//------------------------------// // Shattered Friendship Part 1 // Story: Diamonds of Stardust // by Lulamoon-Crystal //------------------------------// Everyone looked around in awe as they looked at all the crystal building and even the sparkly crystal ponies walking around minding their own business. Everything was calm and relaxed, no sign of distress in sight. They took off their snow clothes, since the Crystal Empire was at a temperature that they didn’t need to. “It’s so peaceful,” Sunrise commented as she sat on Loophole’s back, admiring the view. ”Oh, hey! Look at that giant dragon statue!” GameCube pointed out, “Whoever that is looks heroic!” ”Spike,” Minty replied, “His name is Spike, he helped save the Crystal Empire once and then saved the Equestria Games that took place here too, so they made that statue of him,” Loophole looked at it and giggled, “They need to make out of sharper crystal if they want him to be more spiky,” Trixie giggled a bit, “Can you imagine if they did make him all sharp and spiky?” ”Yeah man, his actual spikes don’t look sharp at all!” GameCube responded, “They look so round and smooth!” ”He looks so amazing,” Whispered Sunrise Gamecube did a spit take right after taking a sip from her soda, “Sunrise, you’re so surprising, they should have called you, sun-prise!” ”Ack!” Cried Trixie as she was shocked by the soda being sprayed into her face the way it was. ”What did she say?” Minty asked as she didn’t quite hear. ”Sunrise has a crush on Spike!” Loophole exclaimed. “Aww, that’s sweet,” Minty whispered. ”Guys, I’m only ten!” Scolded Sunrise. The squad continued to walk, a Loophole look one look at Gamecube and started to giggle. ”Heyo, what’s so funny?” Defended GameCube who noticed Loophole gave her a look and giggled. “Wanna know what’s so funny?” Asked Loophole. Gamecube shrugged, “It would make sense to do it, dude,” ”One time, back when we were foals, two twins, Berry and Simmer, had a slumber party! Simmer was Trixie’s crush back then, so when he invited her, Trixie got so excited that she uri-“ Suddenly Trixie’s hoof slapped onto Loophole’s mouth. Her hat was shadowing most of her face, her cheeks were all red from her blushing, her teeth were clenched in an annoyed way. “No, not that,” She said quietly, “The great and powerful Trixie doesn’t need to be reminded of that...” Everyone looked at Trixie and watched her slowly pull her hoof away from Loophole’s mouth. Loophole looked at her with confusion. They were concerned about what just happened. ”Are you okay?” Minty asked. Loophole shook her head, “But it was funn-“ ”No!” Trixie interrupted as she blushed a bit more, “I’ll... uh- just... please not that,” Loophole defended, “But-“ Minty stepped forward, “If Trixie doesn’t want to share it, that’s fine, it’s none of our business anyway!” ”Sure it might be funny to you, but if Trixie doesn’t find it funny then neither will I! Sharing someone’s embarrassing moment against their will is not funny,” Minty and Sunrise nodded in agreement as Loophole sighed in defeat. Trixie’s blush slowly faded away and Minty patted her on the back hoping she was okay and comforted her. Sunrise gave her a hug, hoping that would cheer her up, Trixie put on a smile. ”Trixie’s fine,” She confirmed. Loophole laughed and everyone gave her a death stare, “I did tell the Princess of Friendship,” She grinned. Trixie shrieked so loud that nearby ponies looked at her, “You did what!?” Trixie’s full face went red, either out of anger or embarrassment, or both! She had a terrified look on her face and quickly tried to hide her blushing face with her hat shadowing her face and hoof over her muzzle. “And I told her friends, that small dragon and her student,” Loophole added. Trixie shook a bit, she sunk to the ground and covered her face with both hooves. Everyone looked at her, Minty patted her back and looked at Loophole with an annoyed face. Sunrise went to the ground and patted her leg gently. Loophole started to laugh, “I got you good! You should have seen the look on your face!” Trixie took one hoof away and glared at Loophole with one eye. Everyone glared at her annoyed, GameCube just wanted to kick her so hard her grandkids would feel it. She then noticed that she was looking at her, giggling. ”What now!?” GameCube shouted as Minty helped Trixie up. ”Your name!” Loophole laughed, “Don’t you know how ridiculous it is?” ”GameCube?” Sunrise questioned, “Well, it’s... different and unexpected, but what’s so funny about it?” ”Yeah! How is it funny?” GameCube asked, looking quite hurt. Minty looked at GameCube with concern, “What’s wrong with her name?” Minty asked. Loophole laughed, “It’s mixed between Game and cube! That’s no ridiculous! That doesn’t suit her at all,” GameCube stared at Loophole angrily as a tear went down her face, “So what? I would be making a bunch of jokes from your name, but I’m not, dude, this is uncool... you already hurt Trixie, now you’re hurting me!” ”Stop it, Loophole, please,” Minty stated in concern. ”Just admit it!” Loophole laughed, “That’s the most stupidest name a griffin could have! It’s like a mistake!” ”You think I’m a mistake?” GameCube asked coldly. Sunrise tapped Loophole, “Uh... Loops... I think you should stop,” “Right, have you also noticed that Minty-“ ”This is not how you treat your friends!” Scolded Minty. Gamecube interrupted her, “You’re right... I’m a mistake...” She faced away from the group. “No you’re not, GameCube... I... I think your name is pretty cool” Trixie tried. ”It’s fine... I’ll.. I just need some time alone...” GameCube said before flying away. Loophole watched her fly away with confusion, “Was I really that... harsh?” ”Yes!” Minty, Trixie and Sunrise angrily shouted at the same time. Loophole looked at thin in shock, “It was just a joke,” ”Well, it’s only funny if everyone thinks it’s funny!” Sunrise scolded. ”And there goes a member of our team! Thanks a lot, Loophole! We certainly didn’t need her on it!” Trixie shouted sarcastically. Minty sighed, “And her ‘odd’ name is a really touchy subject to her, you really hurt her feelings,” Loophole stayed quiet as everyone stared at her. Sunrise stood there with arms crossed while Trixie and Minty gave her death stares. . It was a while before anyone spoke, it was Loophole who sighed. ”Okay, look, I’ll go and apologise,” Loophole confirmed. She galloped away and tripped over her own hooves, she quickly got up and resorted to flying. Everyone sighed, Sunrise decided to change the mood, so it wasn’t so tense. ”This place looks really pretty! We should explore!” She cheered. Minty smiled, “That would be nice, Trixie, are you coming?” ”Uh...you guys can go, I’ll go visit a friend just around the corner and figure out a plan to get to the top of Mount Everhoof,” She explained. Minty and Sunrise nodded and agreement and walked away. Trixie made her way to Sunburst’s house. ✨⭐️✨ Once she arrived she removed her wagon and knocked on the door, hoping he was home at the time. It took a while for the door to open, but to her surprise it was Starlight. ”Oh! Trixie? What are you doing here?” She asked after, her eyes and brows moved in a confused way, “Aren’t you supposed to be collecting those diamond jewel thing? And to not induce panic, the sky is getting more covered in darkness by the day,” Trixie gasped, she gulped and had to calm herself down, “Breath in, breath out” She reminded herself, “Uh, yeah... it’s on the top of Mount Everhoof, so I thought I’d stop by to say hello to Sunburst, and you as well since you’re here!” “Wait a second...” Starlight said as she swept Trixie’s mane aside using her magic, showing her black eye, it had healed a bit but still visible, “What happened to your eye!?” She shouted in shock and worry. Trixie took a step back and gulped, “An accident, uh, somepony accidentally-“ ”Is that Trixie?” Sunburst’s voice sounded from inside the nerdy structure. Starlight looked back, “Yeah it is, the next jewel is nearby, so she decided to stop by on her way,” ”That’s nice of her,” He said as he poked his head out the door, “Hey Trix, wanna new my newest treasure, well, I would usually say antique, but it’s not an antique this time!” Trixie shrugged ”Sure,” Trixie followed Sunburst to the room he was keeping it. The room was in need of dusting, there were a whole range of antiques. Masks, vases, paintings, wands and even a skull of a dragon? It was pretty big, bout the size of a colt, Trixie shivered at the thought of the story behind what made a dragon skull an antique. Sunburst led Trixie to a shelf and took down an aquamarine coloured heart-shaped crystal, it had six facets on each side. It looked carefully carved, each facet shone proudly in the light from the lamp that lit the room. “Huh?” Trixie raised a brow as Sunburst lowered it to her eye-level with his magic, “It’s just a crystal carved in the shape of a heart,” ”Not just any crystal!” Sunburst exclaimed, “It’s are a rare one! It was very expensive to get, and watch this!” Sunburst levitated a kettle full of hot water and slowly poured it onto the crystal, Trixie watched as the crystal turned yellow, orange and finally, red! “Ow!” Trixie exclaimed as she jumped back when the boiling water touched her hooves. Sunburst quickly moved back too, he put the kettle away and blew on his hooves, “Sorry, but as you can see, the crystal changes depending on its temperature! At it’s hottest it goes a dark red, which is beyond the heat of the water that came from that kettle,” Trixie stopped herself from yawning as Sunburst explained how the crystal worked, she listened wondering when he would end, “At it’s coldest it goes purple! But at that temperature it’s extremely dangerous for a pony, Amazing, right?” Trixie stares at him, “A colour-changing crystal, big deal! I’ve done way more great and powerful feats, more impressive than a rock that can tell the temperature...” ”Trixie...” Starlight warned as she raised a brow, “He likes it and that’s what matters,” Trixie rolled her eyes and looked at the crystal, she watched as Starlight held it with a soft spell to not break it. ”Check this out,” Starlight said happily as images appeared in each facet, “Sunburst put an image of our friends in each facet!” Trixie pretended to not be amazed, but she was curious how that was possible. She looked at the images with curiously. A picture of each of Sunburst’s and Starlight’s friends were in each of the facets! Except for one... There was Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash on one side, on the other was Maud, Sunburst, Starlight, Spike, Flurry Heart and the last one was shared by Cadance and Shining Armour. Trixie scanned the whole thing a few times before confirming that she wasn’t there. She thought about what she wanted to say. Trixie was about to give them a mouthful, ”You forgot-“ ”You?” Starlight asked. Trixie sighed, “Exactly...” ”Sorry Trixie... we’ll make up for it, uh... we ran out of spaces and yeah, i promise we would have added you,” Starlight apologised. Trixie looked away, “It’s fine...” She lied, “You could have just done some double-ups like with Cadance and Shining... but I’m not upset... I’m completely fine!” Starlight gave her a hug, “I’m sorry, uh... let’s change the subject...” Starlight said as she slowly wakes to the wooded table with her and sat on one of the chairs, “So, how’s the journey going?” She asked. Trixie gasped, not knowing what to say. ”Great and powerful,” She quickly responded. ”That’s great...” Starlight said a bit unsure, “Oh hey, where’s Gumdrop? The griffin that helped you between the desert and Manehattan?” Trixie froze at the mention of Gumdrop, all sound went away as the started to panic at the thought of what happened back there. Was it a slow and painless death? Does Starlight know about the shooting? What would have happened if Gumdrop survived, and she didn’t? Sweat started to drip down Trixie’s face. She wasn’t sure what to say next, what if Starlight blames Trixie for what happened? As she blinked, she had a flashback of racing for her own life and a blur of feathers made a difference between her dying and surviving. Not only that, but all those who lost their lives or to injured in the shooting! Trixie was lucky to have escaped, but she felt so traumatised. She started to feel humid and could barely focus on her surroundings. Fear started to grow within her, and she started to breathe heavily, she pictured Gumdrop feeling betrayed and being killed. Then she started to remember the nightmare Nightshade gave to her. ✨⭐️✨ Suddenly Trixie snapped to her senses when a bucket of water was thrown onto her, it was cold, causing her to yelp. Sunburst was staring at her with concern, while Starlight was standing near the stair she was on with a bucket of water. She shivered at the coldness and looked at them. ”You okay Trixie? You... really got me worried,” Starlight ask with heavy concern in her voice. Trixie looked around, “Yep, I’m fine!” She said quickly in a panic. ”No, something is bothering me, you need to tell me!” Starlight ordered as she stomped a hoof on the hard wooden ground. “I really can’t...” Trixie said quietly. ”Did something happen to Gumdrop?” Sunburst asked. Starlight sighed sadly knowing Trixie wasn’t in a good state to explain, “It’s fine, I’m sorry for yelling, whatever happened I want to know that I’m here for you, and you can tell me at your own pace,” Trixie sighed, “I guess so...” “It’s time for us to visit Flurry Heart? Do you wanna come?” Asked Starlight. Trixie sighed, “No... I... I have other things...” Starlight looked at her with worry, “You’re leaving now?” ”No... maybe in a few minutes or so, I might have a look at the antiques then be on my way, if that’s fine...” ”Oh sure! You can stay here for a little while if you want, I have some peanut butter crackers and tea in the cupboards, help yourself!” Sunburst said happily as he walked to the door with Starlight. Trixie put on a slight smile as they walked outside, she sighed and got off the chair when they shut the door. She felt a bit of heartache as she walked over to the antiques. Trixie had a look at the antiques, she whimpered sadly as she looked at the crystal. She couldn’t see the images from where she was standing, but she knew she wasn’t added. It made her as sad as, maybe even sadder than a foal who dropped their favourite ice cream on a hot day and their parents said they couldn’t have anymore, but she also felt anger bottled up inside, she felt angrier than a bull that saw red. When she looked up at the crystal, she didn’t even notice tears roll down her face, she felt betrayed. ”No room, huh?” She said quietly, “No room for the great and powerful Trixie? Well, I’ll have my revenge, I’ll get a crystal just like that but not include either of you,” She said bitterly, “Ill get one in the shape of a star, and it will only consist of members of the Starry Squad,” She then realised, “Wait-that actually makes sense... I’ll think of something...” Trixie sighed and stared at it and wiped her tears as she felt them, she growled and stomped a hoof, she looked up at the crystal. ”What did Trixie do to be left out? She’s a friend too!” She grumbled then sighed, “Or is she? Do you think so lowly of her that you didn’t even bother to felt how she felt... left out! I’m a pony too, with feelings!” She sobbed, “If I wasn’t in the pictures, then why’d you bother showing it! Was it just so you could rub it in!?” ✨⭐️✨ She then heard a ruffling noise behind her, she felt a shiver go down her spine. ”Huh?” She said quietly, “Are you guys back already?” Then she saw the dragon skull shake slightly, she chuckled a bit when she come to a conclusion that it was possibly a mouse. ”Oh- hah, I wasn’t scared at all! You can’t scare me, mousy! Not only am I the great and powerful, I’m also the unscareable-“ Then she screamed a blood-curdling scream when a familiar shadowy substance slowly went out the dragon’s eyes. Nightshade was back, she scrambled back but hit a wall. ”N-no... n-not you!” She remarked, “Please just be tiredness,” she rubbed her eyes and blinked but nothing changed. Nightshade seeped through the eyes and moved around the skull of the dragon. Trixie was frozen in fear and shook slightly as she watched as a dark blue, black and red dragon head formed around the skull, making spines that looked as sharp as swords and two horns that were long and curly. She yelped as the ‘dragon head’ lifted into the air and opened and closed its mouth. Soon the head’s mouth opened wide, revealing teeth as sharp as daggers. ”P-please don’t,” Squeaked Trixie. Then with the mouth open wide, the head launched at her, she barely dodged in time. Nightshade seeped across the wall it crashed into, dropping the dragon skull, it smashed on the ground, it was just made of clay. Trixie gulped nervously as she looked at the mess on the floor. ”Oh... Sunburst isn’t going to be happy...” She said in a worried voice. She saw Nightshade spread in the air like tree branches, almost touching the ceiling. Trixie gulped as it used a ‘tentacle’ it had formed to grab an old blue vase that had Starswirl the Bearded’s cutiemark on it, that was on a high shelf. “No!” Trixie shouted as she used her magic to shoot at Nightshade to let it go. Her spell’s glowing pink blast shot towards Nightshade, Trixie watched with hope, it needed to hit!