Inspired by the 'Infinite Loops Winx Club' by FireHawk242, as a fanfic of a fanfic, you should probably read that first – this story assumes knowledge of Infinite Loops universe
And a joke I made in a review which turned into a plot bunny and harassed me until this mess happened.

TRIGGER WARNING: from chapter 2 onwards they will be occasional mentions of Suicide, Mental Institutions, Institutionalisation, on screen murder,(Temporary Main Character Death) and a few mental health issues

And for those of you wondering about the Zuko Potter series... #looks at 'Zuko and the Secretive Basement'# I don't want to talk about it. (T.T)

Lapidary –
Adjective: relating to the engraving cutting, or polishing of stones or gems.
Noun: one who engraves, cuts, or polishes gems.

Somewhere around Loop 95

Diaspro was in hell.

She didn't know what she'd done to deserve it, but she was in hell. Forced to live several years of her life over and over again, watching as her fiancé was stolen time and again by the same girl.

No matter what she tried, no matter what she did, she just couldn't win.

It wasn't fair, why couldn't she be happy? Didn't she deserve to be happy? Didn't she have the right to once, just once, get her happy ending with the boy she'd loved her whole life?

Diaspro pulled her sheets up over her head, and pulled her pillow to her face, crying silently into the soft surface.

Maybe this time she could just not deal with it.

Soon After Loop 100
The 'Enlightenment Loop'

Diaspro had a plan.

It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all she had.

Double checking her luggage she smiled. This time she'd cut the romance off before it could even start.

She ended up sharing a room with one of the seniors, who was too busy with study to pay Diaspro much attention. She'd managed to 'bump into' the Winx Club on her way to her first class. Now to mark her territory.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, are you alright?" Diaspro surprised herself with how concerned she sounded for Bloom, as the red-headed fiancé stealer picked herself off the floor.

"I'm fine, I haven't seen you around these last two weeks..."

"I just transferred in, sort of a last minute thing." The Flower Fairy, Flora, was giving her an odd look. Diaspro ignored it and introduced herself. "I'm Princess Diaspro of Eraklyon."

"I'm Bloom, of Earth, and these are my friends," Diaspro did her best to feign interest, like she didn't want to wrap her hands around Bloom throat and squeeze.

"So Diaspro," Flora asked when Bloom finished, "what brings you to Alfea?"

"Well, I'm sort of the future queen of Eraklyon, so I thought, what better way to serve my people than to become the best Guardian Fairy I can be, you know, and Alfea is the place to go to learn to be a Guardian Fairy."

"Wait, future queen?" Stella asked, face crinkled in confusion, "I thought prince Sky was next in line for the throne."

Diaspro chuckled and ducked her head, a calculated gesture of shyness.

"He is, I'm from one of the other noble families on Eraklyon, prince Sky is my fiancé, we've been engaged for years." Diaspro kept her smile sweet as she waited for the fallout. Flora's eyes narrowed dangerously, but she said nothing.

Stella spluttered angrily, Bloom frowned, her face marred by worry for her friend.

The bell for classes tolled before anyone could say anything further.

The six girls hurried to class, but the Winx spent the entire day whispering angrily amongst themselves.

After classes Diaspro found them huddled together, talking.

"Maybe Diaspro was lying, you don't think it's weird," Musa was asking as Diaspro stopped around the corner to listen, "new girl shows up two weeks into term and she's engaged to your boyfriend? Please, tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is weird."

"I just don't believe it, Sky doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would flirt when he's engaged, and he has been sending very clear flirting signals," Stella said with heavy denial.

Diaspro readied herself and stepped around the corner.

"So call him," the group turned to her so fast she was surprised they didn't hurt themselves. "Sorry for eaves dropping, I came to apologise, I got the feeling I'd upset you somehow before class, and well... we're going to be sharing the same school for the next few years, I didn't want to make enemies on my first day, so I came to clear the air.

"But if that's what's going on, if my fiancé is cheating on me, I think I'd like to know as much as you do. So call him, we'll get this sorted out."

Flora frowned deeply, but nodded in agreement.

"She's right, it's best to get everything out in the open, miscommunication can be very dangerous, no point letting your doubts fester."

With a hmph, Stella whipped out her phone, the holo display showing Brandon's face.

"Why-" Diaspro cut herself off, waiting for them to ask.

"Why what?" Stella asked waspishly.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know why you were calling Brandon, I think it would be better to talk to Sky directly."

Stella, and most of the Winx Club, gave her a 'what?' look.

"This is Sky," Stella indicated with a nod to the picture of Brandon.

"Nooo, that's Sky's squire, Brandon. Sky's blonde," Diaspro pulled out a picture of the actual Sky, and showed them.

"That's Brandon," Bloom exclaimed, a blush covering her cheeks.

"No, again, this is Sky," Diaspro pointed to her picture, then to the picture on Stella's phone, "that's Brandon."

"Call him," Techna said suddenly, "it might be that Diaspro is lying, but at this point the only thing we can do is ask the boys directly."

"Or, you could, you know, look it up on line. There's been a few articles on Eraklyon's new trade agreements, which Sky attended, not to mention Teen Fairy covered my engagement party."

Flora smacked a hand against her forehead, the unexpected slap startling everyone.

"Sorry," the Flower Fairy apologised, "I just feel like I should have thought of that earlier. But you might suspect hacking or something, so just, call your boyfriend Stella, let's get this mess cleared up."

"Fine," Stella pouted and began the call, she put the phone on speaker before anyone could pick up.

"Hey Stella!"

"Hey Sky."

"Is everything alright? You sound a bit down."

"So... you'd tell me if you were... engaged right?"

"..." The strangled gasp and silence on the other end were very telling.

"Or if you weren't who you sai-aid," Stella started crying.

"Babe? Oh man, okay Stell' I'm gonna come over, alright, I'm going to be right over, just wait for me, everything is going to be okay."

Diaspro watched in mute horror as Stella collapsed to the ground, muttering 'it's true' over and over under her sobs. Diaspro had wanted to hurt Bloom, to stop her from stealing Sky, she'd completely forgotten about how Stella and Brandon were involved.

Her heart ached in sympathy, she knew what Stella was feeling right now, how the lies came tumbling as her image of the world crumbled.

She took half a step forward, reaching for Stella, but Flora stepped in between Diaspro and the Winx.

"I think you've done enough, Princess Diaspro." Flora looked at her with such poison, Diaspro flinch, tears gathering in her own eyes.

"Flora don't," Bloom called from where she was wrapped around Stella, "even if Stella wasn't dating her fiancé, the boy we thought was Brandon asked me out two days ago. Diaspro's fiancé has been cheating on her, and he's been lying about who he is, both of those boys have. Diaspro isn't a villain here, she's as much a victim as Stella and I are."

Diaspro looked at Bloom as if she'd never seen her before. How could Bloom say that after all they'd been through?

'Oh right, she hasn't been through it.' Diaspro's resolve wavered, and she ran.

Diaspro was on her way to the Winx' dorm when she heard Brandon and Sky talking as they walked through the corridor, with a quick twist of magic, Diaspro was hidden from sight. Silently she followed them to the dorm, slipping in after them as Musa held open the door.

The chairs had been arranged so the two boys would be sitting, facing the five girls. Flora's eyes seemed to catch on Diaspro's invisible form as the princess made her way to lean against one of the walls.

She wanted to know what the boys had to say, but Diaspro wasn't ready to interact with the girls again.

So she leaned against the wall and listened, listened as they explained why they'd switched identities, listened as they explained why they'd made overtures towards the two Winx girls.

Brandon wasn't in a relationship, and he'd hoped Stella would like him regardless of what is rank or name was, he acknowledged that he should have been more honest, acknowledged that he'd been in the wrong, and told Stella that he did care for her, and would wait for her to decide what would happen, where they'd go from there.

Sky explained that his engagement was political, that he'd never been in love with Diaspro, couldn't ever imagine being in love with Diaspro.

And oh didn't that hurt, like every time she'd seen him choose Bloom, like every time she'd lost, over and over again but all at once. She pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle the sobs, and slid down the wall as her legs gave way.

She didn't even hear Bloom as she ranted at Sky for what he'd done, that just because he hadn't loved Diaspro, didn't mean he wasn't still engaged, and what had he thought was going to happen, that he could just date Bloom on the side for the rest of his life, that Bloom would be willing to be a home wrecker, a side girl, a booty call.

What had he thought was going to happen?

Sky had nothing left to say, guilty silence filling the air.

"I think both of you need to leave," Stella said with a terrifying calm, "now."

The boys left.

Diaspro felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up she saw the pity filled eyes of Flora. Without a word Diaspro let her invisibility drop.

"I love him," she managed to say through her tears, "I've loved him since I was five, I was so happy when we got engaged, it was the happiest day of my life. I just wanted to be with him, beside him, for him to love me as much as I love him."

Bloom sat down beside her, as Flora sat down on the other.

"It's never going to be me is it? He's never going to pick me. Whycan'titbeme!?"

It took three days for Diaspro to stop crying, which, her being the Fairy of Gemlight, got a little awkward when her magic started turning her tears to crystal as they fell from her eyes. More than once, one of the other fairies had stepped on a crystal while barefoot.

Techna had jerry-rigged a little robot to sweep up the tears, which now sat in several large jars by the walls, the Winx unsure what to do with them.

Sitting in front of Stella's vanity, Diaspro gave her reflection serious consideration. With deliberate motions she applied her make up and untangled her hair

"I am princess Diaspro of the house of Isis of Eraklyon, I am the fairy of Gemlight, and I deserve to be happy." She told her reflection, she stopped to take a steadying breath before forging on. "Prince Sky doesn't love me, and-and that's okay, becau-because I will find my own happiness. I will be okay. I will be okay. Iwill beokay. I will beokay. Iwillbeokay."

She shut hers eyes tight against the new tears that threatened to fall, repeating her mantra over and over until someone knocked at the door.

Bloom poked her head in.

"Hey, you almost ready?"

Diaspro inspected her make up for tear marks, there were none.

'I am going to be okay... one day.'

"Yeah, I think I am." On shaky legs Diaspro made her way out the door to Join the Winx Club for some retail therapy.

In the Winx Club's dorm room the six fairies sat around, half of them eating pizza as they celebrated the defeat of the Trix and the Army of Decay. Diaspro smacked her hand over her mouth, trying not to spit out her food, as Flora's prompted her to laugh.

Beside her, Bloom let out an 'Urgh!' as she snorted soda out her nose. Stella laughed harder and handed Bloom a napkin, Musa started choking on her pizza, and only Techna and Flora managed to escape relatively unscathed.

Over the weeks and months she'd spent with the Winx Club, Diaspro had learned a horrifying fact: she liked them, they were likeable. When not fighting over Sky, Bloom and Diaspro got along very well. Stella and Diaspro spent time swapping 'princess tips' and chatting fashion, while Musa was her go to girl for theatre performance companions.

Techna was a little awkward, not very good at expressing her feelings, and tending towards blunt, but Diaspro was discovering she didn't mind.

Then there was Flora, who looked at her with curiosity, who sometimes seemed to know more than she should, who went to say things to her only to stop and shake her head, occasionally with a 'never mind,' or 'later.'

The door opened and all attention turned to the new comer, Mirta waved hello, an awkward look on her face, before she brought in four new boxes of pizza.

"I found the missing pizzas, Amaryl's group had them..."

"Yay!" Stella let out an excited whoop, diving for her pizza, Diaspro cleared a space beside herself and beckoned that harried ex-witch over.

"How are you feeling?" Diaspro asked, Mirta looked pale, but that wasn't anything new.

"Tired, worn out... Lucy said she never wants to see me again, that our friendship is over and I'm a disgrace to witches everywhere."

With a sympathetic sigh, Diaspro looped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"You followed your heart, you did the right thing even though it was very hard. She may just be angry right now, if you leave it for a while and try talking to her again later, she might feel differently. But if she doesn't, you have to examine the situation and decide if its worth it to spend your life chasing her, if it will mean chasing misery that will not end. There are people around you who care about you, and want to see you happy.

"I know she's been part of your life for a long time, but sometimes the things we love aren't good for us, we have to be strong enough to see the truth when they are."

Like with her and Sky, because he was hurting her, no matter how much she loved him, might always love, but she was learning, finally learning to let go, to actually focus on herself, rather than what she thought she wanted.

The realisation she was at last making the first steps to moving on sank into her, warming her from the inside out. It felt like the first time she'd transformed, the tingle of magic flowing through her.

"Diaspro!" Her eyes flew open, she hadn't even realised she'd closed them, following everyone's gaze, she looked down, a wire and jewel amulet sat on her chest, the bottom line dipped upwards, sitting just right that, when she was transformed, it would have crowned her chest jewel.

"A Charmix," Flora said in awe. The Charmix disappeared, Diaspro smiled, then frowned, turning to Mirta.

"I'm so sorry, I just stole your emotion turmoil spotlight, I was just... I was thinking bout the similarities between my relation ship with Sky and your relationship with Lucy, and how I've finally started to move on, because I don't deserve to spend the rest of my life chasing misery."

"No, it's fine, congratulations! And you're right, I do have people who care about me, but I need to know for sure, whether I've lost Lucy for good, before I give up on her."

Next Time On Infinite Loops: Lapidary:

That one time Diaspro had a mental breakdown, or... was it that other time she had a breakdown...?