Friendship is Stellar

Thirty years ago...

"Starlight, come on! There's nothing to worry about!"

Spike's voice echoed from the entrance of the cave, beckoning for the unicorn to follow him and Rarity into the depths.

"Easy for you to say, Spike," Starlight Glimmer sighed. It was almost Hearth's Warming Eve, and the trio had been tasked with heading down into the ice caves near the Crystal Empire to go and retrieve crystals for the upcoming festivities. Much of the crystals used to build the Empire had been harvested from the caves nearby, which filled up the space underneath the vast snowy fields surrounding the magnificent city. A certain magical crystal variety, Amoravite, was especially prized by the crystal pony residents. Used to fashion all the most important magical gadgets and architecture within the city, the mineral was one of a kind: millennia before, the Crystal Heart itself had been carved from the purest vein of the precious variety.

Starlight, Rarity, and Spike were tasked with going down into the caves to find some Amoravite and bring it up to the surface so that it could be fashioned into a crystal star for the Crystal Empire's colossal Hearth's Warming tree. They had arrived in the Empire with Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash to take part in the festivities and help put the gigantic tree on display. This year, Princess Cadance wanted to use some of the region's finest Amoravite to fashion a star for the tree, so Rarity, Starlight, and Spike decided to help by harvesting some from a particularly prominent vein.

So there they were, two unicorns and a dragon, trembling from the cold and trotting into the secluded hole in the ground, surrounded by miles upon miles of snowy plains. Starlight hadn't really wanted to come along; having grown up in one of the warmer parts of Equestria, she never liked the cold very much. And she sure as heck didn't like the snowstorms that almost constantly raged in the frozen plains surrounding the Crystal Empire. The Empire itself was much better: no snow, no inclement weather, and abundant sunshine during the day, with crystal pegasi who did their job instead of just letting the weather do whatever it wanted. It wasn't at all unlike the fairly comfortable environment Starlight had grown up in.

Starlight wore a brown satchel with a bag that contained an iron pick axe and a chisel. Rarity wore a thick pink scarf and a heavy blue coat. Spike was bundled up in a brown coat of his own, with a fluffy white scarf wrapped snugly around his neck.

The trio walked a few steps into the cave before the two unicorns used their magic to illuminate their horns and light the path ahead. It was dark, but the icy walls managed to reflect the light well enough for the group to proceed forward without worrying that they would trip on a rock or take a wrong path. Shining Armor had given them a map that would guide them through the vast cavern toward the precious vein of Amoravite. Down, down, down the trio proceeded, not speaking much for a long time. The silence became as ominous as the darkness that surrounded them, before Rarity finally said something.

"M-m-my, I n-never ex-expected it to b-be this cold!" the white unicorn complained as she shivered.

"Rarity, Twilight tried to warn you," Spike chided. "This type of cave isn't exactly a great place to go if you want to get out of the cold."

"S-s-SPIKE!" Rarity cried out. "My mane has frost all over it. How do you expect me to come back to the Crystal Castle without all the frost melting and completely ruining the curls I put in this morning?"

"Not that you would look any less beautiful," Spike muttered under his breath, but Rarity cut him off.

"It's terrible!" Rarity whined, her breath condensing into thick puffs of white vapor. "I had the top stylist in the Crystal Empire do my mane this morning. And this is what I get after all the time she put in? Don't you realize how much work it takes to get a mane to curl this well? GAH! I should've never gone on this ridiculous excursion!"

"Umm, according to the map, we're almost at the vein," Starlight added to try and calm the melodramatic mare down. Rarity only frowned and the group continued ahead in silence for a few more minutes before reaching the vast chamber containing the Amoravite.

It was a colossal chamber, with the roof towering about as high as 30 ponies. The room was about as wide as it was tall, and it was surrounded on almost all sides by walls of pure, shimmering Amoravite. The diamond-like crystals jutted out from the grayish walls and made for a stunning scene that scattered the light from the unicorns' horns across the entire room and illuminated it for everyone to see. The only side of the room not covered in precious crystals was the far side, directly across from the entrance. A great chasm filled the space beyond the ledge, rivaling the rest of the room with its sheer width.

The trio collectively gasped in awe as they walked into the chamber, their reflections appearing in the extravagant arrangement of crystals on the walls. Spike's mouth began to water as the massive array of delicious gems stood in front of him. The two ponies and the dragon proceeded toward the corner near the chasm, which was where some of the bigger crystals stuck out from the wall. Shining Armor had recommended that they harvest a few of the bigger crystals, in order to get something big enough for the star that would go on top of the gigantic Hearth's Warming tree in the middle of the Crystal Empire. Starlight took out a pick axe and Rarity took out the chisel. The two unicorns examined the large crystals and, upon finding a particularly big one that was close to the floor, began chiseling with their magic.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! the chisel went as it dug into the crystal wall. Starlight began picking at the edges in order to assist her partner in freeing the big chunk.

"Whew!" Spike exclaimed "That looks like such hard work."

"You're telling me," Rarity complained once again. "I know I'm the one who's good with gems but this is ridiculous! Why didn't we get Applejack to do this, instead?"

"She was busy helping cook for the Hearth's Warming feast," said Starlight as she swung her pick axe into the edge of the crystal.

"Maybe we can bring her some of these crystals for... you know... the main course?" Spike muttered.

"In your dreams, little dragon," Starlight said sheepishly, and the group laughed. Even Rarity managed to chuckle a little.

The giant crystal finally began to come loose, releasing a small cloud of shimmering dust, and the two unicorns stepped back in order to make room for the chunk. Starlight concentrated and surrounded the crystal with her magic's turquoise aura, slowly lowering it to the cavern floor. She set the crystal down slowly, careful to lower it slow and steady so as to not break it. Not that they couldn't grab another crystal, of course. But it would save precious time and energy that was needed for further preparations.

"Ah... ah..." Spike began to breathe in sharply, signaling that he was going to sneeze.

"Spike, hold it in!" said Rarity. "You don't want to startle Starlight here."

"Sorry," said Spike. "It's just the dust from you both getting the crystal out."

Starlight ignored the pair, focusing entirely on getting the crystal down smoothly.

And then, Spike sneezed.

"AH-CHOOO!!!"

Startled, Starlight's magic let go of the crystal and it crashed into her. The unicorn flew backwards in the direction of the giant chasm on the edge of the crystalline chamber and her body flew over the edge... but she managed to grab hold with a single hoof.

"Spike! Rarity!" Starlight cried out in sheer terror. The huge, unforgiving pit of darkness was all the mare could see below her as she hung onto the cliff for dear life.

"Dear heavens!" Rarity exclaimed as her and the small dragon ran over to the ledge. "Stay calm, Starlight! I'll use my magic to help you up."

Rarity and Spike stopped a few feet away from the edge and the white unicorn used her magic to surround her friend with a protective orb that would keep her from falling.

"AH-CHOOO!!!"

Spike sneezed again, causing Rarity to flinch and let go of her friend.

Starlight plummeted into the freezing depths. Spike and Rarity's terrified expressions were all Starlight could see as she fell, on and on. As she continued to fall, the sight above got more and more faint until it was a mere speck. Starlight's body hit solid ground with a thud, her mind was overwhelmed by the sharp pain from the hard landing, and then she blacked out.