Rarity barely got it to stop with a combination of her magic and putting her hooves to its chest. “Twilight, dear, now would be the time to cast that spell of yours!”

The amount of power that Twilight poured into the spell made the cavern hum and the air shiver with magical power. As the spell struck the mannequin, it began to glow with a bright blue aurora. “Alright, let it go!”

Rarity moved to the side and gave the pony a light push to the shoulder. Without further encouragement, it clumsily dived into the pool. The mares watched, their breaths collectively held, waiting for something to surface.

After a couple of tense moments, Pinkie muttered, “Maybe I should have said the rhyme? Wait, I don’t know if the pony is a mare or a…”

A dark shape broke the surface of the water, on the far side of the pond from where the mannequin had entered, and pulled itself out of the pool. The earth pony stallion gasped for breath, and collapsed on the bank of the pool. Applejack happened to be standing the closest and got to him first. She knelt down beside him, and tried to help. “You alright there, partner?”

He didn’t respond, beyond coughing up water. Applejack leaned back, giving him room to empty his lungs. To her surprise, Rarity reached the stallion next, and began to use her magic to help him purge the water.

Twilight teleported over to the pair’s side, and asked, “Rarity, how did you know to do that?”

Rarity never took her eyes off her task. “My family’s house is next to a pond. When we were growing up, I always worried about Sweetie Belle getting into trouble with the water. I learned some basic lifesaving spells in case something like this happened. I’m glad I never had to use them.”

Rainbow landed next to Twilight and noted, “They came in handy this time.”

The stallion looked up, gulped some air, and locked his eyes with Rarity’s. “Are you the one that helped me?”

His clear, bass voice caused Rarity to sit back a little. She looked to her friends, who each nodded to her. She turned back to him. “Why, yes, I guess I am.”

He reached out and pulled one of her hooves into his. His bright green eyes looked at her almost frantically. “I am in your debt. Had it not been for you, I would have been trapped in that nightmare forever. I…” Before he could finish another word, he collapsed from sheer physical and emotional exhaustion. Rarity pulled him against her chest. She didn’t even think about the fact that her pristine coat was being soaked. She pushed back his long mane and checked to make sure he was still breathing. To her relief, he was.

Twilight looked over the stallion. His charcoal gray coat and black mane seemed familiar. Yet for some reason she could not put a hoof on it was not a comforting feeling. Instead, the notion seemed to fill her with unease. “Rarity, where did you say those gems came from?”

“From a gem dealer in the Crystal Empire, why do you ask?”

Twilight decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

Rarity drew a shocked, hissing breath, as she noticed something on the stallion’s chest.

“Hun, what’s wrong?” Rarity gently turned the stallion’s body so that the others could see. Applejack stared in amazement. “Sweet Celestia, would you look at that!”

Twilight’s, Rainbow’s, and Pinkie’s eyes went wide, as they realized that the gem that had been around the mannequin’s neck was now embedded in the center of the stallion’s chest.

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