Six ponies receive new powers from strange crystals. And no, it's not meth.
Sugar is a baker who owns a little shop called Buns and Brews. Pyrite is the most successful thief this side of Manehattan. Crystal Quartz is an albino Pegasus who loves lazing in the clouds. Black Jasper is a nurse at Canterlot Hospital who has a passion for gemology. Blue Topaz is a Royal guard discharged for cowardice. Sunstone is a junior geologist who finds a cave full of odd jewels. When each of these ponies comes in contact with a strange gem, their lives will be changed forever.
Teen because fighting and occasional cursing. Crossover because gems.
Sunstone walked through the tunnels underneath Canterlot, lighting their way with peach-tinted magic. Very few ponies knew about the caverns, and fewer chose to explore them. But since Sunstone was a geologist, or practicing to become one at least, they decided to see if they could find any unusual gems or stone formations.
And lo and behold, their curiosity paid off as they entered a cave full of glowing gems in all the colors of the rainbow. Picking several off the floor, Sunstone began to examine them. These gems, though ordinary enough, were perfectly cut and polished despite having been discovered just a few seconds ago. And as Sunstone brought them closer, they noticed one of them glowing brightly.
Dropping it into their hoof, Sunstone saw that the gem was, coincidentally, a sunstone cut into an oval. As they held the gem, a warm feeling began to spread. Sunstone thought they saw wisps of fire curling at the edge of their vision, and could have sworn that there was steam curling from a few stalagtites. Picking the gem back up again, Sunstone chose a few others to show their friends.
Little did they know what an impact these gems would have.
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Sugar trotted down the street to her little cafe, Buns and Brews. It was just about time to start preparing for the morning rush, and she needed to get started. Celestia's sun had just barely peeked over the horizon, and it was shaping up to be a beautiful morning. As she was gazing at the multicolored clouds, Sugar walked smack dab into another pony. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Helping the other pony up, Sugar realized that it was her friend Sunstone.
"It's fine Sugar." replied Sunstone. Brushing off their sweater, they noticed one of the six gems they had brought back was glowing. "I... was coming to show you something anyway. These jewels are rather odd, and I wanted your opinion."
Sugar poked at the glowing gem sitting on the cobbles. "I think this one likes me!" Picking up the teardrop-shaped crystal, she felt a burst of energy flow through her body, almost like she was on a sugar high. Buzzing her wings excitedly, she exclaimed: "Wow! These really are odd! Mind if I borrow this one for a bit?"
"I suppose there's no harm in it." Sunstone replied. "Tell me if anything else odd happens, alright?"
Sugar nodded eagerly. "No problem Sunny! I'll let you know if it so much as wiggles!" Trotting off, Sugar felt a new spring in her step, as if nothing could go wrong today.
_____
Crystal Quartz was busy making sure the clouds were placed properly for this week's drizzle. Since there weren't a whole lot of plants in Canterlot, he didn't need to be that busy, but the sooner he finished, the sooner he would be able to go free-flying. He had just finished when somepony in the street below caught his eye.
Flying down for a closer look, Crystal realized that it was his friend Sunstone. But she looked a bit odd, almost as if she were... sparkling? But that was ridiculous: ponies only sparkled in bad vampony series. "Hiya Sunny!" He called, causing the yellow pony to jump. Grinning, he dived to the ground, stopping himself just inches away from Sunstone.
"Very funny Quartz." Sunstone snorted. "Shouldn't you be getting the clouds ready?"
"Already done. Hey, why do you look all sparkly? Is it a new magic trick or something?" Quartz asked.
"Actually, I think it's these jewels I found." Holding a clear gem out for Crystal Quartz to see, Sunstone saw that this stone as well began to shine. Does that effect have to do with the ponies themselves? they wondered.
Holding the translucent stone in his forehooves, Crystal Quartz felt a cool breeze swirling through his pale grey feathers."Cool! Hey, I bet BJ knows what these are." Crystal Quartz replied. "He's a regular gemoliast or whatever it's called." Thinking for a moment, he perked up. "Mind if I join you? I haven't seen Jasper in forever!"
"It's gemologist, and no I don't mind." Sunstone replied, smiling at her friend's horrible pronunciation. "Come on."
_____
Black Jasper was brewing his daily cup of coffee when someone knocked on the door. "Coming!" He called, trotting downstairs. Opening the door, he saw his brother Crystal Quartz, along with a sunshine-colored unicorn. "Hey Quartz. What brings you here?"
"So, Sunny here's a junior gemowhatsit, and they found some freaky jewels that make you sparkle, so I asked why they looked like one of those silly romance vampires, and I got all finished with the clouds, and the clear gem made me feel nice, and you know all sorts of gem stuff, so I decided to bring them here for you to see!"
"...What?"
Sunstone smirked a bit, then recomposed themselves. "What he means is, I wanted to see if you knew anything about magical gems."
"Oh, of course!" Grabbing several books from his shelves, Black Jasper flipped through one of them. "And... here we go. Could I please see one of these magic crystals?" Choosing a dark crystal from one of the four they had left, Sunstone noticed that it began to sparkle like the others had.This is getting to be ridiculous!
"Hmm..." As Black Jasper examined the gem, he noted the similarities between this crystal and the ones described in the book. "So, where did you find this?"
"In the cave system under Canterlot. There were dozens, perhaps even hundreds of gems, but I only got a couple in case they were dangerous."
Jasper continued flipping through the book, then sighed. "Well it appears you found a new type, because I can't find any mention of glowing sparkle gems. Sorry miss... Sunny, was it?" Standing up, he began to put away the books. "I suppose you'll have to write your own paper about these."
"Oh, that's fine." Sunstone replied. Turning to leave, they added, "Thanks for trying anyway!" And they left with Crystal Quartz following after, not realising that they had left a gem behind.
2. Side effects may include sparkles and other strange occurences.
Pyrite watched the butter-yellow unicorn walk down the street, making sure that she wasn't seen. This particular pony had been carrying several gems around all day with no protection: surely a master thief such as herself could nab them. Smirking slightly, she dropped down from her hiding place and watched as the last rays of sunlight disappeared, leaving the two in a hazy twilight.
Suddenly, she attacked. Pyrite snatched the three gems with her rust-colored magic, only to have them be snatched back by her victim. Pulling more forcefully on the crystals, the two unicorns began to circle each other. "Look, we can do this the easy way, and nobody has to get hurt." Pyrite sneered, staring directly into the sky-blue irises of the mare opposite her. "Or you can resist, and make this very painful for you. Either way, I win."
"I'm not giving these to you." Replied the unlucky pony, pulling harder. Pyrite quickly exceeded her victim's strength, and would have gotten all three of the gems if that stupid blue stallion hadn't showed up.
"Hey! Stop that!" he shouted, momentarily breaking Pyrite's concentration. She quickly snatched one of the jewels and booked it, dashing through the streets of Canterlot until she reached her hideout.
Well that was a flop, she grumped, unlocking the door and pulling the chain back. I'm losing my touch. Tossing the gem onto her kitchen table, she rifled through several drawers for some inspection tools. Let's see exactly what this lady was so eager to keep.
_____
Sunstone sighed as the strange blue stallion helped them up. "Thanks for the help mister, but I had it under control."
"Really?" He asked curiously. "Cause it kinda looked like she was about to overpower you." He picked the two gems that hadn't been stolen and returned them. "I'm Blue by the way, Blue Topaz."
"Sunstone," They replied. "And yes, I was going to be fine. But I suppose you deserve something for helping me out." Digging through their satchel, Sunstone eventually sighed and gave him one of her mystery gems, noting the faint sparkle when he touched it.
"No, please. You don't need to give me anything," said Blue. "Besides, I didn't even manage to stop the thief."
"Nope, you're taking my gift and that's final." Replied Sunstone, plopping the gem into his hoof. "Nice meeting you, see you around, etcetera." Turning, they trotted off, leaving behind a slightly confused stallion.
_____
Day 2
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The next day, Sugar woke up extra early to make sure she got everything ready on time for the breakfast rush. As she trotted downstairs however, she heard a strange sound.
cling, cling, cling
She hurried up a bit to see what was going on, and the sound started going faster as well.
clingcling, clingcling, clingcling
Sugar stopped suddenly, and the noise stopped too. Looking down at her hooves, she realized they were see-through. Clinking her way down, she stopped in front of a mirror, and could barely believe what she saw. "Oh....my....Celestia. I'M ALL CRYSTAL AND SHINY!!" She laughed. Then she noticed the gem that Sunny had given to her. It was stuck to her cheek, and no matter how she pried at it, it wouldn't come loose. "Why can't I get it off!?" She cried, finally starting to panic. "Why is it stuck?!!"
_____
Black Jasper woke up to somepony pounding on his front door. Stumbling out of bed, he realized that the sun had just risen and his brother was fluttering frantically outside using one hoof to cover his mouth. Jasper sighed and opened the door. "What is it this time Quartz?" He said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
Crystal Quartz dashed into the house as quickly as possible, slamming the door shut behind himself. "What is going on Quartz?! Even you don't get this worked up about stuff! What's wrong?"
"Muh vooch iz aal queeky." He mumbled around his hoof, which was still pressed tight against his mouth.
Black Jasper cocked his head curiously. "I have no idea what you're saying. Calm down, take your hoof off your mouth, and tell me what's wrong."
"My voice is all squeaky..."
"Quartz, I can't help unless I know what's wrong. Could you speak up please?" Jasper repeated calmly.
"I said my voice is all squeaky!" He yelled, then slapped his forehooves across his mouth. Jasper stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity... then burst out laughing. His brother sounded like a little filly; how could he not laugh?
Then he stopped, noticing something else was off about Quartz. "Hey, what's up with your shoulder?" There appeared to be a chunk of white rock stuck to his brother's right shoulder.
"Oh yeah, that." He replied indifferently. "That was there this morning. It looks sorta like the gem Sunny gave me, right?"
Jasper snickered. "I'm sorry, I just can't take you seriously with that voice- wait, the gem?" He recalled the unicorn leaving a gem here before leaving. "Hold on, she just gave you a mysterious magical gem?!"
"Um, Jasper..."
"Without knowing what it could do to you?!"
"Jasper?"
"AND NOW IT'S LODGED IN YOUR SHOULDER?!?"
"JASPER!" Quartz yelled.
"WHAT?!?!" Jasper screeched back.
"You have a gem too, and I think it sprouted wings."
"Don't change the subject, that madmare is using you as- what?!" Jasper stopped his rant and looked back. Sprouting from a dark gem embedded into his back were a pair of sparkling crystal wings, stretching easily twice the wingspan of a normal pegasus. Jasper's next course of action was perfectly reasonable, and you would probably do the same if you suddenly sprouted wings.
Black Jasper turned around, sat down, and fainted.
Pyrite snapped awake suddenly to find herself lying on the kitchen floor with a bottle clutched in her right hoof. She picked herself up, muttering "I really need to stop pulling all-nighters" to herself, and put the bottle of orange juice back in the fridge. She was still rather upset that all she had stolen was a chunk of fool's gold. Going upstairs to wash up, she stopped in front of her bedroom mirror.
Staring back was Pyrite, but something was different. The eyes seemed to be less pronounced, and her muzzle looked larger and blockier. Pyrite closed her eyes and shook her head, and felt a strange shifting in her stomach. Opening her eyes again, she saw that her reflection was normal, except for her chest. Lodged in her tawny gold fur was the chunk of useless from last night. When Pyrite tried to dislodge it, first with her hooves and then magic, it stayed stuck. "Oh, bucking Princess plot, this isn't happening!" Pyrite scowled. "I do not have a chunk of bucking FOOL'S GOLD in my chest!" Taking a deep breath, Pyrite counted to ten.
The pyrite was still there when she opened her eyes.
"SON OF A BUCKING DIAMOND DOG!" She yelled. Starting to panic, Pyrite mentally put the stupid pony she had stolen from at number three on her revenge list. "Calm down, it's going to be fine, you just need to go to a doctor, and they'll fix it!" Still panicking slightly, she continued to the bathroom. At the very least she needed to shower before going.
_____
Blue Topaz trotted toward the bakery. His boss was sure to have opened the store a while ago, and he needed to get get everything arranged in the display case before the morning rush. Ms. Candyfloss had been so nice to him after he got booted from the Royal Guard. As he trotted closer, Blue noticed something strange: not a single light was on in the bakery. Had his boss overslept?
Retrieving the spare key from its hidden spot, he unlocked the door and turned on some of the lights. "Ms. Candyfloss? Hello?" He called, his voice echoing slightly in the empty shop. He heard a faint noise, almost like glass tapping on the tile floor. "Ms. Sugar? Is that you?" Following the noise to the back room, he found a rather upset crystal pegasus curled up in a ball on the worn tiles.
Sugar started. "Oh Celestia dammit! I forgot about the spare." She sighed and got up, her crystalline muzzle still wet with tears. "Look, can you please handle the register today? Too many ponies are going to ask questions."
"What's wrong?" Blue asked, concerned for one of his few friends. "How did this happen?" Sitting Sugar on the threadbare couch, he managed to calm her down enough to make sense of her words.
"Sunny gave me this gem *hic* and I said I would let them know if anything *sniff* happened, but nothing did so I went home and *sniff* this morning I was crystal and now the *hic* gem is attached to me and I don't want any-*hic*pony to see me because then they'll ask questions, and I *sniff* don't want to lie, but I can't tell the truth either!" Sugar took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Hold on... Sunny as in Sunstone?" Blue Topaz glanced at his left forehoof, which now had a sizable chunk of his namesake stuck there. "She, er they gave this to me because I helped stop a thief."
"Well, *sniff* at least you haven't gone through any drastic changes." Sugar smiled, but paled when Topaz did the same. "And I immediately stand corrected."
"What, is there something in my teeth?" Blue reached up to discover a row of sharp fangs in place of his usual pearly whites. "So... do you know where Ms. Sunstone lives?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." She replied almost too cheerfully. "In fact, I bet that's where they are right now." And with that the two smiling bakers left the shop.
_____
Sunstone was just heading out the door when three rather peeved ponies and another fainted pony blocked their path. "Hi Sugar, Crystal. Would you mind moving out of the way?" They asked.
"As a matter of fact," Sugar replied curtly. "We would mind a great deal, especially since you're the reason all of us are like this." Sunstone looked at the ponies and saw that all of them had indeed changed. Each had a crystal attached to themselves, and each looked a bit different.
"Look I know you're upset, but you all got it better off than me." Sunstone pushed back some of their hair to reveal that their gem had replaced their eye entirely. A faint firy light flickered behind the gem. Sugar took a small step back, as did Crystal. "That's why I'm leaving, as a matter of fact. I want to see if the Canterlot Archives have anything on transformational crystals. In the meantime, I need you to all try and go about your daily business."
"And how in the name of Princess Sparkle are we supposed to go about our day like this?" squeaked Crystal Quartz.
*sigh* Sunstone began to remember why she didn't have many friends. "I don't know, ok? Just try acting as you normally would. I need to go. I'll send you a message when I find something. Now if you all will excuse me." And with that, Sunstone walked off, leaving a group of confused ponies.
Black Jasper woke up, stretched, and asked. "What did I miss?"
