星光熠熠最近养成了一个习惯，那就是每天很早就起床，在和暮暮处理当天的友谊事务前，先来一段惬意的小跑。在这段时间里，她可以愉快回想迄今所学到的一切——从如何结交新朋友到诚实承认自己需要有远离学习的独处时光。那次她不小心在城堡里制造了一个漩涡，对她来说也是一次艰难但宝贵的一课。

日出时分醒来，即刻出发。星光穿梭在小镇上，看着其他早起马儿开店、送报，并与他们打招呼。接着，她向野外走去。

偶尔，星光熠熠也会到无尽之森寻找魔药原料或有趣的植物。今天，她有一项任务。

进入森林，扑面就能够闻到异域植物带来的清新气味。参天树冠提供着充足遮蔽，一束束光线穿过其中、照亮下方地面，树荫笼罩大地。星光停下步子，扫视着灌木丛。

昨晚那场奇怪的魔术表演后，她就一直很担心崔克茜，并马上把这场灾难告诉了暮暮。而暮暮则花了几个小时在图书馆里翻阅书籍，希望能找到有关崔克茜遭遇的任何线索。马蹄像灯泡一样亮起是不正常的。如果暮暮那本关于植物的书说的正确，那么有一种奇特植物或许能帮上忙。

前提是星光能找到。

星光信心满满，但还是希望自己一眼就能认出那种微光莓。她从来没有在无尽之森里遇到过其他小马，所以在回到城堡之前很难得到第二个意见。但如果暮暮是对的，那蹄子的光芒会变得越来越厉害——威力也会越来越大。也许随着魔法的发展，它会真正伤害到崔克茜。

太阳从地平线上升起，朦胧的金色光芒照亮了小马镇。鸟儿啁啾、清新的花草香在甜美的微风中飘荡。哪怕星光已经来到森林边缘的一条小溪旁，她仍能感受到一股满足感——尽管之中夹杂着对崔克茜的担忧。为什么她的朋友需要如此多的关注，以至于为得到别马的认可而不断把自己置于危险之中？

但一个突如其来的记忆打断了星光的沉思。

好吧，星光想。崔克茜或许是想得到关注，但至少没像她一样以平等名义强迫整个镇子的小马向她交出自己的可爱标记。星光拂去记忆，脸涨得通红，尽管周围没有马听到，更没有马看到。

「姑娘，脸红啥呢？」一匹雌马的声音从灌木丛的另一侧传来。星光跳了起来。「没啥不好意思的，咱俩也是听到目击消息直接跑来的！」

「翡翠，别吓着她！」另一个粗犷的声音回答。「她瞅着挺害怕。你总吓跑新朋友……」

「火花，你就净胡扯！」

两个声音继续互相埋怨着。

“呃，你们好？”星光伸长脖子寻找声音的来源。她用蹄子拨开一根树枝，眼前的景象让她不禁大吃一惊。一对独角兽老夫妇支了帐篷，拾了柴火，还做了一顿苹果胡萝卜燕麦粥（至少锅里的香气是这样告诉她的）。

除此以外，这绝对不是一个普通的露营地。

这对老马站在小溪里，蹄子深深探入水中；他们戴着厚厚的放大镜，穿着高筒胶靴，正在装满河石的淘选盘中筛选着什么。

「就说她会过来！」老雄马转向星光，伸出蹄子。「姑娘，欢迎留下吃燕麦粥。但这是咱俩的地儿，如果你想占了，就赶紧走。」

「地？」星光不相信地问。「占什么？」

「当然是这片森林这一区域的所有耀晶石。」他指了指河边，「咱俩要发了！」

「我找着一个！」翡翠毫不掩饰地高兴喊道。「火花，看这儿！」雌马举起一块在阳光下闪闪发光的小矿石。

两匹小马把它凑近自己的眼睛，眼镜后的它们显得硕大无比。果然，它和崔克茜表演时的蹄子一样闪闪发光！可是，这块矿石是怎么跑到这里来的？星光百思不得其解。

「那……祝你们好运！」星光试图隐藏自己的震惊，一边回答，一边退着穿回灌木丛，绕开他们的营地。尽管这次碰面很奇怪，但蹄上任务并未改变——为崔克茜寻找一些野生微光莓。

星光熠熠继续沿着河边小跑，却意识到了一个更大的问题——不止翡翠和火花听说了耀晶石的事。

几十匹勘探小马已经停好拖车，准备在小马镇长期逗留！这里随处可见土堆和铲子，他们中的一些已经开始挖洞寻找地下的宝石了！

瞬间，星光把微光梅的事情忘得一干二净。她飞奔回城堡，告诉暮暮她所看到的一切；并去设法找到崔克茜，把消息传达给她。

星火已燃，晶潮涌现。

原文：

Starlight Glimmer had recently gotten into the habit of waking up very early each morning to have a nice trot before she and Twilight would attend to the friendship business of the day. It was a pleasant time to reflect on all that she had learned so far—everything from how to make new friends to being honest about needing alone time away from her studies. The whole incident where she’d accidentally created a vortex in the castle had been a tough but valuable way to learn that lesson.

Starlight awoke at sunrise and promptly set out. She weaved her way through town, watching and saying hello as other Ponyville early birds opened up shop and delivered newspapers. Then she headed toward the fields.

On rare occasions, Starlight Glimmer would venture into the Everfree Forest to search for potion ingredients or interesting plants. Today, she was on a mission.

The fresh smell of exotic foliage hit her muzzle the moment she entered the forest thicket. The big treetops gave her abundant cover. As a result, shade shrouded the land except where shafts of light broke through the trees and illuminated the ground below. Starlight stopped and scanned the bushes.

She had been so worried about Trixie after that weird magic show last night that she’d immediately told Twilight about the debacle. Twilight, in turn, had spent hours poring over books in the library to find anything that might give a clue about Trixie. It was not normal to have one’s hoof light up like a bulb. If Twilight’s book on plants had been correct, there was a certain exotic plant that just might help.

If Starlight ever managed to find one, that was.

Starlight was confident, but she hoped that she would recognize the Gleam Berries as soon as she saw them. She’d never run into any other ponies in the Everfree Forest, so it would be difficult to get a second opinion until she was back at the castle, and if Twilight was right, that hoof glow was going to start getting a lot worse—and a lot more powerful.

Maybe it could start to really hurt Trixie as the magic developed.

The sun was rising over the horizon, illuminating Ponyville with a hazy golden glow. Birds began to chirp, and the smell of fresh grass and flowers wafted through the sweet, breezy air. As Starlight came upon a little stream near the edge of the forest, she felt a sense of contentment, even if it was underscored with worry for Trixie. Why did her friend need so much attention that she constantly put herself in harm’s way just for the approval of other ponies? A sudden memory interrupted Starlight’s musings.

Well, Starlight thought, Trixie may want attention, but at least she didn’t force an entire town of ponies to surrender their cutie marks to her in the name of equality like I did. Starlight brushed away the memory and blushed crimson even though there was nopony around to hear it or even see her.

“What are you blushin’ about there, young filly?” A mare’s voice came from the other side of the bushes. Starlight jumped. “Nothin’ to be embarrassed about. We hightailed it straight to this spot when we heard about the sightings, too!”

“Don’t startle her, Emerald!” another gruff voice replied. “She looks terrified. You always scare off new friends.…”

“That’s total hogwash and you know it, Sparky!”

The two voices continued to grumble to each other.

“Uh, hello?” Starlight Glimmer craned her neck, searching for the source. She pushed aside a branch with her hoof and gasped at the sight. An old Unicorn couple had pitched a tent, gathered wood, and whipped up a meal of apple-carrot oatmeal. At least the smells wafting from the bubbling pot perched on the fire implied it.

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.