Steven Multiverseby ShukawarioserfiChaptersCode RainbowHave You Seen The Pink Shirted Human Named Steven?Pinkie's Planned CelebrationTo be assimilated into the hive press '1'Code Rainbow"Connie, come quick. Code Rainbow." Steven squealed happily into the telephone. Code Rainbow, obviously named after Rainbow Dash, is Steven's way of saying My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is going to air in twenty minutes. "Code Rainbow, Steven?" Connie asked, not entirely familiar with Steven's mannerisms. Steven sighed, his rolling eyes piercing through the telephone. "My Little Pony, Connie." Steven wished he didn't have to explain these things to Connie. By now she should be aware of what he's talking about, considering they've watched the first four seasons of the show together. "Oh." Connie laughed. "Okay, well I'll be over soon. Just need to get my homework done." Truthfully Connie didn't have any homework, she just needed time to come up with an elaborate lie of why she's going to see Steven. "Well hurry or you'll miss it." Steven yelled into the telephone. Whenever Connie shows up late, he has to explain what happened in the episode, which takes away time they spend actually watching it. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst entered the crystal fortress through the warp pad. "Steven! You'll never guess what we found!" Pearl sang cheerfully. Amethyst rolled her eyes. What they found, was a portal to the multiverse. A round rift in space-time that grants access to all of the known universes. "It's not that exciting Steven." Amethyst said, after being the first gem to go into the portal. The universe she managed to enter, was completely and utterly terrifying. Steven pondered the trip for a moment, before remembering why he needs to stay. "Um, on second thought I'm just going to stay here and... eat breakfast!" Steven lied, needing desperately to watch his favorite show. He can't tell the gems without risking being made fun of for watching a show meant for little girls. Pearl audibly facepalmed. "It's 3:30 Steven." Amethyst laughed. Steven remembered he already ate breakfast a few hours ago... and lunch. Coming up with a good lie on the spot is very hard to do. "Yeah, it's Steven. Let him make some waffles and gorge himself until his balls explode!" Amethyst guffawed. Steven had an interesting visual of his balls exploding, and covered his eyes to shroud the imaginary horror. "Amethyst! That's not funny!" Pearl yelled, tired of Amethyst's disgusting sense of humor. Steven's balls exploding is not something that should be funny. "Let her stay here with Steven. She'll be a detriment to our mission." Garnet chimed in. Always the quiet one, she is the most resourceful when she speaks. Amethyst had already seen the portal, and wouldn't want to go back again. "Fine! We'll eat waffles together, right Steven?" Amethyst looked to Steven with wild eyes. The rest of the crystal gems went off into the warp stream. "That's not a euphemism is it?" Steven squealed, afraid of what Amethyst might be implying. Amethyst laughed. "Nah. We'll have a good time." Amethyst said happily as she waved off the others, even though they had already left. "Have fun exploring you're dumb multiverse." She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Multiverse?" Steven gasped. Multiple universes? The thought of maybe getting a chance to explore Equestria went through Steven's mind. He quickly came down though, and realized that it's only a fevered dream. "Yeah we found a portal that leads to all known universes while warping through subspace." Amethyst giggled. All known universes? Now Steven knew he had a shot. He was going to do whatever he can to get back in that portal. "You said it wasn't that cool." Steven pouted. Amethyst's antics got the best of Steven. Now he knew that the portal was at least twenty percent cooler than Amethyst said. "Oh, it's alright Steven, Pearl was probably going to take us to the land of moon rocks or something." Amethyst told Steven. Pearl wanted to study the multiverse for scientific reasons, fun of any kind was not to be had. The door opened behind Steven. Connie walked in and Steven's eyes glued onto her before blushing and looking away. "Connie, you made it!" He gasped. He was legitimately concerned that Connie wasn't going to make it until the end. She is awfully serious about her homework. "Yeah." Connie blushed. "I couldn't say no to a Code Rainbow." Connie winked. Knowing Amethyst was in the room, she had to make sure she wasn't aware of their plans. "Oh yeah." Steven laughed. Happy that Connie is finally getting it. He's been trying to be more secretive, now using various code names for their secret plans. "What's a Code Rainbow Steven?" Amethyst asked curiously. Amethyst didn't have the slightest clue, and she wanted to find out Steven's eyes lit up nervously. "Um... it means we need Rainbow sprinkles, for the waffles." Steven quickly pushed Amethyst out the door. "Which means you have to buy some." Steven shut the door, then opened it again. "...For the waffles." Amethyst shrugged and left to get some sprinkles. "Are Steven and Connie...?" Amethyst asked herself. Maybe Code Rainbow is Steven's way of saying they're making love. "No. They wouldn't." She ran quickly to the store, grabbing a bag of condoms without having the time or money to pay for them. She gasped, running quickly back to the temple. Steven scrambled hurriedly to turn on the TV. "We have to hurry. I think we made Amethyst suspicious." Amethyst was suspicious, but of something far worse than watching a kids show. "No... Amethyst seemed fine..." Connie said, before being interrupted by a nervous Amethyst charging through the door with a mysterious baggie. "Steven!" Amethyst panted heavily from running back to the temple. "Use a condom!" She threw the bag on the ground at a surprisingly fully clothed Steven. Amethyst anxiously blushed and turned away. "What's a condom?" Steven asked scratching his head. Steven really had no idea what Amethyst was talking about. But he was curious to know what a condom was. He tried reaching for the bag, "Um...." Amethyst turned bright red. "It's a vegetable. But don't eat it. I need to take it back." She grabbed the bag and threw it out the window. Good cover, she thought. Steven couldn't be interested in a vegetable. "Okay?" Steven asked before turning to the TV behind him broadcasting his favorite show. He hoped Amethyst would leave again, and not pay attention to what him and Connie were watching "Is that?" Amethyst turned to see the TV before laughing uncontrollably. "My Little Pony?" She had seen a glimpse of the show one time. Pearl was flipping through the channels, and stopped on the show after mistaking Rarity for the evil White Diamond. "No!" Steven blushed. "Yes! Don't look at me." Steven was ashamed, humiliated, and nearly soiled himself in embarrassment. Amethyst comforted Steven. "Don't worry, Steven, a lot of men like the show. Humans go through an awkward phase where they start being attracted to certain things." After Pearl asked many people in beach city questions about the show, when she was convinced it was evil, she found out that many grown men liked the show in a sexual manner. Connie quickly became uncomfortable and pushed Amethyst out of the house. "Okay... Amethyst, go bring the vegetables back... I assure you Steven and I are not doing anything gross." Connie, being aware of what sex was, knew what Amethyst was getting at. She did not want her corrupting the innocent Steven. Amethyst laughed. "Okay." The door shut quickly, locking her outside. It's her house, why do Steven and Connie think they can kick her out whenever? She kicked a rock in frustration. "Whew." Connie sighed in relief. "That was close." She was afraid they wouldn't get to watch the show, and that Amethyst would never leave. "Alright." Steven smiled. "Let's watch it." They already missed two minutes of the show, but Steven didn't care. He secretly taped every episode and hid them all under his bed. Steven sat down with his bottomless popcorn and shared it with Connie. They quickly became closer as they smiled and laughed with the show. "Who's your favorite?" Steven asked. Connie blushed. "Fluttershy. What's yours?" Fluttershy's shyness appealed to her quite a bit. While Connie loved Twilight's scholarly attitude, she felt like Fluttershy was a bit more relaxed and laid back. "Rainbow Dash. Because she reminds me of Amethyst. Except cooler." Steven smiled. Connie laughed. Amethyst had a rough and tumble attitude much like Rainbow Dash. If they knew each other they'd probably be really good friends. "Fluttershy is a lot like me you know. She's always worried about what other ponies think. Kind of like me." Connie sighed. Fluttershy's anxious demeanor sometimes made Connie burst into tears. She felt she related strongly to her fear. "Even though everybody already loves her." Steven smiled again. All of the ponies love Fluttershy, they want what's best for her and would never intentionally humiliate her. He felt the same way towards Connie. "Yeah." Connie smiled back and kissed Steven on the cheek. Steven blushed heavily. He didn't know how to respond. Was this a sign of what's to come? Can they be more than friends? "Wow." Steven said dreamily. He was happy now, he knew he liked Connie. Now he knows she likes her back. "Was that okay?" Connie asked, feeling the need to ask permission for her advances. "Yeah." Steven laughed. The warp pad reverberated to signal the arrival of the crystal gems. "Oh no." Steven stood up, his outstretched arms covering the television. He breathed heavily, his face dripping with sweat. "Steven. Last chance to come with us." Pearl said slyly. "Um... what is that?" She said pointing to the TV. She saw the outer edges of the television, and was suspicious of it being so determinately blocked by Steven. "Aw, come on guys I'm watching my favorite show." Steven whined. If he had a chance to go with them back to the portal, he couldn't pass it up, but he felt bad about having to leave Connie after she'd just kissed him. "Where's Amethyst?" Pearl asks, curiously looking around the temple. Amethyst was nowhere to be found, having left earlier after being kicked out by Connie. "She should be back any minute." Steven said, before Amethyst came back, with rainbow sprinkles dropping from the hole in her bag. She knew the original reason for Code Rainbow was a lie, but rainbow sprinkles sounded really good. "Steven, can I come in now? I got the sprinkles." Amethyst gasped. "Aw man, some of them spilled on the ground." She glued her face to the floor and licked them up in a very unsanitary manner. "I got to go... Pearl and Garnet really want me to see something." Steven said blankly. He was determined to go to the multiverse portal, and it wasn't to study moon rocks. "Fine. I'll go." Amethyst sighed. She wasn't going to leave Steven hanging, plus the thought of being alone with Connie seemed very boring. "Connie. Keep taping the show I'll be back any minute." Steven said. "Here I go." The warp pad hummed musically, sending him and the crystal gems off through the warp stream. "Alright." Connie waved, long after Steven was gone. "I'll be here. Alone." She sighed, facing the TV. Have You Seen The Pink Shirted Human Named Steven?"So where's the portal?" Steven asked. He looked around feverishly trying to find it on the rocky ground. The warp pad sent them to the land between dimensions, a land that is susceptible to irregularities in time and space. "It's not on the ground, Steven." Pearl said, pointing to a high point in the sky, where a tear in the fabric of time and space was clearly visible. It pulsated and was tearing slightly more every second. Steven grew starry eyed as he stared into it. "Whoa. How do we get up there?" He judged that the portal could be at least a few hundred feet in the air. He wasn't really sure how dangerous it was. Pearl laughed. "We're crystal gems remember? Plus, there isn't much gravity here." She said, grabbing Steven and jumping into the air. Amethyst groaned in protest and grabbed onto Pearl's legs. In retrospect, it would've probably been more comfortable to wait and jump after them. "What? Where are we?.. Whoa." Steven yelled as he floated quickly into the air with Pearl. He closed his eyes before entering the white void. The three of them were spit out by it into the bottom of a swirling white vortex. Garnet quickly followed in and jumped after them. "Pearl, where do those doors go?" Steven asked, looking around for one that might suspiciously lead to Equestria. So far he had no luck. There's enough doors here that it could take all day to find it. "I don't know where all of these go. Except for that one." Pearl said, pointing to a door with seizure-inducing lights and graffiti on it. It was the wildly unsuccessful and nightmare inducing Problem Solverz universe. A universe that should cease to exist when it leaves the memories of every living being. "Cool. Is that the one Amethyst went into?" Steven asked, scratching his head while continuing to look around. He resigned himself to peeking through as many doors as he can as quickly as he can. "No. No. No." His proactive approach was admirable, but not very smart. "Steven!" Pearl yelled. "That's not safe." Being the voice of reason in Steven's shenanigans, she hoped to keep Steven from injuring himself by entering another dangerous universe. "Whoa!" Steven yelled. Closing a door on a few dangerous monsters that tried to exit. "That was close." Sadly, his carelessness went unrewarded in this case, he was lucky to have made it out of that one alive. "See, what did we tell you." Garnet said, staring at Steven through her shades. Garnet usually lets Steven be himself, but not when in he puts himself in danger. "Steven be careful." Amethyst said, winking at Steven. "We're not here for exploring. Now come on." She said, grabbing Steven's arm. "Let's go to research." Amethyst was obviously lying, but was tired of laying dormant to Pearl and Garnet's wishes. She wanted to do some exploring of her own. Pearl looked at them skeptically. "Fine. You may go, Steven, under Amethyst's supervision." Amethyst smiled and dragged Steven to another corner of the multiverse. Needless to say, research was not in their plans. To Steven, this area looked more familiar. He saw a few doors that may have been from a few TV shows he recognized. "Wow Amethyst. These are all cartoon universes." A few doors from interesting shows, as well as a few from forgettable shows were seen as he continued looking for the one that leads to Equestria. "Have you ever thought, Steven, that maybe we live in a cartoon universe?" Amethyst smirked. Not usually the philosophical one, she usually only seeks to confuse and frustrate whoever she's speaking to. "Um... No." Steven shook his head, then gasping and pointing to a door that looked an awful lot like the door to Celestia's castle. "Amethyst, I think I..." After Steven stood at the door, Amethyst pushed him in and laughed. She honestly wasn't aware of the consequences it could lead to. "I'm coming after you." Amethyst smiled and jumped in. She wasn't going to leave Steven hanging. That would be unlike her, well sort of unlike her but not enough like her. "Amethyst! Steven!" Pearl yelled, looking for them on the other side of the void. "They could've gone through any one of these doors." She was extremely worried. Steven could be torn to shreds or eaten alive by anything by now. "Wait." Garnet said cooly. "I'm looking for possible scenarios." She searched through her third eye and thought of one. "I think Steven must of looked for the universe of his favorite TV show and Amethyst followed." She didn't know just how right she was. Actually she did, but she didn't want to seem conceited about it. "Well," Pearl panicked, "what's his favorite TV show? Dora the Explorer?" Pearl doesn't pay attention to the social norms of humans as they age, she didn't understand that he had grown out of that show about five years ago. "Pearl, he's eleven years old. And he watches My Little Pony." Garnet explained. She's often tired of Pearl's smart attitude, even though she lacks common sense in many areas related to humans. "The show with White Diamond?" Pearl gasped. Again, not understanding that Rarity is not her sworn enemy. "It's not White Diamond. It's a Unicorn named Rarity with a talent of dressmaking." Garnet explained. Pearl looked at her quizzically. "I do watch the show from time to time, in secret." She likes to delve in Steven's interest. She watched it in secret, not wanting Steven to be embarrassed for wanting to watch the show with him. "Garnet, why did you withhold this information?" Pearl asked madly. She didn't like the other gems keeping secrets, mostly because she felt the need to know absolutely everything. "Truthfully," Garnet said. "I was scared of what you'd think." Garnet knows she's stronger than the other gems, and she didn't want this one thing to make her seem weak compared to the others. "Garnet, it doesn't matter what shows you watch on television. It doesn't change who you are." Pearl smiled. Garnet smiled back, before quickly reverting to her normal expression. "Okay. Let's go find Steven." Garnet said. Pearl and Garnet ran around before Garnet quietly pointed to a door with Celestia's background on it. "It's this one." She knew right away, because of recalling an incident where she saw the exact same background in Celestia's castle. Pearl nodded and opened the door. "After you." She winked. Garnet entered. Secretly excited to meet some of her favorite characters on the show, she danced happily up until Pearl was visible. They entered on a hill overlooking Ponyville. Garnet felt it a little strange that they didn't enter through Canterlot, but at least this way they can continue on undetected. "Steven must have gone into that City." Pearl said, pointing down towards Ponyville. She had a few first impressions of the city. She thought it looked primitive, and she couldn't make a weather forecast of any kind. As far as she could tell, the sun was not orbiting the planet, and was being held in place by an unknown force. "I know where we can find Steven." Garnet said calm and collected, as she pointed towards the crystal castle where Twilight and her friends lived. They went on to investigate. A knock was heard on the door by Rainbow Dash. "Ugh, Twilight, could you get that? I'm reading Daring Do." She said, sprawled out on her throne. Twilight sighed in response. "Fine I'll get it." Twilight said annoyed, opening the door. What she saw, surprised her greatly. Her eyes glued on them and her irises shrank to pinpricks in response. "Um, we're looking for a small pink shirted human and a purple... thing." Pearl said, smiling awkwardly. Garnet cleared her throat. "Have you seen them?" Twilight stood there dumbfounded before looking back at the other ponies and asking them, "Have you guys seen a small pink shirted human and a purple..." She gestured nervously with her hooves. "Thing?" "Oh!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "I've seen them! They're in the kitchen. I made them Oatmeal Waffles because they were hungry. And they brought Rainbow Sprinkles!" "They're here!" Twilight's ears perked up. "Well I guess since we already have uninvited guests from another dimension who I didn't know about, you guys can come in." She sighed and shut the door, facehoofing herself immediately. Pinkie's Planned CelebrationTwilight pulled up four extra chairs for the gems to sit in for a quick meeting. As someone like Twilight knows, organization is a must when dealing with chaotic beings from another dimension. Why are they here? What are their true intentions? To be able to trust these strangers, Twilight must pick their brains in front of her element-bearing friends. "Ahem. So, Amethyst is it?" Twilight looked towards the purple alien, nervously. "Yeah." Amethyst said, still eating to the surprise of nobody. "I'm- buuurrrp really liking the food here." Twilight turned her head towards Pinkie Pie and gave her a mean look. "Pinkie Pie, why did you invite Amethyst and... Um-" Twilight scratched her head trying to think of the human's name. "Steven!" Steven yelled impatiently. "-Steven, into our castle without proper identification and further questioning as to why they were here?" Twilight said eruditely. Pinkie Pie shrugged. "I don't know. They seemed like fun. Plus, I haven't seen them in Ponyville before so I figured we could throw them a party." Pinkie Pie smiled. Pearl laughed nervously, not sure a party would be a good idea. "Pecan Pie, I assure you that we will not be staying long." Pearl said pitifully. Steven whined, hoping they could stay and have fun for a little while longer. "My name is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie Pie smiled. "But Pecan Pie sure is delicious." Pecan Pie is the godmother of all pies. "Why not? We can stay, right?" Steven gave Pearl a cute look, begging for her to comply to his wishes. Pearl sighed. She wouldn't fall for this again. "It's not our decision, Steven." Pearl looked nervously at Twilight and the rest of the ponies, who seemed uneasy about everything that's going on. "We can't let interdimensional beings stay here in Ponyville without causing a riot." Twilight explained. She preferred everything to be in order, she wouldn't know how the other ponies in town would act after seeing them. Garnet's form flashed, materializing herself into a red pastel-colored being native to Ponyville, in the form of an Earth Pony, complete with a cutie mark of a red and blue gem. "How's this?" Garnet asked, and immediately the jaws of everypony dropped to the floor. They were not expecting that in the slightest. "How did you do that?" Rarity belted excitedly. She was in awe at Garnet's power, as well as her gem-like appearance. "That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash yelled. She was literally scared out of her mind, but kept her composure and responded in the normal perpetual shock of having just witnessed the incredible act "Wait!" Steven said. "I can shapeshift too!" He groaned, trying to activate the shapeshifting powers of his gem, eventually shapeshifting his head into a disfigured mule. He failed miserably, braying horribly before changing back. "No fair, I still can't control my powers." "Aw. It's alright kid." Rainbow Dash said, ruffling her through Steven's hair. Steven gasped in awe. "Rainbow Dash just touched me." He whispered to himself. Pearl and Amethyst followed Garnet's lead and reluctantly changed into ponies. Amethyst, into a lavender pegasus with a purple gem for a cutie mark, and Pearl into a snow white unicorn with a similar white cutie mark. "This is ridiculous." Said Pearl, her eyes crossing from staring at her new horn. "I think it looks cute." Amethyst smiled. "Look at me, I'm a pegasus." She flew around the room before cutely stumbling under Twilight's feet. "Rainbow Dash, I think you'll need to give her flying lessons." Twilight suggested. "Can do." Rainbow Dash said with a salute. "What do we do with er... Steven, if he can't change into a pony?" Applejack asked. Twilight rubbed her hooves in thought. "Well, we have a lot of room in this castle. He can just stay here until he gets full control of his shapeshifting powers." Twilight ordered. She didn't want to leave him anywhere, but figured it would be best while he was still human. "Why can't we just take him and leave?" Pearl asked unamused, wanting to return to Beach City. "Because you'll attract too much attention." Twilight said delusionally. She can't have anything go wrong, she wasn't ready for an uproar. She needed to take a break. Pearl groaned. So much for getting out of there. "Oh come on it won't be so bad." Amethyst smiled dumbly. "We can finally have fun for once." Amethyst, fed up with Pearl's demanding attitude, was happy to see Pearl in such a precarious position. "Why don't we welcome you guys to Ponyville?" Pinkie said, then gasped. "With a party!" Pinkie smiled. "Pinkie Pie, yesterday we celebrated the birthday of a cactus, and the day before that we celebrated whacking day." Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes in jest. "That cactus was 1,300 years old. And we needed to celebrate getting rid of all those snakes!" Pinkie said in protest. Those snakes were obviously no joke, and needed to be whacked. "Even with yer near pointless parties, you never disappoint, Pinkie. Except for the cactus cake." Applejack shuddered. She can handle spicy foods, but that was just plain wrong. "How was I supposed to know that cake had real cactus in it. I ordered it from Discord." Pinkie Pie explained. Discord is obviously reformed so he doesn't have time for chaos anymore, right? "That sounds like fun." Steven smiled, eager for the party. "Steven, you can't come." Twilight said point blank. He wasn't coming, can't have any extra attention. "Aw why not?" Steven protested. Obviously Twilight just thought of a perfectly reasonable reason why Steven cannot show up at a big party that may or may not have cactus cake. "Because if ponies see you they'll freak out." Twilight said. "You're staying in the library with the door magically sealed so you can't get out." Twilight grabbed a hold of Steven with her magic and shut him in. Right now, the only pony in danger of freaking out is the one in charge of everything. "Twilight, how could you?" Steven cried, staring at the towering door, guarded with Twilight's force field. A book shortly fell on his head with a changeling on the cover. "Shapeshifting Spells. Hmm... I'm not a changeling but I suppose I could learn some of this stuff." Steven sat down in a bean bag chair to read, staring up at the tiled ceiling. "Either this castle is too big, or I should be way taller." "So is a party really going to help us feel welcome?" Pearl asked Rarity, clearly over the possibility of her having any relation to Homeworld. "Yes, Pinkie Pie throws excellent parties, although they can be a bit juvenile. Can I get you a formal gown for the occasion?" Rarity asked, being generous as usual. "Uh, I think my full body armor will do just fine." Pearl exhaled. She didn't want to wear a dress. Not here, not ever. "We have a few early birds." Pinkie sang. "Pearl this is Ditzy Doo and Thunderlane." Thunderlane, having an awkward crush on Ditzy Doo for awhile, decided to ask her out. Ditzy agreed, she was happy to go outside. It was such a nice day out after all. "Nice to meet you, Ditzy." Pearl said nervously to the crosseyed mare. "And Thunderlane." "You seem prim and proper, where did you come from, Canterlot?" Thunderlane asked. "Beach City actually." Pearl said awkwardly. "I thought Bleach City was a laundromat." Ditzy said confused. She went to Bleach City once, but got kicked out after taking a ride in one of the washing machines. "Twilight?" Thunderlane asked curiously. "Can you show us Beach City on your map?" Being curious about the geography of Equestria, he wanted to be aware of every single place in Equestria. "Um... the map is broken right now." Twilight lied. Obviously, the map is fully functional. However, Beach City is not in Equestria. "Oh, sorry." Thunderlane trotted off awkwardly, Ditzy following, still wondering why they were inside. "Pearl." Twilight whispered. "If anypony asks, you came from Canterlot, okay. Just so nopony gets suspicious." Twilight said nervously. Everything needs to go right, they'll go home soon and everything will be back to normal. But for now she must make sure everything is going exactly the way she wants it so nothing goes wrong. "Fine." Pearl rolled her eyes. More guests came tumbling in. "Emergency! Get me the guac stat!" Pinkie yelled, pulling a cart full of chips, imitating a physician. Pearl blended awkwardly in the crowd and saw Amethyst jump in the punch bowl, shapeshifting into a crocodile. She walked over to her angrily. "Amethyst!" She scolded. "Stop shapeshifting this instant, you're going to get us caught." Amethyst jumped out of the punch bowl, quickly changing back into a pegasus. "Chillax, Pearl, have some guac." Amethyst smiled. "I don't want any-" Pearl protested, before Amethyst shoved a glob of guacamole down her throat. Pearl swallowed and shuddered in response. "I don't eat, Amethyst." She said unamused. Amethyst laughed. "I know." She said, smugly. "Let's take a moment to honor our guests." Pinkie Pie said, with a microphone. The clamor of ponies around them began to quiet and stare at the gems. "Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst." Pinkie said. "May you always feel welcome here in Ponyville. FOREVER!" She squealed. Pearl cringed, Garnet smiled, and Amethyst looked forward in shock. Twilight whispered to Pinkie. "They're leaving soon, Pinkie." Twilight said, inaudibly into Pinkie Pie's ear. "Oh, right." Pinkie Pie smiled in nervous laughter, still holding the microphone. The ponies in the party smiled and resumed talking, quieting once more when Celestia herself entered the rec room. "Sorry for being fashionably late." Celestia beamed. "I hear we have some new guests here in Ponyville." The ponies kneeled, including Garnet. Amethyst and Pearl stayed on their hooves in shock, before Garnet pulled them down. "Have some respect." Garnet scolded. "Enjoying your stay in Ponyville?" Celestia asked the three politely. The three mares rose to their hooves. "I guess so." Amethyst shrugged. "Very much so." Garnet said. "I think we're enjoying ourselves." Pearl said nervously. "Is that so." Celestia smiled. "Well I best be go-" Celestia was interrupted by Steven, flying into the room in the form as a red-maned changeling. "I'm here for the party." Steven smiled, landing in Celestia's mane. Everypony gasped. "What did I miss?" To be assimilated into the hive press '1'"Steven!" Pearl gasped. "Well." Celestia gulped. "This is interesting." "Steven please come down." Garnet asked calmly. Steven flew out of Celestia's mane, before landing on the ground. He clutched his forehead with his porous hoof. "My head hurts." Steven said, disoriented. He looked down at his normally pink gem on his thorax, which now seemed to be glowing green. "And why is my gem... green?" "What is going on?" Celestia said horrified. Twilight ran to the rescue, swiping Pinkie's microphone for good measure. "Everything is fine. No need to worry. Everything is totally fine." Twilight's eyes darted around at everypony, hyperventilating. "I think we owe everybody an explanation." Garnet said respectfully. "We're not from Canterlot!" Pearl interjected. All of the gems except Steven returned to their natural forms. Everypony gasped. Celestia watched in diplomatic curiosity before quietly nodding in response. "Well surely we can be respectful and welcome these new.. beings, despite our differences." Most of the partygoers hung on Celestia's word, while some exited rather quickly in panic and terror. Pearl rolled her eyes. "Well I guess we should get going." She said nervously, her eyes darted to the other gems as she waited for them to agree. Garnet shook her head. "No." She growled. "We are not leaving until we fix Steven!" Steven shook his head again, his eyes glowed slightly green as the pressure on his head was increasing dramatically. He was starting to hear voices, and knew precisely where they were coming from. He groaned, trying to avoid the assimilation into the changeling hive. He planted his hooves on the ground and waited for the voices to stop. "Are you alright Steven?" Pearl asked, stopping her conversation with Garnet. Steven groaned painfully in response. "He's not alright." Garnet explained. "The sudden transformation is taking it's toll." "No!" Steven yelled through the pain. "It's not that." "Steven?" Pearl said. "What do you know about these creatures?" "They... don't..." Steven strained, then yelled painfully in response to his horn beginning to glow a sickly green. "I'm trying..." Twilight gasped. "We don't have much time. He's being downloaded to the Hive Network." "Is that like a beehive? Is there honey there?" Amethyst said amused. Pearl gave her a good sized blow to the back of the head in response. Twilight shook her head. "Not like a beehive. These creatures have a queen, who instills obedience in all new changelings through the hive network. There are those who grow to resist, but all new changelings are bound to her voice." "It's getting... harder!" Steven strains again, his resistance slowly fading into the hive mindlink. "Don't just stand there! Do something!" Pearl yells to Celestia. "I normally only take credit for things after they happen, I'm not usually the cause." Celestia responds truthfully. "Well who DOES them?" Pearl yells. Twilight coughed and Celestia handed her the elements. She gave her a quick nod. The rest of the mane six made their way triumphantly through the rest of the partygoers, most of them staying because they thought this was a play or something. As the elements were wielded, a large beam of light was projected onto Steven. Twilight let out a sigh of relief when she and her friends were finished, only to become shocked to see Steven zombie-walking out the door. "That did NOTHING?!" Twilight yelled. "Actually I think it might of acted as a catalyst. The whole love and emotion powers changelings thing." Celestia said. "And why did you give me and my friends the all clear?" Twilight whispered to Celestia frustrated. "I didn't want to look incompetent in front of the space people." Celestia explained. "And this doesn't make you look incompetent?" Twilight raged. "I figured I'd blame you for this." Celestia responded. Meanwhile, Steven was busy flying to the hive as instructed by Chrysalis. The Queen will be very happy to see Steven once he arrives, not only to welcome him as a new changeling, but for other reasons as well. Unbeknownst to him, Steven's rose quartz gem can supply bounties of love energy to the hive. He soon entered... and was greeted by the Queen's disembodied voice. Steven? Steven's glowing green eyes peaked slightly at Chrysalis' transmission. Yes my queen? Come. Steven obeyed and flew to the throne room, where Chrysalis sat with an army of changeling's surrounding her in what looked like an audience for an event. She cleared her throat and spoke directly to Steven and the audience. "Steven. Your gem is very special to us. It supplies just the love energy we need to grow and thrive as a species." Steven blinked and lolled his tongue out in response, still being playful even under Chrysalis' mind control. She laughed in amusement before gazing powerfully into Steven's eyes. "You will no longer be Steven... You are now 513-A. Are we clear?" Steven nodded in response. "Good gem- I mean 513-A." Chrysalis responded, forcefully petting Steven's pink mane. She looked carefully at his gem, looking for some way she could remove it from his body and suspend it over the hive. "036-H and 289-C, take him to hive medical for a... um... painful gem extraction." Chrysalis ordered. The two changeling's mentioned stood at attention and grabbed a hold of Steven's limbs to take him to the operating room. Hypnotized Steven gulped in response. His fear response initiated a rebuttal that slightly bypassed the psychological force of the spell. "Okay my queen... I am only slightly afraid of painful medical procedures, if you would please." "No!" Chrysalis yelled and stomped her hoof dramatically. She looked into Steven's eyes as the other two changelings held on to his limbs, dangling him helplessly in their grasped. "Don't worry my precious gem..." She cooed brushing her hoof against Steven's chin. "As for you 513-A... it will hurt. All of it." Chrysalis gave an evil grin as she again pierced through Steven's mind. "Hurt..." Steven droned, before shaking himself out of his daze. "No! Wait! The gem! Don't!" Chrysalis laughed evilly as the two changelings carried him out of the throne room and into the operating room. "It feels so good to cause pain to former ponies for my own enjoyment..." Chrysalis said to herself. The changeling audience stood in awe. "Well... what are you waiting for? Get back to work!" The changelings groaned and returned to all of their previous engagements.
Code Rainbow"Connie, come quick. Code Rainbow." Steven squealed happily into the telephone. Code Rainbow, obviously named after Rainbow Dash, is Steven's way of saying My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is going to air in twenty minutes. "Code Rainbow, Steven?" Connie asked, not entirely familiar with Steven's mannerisms. Steven sighed, his rolling eyes piercing through the telephone. "My Little Pony, Connie." Steven wished he didn't have to explain these things to Connie. By now she should be aware of what he's talking about, considering they've watched the first four seasons of the show together. "Oh." Connie laughed. "Okay, well I'll be over soon. Just need to get my homework done." Truthfully Connie didn't have any homework, she just needed time to come up with an elaborate lie of why she's going to see Steven. "Well hurry or you'll miss it." Steven yelled into the telephone. Whenever Connie shows up late, he has to explain what happened in the episode, which takes away time they spend actually watching it. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst entered the crystal fortress through the warp pad. "Steven! You'll never guess what we found!" Pearl sang cheerfully. Amethyst rolled her eyes. What they found, was a portal to the multiverse. A round rift in space-time that grants access to all of the known universes. "It's not that exciting Steven." Amethyst said, after being the first gem to go into the portal. The universe she managed to enter, was completely and utterly terrifying. Steven pondered the trip for a moment, before remembering why he needs to stay. "Um, on second thought I'm just going to stay here and... eat breakfast!" Steven lied, needing desperately to watch his favorite show. He can't tell the gems without risking being made fun of for watching a show meant for little girls. Pearl audibly facepalmed. "It's 3:30 Steven." Amethyst laughed. Steven remembered he already ate breakfast a few hours ago... and lunch. Coming up with a good lie on the spot is very hard to do. "Yeah, it's Steven. Let him make some waffles and gorge himself until his balls explode!" Amethyst guffawed. Steven had an interesting visual of his balls exploding, and covered his eyes to shroud the imaginary horror. "Amethyst! That's not funny!" Pearl yelled, tired of Amethyst's disgusting sense of humor. Steven's balls exploding is not something that should be funny. "Let her stay here with Steven. She'll be a detriment to our mission." Garnet chimed in. Always the quiet one, she is the most resourceful when she speaks. Amethyst had already seen the portal, and wouldn't want to go back again. "Fine! We'll eat waffles together, right Steven?" Amethyst looked to Steven with wild eyes. The rest of the crystal gems went off into the warp stream. "That's not a euphemism is it?" Steven squealed, afraid of what Amethyst might be implying. Amethyst laughed. "Nah. We'll have a good time." Amethyst said happily as she waved off the others, even though they had already left. "Have fun exploring you're dumb multiverse." She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Multiverse?" Steven gasped. Multiple universes? The thought of maybe getting a chance to explore Equestria went through Steven's mind. He quickly came down though, and realized that it's only a fevered dream. "Yeah we found a portal that leads to all known universes while warping through subspace." Amethyst giggled. All known universes? Now Steven knew he had a shot. He was going to do whatever he can to get back in that portal. "You said it wasn't that cool." Steven pouted. Amethyst's antics got the best of Steven. Now he knew that the portal was at least twenty percent cooler than Amethyst said. "Oh, it's alright Steven, Pearl was probably going to take us to the land of moon rocks or something." Amethyst told Steven. Pearl wanted to study the multiverse for scientific reasons, fun of any kind was not to be had. The door opened behind Steven. Connie walked in and Steven's eyes glued onto her before blushing and looking away. "Connie, you made it!" He gasped. He was legitimately concerned that Connie wasn't going to make it until the end. She is awfully serious about her homework. "Yeah." Connie blushed. "I couldn't say no to a Code Rainbow." Connie winked. Knowing Amethyst was in the room, she had to make sure she wasn't aware of their plans. "Oh yeah." Steven laughed. Happy that Connie is finally getting it. He's been trying to be more secretive, now using various code names for their secret plans. "What's a Code Rainbow Steven?" Amethyst asked curiously. Amethyst didn't have the slightest clue, and she wanted to find out Steven's eyes lit up nervously. "Um... it means we need Rainbow sprinkles, for the waffles." Steven quickly pushed Amethyst out the door. "Which means you have to buy some." Steven shut the door, then opened it again. "...For the waffles." Amethyst shrugged and left to get some sprinkles. "Are Steven and Connie...?" Amethyst asked herself. Maybe Code Rainbow is Steven's way of saying they're making love. "No. They wouldn't." She ran quickly to the store, grabbing a bag of condoms without having the time or money to pay for them. She gasped, running quickly back to the temple. Steven scrambled hurriedly to turn on the TV. "We have to hurry. I think we made Amethyst suspicious." Amethyst was suspicious, but of something far worse than watching a kids show. "No... Amethyst seemed fine..." Connie said, before being interrupted by a nervous Amethyst charging through the door with a mysterious baggie. "Steven!" Amethyst panted heavily from running back to the temple. "Use a condom!" She threw the bag on the ground at a surprisingly fully clothed Steven. Amethyst anxiously blushed and turned away. "What's a condom?" Steven asked scratching his head. Steven really had no idea what Amethyst was talking about. But he was curious to know what a condom was. He tried reaching for the bag, "Um...." Amethyst turned bright red. "It's a vegetable. But don't eat it. I need to take it back." She grabbed the bag and threw it out the window. Good cover, she thought. Steven couldn't be interested in a vegetable. "Okay?" Steven asked before turning to the TV behind him broadcasting his favorite show. He hoped Amethyst would leave again, and not pay attention to what him and Connie were watching "Is that?" Amethyst turned to see the TV before laughing uncontrollably. "My Little Pony?" She had seen a glimpse of the show one time. Pearl was flipping through the channels, and stopped on the show after mistaking Rarity for the evil White Diamond. "No!" Steven blushed. "Yes! Don't look at me." Steven was ashamed, humiliated, and nearly soiled himself in embarrassment. Amethyst comforted Steven. "Don't worry, Steven, a lot of men like the show. Humans go through an awkward phase where they start being attracted to certain things." After Pearl asked many people in beach city questions about the show, when she was convinced it was evil, she found out that many grown men liked the show in a sexual manner. Connie quickly became uncomfortable and pushed Amethyst out of the house. "Okay... Amethyst, go bring the vegetables back... I assure you Steven and I are not doing anything gross." Connie, being aware of what sex was, knew what Amethyst was getting at. She did not want her corrupting the innocent Steven. Amethyst laughed. "Okay." The door shut quickly, locking her outside. It's her house, why do Steven and Connie think they can kick her out whenever? She kicked a rock in frustration. "Whew." Connie sighed in relief. "That was close." She was afraid they wouldn't get to watch the show, and that Amethyst would never leave. "Alright." Steven smiled. "Let's watch it." They already missed two minutes of the show, but Steven didn't care. He secretly taped every episode and hid them all under his bed. Steven sat down with his bottomless popcorn and shared it with Connie. They quickly became closer as they smiled and laughed with the show. "Who's your favorite?" Steven asked. Connie blushed. "Fluttershy. What's yours?" Fluttershy's shyness appealed to her quite a bit. While Connie loved Twilight's scholarly attitude, she felt like Fluttershy was a bit more relaxed and laid back. "Rainbow Dash. Because she reminds me of Amethyst. Except cooler." Steven smiled. Connie laughed. Amethyst had a rough and tumble attitude much like Rainbow Dash. If they knew each other they'd probably be really good friends. "Fluttershy is a lot like me you know. She's always worried about what other ponies think. Kind of like me." Connie sighed. Fluttershy's anxious demeanor sometimes made Connie burst into tears. She felt she related strongly to her fear. "Even though everybody already loves her." Steven smiled again. All of the ponies love Fluttershy, they want what's best for her and would never intentionally humiliate her. He felt the same way towards Connie. "Yeah." Connie smiled back and kissed Steven on the cheek. Steven blushed heavily. He didn't know how to respond. Was this a sign of what's to come? Can they be more than friends? "Wow." Steven said dreamily. He was happy now, he knew he liked Connie. Now he knows she likes her back. "Was that okay?" Connie asked, feeling the need to ask permission for her advances. "Yeah." Steven laughed. The warp pad reverberated to signal the arrival of the crystal gems. "Oh no." Steven stood up, his outstretched arms covering the television. He breathed heavily, his face dripping with sweat. "Steven. Last chance to come with us." Pearl said slyly. "Um... what is that?" She said pointing to the TV. She saw the outer edges of the television, and was suspicious of it being so determinately blocked by Steven. "Aw, come on guys I'm watching my favorite show." Steven whined. If he had a chance to go with them back to the portal, he couldn't pass it up, but he felt bad about having to leave Connie after she'd just kissed him. "Where's Amethyst?" Pearl asks, curiously looking around the temple. Amethyst was nowhere to be found, having left earlier after being kicked out by Connie. "She should be back any minute." Steven said, before Amethyst came back, with rainbow sprinkles dropping from the hole in her bag. She knew the original reason for Code Rainbow was a lie, but rainbow sprinkles sounded really good. "Steven, can I come in now? I got the sprinkles." Amethyst gasped. "Aw man, some of them spilled on the ground." She glued her face to the floor and licked them up in a very unsanitary manner. "I got to go... Pearl and Garnet really want me to see something." Steven said blankly. He was determined to go to the multiverse portal, and it wasn't to study moon rocks. "Fine. I'll go." Amethyst sighed. She wasn't going to leave Steven hanging, plus the thought of being alone with Connie seemed very boring. "Connie. Keep taping the show I'll be back any minute." Steven said. "Here I go." The warp pad hummed musically, sending him and the crystal gems off through the warp stream. "Alright." Connie waved, long after Steven was gone. "I'll be here. Alone." She sighed, facing the TV.
Have You Seen The Pink Shirted Human Named Steven?"So where's the portal?" Steven asked. He looked around feverishly trying to find it on the rocky ground. The warp pad sent them to the land between dimensions, a land that is susceptible to irregularities in time and space. "It's not on the ground, Steven." Pearl said, pointing to a high point in the sky, where a tear in the fabric of time and space was clearly visible. It pulsated and was tearing slightly more every second. Steven grew starry eyed as he stared into it. "Whoa. How do we get up there?" He judged that the portal could be at least a few hundred feet in the air. He wasn't really sure how dangerous it was. Pearl laughed. "We're crystal gems remember? Plus, there isn't much gravity here." She said, grabbing Steven and jumping into the air. Amethyst groaned in protest and grabbed onto Pearl's legs. In retrospect, it would've probably been more comfortable to wait and jump after them. "What? Where are we?.. Whoa." Steven yelled as he floated quickly into the air with Pearl. He closed his eyes before entering the white void. The three of them were spit out by it into the bottom of a swirling white vortex. Garnet quickly followed in and jumped after them. "Pearl, where do those doors go?" Steven asked, looking around for one that might suspiciously lead to Equestria. So far he had no luck. There's enough doors here that it could take all day to find it. "I don't know where all of these go. Except for that one." Pearl said, pointing to a door with seizure-inducing lights and graffiti on it. It was the wildly unsuccessful and nightmare inducing Problem Solverz universe. A universe that should cease to exist when it leaves the memories of every living being. "Cool. Is that the one Amethyst went into?" Steven asked, scratching his head while continuing to look around. He resigned himself to peeking through as many doors as he can as quickly as he can. "No. No. No." His proactive approach was admirable, but not very smart. "Steven!" Pearl yelled. "That's not safe." Being the voice of reason in Steven's shenanigans, she hoped to keep Steven from injuring himself by entering another dangerous universe. "Whoa!" Steven yelled. Closing a door on a few dangerous monsters that tried to exit. "That was close." Sadly, his carelessness went unrewarded in this case, he was lucky to have made it out of that one alive. "See, what did we tell you." Garnet said, staring at Steven through her shades. Garnet usually lets Steven be himself, but not when in he puts himself in danger. "Steven be careful." Amethyst said, winking at Steven. "We're not here for exploring. Now come on." She said, grabbing Steven's arm. "Let's go to research." Amethyst was obviously lying, but was tired of laying dormant to Pearl and Garnet's wishes. She wanted to do some exploring of her own. Pearl looked at them skeptically. "Fine. You may go, Steven, under Amethyst's supervision." Amethyst smiled and dragged Steven to another corner of the multiverse. Needless to say, research was not in their plans. To Steven, this area looked more familiar. He saw a few doors that may have been from a few TV shows he recognized. "Wow Amethyst. These are all cartoon universes." A few doors from interesting shows, as well as a few from forgettable shows were seen as he continued looking for the one that leads to Equestria. "Have you ever thought, Steven, that maybe we live in a cartoon universe?" Amethyst smirked. Not usually the philosophical one, she usually only seeks to confuse and frustrate whoever she's speaking to. "Um... No." Steven shook his head, then gasping and pointing to a door that looked an awful lot like the door to Celestia's castle. "Amethyst, I think I..." After Steven stood at the door, Amethyst pushed him in and laughed. She honestly wasn't aware of the consequences it could lead to. "I'm coming after you." Amethyst smiled and jumped in. She wasn't going to leave Steven hanging. That would be unlike her, well sort of unlike her but not enough like her. "Amethyst! Steven!" Pearl yelled, looking for them on the other side of the void. "They could've gone through any one of these doors." She was extremely worried. Steven could be torn to shreds or eaten alive by anything by now. "Wait." Garnet said cooly. "I'm looking for possible scenarios." She searched through her third eye and thought of one. "I think Steven must of looked for the universe of his favorite TV show and Amethyst followed." She didn't know just how right she was. Actually she did, but she didn't want to seem conceited about it. "Well," Pearl panicked, "what's his favorite TV show? Dora the Explorer?" Pearl doesn't pay attention to the social norms of humans as they age, she didn't understand that he had grown out of that show about five years ago. "Pearl, he's eleven years old. And he watches My Little Pony." Garnet explained. She's often tired of Pearl's smart attitude, even though she lacks common sense in many areas related to humans. "The show with White Diamond?" Pearl gasped. Again, not understanding that Rarity is not her sworn enemy. "It's not White Diamond. It's a Unicorn named Rarity with a talent of dressmaking." Garnet explained. Pearl looked at her quizzically. "I do watch the show from time to time, in secret." She likes to delve in Steven's interest. She watched it in secret, not wanting Steven to be embarrassed for wanting to watch the show with him. "Garnet, why did you withhold this information?" Pearl asked madly. She didn't like the other gems keeping secrets, mostly because she felt the need to know absolutely everything. "Truthfully," Garnet said. "I was scared of what you'd think." Garnet knows she's stronger than the other gems, and she didn't want this one thing to make her seem weak compared to the others. "Garnet, it doesn't matter what shows you watch on television. It doesn't change who you are." Pearl smiled. Garnet smiled back, before quickly reverting to her normal expression. "Okay. Let's go find Steven." Garnet said. Pearl and Garnet ran around before Garnet quietly pointed to a door with Celestia's background on it. "It's this one." She knew right away, because of recalling an incident where she saw the exact same background in Celestia's castle. Pearl nodded and opened the door. "After you." She winked. Garnet entered. Secretly excited to meet some of her favorite characters on the show, she danced happily up until Pearl was visible. They entered on a hill overlooking Ponyville. Garnet felt it a little strange that they didn't enter through Canterlot, but at least this way they can continue on undetected. "Steven must have gone into that City." Pearl said, pointing down towards Ponyville. She had a few first impressions of the city. She thought it looked primitive, and she couldn't make a weather forecast of any kind. As far as she could tell, the sun was not orbiting the planet, and was being held in place by an unknown force. "I know where we can find Steven." Garnet said calm and collected, as she pointed towards the crystal castle where Twilight and her friends lived. They went on to investigate. A knock was heard on the door by Rainbow Dash. "Ugh, Twilight, could you get that? I'm reading Daring Do." She said, sprawled out on her throne. Twilight sighed in response. "Fine I'll get it." Twilight said annoyed, opening the door. What she saw, surprised her greatly. Her eyes glued on them and her irises shrank to pinpricks in response. "Um, we're looking for a small pink shirted human and a purple... thing." Pearl said, smiling awkwardly. Garnet cleared her throat. "Have you seen them?" Twilight stood there dumbfounded before looking back at the other ponies and asking them, "Have you guys seen a small pink shirted human and a purple..." She gestured nervously with her hooves. "Thing?" "Oh!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "I've seen them! They're in the kitchen. I made them Oatmeal Waffles because they were hungry. And they brought Rainbow Sprinkles!" "They're here!" Twilight's ears perked up. "Well I guess since we already have uninvited guests from another dimension who I didn't know about, you guys can come in." She sighed and shut the door, facehoofing herself immediately.
Pinkie's Planned CelebrationTwilight pulled up four extra chairs for the gems to sit in for a quick meeting. As someone like Twilight knows, organization is a must when dealing with chaotic beings from another dimension. Why are they here? What are their true intentions? To be able to trust these strangers, Twilight must pick their brains in front of her element-bearing friends. "Ahem. So, Amethyst is it?" Twilight looked towards the purple alien, nervously. "Yeah." Amethyst said, still eating to the surprise of nobody. "I'm- buuurrrp really liking the food here." Twilight turned her head towards Pinkie Pie and gave her a mean look. "Pinkie Pie, why did you invite Amethyst and... Um-" Twilight scratched her head trying to think of the human's name. "Steven!" Steven yelled impatiently. "-Steven, into our castle without proper identification and further questioning as to why they were here?" Twilight said eruditely. Pinkie Pie shrugged. "I don't know. They seemed like fun. Plus, I haven't seen them in Ponyville before so I figured we could throw them a party." Pinkie Pie smiled. Pearl laughed nervously, not sure a party would be a good idea. "Pecan Pie, I assure you that we will not be staying long." Pearl said pitifully. Steven whined, hoping they could stay and have fun for a little while longer. "My name is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie Pie smiled. "But Pecan Pie sure is delicious." Pecan Pie is the godmother of all pies. "Why not? We can stay, right?" Steven gave Pearl a cute look, begging for her to comply to his wishes. Pearl sighed. She wouldn't fall for this again. "It's not our decision, Steven." Pearl looked nervously at Twilight and the rest of the ponies, who seemed uneasy about everything that's going on. "We can't let interdimensional beings stay here in Ponyville without causing a riot." Twilight explained. She preferred everything to be in order, she wouldn't know how the other ponies in town would act after seeing them. Garnet's form flashed, materializing herself into a red pastel-colored being native to Ponyville, in the form of an Earth Pony, complete with a cutie mark of a red and blue gem. "How's this?" Garnet asked, and immediately the jaws of everypony dropped to the floor. They were not expecting that in the slightest. "How did you do that?" Rarity belted excitedly. She was in awe at Garnet's power, as well as her gem-like appearance. "That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash yelled. She was literally scared out of her mind, but kept her composure and responded in the normal perpetual shock of having just witnessed the incredible act "Wait!" Steven said. "I can shapeshift too!" He groaned, trying to activate the shapeshifting powers of his gem, eventually shapeshifting his head into a disfigured mule. He failed miserably, braying horribly before changing back. "No fair, I still can't control my powers." "Aw. It's alright kid." Rainbow Dash said, ruffling her through Steven's hair. Steven gasped in awe. "Rainbow Dash just touched me." He whispered to himself. Pearl and Amethyst followed Garnet's lead and reluctantly changed into ponies. Amethyst, into a lavender pegasus with a purple gem for a cutie mark, and Pearl into a snow white unicorn with a similar white cutie mark. "This is ridiculous." Said Pearl, her eyes crossing from staring at her new horn. "I think it looks cute." Amethyst smiled. "Look at me, I'm a pegasus." She flew around the room before cutely stumbling under Twilight's feet. "Rainbow Dash, I think you'll need to give her flying lessons." Twilight suggested. "Can do." Rainbow Dash said with a salute. "What do we do with er... Steven, if he can't change into a pony?" Applejack asked. Twilight rubbed her hooves in thought. "Well, we have a lot of room in this castle. He can just stay here until he gets full control of his shapeshifting powers." Twilight ordered. She didn't want to leave him anywhere, but figured it would be best while he was still human. "Why can't we just take him and leave?" Pearl asked unamused, wanting to return to Beach City. "Because you'll attract too much attention." Twilight said delusionally. She can't have anything go wrong, she wasn't ready for an uproar. She needed to take a break. Pearl groaned. So much for getting out of there. "Oh come on it won't be so bad." Amethyst smiled dumbly. "We can finally have fun for once." Amethyst, fed up with Pearl's demanding attitude, was happy to see Pearl in such a precarious position. "Why don't we welcome you guys to Ponyville?" Pinkie said, then gasped. "With a party!" Pinkie smiled. "Pinkie Pie, yesterday we celebrated the birthday of a cactus, and the day before that we celebrated whacking day." Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes in jest. "That cactus was 1,300 years old. And we needed to celebrate getting rid of all those snakes!" Pinkie said in protest. Those snakes were obviously no joke, and needed to be whacked. "Even with yer near pointless parties, you never disappoint, Pinkie. Except for the cactus cake." Applejack shuddered. She can handle spicy foods, but that was just plain wrong. "How was I supposed to know that cake had real cactus in it. I ordered it from Discord." Pinkie Pie explained. Discord is obviously reformed so he doesn't have time for chaos anymore, right? "That sounds like fun." Steven smiled, eager for the party. "Steven, you can't come." Twilight said point blank. He wasn't coming, can't have any extra attention. "Aw why not?" Steven protested. Obviously Twilight just thought of a perfectly reasonable reason why Steven cannot show up at a big party that may or may not have cactus cake. "Because if ponies see you they'll freak out." Twilight said. "You're staying in the library with the door magically sealed so you can't get out." Twilight grabbed a hold of Steven with her magic and shut him in. Right now, the only pony in danger of freaking out is the one in charge of everything. "Twilight, how could you?" Steven cried, staring at the towering door, guarded with Twilight's force field. A book shortly fell on his head with a changeling on the cover. "Shapeshifting Spells. Hmm... I'm not a changeling but I suppose I could learn some of this stuff." Steven sat down in a bean bag chair to read, staring up at the tiled ceiling. "Either this castle is too big, or I should be way taller." "So is a party really going to help us feel welcome?" Pearl asked Rarity, clearly over the possibility of her having any relation to Homeworld. "Yes, Pinkie Pie throws excellent parties, although they can be a bit juvenile. Can I get you a formal gown for the occasion?" Rarity asked, being generous as usual. "Uh, I think my full body armor will do just fine." Pearl exhaled. She didn't want to wear a dress. Not here, not ever. "We have a few early birds." Pinkie sang. "Pearl this is Ditzy Doo and Thunderlane." Thunderlane, having an awkward crush on Ditzy Doo for awhile, decided to ask her out. Ditzy agreed, she was happy to go outside. It was such a nice day out after all. "Nice to meet you, Ditzy." Pearl said nervously to the crosseyed mare. "And Thunderlane." "You seem prim and proper, where did you come from, Canterlot?" Thunderlane asked. "Beach City actually." Pearl said awkwardly. "I thought Bleach City was a laundromat." Ditzy said confused. She went to Bleach City once, but got kicked out after taking a ride in one of the washing machines. "Twilight?" Thunderlane asked curiously. "Can you show us Beach City on your map?" Being curious about the geography of Equestria, he wanted to be aware of every single place in Equestria. "Um... the map is broken right now." Twilight lied. Obviously, the map is fully functional. However, Beach City is not in Equestria. "Oh, sorry." Thunderlane trotted off awkwardly, Ditzy following, still wondering why they were inside. "Pearl." Twilight whispered. "If anypony asks, you came from Canterlot, okay. Just so nopony gets suspicious." Twilight said nervously. Everything needs to go right, they'll go home soon and everything will be back to normal. But for now she must make sure everything is going exactly the way she wants it so nothing goes wrong. "Fine." Pearl rolled her eyes. More guests came tumbling in. "Emergency! Get me the guac stat!" Pinkie yelled, pulling a cart full of chips, imitating a physician. Pearl blended awkwardly in the crowd and saw Amethyst jump in the punch bowl, shapeshifting into a crocodile. She walked over to her angrily. "Amethyst!" She scolded. "Stop shapeshifting this instant, you're going to get us caught." Amethyst jumped out of the punch bowl, quickly changing back into a pegasus. "Chillax, Pearl, have some guac." Amethyst smiled. "I don't want any-" Pearl protested, before Amethyst shoved a glob of guacamole down her throat. Pearl swallowed and shuddered in response. "I don't eat, Amethyst." She said unamused. Amethyst laughed. "I know." She said, smugly. "Let's take a moment to honor our guests." Pinkie Pie said, with a microphone. The clamor of ponies around them began to quiet and stare at the gems. "Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst." Pinkie said. "May you always feel welcome here in Ponyville. FOREVER!" She squealed. Pearl cringed, Garnet smiled, and Amethyst looked forward in shock. Twilight whispered to Pinkie. "They're leaving soon, Pinkie." Twilight said, inaudibly into Pinkie Pie's ear. "Oh, right." Pinkie Pie smiled in nervous laughter, still holding the microphone. The ponies in the party smiled and resumed talking, quieting once more when Celestia herself entered the rec room. "Sorry for being fashionably late." Celestia beamed. "I hear we have some new guests here in Ponyville." The ponies kneeled, including Garnet. Amethyst and Pearl stayed on their hooves in shock, before Garnet pulled them down. "Have some respect." Garnet scolded. "Enjoying your stay in Ponyville?" Celestia asked the three politely. The three mares rose to their hooves. "I guess so." Amethyst shrugged. "Very much so." Garnet said. "I think we're enjoying ourselves." Pearl said nervously. "Is that so." Celestia smiled. "Well I best be go-" Celestia was interrupted by Steven, flying into the room in the form as a red-maned changeling. "I'm here for the party." Steven smiled, landing in Celestia's mane. Everypony gasped. "What did I miss?"
To be assimilated into the hive press '1'"Steven!" Pearl gasped. "Well." Celestia gulped. "This is interesting." "Steven please come down." Garnet asked calmly. Steven flew out of Celestia's mane, before landing on the ground. He clutched his forehead with his porous hoof. "My head hurts." Steven said, disoriented. He looked down at his normally pink gem on his thorax, which now seemed to be glowing green. "And why is my gem... green?" "What is going on?" Celestia said horrified. Twilight ran to the rescue, swiping Pinkie's microphone for good measure. "Everything is fine. No need to worry. Everything is totally fine." Twilight's eyes darted around at everypony, hyperventilating. "I think we owe everybody an explanation." Garnet said respectfully. "We're not from Canterlot!" Pearl interjected. All of the gems except Steven returned to their natural forms. Everypony gasped. Celestia watched in diplomatic curiosity before quietly nodding in response. "Well surely we can be respectful and welcome these new.. beings, despite our differences." Most of the partygoers hung on Celestia's word, while some exited rather quickly in panic and terror. Pearl rolled her eyes. "Well I guess we should get going." She said nervously, her eyes darted to the other gems as she waited for them to agree. Garnet shook her head. "No." She growled. "We are not leaving until we fix Steven!" Steven shook his head again, his eyes glowed slightly green as the pressure on his head was increasing dramatically. He was starting to hear voices, and knew precisely where they were coming from. He groaned, trying to avoid the assimilation into the changeling hive. He planted his hooves on the ground and waited for the voices to stop. "Are you alright Steven?" Pearl asked, stopping her conversation with Garnet. Steven groaned painfully in response. "He's not alright." Garnet explained. "The sudden transformation is taking it's toll." "No!" Steven yelled through the pain. "It's not that." "Steven?" Pearl said. "What do you know about these creatures?" "They... don't..." Steven strained, then yelled painfully in response to his horn beginning to glow a sickly green. "I'm trying..." Twilight gasped. "We don't have much time. He's being downloaded to the Hive Network." "Is that like a beehive? Is there honey there?" Amethyst said amused. Pearl gave her a good sized blow to the back of the head in response. Twilight shook her head. "Not like a beehive. These creatures have a queen, who instills obedience in all new changelings through the hive network. There are those who grow to resist, but all new changelings are bound to her voice." "It's getting... harder!" Steven strains again, his resistance slowly fading into the hive mindlink. "Don't just stand there! Do something!" Pearl yells to Celestia. "I normally only take credit for things after they happen, I'm not usually the cause." Celestia responds truthfully. "Well who DOES them?" Pearl yells. Twilight coughed and Celestia handed her the elements. She gave her a quick nod. The rest of the mane six made their way triumphantly through the rest of the partygoers, most of them staying because they thought this was a play or something. As the elements were wielded, a large beam of light was projected onto Steven. Twilight let out a sigh of relief when she and her friends were finished, only to become shocked to see Steven zombie-walking out the door. "That did NOTHING?!" Twilight yelled. "Actually I think it might of acted as a catalyst. The whole love and emotion powers changelings thing." Celestia said. "And why did you give me and my friends the all clear?" Twilight whispered to Celestia frustrated. "I didn't want to look incompetent in front of the space people." Celestia explained. "And this doesn't make you look incompetent?" Twilight raged. "I figured I'd blame you for this." Celestia responded. Meanwhile, Steven was busy flying to the hive as instructed by Chrysalis. The Queen will be very happy to see Steven once he arrives, not only to welcome him as a new changeling, but for other reasons as well. Unbeknownst to him, Steven's rose quartz gem can supply bounties of love energy to the hive. He soon entered... and was greeted by the Queen's disembodied voice. Steven? Steven's glowing green eyes peaked slightly at Chrysalis' transmission. Yes my queen? Come. Steven obeyed and flew to the throne room, where Chrysalis sat with an army of changeling's surrounding her in what looked like an audience for an event. She cleared her throat and spoke directly to Steven and the audience. "Steven. Your gem is very special to us. It supplies just the love energy we need to grow and thrive as a species." Steven blinked and lolled his tongue out in response, still being playful even under Chrysalis' mind control. She laughed in amusement before gazing powerfully into Steven's eyes. "You will no longer be Steven... You are now 513-A. Are we clear?" Steven nodded in response. "Good gem- I mean 513-A." Chrysalis responded, forcefully petting Steven's pink mane. She looked carefully at his gem, looking for some way she could remove it from his body and suspend it over the hive. "036-H and 289-C, take him to hive medical for a... um... painful gem extraction." Chrysalis ordered. The two changeling's mentioned stood at attention and grabbed a hold of Steven's limbs to take him to the operating room. Hypnotized Steven gulped in response. His fear response initiated a rebuttal that slightly bypassed the psychological force of the spell. "Okay my queen... I am only slightly afraid of painful medical procedures, if you would please." "No!" Chrysalis yelled and stomped her hoof dramatically. She looked into Steven's eyes as the other two changelings held on to his limbs, dangling him helplessly in their grasped. "Don't worry my precious gem..." She cooed brushing her hoof against Steven's chin. "As for you 513-A... it will hurt. All of it." Chrysalis gave an evil grin as she again pierced through Steven's mind. "Hurt..." Steven droned, before shaking himself out of his daze. "No! Wait! The gem! Don't!" Chrysalis laughed evilly as the two changelings carried him out of the throne room and into the operating room. "It feels so good to cause pain to former ponies for my own enjoyment..." Chrysalis said to herself. The changeling audience stood in awe. "Well... what are you waiting for? Get back to work!" The changelings groaned and returned to all of their previous engagements.
