Even though Morganite wanted to get away from Nightshade, she stomped her hooves as she walked through the hollow interior of the stadium, signaling where she was. Nightshade’s ears would have easily been able to locate Morganite with little trouble. However, Nightshade’s strong sense of hearing didn’t like the sound of anger with each step Morganite made; the noise hurt the thestral’s heart and head.
Nightshade rounded a corner and saw Morganite looking up at a plaque with inscribed lettering. Morganite flicked her head to see who was following her, then swung her body to the left and went on her way.
“Morganite, please!” Nightshade begged. “Come back! I’m sorry!”
Nightshade’s words bounced off of every tile, every wall, and even the concession stand by the souvenir shop echoed her plea. But none of them reached Morganite. Instead of continuing the chase, Nightshade went to the plaque to read what Morganite saw.
There were four names, each one accompanied by an arrow. “Stadium Stands” had an arrow pointing up. Nightshade glanced at the hall conveniently beside the plaque and saw a ray of sun beam through, revealing small flakes of dust that danced in its light. The right arrow read “Restrooms” and the bottom arrow had “Souvenir Shop.” Nightshade wondered who would be dumb enough to not see the store that needed such a handicap.
What interested Nightshade was were the left arrow pointed to.
***
It was easy to tell Nightshade had found the Hall of Fame when the tile flooring turned into a red-velvet carpet. The room was a short walk from the plaque. At the large archway to the room had a bold “Hall of Fame” title. The calligraphy was in wonderful cursive and had that authentic gold color to amplify the importance of where Nightshade was.
When she stepped into the low-ceiling room, Nightshade heard a soft piano playing. Her ears swiveled upward and found the source of music coming from a white square with holes in it. Even after being in Equestira for over a year, technology was still fascinating and confusing. Nightshade turned her head from side to side like a puppy trying to comprehend what its master means by saying “sit.”
“What’s making it do that?” Nightshade muttered to herself.
“A speaker,” Morganite said at Nightshade’s close right.
Nightshade flinched and stepped a few paces away from the crystal pony. Nightshade cursed internally as she was so easily caught off guard because the futuristic square of music was so enamoring.
A smile grew on Nightshade’s face. “So much for me not being afraid.”
Morganite did not share the same expression. She just stared silently at Nightshade with disappointment. Nightshade brought her arm to her chest, unsure of what to do or say.
“I’m sorry,” Nightshade finally said after mustering up the only words she could find.
“I know you are,” Morganite said.
It was reassuring to hear that, but Nightshade knew that wasn’t a positive response either. The thestral’s ears fell down, not sure what to do next. Nightshade was sorry. She regretted her anger at Saradiamond despite the crystal pony needed a good scolding. And deep down, Nightshade hated how her own anger was such a hard thing to keep control; even she was upset with herself.
“You knew it was wrong, yet you said it anyway,” Morganite said, her voice hurt and cracked. If Nightshade’s ears had the ability to fall back even further, they would have. Nightshade tried to look away.
“Look at me,” Morganite said calmly.
Her words drew Nightshade back in.
What Morganite tried to say next pained her. She hesitated but managed to get her words out. “You… you scolded Saradiamond by telling her she was standing on Nebula’s grave, defiling her memory, and weaponizing it. And yet, you did-”
It was Morganite’s turn to look away. “Just say it,” Nightshade muttered. “I’ve said worse. You know this.”
Nightshade noticed Morganite’s cheek twitch and twinkle, but that was the only snippet of happiness she showed. “Not only did you stand on Nebula’s grave, but you also used White as well.”
Nightshade was wounded. “I never used White like that!”
“But you did!” Morganite argued. “And now here I am standing on their graves and using them as weapons against you!”
Morganite continued with a chocked voice, “Do you see how wrong this all is? To use our lost loved ones’ memories against each other? Not even I am safe from doing it, even if it is to make a point!”
Morganite started to weep like a lost child. Nightshade did not hesitate and secured Morganite into a firm embrace. “It’s not right, Nightshade! None of it is! Even I’m disgusted with myself for having to do it!”
The piano overhead was soft and gentle, reminding Nightshade to treat Morganite with care. “I’m not offended that you did,” Nightshade said.
“It doesn’t matter…” Morganite weakly responded. “Respect their wishes and let them rest without worrying about us. If we dwell too much into the past and try to say who suffered more, nothing will be solved. And I’ll be damned to Tartarus if I use my memories against you!”
Morganite’s final sentence caught Nightshade off guard. Very rarely did she swear. And when Morganite swore, she meant it. Nightshade patted Morganite’s shoulder. “But you wouldn’t be crying like this if you didn’t consider using their memories against me," Nightshade said. "Or am I wrong?”
Morganite sniffed and whimpered, “I wish you were wrong. And I poisoned their memory because of the consideration.”
“Now you’re starting to blame yourself like Mineral has,” Nightshade said, hoping to snap Morganite from self-inflicting more negativity at herself. “You are right about one thing: we need to respect their memories.”
Nightshade looked around the room and a curious hum rumbled in her throat. Morganite looked up at her friend with curious, reddened eyes. “Something wrong?”
Morganite followed Nightshade’s gaze and found her staring at a statue of gold across the Hall of Fame. “Come,” Nightshade said, tugging Morganite along to investigate the object.
As the two mares approached, the statue’s features became clearer. The first detail that was apparent was it was a mare. The next clear details were that the statue had wings with pointed tips and the ears had tufts of hair. Her golden figure was clad in armor that represented the Vamponies. She was rearing with a confident stare and was supported by a beam holding her up at the belly. The last detail snatched Nightshade’s attention to it: the statue had two slits for pupils. The mare was a thestral.
Red-velvet stanchions bordered around the statue. Nightshade lightly pushed one of the arms and watched it sway a few times before it stopped moving. “How does this stop anypony from easily getting behind it?” Nightshade muttered.
Morganite didn’t address the question and was instead looking at the golden plaque that was on the side of the marble platform the statue stood on. Nightshade saw it too. It read in cursive:
In Loving Memory
of Nebula,
Proud Jouster of
the Vaponies
“No wonder Mineral, Saradiamond, and Steadfast love her so much,” Morganite said with a smile. “She looks so pretty.”
“And confident,” Nightshade added. “Just like a true thestral.”
The music overhead ended and created a brief moment of quiet before a saxophone flared to life. “I was wondering if Nebula ever had a grave or memorial in her name,” Nightshade said. “Though I wasn’t expecting a statue.”
Morganite wiped her cheeks dry of tears. “I’d cover this room with statues if I was given the luxury.”
“I’m sure a pony like you and connections you had would want to remember all the ponies you loved,” Nightshade said, looking down at Morganite.
“Not just for me,” Morganite countered.
“Hmm?”
“I want a massive memorial for all crystal ponies to be created,” Morganite said. “A place that all crystal ponies can go to and remember the ones they loved.”
She shook her head, “But I don’t want a bleak, gray, sad graveyard. ‘No,’ I say!” Morganite’s voice grew as she went on. “The Crystal Empire shines as does everything within its limits, including the inhabitants! And my memories need to shine as well! Gray stone monuments will not suffice! The ones lost to time deserve something grander!”
Nightshade smiled as Morganite puffed out her chest with pride. She may have been a writer behind a desk, but she had the flare of a proud soldier in support of her land. Nightshade thought for a while about what would be a good-looking monument.
“Something made of marble,” Nightshade suggested. “I think that’s something that would fit the theme of the Crystal Empire.”
Morganite nodded, “I’ve thought of that material before, though I would argue pearl would be the better, more white, and pure design. But I’m not sure of what exactly. A spire, perhaps. Or maybe three statues that represent each race of pony with names of the remembered at its base. But I would like something more subtle, you know?”
Nightshade nodded and tried to think of a “subtle” monument. She observed the golden Nebula statue. Clearly, this was not subtle. “I am curious, Morganite,” Nightshade said.
“About what?”
Nightshade furrowed her brows. “Why isn’t there a memorial for the Crystal Empire? Shouldn’t the leaders here be more in touch with their ponies?”
“I’ve asked that myself,” Morganite answered with a sigh. “Thankfully, I will be in Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor’s presence eventually.” Morganite’s pride flared a second time as she said, “Don’t forget, I was summoned by them and was requested by Spike, the Great and Glorious, personally!”
Nightshade giggled at her friend’s constant infatuation with the small dragon. Nightshade let her joy die down before returning to the topic at hoof. “Will you make a statement about a monument?”
“Yes,” Morganite answered weakly. “It would be nice to show the heavens the Crystal Empire remembers.”
“It’d be nice if White Dwarf saw how I still remember him,” Nightshade said in the same tone as her friend. Nightshade took in a deep breath and sighed. The heavy intake of air drew Morganite’s eyes up to her tall friend.
“I still want to remember him. Despite me being conditioned to move forward from White’s death, I cannot forget him. It’s been so difficult to hold it in, to never express my heart of the matter to anypony once Erakis was punished and White mourned for a day, only to have it all pushed under a rug that will never be moved. I was afraid of talking to any of my kin about it because it could resurface all the pain Erakis’ treachery brought.”
Nightshade met Morganite’s eyes with a pained twinkle in her thin pupils. “And I was convinced today that I could easily move forward once I decompressed my story about White. I thought my warrior spirit would best my petty, sad emotions, but I-”
“Your emotions are not petty!” Morganite argued. Nightshade was expecting another shameful stare, but Morganite never furrowed her brow in the slightest. “This is what happens when you do bring up the past. And I believe I know why you told me now.”
“Well, I already told you,” Nightshade said. “To learn about why the Crystal Empire hasn’t moved forward while my kind has.”
“And that is your primary reason number one.”
Nightshade rose a brow. “There is a second reason?”
Morganite nodded, “It’s obvious, yet hidden.”
Morganite stepped away from Nightshade and stood in front of her. Nightshade felt the cool air chill the area where Morganite was. The crystal pony’s lips twinkled when she smiled. “You trust me.”
Nightshade let her ears fall back with guilty weight. “But… it took me this long to speak the truth.” She blushed when she said, “We are besties.”
Morganite giggled, “Yes we are.” Her smile sank a little. “And it took Mineral until today to tell us the truth about not wanting Sugar to hug him. And we also know he wanted to tell your sister his everything! Not just about how much he loves her and how she made him a new pony! Mineral will bring up the sad things as well during his eventual confession!”
“But why bring up the ‘sad things’ as well as the good?” Nightshade asked, even more confused.
Softly, Morganite answered, “Because she makes the sadness go away.”
The tension in Nightshade’s brows loosened, and they rose in revelation. “Do you remember the day we met?” Morganite asked.
“Of course,” Nightshade nodded.
“When we met-” Morganite began but had to clear her throat from being choked from emotion. “The day we became friends, I was emotional. I felt like I had no friends even though I had my coworkers. In fact, I was scared to make outside friends again. But then you came along. You made my sadness go away. Even when I had to address the pain, it was followed by me saying how glad I was to be your bestie.”
Nightshade felt her eyes water up, but nothing came out. She had already cried enough that day.
The crystal pony beamed at the thestral and said, “And now that I trust you to the fullest, and how you really do make the sadness go away, I am glad to say now that you’re like a sister to me!”
Nightshade felt her heart break in two and become mended together only a few milliseconds apart. She pulled Morganite up into her figure, the earth pony yelping at the hard yank. Nightshade didn’t whimper or cry, but her breathing became heavy.
“Thank you,” Nightshade whispered, her voice cracking.
Morgante’s voice mimicked her friend’s voice crack, “And thank you, too.”
The music above the two mares came to a quiet conclusion, leaving them in a silent embrace. Nightshade closed her eyes, happy that Morganite never seemed to hold onto her anger for very long. It was a blessing to have a friend like that. A friend who wasn’t scared of speaking the truth and can calm even the most serious of discussions.
Something brushed onto the carpet flooring, the sound caught by Nightshade’s ears. She looked at the entrance of the Hall of Fame and saw an audience of ponies and a dragon.
Spike stood at the front of the group. He blushed, “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to interrupt.”
Morganite removed herself from Nightshade and walked toward him. “We were just about finished.”
Nightshade furrowed her brows and frowned Spike. I’ll keep my mouth shut for her sake.
Spike noticed the upset face and his fins fell back. Morganite quickly looked back and caught Nightshade. “Why are you upset?”
Nightshade sheepishly circled the carpet with a hoof. “I was… enjoying our moment. Then he showed up.”
Morganite quickly noticed what she did and frowned. “Sorry…” She extended her arm out and said, “Get over here, bestie sister!”
Nightshade tried to hold onto her anger just because of Spike, but it was impossible to deny Morganite’s affection. When Nightshade came to her friend’s side, she looked at the crowd behind the dragon. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were at the front, while Mineral, Steadfast, and Saradiamond at the back. Nearly all of them smiled at her and Morganite.
Saradiamond stood in between the two stallions. Her blank expression became Nightshade’s focus. Both mares straightened and made themselves appear bigger.
Morganite came into Nightshade’s peripheral, ready to say something to calm and non-confrontational. However, Nightshade wanted to prove she could handle the situation.
“Did your talk with Mineral go well?” Nightshade asked.
Saradiamond nodded and said, “Yes. And I assume your talk went well, considering how affectionate you both were behaving in there.”
“I’m sure you get just as soft if Sugar gave you the same kindness Morganite has.”
Saradiamond relaxed, no longer playing Nightshade’s game. “Yeah.”
Saradiamond cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me, everypony. I need to get close to Nighthsade.”
Nightshade stepped forward, her approach quickly parting the crowd. “Nightshade,” Morganite said with a warning tone.
Saradiamond used the gap to her advantage and came forward. When she looked up to Nightshade, Saradiamond sighed and shook her head. “Enough with the tough mare act and be serious!”
Nightshade was about to reply but ended up holding her tongue, though it was difficult to do that. She simply relaxed her shoulders and had to force her brows to not be so angry.
“I know you want to hear why I did what I did to Mineral,” Saradiamond started. “But I also want to hear the rest of your story. I want to know what followed. And…”
Saradiamond pursed her lips in thought. “How did you manage to move on from such a tragic event? How come Sugar never told us about this? How?”
A giggle escaped Nightshade. Everypony, save for Saradiamond, were puzzled by the action. “I said be serious!” Saradiamond hissed.
“I am!” Nightshade said with a grin nopony was convinced by. “It’s just, I told you would be asking ‘how’ in the end, not ‘why.’”
Saradiamond was not amused and didn’t care. “Whatever. All that matters is that there are still unanswered questions.”
“I agree to that,” Nightshade said.
“However,” Saradiamond started, “I want to get to that later. I came here to the Hall of Fame to show Mineral Nebula’s statue.”
“I see.” Nightshade frowned in disappointment but figured since the dead were to focus of the day, she stepped aside. Nightshade looked to Mineral and smiled. “Nebula looks good in gold.”
Mineral let his joy show but he shook his head. “I think platinum would have suited her more.”
“That’s what I said to the commissioner!” Saradiamond exclaimed.
The outburst startled everypony, each one taking a few steps away from her. With all attention bearing down on Saradiamond, she blushed and her tail curled around her hooves. “What? Nebula was a gray mare. Platinum would easily catch her natural color than gold. But no! The commissioner wanted to fit the theme of the Hall of Fame: red and gold-”
“You’ve made your point!” Steadfast interjected.
Everypony laughed, all except Saradiamond. She tried to retreat into the Hall of Fame, but was blocked by Nightshade’s arm. Saradiamond gave the thestral a hard stare but relaxed when she saw Nightshade being serious.
“We will talk later, okay?”
Saradiamond nodded, “Yes.”
Saradiamond looked back and said to Mineral and Steadfast, “Come and let’s admire Nebula, tears and all.”
“I’m not sure if I have any tears left,” Mineral said with a short laugh before walking forward. He took a few steps forward before he noticed Steadfast wasn’t following.
Mineral looked back at Steadfast, expecting to catch the hint. But Steadfast remained where he was before. “Go on ahead,” he said. “I need to do something first.”
Mineral rose a brow but turned back to Saradiamond. “Shall we?” Mineral asked.
Saradiamond answered with a nod and the two went toward the golden thestral.
Pinkie Pie beamed at all those around her. “I think it is safe to say that things turned out pretty well! Nightshade and Morganite had their moment!”
She looked at Steadfast and spoke much softer. “And your two friends have made amends.”
“Understand that there are some things that need time,” Steadfast said regretfully. “But yes, all things considered, ‘pretty well’ indeed.”
Pinkie Pie stepped three paces forward, closing the gap between her and Steadfast. The stallion felt his heart race. She was so close to him.
“I’m proud of you,” she said. “I know what you did didn’t make you comfortable at all.” Pinkie Pie patted Steadfast’s shoulder. “But you did it!”
“All thanks to you,” Steadfast stammered, her touch somehow electrifying and he twitched like Mineral.
“Aaaaaaaaand!” Pinkie Pie sang.
“A-and?”
Pinkie’s gaze wavered from him and Steadfast was shocked to see her cheeks turn rose-red. “Thank you for being my pillar earlier.”
Without warning, the mare briskly fled into the Hall of Fame. Steadfast was not sure what to make of the behavior, leaving him stricken with confusion.
“I must say!” Rarity chimed in. “I’ve never seen her behave like that!” Rarity looked at Morganite and Nightshade with a sly look. “What do you ladies have to say about it?”
The three mares giggled at Steadfast’s expense. Even Spike was guilty of snorting a laugh, but thankfully, his didn’t last long.
“Alright, alright!” Spike spoke aloud with raised claws. “I think we’ve had our fun. Let’s give him some space.”
Steadfast sighed with relief. You are a savior even in social situations.
Suddenly, Spike clasped his arms around his gut and his cheeks bulged. Steadfast and Morganite looked pained as Spike looked like he was to vomit. Nightshade was confused at the motion he made. He didn’t appear sick a moment ago. Only Rarity didn’t appear surprised.
The dragon belched, green flame erupting from his mouth. The fire materialized into a scroll and Spike caught it with ease.
“Ah!” Spike said, gesturing to the message with a free claw. “This must be from Princess Luna!”
“Let me see the seal!” Nightshade said, stepping forward.
Spike gave the mare the scroll. She rotated it and rose her brows when she saw the image of a full moon imprinted in the red wax. “This… is her personal stamp.” Nightshade looked down at Spike and bowed her head. “Forgive me for not believing you had the power to speak to her so directly.”
The dragon wasn’t expecting the formal act and it took him by surprise. “It’s nothing really,” he said, waving a dismissive claw. “So, why not open it and see what it says!”
“Mmhmm!” Rarity nodded with a smile. “I have no doubt the princess will aid us with your sister!”
Reluctantly, Nightshade broke the seal and fanned the scroll open. Her eyes danced across the page, reading it franticly. Or was she looking for something? Nightshade furrowed her brows and pulled the scroll open all the way.
“Well, what does it say?” Morganite asked and approached from behind. She went beside her bewildered friend and quickly replicated Nightshade’s expression.
The mood was unsettling. “Did Princess Luna reject the request?” Steadfast asked.
Nightshade muttered, “It just says, ‘No.’”