by G. M. Berrow
But aside from all that, it was clearly no ordinary campsite.
The old ponies were hooves-deep in the stream, sifting through pans filled with river rocks. They wore thick magnifying glasses and tall galoshes.
“Told ya she’d come over!” The old stallion turned to Starlight and put out his hoof. “You’re welcome to stay for some oatmeal, dearie. But you should know that this is our claim we’ve staked here. So if you’re fixin’ to get in on this spot, you’d best be movin’ on.”
“Claim?” Starlight asked in disbelief. “To what?”
“To all the Glowpaz in this section of the forest, of course.” He gestured to the river. “We’re gonna strike it rich!”
“I got one!” Emerald shouted with unabashed delight. “Lookee here, Sparky!” The mare held up a tiny piece of ore that glinted in the light.
The two ponies held it close to their eyes, which appeared gigantic behind their glasses. Sure enough, it glowed just as Trixie’s hoof had at the show! But how had that piece gotten over here? Starlight was baffled.
“Good luck!” Starlight tried to hide her shock as she replied, backing away through the bushes and circling around their encampment. Though the run-in had been strange, it didn’t change the task at hoof—finding some wild Gleam Berries for Trixie.
But as soon as Starlight Glimmer continued trotting down the river, she realized they had a much bigger problem on their hooves. It seemed that Emerald and Sparky weren’t the only ones who’d heard about the Glowpaz sightings.
There were dozens of other prospector ponies parking their wagons and getting set up for a long stay in Ponyville! Some of them had even begun to dig holes to search for the gems in the ground, as was evident by the piles of dirt and shovels everywhere.
In an instant, Starlight forgot all about the berries. She took off at a gallop back toward the castle to tell Twilight what she saw and find Trixie. Starlight had to deliver the news.
The fire had been ignited and the glow rush had begun.
The Hoofi-Cure
Trixie peeked inside the front window and knocked gently on the door of the Carousel Boutique. There would be no bursting into rooms and demanding things this time. No—Trixie had to appear humble and penitent. With the razzle-dazzle of her glowing hoof gone, Trixie had to fall back on her old plan of action.
“Anypony there?” Trixie bit her lip and raised her eyebrows hopefully. “Helloooooo?”
The door swung open, revealing a haggard-looking Rarity. She’d definitely been working all night. Behind her, Trixie could see that the beautiful ball gown had been repaired successfully. That meant Rarity was finished and would have time to sew her cloak!
“Rarity!” Trixie brightened. “You’re looking marvelous today!”
“If you’ve come to ask about the cloak again”—Rarity shook her mane—“I’m terribly sorry, but—”
“No, no, no!” Trixie lied. She looked at the floor and slumped her shoulders for an extra dramatic effect (shoulder slumps always sealed the deal). “I’m here to apologize for being such a klutz! As a peace offering, I thought that the two of us might enjoy a nice day at the La Ti Da Spa together.” She smiled innocently.
Rarity looked back over her shoulder at the finished dress. She did feel quite exhausted. And keeping Trixie away from the dress was probably a good idea… just in case.
“I suppose it would be nice to unwind for just a bit.”
Lotus Blossom, a blue spa pony with a pink mane, greeted them at the front desk. “Welcome, Miss Trixie!” she said with a smile. “I have everything you requested all ready to go. Right this way, mares.” The fragrance of lavender and cucumber hit their muzzles as they trotted behind Lotus. The pony gestured to two cushy chairs piled with fluffy white towels and robes.
As Rarity settled into her familiar spot, she eyed Trixie. She couldn’t help but feel that there was more to Trixie’s motives. The pony didn’t have a great track record when it came to scheming, but Rarity pushed aside the thought. Everypony deserved another chance.
“So, Trixie,” Rarity said, leaning back into her chair. A spa pony named Aloe twisted her mane up into a towel and placed some cucumber slices over her eyelids. She searched her mind for a casual topic of conversation. “What… what have you been up to since you helped rescue everypony from the changeling takeover?”
“That was so crazy, right?!” a familiar high-pitched voice added. A jubilant pink pony bounced over. Pinkie Pie’s fuchsia mane was tied up in a towel, but little frizzy pieces of it tried to escape around the edges. She was munching happily on cucumber slices. “What have you been up to? Or down to? Or all around to?!”
“Just traveling around Equestria on my tour,” Trixie said with an uninterested shrug. This conversation was boring her. She wanted to get to the good stuff—the part where Rarity would agree to make her cloak again. None of this chitter-chatter.
“Oh! I know which one!” Pinkie Pie kept her wide smile. “‘The Humble and Penitent Trixie’s Great Equestrian Apology Tour’?”
“That was a working title.” Trixie sighed in exhaustion and held out her hoof to the spa pony who was preparing to give her a massage and hooficure.
“Oooh! What’s it called now?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed between chomps of cucumber slices. “‘The Relaxed and Unperturbed Trixie’s La Ti Da Spa Tour’?” Pinkie jumped on her left hooves. “Or ‘The Cucumber-Eyed and Bathrobed Trixie’s Magical Hoof Tour’?”
Rarity stifled a giggle.
“Neither!” Trixie shot back. “Now, Pinkie Pie, would you kindly leave us alone so we can get to the relaxing part?”
“Okeydokey-lokey!” Pinkie Pie laughed and began to bounce back toward the steam room.
“Wait—what did she say about my hoof?” Trixie lurched forward and the cucumbers slid off her eyes.
Without missing a beat, Pinkie yelled from down the hallway, “It looks all sparkly and weird!”
“It does?” Trixie held her hoof up to her muzzle and noticed that it was glittering with a subtle light! How was this possible? Her eyes darted to the bowl of warm water in which Lotus Blossom had soaked Trixie’s hoof. Suddenly, the moment came rushing back to her. She’d been onstage in a curtain of mist when her hoof had become magical in the first place…
“Ha!” Trixie shouted in triumph as she sprang to her wet hooves. It was water. Her eyes looked wild. “My magical hoof is back and I know how to keep it! There’s no stopping me from getting into the Starmane Society of Magicians now!” Trixie tore the towel from her pale-blue mane and tossed it aside. Then she cast a cloud of smoke and disappeared to Luna knew where.
“Rarity!” Starlight Glimmer burst into the room. She was out of breath, having galloped all the way from the Everfree Forest. “Have you seen Trixie?! We have to stop her before she ruins all of Ponyville by accident!”
Rarity put her hoof to her head and sighed. “Can’t a mare have one little, teensy spa hour without some epic drama?”
Starlight looked at her frantically. “Guess not?”
“Fair enough, darling.” Rarity stood up, tossed some bits to Aloe and Lotus Blossom, and nodded at Starlight. “Now let’s go help that crazy pony!”
Follow the Yellow Trick Road
The castle wasn’t far from the center of Ponyville, but Trixie had forgotten just how heavy her hoof was while under the spell. Every step took twice as long as she trudged through the winding backstreets, dragging her hoof over the cobblestones. She shot a burst of magic at it, hoping to employ a featherlight spell to ease the weight. The zap took no effect, pinging on the glowing surface with a tiny fizz.
“This is oh-so tedious and tiresome!” Trixie groaned. It was taking forever to get back to her wagon! She was so eager to arrive because once she was there, Trixie planned to revamp her whole act to feature her brand-new special talent.
There would be water, there would be light, and there would be tons of sparkling gems. It would take some extra work to figure out, but it would be we
ll worth it. Trixie was positive that she would be standing next to Starmane herself, exchanging secret illusionist tips and magician gossip over ciders in no time.
“Trixie!” Starlight Glimmer called out from behind her, yanking Trixie from her lofty daydreams. “Wait up!”
The blue Unicorn spun around to see Starlight and Rarity galloping toward her. Unsurprisingly, they had concerned expressions on their faces. Everypony in Ponyville was always either grinning like a filly in a candy shop or fretting about a “friendship problem.” Here we go again, thought Trixie. She steeled herself for a lecture.
“Sorry I had to duck out of the spa like that,” Trixie apologized. She was careful to hide her golden hoof inside her starry cloak. “I had a great idea for my show and had to leave immediately before I forgot what it was.” She smiled nervously at Rarity. “You know how it is when inspiration strikes! Got to grab it by the hoof.…”
“Of course,” Rarity replied with a nod and a smile. “The magic muse is a fickle mare!” Her eyes darted to Starlight Glimmer. She made a dainty grunting noise. Either she was developing a nasty cold or it was some sort of code between the two of them. Trixie raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“We wanted to talk to you about something,” Starlight offered brightly. “It won’t take long.…”
Suddenly, a cloud of smoke burst among the ponies! Starlight and Rarity coughed and sputtered, looking around for Trixie. A moment later when it cleared, they expected Trixie to have vanished as per usual, but she was only a few steps farther away. Trixie stomped her normal hoof on the ground in frustration. Her usual tricks were no good with her heavy hoof. “Awww. That was my last smoke bomb, too.”
She turned back to her friends. “Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait,” Trixie replied in a huff. “If I’m going to be ready with a whole new act in time for the Starmane Society ball, I need to get to work designing my new incredible, astonishing, flabbergasting feat of…” She trailed off, distracted by a small group of ponies gathering in the distance. They seemed to be inspecting something on the ground. Perhaps a pony had lost her coin purse.
“More Glowpaz!” yelled Scootaloo. The filly kicked her hoof on the piece, but it was lodged in the ground.
“I don’t believe it. It’s everywhere!” said Filthy Rich, leaning down. His eyes began to twinkle with greedy anticipation. He looked around at the crowd, realizing his mistake. “I mean… uh… never mind! Nothing to see here! Go away!” The stallion plopped down his flank, trying to hide the gem until he could extract it and keep it for himself.
The group began to grow larger as more curious ponies stopped to check out the source of the commotion. Trixie couldn’t help herself. She had to see it for herself! She galloped to the group, Rarity and Starlight following close behind.
It didn’t take long for everypony to see that the brightest glow of all was standing right among them—it was Trixie herself. She shifted back and forth on her hooves, making a little pattern on the ground. The stones beneath her lit up with each step and began to pulse with the trademark glow of the rare gem.
“Look…” said a pale-yellow Pegasus. “Everything Trixie touches… turns to Glowpaz!”
“Whoaaaa.” The townsponies cooed in awe. Rarity and Starlight exchanged a nervous look. It looked like Twilight was right, and the magic was starting to affect Trixie more and more.
It was true. Even the direct path in which Trixie had trotted from the spa was now littered with a glittering trail of remnants. For whatever strange reason, Trixie’s hoof had progressed from just creating Glowpaz out of water droplets. It had been cursed with the ability to turn anything, even ordinary stones, into rare jewels.
“Stand back! The Brilliant and Luminous Trixie has important things to do!” she barked. “But if you’d like to see more of this magnificent marvel, come to my show in Canterlot! Tomorrow.”
Trixie was bursting at the thought of using her newfound power to impress the Starmane Society.
Visions of being greeted with open hooves in far-off cities and exotic lands taunted her. In them, Trixie would be more than just a Society magician—she would be the successor to Starmane’s legacy herself: a glowing goddess with the ability to entertain and delight by spectacularly creating beautiful, sparkling gems. Ponies would fall at her hooves in reverence for her magical expertise and unique gift.
Tomorrow was Trixie’s night. She felt a sense of duty to give her admirers what they were clamoring for and to show those Starmane Society ponies she was the cream of the crop right away! All Trixie needed was a little water to make it rain.
Grim Prospects
Back at the castle, Twilight was in a tizzy. She’d asked for Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash to join her in the throne room. The five ponies sat facing one another, as they usually did when there was some sort of crisis.
“But why are all those ponies camping here?” Rainbow Dash puzzled. “We’ve never had them visit Ponyville before, right?”
“Prospectors go where the wind whispers to ’em,” Applejack explained with a shrug. “They hear about a pony strikin’ it rich this way or that, and they’ll be there, staking a claim on it.”
Twilight shook her head. “Have you seen what they’ve done to Ponyville Park?” She flung up her hooves. “Holes dug everywhere!”
“You bet I have!” Fluttershy fumed. Her voice was just slightly louder than its normal volume of a sweet, gentle whisper. “The poor little animals are terrified. Just terrified.” Fluttershy looked like she was going to cry. “Their homes just dug into and ripped apart…”
“So what should we do?” Rainbow Dash looked around to each of their faces. “Ask them to leave?” The blue Pegasus fidgeted with her rainbow mane.
“You can give it a whirl, but chances are they won’t budge,” Applejack cautioned. She looked to Rainbow Dash. “There was a gold rush once in Appleloosa. Took ponies moons to leave, even once the stream dried up.”
“I hope Starlight Glimmer was able to find Trixie,” Twilight Sparkle fretted. “If she is cursed with a Gem Hoof like we fear, we don’t have much time until she’s in danger.… It takes a little bit, but the Gem Hoof eventually affects the cursed pony’s entire body. If we’re too late, Trixie could be completely transformed into a gem statue!” Twilight bit her lip and stared up at the chandelier, pushing the horrible thought from her mind. “I just wish I knew who cursed her and why!”
“Oooh! Oooh!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she squirmed in her throne, hoof raised. “I think I know!”
Applejack frowned. “Well, why didn’t ya say so, sugarcube?”
“Yeah. What happened?!” Rainbow Dash urged.
“Well…” Pinkie took a deep breath and spoke very quickly. “Trixie was bugging Rarity to make her an outfit, but then she tried to mess with the dress Rarity was sewing for Sapphire Shores and got in the way, and Rarity’s magic went all loopsy-doodles! So then Trixie’s hoof was like, ‘gloooow!’ and everypony in town was like, ‘whoaaaaa!’ and now everything she touches is totally turning into Glowpaz!” Pinkie shrugged. “I saw it happen through the window.”
The ponies were all taken aback, but the color drained from Twilight’s face. “It was Rarity? And it was an accident?” Now that she didn’t expect. But Twilight did know magic’s effect worked with intent. Rarity’s magic was intended for the dress—not Trixie. So would the remedy need to change, too? Between Twilight’s and Starlight’s skills, they stood a good chance of figuring it out. But they didn’t have much time.
“We have to find Trixie right away and reverse that spell—before it’s too late!”
If they didn’t, Trixie would soon become nothing more than a great and powerful statue—forever frozen in Glowpaz like a fly in a piece of amber.
The Radiance Remedy
Oh no! The spot in the field where Trixie’s wagon had been parked for the past few days was now decidedly empty. All that remained were a few wayward playing cards and a glowing trail of Glowpaz dust.
“She’s gone!” Pinkie Pie squealed in genuine shock. The pink pony began to poke around the bushes as if she were playing a game of hide-and-seek. “Like, gone gone!”
“Where do you think she could’ve gone?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud as Applejack kicked the dirt with her hoof and leaned down to inspect a piece of Glowpaz.
“She couldn’t have gotten too far.” Twilight looked off into the distance. “If the curse has taken effect enough for her to be leaving a trail, then her hoof should be getting pretty heavy by now.” In fact, the more Trixie used her magic, the faster the curse would take full effect. Twilight hoped that the Unicorn was being judicious with her spells.
Starlight and Rarity came galloping across the field. They looked like they’d seen a ghost on Nightmare Night. “There you are!” Starlight exclaimed to her group of friends. “Rarity and I have been looking all over for you.”
“Do you know where Trixie is?” asked Twilight, feeling anxious. They may not have always gotten along, but the last thing Twilight wanted was for anything to happen to her. “We need to find her right away!”
Rarity’s eyes darted around nervously. “She’s gone to Canterlot to put on a show. There was no stopping her. Also, I think I may have possibly accidentally, erm… oh dear, how should I put this? Well… I didn’t mean to but… I cursed her!”
As the Friendship Express chugged through the countryside to the capital city, Rarity clutched her dress bag protectively. Everypony deserved to look their best, and even if the garment wasn’t perfect, it would still help to convince Trixie that Rarity cared about her. She really hadn’t meant any harm.
“Isn’t it fascinating how magic can be so fickle and tricky?” Rarity laughed nervously. “One minute, a pony can be sending swirls of pretty light at her celebrity Glammys gown, and the next she could be accidentally zapping a pony’s hoof and causing an obscure curse to take effect!”
