My Little Universe: Season 2

by EquestrianKirin

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Steven Universe, Other, Science Fiction, Adventure, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 127021

The Gems and Ponies are back, and with more surprises in store.

Well, the troubles had past; Tirek had been defeated, Nightmare Moon had vanished, Sombra imprisoned, and both Earth and Equestria are safe once again. Time to kick back, and relax ...

PSYCH!

Summer had been full of surprises, yes, but that's just the beginning! Twilight, Steven and all of their friends had been going up and down with all sorts of adventures, and even with summer passing, it's only going to go even more, especially with more gems involved on Earth and Equus, no less!

Time to go beyond the stars!

(Fulgurite belongs to Nova Arc, and Flint and Jade belong to Runic_Soul ^^ congrats, you're on the cover! :pinkiesmile: )

Published 2016-01-08 12:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-05-05 10:37:05 UTC

Time for Something New

Beach City; a city that had undergone quite it's share of magical workings, mishaps, and perks. With most of the residents, odd enough, not too involved with most of the magics, some events are too big to be easily ignored by everybody. One of these had everyone as a sort of audience, and they ended up in helping a group, called the Crystals Gems, in helping clean up afterward. A choice decided by their leading mayor, and it was a nice little helping hand for how much the Gems had done for them already (not to mention what they'd been through beforehand).

It was late at night. Quiet and calming, and one of these Crystals Gem, the half-Gem Steven Universe, was snoozing off in his bed. By the bed was his dog, a Gemhound named Blue, also snoozing. It felt rather comfy, and little Steven was trying to get some good night sleep. Or at least, he tried to. Steven turned to the window, a slight groan passing his lips as a green light was starting to bug him just a little bit. He tried covering his head with his own pillow, but while it helped with the light, the beeping sound, like tapping on a ipad or something, wasn't out of his head. Unlike Blue, Steven couldn't sleep with it. With a tired yawn, Steven woke up, and turned away from his bed to the source of his trouble.

Gem Log:

I've been in the company of these Crystal Gems for sometime now. convenient for me that they've allowed me sanctuary for the current time, Yet those same clods was what destroyed my alternative method to return to you. I'm sorry for my absence, and I hope you understand. I'd used the Warp Pad, but a unicorn identified as Sombra, had caused it to disappear. Please try to do something so I can return home. Thank you.

The Gem in the with Steven was Peridot. A rather new, if not temporary member, She'd been with the Crystal Gems only for a little bit of time. Being a gem from a planet called Homeworld, Peridot would much rather be there then stuck here for good. For the moment, she was working with her touchscreen and putting in her latest thoughts (which was a regular pass time) when she noticed Steven looking down from his bedroom.

"What time is it?" Steven asked, rubbing his eye as he did.

"Two hundred hours in earth time," Peridot replied. Steven, even if he wasn't tired, didn't knew what she meant, so Peridot made it easy and got her finger stubs to form a number 2. Given it was still night, Steven got the rest together.

"What're you doing so early?" Steven asked with a yawn. Peridot went back to her screen.

"Updating my data," Peridot replied nonchalantly. Since he was up, Steven decided to get some water.

"How much data do you have on that?" Steven asked, as he got a glass for himself.

"Enough for it to be sufficient."

"Well, a good thing they didn't get wrecked with King Sombra. By the way, how'd you do that?"

"Do what, exactly?"

"That thing you did; you made that hand come to life and -" Steven pretended that his hand was a gun, making the shooting sound as if he pulled the trigger. Steven then got some water from the sink as Peridot answered him.

"Basic sensing. I can work my touch stubs enhancers with just a simple nudge," Peridot summed up, her five touch stubs in her free hand enhancers spinning around. Steven looked at them in amazement, though it wasn't by much to Peridot. Then again, Earth wasn't in the same league as Homeworld, so, Peridot can let that by for now. Steven sipped his water, staring at the spinning touch stubs. Peridot just sighed.

"It's not that unique. Homeworld has technology far beyond you earthling's imagination," Peridot said with a smirk, putting her touchscreen away. Next thing she knew, Steven was sitting right next to her, his cup of water held with both hands, his eyes wide, and ears ready to listen. The mention of such things was surely something Steven wanted to know about, and who better to tell him than Peridot?

"... You okay?"

"How much cool stuff is back on Homeworld?" Steven asked.

"Eh, I'd rather not," Peridot retorted.

"Come on, please?" Steven asked, eagerly wanting to know. Peridot, rolling her eyes, began working with her touchscreen to show just one of Homeworld's technology. She moved her Touchscreen so Steven could see what it was. The item looked like a sort of greenish stop sign, showing a Gem standing on it. The Gem was using it like a hover board, Steven psyched.

"Cool!" Steven gasped, imagining himself riding one of those. Peridot took her screen back.

"Satisfied?"

"Oh. Yeah I'm good, thanks," Steven said, heading back to his room. Peridot went back to her own Touchscreen, and Steven went right off to bed. The chit-chat was short, but Steven still needed some sleep. So, Steven went right off to bed, as Peridot continued fiddling with her Touchscreen.

~~~~~~

The next morning came around with clear skies, the sun waking Steven up from the extra six hours of sleep he gained. Even with him sleeping, Steven woke up to find Peridot still there, only laying on the couch instead of sitting. Apart from that, his morning went along normally. After going through his morning routine, he was just ready to head out when the door in the back opened up, showing another Gem named Amethyst. Since they've gotten more Gems in the group, a friend of theirs had edited the symbol on the Crystal Gem door. The symbol originally had five points on it, each one for the original Crystal Gems, including rose. However, that soon turned into eleven points, adding Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, Jade, Flint, and Fulgurite. With the added Gem colors, the star looked more like a Hendecagram by that point.

The order of each Gemstone symbol, clockwise, shown as such; Rose Quartz, Pearl, Lapis, Fulgurite, Peridot, Sapphire, Ruby, Jasper, Jade, Flint, and Amethyst.

"Mornin Peri, Steven," Amethyst said, heading right for the fridge. Amethyst had given Peridot her own little nickname, though Peridot didn't fancy it. She didn't exactly get annoyed with it though.

"Hi Amethyst," Steven said with a grin. Peridot just gave a lazy wave, looking over to her. Amethyst got out some morning fruit, and enjoying an apple she grabbed. Peridot herself didn't know why Amethyst was eating, Gems not needing to eat anyway.

"What're you doing?"

"Eating. Want a bite?" Amethyst asked, offering her the apple. Peridot simply nodded no, as Amethyst ate the rest of it in one bite.

"You are aware we Gems don't need to consume any substance to live, right?"

"Doesn't mean I can't. I like it," Amethyst said, going in the fridge and eating up a milk carton (with the carton itself). Peridot had a mixed look of confusion and disgust, considering Amethyst had swallowed a whole carton of milk.

"A bit beastly if you ask me," Peridot commented, after Amethyst finished up her version of breakfast.

"Hey, hey, tell you what, I'll take you out to lunch and show ya," Amethyst decided, playfully nudging Peridot. As they chit-chated, Steven decided to head off on his way.

"... What's Lunch?"

The coast was, more or less, beautiful as it always was. Incredible to think though; that the beach was covered in rubble all over the place just a week ago from their last fiasco. Now though, all the stuff cleared up, the beach was as clear and as lovely as it should be. Steven went right on out, with Blue waking up and joining him. For that morning though, someone else was around the beach for an early morning visit. Just down the shoreline, One creature was happily bounding over to see him, joined by another. The creatures were ponies named Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and that morning, they both were ready to visit him.

"Pinkie, Rainbow!" Steven called, heading down to see them. Pinkie, the giddy pink earth pony, hopped right to Steven as Rainbow Dash, the tomboyish Pegasus, gave Steven a good ol noogie to the head - her way of a hug. Blue gave Pinkie a happy lick as well.

"Hey there, sport, see you're better," Rainbow said.

"Yep, I'm back! Great to see ya again," Steven said, giving a friendly punch to her. Pinkie popped up behind him, her front hooves resting on Steven's bushy hair.

"Did you have any funny feelings happen while you were as that mirror lion thingy?" Pinkie asked, wagging her tail as she listened.

"I dunno, felt different being tall, and having petals for hair. I'm happy being me again."

"That's good. Sombra also got his flank beat I heard," Rainbow said, landing for a moment. Imagining such a king getting himself pummeled was a good thought for the Pegasus. Before Steven answered, the Beach House door opened up, showing a particular Gem coming outside, still adding some extra info to her Touchscreen.

"A few of these earthling inhabitants, Gem or not, do show a unique relationship towards each other -" Peridot glanced off, and saw the Ponies by Steven. Pinkie Pie, she didn't recognize, she an awkward feeling fell on them when she saw Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, unaware of some of the new Gems that stuck around, also was getting the same feeling on seeing her. Steven, Blue, and Pinkie weren't getting the vibe, as Peridot (using her helicopter fingers) hovered over and landed on the beach near the Pegasus.

"Oh. Hey," Peridot said.

"Uh, hi. What's uh, what's up?" Rainbow asked.

"Had some mishap lately, but I'm currently well. And uh ... you?"

"Oh, I'm fine myself."

"You two okay?" Steven asked, confused. Peridot and Rainbow looked to Steven, a little bit unsure if they should say or not. Was it really something they should keep quiet about anymore? The two glanced at eachother before they could say anything.

"Eh, we're fine, Steven. Listen, we uh ... We -"

Before Rainbow could finish up, suddenly they all heard something going on back at the Beach House, like a sort of crash. On looking though, the front door was roughly pushed off of its hinges, falling down to the sand below. In a bit of rough and angry shape, another Gem stormed out of the Beach House in a huff.

This Gem was a large, muscular, orange-skinned Gem named Jasper. Jasper had ended up in the group at about the same time as Peridot, yet unlike her Jasper's stay was with less helpful, and more troublesome.

"Can't believe I'm stuck here," Jasper groaned through gritted teeth. She didn't adapt as easily as her fellow Homeworld Gem had, nor did she want to. Rainbow and Pinkie weren't remotely familiar with Jasper yet, as the tall Gem glanced to the ponies.

"What's this?" Jasper asked, not sounding. Jasper's height alone was surprising to them both, Pinkie falling on her back as she looked up to her face. Rainbow hovered to get a better look of her.

"Whoa, you're HUGE! You know any other Giants?" Pinkie asked. Jasper looked at her with an unsure look. Rainbow helped her out though.

"Eh, you get used to it after a while," Rainbow assured.

"I'm not staying for that long," groaned Jasper, as she moved Rainbow aside and walked off. If only that really was the case for Jasper; she didn't want to end up having any reason to stay on Earth for anymore time. The others watched her go, though Pinkie popped up in Jasper's hair (much to her annoyance).

"Where you going? Can we come too?! Oh, it'll be like a road trip!" Pinkie beamed, but Jasper yanked Pinkie out, holding her in front of her angry eyes.

"Leave me alone, you ... Whatever you are," Jasper said, throwing her back like some garbage, the pink pony thrown unintentionally at Rainbow, knocking them both to the ground. Jasper just stormed away from there, the ponies getting themselves up.

"What's with her?" Rainbow asked.

"Just perplexed that she's not at Homeworld, that's all," answered Peridot. That was the main case, anyway.

"Home sick, huh?"

"If that's what you Pegesi call it."

~~~~~~

Sometime later, in a isolated area of the beach, Jasper had found a better spot to vent her rage than the Beach House. The area was rocky, large boulders around for Jasper to pummel and wreck to get her anger out. Even if she was saved from one rough fate before, the Homeworld Gem didn't want to get stuck here. It didn't help that (ironically enough) the same Gems that gave her somewhere to stay on Earth was who got her stuck in the first place.

"Stupid *grunt* clods *grunt*, getting me stuck here on this miserable rock *grunt*," Jasper groaned to herself, as she was punching the living heck out of one of the giant sea rocks. Jasper would beat up the Crystal Gems and their ponies, but even if she won, it wouldn't help in getting her home. She was angry, but she knew enough to know when and when not to release her rage. Besides, they'd gave her somewhere to stay for the time being anyway. After ten more punches on three more large boulders, Jasper took a moment to regain herself. For her, this was the equivalent of practicing before a boxing match (at least it appeared to be), and just as well a nice way to vent rage. Jasper leaned on the rock cliff next to her, looking up at the sky. She saw a few of the seabirds flying around a bit, but that was about it as of anything going about. Jasper shouldn't had come to this forsaken planet in the first place, if only she knew what really happened. Still, the past has pasted, and she can't do much of anything without any transportation to use. Jasper's eyes then glanced to the other rocks along the beach. She could see sand, the ocean waves, the rock cliff ...

And then, something else ...

"What the?"

Farther down the beach, there was a bend in the path, and just hidden off behind view of a few cliff side sea rocks, Jasper could barely make out something staring directly at her. Most of the body was covered up, showing only half, but from what she could see almost seemed ghostly. She saw a sort of female figure in a silver dress, flowing down til her feet could only be seen. Her long, white hair flowed with the wind in waves, lining up perfectly at the end. It her eyes though that Jasper noticed first, an almost blind expression evident in them. Despite being further away, something about the eyes seem to be different, one of them having a odd sort of mark on it, though too far away to get an exact look. Jasper straightened herself, but she then moved away out of sight. Jasper stared for a bit more, but got herself back together, shaking her head, and she started to go in the other direction.

The sighting felt a bit odd, suspicious ...

And strangely calming ...

~~~~~~

Back at the Temple, the other Gems were up and about, with Pinkie and Rainbow joined with a few more ponies to join in on their visit. For the moment, the others were ready and watching, as someone had something she wanted to show her friends, and got them out at the beach to demonstrate.

The Gem in particular, Lapis Lazuli, had gotten many of her Gems and Ponies together, as she got herself ready. Those there were Pearl, Flint, Jade, Steven, Fulgurite and her ponies Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Twilight.

"Everybody ready?" Lapis asked.

"Ready and waiting, Lapis," Pearl answered. Lapis remained calm, and the Gemstone on her back made her signature water wings connect to the sea. Lapis needed the extra water to try out her new trick, as her focus was starting to strain just a little bit. Her water wings began to spread out more and more, looking less like wings and more like gigantic disks of seawater. The extra weight though was murder on her back, the others waiting to see what Lapis was trying to do.

"Close your eyes," Lapis said.

"You alright?" Applejack asked.

"I-I'm fine," Lapis replied, though her voice wasn't too convincing to some. Still, they closed their eyes as Lapis began to maneuver her giant water wings to go over them. Even with their eyes closed, the change in lighting and slight color was caught by some. Soon, Steven was the first to open his eyes. Above him was a simple, yet lovely display of an underwater view. The rippling effect have a nice view for them to see, but Applejack (and by that point Pearl) were more worried over Lapis, who was trying to concentrate. Even if she can control the ocean well, focusing on one part, and with apart she doesn't do so much with so much water wasn't too easy at one time.

"Uh, Lapis?" Pearl asked. Lapis's concentration was starting to slip, the water starting to shrivel a little bit. "Oh my."

"Move, move," Applejack firmly said, getting some out of the way. However, she and Pearl only got Jade and Steven out of the way before the concentration from Lapis finally gave out. Soon, Lapis fell to her knees, and all the water falling got everyone soaked from head to toe.

"What the hay was that?" Rainbow asked, shaking water off her fur.

"I'm *huff* I'm sorry," Lapis tiredly said, trying to handle herself.

"Eh, don't sweat it," Fulgurite said, ringing out her hair. However as she did, a few static electric sparks flew through her hair as she dried it, and ... Well ...

*ZAP*

Suddenly, Flint, Pinkie, Rainbow and Twilight ended up shocked by Fulgurite's electrical lightning. It wasn't deadly, but comedically a bit much.

"Oops," Fulgurite simply said. Still, Lapis didn't want to get everyone soaked.

"Again, again!" Pinkie repeated.

"What were you trying to do, give us a bath?" Rainbow asked.

"No. I was just trying to give you a lovely view. Guess it didn't work out," Lapis said, bummed out that it didn't work. Still, her friends went over to her side.

"Hey, Lapis, it's okay if it didn't work the first. Nopony can ever get it correct on their first try. You just have to practice a little that's all," Twilight assured her. Given from her past experience, she knew very well how it feels to screw up a trick. The news made Lapis feel a bit better, though it still didn't fix the fact she just soaked her friends. Oh well, she can always try again later once she practiced enough.

~~~~~~

Not too far away, back in Beach City, the lunch plan was starting to go underway with Peridot and Amethyst, the two visiting an eatery in town, chosen by Amethyst herself. It wasn't very crowded for the moment, so the two were pretty good in terms of seating. Peridot just rolled with it, still unsure exactly what this 'lunch' is, as Amethyst just ordered some of her favorite stuff for herself and Peridot. Since Peridot never ate before, Amethyst might as well get what she'd normally order times two. And heck, if Peridot wouldn't eat it, Amethyst would get dibs. Peridot was just sitting there with her, looking over some information on her touchscreen again, not even bothering to talk to Amethyst.

"Sooo ... What're you looking up?" Amethyst asked.

"Some solar systems off my data," Peridot replied bluntly. Another bit of silence came back around, only broken by the sound of Peridot's clicks on her touchscreen.

"Ok ... how many Planets had you visited?"

"Three hundred last I checked; 57 lava planets, 45 ice giants, 43 Ocean planets, 10 Iron planets, 67 terrestrial planets, 39 dwarf planets, and 31 habitable planets - earth included," Peridot replied. Amethyst did not expect her to be that much of an explorer, though Peridot didn't seem too phased with Amethyst's reaction. Visiting 300 planets is a pretty good feat in and of itself.

"... Wow. That's cool."

"Eh, it gets boring in between travels," Peridot stated. The two Gems waited a while longer, with Peridot having something to do while Amethyst having none to do. Soon, after what felt too long, the waiter came back with their food. What they got was a couple of large burgers, with a large fry and soda. The portions were, to Peridot, a bit much but Amethyst saw it perfect, as she went right in with eager taste. Peridot needed a moment first, just watching Amethyst eat up. Her lack of manners was a little unnerving for Peridot, as she looked down at her food. It was ... A lot, to put it lightly. She did end up getting a good whiff of the smell though, the scent of meat and condiments took Peridot off guard, as she got the burger close to her mouth. Before she tried, she took note of how to do it, looking at Amethyst eat. Though sloppy, Amethyst gave an unintentional good viewpoint on how it's done; bite, chew, swallow, repeat. The Homeworld Gem, putting each step in her head, then began at the burger. Peridot had to open her mouth good and wide just to get a full bite, her teeth making a good cut right through it. Peridot then got the good taste of her meal, her tongue never tasting such strong flavor before. She tasted the meat, the vegetables, the condiments, all of it was a new experience for Peridot. Her jaws slowly followed the chew step, going up and down, grinding up the burger in her teeth, until she proceeded with the swallow. While it did feel odd for the burger to go down her throat, the taste left in her mouth made her ignore it completely. Amethyst looked at the Gem's expression, Peridot just looking at the burger she was holding. Amethyst, smirking, was going to speak but Peridot caught herself, and set the burger down.

"Mm, decent. Not much though," Peridot concluded, not acting as amazed.

"Oh well, more for me," Amethyst replied, reaching for the burger, but Peridot stopped her.

"I never said you can have it, I'd rather study this item," Peridot noted, taking a scan of it. Amethyst just shrugged it off as her nerd companion made the studies. Amethyst just gobbled up her meal, left the money, and began to go. Peridot waited a bit until she was sure Amethyst was out of sight ...

Sometime later, Amethyst was still waiting outside. Her trip didn't turn out exactly like she thought it would, as she waited for Peridot to come back out. Eventually though, Peridot did finish her "study". However, Amethyst almost immediately realized what she really did, considering she had a small bit of mustard on her face she forgot to wipe off.

"Alright, finished up my studies, we can return now," Peridot said, though Amethyst knew by the smeered stuff on her face that she did a bit more than just study. Still, Amethyst gave her the benefit of a doubt, and didn't rub it in as they started heading back.

~~~~~~

Back at the Beach House, the others were doing their own thing by the time Jasper came back. At the beachside, Lapis and Twilight were sun-bathing for a bit, Steven was playing with Blue, and Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were going about in the ocean. Pearl, Fulgurite, Flint, and Jade had already left to the Beach House to do their own thing. Jasper, not as peeved as before, went right past Twilight and Lapis without giving a second glance, going straight to the others that Peridot was with last time Jasper saw her. She didn't want to deal with Steven at all, so she went to Rainbow instead.

"You there, pony," Jasper firmly said, catching Rainbow's attention out at the water.

"Sup?"

"Where's Peridot?" Jasper asked, getting to the point. Rainbow shrugged.

"Beats me; Amethyst already -"

"Yo!"

Before Rainbow finished, Amethyst could be seen heading back to the Beach House, Peridot keeping up with her with her chopper fingers. Not a moment too soon. Before anyone could say hello, Jasper went straight to Peridot. Before anybody could stop her, she grabbed her, and pulled her away.

"Hey, hey, what're you doing?" Peridot groaned, making her let go. Jasper saw they were alone for a moment.

"You tested the Kindergarten activity, correct?" Jasper asked.

"Affirmative."

"Good, take me there," Jasper ordered.

"Wait, what?"

"Just do it!" Jasper snapped, spooking Peridot a bit. Peridot could only agree to the demand.

~~~~~~

Not a moment later, Peridot and Jasper popped right back to the Kindergarten. The place was still as barren and as lifeless as she remembered it, still having a ton of holes and a number of machines called injectors along the rock walls. Peridot got her screen up as Jasper looked around.

"The status on the Kindergarten is still as barren as it was -"

"Yeah yeah, now where did you do that test?"

"Which one?"

"You know; that Gem test, where?" Jasper reminded her. Peridot suddenly remembered that test she did, a look of shock on her face. How could she forget about it?! ... Well, aside from everything else that happened of course. Peridot nodded, and immediately went in chopper mode, flying off to where she remembered. Jasper could only follow as best she could. Being a large Quartz Gem may have its perks, but speed wasn't one of them. The area was still the same overall, but Peridot had a memory sharp as a steel trap, and knew exactly where she done her test. Down the canyon though, she stopped mid-air at what she saw.

In front of her was the original area where the experiment had taken place. However, the current situation was a bit different from what she remembered. For a start, one of the injectors (which should be normally sticking on the wall) was on the ground completely destroyed! The top Gem piece shattered, the glass "organs" sprawled out on the ground, one of the legs still stuck in the wall where the injection took place, and the drill piece completely flattened and torn through. Jasper caught up and saw the same result. Peridot looked to where she had used the injector ...

There was another hole where the injector used to be. It appeared a human-like shape, and decent size, but whatever it was had been and gone, destroying the injector in the process.

"Great, she left," Peridot groaned, missing her chance.

"That's where you did your test?"

"Correct, but after everything that happened lately, must've slipped my mind," Peridot noted, landing by Jasper. Jasper may not be aware of what kind of Gem she used for the test, but she knew she was sent to do testing studies on Earth. Jasper looked to the injector with a rough expression; whatever she saw at the beach could very well be whatever Gem Peridot used, but it was hard to be sure. Besides, the Gem didn't do very much when Jasper saw her. None-the-less, Jasper just went back to the Warp Pad with Peridot, and they both went away from the Kindergarten, leaving what was left behind.

Author's Note

I tried for a chapter that introduces to newcomers with continuity and exposition for the prequel. I hope I did good. There's not too much of a full story focus going on, so, don't expect too many scenes connecting to each other; just a sort of relaxing start for what to come.

Doesn't mean there's no new stuff, though :raritywink:

Diopside

"Hello?"

"Hey, Connie!"

Chilling out in the Beach House for a bit, Steven thought it would be a good idea to check on his human friend after sometime. Steven hadn't seen her since Sombra was involved, and it would be a good idea to check in on her over the phone. For Connie, she was in her own room, on her bed, and extremely happy to finally hear from Steven after the days since the incident.

"Steven! You're okay?" Connie gasped in shock and surprise.

"Yep, I'm better now. But more importantly; are you doing okay over there? If I remember, Sombra hurt you pretty bad," Steven asked with concern, more worried over her than him. Sure, he'd gone through a bit of trouble, but, Connie was a bit more important to him than himself. Connie took a glance down at her feet, which were actually bandaged up as if they were boots.

"I'm doing fine, the doctor said I'll be better after a week or two," Connie answered.

"What about your mom and dad, are they okay?"

"They're doing better; Mom's still trying to calm herself, and dad's -" Connie was interrupted by a distant, loud sneeze from her father in the other room. "- still having a cold."

"Sorry I couldn't help you Connie."

"No, no, Steven it's fine. Sombra had us all in trouble for a while, but he's gone now. By the way, how're the new Gems doing there? Are they giving you any trouble?" Connie asked, still remembering Jade and Peridot, at least. Steven lazily spun around, laying on his back so his head was upside down.

"They're cool; Peridot showed me some awesome Homeworld techno stuff. But, one of them broke down our door ... again ..."

"Again?"

"I think it was the fifth time," Steven sighed, referring to Jasper in particular. With her anger, the door was a constant victim to her temper. The door still was strong, and put back in place, though if Jasper continued, it wouldn't be the last time it'll get broken.

"I hope things go a bit better for you, Steven," Connie said afterwards.

"You too, Connie. Bye," Steven said. He heard Connie hang up, and Steven did the same. Amongst many people, at least he had one child friend he can talk to as things were settling down since Sombra's excursion. After that, he heard the door in the back open up, seeing another of the Crystal Gems, Garnet, come out herself. She had a bubbled Gem within the palm of her hand, and a chunk of her square head seemingly bitten off, telling Steven she'd recently had dealt with another corrupted Gem today. Garnet got her hair to normal, as she then got the bubble to disappear.

"Hi Garnet!" Steven beamed.

"Hey Steven," Garnet replied, having a seat.

"Did you bring me anything?" Steven asked in hope. Garnet promised she would get something, so, Garnet got out Steven souvenir. In this case, the young half-gem got a bit of coal from where she got the corrupted Gem. Even if mundane, it was good either way.

"Cool! Thanks!" Steven beamed. Garnet nodded, happy to see Steven happy about his gift. As Steven looked at the gift, he then began to remember the corrupted Gem Garnet brought in. His own experience gave him a taste of how it felt, and the fusion sitting next to him sensed the change in mind, and started to think a little bit.

"Garnet? Do you think the other Gems are happy now? Or are they all sad? ... Garnet?"

Garnet didn't answer Steven at first, but she did eventually get up, and looked down to him. She knew very well what Steven meant, and what he must be feeling with the fact. Still, there could be one thing they can try.

"I'm not sure, really. You wouldn't happen to know where Flint and Jade are, do you?" Garnet asked. When it came to Gems, Garnet had a respect towards the two, mostly because they saved Steven from an otherwise inescapable fate. Steven took a second to think, but he just shrugged at the end. Garnet sighed.

"That's alright, they'll come around eventually."

~~~~~~

It took a while, as Garnet figured, but Jade and Flint did eventually come back around to the Beach House. As for those two, there origins did come from Homeworld like Peridot and Jasper, but one thing lead them off that planet, and onto a new one. For trust, Flint was still wary, especially since Homeworld Gems were staying for a while. They didn't go off their home planet to stay with Homeworld Gems. Still, like them, they had nowhere else to go really. Jade kept quiet, as Flint kept his eyes and ears open in alert mode, as the two went inside. Soon, the two ended up in front of Garnet, whom had been waiting for them both.

"Hello you two. Can I talk to you?" Garnet asked. Flint stayed in front of Jade, just in case, before Flint spoke.

"What do you want?" Flint asked.

"I'm hoping you two can help me."

"Help you?" Flint asked, though he was more suspicious than curious. Even if he and Jade helped out, he wasn't a Gem to take risks, even with a Gem such as Garnet.

"It won't be very long, I promise. Come here," Garnet assured, starting to walk away to the back. However, Flint and Jade didn't go.

"Hold on, tell us why first," Flint enforced, keeping himself in between Garnet and Jade.

"Flint, I wouldn't ask you to do this if it will hurt you or Jade. Please, I'll explain when we get there," Garnet said, trying not to start any trouble. To prove she meant it, she took off her shades to show the truth in her three eyes. Flint looked back to Jade first. Jade hadn't spoke very much, but she had some trust in Garnet for helping them out as much as they helped them. Flint gave a look to Garnet, before sighing.

"This better not put us at any risk," Flint reminded. Garnet nodded, and began to bring them to the back, keeping the shades off for the time being.

Garnet went through the door, and soon brought Flint and Jade to where she was putting the corrupted Gems, including the one she got earlier that day. Flint and Jade had some mixed feelings on seeing so many bubbled Gems in one spot.

"So what is it you wanted us to do?" Flint asked, Jade continuing to look around at the many Gems.

"For years, Pearl, Amethyst and myself had to protect humanity from these corrupted Gems; bubbling them, and bringing them here. It was all we could do," Garnet explained, bringing one of the bubbled Gems to her. She wished she didn't have to do this to any of them ...

"We didn't knew there was anyway to change any back ... But now -"

"No."

The sudden answer made Garnet's hope-filled voice stop cold, turning back to see Flint's rough gaze.

"Why not? Think of how much good -"

"how much danger you mean. Garnet, you and I both know there's too high of a risk for Nephrite; Jade and I can't try again if it screws up the first time."

"But -"

"I said no. Be lucky we got Steven back at all," Flint finished, cutting Garnet off again. Flint may be acting a bit hard on Garnet, but he knew what he was talking about, Jade too. If he knew she needed Nephrite for this, he wouldn't had even come back. Garnet's wish to save the Gems has been scuffled. As they were talking, Jade looked up to some of the bubbled Gems, when one Gem in particular caught her eye; a spherical green Gemstone, with a black wavy line at the center leading to a secondary circle ...

"Okay, okay. Just thought I'd ask," Garnet said, as Flint began to go. However, Jade reached out and stopped Flint.

"Look, over there ... Is that - ..." Jade got out, pointing to the Gem in question. Flint saw the Gemstone too, floating just in his reach. The appearance caught Flint's attention first, as he grabbed it and brought it down to a better level. Jade and Flint weren't sure just yet, but the Gemstone seemed, more or less, different from the rest. Jade held the bubbled Gem in her hands as Flint turned to Garnet, who'd seen what Gem they had got a hold of.

"How long had you had this Gem?" Flint asked.

"Roughly a year now. Why?"

That seemed to make some change of thought for Jade and Flint, both seemingly getting the same idea. They both looked to the fusion, Flint being the one to speak.

"Garnet ... We'll try, but only this one time. Hold this," Flint said, giving the perticular Gem to Garnet, as the two got themselves ready. With their minds set, Jade and Flint both started to perform their fusion dance together. Garnet simply stood aside for a while more, as in no time at all, Nephrite soon was standing in front of her, fully fused. Nephrite brought its hand out to Garnet, awaiting for the Gemstone she was holding. Garnet nodded to Nephrite, and she gave the Gem over. However, Nephrite can't really do anything with the Gemstone still in the bubble, so, with a simple poke of its finger, the fusion Gem popped the bubble, and the Gemstone was free.

Just seconds after the Gemstone was out, a bright light started to glow as the Gemstone started to regenerate. Letting the Gemstone down on the ground, Nephrite and Garnet both watched the Gem recreate itself, a human-like shape taking form. It got to the point when a large amount of spiked hair jutted out, but after that, the body suddenly began to alter from a human shape into a more insect like shape. The extra formation was quick, and when it got to it's physical form, it didn't appear to be like any normal Gem. The body was elongated, like a centipede, with gem-like shells along each segment of its back. Despite the insect like shape, it was about as long as an alligator, with a hissing attitude to match. The head had an appearance like a buzzard, but with the "beak" lined with serrations to look like teeth, with the aforementioned Gemstone just behind the jaws, blocking the throat. The spiked hair turned into a white mane, like Lion's but a bit more spikey and less flowing. For curing this corruption, it was going to be a bit harder to do; for a start, the Gemstone was in a harder spot, and once more, the hissing insect Gem wasn't going to let Nephrite touch it so quickly.

Garnet kept her distance, not wanting to bother Nephrite as it was trying to work out on how to exactly do this. At least the last time Nephrite did this, the Gemstone was in a much easier spot, but here the stone was somewhere where it was not only hard to get to, but easy for the corrupted Gem to bite it at any moment. Nephrite first tried to reach, but as expected, the centipeetle almost immediately snapped its jaws towards the fusion, giving off another loud hissing to keep Nephrite back. As it did, a green liquid seeped down from the bottom jaw; literal acidic saliva. Seemed this creature wasn't taking any chances with any Gem, even if they wanted to just help it. Nephrite wasn't deterred (the Gemstones not on its hands anyway), and it tried again, despite the constant hissing. Nephrite kept an exact eye contact with the centipeetle, keeping both hands gently on the sides of the creature's head. The centipeedle tried to get away, but as gentle as it was, it was also a firm one so the centipeedle couldn't just bolt off. Nephrite focused again, trying to block out the hissing, which turned into threatening growls. As before, the Gemstone started to glow, and the centipeedle stopped trying to get away. Garnet and Nephrite both hoped their best that it will work, as the centipeedle's body began to give off a faint glow. Suddenly, a much brighter light covered the centipeedle's body, Nephrite letting go for just the moment as the transformation started to take hold on the animal.

The body itself started to morph and shapeshift from its insect-like shape, into a more docile human-like shape, much to Nephrite's delight. Once the transformation had completed, the Gem had a much less intimidating appearance to her. She looked about as tall as pearl, though not as thin as her. The white, mane-like hair was spikey and long like that of a Quartz Gem. Her skin had a dullish green color to it, her clothing a black color with the shoulder blades making a signature V, going around her shoulders to her chest. She had pants that went down to her knees, leaving her feet were bare, along with her hands. When the full transformation was done, the Gem regained her mind, and began to look around with a sort of blurred vision at first. Nephrite separated, Flint and Jade returning to their normal forms before she could fully regain her vision. She looked to the many Gems around her that were bubbled, and turned to see Garnet standing nearby. She didn't do much at first, as she got to her feet, not moving her gaze away from her. She had a normal right eye, and her Gemstone covering her left eye. The Gem looked around a little bit, trying to adjust her vision until she noticed the door ...

Before Garnet, Jade, or Flint could do anything, the Gem suddenly took a quicker route; bolting right for the door! She just got past Garnet, and the fusion, along with the other two, tried to get her.

In a panic, the reformed Gem was running around in a complete blind fear, trying to get away from that place. However, she got out at the worst time; the other Gems (excluding Jasper and Steven) was in the beach house by that point, and they all saw her rush out! She skidded to a stop, but stumbled when she hit the front Warp Pad. It didn't activate, but it did make her fall head over heels until she hit the wooden floor. Garnet, Flint, and Jade got out as she stayed frozen.

"What the?" Lapis said in surprise. With her mind racing, she couldn't exactly take the time to recognize anyone. Flint went over, and tried getting her, but she jumped when she felt his hand on her shoulder, and she ran at the other Gems. By mistake, she ran right at Pearl, knocking them both onto the ground. The new Gem jumped up onto the kitchen counter (unwittingly knocking Amethyst down too), and made another big jump to one of the Beach House's roof support beams. Her hands and feet dug into the wood like a scared cat as everyone looked up to her.

"Come down," Garnet said, but the sound of her voice made her cower even more so.

"Who is that?" Fulgurite asked Garnet.

"Good news; we reformed a Gem. Bad news; she's too scared," Garnet summed up. While the news was good, they needed to deal with that same Gem first. As she was shivering up on the beam, Jade took center stage, looking gazes with her.

"Please come down. It's me, Jade, Flint too."

"W-Which one?" She got out, not believing them.

"We're not going to hurt you, please come down from there. We left from Homeworld together, remember?" Jade said, hoping something will calm her down, and regain her memory. The scared Gem stopped shaking, but she didn't dare leave her perch with the others under her.

"... J -Jade? N-no, no, she wouldn't be with any other gems like this! Never! They nearly shattered her, my Jade would know that!" She got out. What was she talking about? Flint and Jade glanced to each other as they looked back to their Gem friend.

"We're not going to harm them, nor you," Garnet said.

"Liar! I'm not being harvested!" She yelled, nearly loosing her grip on the beam. The only one who didn't knew what that was was Amethyst, the term mainly for Homeworld rather than Earth.

"What's she talking about?" She asked Peridot.

"It's a Homeworld punishment, when a Gem's bubbled and isolated. Like your Earth's version of a jail house," Peridot stated, her touchscreen showing an Earth prison hold so Amethyst can get a better idea. Just because they knew what she meant, didn't mean she was going to come down. Still, Pearl and Amethyst could recognize the Gemstone after a while. Before anyone could do anything else, suddenly the screen door opened up.

"Hey everybody!"

Steven, just coming back from walking Blue. Course, he didn't know what happened exactly, or the fact he was standing right under the reformed, scared Gem. Strangely, when the Gem heard the voice, she turned from being completely hysterical, to being surprised. She looked down and saw Steven, her Gemstone eye actually adjusting like the lens of a camera. Curious, Steven looked up and saw the new Gem perched above him. To get a better view of her, Steven went up to his room, the Gem locking gazes with him ...

"Wait a minute ... Centipeetle? They fixed you!" Steven beamed. As for the previously Centipeetle, her face suddenly had a big smile, her memory coming back a bit better that time. Suddenly, it almost seemed her emotions made a complete 180, as she hopped down onto Steven's bed.

"Steven! It's you! Oh I missed you so much!!" She beamed, hugging Steven tightly. Jade and Flint didn't realize she had encountered Steven already, or had a close friendship either. Her fear popped back once she heard Blue bark, cowering behind Steven.

"No no no, he's friendly," Steven assured her, the Gem peeking around Steven's shoulder at Blue. As she tried to calm down, Garnet turned to Flint.

"Is she usually like this?"

"Not really," replied Flint, as Jade went up the stairs to Steven's room. The other gem backed up when Jade neared her.

"Listen. Diopside. I know you've been gone for a long time since we left, but, it really is us. Please, we won't hurt you," Jade said, trying her best to comfort her. The small Gem then turned to the others. "Right Gems?" Jade asked, trying to get some support. Throughout their time together, this was the most talkative Jade had ever been, and all just to try to calm Diopside down. Of course, being stuck in a bubble for a long time thanks to a few Gems the first time around would leave a sort of lasting impression, even if one of them she had come to better terms with. Lapis, Pearl, Fulgurite, Flint, and Amethyst all agreed, yet Peridot didn't seem to really pay too much attention to Jade and Diopside at the moment. Flint though, with a grunt, got Peridot's attention.

"What?" Peridot asked, annoyed. Flint got her attention to the worrying Diopside, but, Peridot groaned again. Flint's rough expression and grunt though quickly changed her mind.

"Alright, if you insist," Peridot sighed, not wanting to fight Flint. Still, Flint was acting rather rough to the Gem who pretty much saved him, yet the fact she was still a Homeworld Gem left him with a 50/50 mixed feelings - a grudging truce if you will. For Diopside, Flint's behavior actually seemed to click something in her head, looking to Flint and Jade as if just realizing what they were really talking about.

"Flint! It is you!" Diopside gasped. Flint felt a bit embarrassed that his rough behavior was what convinced Diopside on who they were exactly, but, at least it finally got through to Diopside. Diopside didn't moved too far from Steven though - her only friend during her corruption if any. Now calmer, Diopside could think a bit more clearly on who was actually there, and who she can recognize and who she can't. Her worries towards Garnet were still evident, but they weren't as hysterical as a few minutes ago. Diopside recognized everyone but Lapis, Fulgurite, Blue, or Peridot. Her memory of Jade, Flint, and Steven were fully intact, and her memory of the original three Gems were a bit vague, but just enough for her to remember a little bit.

"What happened? ... How long - ..."

"Come here, let's catch you up," Steven decided, getting up. Diopside, keeping a wary eye on the others there, only nodded as she got up. Flint and Jade too followed her as Steven decided to bring her outside, though Diopside's paniced words did leave some questions to the others; specifically what happened to Flint and Jade back on Homeworld ...

~~~~~~

Just outside along the coastal shores, Diopside took a bit to get used to walking around without the tons of legs behind her. The sand under her toes was a nice, and refreshing one to Diopside. Steven still wondered what Diopside had in store, and what happened to Flint and Jade back on Homeworld that forced them to leave. The first thing Steven did was help catch Diopside up on what happened since she was last bubbled. The information also included Steven's first time in Equestria, his own time as a corruption, and the involvements with King Sombra. All this new stuff was a lot to take in, but Diopside took it in either way with full attention. It was some information both Jade and Flint got as well, not being with Steven as long as the others.

"- and that's how the Gems defeated Sombra, Tirek, and Jasper in one day," Steven concluded.

"Woooow," Diopside said with an amazed expression. She missed out on so much! Afterwards, Steven sat down in the sand.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What was with all that you said? About harvesting, and Jade, and Homeworld stuff -"

"You don't need to know," Flint stated roughly. He didn't need to just rush into that kind of detail that quickly, and the surprisingly loud statement made Steven jump a bit.

"Flint, it's okay; we can trust him," Diopside assured him with a big grin.

"You sure? You were ready to run a minute ago," Flint said with a raised brow.

"How can you not trust this sweet face?" Diopside asked, playfully fluffing Steven's hair. Flint still found her behavior a rather odd jump from paranoid to playful. Flint was starting to remember a bit on how Diopside acts now ...

"Listen, Steven. You really want to know?" Flint asked. Steven nodded. Soon after, Flint turned to Jade and Diopside.

"Well, who wants to tell him?" Flint asked. Jade and Diopside looked to each other, as Steven waited eagerly to hear what their story would be. After a little bit, Jade soon stepped forward. Flint, with some encouragement, decided to use his head Gemstone to make some images for Steven to get a better idea. The first few images shown Earth, and a Homeworld ship heading for it.

"It was a very long time ago. Homeworld had just started to colonize Earth."

Flint managed to show Jade, Diopside, and himself working in a kindergarten-like area. Flint seemed to be at guard, Diopside with a touchscreen in study, and Jade seemingly healing a wound from another Gem.

"I worked alongside Flint and Diopside, each one of us contributing the best we could. Diopside and Flint were doing alright, but Homeworld seemed to had other plans for me ..."

Flint sighed before bringing up the next one; showing a taller, fuller, and purple Gem with Jade standing next to her.

"Homeworld didn't believe I can keep up, and created another Gem named Lolite ... Homeworld wanted me ... Well ..."

Rather than let Jade say it, Flint then showed Jade's Gemstone, and showed the Gem being shattered completely! Steven wasn't sure how to react, Flint closing his eyes to the fact. Jade could skip that part.

"How'd you get out?" Steven asked. Flint spoke next, as the image showed Flint in particular protecting Jade from the other Gems.

"Me; I managed to keep the other Gems away from them. Diopside helped us in our escape, and we had just managed to get ourselves out of their grasp. Jade and I were lucky to get out at all ..." Flint summed up. However, one thing did catch Steven; they didn't say what happened to Diopside. However, the images showed Flint and Jade escaping only. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where Diopside ended up. Diopside herself felt bummed out at that part, as Flint then showed the ship they escaped in, flying through space with a number of planets around them.

"Jade and I kept traveling the cosmos from there; our main goal was to find ourselves sanctuary, away from other Gems. Our traveling had, after decades, had paid off with here."

Flint showed another planet as the final image, showing their ship landing within a mountain range during a snowstorm; their refuge. After that, the images finished there, and Flint took a moment to chill; he wasn't used to using projections that much.

"Happy now?" Flint asked, trying to calm a slight headache he'd got from the projection. Steven felt sorry for Jade and Flint, especially Jade. She tried, and Homeworld wanted to replace her ...

Worst part; they kinda did now Jade went away.

After a bit though, Steven then realized one thing ...

"But, what about -"

"Me?" Diopside suddenly butted in. The Gem took a moment, finger to lip in thought. Soon, Diopside ended up shrugging.

"Don't remember too much, sorry. They got me after they left, dragged me off somewhere, and everything else was just a blur," Diopside concluded. Being corrupted for a long time still had its bad ends, as some memories were either blurry, or were gone altogether. Steven couldn't blame her though, since she was not only bubbled up, but corrupted as well ...

Still, even if they isolated themselves, the other Gems at the Beach House had managed to overhear everything they had said. So that would explain the lack of trust at first, to some extent. The very idea itself was a bit surprising to some; getting shattered just because someone else was better. How harsh was Homeworld anyway?

~~~~~~

For the rest of the day, Diopside went around with Steven for the time being. While learning about Diopside's little involvement with Flint and Jade's escape on Homeworld did give some rough insight, Diopside didn't seem to let that slow her down. In fact, she was a bit more curious about Beach City and what was going on in it. Being a Gem, many of the stuff Humans were doing, even simple mundane stuff, seemed to be something Diopside was very interested over. Many of the stuff included driving around in their cars, selling food to each other with a sort of green paper, and other activities humans seem to do. Diopside did notice something however; each Human not only looked different, but behaved differently too. Some were talkative, some were athletic, some were a bit rough, and so on. It was hard to exactly tell if any of these Humans actually had any specific role, as each one wasn't entirely specified as with Homeworld. Everyone was doing their own thing, much to Diopside's surprise. During the walk about, Steven gave Diopside what she considered a sweet gift from the past;

a bag of potato chips.

Surely, a nice little nod to when they last met, and a nice snack for Diopside to have. As she was eating up the chips, she and Steven began to head on back to the Beach House. As they were going along the beach, Diopside began to wonder about a sort of clinking sound from Steven's pocket. She'd been hearing it for a good while, and it wasn't until they were going back to the Beach when Diopside got curious.

"Got something in your pocket Steven?" Diopside asked, munching on another chip. Steven looked to his pocket, and then pulled out his signature dimension key.

"It's my key. Pretty nifty, right?" Steven grinned. Diopside suddenly got excited.

"Oh! That the key you were talking about?" Steven nodded with a grin.

"Right! It's so cool; the other Gems got theirs too."

"You think I can get one?" That question got Steven thinking a little bit. When it came to getting his key, it was purely his own guess, as he and the Gems got theirs at random times. Amethyst, Connie, Garnet, Pearl, the Mane six in Equestria, and even Peridot all got their keys at random times. Still, one idea did come along his mind ... If it was a good idea or not was up to the challenge.

"Hold on," Steven said. He cleared his throat.

"Hey Discord! You around here?!" Steven called, in some random direction. Diopside wasn't sure what he was doing, though he did mention Discord a little bit during his catching up with her. That didn't mean Steven screaming to thin air was any less odd. At first, no one seemed to show up from anywhere until ...

"Long time no see, Stevie my boy."

The voice of Discord suddenly got them both looking at Steven's key, the headpiece suddenly the Draconequus head Steven knew. Soon, jumping out from the key, Discord was suddenly standing in front of them both. Diopside was left kinda blank faced from seeing such a large creature come out of a small key. The Draconequus gave them both a good hug with stretchy arms.

"It's so nice to hear from my friends again," Discord said, setting them down after a little bit.

"So, you're Discord?" Diopside asked curiously. Discord soon popped up from her hair when she wasn't looking.

"Indeed I am! And you must be Diopside, former Centipeetle I presume," Discord guessed, pinching her cheek playfully. Steven said Discord knew pretty much everything, but, Diopside didn't believe that until now. She didn't even remotely say her name and Discord got her name right away.

"Hey, Discord? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," Discord said. Steven showed Discord the key.

"Well, you gave me my key. You gave the Crystal Gems theirs, and you even gave Connie and Peridot one. You think Diopside can have one too?" Steven asked.

"Oh no no no no no, getting magic keys isn't like window shopping," Discord said, Discord looking over some conveniently floating windows. The news bummed them both out, but, how can one argue with the spirit of chaos? Discord glanced down at Diopside's bag of chips, which was nearly empty by that point.

"How about some more chips?" Discord chuckled, snapping his talon fingers. Suddenly, tons of chips exploded out of the bag, soon covering Diopside completely in chips. Diopside's head popped out.

"WOOO!" Diopside beamed, starting to enjoy the many chips. As Diopside was, Discord flew over by Steven.

"So, has that melon of yours better after your little fiasco?" Discord asked, giving Steven a noogie.

"Hehe, yeah I'm good," Steven replied, as Discord soon looked over to the Beach House, as another thought came to him.

"And how's your new company?"

"Them? Oh, they're doing great!"

"Even Jasper?"

"... She stopped breaking the door so, it's a start," Steven shrugged. Discord could only chuckle.

"Good. Tell you what; you helped out with Tirek for me, so, I'll hang around and lend a helping law and talon, what do ya say?"

"Really?"

"Course! After all, a hard working kid like you deserves some magic from your local Draconequus, no?"

"Well ... Okay with you, Diopside?"

"Fine by me!" Diopside said from the shrinking chip pile.

"Wonderful!" Discord beamed, confetti and streamers launched out of nowhere around him. Diopside had finished up her chip pile when Discord got her to her feet, as he, Steven, and Diopside went off to the Beach House. Even if Steven would to say no, Discord was gonna hang out with them anyway. Course, it might make things a bit more nutty, but, what else would one expect? ...

Even if they were alone, their antics hadn't gone unnoticed, with a set of star marked eyes watching from afar ...

Author's Note

Jumping the gun? ... maybe :twilightsheepish:

But hey, we got another new Gem back! Hurray :pinkiehappy:

Kindergarteners

"Why is he staying with us again?" Peridot asked.

"I don't know anymore," Amethyst replied.

For the last couple of days, Discord had turned the Beach House upside down (literally if the others would let him). Amethyst and Peridot both were in the living room for the moment, none of the other Gems or ponies around for the time being. Discord's chaos antics had many different stuff either floating around, bouncing around, or just out of place. Discord didn't mind it one bit, preferring the odd atmosphere, but Peridot and Amethyst were trying their best to ignore. Amethyst enjoyed the funny stuff, but, not when it was bugging her as well. Amethyst was trying to get some food from the fridge, and Peridot kept trying to focus on her date logs, but both couldn't do either too well thanks to the odd stuff going on. Amethyst had just gotten the fridge open (which was floating around), but whatever food was inside ended up flying out away from her, the Gem stuck in a wild goose chase just to get a sort of snack. As for Peridot, each time she tried to get some words in, something would keep poking at her head, or at the touchscreen. Eventually, Peridot looked to Discord, who was on Steven's bed drinking a latte.

"Can't you perform your chaotic acts somewhere else?" Peridot gripped.

"I don't see a problem with it," Discord replied playfully, as he conjured up a bag of chips out of nowhere, starting to nibble on them.

"But it's interfering with my work," retorted Peridot.

"Oh, I'm not meaning to be a burden, I'm just trying to make myself at home out of Equestria, as all. It's not like you have plans on moving here or anything," Discord said with a smirk, one of his chips suddenly appearing like Peridot's head, the Draconequus purposely making it match. Annoyed, Peridot just rolled her eyes, got down, and began heading to the back, where the chaos wasn't as effective. Amethyst joined her, managing to get a tub of icecream from the stuff flying about. However, no sooner after those two left, the back door opened up, showed Garnet coming back into the Beach House.

"Discord," Garnet said, her way of hello. Amongst many of the Gems, Garnet was, more or less, the most calm around Discord, as she had figured him out before anyone else. Even with all the odd stuff around, she just let it happen and walked through, moving a few items out of the way.

"Top of the morning. What's on the schedule today?" Discord asked, as if it was important for him.

"You'll find out. Where're the others?" Discord simply aimed a paw thumb to outside, Garnet heading on out. The fusion soon saw the other Gems outside. Apart from Amethyst and Peridot just outside the door, she saw Steven, Lapis, Diopside, Blue, Fulgurite, and surprisingly Jasper too doing something together. Pearl, Flint and Jade were on the sidelines. Their game exactly was a catching game, Jasper being the thrower (Steven had to convince her it was a training exercise to get her in). The idea was to catch whatever Jasper readied to throw. In this case, it was a football-sized stone.

"Ready, Jasper!" Fulgurite called.

"Yeah yeah," Jasper said, readying her arm. Soon, Jasper threw it in the air as hard as she could. For the first minute, the stone was actually out of sight for a good minute, everyone playing having their eyes to the sky. After a bit, the stone started coming down again into sight. They got themselves ready, and tried to get themselves in the right position to catch it. Lapis had it easy with her wings flying about, but those who couldn't were making a mad scramble, much to Jasper's annoyance. Thinking of this as training, seeing them running around like mad wasn't a good result. The rock was eventually caught by Lapis, but mainly because 1.) she was flying, and 2.) she had a better advantage in position. The hit from the stone whacked her to the ground, but she caught it none the less. It wasn't until afterwards when Garnet came over, followed by Peridot and Amethyst.

"Got it!" Lapis said in glee, though a bit sore from the hit.

"Busy?" Garnet asked. Jasper turned to her with a rough expression on her face. She'd seen her fuse together, and the fact Garnet stayed that way bothered Jasper quite a bit, in a more annoyed way.

"What do you want?" Jasper asked, crossing her arms.

"Something came up; we got a number of missions to do, we have to go," Garnet instructed. Jasper wasn't in any mood to listen to any fusion, never mind just Garnet. The Crystal Gems stopped and looked to her.

"What's the prob? Another Gem Monster?" Amethyst asked, anticipating with her fists ready to go.

"Kindergarten. I sensed some increased activity lately, we need to check it out," Garnet said. There was some mixed feelings amongst the crowd around her. Pearl, Steven, Blue, Lapis and Fulgurite were all ears, yet others hearing weren't too sure. Jasper didn't bother to listen to her, Peridot was actually gone already, Flint and Jade weren't bothered much, but Amethyst was oddly quiet on hearing it.

"Who gave you permission to order us around, fusion?" Jasper growled.

"I'm not forcing you to come -"

"You better not."

"- so this means you want to stay with Discord?" Garnet pointed out. Jasper's anger was immediately replaced with sudden realization. Out of all the Gems, Jasper had the worst tolerance level with the Draconequus. She'd happily beat the daylight out of him if she could ...

"Fine, I'll go," Jasper groaned, hand to face.

"Very well. You can come with me then. Steven, Lapis, you two come too; you too had been there recently before."

"Can I bring Blue?" Steven asked, the dog sitting happily right next to him. Garnet thought for a moment before answering.

"Make sure you keep a good eye on him, and you can," Garnet decided. Blue happily bounded off on his way with Steven following behind. Garnet didn't need everyone with one mission; as she said, there's more to check and look through. When she saw Amethyst though, she felt that she could use one more Gem to come ...

"Amethyst, you too."

"Do I have to?" Amethyst groaned.

"We won't be for too long," Garnet replied. Amethyst still didn't want to go, yet she didn't feel like she should argue with Garnet anyway. Garnet hadn't been wrong before, after all.

"And what do you want the rest of us to do?" Fulgurite asked.

"Check the Homeworld communicator," Garnet simply said. Seemed the teams were set: Garnet, Jasper, Steven, Lapis, Blue and Amethyst for the Kindergarten, and Pearl, Fulgurite, Flint, Jade, Diopside, and Peridot for the communicator. It was, more or less, a jump, but Garnet was sure it'll work out.

~~~~~~

The Warp Pad got the assigned group to the Kindergarten in no time at all. Yet, the place itself didn't really seem to be showing any activity aside from them within the place. The only thing that seemed to be moving apart from that was some occasional dust being brought up by the wind. Garnet began to go on ahead, looking around for a bit.

"Alright, fan out," Garnet instructed, some of the Gems willing to listen. Lapis started to fly a bit, yet Jasper didn't budge. Why should she take orders from a fusion anyway? Before anyone else left, Blue started to wander around a bit, his nose to the ground and ears up and listening. As he was, the others went on and split, but Jasper didn't bother herself. Soon, Garnet, Jasper, and Blue were left by the Warp Pad.

"There's nothing here," Jasper gripped, feeling there's no reason for being here anymore.

"There is," replied Garnet, trying to find some clues.

"What kind of fool do you take me for; look around you!" Jasper yelled, both arms spread to show her point. She did had a point, but Garnet's point was sharper and more accurate than Jasper.

"Jasper, I can sense that something's different here. Something's alive."

"Prove it, fusion; because I'm not going to wander like a blind dirt bomb," Jasper snapped. Before they can continue, suddenly Blue barked for their attention, scraping at the ground within one of the holes. What did Blue find this time? Last time he managed to find a Gem hologram machine, so it could be anything. Garnet went over to him, Blue pulling on something, trying to get it loose. Jasper didn't seem to care for whatever was going on, looking away from the yelping mutt.

The hole that Blue had found was pretty large compared to the other holes, large enough for Garnet to stand comfortably inside, fairly human-shaped too. The thing Blue found though was in the back, and a bit hard to pull free. Garnet got a hold of it and easily pulled it free, them both stepping out. The item itself wasn't too large, fitting in Garnet's palm. The object had a blue tint to it, splitting into three prawns, each prawn having a diamond symbol and cyan blue "veins" on them. A bit out of shape, but, still showing signs of energy in it. Blue continued looking for other parts, as Garnet inspected the device some more. Jasper glanced over, and noticed the device Garnet had in her hands.

"Where did you get that?" Jasper demanded, heading over to her, and snatching the item away. Blue suddenly came back after a bit, this time with a square-shaped piece, similar colors. He placed it down, wagging his tail, and a bark coming out of his muzzle.

"Good boy, Blue," Garnet said. Blue happily barked, and went off again.

"How'd that thing find these?"

"He's part Gem; able to track down Gem items. He did this before," Garnet explained, Jasper looking to Blue as the dog sniffed the dirt. How can a creature like Blue be able to sniff out Gem objects? Even more so, how was he even half-Gem to begin with? His Gemstone proved he was, there was no denial for that. After a while, Blue got something else further away, calling for Garnet and Jasper again. By the time the two came over, Blue was digging like mad in the dirt, trying to get whatever he had next. He only got a little bit dug out, but just enough for Jasper and Garnet to see. Garnet bent down, and pulled it out. This object was in the shape of a diamond piece, hollowed out with a cyan blue rim along it. Seemed like before, this was the building blocks for another Gem device, and Garnet began to piece the items together. It seemed straightforward, and soon Garnet had the item together. Completing it, the item was still small, about the size of a bottle. However, by the end of it, it didn't really do anything, although it showed to have some sort of power still in it. It seemed to have a part missing; one of the prawns was still gone, not completing the diamond shape on the object in question. Apart from that, nothing else seemed to be missing, or required at least.

"Not working. Can you find anymore, Blue?" Garnet asked. Blue tried to get some sort of clue, but, after circling, sniffing, and listening, he couldn't seem to get anything. After that, Blue just sat down, ears back and whimpering. Jasper didn't know what was important to this fusion over something she wasn't sure about herself. rolling her eyes, Jasper started to go back to the Warp Pad - she didn't need to be stuck in this place.

"Where're you going?" Garnet asked, turning to her.

"Anywhere but here," Jasper replied, not caring much anymore. That didn't mean it was straight back to the Beach House though, remembering Discord and all. Garnet didn't want to tussle with Jasper, and would much rather focus on what she had found. So long as Jasper wasn't leaving officially, then they should be fine.

~~~~~~

Further away, Amethyst, Steven and Lapis were looking around the Kindergarten for a while, not much talking going on amongst them. Lapis and Steven didn't had too much trouble with navigation, and neither did Amethyst, though she seemed bizzarly quiet, lookin g around at the holes and injectors around the place. Lapis had the better view of the three, and was the first to notice something just ahead; the same broken injector Jasper and Peridot found last time they came here. It wasn't moved, and still in wrecked condition, though it looked a bit older now than from earlier with the Homeworld Gems seeing it.

"Does this look familiar, Lapis?" Steven asked, a bit worried. He and Lapis don't remember any broken injectors last time they were here.

"No. Whatever's here must've broke it," Lapis concluded, trying to inspect it without getting too close. Amethyst didn't pay too much attention, looking around at the holes on the walls still. Eventually, she locked her vision on one in particular; close to the ground, a bit small, and not too far away from her. While Lapis and Steven were busy, Amethyst went over to the hole, finding that it fit her size perfectly. Amethyst looked inside, the hole not going too deep. Amethyst took one more look to see if Steven and Lapis noticed her, the two still a bit busy investigating the damage on the injector. So, the Gem then sighed, and went inside, sitting within it. While she was sitting in there for a bit, Steven and Lapis then noticed Amethyst gone.

"Amethyst, where'd you go?!" Lapis called.

"Amethyst?" Called Steven. Amethyst didn't come out at first, just sitting inside the hole for a while longer. Amethyst just felt rather sad with ending up in this place - why didn't she stay when she could? Now she's here, and exploring an area where -

*thump* *thump* *thump*

All three stopped for the moment, feeling and hearing the vibration of the small tremor. Being underground, Amethyst felt it the most, while Lapis and Steven heard it more than felt it. The rumbling from each thump grew louder, and louder with each one heard. As the thumps intensified, Amethyst began to move herself out of the hole, trying to see what was coming. Down the canyon, something began to show from the fog ... something big.

Soon, the three Gems saw what was coming their way; a tall Gem experiment gone wrong. It was about twice as tall as Jasper, thin built as well. It had one eye, yet the pupils were split in two, mixing blue and red colors. It had no arms, perfectly balanced on its feet in a tip toe stance as it made each step in their direction. The torso was wrapped up in a sort of grey fabric, dangling at the end as if it was in some sort of restraint suit. It didn't seem to notice Steven, Amethyst, or Lapis just yet, continuing forward towards them, looking around like some odd bird. Steven and Lapis began to back up a bit, Lapis seeing the hole Amethyst was in.

"Steven, in there," Lapis said, moving him over to the hole.

"Hey, hey," Amethyst said, getting pushed back by them both.

"Quiet," Lapis insisted. The gem monster moved closer to where they were, eventually stopped just feet away. They tried to be as quiet as they could, hoping not to get caught by whatever it was. The creature began taking a few steps towards the hole, to the point where it was just inches away from their only exit. Before it could investigate though, it began to look away down the canyon, where they've came in. It's simple walk turned into a run off, and it quickly was out of sight.

Jasper, Garnet, and Blue began to hear the footsteps from where they were after a while. Blue was the first to react out of the others, backing away from the other way. Garnet looked around, but when she looked at her feet, the peddles and dust started to shutter with each thump ...

"Jasper, get back here," Garnet ordered.

"Save your breath," Jasper groaned, continuing on her way. Garnet quickly went in Jasper's way, Jasper growing angry with her a bit more.

"I'm serious."

"So am I, now move," Jasper retorted. Blue heard the thumps getting louder, and tried to bark for their attention.

"Jasper, we have to stay together!"

"Quiet, war machine! If you're going to bark at me, have some decency to un fuse and have both of you tell me, instead of hiding in this shameful display of yours!" Jasper demanded. Now Jasper was getting testy with Garnet with her 'war machine' comment. One side (Ruby) wanted to pummel her, but the other (Sapphire) knew it won't do.

"I'm. Fine. Fusion has nothing to do with it." Was all Garnet could say through gritted teeth.

"Yeah right; it's just a cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger! Quit embarrassing yourself!" Blue sensed the anger growing between the two, and his barks weren't working. Blue glanced backwards before running for cover.

"How about you back off if you don't want to hear it?"

"If you hate me so much, then why did you even stay?"

Before Jasper could answer her, the two were suddenly caught in a shadow. The two jumped back just in time, just avoiding getting crushed by a giant foot! The gem experiment had found them. With the two Gems landing apart, the gem creature spun around on a tip-toe, ready to charge them again. The creature continued its strange stepping dance, eyeing them both.

"See what I mean?" Garnet said.

"Oh, shut up," replied Jasper. The beast scrapped the ground like a bull, before rushing forward towards Jasper in a two-legged gallop. Garnet and Jasper rushed forward at it, but the gem monster leaped over them, landing on the Warp Pad. The creature raised one foot in an almost 180 degree swing, and slammed it at Garnet as a threat. Blue saw his chance, and tried to bite at the thing's legs, but it got the dog in between its toes, and lifted Blue up to see him. Soon, Lapis, Amethyst and Steven caught up to it.

"Hey ugly, over here!" Amethyst yelled. The creature spun its head the 180 degree to see them coming at it. Blue was dropped, the dog landing roughly and bolting off to the others. The beast began moving over, Amethyst getting out her whip and quickly tried to immobilize it. However, the quick dance steps made that hard to do, each little hop making Amethyst miss with every attempt. For a supposed clumsy gem beast, it sure was a challenge to catch. Amethyst finally managed to got one foot.

"Gotcha!" She mused. However, it made a ballerina tip toe stance, lifting up Amethyst, and slamming her into Jasper with one swing. Lapis then tried her luck in the air, but the combined Amethyst/Jasper ball chain slammed into Lapis, sending all three into the rock wall. It seemed to make a sort of victory stance as it faced Garnet, Steven, and Blue.

"Steven, take cover," Garnet said, rushing at it. The gem monster attacked like some sort of raptor, front feet out at the ready. The other Gems got to their feet when Garnet tackled the breast to the ground. One kick though sent Garnet flying off of it towards Steven and Blue. Blue pushed Steven aside, both dodging her as she landed on her feet. The creature got upright again, continuing its odd dance on the wrecked platform. Amethyst gave a whip again, hitting the creature right at its right hip. The hit stung, but the creature redirected its attention to them.

"Shatter, you dirt bomb!" Jasper yelled as she charged again. Even injured, the reflexes on this gem experiment was amazing; dodging the charge, grabbing Jasper in between its big and middle toe, and swinging her head over heels when she landed in the dirt. Jasper didn't had time to get up, as the beast started to constantly slam her in the dirt with its dancing. Steven could no longer take it; as it raised its foot for another hit, Steven charged in the way, and got out his own Gem weaponry. Jasper waited for the other hit, but the foot landed on Steven's shield, keeping both of them from being crushed. However ...

"That shield ... That symbol ..."

Jasper began putting two and two together, but Steven's shield wasn't as strong as they would've wanted. Lapis and Garnet tried to slow it down, grappling it and pulling it away, but not before Steven's shield shattered! Thinking quickly, Garnet let go, and rushed in to get them out of the way. However, she only got Steven out of the way before Garnet and Jasper were smashed!

"Garnet!!" Steven gasped, Lapis finally knocking the gem monster back. The stomp resulted in a huge dust cloud, so, none of them could see what the result was ...

Then the glow ...

"No. Way," Amethyst said, mouth agape.

"They didn't actually -" Lapis wondered.

But they did, be it accidental or not. As the cloud cleared, Jasper and Garnet weren't there, but instead a large white mass with two signature Gemstones forming. The large body began to alter, shape, and form as the transformation occurred. The figure was by far taller than any of them, even more so than the experiment they were fighting. Her hair was long, reaching down her back but it was smoothed out. One thing she was aside from tall was muscular; her four arms packed with powerful muscle, even if they were a bit smoother. She had a four true eyes, with Jasper's gemstone covering where Garnet's third eye would be. Her main color had a reddish-orange tint to it. The outfit actually looked a bit like a boxer, a mixed appearance of star and diamond symbols edged in the her shoulders and hands. The crowd saw this fusion as incredible; Lapis speechless while Steven and Amethyst looked with stars in their eyes. The fusion however was precarious, one side fused all the time while the other finding it cheap to begin with. The tall behemoth just stood there, trying to comprehend what in the world just happened to make the two like this. The conflicting thoughts and personalities made it difficult to function correctly, the Jasper side of the fusion being flooded with Garnet's thoughts - something she had gone blind to until now. Images rushed around in her head, but before they could split, the experiment whacked the taller fusion in the tail bone.

Angry, the fusion swung around, two strong arms working together like a gigantic fist. The creature jumped, but the fusion whacked its legs, sending it into a spin in mid air, landing on its head. Even if Garnet and Jasper had different conflicting thoughts, their single motive to beat this thing just kept them in line. Amethyst, Blue, Steven and Lapis kept their distance, as the fusion went all out. The beast was quick, but the fusion was just fast enough to keep pace with swift punches and kicks. Finally, the fusion used the lower set of hands to whack it beast in the chin, and sent the second set of fists slamming right in the face. That hit finally made the Gem experiment poof, the gem falling to the ground. It was quick, forceful, and not a moment too soon, the fusion immediately splitting back to Garnet and Jasper. Garnet landed fine, but Jasper fell onto her back, just staring off into the sky.

"WOOO, way da go!" Amethyst cheered.

"That was amazing!" Added Steven. Garnet didn't even mean to, but it was surely something different anyway. After a bit though, Jasper finally got up.

"WHAT HAPPENED THERE?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Jasper yelled.

"Alright, calm down," Garnet said with a smile.

"WE JUST DONE A FORCED FUSION, IM NOT GONNA CALM DOWN!!" Jasper yelled, right in Garnet's face. The images from the fusion were still going on in her head, and she couldn't figure out what it was all about. As they were doing that, Blue suddenly started to catch the scent of something; by the poofed gemstone, something else had also fallen out. It was the final piece of the device they had got together! Blue quickly grabbed it and went straight to Garnet.

"Good job Blue," Garnet said, rubbing his head. Blue gave a happy bark as Garnet went over, and bubbled the clustered Gem.

"Alright, we're done here."

"HEY, DON'T IGNORE ME OVER HERE!" Jasper yelled.

"We'll talk later, Jasper. Come on everyone, let's go back," Garnet said, stepping on the Warp Pad Jasper rushed to her, but Garnet was already teleporting away before Jasper could do anything to her. Guess any answer Jasper was going to have was going to have to wait. Besides, her mind was a bit scrambled anyway.

~~~~~~

As the day drawed to night, the groups had finished up their assorted tasks assigned by Garnet. Both sides had handled their own job fairly well, though to Garnet, there wasn't much time for that really. Garnet went right off to try and get the device to work int he Beach House (Discord went out for the moment, so, things were normal for a while). If it was anything like before, it could be something worth knowing, if only she could get it to work properly. Even with all the parts put together, it still won't activate by any means. No button turned it on, it already had power in it, so what exactly made it turn on? Some of the others were with her (Lapis, Steven, and Amethyst), but they didn't had much clue either on how it worked.

"Any luck on that thing yet?" Fulgurite asked, coming in from outside.

"No. You think you can figure this out?" Steven asked, pointing to the object. Fulgurite picked up the odd object from Garnet, looking it over with a keen eye. Fulgurite got the last one working, but that was just because it needed power. This one had power though, and Fulgurite couldn't see any actual sort of damage on it, even after it was split apart in the Kindergarten.

"Hm ... looks like one of those fancy devices. Here, hold this," Fulgurite said, giving the item to Lapis for a moment to think. As Fulgurite tried to think it over what, Lapis got a good look at the device since coming back. The colors were close to her own, though a lot lighter in tint. Still, it seemed to feel a bit more active in her hands rather than the others. As Lapis held it, she wondered on what this could contain. Could it be another date log? ...

Seemed it was reading her thoughts; after a little bit, it suddenly started to become active, the lights growing brighter and the four prawns spinning in place. The others stood back, the four prawn opening up to a screen. It wasn't any hologram like before, but someone could be seen on the other end of it, clearer that time. The figure on the other end though was hooded, so the face was hard to make out. in fact, most of her body had a sort of deep night blue robe covering her, only part visible aside from what they could get of the face, was the blue Gemstone on her chest. It was indeed a surprise none-the-less, but they were all ears to it.

It has been a long time hasn't it? Nothing of a threat like this has occurred since the rebellion, but ... It appears circumstances had become critical. When he arrives, I'll have to go, but before I do ...

There was a pause at first, the Gem turning away for the moment and sighing before finishing up.

... Sapphire ... Lapis ... If either one of you are listening to this, There will always be a place for you both within my court ... I never meant for you both to disappear like this ...

The message device suddenly ran out of power, and just as the message ended, the screen glitched to static, and deactivated. There was a bit of silence within the room, especially from Lapis and Garnet. This sort of odd message was surely a interesting one, though the two Gems in question were left a bit quiet after hearing that. What exactly was she talking about with all of this; What threat was she talking about? Who's this "He"? How'd she know Sapphire and Lapis? More importantly, who was she? The other Gems in the room waited for some sort of answer from either one of them.

"Guys?" Steven asked, only hammering the point. Garnet and Lapis turned to each other. They both knew what that Gem was talking about, and who she was, but should they really say? Well, there wasn't much point in hiding it - the other Gem said it herself pretty much, so, Lapis sighed and turned to them all.

"That was Blue Diamond; apart of the Diamond authority. Sapphire and I uh ..."

"We were apart of her court," Garnet finished.

"WHOA. So, does that make you two princesses, or her successors, or something?" Amethyst asked.

"Not exactly," Lapis insisted. She wasn't expecting to talk about this sort of thing at any point today. Garnet didn't expect too much of it either, and she might've guessed it if gotten more of an indication. Not only did she had an appointment with Jasper and the fusion incident, but now she had Sapphire's court past to explain too.

"Where's she now?" Steven asked. Garnet simply shrugged; it'd been a very long time since them, and she was surprised their places weren't taken over by now.

"It's been thousands of years, Steven. It's getting late, we can talk in the morning, okay?" Garnet promised. It was getting late, so, Steven agreed. Fulgurite and Amethyst decided they can get more answers tomorrow, as Lapis and Garnet went to the back. As they were, Lapis nudged Garnet.

"Did she really mean that, you think?" Lapis whispered.

"Not sure, honestly. Who knows what happened to her by now?" Garnet replied. Left on that note, Garnet and Lapis both went through the back door into her room. Lapis did the same herself.

Both sides wondered how Blue Diamond was doing the rest of the night.

Author's Note

Well, how much anticipation did this one start up? :rainbowlaugh:

Three, Two, Boo

The summer fun time was beginning to loosen its grip on Beach City. Summer had its fun and surprises, but the warm weather was starting to shift away with the arrival of the cool autumn winds. However, aside from that, very little had changed weather wise. When it came to the group though, things had gone a bit testy with Jasper. Having yet to be given any explanation from Garnet, the orange Gem had pretty much ditched the Gems for a while, needing some distance before she destroyed anyone or anything. Speaking of Garnet, the revelation of Sapphire and Lapis's involvement with Blue Diamond soon got to the other Gems. So far though, being members of a court who knew how long ago was all they really knew with the two. What they did, how they were treated, or why they no longer follow was still something they both agreed should wait for another time. Secretive, yes, but necessary far as Garnet was concern.

Within Beach City, one of the ponies were in for another visit, which was starting to become a more normal occurrence for the place so any awkwardness with them in town was diminished for the most part. Steven decided to bring Twilight out for some lunch at a place called Beach Citywalk Fries; a sort of fry stand along the Beach City Boardwalk. While it was originally just for him to have some Twilight time, Amethyst and Peridot joined too on their trip. Steven didn't protest on it. In no time at all, they arrived right to the place in question, Steven ready to order.

"Hey buddy, I'd like -" before he finished, his order suddenly was placed right in front of him, the cashier already knowing what Steven wanted. The kid there didn't look much older than Steven, yet he seemed to be handling himself just fine. He had blond, wavy hair on the top of his head that resembles an arrangement of steak fries. He also appeared to be missing an upper tooth, leaving a notable gap in his teeth. He was wearing a white tank top, cargo shorts, and yellow slip-on sandals.

"Wow, thanks!" Steven beamed. He had a smile on his face, leaning on the counter.

"Yep, seen ya coming up," the kid replied. It was then he noticed Twilight nearby, his mood quickly changed to a worried one.

"Oh, hey. Uh, you one of those magic ponies, aren't ya?" He said after seeing her. Twilight nodded, as Peridot began to fiddle with her screen behind her, as per usual.

"Yeah that's right. Been around for a while."

"So I've heard ... Uh, you're not going to, uh ..." It got to the point when he started to back up slightly, as Twilight got her front hooves on the counter. Twilight was a smart pony, and could get a pretty good guess as to why he would be a bit concern personally.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to cause any trouble."

"You're not?"

"Course not! I'm not like that other unicorn," Twilight assured him. The kid gave a sigh of relief, his nerves gone and worry for any bad magic antics not coming around anytime soon. Twilight couldn't blame him though for making sure, especially after the trouble this "unicorn" had caused for Beach City before. Soon, he got back to the counter, calmer than before.

"Thanks for the fry bits," Steven said, paying for the food. Amethyst also got double fry bits, and Twilight just got the same thing later on mainly because she didn't know what else to get from the place. Peridot didn't exactly order anything, but felt she wanted to try some stuff from the others anyway. As they left, they sat down by an outside beach table to enjoy their Fry Bits. Peridot didn't act too interested, though she did want to try it personally. Steven and Amethyst went right at it while Twilight and Peridot both shared a curious sort of look, like a look that a scientist would use when looking at a experimental flask. Out of the two, Twilight tried a fry bit first, focusing on the taste.

"Hm ... Hot, crunchy, but pretty good," Twilight concluded, swallowing her fry bit. Peridot was about to try it for herself, but, before she could, she suddenly had an odd feeling over her. Looking around, she then heard the distinct sound of an iPhone camera flash. Looking around quickly, Peridot tried to find the source of the flash noise for a little bit until she noticed someone nearby. He looked a bit like the kid who gave them their food; similar skin, steak fry hair, though he looked older and bigger. he wore a burgundy collared shirt with orange and yellow flames covered by his apron, untucked, and tan cargo shorts that reach his knees. He also had the source of the noise; an iPhone aimed right at them, and a laptop in front of him. Seemed obvious this human was in the mood for some snapshots. Soon, Steven looked to where Peridot saw him.

"Hey, Ronaldo!" Steven said with glee, exposing him. Ronaldo walked out, putting his iPhone away.

"What were you doing with that?" Peridot asked. Ronaldo practically ignored Peridot (for the moment) in favor of studying the Alicorn.

"Intriguing. And what might you be?" Ronaldo asked, a keen eye looking her over. Twilight kept calm, though thought she was past this point of awkward interaction months ago.

"Uh, I'm Twilight. Ronaldo, right?"

"Right. And you are, as rumors say, a otherworldly creature. True?" Ronaldo asked, a hand on the table. Ronaldo seemed very serious about these questions, making Twilight a little bit uncomfortable - something the other kid noticed.

"Ronaldo, please don't bother the customers," he insisted. Ronaldo looked to him, and then back to Twilight.

"Excuse me for a moment," Ronaldo said, walking over to the other kid working. The others watched him go.

"Peedee, what're you doing? This is very important," Ronaldo asked in a hush.

"But we're in the middle of work here, can you hold off until they're finished before you interrogate?" Peedee asked. Ronaldo looked less serious after that.

"And miss on such a big opportunity? You and I both know such a breakthrough waits for no man," Ronaldo retorted, though he acted more humbled than threatening. However, Twilight eventually got up with Steven, letting Amethyst and Peridot have their fry bits, and went to Ronaldo.

"What breakthrough?" Twilight asked. Ronaldo and Peedee looked to them both, Twilight not trying to be rough in tone. It was hard though when someone tried to take snapshots behind her back.

"Ronaldo, she's awesome," Steven insisted. However, Ronaldo kneeled down to her level.

"You positive? Or maybe you're a spy sent down on earth, trying to learn our secrets and overrule our race?" Ronaldo said firmly. Again, Twilight can get a pretty good guess on where he could've gotten that kind of idea, though that didn't mean she didn't feel no less odd with the whole thing.

"Okay, you're only half right; I'm not from this world, but I'm not having any plan to overthrow anypony, thank you," Twilight cleared up. Ronaldo kept a sort of judging stare but eventually a smile showed up on his face.

"Alright, I'll keep your word for it. If you wouldn't mind," Ronaldo said, bringing out his iPhone again. Twilight still wasn't sure what Ronaldo was trying to exactly do, as he aimed the camera at her for a full picture. Peridot showed up again, just her levitation to take the iPhone away to examine it. The fact she did that both annoyed and interested Ronaldo, as Peridot looked over the small object.

"What is this? Another touch screen?" Peridot wondered aloud. Ronaldo quickly snatched it away, bugging Peridot a little bit, when Twilight asked "So, what're you trying to do?" Seemed a question like that got Ronaldo more excited than most.

"Discovering the big answers, my dear. There's so much hidden from the mere public, activity beyond any simple mind, and I'm here to bring them to light. The weird and supernatural is something that must be known to those who'd gone blind in this world." Ronaldo's enthusiasm in his statement did catch Twilight off guard, along with Peridot, though Amethyst and Steven took it in stride. From what he was saying, Ronaldo's was putting his goals pretty high in pedestal in uncovering these confidential secrets and paranormal activities. Still, Peridot leaned to Peedee after Ronaldo gave his explanation.

"Is this normal human behavior?" Peridot asked in a whisper.

"Only to Ronaldo," replied Peedee, in a similar hushed tone. Still, despite the odd accusation, Twilight seemed to take some interest in Ronaldo; first human she met so far since first arriving that was this focused on such things. The only humans Twilight met that came close were Greg, Steven, and Connie, yet Ronaldo seemed fully on it.

"Sounds like you're really deep in this stuff, huh?" Twilight asked.

"Of course. Have you seen how much activity has been happening around here?! Look at these site studies," Ronaldo said, turning his open laptop to the alicorn. The site Ronaldo was on himself was actually a sort of blog, entitled "Keep Beach City Weird". A straightforward title, though what information amongst the blog posts actually gave Twilight a bit more interest; stuff on it included a human shaped watermelon, a surprisingly good shot of Peridot's duel with Sombra, and even included Steven, only his fingers were strangely a set of cute kitty heads instead of regular fingers, him smiling for the camera. Peridot and Twilight both were surprised Ronaldo had gotten so much information about Beach City, and without them knowing either.

"And all of this activity had been happening here?" Peridot asked. Even if she was a Gem herself, and the magical weird stuff was more normal to her, she wasn't around long enough to experience everything within Beach City. Plus, she wasn't aware her duel with Sombra was actually documented, and put up on a blog already.

"Correct; and this is just scratching the surface of what the weird and wonderful have to offer," Ronaldo explained, feeling a strong sense of pride in his work. Peridot looked over to Steven, who smiled and shrugged when they did see his picture with the kitten fingers. The picture didn't look faked or cropped much, so, they only wondered how the heck Steven managed to pull that off. After Amethyst finished off the fry bits (and the bags they came in), the Gem went right over to them.

"Geesh, you gone through enough yet, Ghostbuster?" Amethyst joked.

"No way! My studies are going on tonight; rumors of some paranormal happenings located at the lighthouse beacon an explanation," Ronaldo revealed, actually pointing to the lighthouse, which they can actually see from where they were.

"Need me to cover for you?" Peedee asked, though not sounding upset.

"Para-normality's never active within the light of day; I'll hold off until tonight," Ronaldo concluded. Peedee understood why Ronaldo would wait, and was glad he was gonna help out still.

~~~~~~

As night approached, the four went back to the Beach House after their lunch time. Since figuring out about this blog, Peridot had been a bit busy with looking over what other freaky stuff had happened before she showed up. As she was, the others were a bit more wondering on what Ronaldo was going to do at the lighthouse, or what paranormal activity he was talking about. The only main activity that happened before was with Sombra and Tirek, but both of their activities were erased completely from the spot. What else was there that they don't know about?

"What else you found, Peri?" Amethyst asked, not having much else to do. At the moment, Peridot was at one blog post describing some 'foreign flowers appearing within the city' when Amethyst got her attention.

"This Ronaldo had gathered more information than I thought," Peridot said to herself, seeing post after post of different information on all sorts of odd stuff. As they were doing so, one of the other Gems from the back came around after a bit; Lapis Lazuli.

"Hey guys? Had any of you seen Garnet around? I wanted to talk to her for a bit," Lapis asked.

"Beats me," Amethyst replied. Lapis seemed bummed out by that comment, but only sighed.

"Well, thanks anyway. I'll be back later," Lapis said, heading out the door. The others had noticed that, since the discovery of Blue Diamond's message, they both had been around each other a bit more. Maybe it was because they were involved in the same court or for the sake of similarities that they shared. Either way, they didn't had too much of else to really go on, and their interaction was purely of a speculation. It was a bit late, as Steven looked outside. the placement of the Lighthouse was literally right above them, so, he could occasionally see the light beamed off of it during the night. That night it wasn't much different; seeing the beamer along the ocean. Seeing the light reminded Steven on what Ronaldo was up to.

"How do you guys think Ronaldo's doing?" Steven asked.

"Eh, he's probably running around like an idiot in there, don't worry about it," Amethyst said, fluffing his hair.

"But, do you guys really think something ghostly's going on in that lighthouse?"

"Steven, don't worry about Ronaldo; there's no ghosts anywhere here," Twilight assured him. However, coming from a pony who's world was full of centaurs, dragons, and magic alone, that seemed a bit out of place to say that something doesn't really exist.

"You sure? You live in such a magical place, are you sure Ghosts don't exist?"

"Steven, Magic is a skill you're born with, and is able to be proven and studied on. Paranormal activity can be easily explained as just simple mundane, everyday things that go on around wherever somepony says is "haunted". Don't you worry about a thing, Steven," Twilight assured again. Twilight went down, and prepared to leave; using the magic key and going on her way. She still had stuff to do back home anyway.

After Twilight had left, a few hours into the night had past and Steven still was awake a little bit. His curiosity got him thinking on Ronaldo a bit more, just staring up at the ceiling in thought. At that point, the only other person with him was Peridot, who was actually still looking over the blogs on Ronaldo's page. After a bit, Steven turned over to her.

"Hey, Peridot? Do you believe in ghosts?" Steven asked.

"Mind informing me on what a ghost is first?" Peridot asked. The Homeworld Gem, although looking through the blog from Ronaldo, didn't really understood what a ghost actually was, as the blog posts didn't really give her enough information to work with. Steven thought for a moment on what he considered to be a ghost.

"Well, you can't normally see a ghost. They fly around old buildings and love to scare people," Steven explained. Childish, but, it was the best Peridot was going to get really. However, Peridot had gotten information that was, more or less, too childish to make ghosts an actual threat to worry over. Steven, though, had seen many TV shows that included ghosts, and knew how much trouble they can be. If the Lighthouse was indeed haunted, then Ronaldo might be in a bit of trouble.

"... Is that it?" Peridot asked, eyebrow up and arms crossed.

"Oh, and you can't exactly attack a ghost; you can't touch or hurt one. I think they can possess anything too." Peridot suddenly felt a bit unsure of her previous statement; troubling, but, if they can possess anything around ...

"Possess? You mean, take control?"

"I think so. A ghost can possess a pencil, a bed, the fridge, the TV ... your enhancers," Steven said, after thinking. The second he mentioned that, Peridot immediately grew a little concern over what a ghost could do to her limb enhancers. Move them around? attack her with them? Wreck them?!

"There is a method to remove said ghost, right?" Peridot asked. Steven thought for a bit, but eventually just shrugged, worrying Peridot a bit more. At least Steven's beach house wasn't haunted by anything paranormal, far as she was concern.

"Let's leave him to his own risks," Peridot insisted, not wanting to come face to face with any ghost, if one really is there. Steven looked back up to the ceiling, knowing that Ronaldo would probably end up there by now. Steven simply sighed after a bit; Ronaldo was a bit more experienced with his own antics than Steven was. With a yawn and a stretch, Steven decided to head back to sleep, as Peridot was still going through her own stuff, comfortable that there was no ghost in the Beach House.

~~~~~~

Back at the Light House in question, Ronaldo had arrived to the area for his personal investigation. Unlike before, he had a sort of army camouflage outfit rather than his other uniform back at the Citywalk Fries. He was ready for anything. No sooner after he arrived, he went straight into the light house with a confident grin on his face. Inside the lighthouse, it seemed a bit open, dark, and pretty quiet with every step Ronaldo took. He went along the steps until he went right up to the light itself, the large room aligned with a ring of windows for the light to shine through. Interestingly, the place seemed pretty furnished up; a desk with scattered papers on one end, and a billboard with "linked photos" on the other. A poster with the word "believe" was right by the door, and some extra miscellaneous accessories were along the wall, which included a diving suit mannequin with a strange sort of helmet on it. This was Ronaldo's base of operation with the paranormal, and now, it will also be the place where his paranormal study will begin.

Heading to his desk, he opened up the desk drawer and pulled out a particular tool to begin the communication; a pendulum to be precise. Ronaldo went to the center of the room, right by the big light, and displayed the pendulum in front of him, holding it away from him only by the string, letting the pendulum itself hang in front of him.

"Spirit! Give me a sign of your presence," Ronaldo said, awaiting for something to happen to confirm the haunting. For the first minute, nothing around him seemed to occur, so he began to move around the room. Perhaps the spirit was being complicated, or scared of his presence as well.

"I mean no harm, spirit! Show yourself," he insisted. Still, after a bit, nothing seemed to really occur around him. Just silence filled the room around him, the light of the lighthouse beamer rotating around him. Nothing moved, nothing happened, and nothing could prove any paranormal activity. But, Ronaldo didn't look ready to quit, and tried once more, that time aiming upward with the pendulum.

"Show me a sign, spirit! Show me your existence on our realm of reality!"

...

Finally, something seemed to occur. Small, but noticeable. Ronaldo had his pendulum aimed to the light, but as it turned his way, the light beaming, Ronaldo noticed there was a strange sort of figure standing inside the light itself, like a silhouette. Ronaldo hit his mark, and focused his attention to the recurring shadow from the light. The figure from within the light seemed to be a sort of girl, yet the eyes didn't show to be casting any shadow, almost hollowed out to let the light through.

"Spirit! We have made contact," Ronaldo announced, the figure not exactly reacting much to him. Ronaldo got out his IPhone and aimed it to the entity, taking a quick photo before starting to ask questions. The figure in question didn't react much to having her picture taken, keeping a sort of sad expression in her eyes.

"... S-Spirit ..."

"Spirit, why do you still wander our plain for?" Ronaldo asked, not taking his gaze away from her. She tilted her head slightly, but when Ronaldo took another look, the spinning light showed she disappeared. Ronaldo looked around frantically until she reappeared from the other side of the light, much easier to see. She seemed about as tall as he was, keeping her face lowered. She seemed white all over as well, from her hair to her clothes.

"Spirit, what keeps you on our plain of existence?" Ronaldo asked again boldly. She didn't react much at first, walking towards him. Ronaldo moved back as she came forward, her saddened eyes having stars in them...

"... Is she here? ..."

"Who?"

"Mother ... Is she here?" Ronaldo assumed she meant a deceased mother from long ago, so he felt it was needed to tell her.

"I'm afraid your mother has long since past, dear spirit. But -"

"No. She's near. Where is she?"

"And whom might she be?"

"You're friend and mine." She then looked to Ronaldo's IPhone, and gently took it. Lucky for her, it was already on Ronaldo's camera gallery, so a quick click was all it took to get the right picture.

The picture was of Peridot.

As the conversation continued, Ronaldo seemed to feel calmer than usual, though he kept himself focused on the task at hand. That didn't mean Ronaldo wasn't anymore intrigued with Peridot being the supposed mother of this entity. It took a bit before Ronaldo answered her.

"I'm not entirely sure," Ronaldo replied, a bit more mellow than his other replies were. The figure sighed, keeping her gaze down, and looked out to the lighthouse window after making a floating jump to it from the floor. She had a great view of the night ocean, the light reflecting off of her, and her shadow casted over the quiet waves. Not a soul was out on the water for the time being, but she wasn't focusing on the sea. Soon, she gently opened the window, the cold night wind blowing in, as she looked straight down. Far below her down the cliff, she could actually see the beach house far below her. Ronaldo could only watch from below as she stood there for a while more. Then, right in front of him, she took a step forward ...

Fell ...

And disappeared ...

~~~~~~

Still out in the night sky, Lapis was flying alone in the cool night air looking for Garnet. She had already tried many spots all over Beach City, but with no luck. From coast to coast around the city, she didn't find any exact clue on her. With a keen eye, and the moon shining bright to help her see, she began to go outside Beach City for a little bit when she began to get somewhere with her flight. Ahead, under the moonlight, she noticed a large hillside, a apple tree with ripe apples along its branches growing at the top. The tree wasn't too tall for a tree, but plenty wide with growing branches and leaves. Under it, Lapis could see Garnet sitting under it, stargazing. The branches didn't block the view of the sky from under the tree, which gave Garnet a nice view of the sky. On seeing her, Lapis landed gently nearly, and her water wings went back in her gemstone.

"Evening, Lapis," Garnet said upon seeing her.

"Evening. Uh, can we talk for a moment?" Lapis asked. Garnet simply smiled, and patted the ground next to her, inviting Lapis for a seat. Nodding, Lapis sat down next to her. At first, there wasn't much to talk about, but Garnet looked right up to the sky.

"You can see Homeworld's galaxy from here, Garnet stated. Lapis looked up to where Garnet was seeing, seeing the many stars above them. Amongst them, Lapis could see one particular galaxy, brighter than the rest of the stars from their point of view.

"You're right," Lapis said, not realizing it sooner while on Earth. Some silence was up for a while longer until Lapis spoke again.

"Garnet? ... Have you been wondering about Blue Diamond lately?" Lapis finally asked. Garnet's smile went away, though expected the conversation to come on around sooner or later.

"A little bit, actually."

"Me too. It's been a long time since we had seen her."

"Yeah. To think she would even keep our places after so long ..." Garnet's mind had wandered a little bit on the very idea; even after thousands of years of absence, both positions for Lapis and Sapphire hadn't been taken by any other Gem back on Homeworld. Both of them looked up to the Homeworld galaxy star for a while more.

"She must really miss us ..." Lapis thought aloud, looking up at the galaxy. Garnet sighed, but then a smile showed up on her face.

"Nice of you to join us, Discord."

Completely out of nowhere for a statement, but before Lapis could say anything, a red exclamation point suddenly showed up next to them (upside down), before Discord suddenly fell out of the apple tree as a large apple himself. Though, his eyes, horns and ears still showed him as the draconequus eavesdropper that he is. Lapis was a bit surprised to see him just pop up out of nowhere, though Garnet had come to expect it.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Discord chuckled, turning back into his draconequus form.

"I suppose you heard us?"

"Well, if you mean you two being Blue Diamond's little helpers, then of course. Would explain your choice of fashion," Discord said, suddenly having a similar outfit to Lapis and Sapphire with a similar diamond mark. Weird, but, it was Discord after all.

"And you know about the message too," Garnet assumed. Discord nodded, settling down in between Lapis and Garnet (without his uniform of course). Garnet just took it in stride, leaning back to the tree, arms behind her head.

"You've been gone for a long time, eh? I'm sure she misses ya both if she kept your seats open," Discord said with a smirk.

"Yeah, maybe ... You think ..."

"Well let's phone up the Garnet future vision hotline and find out," Discord said, getting a phone to appear on Garnet's head.

"Wait, what? Garnet has Future vision? ..." Garnet stretched a bit, and turned to Lapis; Discord blabbered on about it, so, Garnet might as well.

"In a way. I can see options and trajectories. Time is like a river; it splits into streams, or pools into lakes, or careens down waterfalls. My vision is my map, and I steer the ship."

"OOOHHHH," Lapis said in realization. Leave it to the water Gem to understand Garnet's ability through her river concept. Garnet didn't had much took the time to have a look yet.

"So, why not give that future eye a check, eh?" Discord encouraged, a paw around her shoulder with a smile on his face.

"If you promise you won't interrupt me," Garnet promised, a smirk on her own face. Discord went right by Lapis, and got himself comfy with Lapis wondering what Garnet will see for their future. Garnet kept quiet, and focused on what the future would hold for them. Garnet kept calm, quiet, and kept her gaze straight forward to the sky like she was daydreaming. Garnet's vision needed a bit before it got to work, beginning with the possible outcomes of the future for not only herself, but for the rest of her friends, be it from here or from Equestria. A number of different possible images and outcomes flashed through her mind as time would go on, one after another, giving Garnet (not to mention both Roby and Sapphire) a good view of what can come depending on the results ...

Then one particular image passed through her mind.

The image was a bit simplified, no large details other than simple colors and silhouettes, though Garnet could easily tell who was who; seeing herself, with a lot of other Gems and her pony friends behind her. In front of her was another group of gems, one of which was taller than her, a deep blue color to her as well. Garnet and her shown to shake hands, and both Garnet and her were smiling to each other A few orbs appeared above each side, Garnet under Earth, and the other Gem under Homeworld. To Garnet, this signified the Crystals Gems with the Homeworld Gems, but they didn't show any anger towards each other, but showing a sort of calm ...

A understanding ...

Garnet's vision ended there with a gentle light, Discord and Lapis both watching her from nearby. After seeing such a splendid future possibility, Garnet's mood changed in a huge direction, a very big smile across her face, hands together in front of her mouth. Lapis looked a bit confused, and even Discord didn't expect that sort of reaction from such a mellow person like her. Still, Garnet must've seen something that was especially good.

"Have a fun sight see, Garnet?" Discord asked, flying around her. Garnet got up, and in her joy, actually surprised them both and hugged Discord. Discord comically shown he was being crushed, eyes bulging out and other limbs going stuff as Garnet hugged his torso. Garnet spun around, not noticing at first that she was hurting Discord a bit. Garnet released afterwards, Discord collapsing on the ground in a daze as Garnet went over to Lapis. Lapis thought she was gonna be hugged and braced for it, but Garnet instead went eye to eye with her, removing her shades. An even bigger surprise, a single tear slipped from her eye.

"Lapis! You won't believe what's in store for all of us!" Garnet beamed with her big smile. Lapis had never seen Garnet so happy before, and it was a bit new to her.

"Whoa, you okay?"

"I'm better than okay!" Garnet replied. After relaxing just a bit, she then looked to Lapis with a more familiar calming grin.

"Lapis Lazuli. Tomorrow, I want you to get everyone together to hear this. Can you do that for me?" Garnet asked, a hand on her shoulder. Lapis felt Garnet's hand on her shoulder, thinking a bit. Again, this side of Garnet Lapis hadn't seen before, but whatever exactly Garnet had seen must be good in some way. Eventually, Lapis smiled to her.

"I promise."

"Thank you," Garnet replied. Lapis got out her wings again, and started to fly back. Discord got himself back together, as Garnet got her shades back on. She knew that future wasn't entirely carved in stone, as with every potential outcome, but it was indeed a strong future ...

And Garnet was ready to make it happen.

Author's Note

Hoorah, we got our paranormal expert finally showing up :3 I hoped he's represented any good, along with Peedee :3 And yes, I didn't include the whole 'sneople' bit. You think he would still think snake people would be involved in all the magic stuff going on? Honestly :derpytongue2:

What did ya see, Garnet? :rainbowkiss:

New Light

The sun was starting to go back up on the horizon, and one Gem in particular had been more or less isolated from the rest of the group; Jasper. She really needed some alone time from her last fiasco with the Gems, to put it lightly, mostly because of the sudden, unintentional fusion with Garnet. To think that she just insulted the girl for being a fusion, and minutes after she ended up fused. It'd been days since that, but she was still fuming from the event no less than if it'd just happened minutes ago. The images, visions, and thoughts that blasted through Jasper's head may have ceased, but, that didn't mean Jasper had forgotten them really. She tried to make heads or tails on what in the name of Homeworld happened, but the more she thought of it, the more confused she got. And the more confused she got, the more frustrated she became. And her frustration easily showed amongst the land around her. For the days being gone, Jasper had ended up further away along the coast, many signs of obstacles and objects beaten down; rocks turned to rubble, dents in the cliff wall, pits of sand kicked away. Her frustration on trying to put two and two together was beyond annoying, and frustrating to Jasper. What did happen while she was fused with Garnet? She loved to get it out of Garnet if Garnet was ready herself. To her, she felt Garnet was purposely hiding why, and that angered the Homeworld Gem even more so.

Speaking of Homeworld, Jasper's state of being stuck on Earth hadn't ceased either. She can tolerate until someone would get her back home, but, as it stands, Jasper couldn't stand it very much longer. Currently, her frustrations over both facts had brought her punching down a tunnel through the cliff wall like her fists were jackhammers for a while, until she stepped back out, thinking she might get caved in if she continued forward. The Gem ended up in an angered pace soon after, her mind stuck in threat mode. While she was pacing around, ready to pound whatever, someone else soon showed up nearby through the air. Not a good time for her.

"Jasper! There you are!"

Soon, Jasper looked up with a annoyed glare to see Lapis and Peridot flying down to her. Amongst many, Lapis had gotten a few on board, and Peridot decided to give her a hand with Jasper.

"What do you want, twerps?

"It's Garnet, she wants -" suddenly, Jasper punched the wall again, leaving a cracked fist-shaped hole in the wall.

"I'm not bothering with her until she clears it up," Jasper growled. Lapis and Peridot grew genuinely scared when she watched Jasper beat down the wall next to her.

"Uh ... Jasper?" Peridot began to say.

Jasper silenced them both with a horrifying death glare. Afraid a bit, Lapis and Pearl started to back up, both hands raised up. Garnet would love to get everybody together, but, they didn't want to risk their own Gem over it.

"We'll leave you alone," Lapis said, her water wings out and taking flight again. Peridot soon took off too, both Gems far out of sight fast. Jasper gave a rough sigh, continuing to pound at the earth. If she couldn't get her way, she will carve one out. However, Peridot took off so quick, something ended up falling out and landing nearby; her magic key. However, both flying Gems didn't notice, and Jasper was too ticked off to mind it either. Her mind remained strictly set on pounding the daylights out of the earth. As Jasper's single-handed excavation continued on, she had failed to noticed what her pounding was actually doing. Further up the cliff, her pounding was shaking the walls more and more. These tremors were making seabirds fly off their perch, knocking rocks down, and cracking up the earth. Soon, Jasper took a moment to regroup ... Yet pounding was still occurring without her help.

Jasper turned to the cliff, unsure what was hitting the cliff, when the entire seaside wall shuttered and opened up with an explosion! Jasper just avoided a sudden hit, but the explosion did end up showing another excavator apart from Jasper, attracted by the pounding. This newcomer, to start, was simply huge, about the size of an elephant, but the beast didn't look a thing like an elephant. In fact, it looked more like a large armadillo in a way; strong crystalline armor along its back. It's tail was long, and ending in a rounded club. The head was elongated, ending in a flattened snout, slits for eyes along the side of its head. The entire body had a sort of purple coloration, the gem armor much darker in appearance to the rest of it. Its claws; large and broad for digging, scrapped the ground nearby Jasper. As for the Homeworld Gem; with her only back up long gone, she was by herself against this thing ...

What're the odds of that?

Of course, being in the open, it didn't take long for the Gem monster to notice her, its tail raised in a threatening posture. Jasper quickly ducked as the tail swung around, slamming a seaside Boulder into rubble after one hit. The tail rushed upward, and tried to hit Jasper like a hammer about three times in the sand, Jasper dodging each one. Jasper took to action, jumping at the beast and slamming her fists hard in a dive, the armor cracking slightly. The beast gave a painful groan, shaking its back wildly to get Jasper off. The shaking turned to bucking like an enraged bull, shuttering the ground. As the bucking went on, the vibrations started moving the key around. During the bucking, the beast's large club tail swung around, and whacked the key into the wall, opening the portal by mistake. Course, both fighters failed to noticed in their tussle. The Gem monster finally made Jasper loosen her grip off its back, the Homeworld Gem started to get disorientated with the wild bucking. Jasper ended up loosing the grip on its back, thrown in the air, and the beast making a direct hit with its club tail. Like a hole in one, that single hit landed Jasper directly inside the portal, no time to react or stop herself from flying through. Seconds after, the portal shut closed behind her, Peridot's key shooting out and landing on the sand. As for the Gem monster, sending the problem over, it started to walk back into the cliff, leaving the battlefield behind it ...

Tossing and tumbling like a rag roll in the air, Jasper couldn't figure out where the heck she was going. The lights from the portal flashing by her didn't help her out very much either, until she could just see an opening at the end of the portal path. Spinning in a spiral, Jasper ended up rocketing through the end, crashing hard into the ground. Jasper skidded along the ground hard for a good ten feet, as if a meteor had crash landed into the ground. It took a bit, but, Jasper eventually came back around. However, it was too late to go back through the portal, as it closed up almost immediately after she gone through. She didn't know where she landed exactly, but, it was different from before.

Around her, instead of an empty beach with a rock wall, she ended up out on an open plain, far away from anyone else. Aside from her landing, Jasper saw that none of the land appeared remotely touched by any sort of human or Gem involvement. On the bright side, at least she was alone and didn't had anybody to bother her. Still, even with that, she at least wanted to know where she ended up. Getting up from her self-made path, Jasper took a good look around the place, before starting to walk off. She can figure out how to get back later.

~~~~~~

Back in Beach City, the other Gems were brought together after a while. It did take a while, but eventually the group was brought together (except Jasper of course), meeting up, actually, at the apple tree where Garnet got her vision in the first place. So far, many of the Gems, and the Mane Six as well, had arrived, the last being Lapis and Peridot themselves. Garnet took the moment to give a mental head count from the front down.

"Now, are we all here?" Garnet asked.

"Present and accounted for," Twilight assured.

"Except for Jasper; still beating the daylights out of the beach," Lapis added. Garnet nodded, understanding the idea behind it. Besides, she could always tell Jasper whenever she decides to come back anyway.

"What's this all about?" Diopside asked in curiosity. Garnet remained calm, but her own surprising amount of excitement was duly noted by some of them. Garnet eventually gave a calming sigh, as Lapis landed by Garnet, and Peridot within the crowd. While Peridot did help, she wasn't sure what this meeting was about anymore than anybody/anypony else. Soon, after everyone was here (as much as she will get anyway), Garnet cleared her throat.

"Attention everyone; I'm sure you're wondering why I got you all here. Well, we have a new mission, one that everyone here should be aware of. I had a special vision, and now I feel that I must share it with all of you."

As Garnet was talking, Fulgurite nudged Amethyst.

"What's she going on about?" Fulgurite asked quietly, not getting the vision idea.

"She has future vision; seeing stuff coming up. If she wants everyone to hear it, it must be a big one," Amethyst replied quietly. Still, Rarity hushed them both as Garnet continued her speech.

"Gems. Ponies. In my vision, I saw us changing history of our world for the better. Everyone." Garnet took a moment to relax before continuing.

"We're going to Homeworld."

The news hit everyone like a freight train; that's what Garnet's vision lead to?! For some, the news of such a trip was a bit hard to swallow, especially for Flint. His own experiences back on Homeworld made such a trip something he would never take; he didn't travel for years on end just to loop back! However, Amethyst, Steven, and Pinkie especially found this very exciting, none of them seeing Homeworld before. Peridot found it very interesting too, having tried to get herself home in the first place.

"WHAAAAA?!" Steven gasped, excited as ever.

"WOHOO!! SPACE ROAD TRIP!!" Pinkie beamed, hugging and spinning with Steven.

"Wait, wait, wait, Homeworld? the Homeworld?" Lapis asked.

"You're serious?!" added Rainbow. Garnet's smile grew on her face.

"You bet I am," Garnet replied. This was a surprising amount of glee from someone like Garnet, which told them what exactly she had seen must be a good one. Pinkie was especially giddy about the news, popping up from behind Garnet, hopping in place.

"When can we go? I wanna go I wanna go I wanna go!" Pinkie beamed. Garnet chuckled a bit.

"We'll get there when the ship's ready to go," Garnet promised.

"Ship, what ship? you don't have a ship anywhere in the premise," Peridot pointed out. However, Garnet smirked, and snapped her fingers. Right on cue, Something unraveled from behind her from the tree branches, looking like a large blueprint. The blueprint, much to their surprise, was actually of a spaceship! The design was pretty broad, with no apparent sharp edges along the length. In fact, it appeared in the shape of an Earth Manta Ray in aerodynamic shape, mixed with size capability. It had a view of the top, side, and front in exquisite detail in measurements, types of material, and the precise size of each part needed. The ship's name was called "the Galactic Ray" (fitting the shape.

"That ship," Garnet replied, thumb pointing to the ship.

"What the - where'd that -" Peridot was cut off when she saw a particular Draconequus hanging out in the tree, waving hello to Peridot. He agreed to stay and help, and that's what he did.

"Oh."

"Hold it!" Flint suddenly said, cutting the excitement short. Alongside him was Pearl and Diopside. As mentioned, not everyone found the news easy to take. By the look on Flint's face, he wasn't happy with it.

"So you're telling us that we're all going back to a planet stuck thousands of years in war, even after all they did to Earth?"

"Correct."

"Well, you can tell me until you're blue in the face, I'm not going!" Flint decided firmly.

"Come on Flint, it'll be fun," Amethyst said, a playful punch.

"Don't give me any of that; me and Jade didn't travel thousands of years to find a new home, just to jump back to Homeworld again! Besides, how do you expect them to let you back so quickly anyway?"

"I wouldn't decide this if they wouldn't," Garnet said.

"Well you just did! If you want to waste your time, fine, but I refuse to go back," Flint finished, starting to walk away. None of the others bothered to stop him, seeing his mind set on it. After that, Pearl was next to talk.

"Uh, now Garnet, I'm sure you have everything set on this plan, but do we even have everything for this?" Pearl asked. Garnet smirked again.

...

Soon, the group ended up in another part of the area, still outside of Beach City. The place in question looked like an abandoned barn house; somewhere Garnet found while roaming about the place. It at first appeared like any regular barn, but Garnet opened it right up to show that it was filled with all sort of things. Metals, old junk, different parts scattered, surely a place to find plenty of materials to work with. The others looked inside and saw all the potential parts for the ship all over the place.

"I'm sure we got plenty to work with," Garnet concluded.

"Well I'll be," Applejack said, walking around inside. With her arms folded, Garnet leaned on the rim of the door with a smile. Twilight looked over everything inside the barn too.

"It looks very primitive," commented Peridot, looking at the rubble.

"We got everything we need here, no problem. So?" Garnet said, looking to everyone else. Pearl was the main one who wondered on it, pacing a bit in her mind as well as her movement.

"Well, that's awfully decent of you, Garnet. Although, I admit, it's not entirely a stretch, we've got plenty of materials to use, albeit for primitive propulsion space travel ... But this idea is ludicrous, it'll never work - Although, several humans, a dog, and a monkey did make it into space ... I don't know why I didn't think of this before, this can actually work!"

"That's the spirit, Pearl," Garnet said.

"What's a monkey?" Peridot wondered.

"Oh my, well we need to get ready then - there's so much left to do; orders to finish, designs to make. Oh, how long will it be until it's ready?" Rarity asked.

"Don't worry about that, Rarity, you can stay and help, or we'll notify you. Either way, it's not going to be done that quickly; there's a lot to work with," Garnet explained. That settled her worry down a bit.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Come on, let's get started!" Fulgurite said.

~~~~~~

As for Jasper, her own time outside of Beach City was a far quieter one. The place just looked all too different for her; everything seemed smaller compared to her, and more brightly colored. The ground didn't feel as rough as the beach was, and the air clearer. Most of this stuff didn't bring out any sympathy from Jasper, but it beats Beach City, and the Gems that got her stuck in the first place anytime. Unfortunately, the place wasn't safe from her fuming, a few spots left with punches and kicks from her anger.

Her walking about had gotten her onto a lone dirt road for her to go along on, not seemingly being used for a long time by the looks of it. That didn't bother Jasper at all, as she preferred nobody to bug her anymore than she already had been. So much things had happened over the course of the last few days; fusing with Garnet, seeing Rose's weaponry used by Steven, being stuck on the planet at all, getting thrown into another place by some random teleport. It was a lot to take in so fast, and Jasper still couldn't get a grip on any of it.

"Okay, where am I now?" Jasper wondered. Even if she didn't want to jump back so soon, at least she would like to know where she ended up. As she kept walking, the road started to go through from open plains, to partial forest. The trees, compared to Jasper, were pretty small in height for the most part. Some trees were about normal sized without maintenance, though some Jasper can reach the tops of easily. Though, Jasper could care less for it ...

"OOFF!"

Jasper stopped for a moment on the noise. It didn't sound like anyone familiar to her. As she looked, one of the trees was actually shaking, as if something was hitting it. Jasper wasn't sure on what was going on, but suddenly something was in her sight, running out of the forest and ramming another tree. The impact made the tree shutter, a good amount of leaves falling down from the tree. The animal took a moment before starting to eat up some of the leaves. The animal was about as big as the ponies would be, albeit thinner than normal. There was a few differences between this thing and the ponies. One thing was no cutie mark on the flank, which was a odd thing in and of itself. It had hooves, though they split in two toes, rather than a signature single-toe hooves of ponies. Its tail was stubby, and looked like the tail of a rabbit or hare. Its head had a set of curved horns, curving backward to make an excellent ram, though the tips just reached the back of the head. His fur was a bluish grey with a whiter underbelly. After eating a few of the leaves, he looked up to Jasper, a little intimidated by the overall posture, but not much.

"Oh. Hello."

"Training?" Jasper asked, legitimately confused by the ramming.

"Huh? Oh, no. Want some?" He offered, showing some leaves to Jasper.

"No thanks."

"Eh, suit yourself," he replied, eating up the leaves. Jasper just rolled her eyes, and began walking away. However, the young Ram actually moved over to her.

"Where you heading off to?" He asked while chewing.

"Nowhere, now go away," Jasper growled, moving a bit quicker to stay ahead. The ram looked ahead of the path that Jasper was going, and the colossal Gem was heading towards some mountainous terrain. The peaks looked a bit rocky themselves, giving the Ram some confusion on why Jasper was heading that way.

"I wouldn't be going that way if I were you," the young ram warned.

"You're not me, now get away," Jasper warned, kicking up some dirt. The ram stopped as Jasper continued forward on the road. It seemed this creature knew when somepony's not going to listen, so as Jasper left, the Ram went on ahead and had a few of the leaves before heading back into the forest. Jasper continued on from there, not taking the Rams words to mind in the slightest.

As time went on, and the sun lowering a bit more, Jasper continued on to the mountains, along the road she was on. No, there wasn't any exact reason for her heading to the mountains anyway, mostly for the sake of going on the road. The land around her started to climb upward as she neared, with the pine trees around her growing tall. Jasper turned back, having a better view on where she'd been. She saw where the forest ended, and where the open plains began. However, the clouds above her had covered up the sky by that point, turning the blue to grey, and the sun being blocked out. Jasper hadn't really paid much attention to the sky, but, the clouds did come around a bit above her. Jasper was going to continue on until she reached an opening amongst the forest. She got about half way through when something else stopped her.

Something fell on her from above.

Then another.

And another.

Jasper looked around, and started to noticed something small falling out of the sky around her, and a slight pitter patter of rain began to fill the air all over the place. Looking at her arm, it began to get wet from the oncoming rain, droplets forming up on her skin and moistening her hair. The drizzle of rain soon turned into a ripe downpour, soaking Jasper in rainwater.

"What the -" Jasper said, unsure how to take this sudden amount of sky water. While it was barely noticeable before, it became unable to ignore as it went on, hitting her all over, along with everything else around her. Jasper tried shaking the stuff off, but no matter how much she tried, more droplets seemed to form up on her. She was starting to get frustrated with it, but then ...

*BOOM!*

A distant, yet strong rumble of thunder echoed around Jasper. Within the darkening skies, Jasper was caught in a storm - something she hadn't experienced just yet. Taking on war Gems is one thing, but taking on something foreign to her was quite another.

"Who's there?!" Jasper demanded, looking around a bit more. A flash of light of the sky above finally caught her attention, looking up to see flashing lights, followed by more tremendous thunder. Even if it seemed very far, the rumbling made it sound extremely huge, whatever it was. Looking up only made the water get in her eyes, Jasper getting a sting on them.

"You think you can mess with me up there?!" Jasper snarled. Her only response was another, even louder thunder, and she could even see the branching lightning bolts dance about in the sky. Thinking this storm was a fighting attacker, Jasper brought her arm out to block off some of the rain from her face. Since she was higher elevated though, the lightning struck dangerously low. Jasper felt that this storm was either mocking her, or not even caring about her, which angered her even more. She's a veteran of the wars before, it could at least take her seriously! Soon, the lightning started to hit ground, striking down in the forest in a number of spots. It would've been enough to catch a fire if the rain wasn't pouring down everywhere.

"Mock me will ya? I'll show you!" Jasper yelled. First, she tried to jump up to reach the storm, but no matter how high she tried, she couldn't reach it. The highest she got was twenty feet off the ground, but, she wasn't even close. More lightning and thunder rang out, as if the storm was mocking her for her attempts. Furious, Jasper actually rushed to the forest, grabbed a large tree, and threw it directly skyward at her supposed foe. While it did actually got to the clouds, all it did was shoot through, and land about a mile away to the ground. It didn't effect the storm in the slightest, as the lightning continued forward. Jasper wasn't sure how to fight something she can't even touch, and the lightning struck a nearby pine, splitting the tree in two right through the middle! The hit was extremely loud, brutal, and the effects were in a blink of an eye! Jasper gasped a bit, as more lightning danced around in the sky above her, landing around nearby and coming her way! There was only one thing Jasper could do, though she wasn't thrilled about it.

Run.

Soon, Jasper was rushing through the cover of trees, away from the road, thinking that going through the forest would help her loose the storm. However, the storm seemed to effect everywhere she went, lightning dancing above her to light up the path for seconds at a time. The booming thunder didn't help her either. She'd fought deadly enemies before, but at least with them, she can hit and fight. That wasn't the case with this storm, and the lightning proved to be a fear factor alone. A number of trees were easily struck by the dancing bolts, some of the trees nearly crushing Jasper here and there, but the tough Gem handled each one. The rain also effected the ground she ran on; turning firm earth into slick mud and dirt. That, combined with the rain hitting Jasper's face, made the Homeworld Gem run almost blindly through the storm weather. While running, Jasper ended up hitting a exposed tree root, falling forward and tumbling in the mud.

"Relentless beast," Jasper thought, getting up as the lightning closed in. Right next to her, a tree down from the one with the exposed roots, lightning struck off half the tree! Unlike the others though, that one managed to land on her hard! Jasper yelled in pain, and threw the tree off of her, as she ran off again. Being in a more elevated area though, the place kept giving way to drop offs, and steep hillsides. At least with the trees that weathered out the storm, Jasper can get a firm grip on them to balance her bulky frame along them. The slippery mud didn't help though, and some spots had smaller streams going through from the rain alone. Each step was very precarious; one misstep and Jasper could tumble down. Unfortunately for her, the storm wasn't relenting on any creature, never mind her. The lightning and booming thunder was right on top of her, lighting up the path and threatening to strike her at any moment. Three of them were dangerously close, and one of those shots echoed in her ears, as it landed right in front of her! Jasper jumped back, and that misstep finally made her loose her footing on the unstable earth, making her tumble hard down the steep incline! Jasper covered her face, worried her Gemstone would be smashed to bits as her body took the full hit of each spinning tumble, whacking against rocks, other trees and other debris. Jasper's tumble stopped when the Homeworld Gem came to a stop, landing into a fast flowing river below.

Even if she was versatile, the current was hard to regain her footing in, as she got her head back to the surface. This part only made things worse for her, as not only were debris floating down at her, but she was fully exposed. The only upside to being in the river was the rain didn't seem to get whatever part of her was underwater. That didn't mean it wasn't getting hit by fallen branches, rolling stones, and floating logs. Jasper, with her arm against the current, soldiered through the river as every part of her was hit by whatever was flowing downriver. Groaning, tired, and still in the storm, she just managed to get to the otherside of the river. The otherside of the river brought her back to the more opened areas of the forest, leading back to the open plains. Jasper's hair, now fully soaked completely, weighed her down as she went through, soaking her whole body under it. It was fine earlier, but after the march through the river, it no longer offered any protection from the rain. Jasper needed somewhere to escape the storm before it can do her in. Looking around frantically, as she went on, she couldn't seem to find anywhere to seek shelter for the time being. All she kept finding was open areas with a few more trees. As she kept trying to look, she finally caught sight of something further away; a large barnhouse in a clearing. It looked a bit old, out of date, but at least it'll give Jasper somewhere to wait it out.

As the lightning and thunder echoed, Jasper rushed straight for the barn. She wasted no time in opening the giant sliding doors, and quickly shutting it behind her before the storm could go in with her. Her breath slowed down, as she tried to calm down a bit. She was still soaking wet, still frazzled, but she was safe all the same. Inside the barn, it looked pretty empty apart from some inside pens, and a ladder leading to the upper loft where some hay bails were. Even if she was no longer getting hit by the rain drops, the roof didn't block out the sound of every single hit the storm made on the roof. So long as none of it could get in and "attack" her, she was fine with that. The thunder could still be heard outside, and the flashing could still be seen, but both of them couldn't get inside. Realizing that she was safe, Jasper breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down further away from the large door, nearby one of the pens inside. As if everything else wasn't enough for her, now she had this to deal with. While resting, she ringed out her hair of all the access water. the water seeping through the cracks in the wooden boards.

"You okay there?"

Jasper looked up to the voice, looking around the barn. As she was, she then heard the sound of hoofsteps within the barnhouse. She then noticed a faintly lit, orange glow. It didn't take very long before Jasper found out who and what it was. Holding a small lantern in his mouth, Jasper saw the same Ram that she met earlier that afternoon. Jasper sat up straight from her relaxed position, as the Ram placed the lantern down between them both, giving some light.

"No, no, I didn't say get up. You look beat," he said.

"I'm fine, you -" before Jasper could finished, she flinched upon hearing the thunder outside again. The Ran looked out the window at the raging storm.

"Got caught in the storm, huh?" the Ram assumed, seeing that she was still wet from the rain.

"It snuck up on me, I couldn't fight it. How do you beat that thing?"

"Beat what thing?" the Ram asked, head tilted a little bit in confusion.

"That storm," Jasper growled, pointing to outside. Looking outside, as another lightning bolt flashed, the Ram actually laughed a bit, annoying (and embarrassing) Jasper more.

"This is not funny, I nearly got shattered out there!"

"I'm sorry," the Ram said between chuckles, as he calmed down and added "The storm's not a real thing; it's just rain, that's all. It'll past by eventually."

"Rain?"

"Yeah. Don't you know what rain is?" the Ram asked, thinking it was a silly joke Jasper was doing. However, the mood changed when the Ram saw Jasper's truly unsure expression. She really didn't knew what rain was, let alone a storm.

"Oh. Well, don't worry. You can wait here with me if you want," the Ram offered. However, Jasper didn't want to be seen as a coward for doing so, she got up, crossing her arms.

"Don't be dumb; Why would I be -" the loud thundering from outside shut her up. With all the trouble she'd gone through already, it was probably for the best. "... ugh."

~~~~~~

The storm had stuck around longer than Jasper would like; keeping her in the barn house for hours more with the Ram. It was a good thing Gems didn't need sleep; even if Jasper did, she couldn't sleep a wink with all the racket of the rain throughout the night. the Ram seemed to cope with it quite well though, resting on some comfortable hay nearby Jasper, who was also laying in it. The hay wasn't the most comfortable thing ever, but, it beats the wet mud outside. There wasn't much talk between the two at first, the Ram mainly doing his own thing as Jasper waited. Eventually, the Ram chilled out next to Jasper.

"So, you live here or something?" Jasper asked at one point. the Ram looked up to her and nodded.

"Not the perfect home, but, it provides," he replied with a smile. Jasper heard another thundering boom from outside, and could only agree.

"You the only one?" Jasper asked, wondering if anypony else lived there with him. The Ram's mood changed a little bit.

"Oh. Well, no, it's just me. But, it's not a problem," he assured her. He didn't mind being alone very much, though it was nice to see some company come around.

After letting the lantern go out, the Ram was soon off to sleep. If only Jasper could so easily. By the time sun broke for the next day, the storm itself had since past; although the clouds still left it a light grey. The barn was still standing after the storm, the trees around weren't as effected as the trees from the mountains. A number of puddles were left on the ground all over the place, leaving the ground moist. The Ram opened up the doors, both he and Jasper looking outside at what happened. For Jasper, she was surprised that everything wasn't washed away or flattened by that storm.

"Well, the storm's gone," the Ram said, trotting out. However, Jasper wasn't as sure at first, but eventually walked out too. there wasn't anymore rain falling from the sky, but the ground was still muddy and wet from yesterday's downpour, so, Jasper watched her step. for the Ram, looking up one of the trees, he began to scrape the ground, lowering his head down. As with before, the Ram then started to run at one of the trees, but this time the leaves didn't fall down so easily. The ram backed up, and rushed again, but still nothing.

"Stubborn tree," the Ram sighed, readying another charge again. Nearby, Jasper watched the young Ram try to get some leaves off the tree. Normally, she'd care less, but something kept nagging in her head that seemed out of place. She wasn't sure what, but, it reminded her from Garnet's fusion with her - as if she needed it. Eventually, Jasper went over to the Ram after he tried another five times.

"Need help?" Jasper asked, before he could charge again. The Ram looked up to her (way up).

"I got it, just give me a second," the Ram insisted, before charging again. However, the mud made him slip, and he ended up hitting the tree, upside down on the ground. Still, no leaf fell. the Ram got himself upright, as Jasper went over to the tree he was ramming at.

"Let me show you how it's done," Jasper said, cracking her neck to her ready. the Ram looked up, seeing Jasper gripping both sides of the tree, and leaning her head back. In one strong lunge forward, Jasper's forehead slammed hard into the tree, dislodging a ton of leaves off of the tree for the Ram to have. As for the Ram, he was left amazed by the seemingly little effort Jasper needed to knock all the leaves down.

"Wow, thanks!" the Ram said, walking right over for his breakfast. Jasper moved aside to let him eat his fill, feeling something else a bit odd in her. Like a sense of satisfaction. Jasper even smiled, but suddenly she shook her head to get her mind straight; what was going on with her? the Ram took notice of Jasper's trouble, and stopped eating for a second.

"Hit your head too hard?" He asked. Jasper just gave a rough huff.

"Yeah, whatever," Jasper replied. Feeling that he should be thanking her, the Ram got a bunch of leaves together, and brought them over to Jasper.

"Here, you want some? You did knock them down yourself, after all."

"I don't need to eat," Jasper replied.

"What're you talking about? Everypony needs to eat sometimes."

"Do I look like a pony to you?"

"Oh, good point. Well, if you want any, they'll be right here; I'm pretty full," the Ram said, setting the leaves down where he got them from. There's no point in making Jasper eat if she doesn't want it. Then, another question past the Ram's mind.

"Wait. What are you anyway? Never seen anything like you before," the Ram asked.

"You wouldn't have ... I'm a Jasper," Jasper said, the last part coming out a bit roughly for her. Her mind was still a bit buggy, so, she just tried to get comfortable with herself.

"A Jasper? You mean there's more of you?"

"Not here, anyway, but yeah ... Speaking of which, where am I?" Jasper asked. Might as well get the question out while she could. The Ram moved some of the leaves with his horns into a bigger pile when she asked him that, giving the Ram a bit to think.

"Oh, you're in Ramicorn actually. Why, you lost?"

"Kind of. This place populated by ponies too?"

"Ponies? ... OH, you mean Equestria! Well not really, but, they visit time to time. ooo, but you know, you're not even close," the Ram said. How far was Ramicorn from Equestria?

"I see. And that makes you ..."

"A Ram, yeah. Name's Cloven Hoof, by the way," the Ram introduced, forgetting to introduce himself last night. Jasper wasn't sure what a Ram was entirely, but, Cloven Hoof seemed to be the standard for a Ram by the looks of it. Either way, Jasper managed to get her mind set again.

"I'll get going now; no point staying here," Jasper said, turning and heading off on her way. Cloven Hoof nodded and waved goodbye. As for Jasper, she continued to go, but suddenly she stopped after a bit, still in Cloven Hoof's sight. It wasn't the feeling within her that made her stop; the fact that she didn't had anywhere to really go did. Even if she left, where was she supposed to go? Jasper, despite that, figured she would go at some point, and fully left Cloven Hoof alone ... Until he came back around again.

"I didn't ask you to follow me."

"I know you didn't, but the next town's over there. I'm heading off there anyway. Who knows; Somepony there might help you," Cloven realized. Jasper wished Cloven told her that earlier, but then again, the storm did stop her already. Plus, if she was going that way, she was stuck with Cloven for a while longer...

~~~~~~

Soon enough, the road lead Jasper back to where she was last time, though with Cloven alongside with her. Unlike before, there wasn't any surprises from any extra storms for the time being. The land was still a bit muddy, but enough for Jasper and Cloven to keep their footing without slipping or falling over. Cloven kept a good trot, as the trail steepened more and more until it was a zigzag up the mountainside. Cloven was going along just fine, while Jasper climbed up to keep up with him. The trail was big enough for Cloven to stand, but Jasper was simply too large to do so without some difficulty. With her body, she could only cling to the wall and shimmy herself along the path at some places where Cloven could walk comfortably. That didn't mean the road didn't broaden at a number of parts, just wide enough for Jasper to stand straight and walk forward.

"How you holding up, Jasper?" Cloven asked, looking down.

"Don't worry about me, Ram," Jasper said, steadying her steps along the route. It was a bit troubling to move along for such a large Gem to do, but Cloven seemed to handle it pretty good. It wasn't just his small size (compared to Jasper), but his hooves dug into the earth as he climbed. Jasper's hands helped in it, but Cloven seemed to climb as easy as he can walk. Eventually, he was two levels ahead of Jasper and rising. Cloven eventually looked down, and saw Jasper struggling a little bit.

"You need some help?" Cloven called. Jasper looked up to him.

"I said don't worry about me," Jasper retorted. Despite her pride, Cloven came down a level or so, just in case Jasper needed it. Jasper's hands were just high enough for Cloven to see them. Jasper tried to take another step, but the particular area was pretty slick thanks to the previous storm. Jasper's weight proved too much for the Cliffside, and it suddenly gave way from under her feet! Before she could fall, Cloven got to action, and lunged forward, his back hooves digging in the dirt, and his teeth and front hooves gripping on one of Jasper's hands. It was no easy task, considering how large Jasper was, but, it was just enough for Jasper to keep from falling down the cliff (again). Thanks to the extra grip, Jasper got a hold again, and pulled herself up to Cloven's level.

"I don't get you; we only met yesterday, and you nearly fell down the cliff to get me. Why?" Jasper asked. Cloven was surprised Jasper had such a question; questioning somepony for saving them?

"I'm just trying to help, that's all. You delt with enough anyway yesterday, right?" Cloven said, as he started climbing again. He got about to the next level, his eye-to-eye with Jasper.

"I would've survived the fall, you know."

"Maybe, but, then you have to climb up here all over again, we can't have that. Besides, my conscience would've told me to do it anyway," Cloven said, as he continued to climb. They were getting close, but Jasper was a bit confused on this "conscience" Cloven said. Jasper looked to him.

"You look conscious to me, why would that change anything?"

"No, not conscious. Conscience. It's that little feeling in your head that tells you what's the right thing to do. Everypony has one, you know," Cloven said, as he continued.

Conscience.

That's when it hit Jasper, like a freight train. That odd feeling Jasper kept getting since the fusion incident. She hadn't gotten these sorts of thoughts before, but this conscience thing fit the description very well. Jasper looked up and saw that Cloven was farther ahead, and Jasper quickly started climbing up to catch up with him.

"Hey, wait!" Jasper yelled, starting to climb fast. "Get back here!"

Soon, Cloven got right to the top, feeling happy to make it without trouble. He took a moment to calmly wipe off some dust from his legs, as Jasper caught up with the Ram.

"Oh, you made it."

"You said everything has this conscience, right?"

"Everypony everywhere," Cloven said, trotting on a bit.

"But where does this even come from?! I never had one for the longest time," Jasper retorted, standing up.

"You probably just weren't paying attention. Everypony has one, they really do, just some find it harder to listen than others," Cloven pointed out. All this information made way too much sense to the Homeworld Gem, as Cloven moved on along the road. The high view gave them both a wonderful view of the land of Ramicorn. The land was pretty hilly, with tall trees of pine around much of the area. Cloven, good over his eyes to block the sun rays, looked around for the town.

"Oh, can't see it from here," Cloven sighed. Jasper watched him try to see, giving a rough sigh. This conscience thing was bothering her again, but, she rolled with it that time, and picked up Cloven. Cloven was lifted as high as Jasper could reach, the Ram standing in the palm of her hand. With the higher view, Cloven could just make out some sort of settlement further away.

"Bingo! Thanks Jasper," Cloven said, hopping down to the ground. Jasper just followed him down the mountain slope.

~~~~~~

It did take a bit, but eventually the ground leveled as Jasper and Cloven got themselves down the mountain range. It was a relief from balancing along a narrow path, at least to Jasper. The trees lined the dirt road ahead of them both, but as they continued on, they realized something else further ahead. The road they were going along actually split into two different paths. Cloven knew where the town was from there, but as he continued, Jasper stopped.

"Aren't you coming Jasper?" Cloven asked, looking back. Jasper sighed.

"Look kid, I need to go. I've been here long enough," Jasper decided.

"Oh, you sure? The town's not too far from here."

"I'm sure. My home's not here, and we both know that alright? I've been away from it long enough. You get the point, right?"

"Well ... Oh, okay then. It's been nice meeting you, and hey, if you come around again, stop by the barn if you'd like. Goodbye." And with that, Cloven began trotting away to the town, as Jasper began heading off the other road. She wasn't sure if it'll get her back, but it's a start anyway. For the next few minutes it was a straight walk. Jasper was sure that Cloven had made it to the town by now, so she was alone once more. This whole conscience thing was still new for Jasper, but, it explains her shifting behavior a little bit. It didn't explain everything, but, it's a good start none the less. Jasper took the moment to look back to the mountain. To think just yesterday the same place nearly shattered her with that storm, but, in the sunshine it actually looked pretty cool. Jasper gave a small smile, but as she turned around ...

"Congratulations!"

The sudden visitor made Jasper freak out, immediately punching forward. Her fist however missed the familiar fella, and only after did Jasper get a good look at him. Discord.

"You again?"

"Who better? Jasper, I'm so proud of you," Discord said, pinching her cheek. Jasper swatted Discord's hand away.

"Proud of what?"

"You know what my dear; you and Cloven. Course, you new lease can work wonders on your little space trip."

"Space trip?"

"Back to Homeworld, of course."

"Oh."

Discord then snapped his Talon fingers, and suddenly a door soon appeared, marked with a Crystal Gem star.

"Wait ... That's it?"

"Well, I could've got you back at the start, but what's the fun in that?" Jasper was so ready to pound him to the ground, her fist raised and muscles tense up. She nearly got shattered, and the Draconequus had done nothing?! However, Jasper eventually just groaned, her fist lowered; what was the point? Conscience or not, she couldn't hit Discord if she tried.

"Let's just go," Jasper decided, heading to the door. Discord nodded, and opened the door for her like the quote-on-quote "gentlecolt" he was. Jasper was peeved the troll held off his escape, but it's here, so, Jasper just took it.

She could only hope Garnet was ready to talk now.

Author's Note

Boy, the word count was made up here XD

I'd like to credit the contest winner, Dilos1, for the Jasper plot idea ^^ Now, dilos's plot didn't involve the Homeworld thing with Garnet, that was all me - I felt that was required from the previous chapter honestly. :twilightsmile:

Twinkle Little Star Quartz

Gem log:

month two of my stay on abandoned Gem colony Earth. the Garnet's decision seems highly beneficial to - ... to ... Wait, is this going? Hold on, did I -

With an accidental click, Peridot ended her Gem log prematurely, bugging the Homeworld Gem all the while. Seemed Tape recorders weren't as easily accessible as her communicator logs were on her enhancers. Peridot hadn't been doing as well since she lost her enhancers - something she'd been using since arriving on Earth for the first time. Now though, she was small, without defenses, and without any main means of figuring anything out. Her enhancers basically had everything she needed; knowledge, defense against attackers, flight even! Now, all of that was gone from her (easy access to it anyway). This also meant, at least to her, that she can't help out much with the big project. So, Peridot instead hanged around back at the Beach House. Amongst her wrecked parts, she only got one foot left and she kept it close to her as best as she could. On the couch, Peridot was practically was hugging the foot, as she tried to figure out her new tape recorder, but working with this device wasn't really the best for her to work out. As she was, Steven and Amethyst soon came back to the Beach House.

"Peridot? How's that tape recorder working for you?" Steven asked. Peridot held onto the foot for security, moving away in her seat.

"It's very primitive. Not to mention insufficient," Peridot gripped.

"Well, I guess I can -" Steven tried to say, ready to take the tape recorder. However, Peridot pulled it out of reach.

"NO! No. I-I'll manage to work out its functions," Peridot insisted. She already lost her enhancers, she didn't want to loose anything else that belonged to her. Nearby, Amethyst got out some food from the fridge as a snack, using her foot to shut the door.

"By the by, Peri; Garnet's wondering where you'll hop back and help out."

"I can't help without my enhancers!" Peridot snapped, a bit more forcefully than Amethyst and Steven expected her to. To Peridot, it was as true as it'll ever be.

"O. K. Come on, Steven," Amethyst said. Peridot kept her sight away from them both as they left, leaving her alone again.

For most of the day, Peridot kept quiet and alone as the sun started to set. She hadn't really move, and she was still pretty much keeping herself in whatever comfort zone she could get. It wasn't entirely easy for her, but at least she wasn't bothered by anyone else. Still, she should try to help the others at some point ... When she figured out how, that is. After all, what can she do without her enhancers anyway? Everyone else was larger than her, stronger than her, she felt like a complete pipsqueak. Eventually, Peridot finally, after hours of just sitting, got back up on her feet.

"Alright, gather yourself together. Isolating yourself from your peers won't assist you," Peridot decided, beginning to move to the door. She still kept the foot and tape recorder close to her as she went. Snapping at Steven and Amethyst probably didn't help out either. So, with the thoughts in mind, she was just about to head off back to the barn, when something at the door made her stop in her tracks. She didn't even take a step outside of the house when she saw someone right in front of her. Her skin pale, her dress silver, her hair in an even flow of white. Course, Peridot didn't recognize such a person before, and the blank expression left Peridot startled and frozen.

Peridot's face was left wide-eyed and shocked, as she slowly backed up, and closed the door without a single word. She needed a moment, but the person could still be seen from the otherside of the door, eyes aimed right down to her. Peridot had no idea how to react to this (who would?), though her almost undead appearance freaked her out the most. The figure just waited outside for a bit, Peridot trying to find a way out. Her main option; the large window. So, Peridot went right off and tried to get herself out, as the figure waited for her to come outside. The Homeworld gem did succeed in opening it, but getting herself down was another matter. Peridot steadied herself, holding onto the foot and tape recorder, as she tried to get herself down ... which resulted in her falling onto the deck.

"Ow," Peridot groaned. She had landed on her back, the foot covering her face. However, the foot didn't do any permanent damage, and was removed off of her face. When Peridot looked, that same figure was standing there again, holding her foot. Peridot quickly snatched it, and took off in a complete panic. As for the figure, she simply waited there ...

~~~~~~

Speaking of the barn, the number of Gems and ponies were still going on about the project as best they could. With the absence of Peridot on the work, Pearl, Twilight, and Fulgurite were the main focus with the others helping out in Peridot's place. At the moment, Jasper and Garnet were holding up a large heater, as Fulgurite looked it over from under it. Gems don't need heat really, but the ponies and Steven do, and they have to consider it. Nearby, Steven was also busy with his own thing; as a model for Rarity. They were pretty sure spacesuits would be a requirement off planet, regardless of the state of the ship. The boy had to keep perfectly still while Rarity had to measure him, though it was getting annoying.

"Done yet?" Jasper asked.

"Almost. Just crossing green with blue, a twist here and ... Done!" Fulgurite got the other metal piece on, and moved out of the way before Garnet and Jasper set it down. Fulgurite went to the front, which had a rounded glass covering for the heat to go through. After that was finished though ...

*EEEEEEEEEE!!!*

"What's that?" Steven asked.

"I dunno; some odd cat?" Fulgurite wondered. Further away, the group then noticed something running like mad at them, and closing in fast. The figure was Peridot, running as fast as she could back to them. In her fear, she rushed passed Steven and Rarity, though unwitting caught her foot on Rarity's measuring tape. Her tumble landed her right into Garnet's leg, the fusion unfazed by the hit. Garnet picked up Peridot with one hand, bringing her up to her eye level. Peridot still looked pretty freaked out when she got there though.

"Something the matter?"

Peridot tried to explain herself, but her own freaked out mode was making her words come out in incomprehensive gibberish, her fingers pointing back to where she came from. After a few seconds, Garnet placed her hand over Peridot's mouth, giving the Homeworld Gem a little bit to calm down so she could speak a bit better.

"Now, let's try again," Garnet stated.

".. Okay," replied Peridot. Garnet gently placed her down, some of the others coming over. After getting her nerve together, Peridot got it out of her system.

"The Beach House; it's in a state of haunting!" If it really was a ghost or not that Peridot had seen was debatable, but Peridot's own worries over ghosts (thanks to a particular explanation by one of her peers), didn't give her much time to check for sure. Still, the others didn't seem very convinced; the Beach House haunted? By who or what?

"Haunting, Peridot?" Rarity asked, a bit unsure.

"That's what I said!"

"Peridot, You're probably just overreacting," Garnet insisted. Peridot though didn't feel like she was ...

"I don't overreact!" Peridot snapped, trying to get the others to believe her. However ...

"Just yesterday, you freaked out over Mayor Dewey's van," Fulgurite pointed out, crossing her arms.

"That head was watching me," Peridot shuttered, Fulgurite rolling her eyes. Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Look; if it makes you feel better, you can stay here for the day. You don't have to help if you don't want to," Garnet offered. It wasn't exactly a "we-don't-believe-you" statement, but, Garnet's own experiences with something similar to this (which ironically involved Peridot's work to begin with), she might as well not push it. Peridot could only nod in agreement; she needed sometime outside of the Beach House anyway.

~~~~~~

For the rest of the day, Peridot remained around the barn as the others continued their own work, the other Gems and ponies coming and going. The process of the ship itself was going steadily, though they didn't get to the bigger parts of the ship just yet, focusing on the functions of the ship. By the time nightfall came about, they got a lot of pretty functional parts for the ship made and planned out along the lines of use; including some space beds for long distance travel, which were shaped a bit like eggs. After all, space travel can last far longer than someone would think. Throughout the time too, Peridot had relaxed a bit and tried to make sense of just what should be done next. At the moment, Fluttershy was testing out the beds herself, seeing if it'll be good for their trip. Steven hopped in the bed next to Fluttershy.

"Well?" Garnet asked.

"Feels lovely," Fluttershy replied, hovering out of the bed. Nearby, Peridot was sitting on a hay bale with her foot and tape recorder. She didn't feel willing to just go right on back, in case that ghost was still roaming around the place. Still, the others couldn't stay around the barn forever, and Peridot knew as much. As some were heading off, Fluttershy looked back to Peridot, a bit worried for her well-being. Like Garnet, experience taught her a thing or two about scenarios like this. As they left, Fluttershy nudged Amethyst.

"Sup?"

Fluttershy pointed a hoof to Peridot, who didn't even move off of her bale.

"Yo, Peri, you coming or not?" Amethyst asked. Peridot clutched her foot enhancer before giving a worried grin.

"Uh, I'll be satisfied here," Peridot insisted. The others looked back to the green Gem after a bit.

"Come on, you're not still psyched about that ghost or whatever, are ya?"

"... No ..." Peridot looked like she was trying to hide behind her enhancer foot when she answered. Amethyst groaned, but before she can answer, Garnet went over to them.

"Stay with Peridot, Amethyst."

"What? Why?" Amethyst gripped.

"Amethyst, it's only for tonight; Just keep Peridot company until tomorrow."

"Why can't Fluttershy do it?" Amethyst pointed to Fluttershy, who backed away a little bit.

"Fluttershy is an organic creature; she needs rest too. She can't watch Peridot the whole night, like you."

"Garnet!"

"Goodnight, you two." With that, Garnet went on back to the Beach House with the rest. Amethyst, arms crossed and grumbling, stayed put with Peridot ...

~~~~~~

With the night progressing, Amethyst and Peridot both were pretty much stuck together for the night, though Peridot did consider a bodyguard a plus to her troubles. Amethyst still didn't think there was a ghost haunting the Beach House, and would much rather go home and munch on the fridge contents than hang about the barn all night long, but, orders are orders (even if some she didn't want to do). For the time being, the moonlight from the clear sky outside offered plenty of light for the barnhouse, but that didn't mean the shadows didn't unnerve Peridot a bit. Amethyst was just fine as she leaned by the door comfortably with a bored expression. Peridot was over further away from the barn door, staying within a barn pen full of various items.

"Will you relax, Peri?" Amethyst asked after a bit. Peridot remained on alert, her eyes darting around and trying to figure out if that ghost would show up again around the shadows. Amethyst could only wonder, on a limb, if Garnet was in the right mind when she decided to keep her there.

Speaking of which, the others were going back to the Beach House, and were getting close. Steven was getting a bit tired, Garnet having the liberty to carry the tired boy on her shoulders. Rarity and Fluttershy kept nearby in their step, equally tired, though the Gems were fine.

"Why can't we keep the kid back at the barn?" Fulgurite eventually asked.

"Fulgurite, Steven's a human; he needs his rest same as any human. Or anypony for that matter," Garnet explained, looking at the tired ponies beside her.

"Oh! Pardon us, darling, we're not meaning to be any trouble," Rarity insisted, though a yawn did escape her muzzle.

"It's alright, Rarity. Let's get Steven to bed and you can head back yourself," Garnet promised. However, as they continued, Jasper suddenly stopped, making Garnet bump into her. Fulgurite looked up to the Homeworld Gem, and saw that her eyes were focused in front of her. Jasper didn't say anything at first, but, she didn't move her gaze away from what got her attention.

"What's with you?" Fulgurite asked. Jasper got their attention ahead, and there is where they all saw what she was getting to.

They all could see the Beach House just ahead, nothing too different with it. Some of the Gems were there too, but they were inside, and they didn't seem to notice anything wrong outside. Up on the roof, someone was patiently sitting on the edge of the roof building, looking like she was staring off into space. At that point, she didn't seem to notice them either. But still, it would explain what Peridot meant, especially with her appearance. This was the same person Peridot had come across earlier that day, and she was still under the impression Peridot was inside. Even after so many hours, she hadn't gone away yet, and the other Gems couldn't guess why she was there anyway.

"Hey!" Jasper yelled. The Gem looked down to them, her star eyes the main thing catching their attention. She was obviously not a normal Gem with those kind of eyes. Soon, she got to her feet, and made a huge yet silent jump towards them. Right before she landed, which at first looked like it'll be a rough one, she slowed herself down until her toes gently touched the sand with little noise. Steven and the ponies weren't tired anymore. Compared to the others, only Garnet and Jasper she had to technically look up to. She kept a good distance away from them, in case of an attack from either Gem or Pony. At first, it seemed like basic silence, the group unsure of what she was going to do. However, the other Gem first looked to Jasper.

"You ... You were with her ... Is she still here? ..." she asked, her voice in a haunting echo. Jasper didn't know what she was talking about.

"She? wha - Who are you?" Jasper asked.

"We saw each other ... you know who I am ... Do you know where she is? ..."

"We don't know though; who are you?" Garnet asked firmly. The Gem backed away from Garnet at first, though her eyes were more on Steven rather than on her. She hadn't even remotely seen something like Steven before. Her starry eyes kept gaze to him as she, in front of everyone, started to slowly float upward until she was at eye level with Steven. Of course, Garnet moved away quick, the Gem a little startled before landing on the ground again. It was still a bit surprising the other Gems in the Beach House didn't even notice what was going on anyway. While she was busy, Fulgurite snuck past, and bolted to the Beach House before the new Gem had time to notice. The Gem then noticed Rarity and Fluttershy - even stranger creatures with gem-like appearances in the faces. She moved over to them, Rarity first.

"... Beautiful creatures ..."

"Oh ... uh, thank you dear," Rarity said with a blush, Fluttershy red-faced. She didn't mind the compliment, but from a new Gem like her, it did come with some awkwardness. The Gem herself looked back to Garnet.

"... Where is she? ..."

"Tell us who you are first," Garnet firmly stated. She had a saddened look on her face, but rather than give off her identity, she instead kneeled down to the sand, and used her hand to make out a picture in the sand. The picture she made out was a triangle, the edges smoothed out to resemble the Gemstone. She then made out another picture nearby it, in the shape of a rounded Gemstone with a star at the center. It didn't help in her identification, but it did help in who she was looking for a little bit.

"... Her ... Where did she go? ..."

"Stop dodging the question; who are you?" Garnet asked, patience starting to get lost a bit. No matter how much they ask, she won't tell them who she was, and she could easily be a danger regardless of her weak appearance. She looked down to the ground, looking even more saddened, as Fluttershy moved over to her ...

"... I ... I ... Don't know ..." Her voice was very hushed, but just enough for Fluttershy to at least hear it. She had been wandering around for who knows how long, and throughout that whole time, she didn't had much clue on who she ever was? ...

Before this could be looked into, the others from the Beach House took notice of her, brought outside (finally) by Fulgurite (which were Pearl, Lapis, Jade, and Flint). The white Gem looked to the rest, getting up.

"What's going on?" Flint asked, locking gaze with the white Gem. The menacing appearance of Flint did make her back away as Flint approached with the others.

"... Are you a friend? ..."

"Depends on who's asking," Flint stated roughly, moving closer. The white Gem could tell he was in no mood for any games, and actually looked ready to beat her. However, Fluttershy got in the way before Flint could do anything.

"W-wait! Flint, don't!" Fluttershy insisted, front hooves flailing as she hovered in between Flint and the white Gem. Normally, Flint would be annoyed, but he settled his own anger (oddly enough), as fluttershy landed between them both.

"She doesn't know," Fluttershy revealed. The white Gem looked down to her feet, but even if calmer, Flint didn't look like he was buying it.

"Impossible; every Gem should at least know who they are."

No response. She really didn't know who she was (who she was supposed to be anyway), and it seems obvious they didn't know either. It didn't exactly help that she was cornered from both sides by the group. If anything were to go wrong, she would end up in deep danger. She needed a bit, closing her eyes.

"Oh uh ... I'm sorry, I didn't realize," Flint said, calmer than he should be. Before it could be processed, the white Gem suddenly opened her eyes.

"... I'm coming ..."

After those words, the white Gem took off in a flying leap, catching everyone off guard. It wasn't flying exactly, but with each jump she gained a lot of distance between herself and the others.

"Hey, wait! Come back!" Fulgurite called.

~~~~~~

Back at the barn, Amethyst and Peridot both were still chilling out as the night continued. Peridot still hadn't moved from her spot since agreeing to stay, yet Amethyst was starting to get bored. She was laying on the floor right by the wall, appearing like she was sitting on the wall.

"Do you want to go back yet?" Amethyst asked in an annoyed tone. Peridot kept a strict gaze to the door.

"Negative."

"Come on you; there's no ghost!"

"I saw it, why would I lie?!"

It was really getting out of hand, at least to Amethyst. The Gem knew for a fact that the Beach House wasn't haunted by any fancy ghosts. After a bit, a pot from one of the piles accidentally fell to the floor, making Peridot jump.

"Okay, forget this; I'm going home," Amethyst decided. Peridot got a bit more troubled; being alone in a large barn without her supposed bodyguard, it seemed something she wouldn't want to happen. Amethyst, being right at the door, went right off outside before Peridot could stop her, but that didn't mean she didn't run outside after her. Peridot grabbed hold of Amethyst's foot.

"Let go!" Amethyst snapped, shaking her foot, trying to make Peridot let go of her. However, the green Gem didn't want to be left alone, not now. As they were having trouble with decisions, the opened plains leading back to the city shown a white object hopping in their direction. It looked like a bouncing white light, yet Amethyst and Peridot didn't notice at first until the same light got closer to them. Peridot was the first of the two to see the oncoming hopper.

"YIPE!" Peridot let Amethyst go, and scrambled to get in the barn. The figure, the same one the others found back at the Beach House, gently landed by the barn house. Amethyst saw her, unsure of what to say, as she went to the barn doors. Guess Peridot was right about the ghost after all. the ghost took no notice of Amethyst, and gently opened up the barn doors to look around within the barn. The other Gems began to appear after the white Gem went in. Within the barn, Peridot was in plain sight (not having much time to hide). In her panic, she almost instinctively got one hand in a fist, and the other gripping her arm like she was about to shoot. However, it was just another reminder to her that her enhancers were no longer with her.

"... Are you okay? ..."

Peridot couldn't answer right away, freaked out seeing her here anyway. She started to move closer, Peridot crawling backwards on the floor until she ended up on the back wall. The other Gems arrived after a bit, seeing what the White Gem was doing. She moved forward, Peridot waiting for whatever she was going to do. The white Gem got down to her knees ... and wrapped her arms around Peridot. Peridot was left simply blank-faced at what was happening, unsure how else to really react to the supposed dangerous ghost. The other Gems didn't know what to do either, and didn't come in right away.

"... I missed you, mother ..."

... That didn't make anything better. In fact, it made things even less tolerable. Gems were basically sentient rocks; how could they actually have any exact "mothers"? After a bit, Peridot squirmed, and got herself free from her hold, looking with more confusion than fear.

"W-What?"

"... You helped me ... You brought me to life ..."

"W-What are you talking about?" Peridot got out. The white Gem looked at Peridot in the eyes, the symbolic star marks looking right at her. Peridot was still scared, but looking at those eyes got her memory going, and it seemed her fear started to fade a bit. As she was looking, the white Gem then gently moved her own hand towards her forehead. Her hair was smooth, yet the front hair seemed to block something from sight. Smoothly, the white Gem moved her hair aside so Peridot could see the Gemstone. The Gemstone was white, but the symbolic star was what sealed her identity.

"Hmm ... Is that - ... The Star Quartz!" Peridot realized. The white Gem smiled to her, hugging her again.

"... That is me ... That is really me ..."

It wasn't until after that when the others came in, things settled down. Star looked back to the others, getting up and letting Peridot down gently.

"Mind explaining, Peridot?" Garnet asked. Peridot tried to get her words together, Star standing close by her supposed creator. The others waited for some sort of explanation on this turn of events, as Peridot cleared her throat.

"You see, I was sent down to Earth for maintenance, and apart of it was testing the activity of the local prime kindergarten. In order to do that I ... Well, as you can see ..."

"You created Star Quartz."

"Correct ..." Peridot waited for what Garnet was going to do, as the fusion went over to Star Quartz. Star took a step back as she approached, but the tall fusion Gem didn't take any strong attack or threat into account. Instead, Garnet took a moment to think and soon got the full picture.

"... You're the leader ..."

"I suppose. Were you planning to leave?" Garnet asked. Star looked to the ground for a bit, but she didn't need to answer her, as Garnet already had one of her own.

"Alright, you can stay."

"Wait what?!" Peridot said.

"Peridot will keep you company if you wish."

"WHAT?!"

Peridot quickly went in between them both. While Star was happy, Peridot didn't need to be stuck with some random Gem like this (even if she was involved either way). However, Garnet kept calm and looked down to her.

"Peridot, you're the one who brought her to life. That, and she had been looking for you."

"But she - but I -" before Peridot could get her mind together, Star moved over next to her. The others nearby didn't put up too much protest on Garnet's choice (for whatever reason). Garnet adjusted her shades after that.

"It's settled then."

Author's Note

Finally we see miss ghost Gem and who she is ^^

Sorry of it ended abrupt and quick :applejackunsure:

Dragon Scale

The area was rather, to put it lightly, vast, with the Crystal Gems going on about the place. As it stands, despite the work on the ship, they still had other tasks to take care of. Here; Garnet, Steven, Pearl, Amethyst and Lapis all were in a large Gem location, but the area didn't appear to have any sort of actual Gems there, be it sentient or geographical types. In fact, the place was very widespread along an open field, going for miles to distant hillsides. The whole area had no trees; all open plains full of low-growing vegetation, with grass growing in opened pockets. The vegetation itself wasn't as varied as some people would think, as many bushes were actually growing strawberry bushes, fruit ripened along the bundles. Across the valleys and hills though, there was many areas with huge chunks of land levitated above the ground, varying in size from small stepping stones, to others stretching stories high. Along the ground however, there was evidence of many swords, shields, axes, and other weaponry still amongst the land, embedded in the dirt and overrun by the vegetation. Despite different appearances, one thing was universal; a sign of gemkind symbolism and the sense of warfare usage carved within every single one present. As for the Gems there, the main task was a simple check and for extra supplies for gather. Who knew what will actually happen when they do get to Homeworld? Even if they have their respected Gem weapons, still a few would need actual weapons just in case (Lapis and Peridot for example). Since many weapons were still varied in shape, it felt more like browsing a weaponry pawn shop (but without paying or assistance of course).

Lapis and Steven were together for this task as the other Gems wandered about, looking through different parts of the vast plain, trying to find what they could use. Steven eventually pulled out one of the many swords from one of the strawberry bushes, though it was a bit large for him (by large, meaning he had to drag it out)

"Cool!" Steven said, looking at the cool sword. However, Steven tried to lift it up, but the blade of the sword ended up falling off. Must've worn out from wasting away. Bummed out, Steven threw the handle away and continued looking. Lapis then saw another handle sticking out, but she couldn't seem to pull it out at first. Her water wings went out of her Gem, and Lapis tried to fly out with it until it eventually got loose. The weapon was a medium sized, yet HEAVY ball mace. Would work, but it was too heavy for her, so she decided to forget it, and dropped it back on the ground.

"Too heavy for me. Find anything Steven?" Lapis asked as she landed. Steven found another, much lighter ball mace, but the ball on the end just fell of soon after he pulled it up. the ball actually flew off, and landed nearby.

"OUCH!" Amethyst yelled, getting hit in the head with the object. Steven placed the item down.

"Nope," replied Steven. Nearby, Garnet had found another weapon; which was a gigantic axe. It was huge, making Garnet look like an ant picking up a huge leaf (and just as easily done). Pearl, who was right by Garnet, looked over to her.

"Nice," Garnet commented. Lapis and Steven could see the axe from where they were, happy someone was making progress at least. The two needed to buckle down and get something to use. Nearby, Amethyst soon came walking back with the mace ball in the palm of her hand, and another on her head from where it hit her. From where her hand was, it must've hit her square on top of her head. Steven took the mace ball from her and tossed it aside.

"Okay?"

"Yeah I'm cool. Hey, check out over here," Amethyst encouraged, waving them over as she went away to another spot. Lapis and Steven followed her to another part of the field, Amethyst moving a few bushes out of the way so they could see a bit better. As far as weapon hunting went, Amethyst had gotten a decent pile going of a number of weapons, which includes a few small blades, throwing stars, throwing axes, a few maces, and even a set of nunchucks. Course, Steven went right for the nunchucks as Lapis looked around the pile for something to use.

"HWAAAH!" Steven said, trying them out. The one end of the nunchuck spun around wildly in his hand, as he went on with them, but the end soon whacked him right in the forehead. Amethyst chuckled (how could she not), as Pearl went over to check on them. Pearl looked very excited when she arrived, but of course she was soon worried when she saw Steven hurt.

"Steven!"

"I'm okay," Steven groaned, putting the nunchucks down in the pile.

"Good, good. Steven, guess what I found?" Pearl said in excitement, seemingly holding something behind her back. Steven tried to think, but before he got the chance to answer, Pearl got the item around to the front to show Steven. The item wasn't actually a weapon per say, but still something used for weaponry; a holder as a matter of fact. The object looked like a scabbard, pure pink with a signature Rose Quartz symbol along it. Pearl looked very happy to find it, Steven holding the scabbard in his own hands.

"It's Rose's scabbard. Hard to believe it would still be in peak condition after thousands of years," Pearl said with a smile, as Steven marveled over the scabbard. Lapis and Amethyst looked at the scabbard as well, and Pearl was right; condition of the scabbard looked brand new; not a single sign of ware on it, unlike everything else.

"Rose had this?" Lapis asked.

"Of course, it was the very scabbard that held Rose's magnificent sword as she went to battle. No other sword could fit into it as perfectly as hers did," Pearl said, in a sort of prayer expression, as if daydreaming about it as Steven looked at with starry eyes. Before it could go any further, Garnet came over with her giant axe in hand.

"Alright everybody, that'll be good for now," Garnet decided.

"Uh, Garnet? You sure you can fit that?" Lapis asked. It looked way too big for the Warp Pad, but Garnet seemed content with it. To prove it, Garnet went over to the Warp Pad nearby and straightened up the axe so it was fully upright. It was just enough to keep it in the portal.

"I'm sure," Garnet said. With that, the others went off to the Warp Pad, fitting everyone with room to spare. The Warp Pad activated, but the back part of the axe was blocking off the warping, sticking out a little bit. Garnet simply turned it until the Warp Pad got working properly again.

~~~~~~

The warping was quick, and nothing really went out of place as the group got back to the Beach House. It hasn't been too eventful, but they do have, once again, another extra in their group of Gems; Star Quartz. It hadn't been too long since she arrived, and her time with her "mother", Peridot, was more one-sided. Peridot was pretty much in charge of Star Quartz, requested by Garnet, but so far actual interaction was at a bare minimum. For the moment, Peridot and Star were in the Beach House together, sitting side by side on the couch. They weren't the only ones; Pinkie Pie had also stopped by to visit the Gems, getting to know Star Quartz a bit.

"We're back!" Steven announced. Peridot, Pinkie and Star saw them, Pinkie happily bounding over.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie beamed.

"We know that, Pinkie," Pearl said.

"I know, but your new friend doesn't," Pinkie pointed out...

Wait, what?

"Very pleasant."

Lapis, Steven, Amethyst and Pearl jumped back on the sudden noise; who snuck on the Warp Pad with them?! Their sudden newcomer looked like a tall pony, with the same face and overall body of a pony, but there were some major differences. His body was covered in whitish silver fur, his hooves exposed at the ends in pure white. He didn't had much of a mane like the other Ponies; just a small koga-hairstyle, but his stretched down his back to the end of his flank (which by the way, was without a cutie mark). His tail wasn't of pony origin though; long and reptilian rather than furred, and ending in a white sharp tip like a spear. One detail in particular though split him apart; his whole left leg was not only furless, but also had a extremely large cut. It was so deep, that it actually sliced his frontal hoof in two, making it look like two sharp toes rather than the one hoof. It also had a hoofband (wristband for equines) on it, having a signature pink flower for all to see. with his longer legs and tall body, it made him just as tall as Pearl (but just enough because of his ears and mane), yet was longer than Lion would be. By the expression on his muzzle, seemed obvious somepony wasn't very pleased.

"Where'd he come from?" Amethyst asked.

"Never mind me; I'll ask the questions. What were you five planning to do with those artifacts, eh? Trading them your Homeworld, perhaps?" He asked, getting off the Warp Pad and confronting the Gems. Immediately they wondered how the hay he knew about Homeworld, as he didn't seem to be any animal from their world. He eyed Amethyst especially, since she had the bunch of weapons in her arms. Garnet placed her axe down aside, leaving it against the wall by the Warp Pad, before confronting the creature.

"We have all the right to be there," Garnet firmly concluded.

"Says who?" He retorted.

"Says Rose."

The mere mentioned of it immediate changed the mode of dangerous to surprising, the newcomer jumping back, and turning to her. Garnet was correct on that much; Rose left them access to such places after all. They wouldn't have the Warp Pad of they weren't. As for the equine, he kept his pink eyes on them, trying to see if they were lying to him or not. His ears went back, his expression less of a threat.

"Wait a minute ... You knew Rose Quartz? the Rose Quartz?"

"Turn around and find out," Garnet replied. The creature did so, seeing the front door. What did catch his eye though was Rose's mural right above the doorway. That surprised the creature even more so upon being in the presence, turning back to the Gems. All of a sudden, he acted far more submissive, and actually ended up in a head bow.

"Oh lord; I'm so, so sorry! I-I didn't know I was in the presence of Rose's followers, really I didn't!" He said, actually a bit worried that he might've caused some trouble.

"Okay, calm down. Let's start again; who are you?" Garnet asked.

"Oh, yes of course, my bad. I'm Kyra," he introduced, his scarred hoof on his chest. Soon, Pinkie Pie popped up next to him, and Steven went over. Pinkie hugged him, though Kyra didn't really expect it.

"So you know who Rose is?" Amethyst asked.

"Of course! How could I not recognize such a magnificent being? She's a savior towards countless lives, the great defender of our Earth, the Saint for all life." As Kyra continued his compliments, Peridot was the only one who was getting annoyed with it. Being a Homeworld Gem herself, Peridot didn't think that highly of Rose like Kyra was doing. The original Crystal Gems though were more or less intrigued with this foreign creature having such a respect for Rose Quartz. Yet, oddly, it was Pearl who had the largest confusion over this supposed follower. She never heard of the thing herself, after all.

"Hm, yeah pretty much," Amethyst concluded. Kyra looked back to the picture of Rose, turning around to face it. He sat down, but then he started to move his frontal hooves to line out a star symbol. They both clapped together at the top of the star, in the position of a prayer. His head bowed as well soon after, his hooves still in prayer.

"... What are you doing? ..." Asked Star Quartz. Kyra didn't answer until he was finished.

"Showing my respect," Kyra replied. None of the Gems knew that it was a requirement, nor did Rose tell them of any prayer. Must be Kyra's personal way to show his respect to her.

"Well, we appreciate your respect, but if you still want these back -"

"No, no, keep them. It's my fault to jump onto my own conclusions," Kyra said, feeling a little bummed for jumping to things on the Gems.

"In that case; Amethyst, give me a hand with this," Garnet said, lifting up the axe again. As they did, Lapis poked Pearl in the shoulder.

"You know this guy?" Lapis asked quietly. But, Pearl really didn't know. Kyra soon noticed Amethyst and Garnet nearby, trying to work the giant axe into the back room. Garnet was sure the axe would fit inside, though with some difficulty just getting it through the darn door. The large handle was just fine; it was the blade that was trouble. Kyra decided to go over to help, though the others still were curious over him. They got his name and, basically his belief, but that just raised more questions. Star looked to Peridot.

"... Who is Rose? ..." Star asked.

~~~~~~

As the day went by, approved or not, Kyra decided to stick around for a while. From his behavior though, it seemed very generous to the other Gems, not showing much signs of trouble, though that could simply be for him not being with Jasper just yet. Kyra was wandering on about the place soon after his initial encounter with Rose's friends, however he hadn't seen Rose herself yet since arriving. He could only assume she was busy on a mission somewhere. Soon, his wandering got him through Beach City (he didn't decide to stay at the Beach House the whole time). As he continued on walking about, he was followed by Steven, Pearl and Pinkie, two just being friendly and one curious about his connection with Rose Quartz. Surely somepony who made his own personal prayer for Rose has to have some sort of connection with her somehow.

"Thanks for the ride, Kyra," Steven said, who was actually riding on Kyra's back.

"Think nothing of it."

"You'll love the others when you see them; all shapes and sizes and colors!" Pinkie beamed (which was technically true). Kyra continued on, wondering how many friends they had for him to meet. As they kept going, their long walk along got them to where they were for sure the others would be; the barn house. Where else would they be at that point with the ship being worked on. As for the time being, work on the ship had slowed down but progress was still steadily going forward in its own way. They saw Twilight and Fulgurite working on another piece, which appeared to be one of the two gigantic wings. This one already had a few engines in tact, but keeping them in was a must. Rainbow and Fluttershy were lending a hoof in moving one more engine in place on the wing by the time the others arrived.

"Hey you guys!" Steven called. Fulgurite was the only one who looked to them, the ponies a bit busy in getting the engine in place.

"Hey Steven! Who's the new guy?" Fulgurite asked. Mention of a new guy got the other ponies to look, Rainbow holding it the best she could. Wasn't easy for one pony to do though. Steven went off of Kyra's back, as the newcomer gave a nod to them.

"This is Kyra," Pinkie answered, hopping up and landing on his head.

"Salutations," Kyra greeted. It didn't take long before Twilight went over to him. She'd never seen a pony like him before, and Kyra didn't expect to see somepony like Twilight today either.

"Hello, Kyra."

"Pleasant. I see you're an Alicorn. Unique race, I must say," Kyra complimented.

"Uh, thank you I guess? You too?" Twilight replied, a bit unsure of herself.

"I suppose I am."

"Hey, can't hold this forever," Rainbow groaned, reminding Twilight about the engine. Quickly, she flew right to it and helped fully secure the engine in place. Of course, Kyra got curious on what they were doing. He took a look around the wing and engines being put in.

"Like the ship?" Pinkie beamed, popping up behind his back.

"Ship?"

"Yeah! The Galactic Ray ship! We're going on super duper space adventures soon! All over the galaxy and beyond!" Pinkie beamed. Kyra's scarred hoof met his chin as he thought for a moment, looking at the wing for a bit more. These ponies were going to space? Outer space? Sounds like a blast to him, a smile going on his face. Soon, Fluttershy took note of Kyra's scar, and flower that he had on.

"Lovely flower, Mr.Kyra," Fluttershy complimented. Kyra looked to the flower with a gentle smile.

"It is lovely isn't it? Complimentary of Rose Quartz herself. I found it a few months back during a flowerstorm. Her own symbol of how much love she gave to this world," Kyra said, hooves over his heart just thinking on it.

"How much did Rose do anyway?" Rainbow asked after a bit.

"How much? That gift from heaven had saved this entire world from complete annihilation. Nothing would even be here if it hadn't been for such majestic bravery. She had done so much, you have no idea," Kyra explained. The ponies weren't told too much about Rose, so, hearing all of this did leave some good impression. However, Pearl actually looked a bit annoyed herself, but not in the same way as Peridot was. Peridot still had her Homeworld beliefs and loyalty a bit, but Pearl followed Rose to the very end of time, for as long as she could.

"Like you have any idea," Pearl quietly grumbled. No one seemed to hear her though, as Kyra got his attention back to the large wing. From appearances alone, it was obvious it was some sort of jet-propelled ship, and judging by the size of the wing it was going to be a fairly big one. If it'll fit everyone in the end, he had no idea.

"So, on where you're going?" Kyra asked.

"Homeworld, silly! The big one!" Pinkie beamed.

"Excuse me?" Kyra gasped. He literally just said they were a threat, and these Gems and Ponies were going to the source planet? The same one that caused so much trouble? Still, the pony didn't appear too startled for their sake.

"Yeah, it was Garnet's idea! I never seen her so excited!" Pinkie beamed again.

"Me neither! Can't wait until the ship's finished," Steven added with equal excitement. That idea got Kyra thinking a bit more.

"Yep, Garnet seemed dead set on heading there. Said she saw something big for the future. Wonder what it is?" Fulgurite said, thinking a little bit.

"Well, don't let me get in your way; you continue with ... well, what else you're doing," Kyra insisted, waving his hoof their way. There was no reason for him to be in the way of their work. He started to go away after a bit.

"Aww, you're leaving?" Steven asked. Kyra patted his head with his long tail.

"No reason for me to get in the way. So, I'll be on my way," Kyra decided, going off himself. The only one who felt a bit uneasy was Pearl ...

~~~~~~

Kyra's own wandering had brought him over to the beach, much further away. It wasn't too much like he had anywhere in particular to be. It still felt cooler with the ocean breeze and autumn wind, but Kyra didn't mind that much apart from the furless leg. The rest of his body was just fine, but his leg was getting to be a bother to him, as he sat down by the shore. Since he was alone, he started to rub his bare leg, trying to warm it. He had to take off the flower though to do so, and kept it close by on the sand, his tail wrapping around it so it wouldn't blow away. At first it was just quiet for the first couple of minutes, but the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. A quick look over and there was Pearl, who was also alone for the moment. Kyra stopped rubbing his bare leg before looking to her.

"Kyra? I need to ask you something," Pearl stated, getting to the point.

"What's on your mind?" Kyra asked. Kyra took the moment to put back on the flower on his hoof, though that only encouraged Pearl even more to ask him.

"How do you know anything about Rose?!" Pearl asked urgently. As if finding this new guy wasn't enough of a surprise, having him as a worshiper to someone Pearl was so close to was also a big curiosity.

"Rose Quartz? Oh, how could I not?"

"Kyra! I've worked closer to Rose than anybody on Earth - Homeworld even! I would know of a worshiping creature like you by now!" Pearl retorted. Kyra got up.

"I never said I actually met Rose face-to-face did I? Only Gems by her side are granted such a gift to see such a beautiful Gem in person ... You are lucky to work with her as close as you are," Kyra explained. While humbled by the explanation to the point of blushing, that still didn't answer how he knew so much about a Gem he never technically.

"Oh ... Well even so, that still doesn't explain how you know all of this."

"History over thousands of years can be found if you know where to look."

"That's why you were at the battlefield?"

"Pretty much. A landmark of the greatest victory the Earth has ever seen." That was when Pearl began to feel a bit of pride coming on.

"I know; I actually helped fight in that battle."

"For Rose, I assume?"

"Of course, how could I not? Rose wasn't afraid to loose her life throughout the whole battle. All she ever cared for was Earth, and all its life," Pearl monologued, remembering how brace Rose Quartz was in the face of danger. Kyra nodded in agreement to that fact. He felt that his thoughts were coming out from Pearl when it came to his respect towards Rose. As for Pearl, even if he was a rather unexpected newcomer, his connection and strong respect for Rose Quartz was something Pearl can make relation to.

"So. Does that make you her successor or am I mistaken?" Kyra asked after a while.

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"Well, you claim you were alongside Rose longer than the other Gems had. So, I can only assume she trusted you to continue on in her step?" Kyra asked. Pearl never considered herself with that kind of position, even with how much time Pearl had spent with the leader of the Crystal Gems. However, Garnet and Amethyst both didn't stay with Rose for as long themselves, so, what position did Rose put her in? ... Soon, Pearl just shrugged it off with a chuckle.

"Oh no, no, I don't think I'm that good to be Rose's successor," Pearl admitted.

"Don't be so modest, Pearl. But either way, guess I'll ask Rose later. If you don't mind my asking; when will Rose come back?"

That's when things got quiet. Pearl simply looked away to the ocean, as a feeling of sorrow was soon felt by both. Kyra began to wonder if he hit any nerves or asked a wrong question to Pearl; he didn't mean to make anyone upset with that question. Pearl just looked down to her feet.

"... She's not ..."

"She's not? What do you -" Kyra stopped himself once he saw how sad Pearl actually looked. He wasn't born yesterday; he knew what Pearl truly meant. "OH ... I see ... I'm sorry."

Kyra got up.

"Listen Pearl. I didn't mean to cause any trouble; I'll just be on my way if it's all the same to you. Though, I am a bit intrigued with your trip ..."

"... Wait ..."

Kyra and Pearl looked around for the source of the voice. Looking further away, Pearl was the first to catch sight of, strangely, Star Quartz coming up. Why she was there, and why Peridot wasn't with her was something they both wondered.

"... You don't have to leave ..." Star said, to Kyra mainly. Kyra went over to her.

"I don't want to be in the way."

"... You don't have to ... Can you tell me more about Rose?"

"Why? Don't you know about her?"

Star didn't answer, her blush grey rather than red. Pearl went to Kyra.

"She's ... A bit new."

"Oh, I see. Well, so long as no one else minds. I should at least tell the others."

"... Alright ..."

With a nod of his head, Kyra started trotting back himself. Star and Pearl took a bit before going too. First Diopside, then Star Quartz, now they got Kyra? They got their hands full for sure.

Further away, watching from afar, Garnet too had been watching the whole thing herself, thinking over if keeping Kyra around was a somber move ...

Author's Note

Oh, I've been waiting to introduce this guy for quite a while now ^^ And finally he's here! YESSSSSSS!

With My Heart and Soul, I'll Protect

For how much has happened so far, the working aspect of the Galactic Ray had been going. Slower, but, still going. With Peridot still not up for helping out, things had slowed a little bit on technical terms, yet production on the ship itself wasn't slowed down. As it stands, the Galactic Ray was actually taking more of its main shape; the main body of the ship being worked on. There was still some ways to go before it'll be enough to get it off the ground flying, but with determination, they got a strong chance. What was surprising the most was how many new members had been joining up with the Crystal Gems. The group had gone from four, to thirteen, in just months time, and that wasn't counting the mane six or animal companions either. By that point, any new members might be brought with less confusion and more acceptance, since they were used to it by that point.

At the moment though, production on the ship was actually taking a back seat, as the group was relaxing for the moment. Along the beach nearby the Beach House, Diopside, Steven, Blue and Garnet were chilling out at the sandy shores. Steven had his ukulele out with him and was playing a fine little tune with it, both Blue and Diopside enjoying the fine music. While a little chilly with the wind, the sun was keeping temperature nice and comfy. However, Steven was still waiting with his phone, trying to get some sort of message.

"What'chu waiting for?" Diopside asked.

"Waiting on Connie, I want you to meet her. Come on, please?" Steven said, looking right at his phone. He did a text to Connie sometime back, and was still waiting on the reply. Still, even with their relaxation, one Gem made that a bit short lived soon as she went over.

"What're you doing?" The voice made Diopside jump, but the others took it in stride.

"Oh, hi Peridot."

"Why did we stop working on the ship? I went to check on it, but no one's there!" Peridot asked urgently.

"We know that, we're just relaxing," Steven said.

"But your vision - you want to get to Homeworld don't you?!" Peridot asked. Even if her work on the ship had been lacking a bit, Peridot still wanted to get herself back on Homeworld ASAP. Seeing everyone just stop wasn't going to help her out either.

"Working hard is important. Feeling good is important too," Garnet stated. To agree, Steven high-fived Garnet, but that just kept Peridot annoyed as he walked away. She didn't had much to do in her current state; with her enhancers gone and Star Quartz off with Kyra and Pearl, it left Peridot with little to nothing to do. She couldn't look around on her touchscreen, properly help with the ship, or anything like she used to do. She did stop eventually as she went, looking back to Garnet and the others for a brief moment, and saw Garnet get up. As Peridot stood there, she began hearing a odd whistle, as a square shadow began to form around her.

"... What the ... YIPE!"

Peridot noticed, above her, something huge falling down from the air directly at her! Peridot coward, but Garnet was already on it and rushed over her. The large object landed square on Garnet's head, saving Peridot from being crushed under whatever it was. What it turned out to be? ...

A giant present. Green stripped wrapping with a Gem-shaped card on it. Looked like a Christmas gift for a giant, leaving Steven with his mouth agape.

"WOO!" Steven beamed, rushing over. Peridot looked up to Garnet as she held the present in her own hands, lifting it off her head.

"Nice of you to drop in," Garnet said, splitting the present in half with one motion. Inside, the present that came out was Discord, the Draconequus landing in her arms from above. It's been a while since they last seen their reality-bending spirit. Discord got himself upright after that, his smirk on his face.

"So, how's it been?"

"Just checking in as all. How's the Galactic Ray by the way? Heard the project's slowing down," Discord asked.

"We're taking a break," Garnet stated.

"Oh I see. And how's our little durtio Gem doing?" Discord asked, pinching Peridot's cheek. She didn't know what a durtio was, but being pinched in the cheek did bug her a lot, swatting the Draconequus talon away from her.

"I'm fine," Peridot groaned. Discord disappeared for a second, and popped up right by Peridot's head, a lot smaller, and leaning on her head.

"Of course you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I'm sure you're fine after being reduced of your fancy enhancers, aren't you? I mean, life has been so well for you since you turned from that dreaded powerhouse into such a sweet, weak, lovable Gem."

"I'M NOT WEAK," Peridot snapped, grabbing Discord by the tail and flicking him away. Discord grew big again and Peridot, angry, tried her best to beat Discord down, but her fists were as strong as flies hitting a lightbulb. Steven was going to head over, but Garnet got her hand in front of him, smiling.

"Alright Discord, I'll take it from here," Garnet said, pushing the Draconequus away. Discord wasn't pulling any of her strings; she knew what will be in store here. She kneeled down, a hand on Peridot's shoulder.

"Peridot? Do you know where the sky arena is?" Garnet asked.

"Uh ... Yeah?"

Garnet adjusted her shades.

"How about we visit there. Can you do that for me?"

"... Okay."

Peridot wasn't too sure what Garnet had in mind, especially if it considered "us". Did she mean herself and someone else or did she mean her fusion sources, or what? So long as she didn't mean herself and Discord, that'll be just fine. Still, Peridot walked off to the Beach House to get to the Warp Pad.

"Where you going?"

"I won't be long. Besides, you got a play date," Garnet said. She actually snapped her fingers, and not a second later, Steven felt his phone vibrate. A quick check and he actually got Connie's message! Soon, his smile grew wide and eyes beaming.

"WOO! Come on Dio!" Steven said, an excited Diopside following Steven soon after. Guess they got a good message after all. Before Garnet could go, Discord was right by her side, not looking as happy as before.

"No one likes a show off, Garnet," Discord commented, Garnet smiling all the while.

~~~~~~

After a little bit, Garnet and Peridot both arrived at the area in question. The Warp Pad in the sky arena put them both by a mirroring set of staircases leading to the arena entrance above them. Along the wall leading up to the 2nd floor, four large diamond symbols shown in front of them; one yellow, one blue, one white, and one pink. Garnet brought Peridot along the set of stairs, heading right through the supposed entrance to the arena. The state of the rest of the arena was, to put it lightly, disarrayed. The seating of the arena only went around the entrance, as the rest of it was missing completely to give a far off view of the cloud sky it was floating above, almost like a fluffy white ocean. Three large pillars with warrior statues were even out into a square, though one corner was missing one of its pillars, and parts of the floor was even broken off. Since this was a sky arena though made by the Gems, the parts that were broken off to the rims were actually floating in mid air, same as the arena itself. Apart from that, the main floor of the arena looked untouched, and safe to walk around so long as it was not too close to the edge. After a bit, Garnet and Peridot walked out to the arena, Garnet going right to the middle while Peridot stopped over at the bottom of the stairs.

"So ... Why are we here, exactly?" Peridot asked.

"Just checking. You know, this arena was where the first battles took place," Garnet commented, as she looked around.

"Really?"

"Yep. Many Gems had proven themselves as great warriors during these battles, regardless of who's side they were fighting for," Garnet explained, Peridot just trying to imagine it. She envisioned the warriors in battle along the very arena in front of her, and began to think a little bit. Peridot went over to one of the pillars, resting her hand on it. Sure, she'd been here, but not around when these battles occur or knowing too much about it apart from current condition. Still, the idea of such strength and admiration did get into the Gem's head. Eventually, Peridot turned over to Garnet, clearing her throat.

"Fusion? I'd like to uh ... make a proposition," Peridot stated after a while. Garnet, looking like she expected this, turned back to her.

"Go on."

"Well ..." Peridot took a deep breath. "It's not like I need it, but perhaps you can ... show me some designated skills?" Peridot requested. Garnet stretched her arms out after a bit, and turned over to her. The fusion seemingly didn't need anymore encouragement, and had a confident smile on her face.

"You want to get stronger, don't you?"

"What? N-No, no, I'm plenty strong, see?" Peridot said, flexing what muscles she had on her. Garnet knew that Peridot was just acting a little bit prideful, and knew she didn't had much muscle on her anyway. Soon, Peridot just groaned, seeing that her act wasn't working with someone like Garnet. However, Garnet began to think a little bit, and soon got an idea.

"Excuse me for a second, Peridot," Garnet insisted, starting to walk away. Peridot stayed put as Garnet stopped ten feet away. As she was though ...

"This won't be very long. Ready?"

"Wait, for what?"

With Peridot looking on, suddenly Garnet began to glow brightly, and deform from a single shape into two. This was beyond a shock to the green Gem, as soon enough, Garnet returned to Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire, planning the idea, landed gently on the ground as Ruby, who didn't plan for it, landed on her back. Now they all matched in height at least.

"What the -?! Sapphire!" Ruby gasped, surprised. Peridot was almost blank-faced. Sapphire though knew what she was doing and looked to Peridot.

"Peridot, Ruby will be your instructor. Will that be a problem for you?" Sapphire asked. Before Peridot could even process this, Ruby rushed over to her.

"Whoa whoa whoa! We're not doing this together?!"

"Ruby. I have the experience. But you have the fighting skill. We both know you handled most of the fighting as we were Garnet. Who better to teach Peridot?"

"Jasper? Amethyst? Flint?" Ruby counted.

"Ruby. I want you to teach Peridot for a while. I know you can if you try," Sapphire assured her, a hand on her shoulder. Ruby felt her Gem on the palm of her hand touch her, and Ruby felt her arm for a bit.

"Uh, do I get a opinion on this?" Peridot asked, hand raised a little. Sapphire turned to Peridot.

"Well would you prefer Jasper or Amethyst to teach you how to fight?" Sapphire asked. Peridot was going to answer, but a thought suddenly crossed her head on the idea. Ruby's small, but she's a fighter. As with Amethyst or Jasper, or anyone else who could fight ... Well, size was a pain, to sum it up.

"... When do we begin, Ruby?" Peridot asked, changing her mind. Ruby didn't change her thoughts though; training with her as Garnet was one thing, but it was different when Ruby was training her alone. Sapphire however was more open though to the idea. Still, seeing Ruby's very unsure expression brought Sapphire over as she kissed her on the cheek.

"You'll be alright. I'll be back later," Sapphire promised, and before anyone could stop her, she went off back to the Warp Pad. Sapphire was a lot faster than them both, so they didn't had time to stop her. Soon, Ruby and Peridot were left alone in the sky arena. They both were as perplexed on the subject as can be, and Sapphire didn't even give them time for a second opinion...

"So ... Where do we start?"

~~~~~~

Back in Beach City, Steven, Diopside, and Blue all were heading right to Connie. Steven hadn't seen her directly for months, and could only wonder how well she and her family were actually doing. Last he heard, Connie was in casts, her dad sick, and her mom freaked out. He couldn't blame her family for being in a rough state after their last experience. Diopside was excited to meet her; if she was one of Steven's close friends, then Diopside didn't had much reason to be worried to see her. In the Text, Steven was told that they should meet up by the docks, which was a basic spot really to meet with anybody.

Along the docks, the activity of the fisherman were very low, and as such not many boats were out to sea. Sitting by herself, Connie herself was patiently awaiting for Steven to come. When it came to any damage, the main difference between then and now was that her feet were no longer casted, but she did had on some special footwear though. They looked like socks in a way in design, though had the same structure as boots do. Aside from that, Connie looked pretty much the same. She sat down by the edge of the docks, looking at her own phone. The text Steven had told her he'll be on his way, which included a picture of him and Blue together with Diopside hugging them both.

"Connie!"

Connie got up, and turned around to see Steven coming right to her, arms open wide. Not only was Steven glad to see her again, he was glad to see her standing on her own without any sort of help. That told him that she was doing better despite her ordeal. Steven and Connie both hugged each other. It'd been too long since they seen eachother face-to-face. Blue happily greeted her with some friendly licks, and Diopside joined up with them too.

"Steven! I'm so glad to see you! You're all better and everything!"

"Great to see you too. Connie, I'd like you to meet the great and lovable Diopside!" Steven introduced. Diopside smiled wide and waved a hand as for her hello.

"Hello, human!"

"Hi. You another Gem?" Connie asked. Diopside happily nodded, and showed Connie her own Gemstone.

"Right here," Diopside said, pointing to it. While looking different compared to what she was used to, it was still a Gem either way. Blue happily barked again.

"Hey there, Blue. Good doggie," Connie said, scratching his chin. Blue loved that, leaning forward until he accidentally fell forward, his tail wagging.

"You feeling better? Steven mentioned you had some trouble with some weird horse shadow thingy before," Diopside asked, scratching her head. Connie sighed, but then smiled.

"Yeah I'm alright. Might have to get used to these shoes for a while," Connie replied, showing her boots to them. As they were talking, Blue's nose caught wind of something and began to wander a bout. After a little bit, a loud caw of a nearby seagull for the dog's attention. Course that got Blue barking a bit, but rather than flying away, the grumpy bird started squawking at him, flying at him. Blue backed up into the others, the bird squawking up a storm and peaking at them. Connie though grabbed the closest thing at hand; a stick off the dock, and aimed it at the bird. Connie soon got flailing with it like it was a weapon, the bird still on the offensive. After a bit though, the bird flew away, Connie the victor. Blue happily thanked his savior with a big wet doggy kiss.

"Nice fighting, Connie. Looked like a sword fighter with that," Diopside complimented, thinking that was a Human tactic of battle with a weapon. Still, Connie blushed and put the stick down.

"I was just swinging this thing around. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'd love to learn how to use a real sword!" Connie admitted. Soon, a gasp from Steven got their attention, his eyes big and starry.

"Steven has an idea!"

...

"You want me to do what?" Pearl gasped. Guessed Steven's idea went right to the best swords woman he knew back at the Beach House.

"You should teach Connie to sword fight, she's already so good!" Steven insisted, though that made Connie blush a little bit.

"Steven!" Connie said bashfully.

"But you are! You helped me fight the robot floaty-thing, uh... that mean seagull just now..."

"You're awfully young to begin something like this," Pearl stated, though she got thinking a little bit "But, I suppose I was only a few thousand years old when I began fighting alongside Rose Quartz."

Before Pearl could think on it anymore, Connie went right forward.

"Pearl, I wanna do this! If anything dangerous comes along, I don't want to be a burden like before; while Sombra was here, I didn't do anything to help him at all. I want to help Steven, I want to fight by his side! You all fight to keep Earth safe; it's my home too, shouldn't I try to protect it too?"

That little speech of truth and determination completely convinced Pearl, the Gem having tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh ... Okay, let's do it!"

"WOHOO!" Steven beamed.

~~~~~~

So, with both sides working in a similar direction, things got busy. For both Connie and Peridot, they both took in time after time in their own schedules to put up with the training exercises, though Connie was more excited with it unlike Peridot whom saw it mostly business on her part. Both also had similar training arenas for their work; while Peridot had her Sky Arena, Connie had Pearl's personal sky arena which was similar in shape and condition. Connie's training with Pearl was subtle in the arts of swordsmanship, and Pearl got her in her mind set with different dangerous tasks to teach her onward. As for Peridot, her training was a bit more rough in what she had to do, but held a similar sturdy level step when it came to Ruby. Peridot's training was more in martial arts, since Peridot already was good at maneuverability to some extent anyway. Both teachers had their experience cut out for them when training their students.

Days continued on during each training session, both sides doing better as time went on by in their field of offense and defense. Peridot was doing better in her kicks and punches while Peridot was more focused in her respected blade. On one of these days, Steven was in the Beach House for a little bit along with Sapphire, Star, Amethyst, and Diopside. The group had figured out rather fast what Ruby was doing without Sapphire with her, and by that point things had already cooled down though Star was worried over what'll happen to Peridot if things would go wrong. Same thing goes for Steven with Connie; the idea of Connie being trained in swordsmanship was a rad idea at first, but seeing Connie in more and more dangerous situations made him worry a little too. Sapphire didn't really say much of anything during that time. Peridot and Connie both were already gone in their training, and all they could do was wait. While they were just shooting the breeze, Amethyst found some chips to munch on.

"You gonna share those?" Diopside asked. Amethyst though didn't bother to, stuffing her own face first. Still, Diopside tried her luck with getting her favorite treat; snatching the bag like a little monkey. Diopside hopped up on the support beam so Amethyst couldn't reach her. As Amethyst tried to get her down, the door opened up and showed Flint and Jade coming in. Course, they noticed Sapphire nearby, Diopside on the beam, and the worried looks on Steven and Star Quartz.

"What's with you two?" Flint asked.

"... Worried about mother ..." Star replied. The two didn't really know at first until Sapphire added "She means Peridot."

"Steven too?" Jade asked.

"Sort of; his human friend, Connie, is training too. Got Pearl to teach her how to sword fight," Diopside replied.

"You got Pearl to train a human? Oh great," Flint replied, though his comment didn't sound too pleasing to hear as they would expect.

"... What's wrong? ..."

Flint groaned.

"You wanna tell them Jade? Diopside?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, so, no," Diopside replied, shrugging. Jade knew where Flint was going though, but she wasn't sure if telling them was a good idea or not.

"You might as well ..." Jade admitted.

"Fine."

Flint went over to Steven, and made out a hologram with his gemstone of a Pearl model.

"Listen; there's many Pearls back on Homeworld. They are strong when needed to be, but they are very reckless; not caring about their own lives in order to protect their assigned Gems. In short, if Connie's getting influenced by that ..." Flint didn't finish, but his hologram examples he was showing told enough for them to get the idea. It showed the Pearl protecting another Gem as a weapon made her poof ...

Again ...

And again ...

Soon, that Pearl suddenly switched to Connie, and she was just about to take an axe for her protected individual (Steven) when the hologram ended. Flint couldn't go any further anyway ...

Steven looked like he was traumatized to say the least ...

"... You okay? ..." Star Quartz asked. Steven looked even more panicked than ever; for how long Connie was training with Pearl, he couldn't leave that alone!

"I gotta go DO SOMETHING!" Steven said in a panic, rushing right to the portal. Worried, Diopside joined him. He wanted a friend who can wield a sword, not a friend with a death wish! So, Steven and Diopside wasted no time warping away. Soon after he left, Sapphire got up, moving over to the Warp Pad herself.

~~~~~~

"Alright, rest over," Ruby said after a while. It'd been a rather bumpy road for Peridot and Ruby to deal with each other during the training stuff, but progress on the subject was still fairly well. Still, Peridot was tired and sore in her body, and she didn't feel ready to jump back into it just yet. It may be Peridot's initial idea, but seriously it was starting to become a regret.

"Already?"

"Yes, already, now come on," Ruby instructed, getting Peridot to her feet. Ruby still wasn't used to being without Sapphire very much under her own power, and she had tried her best to tolerate Peridot, but her own temper was hard to handle with the smartalic Gem being trained.

"After just two minutes?! I'm not a Ruby either, you know!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to toughen up in the first place, don't complain to me!"

"I asked Garnet, not you!"

"You think I wanted to do this alone?!"

"How am I supposed to know?! You're the one who was fused into that powerhouse, not me!"

"Doesn't mean I know everything Sapphire's thinking! Like I knew I was gonna get stuck alone with you!" Ruby yelled, pointing a finger at her.

This wasn't the first argument Peridot and Ruby had since starting, but this one was a big one - Ruby literally steaming.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Peridot snapped.

"You kidding me?! Ever since we started; grip grip grip, it's crazy, you've been acting like some spoiled pebble!"

Peridot gritted her teeth, getting more angry with Ruby.

"I'm spoiled?! What about you and your fusion tactic, huh?! I've hadn't seen you two alone ever since getting stuck on this planet after that stupid Sombra incident!!"

"SO?! That's fusion; we wanted that!! And anyway, I can hold my own!!"

However, that got Peridot laughing, making Ruby angry even more.

"You can't be serious - Sombra had you in his hooves last time you split up remember? If that's what you call holding your own, then no wonder you need fusion!"

Ruby looked ready to explode, she was so angry. Her heat was through the roof; an actual fire shooting out her head for a moment, and she went right in Peridot's face.

"DON'T ACT MACHO WITH ME, YOU CLOD!! TAKE THAT BACK!!"

"NO!!"

Their argument was blinding them both to what was going on around them. While training there was making some ruckus, their arguing made it even more so. This yelling, especially now, was echoing around the area ...

And it got to a particular set of ears.

*SCREEEEEEEE*

The long, echoing, falcon-like call made Ruby and Peridot stop in their tiff altogether, as the two looked around. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, something gigantic suddenly appeared from the nearby cloud cover, landing onto the arena with a earth-shattering thud. After the dust cleared from the landing, the newcomer was far from friendly; a gigantic white bird stood inches away. Its head matched that of a bald eagle; its feathers aligning in a fine head crest of white feathers. It had two huge wings, lined with sky blue stars along their length. Its eyes stared down right at them, the two wide-eyed and blank-faced ...

"Where'd that come from?" Peridot could only say. Another screech from the falcon, and flap of its wings blew the two tiny Gems back with little effort. Guess they got something neither of them bargained for. Ruby and Peridot slammed into the back wall, the bird waiting for them to regain their footing. Ruby looked to the large bird after that, both her and Peridot unsure what it was going to do next. However, Peridot wasn't going to take any chances, and ran towards the exit, only for the falcon to swoop up and landed in her way, wings casting their shadow over her. Peridot may have been training to be a fighter, but her mind was still keeping to safety and flight rather than danger and fight.

That made one of them.

Peridot soon ended up in a mad scramble, the bird pecking at the ground multiple times, but kept missing her. Ruby was soon in its sights next, raising up on its talons to take off. Seeing the gapping stance in the bird's legs, Peridot bolted for it, the bird not able to get her after she ran through. Didn't mean that the falcon didn't try to peck her out, but its hooked beak couldn't reach her. Scrambling to her step, Peridot ended up falling down from her floor, landing on her back right in front of the Warp Pad. The huge falcon squawked up a storm, just reminding Peridot that it was there ...

Then the Warp Pad activated behind her.

"Hello, Peridot."

Peridot turned around and quickly saw Sapphire standing there. By the looks of her calm demeanor, she was either oblivious to the deadly bird, or was too used to it by that point to really be surprised.

"Sapphire, thank the stars! Get to Ruby and form Garnet, ASAP!" Peridot immediately instructed, trying to push her to the entrance to get to Ruby. However, Sapphire actually seemed less willing at first. Another loud screech made the falcon's presence known to Sapphire. Ruby could hear Peridot on the other side, and the second she heard Sapphire was there, Ruby immediately grew worried and aggressive on what the bird will do once it got hold of her.

"Sapphire, don't come out!!" Ruby called. She knew calling for her other half would easily be heard by the bird, but she needed Sapphire to stay put. She could see the outcomes, but Ruby can enforce new ones, and if any one of those outcomes involved Sapphire getting hurt or getting lost thanks to this bird, then Ruby would not let that happen. The white bird redirected its attention to Ruby, but rather than attack the angry, battle-ready Gem, the bird started to fly off in the air, and looped around to the other side of the seating barrier to which it sighted Sapphire and Peridot, who hadn't moved very far. Ruby rushed to the entrance to get to Sapphire and Peridot, but the bird was ready to fly off, talons out and about to snatch up one of them. While Peridot had enough sense to step aside, Sapphire almost seemed ... accepted to the attack, as a large talon gripped her torso. Freaked out, Ruby grabbed a hold of Sapphire by the arm, trying to pull her back out of the falcon's grip. Seeing the struggle Ruby was putting up over getting her free, Peridot began to feel unsure if hiding or running off was a good idea. The falcon, being larger, pulled Ruby along until she was directly at the cliff edge, a few scatter pebbles tossed up falling right through the clouds below. Ruby's own grip started to slip, and her footing edged her closer and closer to the tip of the cliff. Soon, Peridot took her chances, and gripped Ruby, pulling back to get Sapphire free. While the additional help was good to have, the falcon didn't want to take anymore chances with this; raising its free talon, the dagger claws sliced down at them! Ruby was forced to let go of Sapphire, her and Peridot falling backwards as they only watched Sapphire being taken away by the large bird. A final screech from the falcon was heard before the bird dove down through the clouds, and the two were soon out of sight.

"NO!!" Ruby, desperate, rushed off to jump after Sapphire, but Peridot quickly grabbed her before she could fall down. Ruby just hanged there for a bit, not believing that she ended up separated from Sapphire by another force (again). Peridot pulled Ruby back, ala with some effort on her part, and Ruby got back up to her feet. Ruby, in her state of mind, wasted no time with her idea.

"Come on!" Ruby said, grabbing Peridot hard by the arm, and pulling her to the Warp Pad. As much as Ruby wanted to go after Sapphire then and there, she can't exactly fly after her, but she knew who could.

~~~~~~

Ruby and Peridot weren't the only one's with some sort of problem; Steven and Diopside were finish teleporting off to where Connie and Pearl were supposedly training. Unlike Ruby and Peridot, who were training in the same area the whole time, Pearl and Connie changed places and spots of practice a number of times, mainly for the sake of environmental practice. In this case, the training was continuing off in the Gem battlefield, where they first met Kyra. Upon arrival, Diopside and Steven both looked around until they noticed Pearl and Connie further away, not noticing the two just yet. Connie's outfit was a bit different; her hair tied back, and wearing a purple matching suit looking like that of a training swordswomen. Oddly, Kyra was there as well, confusing the situation even more.

"Remember Connie, in the heat of battle, only Steven matters. You don't matter," Pearl instructed.

"I don't matter," Connie repeated. That just got Steven even more worried on that; she was at that point already?! Frantic, Steven began running like mad towards her, Diopside unsure at first. All of a sudden, as Steven neared, a huge fog began to form up around everyone. Steven couldn't see anything, or anyone.

"Let's begin," he heard Pearl say.

Oh no.

"Connie, where are you?! Connie?!" Steven called. But, he didn't hear any reply. He had to find her before whatever challenge Pearl or Kyra had in mind for Connie wreaks her. However, he could barely see beyond ten feet without the vision getting blurry thanks to the fog. From Steven's eyes, he could see ground, and a number of strawberry bushes, but that was it. Soon, however, someone started to approach him from behind, Steven turning around fast. The figure looked like Pearl, but her entire body was light blue, semi-transparent, and her eyes were a deadly red.

"Intruder detected!" She stated, her voice slightly artificial, and a sword raised in the air to skewer him! Before he could react, something quickly tackled him before the holo-Pearl could finish him off. A look up shown it was Diopside who tackled him.

"Intruders detected!" The holo-Pearl stated again, about to slice them. Just before she could, another sword sliced her in two, making her disappear completely ...

"Steven? Diopside? What're you both doing here?"

"Connie! I don't want you to do this anymore - not alone!" Steven said, holding her shoulder in pled. However, Connie shook her head and smiled.

"No! I understand now; your legacy, your destiny, you are everything! I am ... I am nothing. But I can help you now! I can give you my service!" Connie insisted. That only made Steven and Diopside even more worried over her. How long did this 'you are nothing' talk go on for?!

"Connie, you have worth!"

"No I don't!" Connie gave a sigh, turning to Steven. "In the heat of battle, Steven's the only thing that matters. I don't matter. I'll die a happy girl if it means to keep you safe!" Connie declared. Showing up behind the two, another Holo-Pearl showed up. Connie rushed in between them and made short work of the practice. Steven felt very scared now. How much was this going to -

*screeeeeeee*

"What's that?" Diopside asked, looking around. Connie prepared herself, sword in hand, as all around them, four Holo-Pearls charged forward. Suddenly, the Pearls jumped high in the air, swords ready to skewer all of them!

*SCREEEEE!!!!*

In just a split-second, all four Pearls suddenly were split in two when a blur rushed by in the air. It moved too fast for them to see what it was, but all that was left was a few stray feathers ...

"What's going on?!" Kyra yelled.

The fog was subtly removed soon afterward, whatever that attacked not in sight at first. However, the two were in sight of Kyra, Pearl, and every other Holo-Pearl out on the field. Before either one of them could even say anything or process this turn of events, their eyes soon were in the sky, the shadow of their attacker flying in the air with strong gusts and baited breath. With the feathers landing around the others, they were all in the sights of the same falcon Ruby and Peridot were fighting! The only difference from them and now was that its right foot was covered in ice - a sign of Sapphire. Connie was at the ready, sword tight in her grip, but Diopside grabbed the girl and ran with Steven to keep some distance.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The other Holo-Pearls repeated, but before anything could be done, the bird's stray feathers turned into dart-like projectiles, scattered in the air and getting rid of every Holo-Pearl on the field! The bird tried to land, but the large ice bundle on its foot made landing a little difficult. More of those darts aimed directly at Diopside and Steven, but before a shield could be made, Connie actually rushed out and used her sword to hit each dart aside. Impressive, yes, but that just furthered Flint's horrifying point for Steven.

Further away after that, the Warp Pad activated again, only that time it was Ruby and Peridot.

"Guys come quick, there's -" Ruby was cut off when she saw the same bird again. "Eh, never mind."

The bird was too focused on its current targets than to focus on Ruby and Peridot. However, Kyra noticed them both further off, and he began galloping off to them. That distraction gave the falcon some time to gather its senses, raising its wings for a bit. At it was, the star symbols began to glow on its wings, as the feathers it shot out started to move together. The feathers started to form a different shape, and in a white flash actually resulted in some followers for the bird! These followers looked much like their respected mother, but with longer, stronger legs, no wings, and a longer tail. They all were about pony-sized too. Seemed clear the modern raptor had made an army of prehistoric ones.

And this army had at least twenty of them to start!

Two of these actually followed Kyra first, heading back as the rest rushed forward in force. Ruby and Peridot watched Kyra tumble when one of the raptors jumped onto his back, its claws digging into him. The second one actually targeted the small Gems further away, but Kyra grabbed the first one by the leg with his tail, swung around, and whacked the second one just before it got to the other two.

"Ruby, Peridot, over here!" Kyra yelled, getting them both moving before the two raptors could get up.

The other eighteen were easily overwhelming Pearl, Dio, Steven and Connie. Yet, it was Pearl and Connie who'd fought the most against the horde, their swords a blazing, and opponents sliced up. With each one defeated, they ended up turning into more weaker feathers on the ground. However, the more feathers on the ground meant the ground itself was becoming less steady, like adding wet mud onto a smooth sidewalk. It didn't affect the raptors, but the others had to watch it.

"Steven, stay away!" Pearl yelled, as another nearly got her throat before she sliced it. Steven didn't want to though, and when he saw Connie almost get her head cut open by one of them, that finally got him into action. Diopside though was more worried upon the giant bird; her experience as a corrupted Gem herself made Diopside aside herself on what to do.

Steven rushed head long into the fray, getting his shield out in front of Connie just before another could get her.

"Steven don't! Let me protect you!"

"But while you're protecting me, who's going to protect you?!" Steven replied, seeing three more jump out from the bushes. Steven changed from the pink shield to the pink bubble to block the oncoming attacks. Everyone was busy, and the shield gave Steven enough time to make it clear.

"Connie, listen to me; I'm happy you're doing great with Pearl and all, but, I don't want you going on thinking like this! I don't want to think about you dead because of me, you're too great for that!"

"Steven..."

"Please; We could be facing things worse than this later on, and when we do, I don't want you to fight for me, I want you to fight with me. Please, let's face this together," Steven finished. Connie took the moment to take in what Steven was saying, and smiled at her friend. After that was accepted, Steven removed the bubble and sent the four raptors flying.

As for the giant bird, the smaller troops were a good distraction to keep the others off its back. Seeing the targets, the only one alone was Diopside, and quickly took flight. Diopside was soon pinned down by its free talon, only her head and Gem visible under the foot. Even at this point, Diopside still wasn't sure on attack; she was basically attacking another fellow Gem really, and it was looking ready to kill her. In the end, Diopside had no choice.

"Please, forgive me," Diopside said, before something began to seep out of her mouth. Diopside opened her mouth wide and bit down into the bird's toe, the saliva turning out to be green acid! Stinging, the bird flew up just enough for Diopside to get out and aid the others. Of course, the bird tried pecking the daylights out of her, but couldn't get her. One foot freezing, one foot burning, and the whole bird ticked off as ever! The screeching echoed on the field, its wings beating like crazy, causing powerful gusts to hit everything in front. The blowing wind actually made the other raptors tumble and made it easier on the Gems involved.

"Sapphire, I'm coming!" Ruby said, taking the moment to rush in. The bird, too angry to notice, keep squawking up a storm as Ruby reached the ice. However, the fire Gem didn't even get the chance with the beak ready to grab her. However, just before she could get grabbed, the bird got a hold of a different target, one that grabbed Ruby and threw her aside just before Ruby could get grabbed.

Peridot!

The green Gem was lifted up fast, and the bird tried to finish her off with a aimed bite, but Peridot's training had paid off; enough strength for the Gem to keep the bird's mouth open. That was beyond impressive, but Peridot couldn't hold it forever, and the falcon started to shake about, trying to loosen Peridot a bit so she would fall down its throat. Everyone else knew she wouldn't last much longer that way, but the raptors surrounding the giant bird made it almost impossible to reach her in time. Ruby tried her luck, yet the raptors were all over her; half on Ruby, and half on guard from the rest. They tried to think of something fast, but there wasn't much time. Peridot, at the last second, got herself moved, but she was still being held by the arm within the bird's beak Ruby was barely holding her own against the harsh buggers. Pearl readied her spear to fire, but then Diopside quickly stopped her.

"Wait, don't, you'll hurt Peridot!" Diopside said. It was Kyra who got an idea, and he needed everyone on their game to do so. He went right over to Steven and Connie.

"you two, get on my back. Steven, get your shield up in front and Connie, get ready with that sword of yours," Kyra instructed. Putting two and two together for themselves, they both got onto Kyra's back.

"Diopside, Pearl, you two keep the reinforcements distracted," Kyra added in.

After that was quickly decided, their plan was put into motion. Kyra quickly made his mad dash forward at the raptors, Steven using his large shield like a protective ram in front of them. Whatever raptor was there either wan rammed aside or jumped out of the way as Kyra ran through. Pearl made sure to keep any following raptors from giving chase, but Kyra still got a few cuts from a sneak attack here and there. Connie looked up towards the giant bird, it quickly taking notice of them. Kyra gained some speed, and quickly made a gigantic leap (as best he could) up towards the bird. The falcon moved its head down to attack them, letting go of Peridot in the process, as Connie made her own magnificent leap. In mid air, Peridot grabbed Kyra's tail, as Connie aimed her sword forward like a spear. Connie made a perfect hit, right in the head and completely through the cranium of the bird. A loud squawk from the bird echoed out one final time before it fell to the ground in a cloudy explosion. Upon the mother being defeated, the young raptors disappeared too in a similar fashion. The only thing that remained from the bird was a white gemstone, and the ice tomb that was on its foot. First order of business for Ruby was breaking out Sapphire from the icy prison. With heated fists, she kept chipping away at the ice until it cracked open like an egg ...

"What? WHERE'D SHE GO?!"

To her horror, somehow, Sapphire wasn't in there anywhere! She didn't even see her gemstone anywhere in there!

then they all heard clapping. Soon, the others turned to the sound and soon, they actually saw Sapphire standing nearby with a smile on her face, applauding them on their accomplishment. They surely didn't expect her to show up there, especially Ruby.

"S-Sapphire?!"

"I'm very proud of you. Wonderful," Sapphire said, floating over.

"B-But we saw you get taken away!"

"You didn't see me get out," Sapphire stated. Ruby didn't care how she got out, she only cared about Sapphire being safe. Ruby went right over and hugged her, Sapphire returning the gesture. Ruby wanted to fuse back, but Sapphire went over to Peridot and Connie.

"I wanted to congratulate both of you. I'm proud of you two."

"Why? Connie's understandable, but I didn't help much in anything," Peridot pointed out. Sapphire came over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You may not had stopped the Gem. But you did save Ruby, even if it risked your own life. Seems you are learning more from Ruby then you think. I hoped for that," Sapphire said. Then she turned to Connie.

"You too, Connie; your training had paid off in the end. But Steven and Diopside do have a point; you are important, as with everyone else. You're training great, but never forget that," Sapphire explained. Pearl began to feel a little bad for telling Connie that. Connie looked over to Steven, and already understood that.

"I promise."

Sapphire nodded, and then turned to Ruby, her own blue Gem on her hand in sight and extended out.

"Ruby? I think we've been gone too long, don't you think?"

Ruby didn't need to be told twice. In no time at all, Ruby and Sapphire both went on ahead, fusing back together into Garnet. Garnet had been gone for a while, and was glad to be back in action again. Soon, Garnet turned around to the others.

"Alright, I think you all had gone through a lot today. That should be good," Garnet stated. Fighting a deadly corrupted Gem like that was plenty a challenge anyway. Everything settled and understood, the others started to go, as Garnet went and got the gemstone. However, Peridot didn't leave just yet.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Yes, Peridot?"

"Well ... Does this decision on fusion mean ... We're done with training with Ruby?"

"Yes," Garnet replied. Peridot understood, but Garnet turned to her, smiled, and adjusted her shades.

"You'll be training with Garnet."

Author's Note

Okay, everybody, how many of you expected this to happen, eh? We got Connie with swords, and Peridot with fisticuffs ^^ gotta be prepared, I'm sure.

Also, I'm just going to say for the epicness of continuity;

We saw the egg, here is momma bird! (they said they fought the bird, they never said they beaten it)

Grounded to Earth

Days came and went, the weather growing steadily colder and more brisk as it shifted to autumn. Summer was starting to loosen itself, and the colder winter was having a tighter grip. As for progression on the ship, it was starting to pick up speed for the first time in weeks. That was a pretty good thing too; production on the Galactic Ray needed it. As a matter of fact, the Galactic Ray's exterior was pretty much complete over all, it was the interior they needed to work on. Plus, durability was also a must for the spaceship to get out of Earth's orbit, not to mention surviving any unexpected encounter and/or obstacles they might go through during their space travel. If it can make it all the way to Homeworld in one flight would be up to question, but, they needed to figure that out eventually.

Aside from that, other things were going along well; in particular the training exercises. Peridot had continued her martial arts with Garnet since Ruby and Sapphire got back together, and she alone was doing much better in her respected field. The green Gem was beginning to blossom into a strong-willed fighter, and that was something Garnet was hoping to see. Even if Peridot would end up getting her enhancers back, she can still defend herself without them. Or heck, she might even do better with the enhancers on her in agility and her skill. As for Connie, the swordsmanship training was going along just as well, and with less stress with Connie not thinking so small of herself. Connie was willing to fight until the end, but she'll still fight alongside her close friend when the time comes around. Pearl was pleased as well with the results, no doubt about that. Like Peridot, Connie too was blossoming into a strong-willed fighter.

Within the Beach House, Connie, Twilight, and Steven were together, and were looking through one of Connie's books. During these training sessions, Connie had found out about Steven's big trip, and decided that the best thing for him would be some extra study on space procedure. What better and more convenient than a space manual Connie found from Twilight's library? It was probably the best Steven would currently get since the Gems were pretty busy as it was. Besides, the Gems were indeed just sentient magic rocks, and as such, they didn't need any spacesuits, oxygen packs, or whatever for their space traveling. Twilight and Steven both needed some sort of information, but Connie had gotten one from her own library on account Twilight's book was from a pony world rather than a human one (you can imagine the complications). As they were reading through, Kyra soon came back to the Beach House. Before anyone did anything, Kyra made his signature prayer for Rose's picture first. It became a typical thing for Kyra to do, and a typical thing for the others to see him do after a while (even if it was unneeded at least). After that, Kyra turned over to the three.

"What's going on, may I ask?" Kyra asked, a little curious with their study session.

"Twilight insisted Steven and her learn a bit on space travel before they leave for Homeworld," Connie explained. Kyra took a minute to look at Twilight's book, which Twilight herself had on a page with instructions on spacesuit use, which included what a proper spacesuit has and how it works. Since Twilight had an equestrian version of it, the spacesuit was for equine rather than human. Kyra took a bit to study himself on it, not considering the risks of the trip anyway. Still, he didn't come to the Beach House just for a simple visit; something came across his mind about Twilight and her pony friends, and something he should address to her at least.

"I see. Now, Twilight, can I talk to you for a second?" Kyra asked. Twilight Sparkle was a bit perplexed, but agreed anyway. She kinked the current page as her bookmark so she can get back to it later on, and went over with Kyra just over by the Warp Pad, Connie and Steven overlooking. After a bit, Kyra turned around.

"Pardon me for asking, but, are alicorns still revered very highly back on Equus?" Kyra questioned. Twilight cocked her head to the side in some confusion; yes, Kyra was found on Earth here, but he should know some bit about Equestria (by now, at least).

"Of course they are. How come?"

"Well, Twilight, you haven't considered any sort of permission to just run off, had you? Or at least tell other alicorns what you and your friends are preparing for. Excuse me for mentioning it, but I haven't noticed any sort of mention of it from you, or anypony," Kyra explained. Twilight just stood there with a shocked stare. They were going so far with this, so sure of everything, and Twilight forgotten the most common sense to get permission to even go on such a trip! Kyra knew that permission was a must for this, to put it lightly, and somepony like Twilight Sparkle needed this permission the most out of the rest of the mane six. Steven and Connie both looked over to her, hearing what Kyra was saying, and how much of a point he brought up. For Twilight ...

"Oh my Celestia, you're right! How could I be so stupid?! Sorry, Steven, Connie, I have to go!" Twilight said, quickly pulling out her key, opening her portal, and rushing through within a minute after figuring it out thanks to the reptilian Pony. Kyra was at least grateful that the alicorn was considering the idea and going with it. However, then Kyra looked over to Connie and Steven, but before he could say anything, the Warp Pad behind him activated again, with Garnet coming back with a recently bubbled gemstone in the palm of her hand. Must've finished up another solo mission. Kyra moved aside as Garnet made the bubble disappear.

"Hey Garnet! Fight another monster today?" Steven asked in glee.

"Wasn't too much trouble. Here you go," Garnet said, giving Steven another little gift from her trip, only this time it was a small red and blue flower.

"Cool! Thanks, Garnet," Steven said with a smile. Kyra began to head out the door (the portal already closed after Twilight flew off), but before he could go off, something else soon presented itself; a small haze of white suddenly appeared. An aftermath of the portal jump? Not quite. The haze began to go over to Garnet, and started to manifest from the haze into a object; a piece of rolled paper, kept together with a royal sun symbol on some yellow ribbon. Garnet went on and opened up the message, reading it over with Kyra, Connie, and Steven wondering what it said.

"Who is it?" Steven asked.

"Celestia. She wants me to come by the castle," Garnet said, rolling the letter back up. As Garnet readied her magic key to go, Connie and Steven were a bit interested; Twilight had told them some information about the goddess of her sun, and they wanted to see her at some point. Kyra seemed mildly interested on her really, and he turned to the kids.

"Well if that's settled, I'll be by the barn if you need me," Kyra stated, heading out the door. Garnet had her own appointment, so she went on with her own portal, and went on through. Two appointments involving the same princess was a bit much, though needed they supposed.

~~~~~~

Canterlot castle was about as regular as it would usually be. Even after everything that happened with Sombra, Tirek and Nightmare Moon, repairs on the castle were a success. Within the throne room, Celestia herself was patiently waiting for her message to go through, and for her guest to arrive. The Alicorn was hoping for her to arrive soon, as some words were needed to be said. Celestia began to relax once she noticed a light appear over by her throne doors; as the fusion in question went on through the portal made. It was interesting that the Equestrian ruler would want to see a fusion like Garnet, though it was something probably worth expecting. And Garnet probably could guess what it was about too; as the mane six went back and forth probably got the space trip leaked out somewhere. When it came to height, Garnet was a bit taller than Celestia, but not by too much if you count the mane and horn. If anything, she matched closer to Kyra, or Pearl in height. As for Garnet, her Ruby side hadn't forgotten her last fiasco with the princesses, and wanted to keep respect at full height. Garnet gave a bow to Celestia upon arrival.

"No need to be so formal, dear," Celestia said with a small giggle. Celestia got enough loyalty from her subjects as it is anyway.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Indeed. It's about your journey, and the involvement with my student," Celestia began. Garnet figured as much. The Alicorn went over to her, but she didn't seem to be very angry or disappointed in Garnet too much despite that. Garnet spoke first beforehand.

"I'm sorry I didn't consider -"

"Don't be. I'll allow Twilight and her friends to go if they're willing to. In fact, I have a few questions regarding your journey to Homeworld, if you're willing."

"You're ... Not mad?"

"A bit disappointed perhaps; I'd wished you told me of something like this sooner. Although, I'd take you're very excited yourself on it?"

Garnet gave a calming sigh, looking to the Alicorn.

"Very much so, and we're so close. Won't be long before we can go," Garnet said, hands together and a big smile. Celestia smiled too, and moved over to her, reminding Garnet who she was talking to again.

"I'm glad to hear that. Because I'd like to ask a favor of you."

A favor? What favor would Celestia want for Garnet to do? Still, the fusion was all ears, Celestia looking right to Garnet's eyes.

"I'm sure you've aquatinted well with my student by now, and she must be very busy with helping you out back on Earth. I'd like you to tell her that I have another friendship assignment relating to Homeworld. Whenever she gets time -" before Celestia could finish, the throne doors actually opened up again. Garnet and Celestia turned over, and saw the Alicorn in question standing there.

"Celestia! I'm sorry to come in unnoticed, but I - ... Garnet?"

"Twilight," Garnet said flatly. Guess telling Twilight was no longer needed as much after all. Of course, the alicorn was going to see Celestia anyway, so, perhaps it was for the best either way. In fact, Celestia ended up laughing upon seeing Twilight just show up seemingly out of nowhere.

"How convenient for you to arrive, Twilight. I've agreed to let you go," Celestia said with a motherly smile. Twilight was left blushing on hearing her; her own paranoia and worry had gotten better of her again. Guess Garnet had already asked for her, and Celestia gave Twilight the green light that way rather than Twilight saying it herself. Still, for Celestia, this was a perfect moment for them both; technically speaking, they both were the respected leaders of their group, so, what better person/pony to talk to?

"Twilight Sparkle. I'm sure you're easily aware of the task Garnet has been striving for, with her journey back to her Homeworld. Well, for your new test, Twilight Sparkle, as the princess of friendship; go to Homeworld, and show the true meaning of friendship to all who live there," Celestia announced. Twilight wasn't sure if she should be pleased or freaked out; the alicorn was given the right of way to help Garnet go to Homeworld and handle whatever Garnet had in mind, but at the same time, it became something of a requirement for her now. Previous assignments in the past requested by Celestia were done with extreme sureness of time, and precision, be it her task to go off to Ponyville, or to visit the Crystal Empire for the first time, or whichever. For this though, Twilight hoped that the ship will be done soon; this was a huge mission on an otherworldly planet the ponies (Twilight anyway) only scratched the surface on thanks to information by the Gems themselves. Any modern information mainly came from Peridot most of the time whenever it came around to it, but again, it wasn't too much. Twilight needed a minute to calm down first before Celestia and Garnet got a reply from her.

"W-Wow! I promise I won't let you down," Twilight assured her. This was probably the best news Garnet had ever heard, and a big smile was evident on her face upon hearing that. Her vision for tranquility on Homeworld and Earth was looking bright. Before Twilight could go though, Celestia had something else to be made known to both of them.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm. I do request though, for the Elements of Harmony to remain on our planet for when you go; I'll be sure to keep them safe upon your return. Speaking of which, I'm sure it might be a good idea to figure out how long you'll be gone for, right?" Celestia pointed out. Amongst everything, that was the only thing neither one of them even considered. Traveling time was one thing, but traveling off planet was another. They could be gone for years and not even know it until they get back, which was something that they didn't need to be worrying over, nor want to. Still, as the goddess she was, Celestia had a way to help them out, as she went over to the throne door. All Celestia needed to do was motion them to follow her, and that's exactly what they did.

~~~~~~

"Dad!"

With a spring in his step, Steven had decided to go off and visit the car wash after his little reading session with Connie. It'd been a while since Steven had visited his old man for the longest time; pre-occupied with all sort of Gem stuff. As Steven went right over to the carwash, he quickly found Greg Universe finishing up washing Mayor Dewey's van by the time Steven went on and showed up. Soon, Greg saw the little scamp, and Steven was greeted with a father-son hug.

"Hey little champ, what's up?" Greg said, playfully fluffing Steven's hair. Steven looked to his old man with a big grin.

"Hey Dad! I got something awesome to show you, come on!" Steven insisted, trying to get Greg to come along. Of course, Steven was talking about the spaceship, and Steven didn't tell Greg about it just yet.

"What's the big surprise?"

"Guess what? We're building a spaceship! Come on, I'll show ya!"

Greg chuckled on hearing that, happy to see Steven so excited.

"Alright champ, lead the way," Greg said. He was done with work anyway. Greg just went along with Steven for the while, his mood more of a farther happiness then anything over the top ...

Then he saw the ship.

Bringing Greg to the production site (the other Gems taking a break), Steven let his dad get a good look at the giant spaceship (which by that point looked as big as the barnhouse for the main body alone). Since Steven was a kid, of course Greg expected Steven to be talking about a smaller model made up of basic metal, wheels and more like a go-kart. Not like this! Greg didn't really know what to say, as Steven went over to the large ship itself, arms spread out from under the opened mouth of it.

"Uh ... I uh ... Steven?"

"Cool right?! Come on, I'll show you inside,"

"Steven, whoawhoawhoa! You serious about this? You can't be -"

"Steven!"

Their conversation was cut short when Lapis came back into the picture, landing by Steven after a short flight with something in her hands. Greg had gotten the memo on Lapis as of were, so seeing her wasn't an issue. Even if it was, the concept of his kid going to space overpowered that like crazy.

"Look what I got~?" Lapis said in a singalong tune, holding out her surprise for Steven. The surprise was a personal space suit, just for Steven's size. The color of it matched a typical spacesuit, but a key difference being the symbol of Steven's gemstone onto the suit. A mark of a star was also marked around the symbol too, signifying the crystal gem status. Steven was very pleased with this, but Greg didn't know what to say at first.

"COOL!"

"Rarity spent all night working on it. Go on, try it on!" Lapis insisted. Steven happily went on and tried it on, quickly getting it on himself. The suit fitted him perfectly like a glove. Lapis was pretty pleased with the result like a mother to her child.

"Astronaut Steven, ready for take off!" Steven said, trying to look the partly a real astronaut. Finally though, Greg got to his senses and got the words out.

"No!"

Lapis and Steven both looked to Greg.

"Yeah I am."

"No you're not - I'm not allowing it!"

"But dad, we've worked so hard on it!"

"Steven, you're grounded!"

... Well that escalated quickly.

"WHAAAT?!"

"What? No no, I mean you're grounded; I'm not having you leave Earth!"

"Oh ... WHAAAT?!"

"Come on, mister universe, it'll be fine I promise!"

"Sorry, Lapis, but I'm drawing the line at leaving our planet. Sorry kiddo," Greg said. He knew that Steven would be disappointed, but as he said, he drew the line at leaving the planet. Going with the Gems, perhaps. Going with the Mane Six, maybe. Leaving off planet to wherever for who knew how long, not a chance.

~~~~~~

Back in Equestria, Garnet and Twilight both were still following Celestia. The alicorn's idea for helping them out extended away from Canterlot, and actually off towards the everfree forest. In particular, the sun goddess brought them to the old Castle of the two sisters, Not much had changed for the last time Twilight had seen the place, and remembered her involvement with the area rather well, including Steven and Lapis's first visit to Equestria through this place. This was Garnet's first time here, so it was a bit new to her. Even in this old place, Celestia had something new for them to get their barring out and down pact. However, as she went, Garnet and Twilight both realized that Celestia was bringing them up the levels and floors until she stopped at one of the doors. Before Twilight and Garnet could go in, the Alicorn knocked onto the door with her hoof.

"Sister?" A voice asked from the other side of the door.

"It's me, Luna. Is it all set?"

"Bring them in."

Curiosity peaked, Celestia brought both Twilight and Garnet inside the room in question. What exactly did these two had in mind? Well, it didn't take very long until they found out. The large room appeared to be either an observatory or a planetarium, or maybe even both. The roof was domed out and hollowed, leaving plenty of room inside. For the moment anyway, the room was completely cleared out of many items so they'd have maximum usage of the room itself. In this case, Luna had already arrived and set up what seemed to be plenty of various stars, as if Luna purposely brought the starry night sky indoors, and painted it on the walls and ceiling. Still, Twilight and Garnet could tell this was magic and not just a simple paint job, especially seeing some stars float in suspended animation around the room as well, like holograms if you will. Garnet and Twilight looked around for a bit with surprise evident on both of them.

"Wow," Garnet simply said. This indeed was a surprise, coming from magic Alicorns. With a nod, Luna took it from there as Celestia waited outside. If anyone knew about the stars, it would be Luna.

"I don't remember seeing this here," Twilight commented, looking around at the stars in awe.

"This is our star chart. Being the princess of the night, knowing about the stars is something that I had to learn and study on," Luna explained, heading to the center of the room. Garnet took a moment to observe the stars a bit before looking to Luna.

"So, is Earth apart of this star chart?" Garnet asked. Luna moved over to one of the stars amongst the various amounts, which looked smooth and rounded out.

"Here you are. And if I'm not mistaken, Homeworld is where you've placed your destination?" Luna asked. Garnet nodded, and Luna looked to another star; this one diamond-shaped to signifying it from the others. As far as distance went, the Homeworld and the Earth weren't too far apart, thus explaining how Earth can see Homeworld. After finding them both, Luna moved the other stars aside, like enhancing the image, and had it when Earth's galaxy was on one end, and Homeworld's galaxy was on the other end. In between them both were only a few extra stars, one of which was right in between the straight path made out. A blue flash of her horn made out a line connecting Earth to Homeworld, but this line wasn't a purely straight line as it stopped on at least one other planet before reaching Homeworld.

"Judging from the distance between both your planet, and the Homeworld planet, you can't make it on one forward fly; you'd have to stop on at least one other planet on your way in order for you to make it. If nothing interferes beyond that, the whole flight should take a month in Earth time to get there, and a month's time to return. How long entirely depends on how long you remain on Homeworld, in true terms," Luna explained. Garnet would normally ask how Luna would know about Homeworld and all that, or how she would guess that they needed a pit stop, but considering she knew a particular chaotic entity, she felt that she didn't need to ask if she knew an answer. Twilight looked over to the line drawn out, following it from Earth to the other extra planet on the way. The extra planet, although hard to tell at first, looked about Earth-sized but nothing showing any continents or oceans or what not. Still, if they needed a pit stop, then she might as well not argue with it; she'd never studied too much on space just yet, and still currently a bit short on knowledge for space travel.

"You're a big help, Luna." Garnet said with a smile. Now the trip wouldn't take as long getting there as they thought.

~~~~~~

Back with Earth, though, the issue with Steven and his dad was still an evident one. Up and down all day, Steven tried his best to get Greg to change his mind, and while Greg felt a bit bad for denying him despite his focus on it, he kept his word firm and didn't change his mind. Not many of the other Gems really knew what happened just yet, as Lapis didn't know if getting everybody (or for that matter, everypony) involved would be a good idea or not. As for Greg himself, he got the idea that this was rather important to Steven, and that Steven wanted to help as much as ever, but as his father, he had to draw the line somewhere at somepoint. And now, that line was deeply drawn in, and he was for sure he didn't want Steven to fly off into space with the Gems. Not that he didn't trust the Crystal Gems, don't get him wrong, but the concept itself for his kid to go off-planet, to a planet he knew little about was enough to have him put his foot down. Besides, he didn't have any clue what would happen to him outside of the planet anyway, and these new Gems in the Crystal Gem group (some of them anyway) didn't make him feel any better about it. That didn't mean Steven didn't stop trying to change his mind as the day went by.

Later on that night, Steven ended up having to sleep with his dad back at the van, in his PJs rather than the spacesuit. Bit out of it, but, Greg insisted it to his kid for a bit anyway. Steven had calmed down a little bit from his begging, but still wished he can go on the trip in the first place. At that point, Steven and Greg were both asleep, Steven sleeping in a little sleeping bag that looked like some sort of bug in design. As the two were sleeping, someone else decided to come on down for a visit, and gently poked Steven's face.

"psst. Steven. Steven?"

Steven eventually woke up, a little groggy really, but awake either way, and soon saw Lapis Lazuli right by him on her knees. By the look on her face, despite of earlier, she looked happy for ... something.

"Want to see something really cool?" Lapis asked eagerly yet quietly. Steven got himself awake after a bit, and got himself up. Lapis and Steven, quietly, went off of the van and started to walk away. Steven could hear his dad murmuring in his sleep, telling him he was dreaming. The perfect time for Lapis and Steven to slip away.

With a small little flight be Lapis, Steven was brought back to the barn. The others Gems weren't present by that point, so it was only Lapis and Steven. The Galactic Ray gleamed in the moonlight, but Lapis's interest didn't put it directly at the ship itself. Instead, Lapis gleefully went over back to the barnhouse. Lapis opened up the barn doors, and standing in the middle of the room was Lapis's surprise. It looked like one of Peridot's robonoids, but except a lot bigger, about the size of Mayor Dewey's van. Apart from that, it looked pretty much the same.

"Whoa! Cool! Where'd you get this?!"

"Pearl suggested an extra pod in case the main ship would reach a malfunction, so Peridot got one of these after going around earlier today. We weren't supposed to test it until tomorrow buuuut ..." Lapis's expression and smile told Steven the main idea, as she got the pod to open up, revealing the interior of controls and seating, just big enough to fit them both.

"YES."

Just under a minute later, Lapis and Steven eagerly got into the giant robonoid, Steven in his spacesuit too. Steven sat up front, and Lapis sat in the back, as the hatch closed up. Both were very excited, but suddenly the robonoid began to fill up with what seemed like some odd green liquid. Steven instinctively held his breath, but eventually he couldn't hold it in after a bit, only to find he could still breathe. Lapis had no such issue with it.

"Come on, try it out!" Lapis insisted eagerly. But, Steven didn't had any clue how; he wasn't from Homeworld, and not everyday you see someone have something like this.

"How do I do that?" Steven asked.

"Put your hand on the pad in fornt of you," Lapis said, pointing to the main touch pad in front of him. Steven did so, and immediately after he did, he suddenly felt them both rise up, as the robonoid got out some leg sticks for some locomotion. After it was stable, Steven tested the movement when he moved his hand forward. As he did, the robonoid began to walk forward back outside with ease, no swaying or drag to move. A good start.

"How about this?" Steven got both his hands on the pad, and moved forward. The walking began to turn into a full on, 6-legged gallop, easily as fast as a horse at full speed (not counting the ponies). Lapis and Steven were getting a kick out of this. The galloping robonoid was soon out on the open field, Steven and Lapis giggling and having fun as Steven tried to get used to the controls. They didn't go too crazy at first, mainly working on walking, trotting, and running, but after a while they tried to get a bit more playful with the equipment.

"Hey, check this out!"

Steven then decided to work out his fingers into each leg, making each one work in unison for each side. Two sticks were brought up as the other four connected side by side. Soon, with a little Steven magic, the robonoid began to move around in smooth motions and some good stepping like it was dancing to music. The dance moves were a strong mix of robot and disco, and the robonoid performed very well for it. Lapis and Steven were enjoying it very much.

"Impressive Steven, a fine display of movement," Lapis complimented in a aristocratic manor.

"I humbly thank you for joining me on this dance," Steven replied on a similar manor. The two laughed afterwards, as Steven got the legs back to where they should be. After that though, Steven then looked over to Lapis, scooting aside so Lapis had some room beside him rather than behind him.

"Here Lapis, give it a try!" Steven insisted. In the fun of the moment, Lapis Lazuli nodded and went over to the controls with her own hands. Steven was having fun, might as well share it with his buddy. The giggling Gem began to get the robonoid moving about for a bit, trying to get used to it herself. After getting it down pact, Lapis noticed a hill in the viewing glass, and began to move over to the tall hillside, getting to the top easily.

"Good job!" Steven congratulated, though when they went to high-five each other, suddenly the balance was soon lost, and the robonoid began to tip over. Lapis got it to stop rolling, but they ended up upside down, the viewing window looking up to the sky. Lapis tried to get themselves upright, but when she tapped the pad, one of the legs suddenly shot out what seemed to be a small blaster into the air, exploding like a firework. That gave the two a big idea, looking to eachother with eager grins, as Lapis tapped the screen some more. Each tap gave up to more shots, thus giving them a firework show, which itself was pretty awesome. Lapis kept tapping, and glanced to Steven's happy face. Suddenly, Steven accidentally tapped the screen with a move of his hand, but that made multiple shots shoot at once, making an awesome explosion, looking like a diamond (made sense).

"ooooOOOOOoooo. MY TURN!" Steven beamed. Lapis let him handle the firework show, making an amazing show of fireworks. Even if they were all the same color, they were still lovely to look at...

Then the robonoid was suddenly moved. In a 180 spin, Lapis and Steven suddenly were no longer facing the sky, but instead seeing the face of Kyra right outside the hatch. Kyra had to tap the robonoid with his cut hoof to open it up.

"Oh, hey Kyra," Steven said nervously. Kyra sighed.

"I thought we're gonna wait until tomorrow," Kyra reminded. Lapis and Steven got out of the robonoid.

"Sorry, Kyra. I just wanted to cheer Steven up," Lapis admitted. With Steven's denial to go, Lapis figured that it would help with some fun to make Steven feel better. While it did work for a bit, getting caught wasn't part of the agenda.

"Well, if I may; you two can cheer eachother up tomorrow morning, but now you two help me bring this back," Kyra instructed. Moving over to the robonoid, and starting to roll it back to the barn. Being a large piece though, it wasn't very easy to do alone.

"Wait, go inside. It's easier to use," Steven pointed out. Kyra gave it a try, and went inside to work out the controls. Soon, the robonoid became active, and Kyra began moving it back. As he left, Steven looked to Lapis.

"You did this for me? You didn't have to, Lapis," Steven said.

"I wanted to Steven. After all, you're my beach summer fun buddy," Lapis said. Soon, Steven and Lapis hugged eachother, and began heading back.

Author's Note

Well, we almost got the ship, now we got tracks ^^ Thanks, Luna :twilightsmile:

Yeah, I know Lapis hadn't been in much development apart from water bending, happy, good-natured girl persona, but I'm sure she might be acting this way with cute Steven if given the chance ^^ Should I do more of her acting like this?

YOU THE VIEWERS DECIDE! :pinkiehappy:

Snowbound

After their own little fiasco with the robonoid, Lapis and Steven went on back to the Beachhouse. Of course, it was getting late, and since the Beachhouse was closer than Greg's van, Lapis might as well drop him off at home. Course, she left a note for Greg for when he wakes up, he'll know where Steven is. How he'll react when he figures out was another story, but not one either one of them would include. At the Beachhouse, the only other thing there for the moment was Blue for right now, laying over by the bed as he had been every night since being took in. Steven was off to bed, with Lapis by his side.

"Goodnight, buddy," Steven said. Lapis smiled, and playfully fluffed up Steven's hair.

"Goodnight, buddy," Lapis replied. Steven gave a big yawn, and soon was fast asleep. Lapis quietly went on away, and let Steven snooze. It'd been a fun night, although cut short, and Steven Universe was feeling better from Greg's bad news. After all, it could be worse; he never denied him from hanging out with the Gems altogether. The night went on silent, and uninterrupted for Steven, and for Beach City for that matter. However, for the residents of the coastal town, something was coming their way that was going to give everybody in town a nice surprise ...

As dawn broke, Steven tried to keep sleeping, but the sun was oddly brighter that morning (or so it seemed to be). It wasn't the glare that woke him up though, it was a finger poking his cheek.

"Steven? Hey, Steven," A familiar voice said. Steven woke up again, even more groggy than before. Having a roudy night of running about can easily make anybody worn out. Still, Steven eventually did wake up with a yawn and a stretch. Turned out, the Gem who woke Steven up was actually Amethyst.

"Huh, wha? What's up?"

"Look outside, dude," Amethyst said with a big grin, pointing to the window. Steven got out of bed first before looking outside. He also saw Blue looking out the window too, tail wagging, but after the glare calmed down, Steven also saw what Amethyst and Blue were talking about. Just outside the window, was something that any kid would be excited for as autumn reached in and cooled down the place ...

Snow ...

LOTS of snow.

Steven wasn't tired anymore. With eyes as big as dinner plates, and a huge gasp escaping his mouth, Steven raced to the window, practically pancaking his face to it so he could see the snow all over the place. All along the beach, a nice snow blanket kept itself along the shore, just passing the waves from the sea. Of course, Steven was psyched about the whole thing.

"OMG, the first snow of the season! WOOHOO!"

"Aw yea, man! We can do so much now!" Amethyst agreed, sharing his enthusiasm.

"Sledding!"

"Snowboarding!"

"Snowmen!"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" That last one both Steven and Amethyst said at once. Obviously, the two were stoked for some winter fun. In no time at all, Steven went like mad to get himself ready with his own winter clothes. Amethyst, being a Gem herself, didn't really need any of the winter stuff, but she still got herself a purple scarf out and got it around her neck for the sake of appearance. For Steven, he got on his winter boots, coat, hat, scarf, and gloves; everything he needed for the winter outside. As he and Amethyst were getting ready, soon Peridot and Lapis came out from the back and saw them getting busy.

"What're you doing?" Peridot asked quizzically. Steven got on his right boot before he looked to Peridot.

"Winter came! First snow! Look!" Steven pointed outside. Lapis and Peridot opened up the front door, and while Lapis was excited for the weather, Peridot was left very curious over such things. Lapis quickly flown outside to look around, yet Peridot stayed out.

"What ... What is this strange phenomenon?" Peridot wondered, unsure if it was okay or not. Not something she's remotely familiar with by any way. She felt the change in air temperature, and the large amount of this "snow" all over the ground. A bit of wind blew off some snowflakes off the roof, flying around in the air and landing around her. Amethyst saw this as a golden opportunity, though kept it casual as she walked to the door.

"Why don't you step out for a better look?" Amethyst offered. Peridot wasn't so sure about that.

"Is it safe?"

"Sure it is! Go on."

Peridot felt a bit unsure on it, but eventually took her first step outside. The snow felt a little funny on her feet, but other than that it was alright. Peridot felt a bit odd with the whole thing. And Amethyst had her right where she wanted her. Soon, Amethyst hit her hip on the rim of the door. The force of her hip was enough to knock a good amount of snow right down onto Peridot's head. The green Gem ended up covered in the white snow, taking her by surprise, Amethyst laughing at the reaction. Lapis landed nearby after seeing the snow land on her.

"Gotcha!" Amethyst laughed, and went on out to enjoy the snow. Lapis helped wipe off some of the snow on Peridot's head.

"How annoying."

"Hey, cheer up; it's a long day, you can get her back later. Besides, why get angry when you can have fun?" Lapis assured her, giving her a wink. Peridot thought for a bit more, and realized she was right. She giggled to herself, and Lapis flew on ahead to catch up to Amethyst. Peridot, starting to ignore the snow, went to join them. Before Steven went, his phone went off nearby. Getting off one glove, he went on to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Steven! Did you see outside yet? There's so much snow, it's amazing! And guess what; no school for me!"

"Morning Connie. Yeah I know, it's awesome! Wanna come over then? We can build snowmen together," Steven offered.

"I still have some things to do here, Steven. I'll come over later, okay?"

"Okay, great! See ya in a few."

Soon, the call was short, but the plans were made either way. It was a good thing too, some fun in the snow will do them all good. Course, some will have to get used to what the snow had to offer, or learn what it is for that matter.

~~~~~~

As the day continued onward, the evidence of the sudden snowfall was beyond noticeable practically everywhere in Beach City. All over the place, winter got itself a strong grip, albeit a bit early for a snowstorm in their corner of the world. Along the docks, through the town, along many rooftops of many buildings, and the tops of outside cars, a nice blanket of snow gave the whole world a nice color of pure white. Some people were working on clearing their driveways of the stuff while many of the younger people were having their fun since it was a snow day for the kids. For the Gems, they had the barnhouse, and the area around it, all to themselves (not many people going out that far to bug them). Luckily for them, the Galactic Ray wasn't affected by the snowfall apart from the cold stuff all over the top. Same thing went for the barnhouse too; the normally red barn having some hint of white along the walls and rooftop much like any of the other buildings.

Speaking of Gems, some of the Gems were already in the barnhouse, staying around for a while by the time the Gems from the beach showed up. In this case, Jasper, Garnet, Pearl and Fulgurite were in the Barnhouse when Lapis, Steven, Blue, Amethyst and Peridot showed up themselves. Garnet, Pearl, and Fulgurite went out just fine but Jasper stayed as far away from the door as possibly could be. After her own experiences with these storms, she didn't want to take anything to chance (although rainstorm and snowstorm are different factors anyway).

"Morning," Garnet said.

"Morning everybody!" Lapis replied, landing nearby, her feet going into the snow. Lapis was more used to the cold, so, it didn't bother her anymore than if she was walking in sand. With the open barn door, they quickly see that Jasper didn't budge from the back of the barn, who had her back to the wall.

"She won't come out," Garnet said, already sensing that they wanted an answer.

"Come on, Jasper," Amethyst encouraged.

"I rather not," Jasper replied. She'd been in the barn since she first saw the snowstorm coming in, and after the equestrian rainstorm that pummeled her like mad, Jasper didn't want to deal with any other effects from outside. Unlike before, the lasting effects were far longer and more evident than rain, and Jasper wasn't sure how much damage the snow will do to her. She didn't share her experience with the other Gems though, not wanting her image as a powerful being wrecked because a rainstorm bested her. Call it what you will, but seeing how calm everybody else was during the storm like it was nothing, Jasper didn't want to say anything.

"Please, Jasper?" Lapis asked hopeful. Still, Jasper casually stayed where she was, still refusing to go outside. Still, Steven instead went inside, and walked over to her. He wanted everyone in on the fun, and knowing Jasper was just sitting in the barn won't help him out. Besides, just imagining how big of snow forts, snowmen, or whatever with Jasper's help was too good to pass up.

"What part of 'I rather not' do you not get?" Jasper asked annoyed.

"It's okay Jasper, really. It'll be fun! What's the problem?"

"I have no problem! I just don't want to go out, that's all. You go and do whatever in that ..." That's when Jasper goofed; she didn't know the name of the stuff outside, and the moment kinda got it out of her. Like Peridot earlier, Jasper had no clue on what snow was, and here Jasper wasn't sure how much danger it'll actually be, even without it snowing still. The pause was what revealed to them at least one big part of Jasper's reluctance.

"OOOHHH. You don't know what snow is do you?" Amethyst asked.

"So that's what - uh I mean, no!"

"Jasper, it's okay. Just take one step outside," Garnet insisted calmly, giving Jasper a clear path. Jasper did get up, yes, but she didn't go out just yet. Jasper looked ready to protest at them, but Garnet backed out into the snow, showing Jasper that nothing bad was going to happen. Jasper knew she was strong, and seeing everyone else outside in the snow, unharmed and waiting, seemed to convince her a bit more. Heck, she even saw Peridot standing in the snow. So, if they can do it with no trouble, why can't she? So, Jasper began to step outside, albeit a bit slow but surely. Soon enough, Jasper ended up five steps outside of the barn, and onto the snow. While the snow felt a bit funny on her feet, Jasper didn't feel hurt while standing on the stuff. She kicked some up even, and by then still felt alright. Jasper noted that the sky was still clear, as such no more snowfall that day. The other Gems were a bit good to see Jasper out, and not get upset with them again (some of them had that thought anyway). Soon, Garnet looked to Some of the other Gems.

"Why don't you go off and have some fun? You all had done plenty already," Garnet decided.

"Wait, we're not working on the ship?"

"We're far enough, Jasper. All we need is to work out the interior, anyway. It can wait," Garnet explained. That explanation, along with some Steven eye begging, got Jasper to change her mind on it. She was right after all, the Galactic Ray was pretty much complete apart from some smaller details inside. She might as well.

"Hey, Steven, let's get Twilight and the others. Bet they won't want to miss this," Lapis suggested. Of course, the answer was yes; be a shame to leave out their pony friends for this day of snowy fun.

"Winter fun time - GO!"

~~~~~~

It took a little bit all and all, but the whole group from Equestria and Beach City had finally got together for some fun in the cool winter. It was a breath of fresh air, mainly because the Pegesi in Equestria didn't schedule the first snow just yet. In the open hillsides, many of these proved perfect for sledding hills - their first little play activity. Steven didn't had a sled to use, but Pinkie Pie had plenty on hoof for everyone who wanted to try. Lapis and Steven were ready to go, with Pearl, Fulgurite, Pinkie, and Amethyst nearby.

"We're gonna go so fast down this. Ready for take off, pilot Steven?" Lapis asked.

"Ready for take off," Steven replied, thumbs up. Before they went though, Pearl went over to him.

"Now Steven, it's okay to get off if it gets too rough for you, okay?" Pearl advised. Steven gave a salute, ready to go. Lapis agreed too, and Amethyst was more than happy to help them in a boost.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

On the go, Amethyst pushed them both right on down the hillside. Lapis and Steven held on tight, laughing all the while. The two were going pretty quick down the hill, Pearl the only one worried about if they'll crash or tumble. However, for Amethyst, she had another idea in mind. Amethyst rushed to the hillside, and jumped up in the air. As she was, her shape shifting got her in a new outfit to match a professional snowboarder, getting her feet into a snowboard to match. Soon, the speedster was off down the hill. Amethyst, being an Earth Gem, knew how this stuff worked better than most Gems. Fulgurite was watching them go, looking a bit smug.

"Amateurs. COMIN DOWN!" Fulgurite called, following Amethyst's lead in using her given sled like a snowboard. Pinkie was excited anyway, though seeing only Pearl with her, the pink mare wanted Pearl to join in on the fun. With some Pinkie logic, Pinkie Pie got another sled out, a rounded sled that time.

"No no no no no -" Pearl tried to try, but Pinkie's mind moved a little too quick for any words to hit her, and the pink made quickly got Pearl and herself on the sled, and down the hill they went. By that point, Lapis and Steven got to the end of the hill, laughing still. The two looked back to see Amethyst and Fulgurite coming down fast. Amethyst kept going side to side in a serpentine motion while Fulgurite enjoyed the straight forward speed of her decent. Amethyst slid to a stop by the others while Fulgurite made a strong skid. Since it was snow she was on (that and she was using a sled) a lot of snow ended up knocked up and hitting them...

"Heh, sorry," Fulgurite said before they got the snow off their faces.

"WEEEEEEE!"

Pinkie was soon heard, her and Pearl spinning in circles down the hill as they went. As if sledding down the hill fast wasn't enough. Pearl tried to keep them straight but it wasn't easy to do. The two rushed past the others in a mad disk spin, until they finally stopped further away. There wasn't a contest going on, but Pearl and Pinkie did get the farthest away even with the spinning. Pinkie was stoked, but Pearl was a bit dizzy from her little trip, needing a minute.

"Whoa! Can I use that?" Fulgurite asked.

"Eh, sure, go ahead," Pearl replied in a daze, landing in the snow off the sled. Fulgurite happily took the sled and rushed to the top of the hill, Pinkie following her.

Farther away, not sledding with them, Peridot was taking note of this activity outside. Being new to winter meant that she had some things to learn about, and Peridot had her recorder in hand for her set of audio notes.

Gem log:

Seems this planet has reached a unique state locally identified as "first snow". Temperature has fallen over the course of 24 hours, and apparently this state has brought on a positive effect on the human population. These humans find enjoyment in just about anything and everything on this rock planet.

She'd figured out how the earth machine operated after a good while, so, no issues here. Nearby, Star Quartz was also looking around at the landscape, though more curious than most.

"... Is this natural, mother? ..."

"I have no idea. And stop calling me mother," Peridot replied. While technically correct as to who put her in the earth, Peridot's no mother by biological means (that'll be creepy anyway).

"... Can we join them?"

"You can if you want to," Peridot allowed, shooing her away. Star gave a small smile before going away. Peridot took a glance to Star before Peridot walked the other way with her audio log. Peridot found this to be interesting, to say the least. She was aware of ice planets, of course, but she wasn't aware a planet like Earth would end up with similar qualities. Looking behind, she saw the evidential footprints left from her walking. It wasn't an issue before but they're so prominent in this snow.

Added note; I don't recommend stealth during the first snow event; tracking too obvious.

As she went along, the green Gem continued wandering alone in the winter wonderland, taking note of her surroundings. The blue sky and white snow were a nice touch to the entire place. Incredible to think though, just yesterday the open fields were dried up green, and suddenly white snow was everywhere. Peridot felt more comfortable with the snow when ...

*WHACK!*

"What the -"

*BAM!*

"Ow! Hey!"

Guess Somebody wanted to throw snowballs about. Two already struck Peridot right in her temple, and the green Gem was a bit on edge as she tried to look frantically for whoever was doing the crazy snowball throwing. Peridot waited for something to happen again, but after a minute nothing else seemed to occur ...

Peridot spun around, and caught the culprit; he looked green himself (oddly enough), an eye patch over his right eye and his hair spiked up. In his hand, he had an awaiting snowball.

"AHA!"

Of course, the snowball whacked her right in her head, knocking her to the ground. Luckily for her, snowballs weren't too dense. The other new fella smiled a creepily big grin, Peridot just upset with him. Peridot got the snow off of her face. She didn't know how to get a snowball working, but all she did was grab a lot of snow off the ground, and readied to throw it. The snow, however, wasn't exactly packed together so all that happened was that she tossed snow off in the air. Of course, whoever was there went off, and Peridot quickly went after him.

~~~~~~

Sometime later, the other Gems were handling their own way in the winter wonderland. For Jasper, that basically meant going around and trying to get used to the sudden change in environment. She'd been on earth long enough to know things can change about time and time again, yet this sudden snowfall was out of nowhere for her. The brisk air tickled her throat with each breath, but it was a minor feeling Jasper easily ignored. Each step in the snow felt a bit odd too, the snow wrapping around her feet each time she took a step, and leaving a large footprint every time she lifted her foot. With the rain, the footprints would go away, but in snow that wasn't as quick as it sounded. She got some snow in the palm of her hand, picking it up from the ground in front of her. It didn't seem to be very dangerous.

"Having fun, Jasper?"

Jasper turned around, seeing Garnet standing there. Guess the fusion wanted to check in on her. Jasper just sighed.

"Eh, I'm fine," Jasper said. When Garnet saw the snow in Jasper's hand, Garnet began to think a little bit. That snow surely looked like a pretty good snowball. Ruby and Sapphire inside Garnet's head began to get their ideas ...

"Hey, Sapphire?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to start a snowball fight?"

"Oh yeah."

Soon, while Jasper was turned away, Garnet went down and got a pretty decent sized snowball made in her hands. with the heat from Ruby, and cooling from Sapphire made the snowball into a perfect, almost shiny sphere of snow. Just solid enough so it'll stay together, but smooth enough for it to not deal enough damage like ice would. Garnet looked to Jasper with a smile, and readied to throw the snowball. She couldn't miss ...

"What's with this stuff?" Jasper wondered. Just before Garnet could throw the snowball, both sides of her ready ... then Jasper threw the snow backwards. The large amount hit Garnet right in the face, covering her whole head in snow. Garnet's future vision didn't come into play fast enough to avoid it. It wasn't until after Jasper heard the hit did she turn around to see what happened. Funny thing too, Garnet was still in position arm wise to throw her snowball at Jasper. Adding insult to injury, Jasper smirked as well. Even if she didn't mean to, it was humorous to catch Garnet off guard.

"I'm starting to enjoy this 'snow' now," Jasper commented.

"Good to know," Garnet said, proceeding to chuck the snowball she had at Jasper's face. Not entirely what Garnet expected, but, she still had her laugh. Jasper quickly shook off the snow from her face, and by the time she looked back Garnet already had another snowball ready, looking smug as ever. They both knew what's coming up.

Immediately, Garnet jumped back far, and used a strong ground impact to make the snow into a three sixty snow fort before Jasper could even throw another snowball. Jasper didn't had a clue how snowball fights worked, but if its anything like how projectile fights work, then Jasper can get the idea fast. While in her fort, Garnet began to make up her own ammunition of snowballs to use, knowing that Jasper would draw heavy fire. Jasper also used her strength to quickly make a wall of snow as protection, following Garnet's lead on it. While Garnet had her ammo in number, Jasper's idea of ammunition had to get a little bit bigger...

Garnet glanced out from her wall of snow, seeing if Jasper was doing anything on her end. Well, seemed Jasper was busy with something, but Garnet was ready for whatever was coming her way. For Jasper, the huge Gem gotten her new ammunition above her head; a snowball the size of a car! If you got fire, it might as well be strong. Garnet got her ammunition, just before Jasper threw the huge snowball at the fort. The fort proved pointless, and Garnet had to jump aside before she could get buried in snow.

It was on!

Garnet and Jasper went at it like crazy for a good twenty minutes. If this was an actual fight, Garnet would be the sharpshooter while Jasper would be the cannon shooter. And, the area was clear on how much of a battle they were doing, snow tossed about everywhere. Whenever Jasper got a boulder of snow together, so much snow was removed the ground was clearly visible. As they were going at it though, they ended up having a little visitor; Lion. Roaming about in the new snow, the snowball fight easily caught his attention, and saw how much was going on. Seeing the smaller snowballs though, well, it was like a tennis ball to a dog. Speaking of which, Blue also was with Lion, and he two saw the snowballs fly in the air. Soon, it became a little too much for the pup to handle, and as Garnet threw one higher up, Blue gunned for it! While the dog caught the snowball with flying colors, it left him right in the line of fire, and it wasn't until too late when Jasper realized Blue was there too (I.E after she threw her cannonball of a snowball. Luckily, Lion rushed in, and with one roar the snowball exploded before it hit him. No point in any innocent bystanders to get hurt. Both Garnet and Jasper stopped for the moment, both covered in snow, as Lion picked up Blue like he was his own cub, and walked away ...

"Let's say you won," Garnet decided. Fun, sure, but the scale was a bit too high.

~~~~~~

Further away from the others, Peridot was still trying to get at her little trouble maker. Luckily for her, as per mentioned in her log, tracking was pretty easy. As she was in pursuit, she got a better sight of her target. He had a look of pure punk written all over him; leather jacket, black boots and all. He even had a bit of "bling" in the form of a large wrist band on his right wrist. By appearance, he looked about at tall as Peridot. He still had his fun with chucking snowballs back at her.

"Why you little -" Peridot suddenly stopped herself when the same person she was chasing gave Peridot another surprise. Suddenly, as he got to the top of a hill, a set of objects appeared in front of him in mid air. These objects were hexagon platforms, which he jumped along with ease to gain some height. When he got high enough, the other hexagons disappeared so Peridot couldn't follow him. Peridot felt she was being mocked with the kid's creepy smile, only making her even more angry. However, the hexagon summoning could only mean one thing ...

This guy was another Gem!

As if she knew enough Gems on this planet anyway. It didn't help that he still had ammo with him, making it rain snowballs down on her. Peridot didn't know if he was just doing this for fun or what, but Peridot wanted even and wanted it now. No Gem messes with her and gets away with it! ... What she liked to think.

"Get down here, you clo-" her remark was cut short when a well aimed snowball slammed in her mouth. Peridot spat it out, oddly not hearing a laugh come out of him, and Peridot had enough with this guy.

"Okay, I'm coming up!" Peridot yelled, rubbing and jumping as high as she could. Her training with Ruby really came into play, jumping just high enough to grab the hexagon platform. The Gem immediately tried to get her to get lost, but Peridot didn't let go. And, after seeing how high they were, didn't want to let go. They gotten themselves pretty high up, Peridot scrambling to get on the platform. The other Gem, smiling nervously now, tried to keep the hexagon balanced all the while. However, his hexagons couldn't handle an extra Gem.

Then, as soon as Peridot got herself on, the hexagon ended up disappearing ...

"You clod."

Soon, both started to plummet down to the ground below. Peridot screamed as she fell, not able to fly to save herself. Luckily though, her screams were heard by someone on the ground, and as Peridot fell, something grabbed her mid air. Peridot still was strongly tense, but soon realized she wasn't falling anymore. The other Gem though slammed into the snow, a noticeable impact hole of his body in the snow. Surprisingly though, Peridot's savior turned out to be Diopside!

"Hey Peri, nice of you to drop in," Diopside said with a grin. Obvious joke, but Peridot was just glad not to get hurt. The other Gem though got himself out in a daze, a friendly smile and a wave to Diopside.

Peridot only hissed at him. Diopside though was unnerved by the Gem's creepy smile, backing up a bit before he got out. As he turned to go, it took a split second to get a proper view, but they both caught a glimpse of his gemstone. The gemstone was located on the back of his neck (an odd spot), but something else too; a crack in the gemstone! Did that happen from the fall? No; he didn't land on his back, he landed forward so hitting the gemstone from that was ruled out. Before either one of them could ask, the Gem was ready to venture for a closer look when ...

"Peridot!"

The call was from Kyra farther away. He didn't know about the other Gem yet, but he did hear Peridot's scream. Hearing the voice though, the other Gem bolted off out of sight before Diopside and Peridot could react. A few moments later, Kyra soon appeared from the top of one of the hills, heading down to them as Peridot was placed on the snowy ground. As he was moving though, his scarred leg was kept off the ground as much as possible, almost like he either had a missing leg or a large limp in it.

"Everything alright?" Kyra asked urgently.

"What do you think - this clod out of nowhere and was throwing this stuff at me!" Peridot gripped, picking up some of the snow again. Kyra noted the extra footprints as well, leading away from them.

"Oh Rose, another one?" Kyra commented, though mostly it was to himself. They've got enough Gems to keep track of, and suddenly another one just popped up out of nowhere and already messing around with the group. Kyra just sighed, starting to move again with his three-leg walk too noticeable to ignore. Kyra sensed the two had the question on mind.

"Sensitive to cold. A bother, I'm sure."

"Oh," Diopside noted.

"Look, how about you two go off to the others? Steven wanted to meet by a frozen lake Rainbow found. I'll come back later," Kyra insisted. Kinda odd how Kyra, who wasn't even the leader of the group, was giving off orders and suggestions so freely. Still, hanging with Steven was a good idea to Diopside, and she went off to look for him. Peridot watched Diopside go in one direction, and Kyra go the other way. Not wanting to deal with that jerk, Peridot went to join Diopside, but not before adding another log to her note set.

Gem Log:

Apparently, there are other Gems outside of this Earth group that are currently evident on this planet, as one assaulted me while on my study - an Emerald I think. The Kyra agreed to investigate while I and the Diopside meet with Steven at this solid mass of ice. Personally, I'd prefer to get even with that clod soon enough.

~~~~~~

For that supposed other Gem, Kyra had to go rather far from where he found Peridot and Diopside in order to find him again. With not much wind, and clear skies, the footprints were easy to follow. The only issue was movement; Kyra's leg was still a bit sensitive to the snow, so he had to keep it off the ground as much as he could. Of course, it wasn't easy with the lots of snow around him. Either way, Kyra still wanted to figure out who else was here. Like a bloodhound after prey, Kyra brought his head down to judge the tracks a bit more. The more prominent they are, the sooner they were made. And the sooner they were made, the closer he was to whoever else was here. At the moment, the footprints were pretty details, so he was getting close to catching up. Eventually, Kyra stopped and looked around a bit more to make sure. The footprints continue straight until they turn behind a snowy hill. Kyra listened closely around the area, beginning to move off away from the footprints. He didn't ignore them though, he instead moved alongside, over the hill rather than around it.

Soon, peeking over, he spotted the Gem waiting with a lot of snowballs beside him. He expected Peridot to follow him, and got a bit of snowballs readied up again, but when he turned and ready to throw, only then did he realize Kyra was there instead. Kyra jumped forward, and quickly pinned him down before he could react to anything, his scarred hoof on his chest. Seeing the rose flower, the other Gem wasn't sure if he should fight or run. Both options would have to come up after getting out though. Kyra's eyes shown a merciless firm showing, and Kyra wasn't going to let him run off so quickly. The Gem's cheeky grin turned to a nervous one, but didn't faze off from a smile either way.

"Now, if I may; what were you doing messing around with one of the elite?" Kyra asked firmly, but he didn't answer. His lack of response left Kyra more annoyed, pressing down harder.

"I'd appreciate an answer," Kyra stated, but the Gem still didn't waver. Kyra became annoyed, but then a thought soon came across his mind. He still remembered the imprint of his body back where he found Peridot, so, Kyra began to scan his body for any gemstone. So far though, he saw nothing, but when Kyra forcefully turned him over, he saw his cracked gem on the back of his neck. With a rough sigh, Kyra picked him up with his tail, wrapping it around his feet. Kyra looked at him directly in the eyes, the other Gem a bit nervous.

"Consider lucky punishment has already been done," Kyra scoffed, before roughly throwing him into the ground. He quickly raced off out of sight, as Kyra watched with rough eyes. Still, Kyra just turned around and started to go off back from there.

~~~~~~

At the lake in question, which was a decently sized lake, completely frozen all over. Some cattail plants along some areas of the lake were the main plants that were about above the snow cover. It was clear where the lake was, which was completely flat compared to the landscape around it. Rainbow was already there, getting the snow off the ice a bit so the ice was easier to slide on. Steven was already there, with Pearl, Amethyst, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Lapis, Jasper, and Star Quartz. With some ice skates (thanks to Pinkie again), Steven got himself all set to go onto the ice. Still, Jasper, Lapis, and Star Quartz weren't sure what the deal was here. Before anyone got onto the ice, Diopside and Peridot joined up themselves.

"... What're you doing?" Star asked eventually, soon after Steven got on his skates.

"Having fun on the ice," Steven replied happily, readying to go on himself. Pearl stayed with him to keep his balance, though Amethyst, once again using her shape shifting on her feet for some ice skates, went right on the ice no problem. Surprisingly, Amethyst showed off how quick and good she actually was on the ice by going circles around the lake. The purple Gem was soon joined by Rarity.

"You're just going in circles for nothing. What's the point of this?" Jasper said, not interested in the idea at first. Amethyst soon went by her, skating backwards casually.

"Can't catch me," Amethyst suddenly said, referring to Jasper. Almost right away, Jasper

"I can to!" Jasper snapped. Amethyst went back the same way she came.

"Can not."

"Can too!"

"Prove it!"

Of course, the large Gem was ready to charge after her. Before anyone could stop her, Jasper ran out onto the ice. However, not only the ice shockingly held her up, but Jasper ended up tumbling and sliding after three steps. Amethyst easily avoided her as Jasper ended up out on the lake. Jasper tried to gain her balance, but all she did was tumble about like she lost muscle in her legs. Amethyst simply circled her with a grin, arms behind her back and sliding to the side. She ended up making one circle around her, and going just out of range ...

then Jasper fell through.

Jasper got herself out, now wet, with a glee-filled Amethyst still out of reach. Amethyst always wanted to give that a try, and she'd done it. Jasper could only pull herself out, shaking off the water as Amethyst kept on skating. Jasper stumbled time and time again on the ice, the others watching her the whole time. For Lapis, she went out onto the ice herself, having an idea in mind. Sure, Amethyst had her fun showing off, and Jasper wasn't having much of it. Lapis landed over by Jasper as she murmuring angrily to herself.

"That little runt. When I get my hands on her -"

"Don't have to. Watch this," Lapis insisted, making a quick hop into the hole in the ice. The others didn't notice apart from Jasper, as Amethyst stopped for a brief moment, looking pretty macho.

"Amethyst, watch what you're doing!" Pearl insisted. Though, as Amethyst was standing there ...

"Eh don't get so up tight, momma bird! Just having some -"

Suddenly the ice under her fell from under her, getting her under the water! A yelp got out just before she fell, the cocky Gem now soaked herself in the cold water. After a little bit, Amethyst hauled herself out, with Lapis suddenly popping up from the hole and onto the ice. All Jasper did was smile. It was a trick, sure, but Amethyst had it coming to her anyway. Some of the other Gems quietly chuckled (even Pearl). When they were done though, Twilight seemed to be thinking on about something again afterwards, looking at the holes in the ice. Applejack caught her stare after a bit.

"Somethin on your mind?"

"Well, a bit. How long did they say this snow was here?" Twilight asked. Applejack though for a little bit, hoof to chin.

"A day, why?" Applejack asked, confused.

"Would a day make ice this thick?" Twilight wondered, looking to the hole. The ice looked very thick for just one day of a cold spell. Even if magic was apart of this world, even a little bit, natural ice that thick can't just happen. Twilight flew over to the hole in the ice where Jasper fell through. The ice itself looked rather thick as she looked through, thick enough to hold a truck probably, but Twilight wasn't going to test that.

"Come on Twilight, you can act suspicious some other time," Rainbow suddenly said, flying over and nudging her side.

"But, Rainbow -"

"But nothing. Come on, you're too uptight, just chill out. You think anypony's worried about that?" Rainbow Dash pointed out, Twilight seeing the others nearby. Steven steadily went along the ice with the help of Pearl, like a mother and child. Amethyst was still zooming along the ice with her skates, with Rarity not too far away. Peridot and Star were still along the lake, Peridot looking intently at the skates. She was probably wondering if it was a limb enhancer or not. Twilight realized that Rainbow was right, but before she could say anything, Rainbow noticed somepony else coming over from the path. Coming down to them, Kyra had kept to his word and joined them at the lake. However, he wasn't alone, as he had someone on his back, running into her on his way over. Whoever was at the lake edge chilling out noticed Kyra first with his extra guest.

"Hey, you made it!" Diopside said. Kyra stopped nearby, nodding, as his guest got off his back. Steven looked back to the shore of the frozen lake, and saw who was there with him.

"Connie!"

Steven skated over to the shore slowly, balancing just long enough for him to get to solid ground. Only then did Steven fall onto the ground, but he was fine. For Connie, she had on her own winter clothes for some fun, but her mother got her in some protection against the cold. To put it simply; Connie looked completely round in her thick coat, like as if someone inflated her like a balloon. Connie was still happy to see them, though Peridot (who'd seen Connie a number of times before) wasn't sure how to react to seeing Connie like this. Steven went over, and hugged his close friend.

"Steven! Great to see you!" Connie said with a grin. Diopside also hugged her with a big grin, but Peridot was more focused on Connie's sudden growth, staring oddly right at her body.

"Has your mass increased?" Peridot asked, poking what she thought was Connie's stomach under the coat. Connie felt a little embarrassed, for sure that Peridot may have gotten the wrong idea.

"No, no, it's just my coat. Look," Connie said, unzipping her very thick coat. She had on her regular clothes underneath the stuff, so, no surprises there. Peridot still looked quite puzzled with her coat, especially when comparing her coat with Steven's smaller one.

"What exactly is this "coat" you speak of?" Peridot asked. Connie zipped up her coat again.

"It helps you keep warm. Here, try mine," Steven offered, taking off his coat for Peridot to try. Peridot took a moment to look it over before trying it on. It was a bit big on her, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was pretty warm and cozy. Peridot giggled a little bit, enjoying the feeling of the coat. However, Steven was getting a bit cold without his coat keeping him warm, but Peridot didn't look ready to give it up yet.

"Can I have my coat back?"

"You'll be fine!"

Nearby, Rarity saw the commotion going on and decided to help out. First thing she did though was remove the coat from Peridot.

"Hey!"

"Peridot, darling, don't fret. I got just the thing," Rarity assured, giving the coat back to Steven. Being a pony of fashion, the unicorn had went on ahead and made some backup coats. Since Peridot wanted one though, Rarity altered one of these and gave it to her. The smaller coat, which was pinkish with a fluffy white trimming, for Peridot perfectly. It was just as cozy as what Steven had, so there was not a complaint. As that was handled though, Kyra looked out to the others. As he was looking, he could see plenty of the ponies and Gems going about, but noted that not all of them were there.

"Had any of you seen Garnet?" Kyra asked.

"Not really, dear."

"Nah, probably busy doing some other Gem thing."

"I see. I'll go check." Kyra began to go again, but as he turned he accidentally staggered, and his bad hoof sunk deep in the snow. It felt like a freezing sting, a pained groan escaping Kyra before he readjusted himself and shook off the snow from his leg. This wasn't ignored by the element of generosity, and the unicorn quickly got out an extra scarf from her winter fanny pack (come prepared). Rather than wrap it around his neck, Rarity wrapped it around his leg, like making an extra horseshoe from scratch (not the metal kind mind you).

"That feel better?" Rarity asked. Kyra tested it out, and the scarf kept the snow off of his leg. Kyra simply nodded; it will have to do until the snow goes away. Still, he could only wonder where had Garnet gone off to ...

~~~~~~

Off further away, the Gem in question was actually enjoying the snowy weather a little differently this time around. Garnet was given a break, and Ruby and Sapphire both were actually out together (not in a fusion sense). Garnet had fun in her own light with the snowball fight, so Ruby and Sapphire took a moment to chill out, and have fun in the snow. Sapphire was having a better time of it than Ruby, but Ruby kept a good attitude. This was mainly because Ruby was a Gem of heat, while Sapphire was a Gem of ice, so, naturally an ice Gem would do better in the cold. At the moment, actually, the two were busy working on an igloo, their heat and ice working hand and hand. So far it was going fairly well, the main base being pretty good at least. Sapphire helped in the main construction of the ice igloo, until the base was fully set. Ruby helped with her own heat, to keep it from falling into itself. However, Sapphire and Amethyst weren't the only ones helping out with the igloo; Fluttershy helped a little bit with the igloo, humming a little tune as she went on. All Flutters was doing was tapping the snow in a little, but that was about it. As she was tapping at one part of the igloo, suddenly Pinkie Pie popped her head through the snow wall. A bit much, and it got snow on both of their faces.

"New window," Pinkie said with a grin, popping her head back into the hole. Fluttershy shook off the snow.

"Uh Pinkie? Igloos don't have Windows," Fluttershy said in her usual tone. Pinkie slid out from the entrance on her back.

"It's a house, every house has a window! Big ones, little ones, holes in the wall."

"Well ... I'll just patch this up," Fluttershy decided, getting snow off the ground. Before she could though, Sapphire floated down to her.

"It's alright Fluttershy. Leave it open," Sapphire told her. Fluttershy, a little embarrassed but agreed to leave it be. Soon, Pinkie poked her head through the hole again.

"What amazing future did you see when we need it open?!"

Before Sapphire could reply, Ruby (who was working on top of the igloo) suddenly began to slip and tumble. Ruby ended up falling on Pinkie's bushy cotton candy head, breaking her fall.

"That's what," Sapphire said.

"You are very good at that, Sapphire," Fluttershy complimented.

"Thank you."

"There nothing you can't see with that SUPER PSYCHO EYE!" Pinkie commented, her eyes bulging out as she said that. Ruby got off of Pinkie's head as Sapphire moved her hair aside.

"Well ... Actually, my visions aren't always."

"What do you mean? You've been doing so well."

"I know. But ... I have a friend to help decide what fate's become real and what don't," Sapphire explained. With a smile, she turned to Ruby, who rubbed the back of her head.

"You see, before I met Ruby, my life was all planned out. I saw my entire life from beginning to end, and I expected everything to happen ... When Ruby came in though, my whole life became so much more dynamic. A lot more fun."

Pinkie looked ready to cry tears of joy, with a huge smile on her face.

"AWWWWWW! That's so ADORABLE!" Pinkie beamed, hugging them both tightly. Sapphire and Ruby smiled on that, though soon after they were, somepony else began to appear from further away. Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash took the moment to see where Garnet was, only to find Sapphire and Ruby there with Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"Hey gang, the others are at the lake, you coming?"

Pinkie suddenly gave a overly dramatic gasp; she was caught up in so much before she forgot about the lake. So, before anyone said anything else, Pinkie was off like a bolt of lightning. Guess that's one pony off to the group.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. We were working on an igloo," Fluttershy said sheepishly.

"Eh, no sweat. Just head off to the lake," Rainbow said, pointing the way. Fluttershy nodded, and began to fly off on her way.

"You two coming along?"

"In a minute Rainbow," Sapphire suddenly said. Ruby didn't get the chance to say her input, but Rainbow nodded and went off. Sapphire then started to go into the igloo, signaling Ruby to come in with a wave of her finger. Ruby did come in, seeing Sapphire sit down, looking out the igloo window. Without a word, Sapphire patted the ground next to her, and Ruby sat down.

"Tell me what you see," Sapphire said. Ruby looked out the window for a bit, seeing the sky outside. Nothing seemed different until something caught her eye. Although faint, the red Gem noticed a slight silhouette of a nearby star. A regular star wouldn't be able to be seen in the daylight, but this diamond star was just bright enough to be seen. Only that galaxy can shine that brightly. Ruby and Sapphire took a moment before Ruby spoke.

"Sapphire? You think Homeworld will be too much trouble? When we go back, I mean," Ruby asked.

"We'll be alright."

Sapphire gently placed her hand on Ruby's hand on the ground.

"I promise."

Author's Note

Geesh, my imagination exploded on this chapter, by Celestia :rainbowlaugh:

This is immediately after the last chapter, so, time hadn't moved that quickly X3 Still, I've been thinking on this one a whole lot, and thought it'll be fun to just have a fun slice of life chapter again without the big plot being focused on. :twilightsmile:

Guest appearance by; Ruby and Sapphire :pinkiehappy:

Chapter introduction fast? Eh, maybe :twilightblush: and By the by, Garnet returned off-screen after her meeting, so, don't ask :derpytongue2:

And BTW, Emerald belongs to Fictional Fanatic (I think he/she waited longest since asking for Emerald's inclusion. Sorry for the wait, so, here he is :pinkiehappy:) Not the most expected or crazy of introduction, but, Fictional Fanatic gave me some vendetta on that, which helped me figure out how to introduce him. I just hope I got his behavior down pact ^^ he'll be back

Sardonyx, Welcome to the Show!

"Gooooood evening, everybody!"

Thing still were going along in a slower, more sturdy pace with the Galactic Ray. Inside the ship, Fulgurite and Pearl were working out the more technical array of the ship's controls. Can't work a ship without a control to work with. At the moment, progress seemed to be going well, as Pearl added in the final bit of the main control screen. To a Homeworld ship, this was a standard for any ship, and the Galactic Ray was no different.

"And it is done," Pearl announced.

"Sweet! Let test this baby out," Fulgurite decided, ready to begin. It was a bit quick, and before Pearl could stop her, Fulgurite got her hands on the screen. Pearl and Fulgurite waited for something to happen. A light began to flow from the screen to Fulgurite ...

*ZAP!*

"WHOA!"

Fried; the screen controllers weren't wired up properly, and ended up just zapping Fulgurite like crazy. Fulgurite quickly bolted off to get the energy out of her system, leaving Pearl in the dust. Guess it was square one on this.

Just outside, some of the others were there and waiting for the result on the test drive. Yet, Fulgurite rushed out past them in a energy-filled sprint. Pearl came out afterward, looking frustrated. The short-circuited controllers were seen from outside, as was the flashing and slight smoke.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Malfunction in the screen controller. Completely fried up."

"You can't be serious! We were so close!" Amethyst gripped. This was a bit of a problem for the group to deal with, and they were so close to finishing up the final bits of the ship! They didn't need this. However, soon, another question suddenly got to mind as Pearl looked around the crowd.

"Wasn't Steven supposed to be here?"

Before they could actually get themselves an answer, a particular portal soon appeared nearby. Rather than the door special key portal, a more rounded portal appeared close by. Seconds later, Steven and Pinkie rode Lion right on through, landing right by them. By the looks on Steven and Pinkie's faces, they both had something very exciting for them. After Lion skidded to a stop, Pinkie hopped off of Lion, hopping in place with a poster in her mouth. It showed a pony on a stage, throwing the curtains aside in a dramatic fashion.

"Look look look look look look!"

"I am, I am!" Twilight said, levitating the poster to her so she could read it.

"Talent contest for the gifted," Twilight read off.

"It's in Ponyville now! Can we see it, PLEASE?!" Steven said with a big grin, hands together.

"Steven, we have to finish this," Peridot said nearby, arms crossed. However, when they looked, Steven and Pinkie joined forces together with a double, super effective puppy dog eye stare! Peridot just stared at the two, not sure how to react to the begging eyes ...

"... Are you trying to hypnotize me? What're you doing?" Peridot asked, feeling uncomfortable with the staring.

"Now, Steven, we're practically complete with the Galactic Ray, so I don't think stopping it to ... Watch ..." Pearl trailed off with the stares aimed at her that time. Soon, looking back at the trouble, Garnet came to her decision.

"We'll let Fulgurite finish here. It's been a while since we visited Equestria," Garnet decided.

"WOO!!"

Well, that seemed rather quick on deciding, but the ship didn't had too much left on it anyway. In fact, at that point programming it to work was the only main thing left to do, and if they let Fulgurite work on it while they're away, they could get a lot done. Heck, they could be ready by the time they get back, who knows? Anyway, Pinkie and Steven both were ready to head off, and since Lion was a bit tired from the portal jump he made, Steven did the standard key portal for Equestria instead. Besides, Fulgurite can handle anymore electrical backfire anyway.

~~~~~~

Ponyville was getting to be a bit busy with the event. Over inside the Ponyville town hall, a big stage was set up for the talent show to take place; including a large red curtain streamed along to separate the front stage from the backstage working audience. It would be a bit before the contest itself could start, so not many ponies were there for the show to start. There was ponies working the event were still cleaning up and setting up the event (putting seating in place, helping the participants, etc.) by the time Steven and company had arrived (in this case the company were the ponies, Garnet, Peridot, Star, Lapis, Pearl and Amethyst), some of the participants had arrived and we're getting their gimmicks together, some of which were handling it from outside the town hall. When it came to the acts themselves, they varied from verbal acts, physical abilities, to natural magical works. Whatever the talent show's got coming for it, it was going to be pretty big none the less.

"OOOOHHHH, This is so exciting!" Pinkie beamed, hopping in place as they looked around.

"Not very interesting, if you ask me," Peridot commented, not too interested in what was going on. Still, for the time being anyway, it was something different anyway. As some were heading in to get their seats, some of the group (Garnet, Pearl, Pinkie and Steven), caught sight of something further away. Farther off, the four began to notice somepony's magical talents at work with some interesting visuals being put at play. After some tracking of it, the source of the magic visuals came from one unicorn in the middle of practice. She had pure blue fur with a very light blue mane and tail, both of which were smoothed out. Her outfit consisted of a long cape that flowed behind her, along with a large wizard hat, both of which were purple with star marks lined on them. Her skills mostly had a similarity to fireworks, or mystical pyrotechnics, but that was the overall idea of it. The unicorn didn't notice them just yet, focusing most of her work on the talents she was performing, looking pretty proud of herself.

"Cool!" Steven said. Only then did the unicorn turn and saw her crowd behind her. Amongst them, she only recognized Pinkie Pie, as the three others looked completely new to her.

"Trixie!" Pinkie said, jumping over and about to tackle her in a hug, but the unicorn's quick thinking stopped her in mid air, her aura levitating her.

"I guess the public can't wait for me," Trixie said, as she placed Pinkie down on the ground.

"You know her, Pinkie?" Garnet asked. Before Trixie can stop her ...

"Yeah, she came into Ponyville showing off her magic, she showed up Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack before Ponyville had an ursa minor come to town, and Twilight saved Ponyville, and she came back later with a evil amulet that made her super mean, and she made my mouth go bye-bye, and Twilight saved the day, and they both worked together afterwards, and did super duper magic tricks for Celestia!" Pinkie's rambling was pretty fast, though didn't show any real anger towards Trixie, despite apparently removing her mouth.

"... Wha?" Pearl said, about as confused at Steven was. Pinkie inhaled, but Trixie conjured up a sock, and shoved it in her mouth before she could explain Trixie's involvement again. She didn't need to be reminded again of her problems in the past, but her attention quickly came around to the Gems.

"Apart of the contest, Trixie?" Garnet asked.

"Of course! My magic will win for sure, no question," Trixie said, a bit of ego being shown on her part. If this was anything like those griffins back at the Rainbow Falls, then it might not go very well for them.

"Well, we Gems have some magic too," Pearl stated.

"So I've heard. Of course, your magic is weak compared to my magic," Trixie boasted, a hoof to her chest with a smirk on her face. Now it was getting annoying with her.

"And how would you know? Had you seen any Gem magic before?" Garnet asked, arms crossed. Still, Trixie brushed her hair aside, feeling confident with herself about her own magic. Being a unicorn meant she was naturally born with the stuff, and to her that made her naturally better than the Gems. Before Trixie could answer though, another pony soon came out and looked to her. She was well aware of the gems at that point, so, seeing them wasn't too much of a shock to her.

"Excuse me, the talent show will be starting in a few minutes," she reminded. Trixie nodded, and began to go.

"Well, Gems, I'd be happy to test my skills to you after I win. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get ready," Trixie said with a grin, before heading in to join the others. The mention of 'testing the skills' got Pinkie and Steven thinking a bit. Suddenly, they both smiled very big, and looked to the other Gems. Garnet and Pearl glanced to each other before Pearl answered.

"Eh, I don't think we want to get involved that deeply in this."

"Come on please?! Everypony can see how awesome you really are!" Steven insisted.

"Yeah, you can do so many super duper fun things! You can fuse, grow, shrink, stretch, fight big monsters, make sweet music -" Pinkie inhaled deeply "fly, control water, beat down rocks, all sorts of awesome stuff!" While most of the other stuff was just blabbering on Pinkie's part, Pearl seemed suddenly interested on the fuse part. She didn't consider that part of this deal, and if they did enter ...

Suddenly, an equally big smile appeared on her face, stars in her eyes. Garnet looked over to Pearl, sharing the same reaction as Steven and Pinkie. All Garnet did was smirked for her answer.

~~~~~~

After that was fully decided, the talent contest was going to begin. The Gems and ponies had gotten their seats around the front, just a row or two back from front row. They left a few seats open for Pearl, Garnet, Steven and Pinkie. The mane six and crystal gems were seated and waiting for the show to begin, along with other ponies of Ponyville who had shown up as well. However, before things could get underway, Steven and Pinkie got right into their seats, Steven right next to Lapis and Amethyst while Pinkie sat down by Fluttershy. However, Garnet and Pearl didn't seem to show up.

"Where's Garnet and Pearl?" Lapis asked.

"You'll see! It's a surprise," Steven said with a wink. The others weren't sure, but before it could continue, another pony came upon the stage. She had tannish fur accompanied with a wavy mane and tail of white. She had on a pair of glasses, and a turtle neck with a green fluff at front. Her cutie mark seemed to be a scroll wrapped in blue ribbon. As she got to the center of the stage, the pony cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlecolts! Welcome to the Talent Contest of the gifted. We hope you all enjoy these ponies and their special talents they have for you all," she said. For the next couple of minutes, the same pony continued on with the event, and different sorts of ponies came forward with different acts of their own. The group sat down through about five different sorts of performances, each one with something different to offer. The Gems were enjoying it quite a bit, yet Star and Peridot's reaction were mostly confusion, and For Peridot one can add boredom. One performance actually involved a trio of clown ponies, doing a good job at making the audience laugh as clowns should. Peridot still was rather confused on the whole thing, as the clowns pretty much acted like idiots.

"What is this sort of entertainment?" Peridot asked, pretty confused. Amethyst, who was still laughing, gave Peridot a friendly nudge.

"It's clowns, Peri, what more do you need to know?" Amethyst asked, still laughing. As they looked, one of the clowns tripped over a dropped bananas while holding a banana cream pie (we know where this is going). With a clumsy step, the clown pony slipped head over heels on the banana, the pie flying into the air. The pie, as if on a determined course, landed directly on Peridot, slamming her face! Her head was covered in banana filling, whipped cream and pie crust. Amethyst couldn't help herself in her laughing, as the pie tin fell off of Peridot's face, and on her lap. Her eyes popped open, showing an annoyed expression. Star looked over to Peridot.

"... Are you okay? ..." Star asked.

"Not. A word. About this," Peridot stated, as Amethyst scooped up some of the pie with her hand and ate it up. Pinkie suddenly popped up, and licked off the rest in a cartoonic single swoop.

"Yummy!"

"Eww."

As gross as that was, at least Peridot didn't had to clean up the pie off her by herself. As the clowns finished up their act (and after the crowd had calmed down), the pony went to her list.

"And now for our next performance. A visitor to Ponyville in her own acts of magic ability, let's all give a warm welcome to Trixie Lulamoon!" She announced. The Gems were waiting for her, but the Mane Six were left slightly flabbergasted. Trixie? The same unicorn who came back the last two times to cause trouble for them?

"she doesn't mean the Trixie, does she?" Rainbow whispered.

"I think she does," Rarity whispered back. Pinkie shushed them both as the unicorn in question went on stage with her dramatic firework display to kick things off. Trixie Lulamoon had made her appearance. The entrance was impressive, to say the least, but Trixie had other acts in mind for her performance.

"Thank you, thank you. Prepare to be astonished!" Trixie announced, as she got her horn glowing. The crowd wasn't sure what the unicorn was planning to do, awaiting for the act. After a while, Something began to shoot out from the unicorn's horn; a sort of magic ball in the shape of a star. Tons more followed, as they twinkled up inside the town hall like an interior star chart. Everypony/everybody looked right up to the sky, as Trixie then added an extra tid bit to her array of "stars". With some focus, Trixie then launch a white small beam into the air, and it started to bounce around the stars. The light began to connect the dots into the shape of what appeared to be a sort of large dragon. Soon after it looked done, the dragon began to fly around inside the town hall under Trixie's command, leaving behind stardust which sparkled down on everyone. The dragon looped around above Trixie for a bit, before it turned into a rounded ball, which exploded into a display of shooting stars (none of which did damage). The act was rather decently done, and wasn't the longest act ever, but the crowd gave their applause, as Trixie bowed, cape spread.

"Looks like somepony practiced," Rainbow commented.

"Yea. Yeah she did," replied Twilight. The announcer congratulated Trixie on a fine performance, as the blue unicorn went on backstage. Waiting there just out of sight from the audience was Garnet and Pearl, whom Trixie winked to as she went by. Still, Pearl and Garnet had their idea together.

"Not bad," Garnet stated. Soon, Garnet turned to Pearl.

"Pearl. Let's do it," Garnet said. Pearl was surprisingly happy with what they were going to do, almost ready to cry.

"Don't cry, Pearl," Garnet stated, Pearl wiping some stray tears away from her face. It was their turn, as they both heard the announcer pony.

"And now, a last minute entry for the group. Two Gems with heart and magic, let's hear it for Garnet and Pearl!" Now only Steven and Pinkie weren't surprised, and more excited than most. As for the others, they were more surprised to hear them in the contest than when Trixie showed up. Garnet and Pearl walked right out on the stage, ready to begin. As they were, the Gems seemed to get a similar idea; what are those two doing?

"Synchronize!" Garnet said, the gemstones on both of her hands beginning to glow. Pearl's gemstone started to glow as well as everypony waited to see what the two had in mind. The Gems and Mane Six suddenly knew what they're doing; they're going to fuse! The only Gem who actually knew who they were transforming into was Amethyst, who didn't look as bewildered as the rest. The fusion dance Pearl and Garnet were doing was a crowd eye grabber in and of itself, but the act itself had barely even started. Soon, both Pearl and Garnet began to glow, and their fusion body started to take stronger shape. Of course, the fusion was taller, not in the same league as Carnelian, but tall enough to dwarf everyone around. Her head had a hairstyle matching Peridot, but smoothed out. The outfit was perfect for an on-stage magician, with a tuxedo with white gloves on each of her four arms. Like Carnelian though, she had four eyes with the gemstone where Garnet's third eye would normally be, though her eyes had some visors in front of them. As she appeared, an orange aura acted like her own curtain, as she moved it aside.

"Goooood evening, everybody!" She announced, the orange aura turning into bright butterflies before they disappeared, already awing the audience. This fusion was ready to go with her act, and wasted no time with her forehead gem glowing, and conjuring up a magician's top hat.

"Oh, what have we here?" She smiled, reaching one hand into the hat. After a little bit, she got a hold of something. Everyone thought it would be a classic bunny rabbit, but she surprised them when she ended up pulling out something entirely different; Peridot! A bit of a surprise when the Gems saw Peridot wasn't in her seat anymore.

"What the?!"

"Just play along sweetie," the fusion said, her hands large enough for Peridot to stand comfortably. As she readied herself, the others in their seats were still rather surprised.

"Whoa, who's she?" Steven whispered.

"I don't know, but I like her," Pinkie replied. The fusion placed one finger right on top of her head, and with a third hand, got a hold of Peridot and made her spin in place. She spun so fast it was a pure blur, but Peridot suddenly appeared in her other hand, the spinning object turning into a green top. Guess Peridot turned to Peri-top. Still, Peridot seemed rather dizzy from the spinning, her eyes in circles, but even she was impressed with the top coming from nowhere, even if it was Gem magic she could be using. She then got out a small handkerchief, and covered Peridot with it. When she pulled it away, Peridot was gone again! She showed that she indeed vanished by showing the handkerchief to everyone, and soon moved it back to where Peridot was seating. Only then when she pulled it away did Peridot appear back in her seat (upside down, but in her seat none the less).

"... What just happened?" Was all Peridot could say.

"And now, let's see who else will join the lovable Sardonyx tonight," the fusion said in glee. Well the name was figured out anyway. Sardonyx took the handkerchief, and blew into it in a way one would blow a balloon (which was what happened to the handkerchief). The new white balloon soon ended up fully inflated. With a quick motion, the one turned to two, and Sardonyx popped them both. Suddenly, Steven and Pinkie were there on her palm, again surprising the others. Pinkie and Steven were psyched to be apart of the act, hopping in place as Sardonyx readied herself.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

"Was I worth the wait, Steven?" Sardonyx asked with a wink. While both stood in one hand, the two hands with Garnet's gemstones on them hovered beside them. Suddenly, she clapped said hand, Steven and Pinkie suddenly turning into large bouncy balls with their respected faces and colors. Sardonyx started to juggle both of them for a little bit before throwing both high in the air. Lapis was a bit worried, ready to fly in, but Sardonyx already had herself a safety net she pulled from her hair, and caught both. After one bounce, they suddenly popped back to normal.

"WOOO!!" Steven and Pinkie beamed after they were done. While letting Steven and Pinkie down, Sardonyx signified the end of her act with a on-stage bow. The crowd roared in applause, including the Gems, as Sardonyx glowed and split back into Garnet and Pearl, the act over. Steven and Pinkie went back to their seats, giddy as ever. Sardonyx may not have been as dazzling as Trixie, but her act was just as enjoyable to watch just the same.

~~~~~~

As the contest continued on, the ending came around quick, before anypony realized it. Everyone lined up on the stage soon after it was all done, Garnet and Pearl taller than the other contestants. Trixie was standing right by them both, feeling rather confident in herself. As far as the voting came about, some of them were a bit more obvious than others (two bits to who can guess why), as the announcer went to her results.

"And winner of our Talent Contest of the gifted goes to ..." The mare took a minute to look. "Well, looks like we have a tie ladies and gentlecolts; Trixie Lulamoon, and the tag team of Garnet and Pearl!"

The crowd gave their applause to both winners, while Trixie seemed mildly surprised that her grand magic came to a tie with these newcomers. Garnet and Pearl felt happy either way, not just because they did a good job in the contest, but to play out as Sardonyx again (especially Pearl). After that was announced, the mare turned to them both.

"Since you both won the contest, as a last performance of the night, you two shall work on the finale together," she announced. That was a bit different, yet it only made sense for everypony there. Being in such a happy place, sharing the winner's circle made plenty of sense to do.

"Let's do it," Garnet said, adjusting her shades. Pearl was ecstatic with the news, and as for Trixie, it'll give her more time to show off her magic so, she might as well try it out. The other contestants moved aside, as everypony and everybody waited for the final act.

Of course, Garnet and Pearl needed to fuse into Sardonyx again before anything, so the two went right to it with their fusion dance. As they were, Trixie got her magic working to make more of the "stars" in the room. With stars as fancy ambience, Sardonyx made her comeback, and reappeared center stage.

"Somepony want an encore?" Sardonyx asked with a wink. Sardonyx kneeled down, and got Trixie on the palms of her hand. As Trixie was being lifted, the stars went in a spiral above them. Sardonyx then conjured up a magician top hat again the stars ended up going right in it, as Sardonyx opened the hat, scooping them up like a net. Closing it up, Sardonyx shook up the hat before reopening it, just to have a magical bunch of stardust pour out into the air in sparkling sand. Trixie gave her one Beamer shot through the star sand, and it came out as a magnificent flying comet, sprinkling the star sand on everypony and everybody to give them a little sparkle in their fur and hair. As the comet went by, Sardonyx easily caught it, and started to juggle it for a bit before sending it high in the air A quick hit while going upward got the comet into a spiral, the dust spinning around from it. Trixie helped with some extra starlight to add to the spinning piece, until Sardonyx grabbed one end, and got it above the crowd. The grand end result was, to put it simply, the entire universe gently swirling above everypony. The sheer beauty of the sparkling presentation above them was completely amazing, and Sardonyx gently began to spin it around to add an extra effect to it. With the 'universe' up in the sky, everypony gave them both a huge round of applause, as the two had signified the end of their performance with a bow.

~~~~~~

"Good game."

Garnet and Trixie met up nearby the town hall soon after the contest was over and done. It was a bit quieter, and the other Gems had already gone home so it was just her and Trixie.

"You know what? Yeah, good," Trixie replied with a nod of her head. Garnet and Trixie shook hands (or rather, shook hand and hoof). It was a fair contest overall anyway.

"Didn't expect such magic from ya, though id consider this good to train even more. Believe in me when I say, you won't be so lucky next time," Trixie said with a wink. Garnet could tell the future on that fact, but, she didn't want to damper anything for her, so she just smiled.

"Can't wait to see it," Garnet replied. With that said and done, Trixie and Garnet both went off on their separate ways, Garnet getting out her key. The contest was fun, and gave Garnet and Pearl the chance to use Sardonyx after the longest time. Still, while the contest was fun, it was time to get their minds back in check.

They had a ship to finish, and a trip to make.

Author's Note

The picture is necessary X3 Ending rushed? ... yeah :twilightblush:

I'd happily like to thank Dilos1 for basically telling me how to ^^ I wanted to get Sardonyx in here somehow, and Dilos1 got the idea that I needed :pinkiecrazy: so sue me - I like giant orange performer lady :3

"Like me, you say?~"

:twilightoops: ...

Preparation

With his nose to the ground, and got on the trail, Blue was on the scent of something in Beach City. When it came to interaction with his owners, their busy schedule with the ship left him with free time, and he had plenty of that when his nose caught something interesting. Moving along, his scent tracking lead him further and further away from the Beach House, but moving just outside of the city, keeping along the coastline. Wherever he was going, the scent was keeping him on a strict trail as he went. Blue only stopped for a brief moment when his nose bumped into a small rock, and he looked ahead.

The dog's scent had lead him to a seaside cave, nothing too out of the ordinary except for what Blue had found. Just inside the cave, the dog had discovered a particular object fully exposed, looking like a white diamond. There wasn't any sort of writing on it, or anything special; just a diamond. Still, Blue took the time to pick it up and began to head on back to show the others.

~~~~~~

As for the Gems back at the ship, the project was just minutes away from fully completing itself. The controls were working out fine, the whole ship was tested and functional, and all that was left to do was gather up what supplies the Ponies and Steven need. Even if she was still aware of it, Lapis didn't tell the others about it yet, not wanting to halt any progress until later. Besides, she could try to handle it herself and the others wouldn't have to bother themselves with it. Speaking of Lapis, she wasn't around at the moment to help pack up, leaving the other Gems having to handle it (which wasn't that much of trouble). The supplies mostly consisted of food, water, and other items just in case if things did end up a bit rough on their way there.

"We have everything?" Fulgurite asked. Pearl took a second to look over the list of items she had made.

"Think so; we should be ready to go," Pearl decided. Steven, who was nearby the barn, was happy that everybody was ready, but the problem still stood with his dad. Of course, as he was sitting there, his bummed out expression hadn't gone unnoticed. None of the Gems or Ponies had noticed just yet, but one character had noticed, and soon popped up behind the bummed out kid. The draconequus shared a similar expression on his goat face.

"Aww, somepony down in the dumps today?" Discord asked, only his head and lion paw visible from where he was.

"Yeah."

"Daddy not letting you?" Discord assumed.

"Yeah." Steven really wanted to go to Homeworld, and help the Gems out. He didn't do much to help with Sombra, and he wasn't going to get kicked out of this one, but Greg Universe was his only hurdle left before he will go off. He'd been trying, but, it wasn't working well for him. Discord fully appeared, sitting down right beside him. The draconequus thought for a moment or two, his talon hand scratching his chin. The Gems had done plenty on the project, it's about time for Discord to give his own contribution to the team. Discord playfully fluffed Steven's hair.

"About time for the draconequus to lend his talon and paw. Let's go have a chit-chat with Greg," Discord decided, picking up the little kid. Steven didn't know what Discord had in mind, but maybe the spontaneous draconequus can figure things out. Before anybody had time to notice, the draconequus soon was off with Steven.

Almost seconds later, the others began to hear someone starting to rush over to them. When they looked, it was Blue, but with the diamond in his teeth. Blue didn't stop until he was right in front of them, placing the object down at their feet. It was Fulgurite though that went on to pick it up first, eyes wide.

"Well, is this a interesting find," Fulgurite noted, moving it around in her hand to get a good look at it.

"Wait! Is that -" Peridot said.

"I think it is."

"what is it?" Asked Amethyst.

"This is a communicator for Homeworld, that's what it is! Wonder if it still works," Fulgurite wondered. the news struck whoever was there rather hard, and left them shocked, especially to the Homeworld Gems. This device can do that? However, before anyone can go on any further about it, somepony else - Kyra to be exact - soon went over. He still had on the scarf Rarity gave him to deal with the cold snow, but other than that, he was all the same.

"What's going on? Something the matter?" Kyra asked, moving over to them to investigate.

"Not at all, Kyra." Garnet said. It was then though that Kyra saw the communicator in Fulgurite's hands. Kyra's attention went huge upon seeing it.

"What do you got here?" Kyra asked, giving it a look over.

"It's a Homeworld Communicator," Peridot said in glee. Kyra, using his tail, picked it up from Fulgurite's hands and held it in place to look it over, looking like he was thinking about something.

"You can contact Homeworld with this?"

"A older concept, but indeed you can. Say, how about we just contact them and know we're coming," Peridot insisted, reaching for it. However, Kyra pulled it away.

"I apologize, but I don't believe it necessary. The communicator is probably weakened by now, and if this is an older model then it might not work. Excuse me for mentioning it," Kyra explained, continuing to look it over.

"Probably, but I'm sure we can repair it if it is damaged," Pearl considered.

"Uh, if I were to be so bold, but I'll try at it myself. Saints such as yourselves shouldn't trouble yourselves with smaller things such as this. I'll notify you on the outcome later on," Kyra insisted, actually starting to move away with the communicator. While the offer itself was pretty decent enough, Kyra didn't seem to be the technical type all and all. That got a few thinking ...

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Discord's little teleportation got himself and Steven in the right spot. If they needed to talk to Greg, just stop by the car wash. Indeed, the man in question was on lunch break, chilling out on a beach chair and enjoying a sandwich. However, the two ended up teleporting on the car wash roof, so, it was a place where Greg didn't expect them to be. So, what is a draconequus to do?

Drop Steven off.

Literally.

"OOF! What the - Oh! Steven!"

"Hi dad."

Steven went off his now sore dad, as Discord flew down to their level. As far as interaction between Greg and Discord had been, it was a small one so he still wasn't sure what Discord was capable of just yet.

"Afternoon, mister universe. Nice to see you," Discord said, patting the bad area of Greg's head.

"Uh ... Hi there. You must be Discord?" Greg asked sheepishly.

"and you must be the one denying this young lad his little trip? That right?" discord asked, pinching Steven's cheek. Greg just sighed.

"This again? Steven, how many times have I told you you're not leaving Earth?" Greg asked, arms crossed. However, Discord had a calculator in his hand, and actually got an answer on it.

"I'd have to say twenty three times, moreover," Discord said, showing the calculator.

"But Dad, I have to go, we've been working on this for weeks!"

"I know, I know, but I'm not having my son fly off into space -"

"Worried about safety, are we?" Discord suddenly butted in, popping up behind his back.

"Of course! I don't know what's going to happen up there!"

"You should talk to Garnet about that one, and she's perfectly happy to bring Steven along for the trip," Discord revealed, patting Steven's head.

"You're not saying that so I change my mind, are you?"

"Oh, now why would I do that? If you don't believe me, go talk to Garnet herself. Besides, you are aware of who's gallivanting off with him, right?" Discord brought both paw and talon forward, into fists at first. "We got your powerhouse of a Gem group -" Discord paw opened to show the Crystal Gems "- and we have the lovable elements of harmony -" Discord's talon opened to show the mane six. "- how much more safety and security do you really need than that?" Greg realized he had a point; all that protection for Steven while he was away.

"I don't know. How long are you're going to be gone for? ..."

"Garnet already had that covered; give or take you'll have him back by next spring," discord added in, flying backwards slowly by them both.

"Dad, please, I promise I'll be very careful while I'm away, and I promise I'll come right back home when we're done," Steven insisted, hands together in hope. Greg needed a minute or two to think it over. Technically speaking Steven had left Earth when off in Equestria, and he came back better than ever. In the end of it, after a long moment of silence, Greg made his decision.

"... Oh, who am I to stand in your way?" Greg finally said. That got Steven smiling the biggest smile, as he hugged his dad. Greg was going to miss him through the winter, but with how many are going with him, he was for sure he'll be alright. Discord looked on with a smile of his own. All he did was give himself a high five for a good result.

~~~~~~

Farther away, Kyra was still going on his own way with the diamond wrapped securely around his tail. He couldn't go into the barn with it, though he'd prefer that. Instead, he brought the diamond back to where Blue had found it; the seaside cave. It was a mere fluke for him to come across the cave again, but it was isolated still anyway, so it'll have to do. As he neared the cave, the snow was replaced with sand, and Kyra removed the covering on his scarred leg soon afterward, safe to expose it. Kyra looked around to make sure he was alone. As far as he was sure of, he seemed alone all and all. So, he went right into the cave. The cave itself was small, shallow but wide, and plenty of room to maneuver so it was a good spot for Kyra. Of course, unaware to Kyra, he had some company; Peridot. Curious with his supposed plan, she had to check it out for herself. Peridot stayed just as the mouth of the cave as Kyra sat down.

With the opening of his cut hoof, Kyra got one end in his grip, and with a small twist the object glowed! Guess Kyra had a sly tongue underneath his gentleman attitude. The object began to move upward all on its own, shining bright and showing a projection screen. The screen looked like three diamonds on top of one another, and soon showed a screen of what looked like another Gem. She looked like Pearl in many a sense, but her gemstone was on her chest, her skin and clothes yellow, and having a one piece suit with transparent flair. This Pearl seemed more formal and serious in appearance, like a guard at his post or something like that.

"This is the Yellow Diamond control room," the Pearl stated. Kyra was undeterred, as Peridot stayed out of sight, but an eye on him as Kyra cleared his throat.

"I know that. Now, is Yellow Diamond there, or is she not bothering herself with me again?" Kyra asked.

"Who authorized you to make this call?" The Pearl asked, her expression unchanged.

"I did; I wanted to talk to her."

"That's no excuse to use the direct Diamond communication channel."

Before Kyra or the other Pearl could continue, another voice off screen suddenly spoke.

"Pearl." The voice was enough to spoke the yellow Pearl into submission.

"Y-Yes my Diamond?"

"Why is someone using this channel?"

"I don't know - I was just about to tell him that -"

"I'll take it from here."

The screen soon shifted as a large yellow hand moved the screen so she was visible. She did look different than the other Gems met so far; yellow skin and a notably longer neck. Her eyes were more prominent with eye lining, and her hair was in a similar moon shape. Her gemstone was placed on her chest, like the other Pearl was, and her yellow and black outfit clearly shown authority over where she was. This was Yellow Diamond. At the moment though she didn't put much interest, looking away at another touchscreen with current information. Kyra expected much from her apparently, and Peridot was left speechless...

"Who is this?" Yellow Diamond asked, not showing interest at first.

"I think you already know who I am. Yellow Jacket." Yellow Diamond suddenly paused on hearing that alias. It was Kyra's own personal nickname for her, weather she liked it or not. Yellow Diamond turned her head to see Kyra in the communication call. Still, her expression of authority and firmness still remained despite the surprise.

"Kyra. Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Likewise. And by the sound of your other slaves, things hadn't changed much since the last excursion," Kyra noted.

"Why should they?"

"Why? Because I demand satisfaction; I'm going to that planet, and when I do, and if nothing had changed from before ... Then I'll take care of you myself," Kyra explained, his voice turning into a growl at the end of it. The Pearl nearby gasped in surprise, quickly turning to Yellow Diamond. Even with that, she didn't seem very fazed.

"A pathetic organic creature like you can't defeat me." Yellow Diamond mocked.

"Well this pathetic organic creature had fought and beat you diamonds at that duel already, and I have the scar to prove it!" Kyra showed Yellow Diamond his deep cut on his leg. "The only reason I didn't beat you out of those three is because you never showed up! Rather sit on your fat butt and hide from me?"

Yellow Diamond soon looked angry.

"The only reason I never showed up, was because I don't have to deal with a creature like you! I don't know how you convinced the other Diamonds, but I have more important things to worry about then to fight some draconian pony. Why should you care anyway about a planet off your own; we tried your planet, and it was too inefficient!"

"The same reason the great lord Rose cared; the protection of life from the satanic such as yourself! It was your cruel behavior towards other life that -"

"I've heard enough! You've wasted enough of my time with your presence. Besides, you don't know how to get over here."

"And suppose I do, Yellow Jacket?"

"Yellow Diamond! If your going to sit there and insult me, get that right at the very least!" Yellow Diamond snapped. Kyra though just sighed, smiling.

"Why, it fits you; you behave just like a queen yellow jacket; sitting around getting fat while everyone does everything for you."

Yellow Diamond looked ready to explode in anger, as evident on her face. Kyra expected as much from her, but as he glanced behind him, he caught a tiny glimpse of Peridot just out of range ...

"I think I've made my point. Detonate when ready, see you soon," Kyra noted, turning off the communicator himself. The draconian pony turned around and moved outside the cave as the communicator began to turn red...

Just seconds after leaving, his back to it, the communicator suddenly exploded, a huge exploded cloud of dust shooting out the cave past Kyra. Peridot couldn't believe her ears! However, Kyra looked directly at her, quickly moving right next to her, eye to eye.

"Not. A word. About this."

Peridot didn't speak, but could only nod; if what Kyra said was true, then he was much more dangerous than the Gems have him credit for. Kyra roughly pushed her aside, and began going back.

Peridot could only hope they don't get arrested on arrival ...

Author's Note

Yeah, not too much is going on here with the Gems and junk, but we got the green light now ^^ Hurray for Steven!

Sorry this one's so short; it's one of those 'tying the loose ends' deals to get everyone prepared, and it was a bit too hard for me to get the full idea without making little sense of it (the diamond communicator was supposed to go on much longer than this in build up and reaction :facehoof:) Still, I'll make up for it ^^

Beyond the Stars

Well, they've been working on it for weeks, and now with the finishing touches had finally been done. The great Galactic Ray had finally been finished, and the Gems and Ponies were ready to go. In the morning light, the ship in all of it's glory stood strong as the light beamed off the clear smooth surface. Like a resting plane in an airfield, the only thing on the Galactic Ray was some small bit of snow, which didn't bother it at all in terms of function. Still, it was good that nothing bad happened, and everything was fixed. All the Gems and Ponies can't wait to get rolling, especially a selected few. For Garnet, this was very exciting with what will come out of this, if everything goes well. Many of the Gems in their group hadn't seen Homeworld in thousands of years (apart from Jasper and Peridot respectively), so how much had changed since last time. Heck, the Ponies, and even a Gem or two, hadn't seem Homeworld ... well, ever. So, this could be a good experience in discovery if she ever saw one. The Mane six were excited to extent too; now given permission directly by Celestia, things were looking bright. Since meeting with the Gems, the idea on seeing their home planet was nothing short of exciting. This also goes for Steven, and by account Amethyst. Both strictly Earth Gems, the two had not seen Homeworld ever for as long as either lived. This also meant that they had to learn a thing or two once they show up; at least the others had some experience on Homeworld so they knew a bit on what they're getting into.

With the sun peaking up for the cool morning, the number of Gems, Ponies, and some of their friends from Beach city all gathered by the Galactic Ray in order to see the group off. With the Mane Six, and most of the Crystal Gem group on one side, the only ones out of the group were Flint and Jade, but they were still there to see them off. It was the least they could do. For the others, it consisted of Celestia, Luna, Greg, Connie, Discord, and a few others from Beach city close by who got the news. It was going to be a rather long trip, and if it'll take all winter, than they won't see their faces until the snow melts away from Beach City. Steven had on his spacesuit, holding his helmet to his side, yet the rest of the Gems didn't really need that. The Mane six were pretty much the same with their respected spacesuits, all hyped and ready for takeoff. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had their spacesuits with extra wing attachments.

"It's nice for you all to come see us off," Lapis said.

"We wouldn't miss it, dear. We wish you the best of luck in your journey," Celestia said.

"Thank you, princess," Garnet said with a smile. It will be good to hear that. Connie and Steven both had a moment alone nearby.

"Well, I guess you'll be going?"

"Yep. Don't worry, I'll be back by the spring, I promise," Steven assured her with a wink and a thumbs up. Connie shared the smile, though wished they could have some fun for the winter. Before things get too bummed out, Discord tapped her shoulder. When Connie turned, Discord dropped something in her hand, and gave a similar item to Steven. The object looked like a small box, a small button on it.

"What's this?"

"Just a little something for you to keep connected as all. Click that cute little button there," Discord insisted. Curious, Connie clicked her button, and the other box by Steven started to beep. Steven clicked it, and suddenly a screen popped up on both ends. It was basically Discord's version of a Facetime phone call.

"Now you two can chit-chat from light years away," Discord said with a wink. Surprisingly generous of him, but Discord wasn't going to see the kid for the next winter, so, he might as well give him that regard at least. However, Celestia had seen what Discord did, and went over to him. She signaled Twilight to come over as well.

"I see you have some of those on hoof, Discord?"

"Oh, I know where you're going with this," Discord chuckled. One snap of his talon, and the two had the same communicators as well ... and a clock, which landed by Steven. The clock looked more oval, and colored kind of funny but it was still a electric clock alright. Guess something had to keep track of how long they were gone for anyway when off of Earth's orbit. Besides, who knew how slow or fast the orbit was on Homeworld anyway? After getting their own communicators, Celestia turned to Twilight.

"Twilight? I'll always be here if you need me. Don't be afraid to contact me on your progress while you're there, okay?" Celestia advised. The younger alicorn understood Celestia's advice, and nodded her head.

"I promise, Celestia," Twilight assured. Celestia brought a wing around Twilight, and gave her apprentice a goodbye hug, which Twilight returned the gesture. As they were doing that, Garnet looked on with a smile. But, then came Flint and Jade, who were still standing away from the other Gems.

"Last chance to change your mind?" Garnet offered.

"I've already made it clear, Garnet; I refuse to return to that planet, and that's final," Flint firmly stated, arms crossed. Jade, though not saying it in words, just nodded in agreement. Garnet was hoping for them to at least consider, but if it was still no over these past couple weeks since starting, then she couldn't change their mind now. Besides, there's a ton already heading off so she's got plenty to work with. Still, not every Gem was going aside from Flint and Jade; they needed some group to keep Earth good while they're away. In this case, Lion, Blue and Star Quartz were picked to stay, though Star herself felt a little bit out of place for that.

"... You sure it is best? ..." Asked Star Quartz. Garnet got Peridot's attention for Star's answer.

"Positive; we need Gems to stay here and keep track of Earth, right?" Peridot explained. She already gone over this with Star Quartz, though the Gem in question (although not showing it) felt that she should be more helpful with them to Homeworld. Either way though, if she can't go, then very well.

The Gems and Ponies were all ready to go at this point, but as they were, much further away, Kyra was keeping watch over what was happening. Sitting by the trees, he was just out of sight from everyone there. With Celestia and Luna there as well, it was probably not a good idea for him to go out. But with that, he couldn't go on the ship to join them. Secretly though, Peridot was keeping an eye out for him; with what had just happened yesterday with Yellow diamond, they didn't need for a supposed criminal of the Homeworld Diamonds coming with them. Maybe they might get lucky, who knows? Still, no one else bothered to ask (thank the stars), and were about ready to head off on their big trip. There was a couple more goodbyes, and farewells shared with everyone else as the Gems and Mane Six ventured inside the ship. Course, Steven couldn't leave without one goodbye hug to Connie, which will be the last one for a while.

Inside then ship, the technical Gems quickly went right to the main control room. There was a number of seats for the group to settle, much like any human-made spaceship would have but with more room and more futuristic tech to it. Right at the controls, Peridot, Fulgurite, and Pearl immediately began to start up the ship for the big takeoff. Sensing the takeoff from outside, Celestia and Luna got the crowd to move back a bit as they heard the spaceship start up. The rockets outside started to glow, and the loud humming of the engine started to increase. The techy Gems worked out more of the activation without any trouble, more of the ship coming alive inside and out as they did. Each flick of a switch, each click of the touchscreen brought more life to the Galactic Ray, and the anticipation and excitement on some of them was strongly evident.

"Activating turbulence," Peridot said, moving a few switches upward, the rockets outside igniting. Pearl turned back to the others.

"Strap in everyone," Pearl advised. Steven strapped himself in, and so did the other ponies. By the time everyone did, they could feel the ship start to move a little bit. Fulgurite clicked up two different buttons, and those two activated the large wings, which actually started to flap like an actual manta ray. Each flap was strong, and got the ship off the ground time and time again as it gained some speed. The faster it went, the easier the spaceship could get off the ground. The Galactic ray aimed upward, and the people outside watched the ship take off into the air at breakneck speeds. The wing beats were less forceful, but kept up with the speed to keep the ship moving. When they were high enough, Pearl, Fulgurite, and Peridot all touched the same touchscreen with the same switch. They all smiled in determination, and together they all moved it forward. Outside, the wings actually detracted, but the jets blasted out full power, rocketing the ship upward fast! It was a sight to behold for those watching on the ground, waving goodbye.

For Steven and the ponies, the G-forces quickly hit them as they rushed up higher and higher in the sky. It felt strong, gluing them to their seats. Looking forward, the sky turned from the sky blue, and starting to darken as they past the main cloud cover, and reaching out of the atmosphere. Even with the G-forces, the Galactic Ray was holding up just fine - as Discord expected it to. The spaceship left a purely white smoke from the engines blasting behind them, and the stars began to form in front of them. What felt like forever only took twenty minutes of G-forces, before the pressure finally started to weaken. After a while, Fulgurite got the switches back in place, and the wings spread out again to keep the ship straight. The engines calmed down into a nice humming sound, a blue glow of the working engine keeping them moving forward.

"Okay, you can look around if you want to; it'll be a while before we get there," Peridot informed, glancing at the others. Steven unstrapped himself first, and got himself out of his seat. Pinkie and Rainbow both got out too, and quickly joined him. First order of business; looking right out the window to see Earth from space. Every child has that sort of dream, and Steven's got the ultimate opportunity right here. Quickly, Steven, Rainbow and Pinkie went right to the closest window apart from the main driving controls. The first window had Pinkie Pie pancaking herself to the thick glass, with Rainbow and Steven taking in as much as they could get. It'd been just twenty minutes, and the three had the best view they could ever see of Earth. with the stars in the back, they could see the oceans, the continents, and the clouds all over their part of the world. "Wow ..." Steven said, eyes wide in amazement. Of course, he wasn't going to leave his friends on Earth out of this sight; he got his communicator and didn't hesitate to press the button. Seconds later, the screen opened, showing Connie center frame. She still appeared outside, so, they didn't really go too far.

"Hi Steven! So soon?"

"Guess where I am?" Steven said with a grin. Steven moved the screen so Connie could see Earth from where he was.

"WOW, that's incredible!" Connie beamed. This was just a taste of what's to come.

~~~~~~

Time went on by for a while longer. It was rather impossible to say how many days had past, because the sun and moon no longer helped in telling time. The only time Steven had )or any of them for that matter), was the fancy clock given to him by Discord. The clock said it was 3 AM, though it wouldn't matter what time it was in the long run. If a day had past before the time was completely to anyone guess, but they could assume at least one day had past since leaving. To help with the time keep, Twilight decided to write down how much time passes with each check. the 3 AM became Twilight's third write down, the first one just seconds after leaving Earth behind, and able to move around. At the moment, Steven was in his room on the Galactic ray; which was purposely designed to resemble his own room at the Beachhouse so he was more comfortable. Steven had gotten a few items with him to pass, and in this case he was looking through a manga he brought with him. The room was a bit small, though that didn't bother Steven very much. After a while, the door slid open and Steven saw Diopside standing there.

"Hey, Steven!" Diopside beamed.

"Hey Dio, how ya doing?" Steven asked, as Diopside came into the room.

"I'm doing fine. Hey, come here, I got something fun to show ya," Diopside insisted, excited as ever.

It did not take very long before Steven was brought to another part of the ship by Diopside. The area Diopside brought him to, actually, appeared to be an empty room - nothing really in it. Steven wasn't sure what exactly this room was for, or why Diopside brought him in there. Lapis, Peridot, Pearl, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were there too, though only Lapis was aware of what'll happen out of the crowd. Lapis was in a one-piece space suit.

"Ready Steven?" Lapis asked, excited.

"Ready for what?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Peridot asked.

"Well, Diopside, Pinkie, and myself had convinced Fulgurite to install this room in just for you. Just stand here," Lapis explained, moving Steven to the middle of the room. Pinkie couldn't wait to get started, barely able to stand still. Diopside and Lapis went over to one of the walls of the room, where Diopside suddenly activated an extra slider. She moved the slider down, until it was all the way at the bottom. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but after a little bit, Steven slowly started to float up, leaning to the left. Steven suddenly realized what was going on. Pinkie laughed happily, and started spinning wildly in the air.

"Whoa! Cool!" Steven beamed, upside down at that point. The others were floating too, some more surprised than others. Lapis got up with ease, and "swam" over to Steven as the others tried to get themselves upright, but only resulting in funny spinning. Lapis went by Steven like she was on flying on her back.

"Surprise Steven! Your own zero-gravity room!" Lapis revealed. Steven was psyched by the surprise, but not everyone was as excited. Lapis saw Peridot especially struggling to keep herself on the ground as Pinkie floated upside down nearby.

"How's this happening - this shouldn't be possible!" Peridot said, trying to stay on the ground.

"It's fun to fly," Pinkie beamed.

"But Gem's bodies adapt to gravity, we shouldn't be floating around."

"How can you do that if there's no gravity to begin with?" Lapis asked. Peridot realized she had a point, but that didn't stop her from trying to get back on the ground. However, bouncing on the walls, Pinkie suddenly bumped into her, and Peridot was flung off to the wall., hitting her back as she floated upside down. Pinkie was going all nutty over the zero gravity, and was basically having a ball with it.

"WEEE!" Pinkie beamed, spinning around in the air. She wasn't looking much on where she was going, and accidentally was hitting the others a number of time. At one point, she spun right into Diopside, the two spinning together for a bit until they slowed down.

"Diopside, Lapis, get us down from here please," Rarity insisted, trying to find her footing.

"Aww, already?"

"At least have us out of here, then you can play as much as you want," Pearl said, agreeing with Rarity. Each to his own, apparently; Lapis floated over back to the touchscreen, and slowly turned the gravity back on. She didn't want anyone falling on their heads so going slow was good. Course, Pinkie and Steven were bummed out that it was done so quickly, as they didn't had much time to play around. After Rarity and Pearl walked out, Steven and Pinkie stayed put, bummed out.

"Hey, don't be so glum chum; we can still play around in here," Diopside assured, with a wink and a nudge. Steven and Pinkie immediately grew much happier. Guess that's what they'll be doing for the next couple of hours.

~~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia:

So far, our trip to Homeworld has gone through fairly well without much trouble. I know I'm supposed to be on a mission, but, I'm personally excited to explore such a lively and unique planet, and it seems the Crystal Gems are too. It's too bad not all of us could go, but, I can understand why you, or the others couldn't join us. I'm still not sure how much distance we have yet, but I'll notify you the second we touch down.

Your faithful student; Twilight Sparkle

With a few more clicks, Twilight sent off her message back to Canterlot from the communication device Discord gave her. As of late, Twilight had been trying to get used to being in space. She had a mix of intrigue and excited only matched by Pinkie Pie. She was in space, for Celestia's sake! If anypony would tell her she would be in space a few months back, she'd say no right up front. Yet, here she was, in a spaceship heading off to planets unknown. Of course, this also strengthened her role as a friendship princess too; being the princess of friendship in equestrian was huge enough, but to expand that to other worlds was beyond even Celestia's own! Not saying Twilight considered herself higher than Celestia, of course not, but this was something not even Celestia had done herself. Back to conditions, the metallic floor and futuristic room was something new for Twilight, to put it lightly. Being an natural born horse, nevermind an alicorn, she was more used to ground under her hooves instead of metal flooring.

After finishing the message, Twilight closed the communicator screen, and decided to have a walk about. Not much to really do aside from reading one of her books for the twentieth time. Each hoofsteps on the metal floor gave a notable metal clunk, something earth doesn't do too much unless it was stomping in the dirt. Still, it wasn't much of a distraction for Twilight, her mind pre-occupied with what Homeworld could be, and what they should prepare for. After all, none of her friends had ever seen or heard of Homeworld before they met the Crystal Gems, including herself, so it probably would be best to get some know-how at some point. As she kept going though, she was so pre-occupied, she accidentally walked right into Amethyst.

"Oh, sorry Amethyst," Twilight said.

"Eh, it's cool. You seen Peri anywhere by the by, Garnet's got me looking for her," Amethyst asked. Yet, Twilight shrugged.

"Not sure, why? Does Garnet want to see her?"

"Nah; said something about her and Homeworld. Not like I need it," Amethyst replied, crossing her arms. Amethyst didn't consider herself being one to put under schooling, but Twilight found that surprisingly coincidental, as Twilight wanted to prepare herself for Homeworld too. Course, Twilight hadn't seen her since blasting off, so, it might be difficult to find her.

"funny; I wanted to know a bit on Homeworld myself. Let's go look for her, you and me both," Twilight decided. Thinking it'll go faster, Amethyst agreed to let the alicorn help her out.

For the next while, Twilight and Amethyst both went down hall after all looking for Peridot. It started off a bit quiet at first, Amethyst unsure really on what to talk about. Eventually though, Twilight did turned to Amethyst.

"Say, Amethyst? You're a Gem right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So ... Do you know anything about Homeworld that I should know about?" A question Amethyst didn't want to hear. She was reluctant to talk at first, looking away from her equally purple friend. Not that she didn't want to tell her, but, her knowledge was ... well, lacking. her hand moved her hair back as she turned back to Twilight.

"Well, how about we just find Peridot first, she can blabber on about Homeworld better than me," she offered. Twilight took a moment to think, and Amethyst could be right on that, though that didn't mean Twilight didn't notice her reluctance. After a little bit more, the two then began to near Peridot's designated room. Her room was a bit larger, and designed by Peridot herself to her own liking; mainly looked like a lab. It seemed Garnet got her attention first, because by the time Amethyst and Twilight showed up, Peridot had a projection screen set up in her room along the wall, most likely for the Homeworld images for some teaching method on Peridot's part. Twilight wasn't deterred, but if this was just some slideshow, Amethyst didn't know how she'll survive the boredom. Peridot just got out a pointer when the two showed up.

"Oh, Twilight, Amethyst. See Garnet told you what's going on," Peridot said.

"Well, she told me anyway, Twilight just followed. So, what's up?" Amethyst asked, as she and Twilight went into the room. Peridot got everything set up, and ready to go.

"Garnet informed me that you're not fully knowledgeable about Homeworld, and since I've been most recently acquainted with Homeworld, I took it upon myself to teach you and the others about how Homeworld operate through a series of current images and lectures."

... Amethyst ditched the idea almost immediately, and went right out.

"HEY!" Peridot snapped. But, Amethyst was not having any of it.

"You'll be staying, are you Twilight?" Peridot asked in a groan.

"Course I will; I've been wondering what Homeworld was like anyway," Twilight replied, having a seat in Peridot's room.

As for Amethyst, she just went off towards her own room. She wasn't going to struggle through hours of lecturing by Peridot's own words. If Peridot's lectures were close to Twilight, then Amethyst didn't want to bother herself with it. She'd probably fall asleep after the opening intro anyway. As Amethyst went along her way, she then heard the sounds of grunts, punches, and kicks from down another hallway. Heading over, Amethyst looked through an open door, hands casually behind her head, and saw she found Jasper's room. The room looked more like a training room than a bedroom, with Jasper practicing her fighting on a dummy in a fashion similar to a boxer (for the moment).

"Hey, what's up?" Amethyst said, getting Jasper to notice her.

"Sup," Jasper replied, letting Amethyst walk in as she continued practicing her fighting. Jasper's room didn't had much of a bed, but instead a sort of chill-out bench, so, Amethyst sat down and she watched Jasper for a bit.

"So, this what you've been doing since we left?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Jasper replied, taking a break for the moment.

"Nothing, just wondering," Amethyst replied, glancing away. Jasper took a few more punches before it was enough to knock the dummy over. Amethyst scooted over as Jasper had a seat.

"Say, Jasper?" Amethyst asked eventually.

"What is it?" Jasper asked. The purple Gem sighed, stretching a bit. It may be a little unfair to Peridot, but Amethyst got out the question anyway.

"Thoughts on Homeworld?"

Jasper wasn't sure what the question exactly meant.

"What?"

"You know; what's it like? Got any pointers or something?" Amethyst asked nonchalantly. Jasper didn't think she'd be the one getting asked for pointers. Then against, Amethyst was another fellow Quartz, so, Jasper took a moment before talking.

"Eh, well Homeworld's alright I guess. Not as free in dynamics as Earth, but not as full of surprises," Jasper admitted, thinking about Homeworld a bit.

"Really now?"

"Yeah; Homeworld's like uh ... How do I put it? The whole planet's like your - what's it called - military. Every Gem type is assigned to a task, and that's that. I'm assigned to a soldier," Jasper explained, using herself as an example. Amethyst still was unsure on the fact.

"So wait, you can't do anything else?"

"Overall, not exactly. Different Gems have different tasks, and they're stuck with it. Servants, mechanics, soldiers, they're all assigned to just that and not much else."

Amethyst took a minute to take it in. Basically speaking, Homeworld's just some job site, with everyone working in a particular role with no decision on their part. Not exactly the best sort of place by the sound of it.

"So, every single Gem's just put under work, huh? No breaks or holidays?"

"What's holidays?"

Well that answers it.

"Guess that's a no then ... Are all types decided right away?"

"What's with you and these questions all of a sudden? You do know something about Homeworld, don't you?" Jasper suddenly asked. Amethyst felt herself withdraw again, looking away. Rather than continue, Jasper just got back up after her short break.

"See someone's attached to their own Homeworld. Anyway, why are you bugging me about it? Go talk to Peridot if you're gonna bug anyone," Jasper stated, setting up a sandbag as Amethyst went on.

"Because she'll bore me to death with her lecturing! Seriously, I didn't come along just to have a sit-down and look at some slideshow," Amethyst gripped, wondering how Twilight was holding up with the lecturing. After Jasper got the sandbag fully situated, she turned to Amethyst.

"Listen Amethyst, here's all you need to know; listen to the Diamonds, keep to what you're made to do, done and done. Since you're a Quartz, you'll be stuck with me when we get there," Jasper summed up. It was enough for Amethyst to get the idea anyway, and she wondered if Jasper would be the only Quartz she'll end up meeting. Will they're be any others like her, or more like Jasper? Either way, if any of the other Quartzes were like her and Jasper, then she'll have a rockin good time with her visit! The idea of restriction though didn't seem to suit her, if even half of what Jasper said was true. Maybe she'll get a free pass for being a visitor? Still, it was probably best if she didn't try anything funny on the first day there (whenever that would be).

"Alright cool."

~~~~~~

Time ticked by, with everybody and everypony trying to pass the time on route to Homeworld. Honestly, while the destination itself was exciting, the journey itself off of Earth to Homeworld was a bit of a wait, and just figure out what the hay to do. Some kept themselves busy with some basic activities (reading, basic training, etc.) while others didn't had very much to do aside from watching the stars roll on by as they flew along.

For Peridot, there wasn't very much to really do. After her own lecturing bit with Twilight and a few others, Peridot was basically left with nothing much to do. She didn't had her enhancers still so fiddling with that was out of question. Peridot was left in her room, pretty much stuck with nothing to really plan out, fiddle with, or really handle. No one wanted her to do anything for the moment - which bugged her plenty. At least before on her flights through space, she had stuff to do and had her enhancers to boot, but that wasn't the case here. With so much time to herself, Peridot ended up with her mind stuck on what she heard and saw before they left. In particular, it was about Yellow diamond and Kyra. If Kyra did end up messing with their trip back home, then their trip would be in far deeper trouble than any of them would know. What can she do now though? Telling them now wouldn't be a good idea, since they couldn't turn back now. She still could hear Kyra's words echoing in her head.

"Not. a word. About this."

But why would he want it quiet if he respects Rose like a god? He would at least tell Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst about it. Peridot paced around, trying to figure out what the heck to do about this.

"Okay, Peridot, think, think, how the stars are we going to do this?" Peridot wondered. As she was pacing though, the green Gem was about ready to just go on when her door suddenly opened up. Standing on the other side was Garnet, both hands behind her back for some reason. Garnet was smiling too.

"Doing well, Peridot?" Garnet asked.

"Doing what?" Peridot thought.

"Eh, I'm alright. You?" Peridot asked, as Garnet walked in. As she did though, Peridot glanced at Garnet's hands, and realized she was holding something...

"We're doing good. Mind helping me out?" Garnet asked, fully showing Peridot what she brought in. Peridot's eyes bulged wide, and was left speechless; a diamond communicator!

"Discord got me another one after Kyra got the first one. Wanna make a call?" Garnet said, with a wink.

"THANK YOU," Peridot thought. Garnet really does think of everything. Quickly, Peridot got the communicator in her hands. Kyra wasn't with them, so no interruptions this time. Excited, Peridot got the communicator to activate. Garnet and Peridot watched the screen soon begin to show itself, but rather than the regular yellow diamond colors, these colors were more blue. As for who answered it, it wasn't the same Yellow Pearl like before. Physically, she appeared almost identical to their own Pearl, and Yellow Diamond's Pearl, as she also possessed a thin, tall build, a pointed nose, and pixie hair-cut. She had sky blue skin and chin-length, messy, periwinkle hair which covered her eyes. Her gem, a powder-blue pearl, could be seen on her chest. Her outfit consists of a periwinkle bodysuit with an open diamond-shaped keyhole neckline, a knee-length, frost blue, and sheer skirt. If this Pearl appeared on the screen, that could only mean one thing ...

"This is the Blue Diamond control room. Who may I ask is making this call?" She asked. Peridot cleared her throat; it may not be the right Diamond, but it was still a Diamond.

"Uh, Peridot reporting in!" Peridot said, making a diamond symbol out of both hands. Garnet found it kinda cute, though she didn't do it herself.

"Which Peridot?"

"O-Oh, uh Facet-2-F-5-L, Cut-5-X-G," Peridot informed. An odd way for a full name, but, it works. The Blue Pearl took a moment to think.

"You're one of Yellow Diamond's Peridots."

"Uh, yeah I know, I-I thought -"

"Nice to see you again," Garnet suddenly said, cutting Peridot off. The Blue Pearl didn't know who else was there, or the indication really.

"Who are you?" Blue Pearl asked. Garnet removed her shades, but rather than open all three of her eyes, she only kept open one - her blue eye. It took a little bit before the Blue Pearl then realized who she was (sort of).

"... Sapphire? ..." All Garnet did was nod. It took a sec, but Blue Pearl turned away from the screen, apparently looking to someone. Pretty soon, a hand was brought forward, and the screen was moved so that the Diamond in question could see for herself. Sure enough, the signature hood, and appearance matched Blue Diamond perfectly. For Peridot, she was a bit unsure why Garnet wasn't unfusing, or anything like that. It took a bit before Blue diamond spoke.

"Fusion. You're the one Sapphire became after she fused with the Ruby," Blue Diamond questioned. Garnet nodded for Blue Diamond's answer.

"Right," Garnet simply replied. Peridot felt a bit nervous, mainly because Kyra already endangered them enough with his talk with Yellow Diamond, if Garnet called to do the same, how much more trouble will they be in?! Oddly, Blue Diamond didn't seem very upset towards Garnet.

"Is Sapphire alright? How is she?"

"She's just fine, my Diamond," Garnet informed with a smile, showing Sapphire's Gem on her own hand for proof of it. While colored different, the slight patterns of light was enough to prove that was Sapphire's Gemstone. A smile came to Blue diamond's face, small but still noticeable to the fusion.

"And Lapis Lazuli? I see she's not there with you," Blue Diamond pointed out.

"You want me to get her, my Diamond?"

"That would be very appreciated," Blue Diamond encouraged. Peridot was surprised that Garnet didn't end up getting into any sort of trouble, even if she was from her court. Well, part of her was, anyway. As Peridot's door opened for Garnet to go, apparently Garnet had planned ahead on her future vision. Soon as she got out, she soon saw Lapis going down the hall at that moment. Perfect timing in her book.

"Lapis? Come here, please," Garnet called, grabbing Lapis's attention. Peridot poked her head out, seeing Lapis come down.

"What's the deal, Garnet? Something wro-" Lapis was suddenly cut short the second she looked in and saw Blue Diamond on the screen. Immediately her mood turned from calm to shock, as she immediately did her Diamond symbol, much like Peridot did when it started.

"M-My Diamond! Oh my stars, I-I didn't realize -"

"There, There Lapis. I see you're doing well," Blue Diamond complimented, as Lapis went in with a blush on her face. It'd been thousands of years since she'd seen Blue Diamond face-to-face, so, of course she was nervous. Besides, she didn't expect, or remembered installing any diamond communicator to the ship.

"Uh, yeah I am. And you're looking well too," Lapis said, complimenting Blue Diamond.

"Thank you. It's been so long since I've seen both of you."

"Us too. We're actually going to arrive back to Homeworld shortly," Garnet revealed. Blue Diamond looked happy to hear that sort of news.

"Wonderful to hear." However, her mood turned monotone again. "Though, I'd like to ask you one question."

"What's that?"

"Who else is coming with you?" Blue Diamond asked, nice and clear so not a single word was missed. While Lapis and Peridot were unsure, Garnet seemed undeterred by Blue Diamond's question, adjusting her shades.

"Organic or inorganic?"

"Either or."

"Well, a number of your Homeworld Gems, and Earth Gems are with us. We also have a group of Equus residents as well that will be visiting you."

"And who's among that group?"

"Earth ponies, Pegesi, a unicorn, and an Alicorn. I'd made sure of it," Garnet informed. Blue Diamond breath a sigh of relief, but that did sound a bit confusing for Lapis and Peridot. What did she mean by that?

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll be looking forward to seeing you two again." After that, the message was done, and the communication had turned off. As Garnet picked up the piece, Peridot felt very confused.

"You made sure of it? Sure of what?" Lapis asked, scratching her head.

"That Kyra wasn't coming," Garnet said. Peridot immediately tensed up on mention of it, shocked beyond belief. Garnet turned back to her.

"And Peridot; don't be scared to say anything to any of us. If you think we need to know, then say right out," Garnet explained, walking out with an assuring smile.

Peridot was left speechless ...

~~~~~~

After that message being received and given, things had cooled down for some, Peridot mainly. To Peridot, the thought of what they'll do to them upon arrival had been bothering her for a while. But now with Blue Diamond with such information that Kyra wasn't with them, maybe their visit will be far less dangerous. It was nice that Blue Diamond wasn't deterred by Garnet, and was grateful that both Sapphire and Lapis were alright after thousands of years. Still, that's one Diamond, and it was Yellow Diamond who got told that sort of message (among other things). Lapis and Garnet were excited to see her again, but Garnet knew they needed one pit stop for so they will have enough power for the rest of the flight. During the flight, Pearl took a moment at the controls, keeping her eyes forward on what was coming up. While she was there, Fulgurite went over to her after a bit.

"Alright, Pearl, ship going well?" Fulgurite asked.

"So far so good, but the ship's starting to lose energy," Pearl said, bringing up the energy levels of the ship. It showed a battery-like shape, but the levels shown were rather low. Among the many things that the plans dictate, nothing said any sort of power, and that was a big problem! At this point, they were simply soaring through space, though a planet did show up not too far away. With not much other option with their current power level, Pearl began bringing the ship for a quick landing.

It did not take very long before everyone on board felt the ship land on a planet surface, and it quickly got everybody and everypony up and checking it out. The mane six and Steven got on their space helmets so they too can check outside of the ship. For where they landed, the planet surface wasn't anything too special or unique for its type. The area consisted of ice dunes, icy mountains and cold plains that stretch on in high waves for as far as the eye could see. As one could easily imagine, it was far too cold for any normal organic creature to cope, so the spacesuits were an absolute must to have if anypony or any human were to go outside. They didn't think it wasn't Homeworld they landed on, so, Steven and Pinkie bolted outside to see what futuristic world they ended up on. However, the pink pony and human Gem quickly found out the planet wasn't as fancy as they though. Nor did the ground appear as safe to walk on. Seconds after they got out, their running soon turned to sliding, loosing their balance fast on the infinite ice sheet, skidding a good ten feet before they slowed down. Some of the others came out, but didn't rush out on the ice like they did.

"Whoa! Homeworld got turned into Iceland!" Pinkie gasped.

"This isn't Homeworld!" Garnet called.

"It's not? But why'd we land then?" Rainbow asked.

"Low on energy - it just needs a rest before the final flight. In the mean time, we'll have to wait here," Garnet explained, if she remembered Luna's instructions correctly back in Canterlot. When the ship was done charging, then it should be a clear shot right to Homeworld. But until the ship recharges, than they had to stick around here for a while.

"And how long will that be?" Twilight asked. Garnet just shrugged.

"I'll keep an eye on it. The second it's ready, we'll go. By then we should have enough energy to fully reach Homeworld. Until then, you go off and have some fun," Garnet explained, before heading back into the ship. If they were going to stay for a bit, might as well have some fun with it.

"WOHOO!" Pinkie beamed, skating along the ice with some well placed hoof pushing. Steven had a harder time getting up though, but eventually he got to his feet. Just as he did, Pinkie zoomed by and got Steven riding on her back. All in good fun.

Not too long after landing, both Pinkie and Steven were already pretty far from the ship as they zoomed about along the infinite ice sheet. Since there wasn't any sign of land, there was no need to slow their sliding and skating. Eventually, both playmates had found one particularly high, and steep dune. If they were to compare it to anything, it would probably be like the hill in Beach City leading to the lighthouse (including similar shape) the main difference was that it was made of ice, so, this immediately spawned a big idea for both of them to give a shot at.

"Ready?" Steven asked with a big grin. Pinkie winked.

"Three two one, Geronimo!" Pinkie announced, before hopping forward. Pinkie's sudden speed got her and Steven down the hill, Pinkie on her back. The sliding started slow, but they moved faster and faster, momentum pushing them down the smooth icy surface. Steven and Pinkie laughed it up, and they both were going down fast. With nothing blocking the way, both had no reason to slow down, and were spinning around as they went. Eventually, the two did begin to slow down, side by side as they looked back to where they started. What was most surprising though, was how far they actually went. Looking to the top, they appeared to had gone at least a good seventy feet from where the hill ended. Surely awesome.

Of course, not everyone got out onto the icy planet. Inside, Garnet kept an eye from the front window of the Galactic Ray, watching the ponies play with Steven on the ice. If there was one thing she appreciated from these six was how friendly they were, each in their own way. With Twilight with a mission to Homeworld anyway, this job is as good as done. And with such a long time gap between before and now, this could be a turning point for all Gem kind, never mind just the Crystal Gems. Garnet couldn't wait to get there and get things started and mended with a planet she'd been away from far too long ...

"Yo, Garnet!"

Her thought process was interrupted when Amethyst suddenly showed up.

"Yes?"

"You know when this baby's flying again?"

"We only landed for a short while, the ship won't be ready for -" Garnet click a screen to see the charging battery. "About the next hour or so."

"That's it? Then come on, everypony's having a blast!"

"Maybe in a bit," Garnet decided. Amethyst nodded, and went out to join them. For Garnet, she just looked back outside. The only main regret that Garnet had was not everyone went with her. Garnet hoped that much, but guess it was close enough. Garnet looked up to the sky, seeing many stars. One of them was to the Gem Homeworld, much closer this time ...

They're so close.

Author's Note

Huston, we have lift off ^^ I know some of you were SO EGER about Peridot's lecturing, but, that would be too boring :trollestia: And yeah, when someone's as smart as Garnet, this can easily happen more than you think :pinkiecrazy: the gem knows all ...

Homeworld Bound

The Galactic Ray, after its rest down on the ice planet, was soon on course again, and right on its way. The Mane Six and Gems were on their way, and were getting so close. They all felt that it won't be much longer before they do land on Homeworld, and for some, to see how much had changed over the course of five thousand plus years. After all, for any race, that kind of time would result in some sort of change no matter what. The only exception would be that they either needed no more change, or some sort of big event made them start over somewhere (the first option more likely). Either way, there was no distractions, no more pitstops, a straight flight right to Homeworld from there, and everybody and everypony couldn't wait to get there.

Even so, there still was a point of boredom. In his room, Steven had brought his ukulele along and was tuning it, playing a fun little musical jingle. It was a nice little way to pass the time, and as he was, the sound of the music soon reached Peridot's ears as she was going on by. In his room, Lapis and Diopside were there as well, listening happily to Steven's playing.

"What're you doing now?" Peridot asked, interrupting the playing for a moment.

"Steven's playing a song for us," Diopside said with a smile, as Steven strummed the strings on his ukulele. Peridot looked a bit confused though.

"What for?"

"Because it's fun," said Steven. Peridot heard this word pop up a number of times before, but the exact idea of what that was still bothered her. Peridot scratched her head.

"But, you just said it was a song," Peridot pointed out.

"Yeah, it's fun to do."

"But, you're not doing anything productive," Peridot pointed out, not seeing any physical results of this music. After all, to her anyway, working on anything should have a sort of bigger result instead of just some fancy tunes.

"Sure I am."

"But you're not making anything."

"Well, if it isn't anything, why does it sound good?" Steven asked, strumming his ukulele again. Peridot actually had trouble answering; it did sound decent at least, but the green Gem still didn't know the true purpose of it. Eventually, Steven got an idea.

"Here's a song I've been working on," Steven said.

He began to play.

[Steven] Life and death and love and birth,
And peace and war on the planet Earth.
Is there anything that's worth more
Than peace and love on the planet Earth
Oh - Whooah, come on and sing it with me

"Sing?" asked Peridot.

The words relate to the key

Peridot pulled her magic key out "Key?"

If it's a pattern,
If it's a pattern,
Then just repeat after me...

Steven went right to Peridot, singing next to her.

Steven: Life and death and love and birth-

Peridot: Life and death and love and birth-

"Now you sing mi-fa-mi-mi-fa-mi-ti-la," Steven explained.

Both: And peace and war on the planet Earth!

"Yes, yes! That's it!" Steven beamed.

"That's so easy."

"Yeah, but that's what's fun about it. You should write something, you should write a song!" Lapis insisted.

"About what?"

"Whatever you're thinking!"

In the end, Peridot gave it a try as Steven kept playing, Peridot clearing her throat.

I guess we're already free,
I guess we already know.
We've all got Homeworld to see,
We've all got somewhere to go.
I think this plan's INSANE!
But I guess It's nice too...
when we get to homeworld,
We'll try to make things right with you.

"Hahaha yes!"

Steven: Life and death and love and birth and-

Diopside: Life and death and love and birth and-

Lapis: Life and death and love and birth and peace and war on the planet Earth.

Steven: Is there anything that's worth more?

Steven, Lapis, Diopside: Is there anything that's worth more?

Peridot: Is there anything that's worth more
Than peace and love on the planet Earth...

After the song finished, Peridot actually a bit ... good.

"That felt exhilarating," Peridot concluded. It would explain why the ponies like to do it a lot, anyway. Speaking of which, soon after their little tune up was finished, Applejack suddenly appeared by the door, a bit in a hurry.

"There you are. come here, y'all should see this," Applejack said, her hoof waving them to come along.

"See what?"

~~~~~~

From the full view from the Galactic Ray frontal control room, their destination laid before them. All of the Gems and ponies were at front, seeing where they were going, where they've worked so hard to reach all autumn. Ahead of them was a planet right in their path. The place already looked very different from Earth and Equus. First of all, there didn't appear to be any water on the planet, instead it was lined with extremely deep canyons, some the size of continents. Where the land was flattened in some apparent mountains, Some areas were lit up with signs of civilizations, lines of light orbiting the planet from warp pads upon it. In fact, they could even make note of the more populated areas, the canyons almost completely devoid of light. they could make out some elevated land, making land bridges between one side of a canyon to another. As for natural life, it was rather unlikely, but for the Gems establishment, it surely showed. For many of the passengers on board, the sight of Homeworld was breathtaking, even from space. With the combined effort of Pearl, Fulgurite, and Peridot, they began to guide the ship towards Homeworld.

The Galactic Ray dove towards the planet like a diving bird, with just as much speed and accuracy. None of them could remotely take their eyes away as they flew down to the planet's surface. As they neared, the buildings of Homeworld start to look more and more accurate. As far as standing out would go though, they were one of a kind for where they flew through. It was no surprise that they were spotted though, or it seemed to be. As the ship venture into the atmosphere, two objects flew up to them. These things looked like gigantic hands, similar to what Jasper had used, and just as huge. However, these were silver, and both were brought together in a landing pad. Rather interesting, and a calming welcome. So, Garnet brought the ship down, and gently landed on both palms. Soon after, a bubble formed up around them, and they started to decent to the planet. Eventually, after a few quick minutes, the hands had brought them down. The ringed dome made a pressurized bubble so they wouldn't get blown away from their decent. As they went down, they saw their first glimpse of Homeworld's cityscape. Steven, Amethyst and the ponies all looked out from the window at the buildings and structures. It looked straight out of a science fiction novel with all of the shapes, many of which not a regular for Beach City. One building in particular towered over the rest in this part of the neighborhood. The building here stood tall, the structure design actually similar to the Gem communication tower back on Earth. The hands settled down over in a clearing by the tower, on a floating landing pad. It wasn't connected to the tower, but still didn't drift away. After the ship settled, the hatch opened, and they went out. The hands ended up turning into part of the platform as they got out. Some of them marveled at the scenery from their height, which was breathtaking in and of itself.

Pretty soon, the group was soon greeted by another figure coming their way. She was another Gem, looked almost exactly like Peridot. However a number of differences can be noticed. She was as tall as Pearl was, and while her hair was a similar triangle shape, the bottom ends were more prominent. She also didn't had a visor over her eyes, which were a dull green. Her outfit was slightly different from Peridot, with the diamonds blue not yellow. The gemstone matched in position and shape, yet the color was a duller green. Even if her main body was green like Peridot, the outfit consisted of a number of blues, signifying who she followed. She looked a bit monotonous, and not showing much emotion in her expression.

"Greetings. You're the Earth Gems I presume," the Peridot said, her voice sounding close to their Peridot. She took note of the Homeworld Gems close by, but also looked quizzically at the ponies, and Steven. But, she didn't really say anything.

"That's right," Garnet said. Blue Peridot gave Garnet a fair look over before responding.

"Blue Diamond has been expecting you. Yet, she also informed me that not all of you are aware of Homeworld as much as others." Blue Peridot was clearly talking about the ponies, though Steven and Amethyst counted too.

"That would be us," Twilight said.

"She instructed me to give those a tour of Homeworld, so for those new, if you follow me we can begin. As for the rest of you, a Pearl will bring you to Blue Diamond and she'll discuss accommodations," she instructed, walking to the tower, motioning for them to follow with a wave of her hand. At first they thought she was going to just walk off the cliff, but before she stepped off, she actually stepped on an invisible pathway, made of invisible diamond pads which glowed with each step. Twilight was immediately fascinated, as they followed. For the ponies, Amethyst, and Steven, that alone was something interesting. Rarity looked over to Garnet.

"We'll be back later," Rarity said.

"Very well," Garnet replied. The ponies, half human and purple Gem followed Blue Peridot as the others went the other way after crossing the invisible bridge. The otherside lead to the door, where the mentioned Pearl was waiting for them. She already knew what to do, and by the time they went in, she started guiding them to Blue Diamond. When they split though, Blue Peridot looked to the ponies.

"Perhaps it's best to request the reason behind those outfits," Blue Peridot wondered, the looks bugging her a bit.

"We need these to breathe you know, we're not rocks like you," Rainbow said, hovering by her.

"True, but our settlements also had developed a artificial, extra dimensional atmosphere, adapted so any organic race visiting will be able to properly control oxygen intake for bodily function," she explained. No, it didn't make sense at first.

"So ... In other words, we can breathe without these suits here," Twilight summed up.

"That's what I said," Blue Peridot replied, acting like they should get her. Rude, but that was very good to know, yet since she didn't breathe in the first place, the others weren't sure if they should or not. However, before anyone could stop her, Pinkie literally popped out of her suit like a rocket, through the neck hole and popping off the helmet. Her suit stood normal at first until it fell on the ground and shriveled. The surprise of suddenly seeing Pinkie with her cotton candy hair, balloon cutie mark, and pink coat got Blue Peridot a bit perplexed (normal in Pinkie's case).

"Come on guys, air's great!" Pinkie encouraged, over exaggerating in a deep breath. Blue Peridot took a moment, and glanced to Amethyst.

"You get used to it," stated Amethyst.

~~~~~~

With eight of the group divided off on the tour, the others followed the other Pearl off to where Blue Diamond should be. It wasn't exactly a long walk, yet it did feel that way for the Crystal Gems checking out Blue Diamond's place. The halls were, to put it simply, much like Celestia's castle in Canterlot, but the halls were much taller, to accommodate the Diamonds most likely. To Lapis and Garnet, the sight of Blue Diamond's place was a sight they hadn't seen in a long time. A bit advanced compared to before, but it was still a nostalgic feeling they both got from looking around. Eventually, their escort stopped by a large set of metal doors, marked with a huge diamond symbol on it. It was obvious who's room this should belong to. Garnet went to the back of the group, thinking on what to do as the Pearl moved over to the door, starting to open it.

"Here we go," thought Lapis. The group of Gems were given a view of a giant room. Lining the sides were floating, diamond-like accessories, each one as large as Jasper. In the center, there was a large throne, perfect for any queen. A sky blue silk curtain lined around the throne, similar to a high class bed curtain, with the front moved aside. The throne sat in between two pillars, connecting to the ceiling, and patterned with what seemed like a sort of water pattern. There, sitting on the throne was the lady in blue herself.

Blue Diamond.

Her Pearl moved over to stand alongside her Diamond, as the group looked up to her. Compared to them, Blue Diamond towered over them all, and looked much the same as her messages made out. Blue Diamond looked over the group of Gems. Jasper, Peridot, Pearl, Lapis Lazuli, Fulgurite, Diopside ...

But, no Garnet. Before Blue Diamond could ask about it ...

"My Diamond. I have arrived."

The group was caught off guard when they turned around. Instead of seeing Garnet standing there, they instead saw Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire went right to the front, alongside Lapis, to see Blue Diamond with her own eye. Blue Diamond smiled when she saw them both, alive and well.

"Lapis. Sapphire. It's wonderful to see you two okay after so long," Blue Diamond said. Sapphire and Lapis nodded.

"It great to see you too, my Diamond. It's been too long," Sapphire replied. Then Blue Diamond's attention went to the others.

"Is this your whole group?"

"Well, no; some of them are looking around the city on a tour."

"I see. I'd like to see them once they're done exploring my city," Blue Diamond insisted. Then her attention came to Ruby. Ruby was all down with sticking to Homeworld for a while, but that didn't mean she was any less worried. She was a common Gem, Sapphire was apart of Blue Diamond's court, and Blue Diamond was someone who decided her fate here. Blue Diamond noticed how worried Ruby was, although Ruby tried to hide it as best she could. Blue Diamond noted Fulgurite in the crowd as well. She'll deal with them later.

"Are you staying, Sapphire? Lapis?" Blue Diamond asked. It was an interesting question for the two, yet they kept to the truth.

"For a while. Speaking of which, my Diamond, your Peridot informed about accommodations?" Lapis asked. Blue Diamond nodded her head.

"Right. Pearl, show them to their rooms," Blue Diamond instructed. Blue Pearl nodded, and moved over to them.

"Right this way," Blue Pearl said, guiding them off. However, Blue Diamond stopped Lapis and Sapphire from going. Blue Diamond hadn't seen either one of them in centuries, she didn't want to leave them out just yet.

"Lapis? Sapphire?"

Both of them stopped, and turned back to her. Blue Diamond got up from her throne, moving over to them.

"It's been far too long since we last seen eachother. I'd like to catch up with you both," Blue Diamond said. Lapis and Sapphire looked to eachother before looking up to her, smiling.

"We'd be happy to."

~~~~~~

Farther from the main capital, the Mane Six, Steven (the ponies and Steven had their spacesuits off, Steven in his normal attire), and Amethyst all were still being guided along with Blue Peridot leading the way, talking as she went about Homeworld. If one word could describe Homeworld from what they were seeing, amazing would be surely up there. So many of the buildings were gigantic compared to them, many unique shapes for each building. The ground felt Gem-made, completely smooth underfoot. Not in the same way as ice or glass, more close to smooth metal. They all had never seen such a place before, and basically were fully sightseeing everything as they went along. It wasn't just the buildings of Homeworld that kept them interested, but also there's the Gems. And there was no shortage of them; all sorts of sizes, designs, shapes and colors that made them all stand out in the group's eyes. The different Gems were also a bit curious over these newcomers, the ponies mostly. After all, multi-color equines with odd marks on their flanks wasn't anything normal for Homeworld. Some felt a little uncomfortable, yet some ignored the extra stares, and just rolled with it.

"As you can observe, Homeworld is a thriving society for all of Gem kind; all types of Gems congregate here upon instruction by the Diamond Authority," Blue Peridot explained. While Twilight was the most intent on listening, the others were more sightseeing than most. However, the most uncomfortable was Rarity, who had gotten the most stares. It wasn't because of her look, or her behavior, but more of her Cutie Mark, beings three Diamonds and all. Rarity didn't want to be rude, but eventually it began to really bother her. Rarity trotted over to Blue Peridot, tapping at her hip.

"I don't mean to be rude, darling, but maybe we can move on to somewhere less ... crowded?" Rarity insisted. Being a fashionista meant that normally she'd be used to such staring, but with a species she wasn't familiar with (and some not even admirable stares), it was starting to get to her. A first impression shouldn't be with this much attention unless intentional by whoever's arriving. However, Blue Peridot really felt, more or less, bugged; her only orders are from Blue Diamond, not from Rarity ...

"We'll go as long as it's required," Blue Peridot stated. As they were looking around, Rainbow looked up to the sky, and actually began to see something flying down towards the city; a meteor! Rainbow was ready to go up, but before she could, the meteor ... crashed in the sky? It wasn't any natural smash, but more like destroyed on the spot. Twilight just caught sight of the rock exploding too, and they both noted that there was no exact flash bang, or any debris falling into the city. Weird.

"Hey, Peri, a space rock just blew up outside the town. What's with that?" Rainbow asked, a hoof pointing up. The Blue Peridot looked up boredly, seeing the dust cloud from what was there.

"City barrier; any hostile objects are immediately annihilated upon approach. And before you question; Blue Diamond signified you out of any normal threat," Blue Peridot said. The others felt thankful they didn't get obliterated seconds on arrival. Blue Peridot didn't feel fazed on explaining that, and continued on with the tour. As they kept walking onward, the tour was basically just walking, and Blue Peridot jabbering her head off to anyone who'd listen. The other Gems quietly discussed to one another about these new arrivals, for something like them hadn't came to Homeworld before as far as any of them knew ...

~~~~~~

Back at the tower, Blue Diamond, Lapis, and Sapphire all stuck around together. Being split from Blue Diamond for so long meant they had a lot of catching up to do, and for the while Lapis and Sapphire told Blue Diamond about how much they'd gone through not just on Earth, but in Equestria as well. Both of the blue Gems followed Blue Diamond to another part of the tower, which Blue Diamond wanted to show them and get them reacquainted with the place.

With the sliding of the door, Blue Diamond brought Lapis and Sapphire to a familiar room. This room was also fairly big, though not in the same sense as the throne room. The center of the room had a large hologram of what seemed to be Homeworld, about as tall as Blue Diamond herself. The roof appeared to be made of glass, the sky above shining down into the room to better see the hologram. It appeared like a meeting room, or observatory of sorts with the main layout of it. Sapphire and Lapis looked around with awe.

"It hasn't changed," Lapis gasped.

"I prefer the original," replied Blue Diamond, as she walked over to the hologram of Homeworld. Catching up with Lapis and Sapphire was fun and an interesting one, and now, Lapis and Sapphire need to catch up with Blue Diamond. Sapphire and Lapis looked up to the hologram, as Blue Diamond moved her hand, and touched one area on the planet. The planet soon turned into a full picture, showing one city on Homeworld as an example. Lapis flew up in the air for a better view.

"I'm sure you both are aware by now, but Homeworld has changed over thousands of years since you've been away," Blue Diamond began, as other images of the advanced city showed around the city to further the point. "Technology had especially increased, and revolutionized our planet. Of course, other, newer Gems also had become active."

"New Gems? Really?" Sapphire asked. This information was interesting to hear, coming from Blue Diamond. To answer them, Blue Diamond then brought on another screen, this one having a number of splits with a Gem name, and appearance to follow. The particular set was titled "Royal Court", showing those apart of it. Sapphire and Lapis saw themselves amongst the seven Gems, eight including Blue Diamond. Every other Gem shown they didn't even recognize, which meant Sapphire and Lapis really did always had a place open in Blue Diamond court, as she said.

"A number of new Gems had been created since you both left. But, none of them could ever replace you two," Blue Diamond said, smiling at them both. Sapphire smiled too, and Lapis blushed on the compliment.

"Thank you, my Diamond," Sapphire said. Blue Diamond nodded, as Lapis looked over the other Gems apart of the court. She didn't recognize some of them at all, though learning on Homeworld was part of the fun. The court consisted of Blue Pearl, Blue Peridot, herself, Sapphire, and three other Gems that she didn't know of. It would be interesting to see them, and at this point it'll be sooner than she'd figure.

~~~~~~

On the tour, Blue Peridot had brought her group to another part of the city. Her explaining had really did a good number on those listening to her with how much knowledge. So far, it's been quite a hoot, though some just tagged along for the sake of staying with the group.

"- With that, our cities had become on of the most advanced amongst the galaxies," Blue Peridot finished up. It was the fifth monologue Blue Peridot did in the last hour, and some of them were getting bored of it.

"Fascinating. Now, when are we getting to anything actually cool?" Amethyst asked, bored outta her mind. It wasn't that Amethyst was bored with Homeworld, far from it, but so far nothing exciting had happened to keep her interested. The purple Gem just groaned loudly as they went.

"Come on Amethyst, it isn't that bad," Applejack assured her. Amethyst allowed her eyes to wander a bit. For most of the time, it was mainly city and other Gems. Eventually though, Amethyst looked down between one of the buildings. It was faint, but she heard something going on further away. She leaned back as they walked, until she stopped walking altogether. Something seemed to be going on, yet she couldn't make out exactly what it was. It sounded like a fight going on, or training at least.

Finally, something interesting.

Amethyst glanced back, seeing Rainbow Dash at the back, flying q bit.

"Psst, Rainbow, c'mere," Amethyst whispered, just loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear, motioning her hand for her to come over. The Pegasus landed next to her, looking and seeing the same thing that caught Amethyst's eye. The same idea came to both of their heads, Rainbow nudging her her.

"Let's make our own tour, eh Amethyst?" Rainbow said winking.

"My thoughts exactly," Amethyst agreed. One more check to make sure, and the two snuck off to check out what's what. None of the others noticed them slipping away until too late.

For Rainbow and Amethyst, both of them moved down the path until they got a better view of what's going on. Peeking around a corner, they saw a larger, flattened area. It looked like sort of hidden training ground. As for who was there, there was two large, tall Gems. One of them looked a lot like Jasper, yet with a few exceptions. For one, she was taller than Jasper, and appeared more muscular. Her skin was white, her hair a dark red and in a ponytail. For the moment, that was all they saw for her. The other was about Jasper's size, but Amethyst could see that she ... Well, she looked like her! Aside from her Gem on her fist, and being taller, she was basically matching Amethyst in everything else! The hair and face matched Amethyst to a tee, and her outfit even more so (aside from diamonds instead of stars of course). The larger one turned around after a bit, revealing an eyepatch covering her left eye, marked with a White Diamond symbol. Rainbow and Amethyst looked to eachother for a second, but before they could do anything, a whistle from the group called to them.

Guess they were found out.

"Come back here you two," a voice called. The two larger fighters didn't exactly hear that call, but Rainbow and Amethyst heard it loud and clear. A personal groan later, they both went off back to the group, unnoticed by the bruisers ...

Throughout the rest of the Homeworld day (which by the by felt a bit longer than they're used to), it was mainly just a walk about with Blue Peridot's tour of Blue Diamond's city. When all of it was said and done, as followed orders before the tour started, Blue Peridot brought them back to the tower. Besides, it was more over Blue Diamond wanting to speak with the ponies more over. As for Steven and Amethyst, the trip had left them with a lot of curiosity, and they can't wait til tomorrow for them to look around some more. Especially Amethyst; after basically seeing another her in the city, she'd loved to see what that was about. Maybe she was another Amethyst on Homeworld? If that's so, seeing how other Quartzes operate here would be plenty good for her. As for Steven, the very idea of him being here made him more hyped than ever. He never thought ever that he would end up where all Gems originated from (with a few exceptions of course), and he was happy for it. Sure, Jasper tried taking him away before, but, this was a much more positive light than before. Blue Diamond could sense they had a long day, so, she decided not to talk to them until tomorrow, when they're rested up.

when it came to the rooms, they surprisingly had a similar look to bedrooms, even having a bed - which was odd because Gems don't need sleep. It could be a last-minute think since they were organic creatures, and therefore sleeping was a requirement for them. For Steven's room, he had it all to himself. While laying on the bed, he decided now was a good time as any to give an extra call to Connie back home - might as well. Before heading to the room, he at least brought over the communicator, and he gave Connie a call. After a few beeps, eventually the screen popped open. On the other end, Connie was in her room, and Steven could see snow on her window, also a close to nightfall by the sunlight.

"Hi, Connie!"

"Hey, Steven! Haven't heard from you in a month, doing okay?"

"We're doing great; we made it to Homeworld now, and it's awesome!" Steven explained. Connie smiled on the other end.

"Congratulations! What's it like there anyway?"

"There's so much future stuff everywhere here, and so many new Gems all over the place. I never seen so many Gems in one place."

"Wow, really? That's amazing! Wish I could've gone with you, but, I'm here."

"Don't worry, Connie, I promise I'll bring you back some gifts. Who knows, maybe when we're done, you and I can come back together."

"That sounds so cool. It's getting late Steven, so, I have to get to bed."

"Yeah, me too. Talk to you later," Steven said with a smile. After the call was done, Connie place her calling card by her bed. It'd really been rather quiet since Steven had left Earth behind, and throughout that time Connie was left with her parents, like she never met Steven at all. She did miss him, and hoped he'll come back soon. With that thought in mind, and turning off the light, she settled down and went back to sleep ...

~~~~~~

On Earth, things had gone rather quieter since Steven and most of the Gems had left Beach City. The Gems who stayed behind did their job, though didn't bother much with the other people in the city so Gem interaction was to a minimum. The only main Gem, if it was considered, to interact with the other people most was Blue, and that was mainly because Greg had to take care of him while Steven was away. Amongst the current residents though, the only one active that night was Kyra, who looked up to space from a tall hill by the lighthouse. It was cold, and he had his 'shoe' wrapped around his scarred leg, but that wasn't on his mind at the moment. Instead, it was mainly on getting to Homeworld. After all, when you make a threat to arrive to Homeworld to the highest authority, not a good idea to turn it into a flat out lie. It didn't help that he missed his ride, either. Without that ship, he was pretty much stuck there, and he had places to be too. With his tail swishing on the ground, pushing snow aside, Kyra tried to think on what to do at this point. Eventually though, one thought did cross him that just might work. Getting up, Kyra began moving away from the cliff until he past the lighthouse, and in a more opened area of the hill.

"Discord, come here please!" Kyra called, but the draconequus didn't show. Kyra didn't know Discord too much, but if he was as nutty as they say, then Kyra rolled on with it. He cleared his throat.

"Discord, Discord, Discord," Kyra said, feeling a little dumb for saying that. Sure enough, Discord suddenly popped up, in a sort of striped attire. Too obvious of reference, but, at least he showed up.

"Hello, Kyra. Nice night, ain't it?" Discord asked. Kyra wasn't in the mood for games though.

"Listen, I didn't call you here for a simple chat."

"Oh, strict are we. Hard to keep your word when something goes wrong," Discord teased, referring to him getting stuck on Earth despite his warning. Kyra expected as much from the draconequus, as he walked a few steps away from the lighthouse.

"Yes, but, I already have a plan."

"Do you?"

"Indeed. And you are going to help me," Kyra concluded. Discord stopped perplexed, as Kyra turned around after a few more steps. Discord, being as smart as he was random, already knew what Kyra was up to. He conjured up some hot cocoa before speaking.

"Well, I don't see how someone as simple as me can help you in such a monumental task," Discord said, oddly modest about it. Kyra could see he was going to be difficult, and he gave a judgmental look at the draconequus.

"Don't give me any of that. You made simple house keys so Twilight can jump from Equestria to here, you can make a portal from here to Homeworld, I'm sure," Kyra retorted. Discord took a minute to sip his hot chocolate, thinking of a way out of it. After all, taking orders isn't his forte.

"Well, I knew where Equestria was, I don't have any idea where Homeworld is. The show never showed it, and the viewers don't know either," Discord said, looking to the readers. Kyra was starting to loose his patience, and grabbed his head, yanking it off in the right direction, at a particular star.

"Right there, Discord. That's the Homeworld Galaxy, now if you don't mind," Kyra demanded, letting him go afterward. Discord straightened himself out.

"And suppose I don't?"

"Then Fluttershy will get her flank ripped apart by Homeworld, and all you'll get is a simple message from her friends by the time they get back. It's already been a month, who knows?" Kyra explained. No, Kyra didn't know if that actually was going to happen, though it was good enough to get Discord's attention. The draconequus got worried over his favorite pony friend, wondering if he was right or not.

"Oh, alright, fine," Discord finally decided. Kyra nodded, and discord snapped his fingers. A round portal opened up, looking a bit blue like the portal the mane six would use back and forth. Kyra moved over to the portal, taking a better look to make sure of it.

"Alright. Wish me luck," Kyra said. He removed the bands around his scarred hoof, just before he made the defying leap into the portal...

Course, Discord was left a little shaken after that, so much so that he failed to noticed something else bolting through after Kyra ...

Author's Note

bout time we got a song back in the franchise :pinkiehappy:

And FINALLY we are on Homeworld everypony! :pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy: man, with literally nothing about what homeworld looks like at this point, I sure hope I gave many fans food for thought :raritywink:

And yeah, the scene shifts from Homeworld to Earth in the end, so, yeah :twilightblush: And Beetlejuice reference is obvious.

Crystal Clear

The first night on Homeworld was a bit different for those unfamiliar; the nights felt longer than on Earth, and even so, they weren't all used to overnight racket like in Earth cities either way. Upon daybreak, the first order of business came from Blue Pearl, who informed them about Blue Diamond wanting to see them and Steven. It was a rather early wake up call, but it was probably expected considering who they were being called to. Still, not everypony was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They were also joined by Pearl, mainly because Steven was going, for the sake of making sure he was okay. He was basically going to talk to one of the rulers of the world, of course someone would be worried over what'll happen.

"Alright, let's try to leave a good impression on Blue Diamond, everypony," Twilight said, a bit nervous herself, but trying to keep her cool. Twilight hadn't been properly introduced to Blue Diamond yet, so, meeting her was a bit stressful, in her own worrying.

"Twilight, I think nervous klutz isn't what Blue Diamond wants to see," Rainbow said, noticing her getting in her freakout mode again. Applejack was more subtle.

"Don't you fret, Twilight, everything will be just fine," Applejack assured her. Twilight, still a bit nervous, took her friends words to heart, as they began heading to the throne room, where Blue Diamond was waiting. At the moment, Blue Diamond actually had Sapphire by her side, who was sitting comfortably on her lap, while Lapis Lazuli was standing nearby. The two obviously had some quality time with Blue Diamond overnight, judging by this alone. However, Ruby still wasn't around anywhere, which was a bit odd here. Ruby and Sapphire weren't gone for too long before they turned back into Garnet again, unless it was for a special reason that they're not aware of. Lapis waved hello to Steven, who did the same.

"Greetings, miss Diamond," Twilight said, bowing in her presence. Blue diamond didn't reply at first.

"I hope you understand that such a move is royal if you were a Gem. But since you're not ..."

Immediately, Twilight straightened up, a bit freaked out for making a wrong move.

"O-Oh my, I-I didn't -"

Suddenly, Blue Diamond made a calming chuckle, along with Sapphire by her.

"I'm just joking, dear. No need to be alarmed," Blue Diamond said. Twilight felt embarrassed, and the blush on her face proved it, but she quickly corrected herself. Guess Blue Diamond was either told of her securities, or just wanted to play a joke, or both.

"So. You seven are the new organic creatures Sapphire and Lapis told me about?" Blue Diamond asked. Blue Pearl joined them, and moved over to her Diamond, as Pearl stayed in the back calmly.

"Well, not our main label, but yeah, we're new here," Rainbow said, though she got a nudge from Rarity.

"Understood. These two Gems had told me quite a bit about what you accomplished on both Equus and Earth; fighting corrupted Gems, and saving them a few times before. Is that true?" Blue Diamond asked calmly.

"It'd became a habit, actually," Twilight admitted bashfully, hoof rubbing the back of her head. Blue Diamond nodded.

"I see. I'm glade Lapis and Sapphire have good friends like you. Though, I do sense something ... Unique."

Blue Diamond lowered her gaze until it reached Steven, Pearl a little unsure as she did.

"You there. You appear to be a human, but something seems different about you."

"Well, I guess being the first human on Homeworld -"

"You're part Gem."

The room became quiet. How did Blue Diamond know that? Sapphire and Lapis didn't tell her that kind of information yet, so, having Blue Diamond figure it out almost immediately was surprising in of itself. Blue Diamond brought her hand forward, leaning down until her finger gently touched where Steven's Gemstone was. If tension wasn't around before, it sure was now. Pearl felt worried, and wanted to intervene, but soon Blue Diamond nodded, and moved her finger away.

"Rose Quartz," Blue Diamond concluded blankly.

"Blue Diamond, don't hurt him, he's just a human," Lapis pleaded, fearing this discovery would make her upset. Steven was worried he'll get in trouble too, but Blue Diamond turned to Lapis for a second.

"I won't; no need to blame him for what someone else had done. You're okay for me, child, though I advise you to be careful on who else sees your gemstone," Blue Diamond concluded. That was probably the biggest surprise they heard since arriving, and proved Blue Diamond was more forgiving than anyone would've thought. Steven lifted his shirt, and looked at the gemstone for a second.

"How'd you guess?" Applejack asked.

"Each type of Gem is special in their own way. It's the same way for you to tell who your friends are, and what makes them special in their own way. We're all unique in aura," Blue Diamond explained. A little confusing perhaps, but for Blue Diamond to pinpoint any Gem from eachother was something special.

"So you can tell every Gem apart from one another?" Twilight asked, completely astonished. Blue a Diamond just nodded.

"That's about it. I have to be, with how many Gems are on Homeworld. Speaking of which, how was Blue Peridot's tour?"

"Very helpful, thank you for asking. And I must say, your city is truly a marvel to behold," Rarity complimented.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves. I do hope the rest of your stay will be as grateful."

~~~~~~

Later on that day, Amethyst, Rainbow, Diopside, Fulgurite and Pearl were out on the town again. While Diopside, Rainbow Dash, and Amethyst mainly wanted to explore some more, Pearl was mainly there just to watch things, to make sure if anything goes wrong. Fulgurite was just along for the ride at this point. Amethyst and Rainbow both thought over what they had seen yesterday, and Amethyst deliberately went in the same direction as on the tour just to see if she could catch the larger Gems again.

"Dang, look at this place. Sure jumped on all the tech huh?" Fulgurite commented, looking around.

"Well five thousand years would do that," Pearl replied.

"True that. Still, heck, looks straight out of one of Steven's sci-fi picture books."

"You mean comics?" Diopside asked.

"Either or."

As they kept walking on, soon Amethyst and Rainbow saw the same passageway coming up, but unlike before, they didn't seem to hear anything going on. Of course, that didn't prove they weren't there or not, and Amethyst especially wanted to see for herself. Rainbow looked on ahead, having a better view from the air, and didn't see any training going on in that spot. Farther away, other Gems were still gossiping about the newcomers, still wondering on who they were and all that. However, amongst some, one Gem had her eyes not set on the flying pony ...

"Hey."

The voice got their attention quick, and they all turned around. Standing behind them was another, rather talk Gem. She looked at least Garnet's height, with her crescent, grey hair just adding extra height to her. For color, she matched Flint's rather closely. Her skin was grey, and her full body suit was a darker shade, with yellow diamond symbols on her shoulders, chest, and knees. She had a light blue visor, but only over her left eye. Her eyes (judging by the one) were a very dark green. Her expression was rather stern, and focused mainly on Pearl.

"What're you doing?" She asked firmly, arms crossed.

"Excuse me, do I know you?"

"Don't play that," she stated. Her visor seemed to be giving her some information, making a scan of this Pearl in particular. Soon though, something red showed on her visor.

"I thought so. Come on, back with me," she demanded, grabbing Pearl by the arm. Of course, the others made her let go of the confused Gem.

"Hey, hey, what gives?" Rainbow asked annoyed.

"She wandered off that's what. I'll just take her back," the Gem insisted, grabbing Pearl by the arm before she could run off.

"No you're not, she's with us, you can't just take her!"

"Yes I can. Thought you can steal a Pearl off from me, did you?"

"Steal?! Why you little -" Rainbow and Amethyst were ready to fight her for such claims, but Diopside got in the way. Last thing they needed was a street brawl.

"Guys, wait, don't!" Diopside insisted. Then she turned to the distributor.

"Please, mam, we didn't steal anything, she's been with us since we arrived here."

"I'd known that if it did happen. If you want a Pearl that badly, then you'll have to get one ordered, pre-paid, and delivered like everyone else."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Pearl asked.

"No," replied the Gem. Soon, their patience was warring thin.

"Hey, who do you think you are?!" Amethyst snapped.

"Melanite; prime Pearl distributor to Yellow Diamond. Now if you excuse me I have a job to do," she explained, a screen forming up in front of her. After a few clicks, before any of them could grab her or before Pearl could get herself free, suddenly a set of white rings popped up. They rushed up and down them both, before they ended up teleporting away. Even with Fulgurite and Rainbow, they weren't fast enough to get her ...

"Oh crud."

......

"Melanite took her?" Blue Diamond summed up.

"Yeah she did! She even called us thieves over it!" Replied Amethyst.

Of course, the four went straight back to Blue Diamond for some help. If anyone can give them a helping hand, it would be her. This sort of trouble didn't take long to reach the others though.

"Of all the nerve!" Rarity gasped.

"I can't believe it, what'd she do wrong?" Added Twilight.

"Nothing! She just came in, took her, and went away," Fulgurite said.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Melanite is rather strict to rules, one of which is to not let a unauthorized Pearl roam," Blue Diamond explained. That just made the others even more upset.

"The hay?! What kind of rule's that?!" Rainbow snapped.

"It is a ludicrous rule, but one that's been around for a long time by Yellow Diamond, to avoid renegade as she puts it. I'll try to consult with her about it, but in the mean time, you're all going to have to be patient," Blue Diamond explained. Fulgurite didn't like that plan at all, for multiple reasons. Of course, there's the fact on waiting for what will come, and Fulgurite didn't enjoy that, but also, Pearl could easily end up in a lot of trouble. If Melanite was true to her words, and if Pearls are treated more like tools by what she said, then Pearl could easily end up sold to some other Homeworld Gem.

"Can't you just tell her to release her or something? you are in charge, aren't you?"

"Melanite doesn't work for me, only her Diamond can tell her that kind of demand."

"But what about your Pearl? I'm sure you didn't had trouble getting her!"

"My Pearl was specially picked as a gift; she wasn't just taken, and therefore has legal rights at my Pearl. I'll try what I can, but I can't guarantee anything," Blue Diamond promised. It didn't exactly help too much with everyone, and only left Fulgurite more frustrated. If Melanite's treatment towards Pearl was anything to go on, it wasn't going to be easy. Eventually, frustrated and not wanting to wait, Fulgurite quickly bolted out lightning fast, leaving Amethyst and Diopside in a tailspin. She moved far too quick for anybody or anypony to get her. Sapphire wondered for a little bit after Fulgurite raced off, and then she got an idea ...

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Pearl was teleported to an entirely new location by Melanite. It wasn't anywhere that Pearl would recognize; a large rounded holding room, with a holographic wall splitting the area up. With a few clicks, the hologram opened up, and Pearl was put inside. Pearl tried to get herself out, but it closed right away, and as such she was stuck.

"Would you calm down? You'll get properly owned soon enough," Melanite sighed, signing her in.

"I don't belong here, this is a big mistake!" Pearl retorted. But, although annoyed, Melanite wasn't impressed.

"You don't have a say in this, remember? Now look good, behave yourself, and you'll be let out once someone buys you, okay?" With that, Melanite walked away, leaving Pearl in her supposed cell. She didn't hear any other sounds, but she could guess that there were other Pearls somewhere here. From in the room, she saw the main lobby looking more like some sort of prison hold, or one of those places on Earth called dog pounds. Pearl tried over and over, but no matter what the method she tried, she couldn't get pass the hologram wall without hurting herself in the process. She tried shooting with her spear, but all that did was making the weapon dissolve almost instantly. Pearl could only hope that her friends could figure things out for her soon.

As for Melanite, she exited the building she put Pearl in, which looked like a factory from outside (a ton of pearls stored inside probably). It wasn't too far from another tower, which didn't look the exact same as the one Blue Diamond was in. Similar structure, yes, but some slight coloration differences to match the other Diamond Melanite followed.

"Must've been messed with," thought Melanite. Before she could go ...

"HOLD IT!"

Before Melanite could just go, a yellowish blur rushed by her fast, startling her a little. In a screeching halt, and turn around, Fulgurite was standing there again.

"You again?"

"Yes, me again! I want Pearl back, you can't just take someone like that!" Fulgurite snapped.

"First of all, she wasn't yours to begin with. Second, if you want one, just order one and we'll deliver a Pearl to you. It's that simple," Melanite explained, ignoring Fulgurite's childish anger. Fulgurite just groaned.

"So, if I pay, I'll get her back?" Fulgurite cleared up, thinking it would be the Pearl she knew from Earth.

"You'll get a Pearl, what's difference does it make? They all act the same anyway."

"Wha - no! I want MY Pearl, not some replacement!" Fulgurite yelled, getting a bit too close for comfort. Melanite was starting to loose her patience with her, leaning over with an equally annoyed glare.

"Listen here, Gem, all Pearls behave the same, they're made the same, and they all follow orders, there's no point in choosing one Pearl over the hundreds of others! Now, go away before I call the guards!" Melanite ordered. Fulgurite wasn't so easily intimidated, and stood there with her foot impatiently tapping the dirt.

"HA! You're bluffing! I'm not leaving without her!" Fulgurite firmly stated. Melanite waited a bit to see if she'll just go, but Fulgurite stayed anyway. Melanite rolled her eyes, and just sighed.

"Don't forget; you asked for it," Melanite warned. But, instead of calling the guards, she instead went inside the building. Fulgurite moved to the door, ready to open it when something shot out, and stabbed her stomach! Suddenly, she poofed right then and there, her lightning gemstone falling to the ground. Melanite walked back outside, and picked up the Gemstone, along with what stabbed her; a Gem Destabilizer! Guess she was more prepared than what Fulgurite gave her credit for. After picking up the gemstone from the ground, a simple motion actually got her to teleport the gemstone away, far from the location.

Done and done, just like that.

~~~~~~

back with the others, they waited back at Blue Diamond's tower as they were told to do, as Blue Diamond and Sapphire were in another room trying to handle the issue as promised. It'd been rather quiet, only muffled sounds of Blue diamond in the other room trying to discuss it with her equaled ruler. It'd been quite a while, and the wonder over if it'll work out was starting to bite at them. Twilight was pacing around the room, back and forth while the others tried to remain calm.

"Can you sit down, Twilight?" Amethyst insisted, not feeling much better with Twilight's pacing about. As they werw waiting around though, something started to pop up in the air above them. Turned out, it was Fulgurite's gemstone! It stayed mid air for a second more until it fell onto Pinkie Pie's head, making her jump. Very soon, Fulgurite wasted no time in reforming herself, yet she was furious upon fully recovering.

"What's with you?" Amethyst asked.

"I'LL SHATTER THAT GEM!" Fulgurite screamed in rage, her hair sprawled out as electricity shot out from her rage. No one got hit, but Lapis rushed over to calm her down.

"Fulgurite, wait, calm down please! Deep breaths, deep breaths," Lapis said. While trying to hold her in place was slightly painful with the electricity, Fulgurite began to slow her breath and relax enough to keep her senses, her hair falling back to normal.

"Now, what happened?"

"I tried to get back Pearl, but that stubborn Melanite kept refusing me, and even hit me with a Gem Destabilizer!" Fulgurite revealed, feeling her anger grow a little bit again upon reminding herself what happened. She hated being beaten by such a cheap trick.

"Aww! Now what do we do?" Steven wondered, also wondering what's going to happen to their Pearl.

"We'll just have to wait and see if Blue Diamond can sort it out," Twilight concluded, sitting down next to Steven. Pinkie Pie went over right to the door, between them and Blue Diamond, as she tried to hear what they were saying. She couldn't make it out too well, but soon the door opened up (Pinkie being pushed off aside) as Blue Diamond came out ...

Unfortunately, she shook her head.

"Oh man," Rainbow groaned, hoof to forehead.

"I tried what I could," Blue Diamond noted, before walking off. At least they could say that she had tried. But the question remained; what do they do now? Before any answer would come around, suddenly Blue Pearl came in.

"Where's Sapphire?"

"She'll be busy for this evening."

~~~~~~

For the next couple of hours, Pearl was basically kept inside her room by Melanite to keep her from running off again. Pearl really felt a bit in the rough at the moment; being stuck in such a place just because she's a Pearl with no exact owner. Throughout the day, Pearl could see more of her type of Gems being brought out, heading to different areas of Homeworld time and again. Pearl knew in her heart that she wasn't meant to be in here, she was to be with her friends at least.

"I can't believe this. We haven't been on Homeworld for more than a day, and here I am in a cell ... like any other Pearl," Pearl thought, sighing miserably. She stopped trying to force herself out at this point, so all she could do was wait and hopefully she'll get lucky somehow. She heard Melanite come back in her teleportation for the twentieth time that day (and even then she wasn't sure if that was all of them), looking over her screen and keeping track of the Pearls in the facility. as Melanite was about to call it for the day, there was, oddly, a knock at the front end of the building. Melanite then went off to get the door, and once she opened it up ...

"Hello."

"If you're here for a pickup, you'll have to wait until tomorrow; just closing," Melanite informed. Pearl couldn't see who was talking, so, it was a pure guess on who it really was.

"I'm sure you have at least one more order ready for me?"

"I've dealt with seventy five today, and none of them are for -" suddenly, Melanite's screen went off with a yellow diamond beep. Pearl hadn't been around for long, but she knew enough that the beeping meant a notification for another order. She heard that same beep a good fifty times now, and caught on after that. As for the information, Melanite looked at the order to see what was what, and soon got the information in. The information mainly consisted of name, and picture of the Gem in particular.

"Hm ... Sapphire ... Wait a minute."

turned out, she was right in front of her.

"May I have my Pearl please?" Sapphire asked. Melanite still needed a minute for the Houdini trick before answering Sapphire.

"How'd you do that? You messing with my screen?"

"No; I set an order earlier today. Just thought I see my Pearl in person, that's all," Sapphire replied. Melanite still wasn't sure on this, for it wasn't the regular form of order. The main thing was for her to get an order, teleport the Pearl to the right place, earn her keep, rinse and repeat. Here though, the order was messed up just from Sapphire being there at all. Either way, the aristocratic Gem went on inside, Pearl seeing Sapphire come in, as Melanite followed.

"I believe my Pearl should be ... there," Sapphire assumed, and then pointed right at Pearl. Pearl knew exactly what Sapphire was doing, but Melanite looked stern to Sapphire.

"Wait a minute, you sure you want her? She's a troublemaker, and it might be some time before she would be mended."

"I like her just the way she is. I'll happily take her," Sapphire concluded. Melanite still wasn't too sure about Pearl in particular, but an order's an order, and she wasn't taught to not take one. So, with a few clicks, Pearl was released. Happy as ever, Pearl went right over to Sapphire with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you," Sapphire said. Melanite nodded, and soon after some pay, Sapphire and Pearl walked out. Melanite offered to teleport, but Sapphire insisted to just walk with Pearl. Besides, with how furious Fulgurite was back at the tower, it might save Melanite the trouble on facing her again. Pearl and Sapphire smiled to eachother, Pearl grateful that she was out and in her company. Sapphire herself was just glad to have her friend back, and she was sure that everyone else will be happy too once they see her.

Author's Note

Now we learned some of Homeworld, now we learn about Pearls on Homeworld, and how that works. Harsh, yes, but it makes sense from what we got anyway. Consider this my main take on how Pearls are handled on Homeworld.

Guardian Code

Time continued ticking, and time on Homeworld became something the Crystal Gems grew more used to. They were getting a bit of a rocky start, Pearl especially, but Sapphire was confident that things will go just fine. She never said things were going to be easy after all. It did seem though some Gems were busy doing their own things as of were. It really had been interesting so far, for better or for worse. Exploring Homeworld had been a blast for some, but for others things had gone a bit bumpy. Either way, it would be a while before they get on Homeworld's good side yet. It was easier than any of them expected with Blue Diamond, but she wasn't the only Diamond on Homeworld and they had to consider that. They were close to Yellow Diamond before with one of her subjects, so, most likely they'd run into her sometime soon. What it'll become was unknown, but, it was best for them not to cause anymore trouble.

Outside, the fighters of the Crystal Gems decided that just lazing around waiting for something to happen wasn't going to be an option, or at least not a good idea. So, working off memory, Amethyst brought Jasper and Ruby off to the same training grounds she saw the other fighters train beforehand. They could see why they were training here; it was flat, out of the way, and room to maneuver. Once more, there was actually some training equipment already there, proving this was a training spot. Peridot and Steven joined them too, mostly as a spectator though unlike the others. Despite her own training, she preferred to be on the sidelines rather than keep on fighting. The other Gems though got to practice right off the bat, and didn't waste anytime starting up some practice runs. For a start, Ruby, Amethyst, and Jasper had set up some large practice dummies. These dummies, although didn't fight in any advanced attacks, actually did move on their own with some tech work from Peridot. The three were for small, medium, or large fighters (probably guess which one got which).

"You got them, guys!" Steven cheered. The other three continued fighting their own practice dummies in their own way; Ruby fought her with strength but also used her smaller size as a tool for dodging the attacks. Amethyst dos similar tactics, and had the advantage of attacking from afar with a rolling attack, and Gem whip. It was Jasper who used mostly strength alone, fighting it head on. The dummies weren't strong, so Jasper wasn't worried over injury. One punch after the other, Jasper began to cripple her target more and more, until one well aimed slam of her fist knocked the head clean off! The head flew in the air in a spin for a good few seconds until someone actually caught it.

She wasn't one of Jasper's friends though.

"What's goin' on here?"

"Amethyst, don't distract me now," Ruby said, still fighting her dummy. However, a large, muscular, purple arm ended up picking up her dummy to get her attention. Ruby turned around, only to find that this Gem wasn't their Amethyst. This one was just about Jasper's size, and outfit to match. Basically this Gem was Jasper with Amethyst's colors and face, and her Gemstone not on her chest. Instead, it was on her fist. She didn't look angry, though smugness was surely evident in her expression. Ruby would still protest if she didn't see the Gemstone moved, and her Amethyst standing nearby.

"Having fun with the training spot?" She asked. Her voice also mimicked Amethyst, albeit slightly lower tone.

"Well, yeah. Wait, are you -"

"Another Amethyst!" Amethyst realized. She remembered seeing the Homeworld Amethyst before while she was training, though wasn't too sure if she really was what she thought. After seeing the gemstone matching hers though, it was a guarantee that this was another Amethyst. The Homeworld Amethyst soon saw her apparent "mini me" standing nearby. Compared to her, the other Amethyst was about half the height. The Homeworld Amethyst then saw Steven nearby, and confirmed her thoughts with a smirk.

"So you're all the Earth Gem visitors, aren't ya?" She guessed.

"How'd you guess?" Ruby asked.

"Word gets around fast, especially when the news is about six Gem colored aliens visiting too," the Homeworld Amethyst explained. Made sense; with the mane six on their tour pretty much all over the place.

"So, this your training ground?"

"Nah, it's open to whoever. Just didn't expect this variety of Gems to come by today. How often do a Ruby, Jasper, and Amethyst train at the same time anyway?" The Homeworld Amethyst said, showing some slight tactlessness in her statement. Sounded familiar. Still, that reminded Amethyst about the other, larger Gem she was training with last time she saw her. The huge Gem didn't look like another Amethyst to her, so, that statement seemed a little ironic of the Homeworld Amethyst to think that. Steven felt a bit confused nearby, and nudged Peridot.

"What's wrong with training together?" Steven asked.

"Well, it's more typical for Gem types to stay with their own type of Gem when it comes to instructions rather than mixing types for the same work. Unless the Diamonds say otherwise, that is," Peridot explained to him. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but as Peridot said, it was just more standard as all.

"You here to train too?" Jasper asked.

"Not today. Yellow Diamond wanted some practice dummies for her Quartzes, and apparently you've been busy with them," she said, a finger pointing to the dummies they were fighting with. Upon mention of what Yellow diamond wanted, Peridot quickly gathered them up and brought them to the Homeworld Amethyst. Even with her involvement with the Crystal Gems, her good graces still was to Yellow Diamond, and if she wanted some of the dummies, she'll get them.

"Here you are," Peridot said quickly, giving them to her. Unneeded, but efficient anyway. Homeworld Amethyst lifted them with ease over her shoulder.

"Alrighty then, I should be going. Catch you later," she said, turning to go. However, Amethyst just met the Homeworld counterpart, and didn't want to just go right away. Besides, seeing other Quartzes would be a good idea too. Looking to Amethyst, Ruby already got the idea, and looked back to the Homeworld Amethyst.

"You wouldn't mind showing us the division, would you?" Ruby asked. Homeworld Amethyst stopped and turned around.

"Sure about that? Yellow Diamond isn't really one for surprise guests."

"We belong to her anyway, might as well," Jasper retorted, which was technically true, and a reason for them to go back to her. Besides, her mission was to get Peridot back anyway, and she didn't give her the news yet.

"Hm, alright then, follow me," Homeworld Amethyst decided, shrugging. If they did belong to Yellow diamond anyway, might as well bring them back for a while. It was a quick decision, but at least they were getting one. Steven and Amethyst were excited to see the Quartzes in their own work, and wondered how it would be.

~~~~~~

Guided by the Homeworld Amethyst, Jasper, Peridot, Steven, Amethyst and Ruby all were brought off to the more active area of Homeworld's community. It wasn't a building that Homeworld Amethyst had brought them to, but rather a open training zone. The sounds of punches, kicks, grunts and warrior cries easily told the others that training was in full swing. Either that or a riot started, whichever came first. The area was separated by tall metal walls, with a holographic gate in front of them After standing there for a little bit, the gate moved aside to allow them through, bringing them inside. The entrance gate itself was up on a balcony, and it gave the other Gems something to look at. Off of the balcony, they looked around to find a open, rocky area with varying Quartz Gems training in unison. They saw about ten warriors down there, all of them looking like Jasper and Homeworld Amethyst do. In comparison, Amethyst and Ruby felt pretty small, as she didn't see any of them their size. Homeworld Amethyst jumped down from the balcony, landing on the ground with a sturdy landing. The others followed ... yet, Steven and Peridot's landing wasn't as graceful. A.K.A, landing on their faces. At that moment though, another taller Gem was also present, observing the group as they trained up.

One of the Quartz appeared a bit taller than the others. She was that same red-haired Quartz Amethyst and Rainbow saw earlier, though here they got a better view of the Gem than before. Her skin was light silver, with stripes of pure white similar to Jasper, though her stripes moved down rather than to the side. Her left side was completely white while a pointed stripe went down from her good eye, which was also silver. Her suit was a dark grey, but didn't show any diamond symbol on it. As for size, she was three times bigger than Amethyst, and was easy to point out from the group.

"Hey, got the practice stuff," Homeworld Amethyst said, catching her attention. Of course, she looked down at the others close by, walking past the Homeworld Amethyst.

"Did Yellow Diamond demand more Quartz Gems?" She asked, a little annoyed with more Gems arriving.

"No, she didn't, but -"

"Then you're trespassing. Get out before I pound you all in the dirt," she threatened, cracking her fists. Maybe it'd make sense if Jasper and Peridot weren't there too, obviously showing Yellow Diamond symbols on them, and therefore, showing their respect to her.

"Hey, I have my right to be here! I have a Peridot for her anyway," Jasper retorted, pointing to the diamond symbol on her, and then pointing to Peridot.

"Why would she want that embarrassment of a Gem? Why don't you take your pebbles, and play in the dirt," she mocked, shooing them away even. Steven didn't get the mock, but everyone else was getting angry at her.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Peridot snapped.

"Don't care," the white Gem said bluntly. Peridot was ticked off.

"Watch your mouth, they've been through more than -" Jasper warned. Suddenly, she grabbed Jasper by the collar, and pulled her up off the ground with little effort. Jasper glared at her, not expecting such a bold move to a veteran war Gem.

"You looking for trouble, runt?" the Gem growled.

"What'd you call me?!" Jasper snarled. Suddenly, the Homeworld Amethyst got in the way before things could get too out of hand.

"Rupee, drop her! Yellow Diamond warned you what'll happen," Homeworld Amethyst advised firmly. Rupee looked back to Jasper with a rough groan passing her lips, before she roughly dropped her to the ground, and moved away. Of course, Jasper got right up and was still fuming.

"Hey, get back here, you clod! No one mocks me and gets away with it!" Jasper demanded, but the others grabbed her before she could charge at Rupee. It took the combined efforts of everyone else just to keep her still. After some struggling, Jasper (while annoyed as ever) relented, as Homeworld Amethyst looked back to them.

"Who's the tough shot?" Amethyst asked, equally annoyed with her arms crossed.

"That's Rupee. She's a bit new, and has a bit of an anger issue," Homeworld Amethyst replied with a groan. Rupee took no notice of the others, and went right back to the training group. Obviously this Gem wasn't up to making any friends, on Homeworld or not.

"How new?" Jasper asked. She'd only been gone for a few months, yet didn't remember seeing her.

"Only a month, really; and I swear she's not getting any better. Just stay out of the way, and you'll be fine," she warned. It was probably the best she could do when to came to them and dealing with Rupee. Jasper just groaned though, and grabbed Peridot, walking to the tower.

"Come on, let's get this over with," Jasper groaned.

~~~~~~

Jasper and Peridot both wasted no time in getting right over to the tower in question. Comparing Blue Diamond's tower to Yellow Diamond, this one appeared more broad, and held an uncanny resemblance to the Equestrian Crystal Empire castle, down to the hollow base where Gems can walk through if they wish to, and a suspended diamond right at the center. Either the Crystal Ponies took inspiration from Homeworld, or Homeworld took inspiration from the Crystal Empire. Either way, Jasper and Peridot weren't here to look over the architecture, they had a report to bring in. Jasper knew how to do so, as the design didn't change since she last seen it months ago. All she needed to do was simply clicked on the diamond in a few spots before it activated. Consider it like the doorbell to a large mansion. After a little bit, a screen soon appeared, showing the same room with the same Yellow Pearl.

"What is your business?" Yellow Pearl asked, awaiting the answer. Jasper straightened out, and her arms and hands went into a diamond symbol in front of her, her fingers touching eachother to do so. Peridot quickly did the same.

"I'm here to report on my mission to Earth; I've retrieved back Peridot " Jasper informed, showing Peridot next to her. Yellow Pearl looked quizzically at her.

"What happened to your enhancers?" She asked, eyebrow raised. Peridot felt a bit embarrassed.

"Eh ... they were ... lost," she said sheepishly. Yellow Pearl's expression wasn't changed, but she eventually turned away. Off-screen, she seemed to get the cue, and after a nod, the screen turned off. Soon afterward, the diamond itself glowed bright yellow, and released a set of rings which hovered over both of them. After rushing down over their bodies, the two ended up teleported away, from outside to inside.

After the teleportation, Jasper and Peridot found themselves in Yellow Diamond's throne room. Unlike Blue Diamond, which was more formal, this one appeared more like a working station than most. There was a throne, but rather than detailed patterns, instead there was many different screens, each with their own bit of information on them. Course, the two didn't focus on them (well, Jasper didn't), and instead focused more on the Gem on the throne herself.

Yellow Diamond.

Her Pearl noticed them first, but didn't say a word until Yellow Diamond looked down to them after checking on one of the screens. It was rather clear that Yellow Diamond was the more techy Diamond of the authority. Her yellow eyes looked sternly down at them.

"Greetings, my Diamond. I've returned with your Peridot," Jasper informed, making the diamond symbol again.

"I can see that. Why aren't you contacting me from the ship?" Yellow Diamond asked firmly.

"The ship ... was destroyed," Jasper answered grimly. She didn't want that kind of news to be the first thing, especially to Yellow Diamond of all Gems. The expression on Yellow Diamond's face remained unchanged though, keeping a judging look.

"By who?" she asked, slowly and firmly. That question was rougher to answer. Now, normally Jasper would answer straight out that it was the Crystal Gems and their pony friends who'd done it, but after what she'd done with them through the months on Earth, ratting them out to the Diamond authority might not be the best idea in her mind, especially concerning what they were trying to do. She hated to, but eventually she answered.

"No one. There was a ... malfunction, on my way to Earth. That's why I was away for longer than I should, my Diamond." Course, she was lying through her teeth, but the others in the room, Peridot included, seemed to buy it. Peridot wasn't there when it happened, so, hearing from Jasper what had happened to the ship was just as believed as it would be. Jasper looked down shamefully, and waited for Yellow Diamond to say something to them both.

"Incompetent manufacturers," Yellow Diamond scolded under her breath, before looking back to them again. "I'll inform them on the matter. I don't appreciate your lateness, Jasper, yet indeed you brought Peridot back unharmed, so consider it a warning."

"Yes, my Diamond," Jasper said in a bow. Then, it was Peridot's turn, who was feeling internally frantic since the second they showed up.

"Peridot? ... How is the Earth?" Yellow Diamond inquired.

"Uh ... F-Full of life," Peridot got out, trying to get her nerves together at this point. Not often do any Gems, nevermind a low-ranking Peridot, to be in the presence of the ruler of her world (metaphorically and literally). Yellow Diamond looked back to her screen for a moment.

"Organic life," she noted in a sigh.

"Y-Yes, well -"

A loud *ahem* from Yellow Diamond silenced Peridot immediately, making the green Gem clam up. Yellow Pearl saw this, and smiled cheekily, enjoying seeing Peridot's reaction. Peridot only gulped a dry gulp before Yellow Diamond spoke again.

"I saw you both arrive in the training yard. You're not alone, I've noticed ... Who else is with you?" the Diamond asked, the last part deeply serious. Jasper and Peridot didn't think she saw them out there, but Jasper decided to answer first.

"Well, there's an Amethyst, a Ruby -"

"Not them. I know who they are," Yellow Diamond interrupted, silencing her just from that. "... but, why the human? Why is he here?" Now, there was trouble, and they both hesitated. They didn't want Steven to get in trouble just for being here, and Yellow Diamond wasn't one to take this lying down either. Yellow Diamond looked carefully at their reaction, and seeing them both hesitate made her suspicious. It wasn't their fault though, with the Diamond still remembering the spiteful call she'd gotten a month earlier by one particular Draconian ...

"What. Did you bring. To my planet?" asked Yellow Diamond, loosing patience with them. Eventually, Jasper relented.

"Some organic lifeforms, my Diamond. I guarantee though they're not here to harm you, or anyone else," Jasper assured her. Yellow Diamond had trouble believing in that.

"Tell me their names," she demanded. they didn't want to go too far, but they didn't had much choice in her presence. Eventually, after another pause, Peridot finally relented, and listed off the Mane six, and adding Steven at the end. Yellow Diamond listened with every single word with full focus, taking note of every single one. When she stopped though, Yellow Diamond felt a little confused (though didn't show it). She brought her hand to her chin, and thought it over for a little bit. Maybe, what happened next, was inevitable.

"What of the Crystal Gems?"

That question hit them both like aimed daggers. Jasper knew well what the Crystal Gems had done to their kind a long time ago, and if Yellow Diamond was informed correctly about their presence, then things could end up going very badly for them. Heck, Amethyst and Ruby were both outside at the moment, and if she found out that, she'd have their Gemstones for sure, and maybe Jasper and Peridot's own. Yellow Diamond wasn't as forgiving as Blue Diamond unfortunately, and how she'll react would most likely be harsh.

"C-Can you be more specific?" Asked Peridot worryingly. Even Peridot herself as she said so, knew it wasn't the best choice of words, and the stern look on Yellow Diamond's face turned into annoyance. She didn't need to explain herself to anyone or anything, for they got the order as they got it, when they got it.

"I expect full honestly from all my Gems, you two should know this same as anybody. So, I'll ask you again, nice and slow, and one of you better answer; What. Of. the Crystal Gems?" Yellow Diamond's tone felt like she was pouring salt on an open wound; stinging and effective more she did so. Jasper looked like the words were actually hurting her at that point, and Peridot was in full panic inside. Finally, Peridot gave up.

"They're alive and well, my diamond, but please don't be mad at them they're too low in numbers to be a threat to you, your world, or anything here, please don't be mad at us both, we tried our best while stranded, and they -"

"Alright already!" Yellow Diamond bellowed, her voice echoing in the room. She knew her words would break them, but not this much, and just a simple 'they're alive' would've been just fine. Peridot was in full panic mode, cold sweat running down her face, as she said the information very quickly from fear. this was not a Diamond one should tick off, and their reluctant behavior was getting close to doing so. Yellow Diamond should've known a Peridot would crack too easily under pressure. She just sighed, pinching between her eyes before responding.

"So, by the information, what remained of the Crystal Gems actually assisted you?" Yellow Diamond questioned, still firm but not as forceful in tone, now that the two were being more honest to her. This time, Jasper answered.

"They did, I admit. they helped us both for the months on Earth before we returned, and didn't leave us for dead," Jasper said. Yellow Diamond thought for a moment.

"And the organic creatures, Twilight and them. Did they assist you too?"

"Not as much, but, yes."

Yellow Diamond took a moment of thought over this bit of information. Jasper and Peridot basically accepted help from something that used to be the enemy of Homeworld. If they had full loyalty to her, then they shouldn't bother themselves with it, and yet they allowed them to do so. Still, even with the Crystal Gems alive, her thoughts shifted to the organic creatures present as well. How much had they done, she could only wonder.

"I feel like you two are holding back on me."

"Huh?"

"I've received a message from Earth a month prior to now ... They're here, and I know you know where they are. So tell me; where are the Crystal Gems?"

And the reluctance returned just like that. What was she going to do if she found that out? After earlier though, this reluctance didn't last as long. Sure, Blue Diamond talked to her about Pearl and Melanite, but Blue Diamond avoided saying who's Pearl she belonged to in particular - group wise.

"With Blue Diamond," Jasper simply stated. It was bad to put Blue Diamond in the issue, but maybe putting an equal who accepted them might cut them some slack. Yellow Diamond had one final question in mind for them before dismissing them.

"What about Kyra?"

At this point, Yellow Diamond assumed Jasper and Peridot were aware about Kyra's plans. Jasper however was rather clueless, and Peridot kinda saw it coming at this point. Still, far as she knew, Kyra was stuck on Earth, so, what could he do now? Confidence struck her there.

"He's stuck on Earth, my Diamond," Peridot clarified, much more confident that time. This shift Yellow Diamond noticed quickly, but was glad there was no hesitation that time. Well that, and that Kyra won't bother her as he claimed to be.

"Much improved. Good work for both of you," Yellow Diamond congratulated. Peridot, in spite herself, smiled happily for a second.

"You two can go now. I'll notify you on your next task." she was ready to let them go, but Jasper remembered Rupee by then. What was the deal with her, and why wasn't she notified about it?

"My Diamond, before we go, I want to ask you something."

Yellow Diamond was silent, but allowed Jasper to continue with a circling motion of her hand.

"What's with Rupee?"

Jasper didn't need to add any more.

"Rupee's a new Gem we're currently testing. Prone to anger, yet, she's showing surprising improvement."

"Improving in behavior, I hope," Jasper thought. If she was staying, control over anger would be just swell. Yellow Diamond looked to her two followers again.

"Be off on your way," she finished. Another diamond from close by glowed yellow, and the two teleported away again. When it was just her and Yellow Pearl, Yellow Diamond could only breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Kyra won't have a chance to bother her, or Homeworld anymore ...

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Amethyst, Steven, and Ruby had to wait for Jasper, and Peridot back at the training yard. Rupee was busy with her training to bother the three again (for the moment). They didn't had much to do, yet Amethyst and Steven intently watched the Quartzes do what they wished. After a little bit, Steven saw Homeworld Amethyst, starting up a larger practice dummy to use for a bit.

"Hey, Ame, whatcha doing?" Steven asked, walking over to her. Homeworld Amethyst looked back to him.

"Just ready to pummel this dummy," she answered.

"You're going to use your Gem weapon?" Steven asked hopefully. Homeworld Amethyst smirked, and summoned her weapon for Steven's sake. While Amethyst had a whip for her weapon, Homeworld Amethyst's weapon actually consisted of a purple tinted brass knuckles. Steven's eyes popped out wide and starred as he saw the brass knuckle, and swung the weapon right at the dummy, sending it flying off a good twenty feet before it collapsed on the ground in a heap. All three saw the hit, and Steven was most impressed.

"WHOA! Awesome!" Steven beamed. Amethyst and Ruby know that Steven was rather easy to please, and Homeworld Amethyst was surprised how psyched he was seeing that happen. Course, she didn't meet with Pinkie yet ...

Watching nearby, Rupee took a moment to see the reactions from the other three. These fighters were pretty small for Quartz Gems. Ruby was understandable, for she was supposed to be a smaller fighter, but the other two were smaller than anticipated. Amethyst was three times smaller, and Steven ... Well, she didn't had any clue about Steven. He didn't look like any particular Gem she'd seen in the area; small, soft, not showing any sign of strength or danger to anyone. She didn't bother herself with them at first, and kept her mind right on her own practice until she got bored of that. Punching the daylights out of a practice dummy, or basic exercises could only go so far. During one harsher punch on a dummy, it was sent flying in the air. It landed harshly right by Ruby and Steven, almost landing on them!

"Hey! Watch where your hitting!" Ruby yelled.

"You shouldn't had been standing there, pebble," Rupee replied, not caring in the slightest about their safety. Ruby just groaned, rolling her eyes. Yet, just as things calmed down, Rupee decided to mess with them, and deliberately whacked another dummy at them. when the dummy landed, it hit Amethyst and Ruby hard, knocking them both to the ground. That made them both even crosser still, as Ruby tossed the dummy off of them. Fuming to the point of literal smoke, Ruby stormed right up to Rupee.

"Listen here, you useless piece of slab, I've had it up to here with you! Apologize right now or I'll -"

"Or you'll what? Punch me with those tiny hands? You want a better fight, so beat up a pile of gravel," Rupee mocking, laughing at the enraged red Gem. Ruby basically had enough, and got her own Gem weapon; a boxing glove. Soon, Ruby punched at Rupee like crazy, rapid punching at her leg. However, Rupee wasn't fazed in the slightest, and the punches did nothing to her. Rupee looked down to Ruby after a bit before grabbing her by the head, picking her up, and tossing her aside like trash. Ruby bolted back and tried more out of rage, but Rupee was starting to feel a little bugged.

"Oh, you wanna fight do ya?" Rupee said with a sinister, toothy smile. Amethyst saw what was coming; she got out her whip and quickly got it around Ruby's waist. One yank saved Ruby from being crushed by Rupee's stomp. Steven grew worried, as Rupee walked over to them.

"Wait, stop! Please stop fighting!" Steven begged, getting in between Rupee and Ruby. It was a very bold move, and one that could get Steven hurt, but he couldn't stand to keep watching this. Rupee though wasn't so easily intimidated.

"Not much of a fight, now move so I can drill her face in the dirt," Rupee said, ready to do so.

"No, please don't!"

"Why? You want to get cracked?" Rupee asked. She even had the nerve to grab Steven by the collar, and lift him clear off the ground! Amethyst and Ruby looked on with shock, as Rupee raised her fist to smash his skull. Homeworld Amethyst went right in, and grabbed Rupee's arm, holding her back. This was as far as she'll allow it.

"Rupee, you take one strike at him, and Yellow Diamond will have your Gem," she warned. She made her let go, but didn't drop Steven, having him in a single handed, full body grip. She felt his soft, fleshy skin which felt funny in her hand. Amethyst and Ruby both were ready to pummel her, weapon drawn against her.

"Want somethin, do ya? Catch!"

Rupee has the nerve to throw Steven high in the air!

"Steven!" Ruby and Amethyst gasped. The two ran like mad to try to catch him before he could hit the ground. Rupee found it amusing how desperate they both were trying to catch him, Rupee still under the idea that Steven was some other Gem on Homeworld. Steven spun around in the air, falling down to the ground, but before he could land, a Gem did indeed catch him just before landing.

Jasper.

She and Peridot got back from their meeting, and Jasper saw everything that happened. Steven was just happy he didn't splatter on landing.

"Rupee! What was that for?! You can't throw him like that!!" Jasper snapped. Not the first thing that would come out of her mouth, but after seeing Steven flailing in the air, Jasper felt like she had to. Rupee looked roughly at Jasper.

"You again. Why not? Go on, humor me."

"Does he look like a Gem to you?! He's fragile, and soft!" Jasper yelled, holding Steven up to show her. Rupee could care less about the state of Steven, or any of the other Gems for that matter. Being called fragile and soft may be true when comparing, but not really the best choice of words. Rupee went right over to her.

"That punk got in my way, runt," Rupee growled, a muscular hand gripping Jasper's arm. The pain hurt, and enough to make her drop Steven. Steven fell to the ground, but not as much pain as it could've been if no one caught him. Peridot could see how much was escalating, and quickly rushed off with Steven before he could get hurt. Jasper forced Rupee to let go with a good whack of her other arm. Rupee went for her neck, but Homeworld Amethyst got in the way, and pushed them both away from eachother. The two still glared at eachother despite that.

"Enough, both of you! We'll all be in trouble if this keeps up," Homeworld Amethyst advised. Rupee and Jasper took a moment or two before Rupee spoke. Soon as Homeworld Amethyst moved aside, Rupee looked down at her.

"Alright, tough Gem. Tomorrow. Right here. We're dueling. And we're gonna settle this," Rupee decided, pushing Jasper away by the face. Rupee then walked away for the second time. Jasper didn't feel too fazed, though picking a fight may not help with their goal. Yet, she couldn't back down either. She do that, and Rupee would probably go after her at this point. Besides, it might make them even for Rupee's assaults on them. They didn't need anymore time there, so Jasper began to go.

"We're done here," Jasper simply groaned to the others. She'd get it done at the moment, sure, but it wasn't the best time for that. Jasper needed to be ready more than most if she was to confront Rupee. As for Rupee ...

Well, she was looking forward to cracking Jasper's gem tomorrow ...

Author's Note

First Pearls, now we got Quartzes and how they work ^^ It's fun world-building :twilightsmile: Yellow Diamond would need more time to get her trust going for the Gems at this point.

Journey of the Two Sisters

Even with what was happening, things had started to chill down a bit with the rest of the group. Still, with the troubles they're going through so far, things had been getting rather testy, especially with Jasper's upcoming duel with Rupee now. To Sapphire, although the future seemed mainly her focus, news of the duel got to her ears and she was a little unsure about that. Not the fight alone, but more of the affect of this spreading. It would be apparent that a duel with one of Yellow diamond's quartzes, let alone a brand new type of Gem just going about, would catch the attention of the other Homeworld Gems, and if this was to happen, then what would they say about them afterward? Sapphire saw a number of options, but, it could be any of them at this point so it wasn't a good idea to pinpoint one yet. It was times like these she wish she could be in a number of places at once; to warn others at least of what'll happen. As for the rest, things had either settled down or fired up all depending on who. Jasper was far too busy training to the duel with Rupee to really be bothered by anybody or anypony. For the reason they were there, their goal had come to a decent start, but they couldn't just stop with Blue Diamond. If they could get in Yellow Diamond's good graces, then things will work out just fine, though that was going to be harder than it sounds. If Yellow Diamond's talk with Jasper and Peridot had anything to go by, she was harder to sway than Blue Diamond. Then again, Blue Diamond was more subtle, and their friends did belong to her court as it was, so they had a plus for that one anyway.

In the hologram room of Homeworld, Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl were in it. Blue Pearl stayed close by in case she was told to do something, as Blue Diamond looked over different parts of Homeworld. Different parts of the city, different landmarks, and other things that were put as interest. It was a pass time for Blue Diamond to do without much else on her mind ... well, for the moment. The hologram slowly spun as she moved it like it was an interactive touchscreen, but as she went, something caught her eye. Areas on the map were marked with bulletins, and if one were to clicks, will get the information and some pictures. Even so, an area that caught her eye wasn't from a bulletin, or a notice. She moved the Homeworld hologram downward, moving the placement northward until it stopped along one of the ridges of Homeworld's canyons. This one was smaller comparing to the others, but Blue Diamond's memory knew this spot was different. In fact, her and Yellow Diamond knew the spot too, and knew it was different compared to the cities marked. In fact, the spot wasn't close to Blue Diamond's city, as it would be hours before any normal Gem would be able to reach it on foot. Blue Pearl knew where Blue Diamond was looking at, as the Diamond just sighed in memory.

"You're think of ... there, again?" Blue Pearl asked. Blue Diamond looked down to her Pearl.

"Yeah, I am ... It's been quiet for a long time ... Should we try again?"

"I ... I-I don't know," Blue Pearl replied shyly. It wasn't natural for a Homeworld Gem to ask their Pearl for an opinion, and even if it was, Blue Pearl wouldn't know. After all, she never been there herself, and whatever Gem had didn't give much of a report the number of times Blue Diamond had tried. She clicked on the spot, and the Homeworld hologram turned into a single picture, little to no information spawning beside it. The picture showed the side of the high rock wall, dry and old, but the main Homeworld spot actually appeared to be a door. This one was tall and narrow, and arched in an almost M shape with the points almost touching eachother. The large door showed clear signs of abandon, with deep rust and dirt all over the door, with a small diamond symbol located near the middle towards the bottom. Blue Diamond sighed after a good while, and eventually looked to her Pearl.

"Maybe we should leave it alone this time ..." Blue Diamond decided. But, just before she could remove the screen ...

"Leave what alone?"

Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl turned back, and standing over nearby was Sapphire. She didn't had much to do, so she wanted to look back at the hologram again. She didn't expect Blue Diamond to be there, and could see the picture of the old door on the screen.

"Oh, Sapphire. I didn't expect you to come in. It's an abandoned Gem settlement in the north - been abandoned for centuries now," Blue Diamond explained, as Sapphire looked to the door. She quickly noted that not very much current information, if any at all, was evident with this one.

"Why was it abandoned?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. You see, I've left the area seven thousand years ago, but soon reports kept coming to me that ... Well, details were obscure, but, something seemed to keep Gems away. I tried a number of times to send reporters to see, but everytime ..." Blue Diamond didn't finish her sentence, trailing off in thought upon how many she sent, and how nothing came up. Sapphire caught the hint pretty quickly, as she looked to the door again, thinking ...

"My Diamond. I think I seen something about the door," Sapphire reported, catching Blue Diamond's attention. A future vision involving this place? She and Blue Pearl listened to what she had to say.

"I see two Gems, each one able to enter through the doors. They'll figure out the problem, and report to you directly once they were finished. Seemed you'll get your information after all," Sapphire said with a smile. Blue Diamond was surprised, but happy to hear it. Considering how many she lost before, hearing this made her feel better. However, Sapphire failed to mention what Gems in particular, but not because she didn't see them. No. She actually deliberately kept that quiet, for if she told her, then she would never get the info she wanted. Blue Diamond was glad either way, and nodded to her.

"Thank you, Sapphire," Blue Diamond sighed. Sapphire nodded, but there was something else she wanted to asked before going.

"My Diamond? word has gone around about Jasper and a Gem named Rupee. They said they're going to have a duel tomorrow," Sapphire said. Blue Diamond was aware before Sapphire asked, and sighed grimly.

"Not again. Rupee hadn't been around for long, but she'd been causing a lot of trouble. To be honest with you, this was her fifth duel she had done with other Gems. She won every time, but, I think it's getting worse," blue Diamond grimly said. A bit of a one eighty compared to Yellow Diamond's view on improvement for Rupee. Sapphire took a moment to look before she too sighed.

"Thank you for telling me, my Diamond."

And with that, Sapphire turned, and walked out. As for the door, Sapphire had other plans in mind ...

~~~~~~

As for the others, apart from Jasper, things had been going rather basic and subtle. For those that were there when things occurred with Jasper and Rupee, they wondered on how it'll actually go. Steven for one had got a bit of a plunder on the matter, in more ways than one; Pearl kept him under close and secure guard over her Steven since she heard what had happened, and not allowing him out without her. A bit troubling, but it only made sense really. As for the ponies, the six had mixed feelings so far with Homeworld. They had been going around time and time again, helping out Blue Diamond here and there, basically trying to be good with the locals. Steady, but getting somewhere.

At the moment, Peridot, Rarity, and Ruby were in the same room, Rarity actually taking the time to work on some new fashion designs inspired by Homeworld. As the fashionista she was, Rarity brought the essentials she needed in case inspiration struck, and she couldn't wait until she got back to her boutique. Unfortunately for these two, that meant standing like boards as she did some proper measurements, and being mannequins for Rarity's designs.

"How much longer are we to stand like this?" Peridot asked.

"Not much longer dear. Oh, where's that fabric?" Rarity wondered, levitating a few things out of the way to find what she was looking for.

"Thought you left your work back in Equestria," Peridot noted, as Rarity brought the fabric over.

"Inspiration stops for Nopony," Rarity stated, as she continued. Honestly, they didn't want to do this for as long as they were doing it for. As they both glanced to eachother, the door opened to have Sapphire show up. Ruby hoped for Sapphire to not see her like this, as she blushed a little bit.

"Having fun you two?" Sapphire giggled.

"Defy fun," Peridot groaned. Rarity soon turned to her.

"Oh, hello dear. Has it been going well with Blue Diamond?" Rarity asked. Sapphire nodded as she walked into the room.

"Yes. Though, I'm going to be gone for a while, I won't be back until later tonight," Sapphire informed. Ruby looked to her, and found this opportunity to not only get back to Garnet, but also avoid this stupid task of being a mannequin. She felt it's been too long since Garnet was around, and she wouldn't mind getting back to it. Quickly, Ruby got off the clothing, smiling wide and ready to go.

"Alright, great, where we going? I'm ready for anything!"

"Good. You stay here."

... Anything but that. The smile was there but her eyes opened wide in surprise on what Sapphire had just said. Soon, the big smile disappeared too, but quickly she took it as a joke.

"You always make me laugh, Sapphire, hahahahaha - but seriously though, where are we going?"

"No Ruby. I'm going. You're staying here, you can't come."

"... W-what? Come on Sapphire, you can't go by yourself!"

"I'm not; I already told Lapis. She should be outside waiting by now. I know you're worried, but, it wouldn't matter anyway."

Ruby's anger didn't subside, and only grew more still.

"Oh, and what for? Because some force will make us split up once we get there?!"

"Yes," Sapphire bluntly said. Ruby still felt angry, but worried too over Sapphire. Still, Sapphire placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ruby, I promise you I'll come back the second we're done. You do trust me, don't you? Besides, maybe it'll be better for you to relax here ... Especially after earlier." Ruby knew Sapphire was talking about Rupee, and the upcoming duel with Jasper over that. Ruby was still upset over that colossal pain in the neck, but still, if Sapphire would go on this sort of term without worry, then Ruby might as well let her. Besides, Lapis was a powerhouse of water techniques and tricks, so, Sapphire had that going for her anyway.

"Uh, Sapphire, do you think anypony else should go?" Rarity asked, picking up the cloth that fell on the ground with her levitation. Sapphire was sure no, but after taking a glance at Rarity's diamond cutie mark, she began to think it over a little bit. She took a quick future vision check, and saw the result was mainly the same with just one of the ponies.

"Well, you can come, Rarity," Sapphire decided. It might take a little longer, but Rarity might have the best shot out of any of the mane six, even Twilight Sparkle. Rarity wasn't sure where they were going, but her generosity kept her along, and lending her help wasn't too far off for her. Ruby though felt a bit perplexed on hearing that come out; Ruby couldn't go but Rarity could? The gears began working in her head when she saw Rarity's cutie mark. The three Diamonds on them seemed to put some sort of clue in Ruby's head, as Rarity nodded to Sapphire's answer.

"That's awfully sweet, Sapphire," Rarity said.

"Thank you. If you are coming, then meet Lapis at the front," Sapphire said. Rarity nodded, though she wanted to tell the others first as she trotted off. Sapphire too went out the door with her, and gave a small wave to Ruby and Peridot. Sapphire knew what she was doing, and the two gems were left in there. Ruby felt that it wasn't such a good idea, but she trusted Sapphire would come back.

"Have fun, you two," Sapphire said.

~~~~~~

After a while, Rarity, Sapphire, and Lapis Lazuli were off from the city, and heading off to the north as Sapphire instructed. Call it abusing an ability, but she used her future vision in order to see the results of going in a particular direction, and the one that they got right was to the north. It was like using a compass, or internal instinct that a migrating bird would likely use. No matter how one would look at it, it was working out in their favor as they went on. Their main method of transport; flight. Lapis found it difficult to fly with both Rarity and Sapphire, so her alternative method was working out some of her water into a sort of carrier for both of them, which worked wonders. Luckily for Rarity, Blue Peridot's idea of the controlled atmosphere extended outside of the cities, yet the air turned a little thinner. It was like if she climbed up a mountain with the thin air, yet it didn't affect Rarity as much as it should, and it didn't bother Sapphire or Lapis in the slightest.

What was a bother though was the landscape that followed. Unlike the smooth man-made land of the city, the landscape outside looked more or less dried up of all its worth. The ground looked dry, but not sandy like a desert but more like a rocky plain, familiar to Earth's kindergarten. The land sunk further down as they went along, rocky land giving way to smooth dry plains, slightly wavy to symbolize that this used to be underwater.

"So, dear? Where exactly are we going?" Rarity asked, looking down at the ground. Sapphire turned to her.

"We're almost there," replied Sapphire. It didn't entirely answer Rarity's question, but she'll figure out soon enough. Pretty soon though, her answer came up over the next upcoming ridge. Lapis, Sapphire, and Rarity could see a deeper canyon coming up, though this one was a lot bigger, and a lot deeper. When looking down, there they could see the door in question.

"Bring us down Lapis," Sapphire said. Lapis nodded, and Lapis started to descend. As they went, the three soon noticed just how gigantic the door actually was. Even compared to Blue Diamond, the door was double in size, making the three incredibly little compared to it. When they all landed on the dry smooth ground, they took a moment to look at the door. They just felt so small when comparing, and could only wonder what could lay beyond it. Rarity didn't expect to end up in this place, and neither did Lapis.

"What's this place?" Rarity asked, looking up and down the door. Sapphire took a moment to marvel at the door before she answered the white unicorn.

"Blue Diamond wanted to learn more on what happened here. That's what we're going to do," Sapphire revealed. Rarity and Lapis looked to eachother, as Sapphire moved over closer to the door. For the first minute, nothing really seemed to happen as they stand there by the door. There had to be some way in, and if it was over seven thousand years old, then maybe it was something they could figure out a bit easier than the futuristic technology back at the city. The three continued looking for some sort of button, knob, or lever to open the door, but so far nothing seemed to give them any clue. Then they saw the diamond symbol.

"Hold on," Lapis said, flying up to it. Even with all the dust and old age, the diamond still showed a very blurry reflection, which unnerved her a little bit. Still, she tried to keep her mind focused, and placed a hand onto the diamond itself. The second she did so, they all heard a very low humming, like that of a jet engine or something like that. Lapis fluttered back quickly, moving her hand off, as the worn out diamond piece began to glow. This one's colors were a little hard to tell overall, mostly because of the aged diamond being in disrepair, and neglect. Even diamonds needs shining, and this one had none for thousands of years since its abandonment. Eventually though, a loud rumble can be heard from the door, as it split right at the center, and began to slowly move apart. Worried, Lapis flew right back to Rarity and Sapphire, as they watched it spread apart. The sound matched that of a rusty metal door, and just as loud. In the quiet canyon, the sound echoed everywhere good and loud for half a minute until it fully opened up. Only then did the echoes cease, and the place quieted down. The stuffy smell from within quickly got to them, as they looked inside the old settlement. Even with the door open though (since it was dark), they couldn't see very well in it, but nothing seemed to be inside other than old metal floors, dust, and quiet walls. At least that what it seemed to be from where they were. Rarity and Lapis were unsure about this plan, but Sapphire nodded to herself and started in.

"Uh, Sapphire?"

"Well, come on," Sapphire insisted. They didn't want to leave her alone in there, so they both didn't take much time before they went in too.

The three had just walked in when something close by was quietly observing. When they went in, it quietly went in after them ...

~~~~~~

Back at the tower, things still were a bit testy after the three left; Ruby and Peridot both were pretty much together in Ruby's room. Honestly, the two Gems seemed to get on some better terms with each other for a while, finding themselves in each other's company time and time again since being split. Why it kept happening, neither knew, it just seemed to. Now, the two pretty much were bored, and in the case of Ruby, worried. Her partner had basically left her behind and ended up going off on a mission Ruby had no clue about. Peridot was more curious than worried; what place was Sapphire, Lapis, and Rarity going to? The others would've known anyway, yet it seemed Sapphire didn't tell anyone else apart from them. Rarity might've told a few others, but that was about it. At the moment, Ruby and Peridot both were sitting side by side on the bed (Blue Diamond kept it as an option for anything visiting, which included pillows and sheets like those on Earth beds), an awkward silence in the air. Ruby's fingers impatiently dropped beside her in an unheard rhythm, as Peridot tried to think on what to do ...

"So ... how's uh ... how has your current stay been?" Peridot asked, not thinking of anything else. However, the only thing Ruby could think about was what Sapphire's going through wherever she was.

"You've been with me, you should know," Ruby replied roughly, a bit anxious as it is. Another awkward silence filled the air for a bit.

"Well ... okay uh, so how's -"

"Would you be quiet, you little green bug? I'm feeling edgy as it is!" Ruby snapped, though her anger was from being made to stay, she was taking it out here. Of course, Peridot was ticked at this.

"I'm not this bug!" snapped back Peridot.

"And just as annoying too," grumbled Ruby. Peridot was fuming.

"It's not my fault you're staying here, how about you yell at Sapphire instead of me!"

"She's not here, you idiot! She's out of the city, probably getting, lost, beaten down, or who knows what else and I'm - I'm -" Ruby looked ready to loose it, her fists clenching up, teeth clamped together in an almost snarl. Peridot's anger turned to troubled seeing her like this, and if her past experiences knew anything, Ruby looked ready to explode in insults. Unlike before, she didn't want to deal with that much if it wasn't her fault. Ruby tried to think of a killer to get Peridot off her back, but trying to think of one made her more frustrated, smoke starting to build. Not wanting a fire started, Peridot then noticed the pillows on the bed. As Ruby's anger built, Peridot grabbed one of tem, her memory working. While her days of training, she'd come back frustrated with Ruby herself, though Steven gave her a method to cope which involved screaming in a pillow. She didn't think it made much sense, but it did help either way for her. Maybe it could help Ruby?

"Here," Peridot said bluntly. However, Steven's main method was to hold the pillow in front, and shove your face in to scream. Here though, Peridot instead whacked Ruby's face in it, knocking her back on the bed.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Ruby yelled, yanking the pillow away. Peridot closed her eyes, and crossed her arms.

"Steven informed me about this act humans use to release this mood they call stress. It involves yelling into these soft, white head rests. How about you try it?" Peridot explained. Still, Ruby was annoyed with getting whacked by a pillow, and just groaned. Instead ...

"You first!"

Ruby clocked her square in the head, knocking her down. She didn't know this pillow can be used as a weapon like that, and she quickly got up, and armed herself with another one before Ruby could hit her again, raising it over her head, ready to hit. Pretty soon, the two were basically whacking each other left and right with their armed pillows out of anger on both sides. One hit after another, they both removed their stress as they kept at it for a good ten minutes ... Until they both took a moment, breathing heaving when they realized something ...

the pillows don't hurt.

Ruby looked at her 'weapon' and just realized how stupid that was. Ticked off at Peridot, and she uses a pillow as something for her to use. Same thing with Peridot; angry with her weapon, which did squat against her. They both looked to eachother after a bit, still quiet ...

Then soon, their expression turned happy, and soon, the two were laughing.

"What the heck are we doing?" Ruby chuckled, throwing the pillow back on the bed. Peridot placed hers on the bed, giggling too. Not only did that get rid of Ruby's stress a bit, but they did get a laugh out what just happened. Even with that, Ruby gave a sigh when her mind got back to the subject again. Peridot didn't want to deal with it herself.

"Okay, how about we do something else? There's more stuff we can do," Peridot suggested, not wanting any awkward silence or unwanted insults again. Maybe it would be best if she can get her mind off it for a second or so.

"Like what?"

~~~~~~

Sapphire, Lapis, and Rarity continued inward through the doors, and into the darkened halls of the abandoned site. It didn't take very long until it became a bit too dark to see, but Rarity had helped out with that with a glowing horn to illuminate the path as they went. It was more similar to a lantern than a flashlight, so, their sight was still limited a bit. This settlement actually looked more like an abandoned, underground quarry. The three reached one part in particular that confirmed this. Inside was simply huge, and wide open, but still was deep underground. Some crates were seen scattered, which resembled floating, wheeless freight cars were left to rot, some still having some gravel in them, while others were left empty. They still floated above the ground, though still were covered in dust and rusted up a little bit. The floating crates weren't scattered around, and were only in suspended animation above flattened out metal trails, like freight cars on tracks. Those that weren't were victims of gravity, and sat unmoved on the floor. Speaking of which, the floor itself turned from clear metal to flattened ground, like patted down sand or flat stone underfoot (or underhoof for Rarity). The light from Rarity's horn lit up some area above too, but not the entire way. Above them, they saw two sets of bridges, one about ten feet up, and the other twenty five feet, and barely visible. These underground 'railways' were perfectly shaped, and connected one side of the quarry to the other, two tunnels splitting up. The underground passages were about as old as the crates that silently stood on them, if not older. They couldn't see if anything was on the second passage higher up, though they much rather stay together than split apart, especially in a place like this. Rarity didn't feel comfortable in this place anymore than the other were, though mostly because she'd much rather be in a fancy mansion, or a high class restaurant, rather than an underground quarry like this.

"Well, could use some tidying up, would it?" Rarity commented, her voice echoing in the empty space of the abandoned area. She deeply questioned why this would be considered a settlement of any kind if it was made to look like a work place than any home. Then again, she wasn't around for thousands of years on Homeworld, so, their views were probably different from her own. Besides, Gems were rocks, and Rarity usually found Gems underground, so, maybe that would explain it. Either way, Sapphire and Lapis looked around the place a bit, Rarity keeping pace.

"Nothing seems out of order," Sapphire questioned, looking around a bit with what light they got.

"Doesn't look destroyed either," added Lapis. It almost seemed like it was left on the spot without much clean up. The main question was what happened to keep the Gems of Homeworld away? It was a puzzle, to be sure, and the three needed to figure it out at this point. The three don't have night vision as apart of their abilities, so they had to stay together by Rarity's light for both sight and safety. Never a good idea to wander in the dark on an abandoned quarry. The first thing they looked at was one of the freight cars close by. This one in particular had gravel inside, full to the brim with minerals collected. It wasn't like any minerals from Earth or Equestria; smooth and shined with Rarity's light, but the texture resembled more of dried tar than any regular gemstone or rock. Whatever they were excavating in here, they had a ton of it. Rarity picked up one in her hoof, her magic focused on the light.

"Peculiar rocks. Are these what your species collect on Homerworld?" asked Rarity curiously, showing them both the mineral. However, since they both were high class Gems like Rarity, they didn't come to the mining facilities, so, they weren't too sure if this was a regular pickup, or if this quarry was special compared to others, or what.

"Perhaps. Let's keep looking around," Sapphire said, placing the mineral back in the car. Rarity did the same thing, and placed her mineral piece back on the same freight car. Still, they didn't seem to find very much clues on what had happened here. Rarity kept the light good and strong for them as they continued onward. Rarity would much rather be with Blue Diamond and her fancy tower, but she didn't want to leave her friends to this alone. If she didn't come, they'd be lost in the dark anyway ...

Unaware to either of them, Rarity's light gave sight to one other creature hidden in the darkness. It kept quiet, and followed them on their way, seeing if they'll get in trouble ...

~~~~~~

For Ruby and Peridot, the night waiting for the others to return turned into actually quite a bit of fun thanks to some ideas Peridot gave Ruby to do. Their pillow fight was just one thing they did, and most of these ideas were actually from seeing Steven do it. One of these ideas was something that Steven called "Playing pretend", which Peridot described as something humans do to act like something else, or act something out, for amusement. It didn't take too much time to figure out, and the two already got something going for them. Childish maybe, but it was still fun for what they were doing. at one point, the room looked like a complete mess, but for the sake of imagination, it was needed for what they had in mind.

"The brave gem warrior sneaks through the thicket of the jungle, alone with only her Gem weapon by her side," Ruby quietly monologued, sneaking along the floor which had a number of pillows, sheets, and other things to give the feel of it. Peridot kept herself hidden under another bit of covers on the bed, her eyes locked onto Ruby like a stalking cat. Ruby crawled like a soldier along the ground, pretending to be on a hunt.

"Not a sound to be heard, she had the feeling she was being watched ..." Ruby monologued again. Pretty soon, just seconds after Ruby passed her, Peridot pounced out, rawring at her, and landing on her like a cat would. The two rolled around, having fun with the pretend play about. This was something Ruby was more familiar to, being a fighter Gem herself (Fighter Gems play rough most of the time anyway). Ruby playfully fought back, and Peridot did the same, the two laughing it up the whole time until they both were just laughing on the floor. It got Ruby better, keeping her mind off worrying. Course, their antics didn't go unnoticed ...

A gentle giggle caught their attention. they both stopped laughing on the spot, and looked to the door, only to find Blue Pearl standing there with a soft smile. She had heard what they were doing, and decided to look herself. Quickly and hastily, they both scrambled back to their feet, embarrassed on being seen this way. They had fun, but, they didn't expect company in the middle of it. Blue Pearl wasn't very fazed though, and still kept her smile. Even if no one asked her to, she started to clean up the room for them.

"H-How much did you see?" Peridot asked, as she picked up the pillows and sheets, and put them neatly in the right place.

"I seen you two setting up," Blue Pearl replied, straightening the sheets and blankets on the bed, and fluffing the pillows. Soon, the door Blue Pearl was at opened up a little more, revealing Steven had seen the act too.

"Hi Ruby, Peridot! Can I play too?" Steven asked. However, the two looked to eachother, Peridot rubbing the back of her head as Blue Pearl continued sort out the items in the room.

"We, uh, we were about to stop," Peridot admitted, her face blushing. Steven was bummed out.

"Aww man!" Steven groaned. He wanted to play pretend with them too, and he waited a little too long for that. Unsure though, Steven realized something as he looked around. He wasn't aware of the situation, or how much it was getting to them, so ...

"Where's Sapphire? Isn't she playing with you?" Steven asked, not aware of how Ruby felt on it. Blue Pearl continued cleaning, but kept an ear open to what they had to say. Since Sapphire spoke to them, she'd been rather quiet, and Blue Pearl was a little curious too. Ruby felt a bit uneasy again, but rather than let Peridot answer, Ruby just said it.

"She ... left an hour ago. Don't know where, don't know why, she wouldn't let me go with her," Ruby answered. Steven was a bit confused, and even a little curious, Blue Pearl felt a shiver down her back. She remembered very well that Sapphire had seen that door, and that abandoned settlement Blue Diamond explained about. Blue Pearl thought about it, feeling uneasy, and her mouth in a worried frown. Steven looked back and noticed that she had stopped for a moment in cleaning up.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked, going over to her. Blue Pearl had a small sheet in her hands, which she ended up twisting in her grip while putting two and two together in her head. Soon, after folding the sheet she had and setting it down, she quickly went out of the room in worry. The three Gems watched her go, not sure what triggered her to do that. For Blue Pearl, she needed this to Blue Diamond before it's too late.

.......

"So, that's what she meant."

Blue Pearl nodded to Blue Diamond, whom was also feeling slightly worried over what'll happen to her. Whoever she sent out to that place didn't return, and if Sapphire and Lapis went there as well ...

"We need to get them out of there."

~~~~~~

The underground paths in the quarry became a bit eerie for Sapphire, Lapis, and Rarity. Each step they made echoed in the abyss of darkness, their only light being from Rarity's blue lit horn. With the halls and tunnels they took, they couldn't exactly tell what would be around the next corner, or just hiding in the shadows of the Homeworld freight cars. it was impossible to really say how long they were going on for, but if they could guess, they'd been wandering around for half an hour since arriving at the main quarry. The breath was dry, stuffy, and cold as they continued onward and inward. From within the stretched tunnels, they could only see about five feet ahead before it became unrecognizable.

"See anything yet?" Lapis asked.

"Not beyond our light," replied Sapphire. As they continued, Rarity's light then started to show something else further ahead of them, light easier to see than the rest of the ground. The three stopped for a second when the sparkle caught their eyes. They didn't know what it was, and Rarity took it on herself to see what it was. Slowly and steadily as if sneaking up on somepony, Rarity moved over one hoof after the other until she got a better view of the object on the ground. From the light blue light, it naturally had a sort of bluish hue, but the official color seemed more of a lavender. It was small, just sticking out of the ground. With her magic being used as a light, she gently scrapped the ground with her hoof (not enjoying it by the by). She didn't need to dig very far, as the object just rolled along the dry floor. Dust covered whatever was exposed, as the rest of the object was undisturbed. Sapphire and Lapis saw what it was, both of them looked a bit disturbed by the sight.

It was a Gemstone. Or rather, what remained of it.

"Oh my stars," Lapis quietly gasped, as Sapphire kneeled down for a closer look, even moving her hair so she had a better view with her one eye. Sapphire wasn't feeling any better about what she saw, and gently picked it up in her hand. If Ruby was here, the sight would've freaked her out, and that wasn't something she wanted to see happen...

And that wasn't the only one.

Rarity's light glistened ahead, and they all saw a lot of shattered gems along the ground, each different colors and in different states. Some were crumbled, some smashed, but whatever way it happened, these Gems weren't coming back to life. So basically speaking, this was a Gem homicide. It could easily be written off as a Gem going rogue, or a accident in the mining but something else shown itself ...

Footprints ...

These were big, large enough for either one of them to stand in, and each one had what appeared to be four toes; three evened and up front while a fourth was out on the inner side. Within it was more Gem shards, suggesting an attack from whatever it was that was here ...

*grrrrrrrrr*

Scratch that; whatever is here!

"Rarity, turn off the light," Sapphire quickly said. Immediately, Rarity doused her light, leaving them in the dark. Farther down the tall tunnel, they could barely make out a faint, ominous glow, as the growling grew louder along with footsteps which echoed from afar. They didn't know what was coming, nor what it'll do when it finds them. They didn't want to find out. Their closest cover was some freight cars and crates left behind, and the three got themselves hidden. However, their movement seemed to catch the attention of whatever it was. They all stayed quiet, as they heard more footsteps moving in their direction. As the footsteps grew louder, the faint light grew too.

Then they saw it.

When the light grew large enough, they all saw what was roaming amongst the abandoned quarry. The beast was rather tall, but not as tall as say Blue Diamond; just taller than Rupee. It's body had a number of bioluminescent orbs along its back, head, and dragging tail which draped on the ground behind it. Its large feet, attached to two muscular legs, were lined with broad claws, and the structure of the body looked like a Tyrannosaur. It's head though looked more for a piranha or angler fish, four eyes which were pale and lifeless, and needle-like teeth jutting out from its lower and upper jaw. It's body was dark along its back, and had a pale underbelly. it's spine jutted out in spikes, each one large and sharp leading up to its neck. A bioluminescent lure dangled off its forehead, though it seemed just to add more light rather than to lure anything. Sapphire, Lapis, and Rarity didn't dare to move, as the creature looked to the ground of shattered gemstones ...

and started to lick them up. The crunching and grinding sound of the gemstones inside the monster's teeth made both Lapis and Sapphire shudder and cringe. This thing eats Gems! As it was busy gobbling up the shattered stones, Lapis nervously nudged Sapphire.

"C-Can we go now? I think we figured it out," Lapis asked quietly. Before Sapphire could answer, the beast's tail swayed towards them, hitting the freight car nearby, sending it out of sight. Unfortunately, this made Rarity squeak in fear, just loud enough to catch the beast's attention. Lapis quickly covered Rarity's mouth, hunkering down in whatever cover they had left, as the beast turned around, a few gem shards still in its mouth. Slowly, the dangling light hovered over them, as the growling head of the monster stayed still. Its lips curled up in a snarl, showing its sharps rows of teeth, and the gem shards that were stuck in them. Some of them even fell down on them, but they dare not say a word despite how unnerved they felt. Sapphire was the calmest of the three, though Rarity and Lapis looked panicked. A low gurgling growl emitted as it swayed its head to inspect the spot, the light moving the shadows around them ...

Ever so slowly, the beast began to turn away, the light dimming slightly as it began to walk back the way it came. The three still didn't move an inch, hearing a few footsteps until everything was silent. Lapis and Rarity didn't know what'll happen, but for Sapphire ...

"Down," Sapphire said urgently. Sapphire quickly pulled them down, just as the tail slammed into their cover, smashing it into pieces on the wall! It knew they were there, and it turned around. The roar it gave was low toned, and thundering. with the light from its dangler, the nightmarish roar was accompanied by a gaping mouth of needle teeth, barred jaws. Lapis, Sapphire and Rarity quickly rushed off as fast as they could. Sapphire grabbed Lapis and Rarity and rushed ahead, the roars becoming distant as they zoomed blindly through the tunnels. Soon after what felt like miles of rushing, Sapphire stopped, and the other two landed on the ground. Rarity was peeved that her mane was messed with, but was glad to be away from whatever that was.

"What in the name of Celestia was that?" Rarity gasped, trying to calm down.

"Don't know, but let's get out of here," Lapis insisted. Rarity lit her horn again to get their barrings on where they ended up. However, then the horn glowed, it showed that they were in a four way split ...

"Now what?"

~~~~~~

With the answer basically at their disposal, the trio tried to get themselves back out from the underground quarry. The mad dash did save them from the beast, but the mad dash also made it hard to remember which direction they rushed off to, or which way to go back. Even fi they knew though, they might end up charging into the beast, and even if Sapphire could look into the future, they didn't want to risk it either way. All they needed to do was get to the main quarry again, and they can figure it out from there. In the mean time, it was just the matter of getting there, one step at a time, without running into the beast again.

"So, we figured out what happened here," Lapis reminded, though not much of a response was really said apart from Sapphire's nod. It was probably best not to talk too much anyway, as their voices echoed in the tunnels, and it might catch the beast's attention if it's close by anywhere. As they continued onward though, the three stopped for a small moment ... but footsteps still echoed.

"W-What's that?" Rarity asked, the footsteps more fast paced, and a lot lighter than the beast's thundering steps. Soon, something rushed to them, accidentally running right into Lapis, the two tumbling to the ground! Rarity was startled, jumped and moving back. Lapis looked to what had ran into her, as the uninvited guest got to his feet very quickly, a weird smile stretching on his face, and not much other emotion evident on it aside from that.

Emerald!

"What the - when did he get in here?" Lapis wondered. Emerald kept his smile, but his situation got him gripping tightly to Lapis's legs, having a smile but still scared. Their only main guess was that he snuck in after them, and got freaked out by the beast and high-tailed after them. Lapis couldn't move very well with Emerald gripping her legs like this, Emerald shivering a little.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked. Emerald only looked over to her with a nervous grin, not saying a word, but shaking his head rapidly from side to side. His finger frantically pointed from where he came from, but without talking he had to stick to charades to tell them the problem. Very faintly, footsteps could be heard again ...

"Quick, this way. Rarity, turn out the light," Sapphire instructed. They didn't had time to think about the guy, and didn't want to leave him to the beast. Sapphire moved off down another tunnel, as Rarity dimmed out the light so they weren't so noticeable. Emerald followed them, not letting go of Lapis's dress (which was annoying for Lapis a bit). Even with the dimmed light, they eventually were able to see the tunnel widen into a opened area of the quarry. They weren't sure if it was the same quarry they started in, as they only saw the open bridge, and a dark abyss below. Must be pretty high in the quarry. Either way, Sapphire took the lead, and the others kept close behind her. Each step they made across the bridge was quick, but steady. Well, except for Emerald, who just wanted to keep as much distance between himself and whatever was in this quarry as possible. Guess following them in wasn't his better ideas, and he wanted it over and done. The dimmed light meant that Emerald was quickly loosing sight of where he was going. After a quick few seconds, he looped back just as quick. When they reached half way across the bridge, they all suddenly felt the ground under them shiver! They all huddled together, looking for any signs of what was stalking them. The sound of moving claws, and distant growls alerted them all. Instead of trying to see what was there, Sapphire got an idea.

"Lapis, try to make some water spikes. We can attack it if it's really around," Sapphire instructed. Willing, Lapis got out her water wings, and brought a water shield around them. Sapphire reached out and touched the water, her icy touch turning it into ice shards. They got what was going on, but they couldn't attack if they couldn't see. Rarity's light, although dim, became more prominent because of the ice created so, if the beast is around, they better strike fast.

"Alright, Lapis, launch them." Upon the word, Lapis launched the ice shards in all directions, stabbing the walls all around them ... However, they didn't hear any shriek of pain, or any sound of impact. The four looked for any sign, but nothing seemed to show up. The ice shards jutted out the walls, a faint shine when reflecting off the magic glow of Rarity's glow, and they didn't show anything either ...

"Where is it?"

Seconds later, as if on some unseen cue, the footsteps echoed again, but this time it was a bit lower, underneath them. Before they could think of anything else, a gigantic mouth of barring teeth launched upward on the side of the bridge, the roar making everyone jump, and stumble - even Sapphire! The beast was still there, and it found them! The beast barked, snarled, and tried its best to reach them, but it was just an inch too far to pull anyone down. That didn't mean the four didn't get scared witless by the out-of-nowhere lunge. After some struggle, the beast fell down back into the dark abyss, but a quick thud told them that they weren't as high up as they appeared to be. The beast's bioluminescent lights shined off again, and show that it was standing on a lower bridge, just five feet down. The beast's weight was deadly enough on the bridge it was on, but each hit on the bridge they were on weakened it more and more. Quickly, they began rushing to the other side of the bridge, but the beast made another huge leap, just high enough to slam its torso on top of the bridge. The tremors of the hit not only weakened the bridge, but also the tunnel in front of them shook enough to cave in! Now, they were stuck between a blocked off tunnel, and the monster responsible for the abandonment of the quarry. It didn't pounce right away, snarling and swishing its huge tail behind it. It wasn't until here when the four noticed some small ice shards that were stabbed in its back, just above the right hip. Not ad effective as Sapphire planned, but still it hurt it. The beast launched forward roaring, but suddenly Rarity was at front. when the beast saw her, it skidded to a halt, but not because it was scared. It could sense that Rarity was not like the others; with four legs, fur, and organic meat was something this giant was oddly not used to. Rarity was scared, but she didn't want to see any of her friends maimed by this thing, and stood her ground against the monstrosity.

"You vial beast! If you want them, you're going to have to go through me!" Rarity warned. She wasn't one for rough fighting, but if the situation called for it, she'll fight tooth and hoof if she had to. Still, seeing such a odd creature was unknown to this beast, as it was quite unsure what to do. It leaned in rather close, the lure on its head grazing Rarity's mane and back, as if it used it to sense what she was. It senses the heartbeat inside her, and proved that she wasn't a Gem, despite her diamond cutie mark. It opened its mouth, its dry breath smelling of dust and dirt. Eventually though, the beast suddenly grabbed her by the hoof, and tossed her to the second bridge, Rarity landing with a rough thud. Lapis quickly got her wings out, rushing down to get her. Sapphire remained calm, Emerald staying behind her as it roared again. Emerald panicked, and launched some hexagon disks at the thing's face. While it bugged it, it didn't do much damage. One of these even ended up in its mouth, which it chomped in half!

Tougher than any of them thought.

Seeing they were in trouble, Rarity gathered up her energy, and shot a magic beam from her horn. It hit the beast right on its head, stalling it just long enough for Sapphire to grab Emerald, and jump down to them. The beast stumbled, and nearly fell off the bridge, but kept its footing just enough to avoid falling. The four below rushed off down the bridge, as the beast got up, and launched itself off the bridge, straight for them. Lapis tried to get out her water wings, but it got to dry in there to just make more, especially after Sapphire froze hers for an all around weapon that did little damage. The beast landed right onto the other bridge, but it was too much for the bridge to handle. With a loud crack, and crumble, the bridge collapsed under the sudden impact! Rarity, Lapis, and Emerald ended up stumbling, but with Sapphire's grab and quick movement, they just made it to the otherside as the beast fell down in the abyss below with a loud roar. They all heard it land hard on the unforeseen ground below. The four waited for some sort of response, or some form of extra noise from the beast, but nothing seemed to come about. Emerald, grateful to be saved, hugged Sapphire tightly. Sapphire of course expected it, yet she allowed it for the sake of the moment. Lapis and Rarity both were glad they weren't at the mercy of the beast either.

"Come on then, let's go. We don't need to be in here anymore," Sapphire concluded. The little group knew she was right, and went off to try their luck further down.

~~~~~~

Outside in the dry wastes of the night, Blue Diamond'a main answer for who'll retrieve Lapis, Sapphire, and Rarity involved the two fastest ones of the new group. That sort of choice could really only fall down to two; Fulgurite and Rainbow. With Fulgurite and her blinding speed, and Rainbow with her fast flight, they were the only two who could get to them fast enough. Directions were pretty simple, and the two were pretty much already at the canyon after a good rush.

"Think this is the right spot?" Fulgurite asked.

"Beats me, but that door's a good clue. Come on, let's go," Rainbow said, starting to fly down the canyon to the open door. At first they didn't seem to hear much of anything, or see any sign of Lapis, Rarity, or Sapphire.

"Some renovation. See them?"

"Not really. You don't think they -" before Fulgurite could answer, suddenly they heard something from inside the door. Soon as they looked, something blue rushed out, stopping on a dime in front of them both. This was Sapphire, just the Gem they were going to get. Sapphire was dragging Emerald behind her, and the Gem ended up running into her just as they came out. Lapis and Rarity caught up after a bit.

"There you are! What the hay were you - who's that?" Rainbow's tone quickly changed when she saw Emerald laying on the ground, just getting out of his daze.

"He wouldn't say anything since we found him, so we're not sure," Lapis answered, the other two looking to Emerald. Emerald still had his smile, but he was less worried at this point since getting away from that beast. Rainbow and Fulgurite exchanged glances. He didn't seem too dangerous but the creepy smile didn't shift to any better mood either. Rainbow flew around him, and soon noticed the cracked gem on the back of his neck.

"Yikes. Hey, did he get pummeled in there?" Rainbow asked, a hoof to Emerald's gemstone. None of them noticed his cracked gem yet, and when they saw that after all that, they were surprised that he managed to get out at all. Did the beast crack his gemstone before he found them? Why wasn't he as deformed like Amethyst was when she cracked her Gem? Well, no matter how it happened, he needed to get it fixed. But before they could go ...

*RRRROOOOAAARRRR*

Everyone quickly turned to the quarry entrance, just as an all too familiar glow started to show. Only Fulgurite and Rainbow Dash were new to it, but the rest were on edge when the same beast that had been chasing them around all over the quarry staggered out. It looked weak, with the shards still in it, and limping in its left leg. It may be weakened, but it wasn't ready to give up yet.

"What the hay?!" Rainbow gasped. Another thundering roar echoed out, as it started to them. It moved slower than before, but still decent speed. Rainbow, not wanting to have her friends beaten down, almost immediately confronted the beast. Unlike Rarity, who just stood there, Rainbow flew forward fast, spun around, and kicked it square on the head. The beast was stunned for a few seconds from the strong kick, and got its attention focused on the flying Pegasus.

"What're you standing there for?! Get out of here, I'll catch up later!" Rainbow called, just avoiding a killer bite from the monster. They didn't want to leave her (well most of them - Emerald was off like a light), but soon they began to go off. The only one who stayed was Sapphire, remaining calm and collective despite the fight going on. Rainbow didn't notice yet, still dealing with the monster there. The beast swing its tail, and tried to get the flying annoyance in its jaws, but Rainbow proved to be a fast fighter, making the hits all over it. The best hit the beast managed was a good tail whip, but Rainbow Dash easily shook it off and continued fighting. The others had managed to get to a safe distance from the fight, and up the canyon wall, but only then did they see Sapphire still down there. Sapphire though didn't feel threatened, and eventually the beast laid another hard hit on Rainbow with its tail. That time, the Pegasus was slammed in the rock wall, and only then did the hunter see Sapphire. Instead of looking scared, or running, Sapphire actually began to clear her throat.

The beast roared loud ...

Sapphire then screamed!

This scream was not out of fear, and the frequency was extremely high. So high, the others only heard a very tiny, almost microscopic screeching. However, Sapphire's scream was focused, like a beam, and the monster suddenly began to back up. The sound Sapphire made was enough to make ears bleed, and the beast didn't want any of it. First the physical assaults, now assault on the ears. Desperate to get away, the beast made a mad scramble back to the quarry, blinded by the sound so much that it ran into the canyon wall! Sapphire didn't stop her concentrated screech until the beast was out of sight ...

"Whoa. Some lungs you have," Rainbow commented, dumbfounded.

"I don't have lungs, remember?" Sapphire replied, starting to catch up to the others. Rainbow just followed on after her. Sapphire just never ceases to amaze. With the monster refusing to come out of the quarry, the two peacefully returned to the rest of the group. Lapis, Rarity, Fulgurite, and Emerald weren't sure what Sapphire did to drive the monster off, but they were glad it was gone anyway. They were also glad they all made it out okay overall.

"Alright, problem done. Fulgurite? Can you go ahead and tell Blue Diamond about what happened?" Sapphire asked.

"On it, Sapphire," Fulgurite said, before running off back. With everyone there, and everything handled, they went back at their own pace. Emerald didn't had much else to go, so they decided to let him follow them back to Blue Diamond. At least she can help him get back to where he should be.

For Sapphire, this trip had been pretty interesting, albeit a bit scary at points but it was still nice to look around a place like the quarry. A nice change of pace, honestly. As they went on back, she could only wonder with a smile on how Ruby and Peridot were getting along.

Author's Note

Well this is an interesting thing huh; One plot with adventure, scares and world building, another with relaxation, fun and relationship building. Sounds like two separate chapters rolled in one :rainbowlaugh:. I know Ruby and Peridot may have acted childish for a bit, but I couldn't help myself honestly :pinkiehappy: It's just so adorable with them together.

SURPRISE appearance by Emerald ^^ Happy to see him Fictional Fanatic :raritywink:

Renegade Gem

"Pearl?"

"Yes, my Diamond?"

"What's the current state on Rupee's duel?"

"Well, about half of your city's wanted to get to it. Oh, that Jasper's going to get her gem crumbled."

In her throne room, Yellow Diamond and Yellow Pearl had gotten the news about Rupee's duel. Amongst many of the Gems on Homeworld, Yellow diamond had gotten the news the quickest out of all of them (aside from those involved in the duel, of course). Unlike some though, Yellow diamond was looking forward to seeing Rupee in action. Sure, her other duels were "cute", but this one was with a war veteran - which meant testing a new product against an experienced one. Yellow Pearl kept a happy smirk on her face, being influenced by Yellow Diamond to enjoy such things more than any normal Pearl. This duel was making her a bit giddy about it, and was looking forward to it just like Yellow Diamond was. Yet, the Diamond drawed the line at Yellow Pearl's comment (which the Pearl was snickering about)

"Pearl, I'm not letting this duel happen just to kill of her. That Jasper's a war veteran, and she did bring back my Peridot as instructed."

"That Jasper took months to do that, and allowed those crystal clods to help her. Why give that dirtbomd the chance?" Yellow Pearl retorted, annoyed. Unlike Blue Diamond's pearl, this Pearl was more prone to snap out her own opinion on stuff. Yellow Diamond looked down to her Pearl with a glare.

"Are you questioning my authority, Pearl?" Yellow Diamond asked firmly. The tone alone made Yellow Pearl clam up. Yellow Diamond knew a Pearl, or any Homeworld Gem for that matter, wouldn't dare challenge a Diamond for anything. Yellow Pearl played with her fingers, not looking at Yellow Diamond's eyes.

"Jasper had been loyal to me before, during, and after the war. I'll allow her to live after the fight for that much. Now, go and check on the arena," Yellow Diamond instructed. Yellow Pearl quickly went off to check the duel area, leaving Yellow Diamond alone in the throne room to think on the upcoming event. She could still remember when Jasper would fight alongside her during the war times, and even the loyalty she gave her before the war started. But now, she was having doubts about her own decision. She hated to admit it, but, Yellow Pearl had a point; Jasper did allow the Crystal Gems to help her on earth despite their rebellion. She'd had to deal with them later though, she had a arena duel to keep track of.

With the sun out in the sky, it signified to Jasper that the duel was scheduled to happen soon. Since she was challenged, Jasper had been training all night long, almost non-stop to prepare herself for the event upcoming. At this point, she wouldn't be able to get out of the duel if she wanted to; the news spreading fast enough. If she called it off now, she'd be called a coward. Plus, reaching Yellow Diamond's ears, that meant it had to happen. Jasper stopped for a moment after beating an expert mode practice dummy. What'll exactly happen at the fight was up for debate, but Jasper wanted to avoid the worse case scenario as much as possible. As she was getting herself ready for the duel, some of her friends came out to see her. Among them were Applejack, Peridot, Fluttershy, Pearl, and Garnet. Jasper was most surprised to see Garnet, yet Sapphire and Ruby fused soon after Sapphire came back, so Jasper didn't know of it until now.

"Garnet? Hadn't seen you in awhile," Jasper commented.

"Likewise. Almost time for your duel I heard," Garnet noted, crossing her arms.

"I don't need anymore reminders," insisted Jasper. She had enough of a reminder already, as Applejack went over to her.

"Hey, Jasper? Y'all sure you wanna go through with this? No problem if you decide to forget it," The orange pony asked. Jasper got up, and looked down to Applejack.

"Can't quit now. If I do, I'll be called a coward! Besides, It won't take long anyway," Jasper smirked, cracking her fists. The others, although expecting this from Jasper, shown concern for her. Pearl spoke up.

"Uh, Jasper, you can still be strong without being so ... Well, rough," Pearl advised. Still, Jasper looked to her in confusion.

"What do you know?"

"Well," said Pearl, remembering her own experience, "There's a number of different ways one can be strong; you can outthink someone, or outmaneuver, or try to work out a compromise," Pearl explained. Jasper wasn't very convinced, and moved away.

"May work for you, but not me," Jasper replied. It can work better for Pearl, but for Jasper, fighting like a Quartz was her way to go. Before they could do anything else, Blue Pearl suddenly appeared ...

"Time to go, Jasper."

~~~~~~

For the area where the duel was to take place, things were beginning to get hyped up. It was fully cleaned up of any scrap and debris so both Rupee and Jasper wouldn't get any distractions while beating the daylights out of eachother - extra precision courtesy of Yellow Pearl. For the battlefield, it was about the size of a baseball field, shaped like a hexagon with evened corners for each side. The borders of the arena were lined with walls, making the entire arena in a sort of pit. With each corner point there was a sort of pillar, each one about as tall as the Diamonds were, and each one was full of energy, like a set of electrical rods. The arena was flatten out, and cleaned up so the ground was completely even under their feet. Waiting in the arena for her opponent was Rupee, proudly standing tall, with her fists waiting impatiently to slam themselves into someone's gemstone. By the time Jasper had arrived for the duel to start, the crowd that had come was pretty much packed, with all sorts of Gems (most from Yellow Diamond's city) wanting to see shards fly. Jasper knew the second she saw them that she couldn't just back out now. Amongst the Gems watching, a particular area even included the Diamonds watching too; Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond sitting side by side, each with their own different views on the situation. Their Pearls were with them as well, but Blue Diamond allowed Lapis and Garnet (who she allowed to stay fused) a seat next to her. Yellow Diamond didn't personally approve of this action, but she wouldn't dare bring herself to force them away while Blue Diamond was sitting there, so, she didn't bother herself with it. Before Jasper went to the arena floor, she went over to where she saw the other Crystal Gems and the Mane Six. They had gotten their seats courtesy of Blue Diamond, and while they weren't sure if picking a fight with the Homeworld residents was such a good idea, the least they could do was support Jasper during the fight. Peridot, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pearl took their seats by the others, as Jasper looked down to the arena floor, seeing Rupee cracking her knuckles. It seemed obvious Rupee was ready to go.

"Well. Wish me luck," Jasper said.

"You sure you want to do this? We won't think any different of you if you don't," Twilight assured her, but Jasper didn't reply. All the Gem did was jump down to the arena floor. Twilight and Steven glanced to eachother in concern, wondering exactly how this will turn out. Some of the others were more supportive.

"You got this, Jasper!" called Amethyst.

"Show her what you're made of!" added Fulgurite.

"Pummel that rock!" cheered Rainbow.

Guess not everybody or everypony was as worried over her wellbeing as they should. Still, they kept a good face for Jasper to keep her confidence up. With Blue Diamond, Garnet and Lapis both had mixed feelings about the duel themselves. While Garnet might have a better idea for meeting up with Jasper before the duel, Lapis was still not sure why Jasper would be so focused on getting the duel started, and actually do it. They didn't come to Homeworld just to start up fights, quite the opposite actually. Eventually, Lapis turned to Blue Pearl.

"Excuse me, but, are duels settled here the same as they had been, or has anything changed?" Lapis asked. Blue Pearl turned to Lapis.

"I don't think so. Not too many discussions on the rules had been made," Blue Pearl replied. However, their talk was overheard by Blue Diamond, as she got their attention.

"Don't worry, Lapis, the rules hadn't changed. It still stand that the first to retreat into his or her gemstone is the loser. So long as Rupee remembers that," she explained, though considering Rupee's anger she was worried Rupee might lose it during the fight. Even if Yellow Diamond saw that as good, Blue Diamond wished she would control her strength a bit more. The crowd applauded the gladiators, as Jasper stood in the arena facing Rupee. They both stood ten feet away from eachother, yet Jasper still felt smaller compared to Rupee. Jasper looked over to her friends, showing their support, as Jasper relaxed her muscles. Rupee stared daggers at Jasper, with a smile that screamed bloody murder. Even with one eye covered by a eye patch, her eye still gave Jasper a look to kill. Rupee was itching to get started, her fingers twitching as if she was in a Texas draw out, ready to grab her gun and pull the trigger at any moment. Jasper kept her full focus ahead of her, blocking out many of the screams, cheers, and yells the crowds around her echoed. Jasper looked to the Crystal Gems and ponies, then to the Diamonds, and then to Rupee.

"I'm looking forward to crushing you," Rupee said, almost devilishly. Jasper was ready, though felt a strange sense of deja vu. She showed similar behavior a long time ago, and it felt like she was seeing herself in front of her. Jasper cracked her neck with a few small tilts of her head, and her hands gripped into battle-ready fists. Both Gem fighters were ready and able. Before the fight began, suddenly the pillars around the arena began to glow, and a larger wall of neon green began to appear until they were boxed in. It was a way to keep the violence without risk of public involvement, interference, or injury. Seconds later, the walls turned transparent so everyone will have an easier view without the wall interfering.

This was Rupee and Jasper's signal to begin.

Just seconds after the barrier was put up, Rupee charged first. Jasper raced on and met Rupee head on, both fists slamming into eachother. The crowd began their cheers soon as it began, everyone invested on who'll win, and who'll fall. The battle itself was of pure strengths, and both sides kept their power at full force. The way they were fighting though was the critical bit; since Jasper's gemstone was right in front of her face, she had to block with her arms to avoid any damage with Rupee's powerful hits. This left Jasper less chances to actually attack, but it did give her less risk. Another thing tipping for her was her size. Although shorter, that made Jasper faster than Rupee so she dodged what she could and hit when she got the chance. For Rupee though, she was clearly the stronger Gem, and every hit she managed to make was like taking a cannonball shot head on. Rupee's style of fighting wasn't calculated, and just made up of hit the target. Jasper, more experienced, went at her like a expert boxer, and twice as strong. The fight seemed tipping to Jasper's favor as more time went by, but Rupee was starting to lose patience with this orange Gem.

"Hold still!" Rupee snarled, teeth grinding. Rupee slammed her fists down to the ground, only for Jasper to dodge it again. Rupee may be a tough Gem, but this was starting to get under her skin. Jasper slid around, rallied it up, and slammed her fist square on her back. The hit was hard enough to knock Rupee onto her knees, and Rupee was quick to retort with a quick spin around, her fists slamming against Jasper's temple. Jasper tumbled on the ground, but just managed to regain her footing.

"Not bad for a newbie," Jasper commented.

"And you just won't quit," replied Rupee. Jasper jumped to her feet, launching herself into Rupee's torso, ramming her like a bull.

At this point, the crowd was going wild for the fight, and the Crystal Gems and ponies we're seeing Jasper doing well, feeling less worried. That didn't mean they still weren't worried over her, but the feeling wasn't as strong. Pinkie and Steven were cheering Jasper on from the crowd, as the Quartzes continued at it. After forcing her in place, Jasper hooked Rupee's feet with a spin kick. When her back was to her, Jasper elbow her in the stomach, letting gravity bring her crashing to the ground. It seemed that Jasper had this battle as good as done, as Rupee tried to regain herself from being pummeled so far. How was she being served like this?!

"Had enough, Rupee?" Jasper asked, arms crossed. Rupee shook her head like some animal. She was really getting ticked at Jasper at this point.

"I'll make gravel out of your Gem!" Rupee growled. Rather than jumping to her feet, she instead launched herself backwards, whacking her back into Jasper. It was strong enough to knock Jasper backwards. Jasper didn't had time to shake off the hit, and Rupee was on top of her with a roundhouse punch, dangerously close to her Gemstone. Jasper and Rupee proved to be fair opponents, and each side had powerful strength for eachother. Each hit left them more bruised up, but Rupee was acting dangerously reckless at this point. Jasper tried to block the punches again at one point, both arms raised, but that ended up being a huge error. Instead of a punch, Rupee grabbed one arm, swung Jasper head over heels, and slammed her into the ground hard!

"You had your fun. Now it's my turn!" Suddenly, Jasper's luck made a deadly drop, Rupee slamming her over and over again into the ground. The once cheering friends to Jasper ended up worried for her, yet the Diamonds showed not much concern. Blue Diamond may be worried over anger, but both knew that a Gem retreating into its gemstone didn't mean death to the Gem unless it was shattered. Still, each hit Rupee made wasn't very well calculated, and it was dangerously close to hitting the gemstone on Jasper's face!

"This isn't good," noted Garnet. With the barrier up though, she couldn't do anything about it if things were to go downhill. So far, that's what seemed to be going on here. Jasper couldn't make a proper hit, or proper footing with Rupee's swinging. With a warrior cry, Rupee made her finishing move; swinging her good and hard, Jasper was sent flying off fast in a spiral, straight into one of the pillars! The energy had a electrical effect, and breaking that not only broke the wall, but violently electrocuted Jasper! After what felt like forever, Jasper fell out, stung and weakened. Jasper tried her best to keep from retreating into her gemstone as she tried to get to her feet. The broken pillar collapsed to the ground, nearly landing on Jasper as Rupee walked. Rupee stepped on Jasper's back, keeping her down. The crowd didn't expect Rupee to go that far in her fight, but Rupee didn't care. They were there, and they gave her an advantage to used against Jasper. Even after having the advantage, Jasper's luck ran out, and the fight shifted so fast. Jasper glared to Rupee, who forced Jasper on her back so she could see her pain in the face. Rupee grabbed Jasper by the neck, and brought another fist right over her gem nose. Jasper grabbed her hand so her Gem wouldn't get smashed. The rest of the group were starting to get worried over Jasper now, with this sudden change in luck putting Jasper in a bad spot.

"Oh no. Come on, Jasper!" Amethyst encouraged.

"You can do it!" Added Rainbow. They all were hoping that she would get up from her pin, including Lapis and Garnet by Blue Diamond. Jasper tried to stop her Gem from being crushed. Rupee continued to struggle, until Jasper finally got her other arm free, and punched Rupee back. It was just enough to make Rupee let go, but Jasper ended up spinning back to her front. Rupee readied to attack, but Jasper wasn't having any of it. She pushed her body up with her arms, brought her legs up, and gave Rupee a good, powerful horse hind kick, sending Rupee back, and making her fall over hard! The ponies especially were impressed with the comeback, and every other Gem cheered her on. Garnet couldn't help but smile, but -

You made simple house keys so Twilight can jump from Equestria to here, you can make a portal from here to Homeworld, I'm sure

Garnet brought her hand to her head, groaning slightly. She was used to seeing visions but this one came subconsciously, and it wasn't one she was prepared for. The exact image was unclear, yet the voice was more accurate than most. Garnet didn't get it though, if this was indeed who she left on Earth, then why was it showing up now? Lapis looked over to Garnet and noticed the troubled look on her face.

"You okay, Garnet?" Lapis asked. Garnet just sighed.

"I ... Yeah, I'm fine," Garnet replied. She took a moment to look to the others further away, which seemed troubled with Jasper's fall. Garnet though kept a wary eye on the area just in case something were to go wrong. Despite the fight being the main source of attention, Garnet's attention kept to trying to see what was wrong. She looked to the arena fight - nothing. She looked through the crowd - nothing. What's the problem that vision entailed? What was it warning her about? As she looked though, something was trying to get through the crowd, right towards the Diamond Authority. It was hard to tell at first, but eventually it came into view.

Emerald!

He had split off from the others when they got back, and basically was trying to get to Yellow Diamond before it was too late. Still, it took time to get from point A to point B, and hopefully he didn't waste too much time. Even if no one authorized him to, he went straight to the Diamonds themselves, waving his hands and hopping up and down like he was trying to fly. Yellow Diamond soon noticed him, but didn't think his frantic behavior was anything to worry about.

"Only members of the royal court sit here," Yellow Diamond reminded. Emerald though seemed desperate in trying to say something. Lapis and Garnet, both meeting Emerald before, were also a little unsure what the little guy was trying to get at. Still not talking, Emerald had to get his charade together in order to make it clear. It wasn't very easy though, especially if the Diamond wasn't taking him seriously. Emerald kept trying to point Yellow Diamond to the right direction, but it wasn't working out so well.

"What's the matter, Emerald?" Blue Diamond asked, sensing the particular Gem correctly as before. She could also sense his cracked gemstone, hence explaining why he wasn't talking (among other things). Emerald was glad somebody at least got the name, and he tried his best to get the issue across through some acting. He acted out a pony, jumping through a portal, and a slicing motion across his throat, pointing to Yellow Diamond ...

The only main reaction was Yellow Pearl snickering for seeing him acting stupid. Yellow Diamond was more annoyed than most, and just flat out ignored him after awhile. The fight was far more interesting than a guessing game with a mute gem. None of them could exactly understand what he was getting to, but for Garnet, it was a little too coincidental to have Emerald show up frantic soon after her vision. For Emerald, it was getting annoying, and his palm met his forehead in a slap. He can't charade his answer, so he just had to get her to see for herself. Talk about timing too; Emerald could catch something going on further off ...

Quickly, he got out one of his hexagons; which was more reflective than usual, and got it to Yellow Diamond's attention. Yellow Diamond was getting annoyed with Emerald, but when she saw the reflected image in front of her, it showed herself, her throne ... And something moving behind her.

What happened next was beyond shocking.

It just happened so fast, so quick, and so unexpected that no one had time to react. Yellow Diamond got up and turned around, but just as she did, something knocked her hard, the Diamond tumbling right into the arena and landing right on her head! Yellow Diamond didn't know what it was, or who it was, but whatever did that was completely off guard. Everything seemed to have stopped after that; the fight, the cheering, everything was at a sudden stand still as everything looked to Yellow Diamond. She tried to get up, but something suddenly pinned her down by her neck, slightly cutting in and keeping her eyes to the sky. Looking down, she saw what had pinned her down, with his scarred hoof right on her throat.

"Told you I'd come."

"Kyra?!"

Yellow Diamond knocked Kyra off of her, the draconian pony staying on his hooves. His very appearance alone shocked the Crystal Gems and ponies beyond belief, they could've swore that Kyra didn't join them in the ship, and he was left on Earth so how'd he get here? Even worse; why was he attacking Yellow Diamond?! Yellow Diamond got up, as Kyra straightened himself out, his tail aimed at the ready like a edged sword. He felt undeterred by the crowds of Gems around him, his eyes only focused on one target. Rupee and Jasper halted their fighting when Kyra showed up, just as shocked as everyone else.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Rupee demanded, shoving Jasper aside to confront Kyra.

"Keep out of this," Kyra sighed, before rushing to Yellow Diamond again. Rupee got in the way, and swung her fist to stop him, but all Kyra did was dodge, and his tail speared right through her! Just like that. No hesitation, no thought on whoever was around, just a quick stab to get her out of the way. Rupee poofed, and a small reddish Gemstone fell to the ground. Kyra picked up the Gemstone with his tail, and just as bluntly as before, tossed it clear out of sight! Was this the same Kyra the ponies and Crystal Gems had met already, because he was acting far more ruthless than usual. Blue Diamond was about to question Garnet, for she too informed her about Kyra being left behind, but Blue Diamond could see the shock on her face, which told her Garnet had no idea.

"How are you here?! I was informed you were left behind on Earth!" Yellow Diamond demanded.

"And I informed you that I had my methods. And I also insisted some improvement in how you took care of Homeworld, which I obviously don't see," Kyra growled. Yellow Diamond glanced over to Jasper, then to Peridot nearby, growing even more angry. After all, they were the ones who informed her that Kyra wasn't on Homeworld in the first place. Out of all of them, Peridot was the most shocked on seeing him, but not just because of him arriving without their ship. She knew what he did, and she knew that he had to be very strong. Even if she didn't, beating Rupee in the matter of seconds proved enough. Garnet was shocked too, for she deliberately left Kyra behind, yet he somehow managed to get here himself without much help. Kyra rushed forward again, this time without any interruption, as Yellow Diamond readied her fist to punch, but Kyra proved to be a lot faster than her, and used his cut hoof to slice her shoulder. The hit was surprisingly hard, and the cut stung the Diamond as Kyra sprung around, and was fast enough to cut her again with the same hoof, this time at the back of her head. Kyra readied to charge again, but suddenly he felt something grip his tail, and hold him back.

"Kyra, wait!"

Kyra turned, and saw Twilight rush in alongside Steven, both not wanting to see Kyra go any further. Despite this, Kyra seemed relieved to see them.

"Oh, Twilight, Steven, thank goodness. Here, can you lend a hoof with -"

"Hold on, what're you doing?" Twilight asked urgently. Yellow Diamond tried to get through her pain as Kyra brought his attention to the Alicorn.

"I'm finishing up, that's what. Now, this'll be a second, just help me with this if you don't mind."

"What?! No! Kyra, stop this, there's no reason for it!" Twilight demanded, as some of the Mane Six went out to join her.

"Do you have any idea what they tried to do to Earth? She deserves this, now help me or stand by," Kyra instructed, ready to attack again. Yellow Diamond got up, and charged Kyra, only for Kyra to rushed at her, and swing his sharp tail at her arm. The cut it left was so deep, it threatened to split her arm in two at the elbow, and Yellow Diamond gripped it in pain. Rainbow quickly rushed, and tackled Kyra to the ground, as the other ponies got in between him and Yellow Diamond. Kyra got up, startled by Rainbow's hit.

"Would you stop doing that, you're not helping anything," Rainbow said, firm yet annoyed on her part. Kyra whacked Rainbow off of him as he got to his hooves. Yellow Diamond was a bit unsure about how to react. On one hand, these ponies were friends to the Crystal Gems, a group who she fought against already, but at the same time these same Ponies were trying to keep Kyra from attacking her more. And then there's Steven, who was doing the same thing. He was protecting her too?

"Had the Crystal Gems told you what they did? I don't know about you, but I'm not letting a 1,000 year war go to rest without the Diamonds getting their comeuppance," Kyra stated, rushing forward again. Rather than attack the Mane Six, he suddenly jumped skyward, directly at Yellow Diamond. Yellow Diamond moved back, but suddenly a whip launched up, wrapped around his back leg, and pulled him back. This whip came from Amethyst. Kyra growled and got up, but seeing it was the Amethyst of the Crystal Gems that did that made him beyond confused.

"Amethyst? what're you doing, you should be supporting this if anything!" Kyra snapped, shocked in disbelief.

"Well, I'm not, Kyra! We didn't leave Earth just to start the war over again," Amethyst revealed, trying to keep Kyra still. All Kyra did though was use his sharp hooves to cut the whip, making Amethyst stumble back off her feet. Yellow Diamond found this even more surprising. So the Crystal Gems had left Earth behind, and it wasn't anything malicious against her or Homeworld? she was told this, sure, but given the facts of their previous involvement with Homeworld and the Crystal Gems, this sort of news and the fact Amethyst was protecting her from Kyra (who supposedly should be on the same team) left her a bit confused but nothing beyond that. Seeing Yellow Diamond distracted for the moment, Kyra took his chance and rushed her again. This time none of them stopped him in time, and he finished off the cut on Yellow Diamond's arm, cutting her arm off! Thank the stars her gemstone wasn't there, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt her. Her disembodied arm exploded into dust soon as it landed, Yellow diamond gripping her arm with gritted teeth. That got Pearl rushing to aid.

"Kyra, stop this nonsense!" Pearl yelled, her spear aimed.

"Et tu, Pearl? You should know very well by now what they've done! Why are you of all Gems against this anyway - you've worked with Rose herself!"

"I don't want to war to start again - none of us do! I didn't come back after 5,000 years just to have you kill the Diamonds and start the war over again!" Pearl yelled. Every other Gem watching were as surprised as ever by this information. Still, this only left Kyra more appalled and shocked.

"But Rose fought them herself, and you did too! They wanted to hollow the Earth, Rose would never approve of leaving such Gems -"

"How would you know?! YOU NEVER EVEN MET HER!" Pearl's voice echoed throughout the arena, Kyra taken aback and stopped talking for a moment. Every single Gem couldn't believe that a Pearl of all Gems would be so defiant, and so brave with her own opinion unlike any other Pearl on homeworld. This wasn't just to any owner, she was screaming out to Kyra, and didn't care who else was listening. Pearl aimed her spear directly at Kyra.

"Did you honestly think that Rose ever wanted to fight her own kind over a thousand years?! She had sympathy, and saw the beauty in everything, and everyone! She would never think of taking away any life out of spite, not even from the Diamonds! If you make one more attack, or so help me you'll regret it!"

Kyra couldn't believe what he was hearing, and even more shocked it was Pearl. The same Pearl who fought alongside Rose Quartz herself throughout the 1,000 years of war, and here she's protecting the very same Gem who held responsible for kindling the fire in the first place. It was a complete one-eighty here; from fighting Homeworld, to protecting it. Still, even with that, Kyra got to his senses; Pearl couldn't really be serious about attacking him, was she? Kyra really didn't want to fight those who followed Rose, and kept his target in line. Yellow Diamond got up on her two feet, looking down at Kyra. The draconian pony readied himself once more, and charged ahead. Everypony else stayed put, but Pearl suddenly rushed ahead.

"Pearl!" Steven called. But, Pearl didn't listen. Before anyone knew it ...

"AAAHHH!"

The scream from Kyra could be heard all over, as Kyra tumbled, and landed on his back side, stinging all through his already cut leg. Pearl landed with grace, her spear making a direct hit. Kyra's hoofband and flower were cut off of his hoof, as another deep slit was made within Kyra's scarred cut on his leg. The cut stung him, and it darkened slightly from yet another blade cutting into his leg throughout his involvement with Gems. First a Diamond, now a Pearl. Kyra struggled to his hooves, but his stinging leg made him stumble again in a pained groan. Pearl turned back to him with a angered expression. Kyra felt hurt, but more in an emotional sense than a physical one. He'd never thought that a Crystal Gem would go this far to protect such a gem like Yellow Diamond. Kyra kept his head down, a very faint tear going down his face. The only one who saw it was actually Fluttershy, just catching it before Kyra shook his head to get rid of them. Kyra managed to get up, looking at them one more time.

"So ... This is how it is, is it? ..." Kyra's voice strained a little, as he turned away. Yellow Diamond readied to attack him for what he did, but Kyra suddenly raced away, disappearing after a tiny bit. Even with three legs he was using, Kyra was quick enough to not get caught. When all of it was done, Yellow Diamond looked to the stub that used to be her arm, the even cut like a sword swiftly sliced it. No blood, no bone, just a yellow clean cut. Then her eyes shifted to Jasper, who looked back to her. Her message was brief, and blunt.

"Get Peridot. Tower. Now."

Peridot heard her, and was more scared than ever.

~~~~~~

Soon, Jasper and Peridot were brought back to the tower by Yellow Diamond's command. They both just stood there, Peridot scared out of her wits again, as Yellow Diamond sat on her throne looking down at the two. Her arm had reformed back despite being torn off by Kyra. Yellow Pearl stood alongside, still a little shaken by Kyra's act on her Diamond. Kyra had some strong nerves to attack, and even cripple Yellow Diamond, even if it was temporary. There was a bit of a silence before Yellow Diamond spoke.

"Jasper, Peridot. This wasn't what you two informed me about, I hope you realize that," Yellow Diamond firmly stated. Peridot could only gulp, for she knew what her Diamond was talking about. After all, she said right out that Kyra wasn't on Homeworld, yet she stood corrected.

"Y-Yes, my Diamond, but -" Peridot stuttered.

"And you both had some nerve telling me despite this, that Kyra wasn't going to be a problem." Jasper wanted to point out that she herself didn't, but, considering what happened that might not be the best idea to correct her right now.

"We didn't know how he got here, honest."

"How are you honest after you lied to me? Besides, it doesn't excuse the fact that my arm was torn off by him!" Yellow Diamond retorted. Jasper and Peridot both weren't sure what she had in mind, as Yellow Diamond glared at them both.

"Now, on normal circumstances, your fate would be execution," Yellow Diamond began. The very thought troubled both of them. "However. From what Kyra had said, it was clear that none of the Crystal Gems truly knew how he got here, or any of the Ponies for that matter. Still, despite an explanation for your lack of knowledge, you both done nothing to help the situation. I would like to know at least what made you lie to me."

"It's Kyra's fault!" Peridot squeaked out. Yellow Diamond looked down to her, and Jasper did the same.

"H-He threatened my Gem if I told anyone! I saw the call he did with you, b-but I couldn't bring myself to do anything! I'm sorry my Diamond!" Peridot revealed, her voice full of fear and regret, as she got down on her hands and knees, not bringing herself to look. Yellow Diamond gave a rough sigh, reached down, and lifted Peridot up to her eye level by the collar. Jasper didn't know what Yellow Diamond was going to do, but it couldn't be any good. Peridot was completely terrified, as she braced for what Yellow Diamond had in mind. Her other hands brought up, a finger right on her gemstone. All Yellow Diamond did was brought her hand up, and flicked Peridot right on her Gemstone! Peridot panicked, and felt her gemstone for any sort of crack. Turned out, her gemstone was fine, and Yellow Diamond dropped her on Jasper. Peridot poked out of Jasper's thick hair. Yellow Diamond just got to the point.

"I want you both out of my city. Jasper, Peridot, I here by banish you both from my city," Yellow Diamond decided. Jasper and Peridot both were surprised on hearing that kind of punishment from Yellow Diamond, but, it surely beats death anyway. Without a word, Jasper and Peridot looked to eachother before they left, leaving Yellow Diamond to wonder a bit. Kyra was back, though injured by a Pearl that decided herself to do so without order, and she was protected by the very same Gems that she fought against ...

This needed some thinking about ...

Author's Note

Well ... that happened :twilightoops:

Before the Storm

As the sun settled on the Homeworld cities, the outskirts were still stirring. The only main soul for the moment was Kyra, limping away from the city with his bad leg. When he was far enough from the city to avoid detection, the draconian slowed to a walk, keeping his injured leg off the ground as much as he could. The warn winds of the setting day blew against him slightly, and each step was becoming rough to handle. For Kyra, his encounter hadn't gone as planned, and it left him a hole in him. The main idea was just to fight Yellow Diamond, beat her, and go. Instead, he felt betrayed by the Crystal Gems and Ponies for a choice he thought was a good thing. Pearl especially showed him that their intention to come to Homeworld wasn't the same as his own, and the stinging of the cut just became a reminder of the fact. Kyra didn't bother to retrieve his flower back, otherwise risking getting killed again. That Emerald made Yellow Diamond aware of him, and he didn't intend on having Emerald come along. Seemed many factors were against him by this point, some more expected than others. He didn't expect the Crystal Gems to go against him anyway. No matter the case, he had one more idea which will finally give the Diamonds their punishment. At one point in his walk, Kyra found a intent in the path, going down a steep hill. The path lead to a cave, which Kyra was for sure will be a better spot to rest. Not really a first choice in spots, but it was where he was going so he took it. Before he could go ...

"Kyra."

Guess somebody followed him. Looking behind him, turned out the Gem was Garnet. Garnet was about as shocked as anybody to see him here, and Garnet took it on herself to check him out after things got settled. Blue Diamond allowed her to go, and it took her a while before she managed to find him. Kyra only glanced at her.

"What is it, Garnet?"

"Okay Kyra. Let's promise to not lie to eachother, alright?"

Kyra only nodded. He wasn't in a state to drive her away, yet he continued on his way a little bit.

"If you insist."

"Good. Now how'd you get here? I know you weren't on the ship," Garnet quizzed, as Kyra went down the cliff path. Garnet didn't had trouble keeping up with him.

"Discord, how else? I'm surprised he himself didn't come here yet, to be honest with you," Kyra replied. Garnet could feel herself mentally slapping her forehead; she didn't consider Discord's magic where it should be. After all, he got them to Equestria just by some keys he made. Kyra just hobbled along.

"So you convince that Draconequus. Not easy to do."

"Just a few kind words was all it took that's all. Speaking of which, Garnet, what convinced the other Gems to the Diamond's graces?" Kyra asked, not stopping his stride until he got to the bottom. Garnet jumped down after a bit to see him.

"None of the Diamonds did anything, Kyra."

"Impossible; the Diamonds must've said something to make you join Homeworld. The Crystal Gems wouldn't leave Earth behind that fast, and you know it," Kyra retorted. Garnet could see where he was coming from, but at the same time it was rather quick to judge.

"We never abandoned Earth, Kyra -"

"Then why bother arriving, if I may ask? Homeworld hated the Crystal Gems, and the only reason you got here was this big future thing you saw in your head," Kyra firmly asked. Kyra went off to the cave in question as Garnet paused a little. Garnet did promise to be true to him really.

"I saw peace."

Kyra stopped and turned back to her, confused.

"Peace? What are you talking about?"

"With Homeworld. I saw the Crystal Gems, and Homeworld Gems in harmony together. It was beautiful." Every word Garnet said was true to the draconian, and she tried hard to get it right in the end. Unfortunately, Kyra shook his head.

"So you went through all this trouble for an idea that came to your head that may or may not happen? You're putting your expectations far too high, you're aware of that right?" Kyra questioned, finding the concept ludicrous. Garnet didn't answer him at first, as Kyra continued.

"The chances of such a idea to happen are almost zero, Garnet, these aren't just some random people you find on the street, these are Gems who tried to kill Earth! You think the same Gems trying to protect Earth can turn that around?"

"We did fine with Blue Diamond," Garnet bluntly stated.

"She's only nice to you because you're apart of her royal court. I saw you standing next to her, don't act like I didn't. If you weren't, she could care less about you or any of your Gems and Ponies," Kyra explained, heading into the cave. Garnet got in his way again.

"That's where you're wrong Kyra. Blue Diamond has been sympathetic towards the others in my group, it wasn't just because of Sapphire and Lapis."

"And I'm expected to believe she gave everypony in your group a right of passage, I suppose? And what about Yellow Diamond? If you had any affect at all, she'd changed something about how it's been running."

"We didn't had that much time with her," Garnet admitted. Kyra, feeling sore, eventually sat down facing her.

"Then that makes your protection even less reasonable, going as far as to slice through my leg. Did your Pearl learn that from Rose by the way?"

"Probably."

"Quite. Now, look Garnet. I've been tolerable with your decision to come back to Homeworld, but this wasn't what I had in mind. You should know not everything will change by simple words," Kyra reminded. Garnet sighed.

"Being violent won't help either, Kyra. I'm sure you know that by now," Garnet retorted. However, Kyra still remained unconvinced.

"And I'm sure you know by now that there's consequence to your actions. I tried playing nice, I really did, but the Diamonds could care less about what I had to say."

"Hence the duel," Garnet assumed. Kyra looked down to his deepened scar, knowing Garnet must've caught wind of his plan after all. It's hard to hide anything from her, apparently. All Kyra did was nod, as Garnet moved over to him.

"It's kind of a stretch I have to say, you single-handedly taking down the Diamonds."

"I'm glad they showed up at all. Yellow Diamond didn't bother herself, but the other three did. Blue, White, and Pink all showed, and I've managed to beat each one." Garnet wasn't sure how he managed to defeat three Diamonds at one time, but after seeing him slice Yellow Diamond's arm off with a few strikes of his tail, it couldn't be too hard to imagine.

"What were you hoping to accomplish, anyway?"

"To get through their heads to leave aliens alone, and to show organic life isn't as weak as they brought them onto be. I got three out of four convinced anyway, but it seemed Yellow Jacket didn't even bother to try."

Garnet found herself giggling at Kyra's nickname.

"Yellow Jacket? That your name for Yellow Diamond?"

"It suits her, anyway. But, that aside, I still have my own plans to take care of, and I'd appreciate it if you stop bothering me. These Diamonds hadn't changed much, and hadn't learned anything," Kyra groaned. He got up again, a bit gimpy on his bad hoof, and starting to go again. However, Garnet began to feel less convinced, and finally asked the question ...

"Kyra. What're you really trying to do?" Garnet asked. That's when Kyra had trouble. Should he tell her what he was going to do or no? Kyra tried not to.

"Garnet, I -"

"We promised we wouldn't lie to eachother, remember? You've been lying to me for a while now," Garnet reminded, making Kyra stop cold. Kyra knew she was right, and with his dwindling respects towards the Crystal Gems, and to Garnet, he just gave a rough sigh. Should he? Rather than tell her though, he kept going in the cave until it stopped at a dead end. He laid down on his good leg, keeping his bad leg and hoof in the open before answering.

"Garnet? You still remember some of Homeworld's lore, don't you? Or had you been gone for that long?" Kyra questioned first. If she knew already, then he didn't need to explain too much to her. Garnet thought for a moment before answering.

"It's been rather vague for me. Homeworld's more focused on advances rather than the past."

"I see ... Then here's a legend that'll put you on edge, I'm sure," Kyra said. Garnet waited to hear what Kyra had to say. Kyra turned to her.

"There is a creature on Homeworld. A creature brought to existence by the remains of the gems that had died, and only desires for destruction of Gemkind. It's known as the Osicone; a towering giant of Flint, who's body is impenetrable by any known weapon. Once it emerges from its grotto, the only hope for Gemkind is for the bravest Gems with harmony as strong as titanium, to come together ... Course, by what I see, Homeworld's just going to turn to rubble at this rate."

Garnet needed a minute to get the idea in her head. This Osicone sounds extremely dangerous put in such lore as a destruction being.

"You are hypocritical; telling me to not follow what I saw that can or cannot be real, yet you go through this trouble for the same thing."

"You're wrong; I've seen the Osicone with my own eyes. The Gems brought me here before, and I found it myself. It's alive, and it won't be long now before it's able to resurface. Even the historical Blue Diamond is unsure if it's alive or not."

"So let me get this straight; you heard of the Osicone when the Gems brought you here, and worried about the behavior of the Diamonds, and how it'll not save them. After consorting didn't work, you felt that being violent would get them to believe you and bring them together once the Osicone does arrive."

After rehearing it from Garnet's perspective, Kyra began to see the flaw in his plan.

"I lost patience, okay? They nearly had me dead because I won't follow any of them. If those stubborn demons want to die, then fine."

"And why'd you think we would help you defeat them, if you wanted them safe from the Osicone?"

"You're the Crystal Gems, for one. You -"

Suddenly, Garnet covered Kyra's mouth, getting him to quiet down. She took off her shades so he could see her stern expression.

"Kyra. When we first met, we saw you as a worshiper to Rose Quartz. You made your own prayer, praised her, and you shown hatred for the Diamonds and who followed them because of the Gem war. But now with this, I'm starting to think that you don't even follow Rose at all. Your reason with the Osicone had nothing to do with the Gem war, Rose, or the Crystal Gems, but instead about a legend you found on Homeworld that could destroy the Gem world. There's many flaws in your plan, Kyra."

"Look, maybe they were, or maybe they weren't. It doesn't matter now; Homeworld will be dead for sure, and that Osicone will wipe out everything, including you if you don't go. Well, if the Diamonds are going to be stubborn about it, then they might as well be rubble."

Kyra waited for a reply, but when he looked back, Garnet was actually quiet. She brought her hands up to the sides of her head, all three eyes closed.

"Garnet? ... What're you doing?"

Garnet didn't answer him at first, keeping her focus on something else. Her expression at first remained monotone, but it shifted to one of relief. Garnet opened her eyes, and looked right to Kyra. She didn't look upset with him, but more calm than most. She kneeled down to his level.

"You do have a lot to learn, don't you? You could simply have told us you know, and we would've listened instead of go through this entire façade of yours."

"It's a legend not even the Diamonds are sure if it's true, I didn't think you would."

"Now you're overthinking it," Garnet said with a small laugh. Kyra was starting to feel more regretful, but a little unsure with Garnet's behavior. He pretty much defied them back there, yet Garnet was taking it in stride.

"You are one-of-a-kind, aren't you?"

"You can say that. You know when the Osicone will emerge?"

"Very soon. I'm a fly compared to it in size, so, it won't be hard to find it. Garnet, I don't want you and the Gems shattered. You have to go before it does," Kyra pleaded. However, Garnet got back up, crossing her arms.

"Well, guess what? We're staying right here," Garnet decided. Kyra tried to get up, but his injury kept him down.

"Having trouble?"

"No, no. I just need to rest a while, that's all. Why, you going to watch?"

"I'll need everyone else ready for the fight," Garnet answered, beginning to walk away. Kyra looked to her in shock.

"You can't fight the Osicone! You may have fought many threats, but the Osicone -"

"Won't be any trouble. One thing though before I go?"

Kyra sighed.

"Ask away."

"The legend says that the bravest Gems with harmony would defeat it right? You thought they were the Diamonds, did you?"

Kyra didn't answer, as Garnet placed her shades back on.

"You do have plenty to learn. How about you wait it out? I'll come back later," Garnet promised. Then she went out. Suddenly, Kyra realized what she meant.

"Garnet!" Kyra called. But Garnet didn't stop, and soon Kyra was left all alone. He wouldn't be able to catch up to her this way, so resting was all he could do. He licked the cut on his leg for a little bit before resting his body down gently. He thought it over some more, and in the end he closed his eyes for a bit. As he laid there, his ears picked up something in the ground ...

A vibration.

"Here we go."

Author's Note

So. Much. TALKING :pinkiegasp:

Okay, I feel like I just threw this in like crazy, but I tried to explain as best as possible. I'm sure Garnet summed up how dumb Kyra's plan was. How many of you are prepared for the finale? :pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy:

(It'll be better :twilightblush:)

The Pony, the Gem, and Osicone PT2

The battlefield of the Osicone shown very little of Yellow Diamond's efforts to stop it. Even with a full twenty five Quartz Gems in battle alongside the Yellow Diamond, the Osicone had wiped them out almost with no effort. The ground was cracked in several places, fissures splitting open the ground, rocks smashed to bits, and gemstones lay all over the place of the Quartzes who had been defeated, and shattered. The Osicone stood still and observed what it did, almost like one would observe fish in a pond - innocent, and even a bit bored. Not too far away, Yellow diamond was down on her knees, weakened from the fight with the Osicone. Her sword laid by her side, the seventh sword she had summoned, as the six others were broken by the Osicone as the fight went on. The Diamond was getting weaker and weaker, and the Osicone didn't seem to be getting started, which made the fight a lot more in vain than Yellow Diamond would like. Yellow diamond looked up to the monster with a look to kill, and raised her sword once again. The Osicone had been hit by the sword multiple times at this point, and this beast didn't worry when the Diamond tried again. Yellow Diamond swung her sword at it, but the sword bounced off its flint plates without a single scratch on it's body. Yellow Diamond was getting tired, and the Osicone just grabbed her sword - again - but it didn't destroy it immediately as it had been doing. Instead of doing that, it began to slowly stagger away from her, with her Gem weapon in its grasp.

"Get back here!" Yellow Diamond demanded. If she was to fall, she at least wanted to fall to an enemy that took her seriously. The Osicone did at first, but at this point it no longer seemed to care anymore, getting bored. The Osicone just tossed her sword aside, not breaking it so she couldn't summon another one as she been doing throughout the fight. Yellow Diamond tried her best to get up to fight, and get her sword, yet the Osicone seemed to let her do so. By the time Yellow Diamond reached the sword, and picked it up, the beast was actually up a nearby hill, still walking away. Yellow Diamond fell to her knees again, and after a bit though, it turned away from its direction, looking off away. It wasn't to Yellow Diamond.

"There it is!" A voice called. From the Osicone's point of view, it was another nuisance that showed up, and to Yellow Diamond, it was a bit of a surprise. Off about a good ten yards, the Osicone could see a group of Gems that were looking for it, sent out by Blue Diamond. While the sight of a group of Amethyst Quartz didn't seem too off, then it noticed a ton of other Gems too. These were the Crystal Gems!

"Charge!" One of the Homeworld Amethysts bellowed, as the main brigade charged forward. The Osicone wasn't deterred, and the Crystal Gems didn't rush in at first. They've been with the group since Garnet warned Blue Diamond, and with Steven and the ponies safely away, there was nothing really holding them back as strongly as it would be. There was one issue though; Yellow Diamond.

"Guys, Yellow Diamond's here," Fulgurite informed, pointing to her as she was standing there with her sword in hand. They went over to the open wastes, and quickly saw the devastation so far, a ton of quartz Gems all over the ground by Yellow Diamond's feet. This made Peridot, Amethyst, Lapis a bit scared, and even Jasper was deeply unnerved considering most of them were Jaspers too. The culprit was already showing its fighting power to the attacking Amethyst troops, who tried their best to beat it down. With its staff back in hand, the Osicone wasted no time in whacking them back. Unlike the stronger Quartz Gems Yellow Diamond had, these Amethyst troops were just a bit faster. As such, the Osicone didn't hit many as quickly as before. Even so, the effects didn't bother the Osicone any different from before with Yellow Diamond's troops. One of them looked to the Crystal Gems.

"Hey, you going to help or what?!" she called, narrowly dodging another attack from the Osicone. After a quick decision (aside from Peridot), the Gems rushed to the Osicone. Unable to fight like the rest meant that Peridot had to aid Yellow Diamond (despite her banishing her already). As they went for it, the Osicone had made some direct hits on some Amethysts, sending them flying, or getting poofed on the spot with a few good swings. The Quartz group was dwindling fast, and the Crystal Gems took action right away. The first to attack the Osicone was a combined attack from Jasper and Garnet, slamming into the beasts leg. The hit was hard enough to dent the armor, but it didn't bother the Osicone very much. That didn't mean it didn't notice though, and turned back to them. It lifted its leg up to stomp them, but Fulgurite got her hair out, grabbed them both, and pulled them away before it crushed them.

"Okay, Garnet, any plan here?" Fulgurite asked.

"Keep it from getting to the cities," Garnet just said, as Fulgurite let her go. Jasper was released too. This distraction gave the other Gems a right of opening. Pearl aimed her spear, and began shooting at its head. Each shot bounced off it, but it annoyed the Osicone more. It swung its staff around, but Pearl dodged it easily. A few Amethyst troops though weren't so lucky, and were whacked far away. Lapis flew up to its head, trying to keep it focused on her with some water shots. Groaning, it tried to swat her away like one would swat a fly. This distraction was extremely bothersome for the Osicone, so much so that it tried to hit her with its staff. Lapis needed the weapon away, and this swing was poorly planned. Before anyone could do anything, be it intentional or accidental, the Osicone's staff flew out of her hands, and it spun in the air. Right for Yellow Diamond! Yellow Diamond was tired, and just noticed the staff falling at her.

"No you don't!" Jasper yelled, abandoning the Osicone for Yellow Diamond. The staff fell right to the ground below, but Jasper jumped up and knocked it away just in time. The hit was brutal, and strong, but Jasper kept her form and the staff landed on the ground nearby. Yellow Diamond didn't question why Jasper would help her, even after she banished her. The Osicone had enough with them, and brought both hands upward.

"Look out!" Yelled Garnet, jumping back. The Crystal Gems rushed off fast, along with the troops, as the Osicone slammed its fists into the dirt. the ground cracked, and shifted. soon, a huge chuck of the ground launched up, sending a lot of Amethyst troops flying, and crashing hard. only four remained after that, the rest cracked and defeated. Things were getting serious, such damage with one move told everybody that this was by far deadlier than ever. It straightened up, looked down at the others, and began going over to retrieve its staff. Yellow Diamond went over and grabbed it to use against it, a louder groan echoing from it. If her Gem weapon wasn't going to work, time to fight fire with fire. Yellow Diamond lifted it like a huge guillotine, and ready to use it as such. Jasper and Peridot moved out of the way, as Yellow Diamond rushed forward with the huge staff. The Osicone, annoyed, extended a hand and grabbed its staff from her, just like that! No pressure, no hurry, just one grab got it back to its owner. The grip was incredible, and the forced used was tough on her. Then the Osicone made a bold move ...

Before Yellow Diamond could react, it dropped the staff, and grabbed both of Yellow diamond's arms! The vicegrip was beyond powerful, and if she had any bones in her arms they would've crumbled the second it did so. Then it did the unthinkable; it pulled Yellow Diamond forward, brought its foot up so it pressed her chest, and launched her back. The force was so great, both arms were pulled out of her with a crumbling crack! Jasper, Yellow Diamond and Peridot were more shocked than ever, as the leading Diamond fell on her back. not even Kyra could do that so easily, and with him cutting off one arm took effort. The Osicone just threw one of the arms towards the other Gems, poofing away as the smoke from it covered most of them. The second arm it threw down at its feet like a smokescreen , the explosion covering their view too. The only one who had a fair view was Lapis in the air. Lapis flew down, and tried to attack the Osicone again, but with the smoke blocking everyone else's view, it turned around, and suddenly rushed forward to the gem group! Lapis was knocked back in a tail spin. The Osicone grabbed the staff, and swung it down hard in the fog, hearing some cracking, and Gems losing their physical forms from the hit. That same hit got the smoke blown away. It was only then did everybody there look on, and saw the Osicone's damage. When the cloud cleared, it revealed only one Homeworld Amethyst left, the rest underneath the Osicone's staff. The Osicone lifted up, and revealing another surprise; Ruby and Sapphire!

"Ruby! Sapphire!" Pearl gasped. Garnet had been struck, but missed her gemstones by a hair, leaving Ruby and Sapphire split. Of course, Ruby was panicked, and Sapphire got up gently. The Osicone slid the staff to the right, and got Sapphire skyward, much to their horror.

"Sapphire! No!" Ruby shrieked, getting up fast. Lapis was already on it and flew right for her, but seconds before she could get her, the Osicone reached up and grabbed her, pulling her away. Sapphire wasn't scared though, as the Osicone stared her down. The grip tightened, crushing Sapphire in its hand. Ruby was frantic, and desperate. Blindly, Ruby ran at it, and tried her best to climb up. Lapis, being close, tried to get her out too. The Osicone swung the same arm around, and whacked Lapis away! As for Ruby ...

"Someone, get me up there!" Ruby demanded, trying her best against the slabs of slick flint. Jasper was quick to oblige, and went right over to her. Jasper grabbed Ruby, and readied herself.

"Aim high."

"Got it."

Soon, Jasper threw Ruby as high as she could. The target was head on, and Ruby got a grip on one of the Osicone's fingers, just enough so she wouldn't fall. Ruby pulled herself up, as Sapphire turned to look at her. The Osicone of course noticed Ruby on its hand.

"Thank you Ruby. You did your best."

"No! Don't thank me until I get you out!" Ruby retorted. She grabbed one finger, pulling as hard as she could, and the others tried to fight it more. Down below, Yellow Diamond was still on her back, and Peridot tried to help her when she noticed Ruby and Sapphire up there, held prisoner by the Osicone. Yellow Diamond looked over as well. All she really needed to do was nod to give Peridot the word.

"Ruby!"

Soon, Peridot ran like mad to the Osicone, only worried about the Gems at its mercy. The Osicone turned to Peridot, as she ran as fast as she could. The training with Ruby clearly showed, Peridot running much faster. Pretty soon, she began to climb up the leg of the Osicone, grabbing on the corners with each jump up. The Osicone lifted its leg to get her loose, but Peridot held tight. Sapphire sighed, and looked to Ruby.

"Take care."

"Sapphire, what're you -" just before Ruby could finish, the Osicone swayed its fist, finally making Ruby lose her grip. Ruby fell off, but just managed to grab the slabs on the Osicone's side. Peridot saw this and still tried to reach her. For Sapphire, this was what she had seen. This was it. At the hand of the Osicone, she would lose her life to it, and Ruby would be alone without her. Sad, but she had already accepted it. The Osicone locked eyes with her one more time before it tightened its grip even more so ...

But then ...

"YYYYAAAAAHHH!"

None of them would've seen what had happened next. Out of nowhere, a blur of light blue and colors smashed against the Osicone's temple, enough to dent it on impact! The hit made the Osicone stumble slightly, the grip loosening on Sapphire, and Ruby and Peridot struggling on its body from the sudden movement. Sapphire was speechless when she saw who it was.

Rainbow Dash!

The blue Pegasus had given her warning to Fluttershy as told, and with lightning fast speed, went straight to the fight. The impact was a four hoof hit, and the dent on the Osicone was small, but still noticeable. The Osicone groaned roughly, as Rainbow saw Sapphire in its clutches, beginning to slip out. Rainbow quickly caught her before she could fall, and rushed her back to the ground. Sapphire never expected this in the slightest. The Osicone of course tried to get her back, but then something began to come around again, and shot it right between the eyes - Twilight's magic beam!

"Late for the party?" Rainbow asked, smirking.

"What're you doing here? What about Kyra?" Sapphire asked.

"We got bigger problems right now," Rainbow replied, pointing to the Osicone. While technically true, Sapphire now had the Mane Six to worry about. The Osicone saw the other Ponies begin to come over fast, Pinkie Pie the fastest of the others. The Osicone raised its foot to crush them, but Pinkie moved too fast, and the other two skidded to a stop before the foot slammed into the ground. This movement was causing some trouble for Ruby and Peridot. Suddenly, Ruby tried to balance on a split between the Osicone's armor on its hip, and ended up slipping inside! Peridot almost got her when this happened, and tried to pull her out, but ended up inside the Osicone as well. Her own logic into play, Pinkie bolted right up to the Osicone's head, her hooves over one of its eyes. This was a rather strong distraction, and the Osicone tried to get her off as best it could. Applejack saw Yellow Diamond trying to get up (and the fact she lost her arms), and rushed over to help her out as the beast was distracted. Even if she was by far smaller, she still had a lot of strength for a pony, and quickly began trying to push her up.

"I gotcha, come on now," Applejack encouraged, both sides trying their best. Jasper and the remaining Homeworld Amethyst went over to help as well, getting Yellow Diamond up to her feet. When that was handled, the Osicone grabbed the pink annoyance, and threw her down to the ground to get her off. Twilight was then whacked into a tail spin with a whack from the back of the Osicone's hand. The Crystal Gems and Ponies manage to group up further away, the Osicone moaning a bit, swaying its head between Yellow Diamond, and the others as if thinking over who to shatter next.

"Alright, we need a better plan here," Amethyst said, lucky to still be standing at the moment. There wasn't much time to really think of anything worth while, but the main problem is the armor it had. No matter how dented it got, it didn't seem to effect the Osicone in any way.

"Well, denting the armor's not doing anything, we need to think of something else," Sapphire said, trying to think on what to do when the Osicone's leg armor began to oddly shift, and collide together, so there wasn't much of any gaps to grab onto. They don't really know why it did that yet, but Sapphire tried to think on what to do about the giant.

Meanwhile though, not to anyone's true knowledge, Peridot and Ruby were both stuck inside the Osicone. It was dark, cracks of light from outside seeping in a tiny bit, but not helping. Since Peridot and Ruby were right by eachother, the two stuck very close together for the moment. They didn't know what to do, and no matter how they tried, they seemed stuck inside the creature. The Osicone felt them moving around inside of it, and the armor constantly moved to prevent them from escape.

"HELP!" Peridot shrieked. Even if the beast was keeping them in, it couldn't keep sound from getting out. Despite the screaming, they couldn't seem to hear her inside. While ruby had trouble seeing what was in there, Peridot's enhanced vision basically showed the armor like parts of a wall or ceiling. Basically, there wasn't exactly a body to speak of, instead more of a void. The only main solid part on the body mainly consisted of the head, hands, and feet. Everywhere else inside the Osicone seemed to be either magically put together, or using some sort of magnetics somehow. Regardless, it wasn't letting them go, and the two didn't had any clue what was going to happen next.

"Lapis, now!"

Outside, they had a new idea in mind, and things quickly got underway. The Osicone readied the staff, but keeping Ruby and Peridot inside it was a rough trouble it had to handle. Lapis flew up as high as she could, avoiding its swings while doing so, and ended up above the Osicone. Rainbow Dash joined alongside as a fast distraction to keep the Osicone occupied as Lapis strengthened her water wings. As she was, the water along it began to pour down on the Osicone, like a heavy rain, which made the dry Osicone covered in water throughout most of its body. Ruby and Peridot could hear the rain from in the Osicone, and even felt some raindrops. When Lapis got enough moisture down on it, Fulgurite and Amethyst rushed in next. With Amethyst's whip wrapped around her torso, Fulgurite rushed around the Osicone until the whip got around the legs about five times over. Amethyst kept its still, and the Osicone looked down at what they were doing. Lapis and Rainbow flew clear, but as Fulgurite extended her electric-filled hair, Sapphire glanced to an opening in the Osicone's armor, just seeing Ruby and Peridot trapped inside! Sapphire was shocked to see them in there.

"Wait!" Sapphire shouted. But, it was too late; Fulgurite whacked three extensions of her hair onto the Osicone. With the water on its body, the electricity had something to flow through, and soon the entire body of the Osicone flashed from head to toe in the electrical charge. It groaned loudly, as Ruby and Peridot stayed as still as possible at the center. One slip and they could tumble and get electrocuted. While they were staying still, the Osicone wasn't. It couldn't pay attention to its own armor slabs, and they all shuttered as it moved back a little. The whip wrapped around its feet struggled, and were just enough to hold the step back. With the plates spreading a little, some others saw Ruby and Peridot in it as well.

"How'd they get in there?!" Applejack gasped.

"I'm on it!" replied Twilight, taking to the air. The Osicone was too distracted to do anything, as Twilight charged to an opening. She made a small body shield to avoid electrocution, and she quickly rammed Ruby and Peridot to safety. Ruby, Twilight, and Peridot all landed roughly on the ground, just in time; the Osicone began to lose balance. The whip didn't last long enough though, and snapped until the pressure. Luckily, Diopside was on standby in case this happened. As soon as the whip snapped, she did her own bit of power, and got out some acid from her gem eye at the bottom of the Osicone's foot. the acid stung, and dissolved the bottom flint very slightly, making the Osicone slip on it. It moaned even louder, and tried to regain its footing, but Jasper and the Homeworld Amethyst came in hard on the good foot. The two powerhouses rushed in and actually acted like an extra obstacle by going under the foot! The weight was beyond unbearable, but the two toughed it out just long enough for the Osicone to finally lose balance completely. A higher moan echoed, as it fell backwards down the hill, and towards the open wasteland. It almost landed on its head, and the ground echoed and quaked under the weight of the impact.

Then silence.

The Osicone didn't appear to be alive after the combined effort, its body slightly opened in a heap, with its staff on the ground close by. They all gathered together away from the monster in question, looking at what remained.

"So ... is it finished?" Rarity asked.

"A bit rough, but we got it!" Fulgurite announced, prideful. However, their joy was short lived ...

A louder groan echoed around them, catching their attention back to the Osicone. The combined effort wasn't enough - the Osicone was still alive! Recovered from the electricity, it slowly began to rise up onto its feet, its whole body battered, dented, and slightly singed from the electricity. Everyone else armed themselves, but the Osicone didn't want to play around anymore. It raised both arms up high into the air above its head. It slammed both fists into the Homeworld ground. The second it did that, a gigantic wave of rock barreled straight towards them! The deadly quake was too fast, and too large to avoid, and all the Gems and Ponies were at its mercy ...

Silence again.

When the dust cleared, it showed a huge area of turned land, rocks smashed everywhere, the land overturned. There was no sign of anything on the surface, so the Osicone began to move away, a bit faster than before. It seemed nothing could've made it pass that ...

No.

The Gems and Ponies that remained were still alive, all save by Twilight's quick thinking and a fast-acting magic bubble shield. When they heard the Osicone go, it wasn't until then that Twilight dropped the shield, tired but relieved. Her bubble managed to save many of the Gems from disaster and almost absolute death. The toll was taken though, as her bubble could only protect so much; Yellow diamond and the Homeworld Amethyst were missing. All that was left of them were their Gemstones, laying out on the ground. they weren't shattered, thank the stars.

"Are you kidding me?! Can the thing not die?!" Fulgurite yelled, to no one in particular. That's what it seemed to be; they electrocuted it, beat it down, clobbered it, and it was even stabbed directly but nothing seemed to make it too fazed. And it still had enough power to cause a tidal wave of ground that would kill anything in sight! Sapphire and Ruby realized Kyra was more accurate about the Osicone than they thought.

"What do we do now?" Diopside wondered. Sapphire got one more idea in her head. It's a crazy one, but it might be their final ticket to finish off this Osicone for good. Sapphire sighed, and then smiled. Her answer to Diopside's question only needed one word ...

"Together," she stated. The others turned to her, not too convinced really.

"Hello?! We've been doing that, and it didn't -"

"No, Amethyst." Sapphire then brought her hands together, each finger slipped in between eachother. "Together."

When they saw this, a large silence filled the air at what Sapphire was suggesting. They all were speechless, and weren't sure how to react to such an idea at first. The only positive reaction was Pinkie Pie, who was beyond psyched.

"WOO! SUPER GIANT WOMEN FIGHTER!"

"S-Sapphire, are you insane?! The calculations for that are far too great for any Gem to comprehend! There's so much complications, so much risk -" Peridot got out, freaked out on such an idea. But, before she could continue, Sapphire placed a hand on her shoulder. Peridot could see her one eye through her hair, showing a calm and assuring expression.

"Let's just try," Sapphire said with a smile. Peridot looked to the others before she would answer Sapphire. Everyone else was also a bit unsure with the plan. It was beyond risky with how many that were involved, but in the end they all could agree that the Osicone was beyond deadly ...

"Ok."

~~~~~~

Farther away, still in his cave, Kyra could hear the battle and destruction the Osicone was making. With each tremor heard from where he was, he could only wonder how much damage was being done, and what causalities were being counted in the fight against it. If the Crystal Gems were torn apart by it, he would never forgive himself. He couldn't go in to help, so all he could do was hope in the stars above that they would be fine. The ponies too; the legend restricted the Osicone to the gemkind, and maybe it would cut some slack on the ponies? After all, nopony had been involved in any Homeworld lore. That was probably the only reason why he insisted on the mane six to go and help the Crystal Gems. About as precarious as going through all the trouble for the legend in the first place. As the moment, Kyra was on his stomach, with his injured leg put out rather than under his body like the other legs, and he was resting for a bit when ...

"Kyra? you in here?"

"What now?" He thought grimly. When he looked though, the owner of the voice turned out to be Steven, who was joined by Fluttershy and Emerald. Fluttershy and Steven were alright, but Emerald seemed a bit spooked on seeing Kyra again. The draconian had already attacked him, and threatened him before, and he didn't want to go through that brouhaha again. However, Kyra just sighed; at least some of the group was still out of the way.

"Calm down, I'm not hurting anypony," Kyra said, mostly to Emerald. Steven, Fluttershy, and Emerald moved inside towards him. Rainbow had already told them that they were going to go off, so, that question was avoided.

"Rainbow told you, I assume?" Kyra asked, as Steven went over to him. Steven and Fluttershy could see the deeper cut made on his leg, which Kyra tried to keep from anymore pain as he was laying there. Fluttershy went over, and gently placed a light hoof on Kyra's leg, the draconian moving away slightly.

"Oh dear."

"I'll be fine, it's just a cut," Kyra insisted. Still, Steven and Fluttershy looked to eachother, and came to the same conclusion.

"Here, Kyra, wanna feel better? I can heal you, no problem!" Steven offered. Kyra didn't know how he could heal him.

"We're in a cave, among the wastelands. I appreciate it but how?"

"Just a second," Steven said. He then worked up some good saliva, and licked his hand. Kyra didn't know how that was going to help him, but Steven went ahead and smeared his saliva up and down his wound. Kyra cringed from the pain shooting through his body on the touch. When he was done, nothing seemed to happen except for some stinging.

"Nice try anyway, Steven," Fluttershy said, trying to make him feel better. After a bit though, Kyra looked to the scar on his leg, and noticed something about it. He lifted up his leg a little, and it didn't feel as sore or as in pain as before. Kyra tested its strength, and got up on all hooves. To his surprise, Steven's method seemed to work!

"It is indeed," Kyra noted. Emerald witnessed this again, and felt the crack on his gemstone. He saw Steven heal that Yellow Pearl, and now Kyra, and both with a similar method. He didn't want his gemstone cracked forever - who would?...

"Yeah! Two in one night!" Steven beamed. It seemed quick, but victory was short-lived ...

Soon after their little happy bit, it seemed that the ground began to shutter ever so slightly. It was just enough to be noticed by the four there, and it put Kyra on edge more than most. No longer having a handicap to hold him back, Kyra moved over outside, his ears straight and active, as he tried to see if anything was around to worry about. The tremors came again, sounding a lot closer Kyra suddenly looked up, and behind him. The three didn't know what was moving around, but suddenly Kyra rushed back in, and used his tail to grab Emerald, Steven and Fluttershy in one move. Next thing they knew, Kyra brought them to the back of the wall, trying to keep quiet as much as possible. Emerald though was being the most troublesome of the three, squirming and struggling to get loose.

"W-What's wrong?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Sshh, keep it down, and don't move," Kyra said, his voice hushed and urgent. More tremors came, Kyra keeping them wrapped in his tail and body. Steven, Fluttershy and Emerald didn't know what was there, but Kyra didn't want to take any chances. Ahead of them, the area started to darken up, as a shadow was casted overhead. The four listened closely in, trying to keep as quiet as they could. The trembling began to stop after a bit, but not before a set of gigantic feet were seen at the front entrance. They didn't say anything, keeping still as still can get. At first, it seemed to be enough to keep it quiet and not noticing, but suddenly they heard another sound ...

A crack.

The ceiling was cracking from above! They saw a forced line, all along the ceiling until it suddenly began to shift upward! Light seeped in, and they covered for any debris that might fall on them. After a while, they saw their ceiling being thrown aside, and low and behold, the very giant danger they wanted to avoid; the Osicone!

The Osicone stated them down, Kyra getting up and looking directly at it. Everyone else didn't know how to react to such a giant being of flint slabs. They looked at the Osicone, and the Osicone looked to them, the four not sure what it was going to do. The Osicone reached down with one huge hand, ready to grab them! Kyra tried to move them away, but Steven was grabbed! Fluttershy, Emerald, and Kyra tried to make it let go, but it was no use. The Osicone lifted Steven up in the air, everyone else dropping to the ground. Fluttershy tried to fly after him, but the Osicone lifted him up pretty fast, and the extra hand knocked her away. Fluttershy spiraled out of control, and Kyra quickly rushed to grab her. Kyra just caught her in time, using his body to cushion her fall. As for Steven, he was brought up right to the Osicone's head level, the little human not able to get himself out. The Osicone just stared at Steven at first, Steven just staring in horror. What was it going to do to him?! A low grown escaped it, and it's other hand was raised, about to squish him. Steven closed his eyes, waiting for it to finish him off ...

"Drop him."

The command made the Osicone stop mid-motion, it's hand floating above Steven. Steven could see who said that, and was left in am amazed stare, starry eyed and all. Fluttershy, Emerald, and Kyra looked over with equal amazement on who they were seeing.

The figure's eyes were covered by a pair of visors, not showing her true eyes. Her hair was almost like Celestia's hair; long and flowing down her back. Her body was lean, yet firmly built with long arms and legs. She had one set of long arms, ending in strong, yet gentle fingers. Her colors matched the faded blue night sky, and her gemstone on her chest looked in the shape of a star, each point for each soul within her. Her clothes consisted of one half of Garnet's colored suit, flowing down with Lapis's dress. Her feet had ballerina shoes like Pearl, which were marked with triangle symbols to match Peridot. One particular detail that made her amazing; she was taller than the Osicone! It wasn't by very much, she was taller by her head and shoulders, but that's about it. Still, seeing a Gem larger than the Osicone beyond incredible.

"Oh my gosh," Steven gasped, his voice hushed. Nearby her, the rest of the mane six soon arrived with her, Rainbow and Twilight flying by her. Twilight was levitating the Amethyst Gem and Yellow Diamond Gem so they wouldn't be harmed while they were away. Oddly, when she moved, her footsteps didn't shake the ground like the Osicone did. Speaking of which, the Osicone was mildly surprised by this new opponent, but then does the worst thing possible; it threw Steven skyward! Rainbow though was quick to take action, and caught the kid mid air. Everypony gave the giant Gem room to maneuver, and the Osicone charged at her, grabbing its staff to attack. the giant Gem reached out, and grabbed the staff mid swing! The ponies, and by extension Steven and emerald, moved off as far as they could when that happened. The Osicone tried to get its staff out of her hand, but the giant gem just managed to force it to let go, and threw its staff clear out of sight behind her.

"Whoa, w-who's that?" Fluttershy asked, wondering if she'll turn on them.

"She's G.L.P.J.D.P.A.F.," Pinkie beamed. It didn't exactly help. It wasn't her official name, but one that Pinkie thought summed up what she was.

"Pardon me?" Kyra asked. It was then that Twilight answered.

"Everypony? That is the Crystal Gems, altogether!" Twilight announced. Steven, Fluttershy, Emerald and Kyra were shocked beyond belief on what they heard. Garnet, Jasper, Peridot, Pearl, Amethyst, Fulgurite, Diopside, and Lapis were all fused together in that colossus! Steven was extremely psyched, and Fluttershy and Kyra was left speechless. Eight Gems in one fusion?! for the fusion in question, all of her sides were focused on fighting the Osicone more than anything else. The Osicone charged again, and that time the fusion grabbed both of its fists, halting it in its tracks. Even with its immense strength, the fusion wasn't pushed back as much as they would expect. Her feet skidded in the ground, but the fusion shoved its arms away, slamming her own powerful fists right into the Osicone's chest and head, almost simultaneously. Her strength was easily shown when two deep dents were seen after, where the fusion had hit the Osicone. Its face was pushed in, along with its chest. The Osicone was shaken, but not too much. The Osicone raised its hands up, hitting the fusion in the chin as it did so, but the fusion rammed her head into the Osicone's stomach, moving it back (a move Jasper would use). It was almost enough to knock it over, but the Osicone brought its leg back and just managed to get its footing again. Its hands slammed into the fusion's back, but the Osicone unintentionally made a ring out of his hands, and the fusion raised up fast, using the strength from her back to lift the Osicone up , enough to get it off its feet! The grip loosened as it got airborne, and the Fusion brought her hands together, grabbed it by the head, and slammed it into the ground head first. The impact cracked the ground, and tremors echoed everywhere. A loud groan escaped the Osicone as it tried to lift itself back up, as the fusion forced it around. The Osicone couldn't fight, or even see correctly because the dents in its head made it almost crossed eyes; one curved inward, and the other curved upward. This meant that it couldn't see properly to make any sort of hit. The fusion grabbed it by the shoulders, lifted it up in the air, and began to spin around to gain some momentum. The ponies, Steven, and Emerald close by moved back a little bit as the Osicone was spun around, more and more, until the fusion finally released. The Osicone was flung high in the air, it flailing around a bit. A louder groan echoed before it landed hard on the ground. The second it did so, it's entire body almost seemed to collapse and imploded!

When the tremors ceased, everyone looked over to where it had landed, but rather than a body, they only found slabs of its armor. No head, hands, or feet were found. In fact, the only main thing left amongst the rubble, was one single rock.

Looks like this Gem went rouge the wrong way.

When the Osicone was defeated, the giant fusion began to glow bright, and started to split up. Every Gem involved with the fusion appeared back on the ground, on their feet. They all were safe, and their Gems intact after everything. It took a little bit before the other Gems fully regained their composure, and looked to what remained of the Osicone. They all walked over to what remained, the Osicone completely lifeless. Pretty soon, Garnet went over to the gemstone on the ground, which looked more like a lump of coal than an actual stone. It was pretty big, about as big as a beach ball, and as heavy as a iron ball.

They had done it ...

~~~~~~

As the next morning came around, the information about the Osicone soon spread amongst Blue Diamond's city. It'd been so long since Homeworld had given the Crystal Gems some respect, and now they saw them as heroes for saving their city from the Osicone's wrath. Casualties were mourned from what Gems were lost, but for those that remained, they had to wait for their reformation. The Gems and ponies responsible for this grand news went right to Blue Diamond by the Crystal Gems themselves. Everybody and everypony were tired, but triumphant over conquering the legend that was suppose to wipe out Homeworld for good. The Osicone gemstone was easily taken care of by Blue Diamond herself to guarantee that it won't come back, and remain as it was to be; a legend.

At the moment, they were in the throne room, with Blue Diamond, Blue Pearl, and many others from the city who caught wind of the news. The Crystal Gems and Mane Six stood tall, lined up in front of the throne. The only one not present was Kyra. at this point awaiting for what Blue Diamond had to say to the crowd.

"When they first arrived on Homeworld, not all of us believed of them as special. We thought of them as new, and different. But tonight, the Crystal Gems of Earth, and the magical Ponies of Equis, had done something many of us thought impossible. For many centuries, we all thought of the Osicone as nothing but myth and lore. But these brave, and compassionate souls had defeated the dreaded beast, and had saved all of us from its might. If it wasn't for them, our outlook may not had been as prosperous as many of us had strived so long for. Everyone, let's hear it for the saviors of Homeworld!"

Every other Gem gave a huge round of applause, cheers and claps filling the air for the Mane Six and Crystal Gems. By Blue Diamond, those they had met were applauding as well; Blue Peridot, Blue Pearl, Emerald, and even Yellow Pearl (who's staying with Blue Diamond until Yellow Diamond recovered) were also applauding them. They all smiled greatly, on seeing the Gems applaud them. For the Mane Six, especially Twilight Sparkle, they felt a major goal had been reached. They represented the elements of harmony, and seeing their efforts bringing a completely different planet to harmony gave them all a good feeling, and a awesome story once they get back home. Out of all of them, it was Garnet who was more moved than everyone else. This was an important moment not just for her Gems, but in history as a whole. For nearly a thousand years, Homeworld Gems and Earth Gems had been at each other's throats for the fate of that planet, and since then they've been divided, worlds apart. One wouldn't think just months ago that this will ever happen, and yet here they were. They've made it to Homeworld, and had saved it from destruction by something many thought unstoppable. Garnet smiled, and felt tears of joy go down her face. She could easily say for the other Crystal Gems that they feel the exact same way.

When the meeting had ended, and after the other Gems left, the Crystal Gems and Mane Six remained with Blue Diamond, Blue Pearl, Emerald, and Yellow Pearl. Things had calmed down, but one matter still remained; Kyra. When the crowds had gone, they managed to convince Kyra to finally show himself in front of Blue Diamond. The draconian didn't look to the Diamond, kneeling down, waiting to hear what Blue Diamond had for him.

"Nice that you came, Kyra."

"I suppose you called me in for execution?" Kyra said. After his stunt, he might as well be, but ...

"Why would I do that?"

Kyra's ears raised, the draconian feeling surprised, as Blue Diamond continued.

"You knew the whole time that the Osicone will emerge, yet we never listened. That, and I've heard what you've done for some of the others. I see your methods, admittedly not entirely correct, aren't as malicious as they appear to be."

It wasn't until then that Kyra looked up to Blue Diamond.

"I will advise you though, that it may not be the best idea for you to stay around. Yellow Diamond still might not like you for what you did," Blue Diamond advised. Kyra knew she was right, and could only sigh.

"I understand."

Then the draconian looked to the Crystal Gems, to Garnet especially.

"Well, Kyra," Garnet said, as Kyra walked over to them.

"Well, Garnet. I stand corrected, now am I? You proved me wrong, and you know what? If she was here, Rose would be so proud of you. All of you."

They all knew that too. Kyra still felt bad for what he did, but at this point, he saw that Blue Diamond was more sympathetic towards him, even after that. It'll be awhile yet, but it's a start. Soon after that, Garnet and Lapis went over to Blue Diamond. The two gems looked to eachother before talking to the Diamond.

"My Diamond? I believe that we have to go. I know it's been such a long time, but -"

"It's okay, dear. I knew you'll have to go eventually. As I said, there will always be a place for you in my court," Blue Diamond said, the two just able to see her glowing blue eyes, showing calm and a motherly expression. Garnet and Lapis both smiled, and actually went over and gave her a hug. Blue Diamond knew that they had their priorities elsewhere, and she was just glad that they both were safe and sound after everything. Nearby, Emerald went over and tapped Garnet on the shoulder to get her attention. He had to use a hexagon platform to do so, and the hug was stopped once he did that. Emerald needed his gem fixed, and he wasn't going to find anywhere here to suit him. Blue Diamond turned to him, as he tried to tell them what he wanted to say. Still, they knew he had a cracked gemstone, so it wasn't too hard to figure out what he wanted.

"Only if you promise to not cause any trouble," Garnet stated. Emerald nodded to seal that promise, even saluting her like a soldier. The others weren't too aware of what's what, but they might as well figure out later. After that was figured out, Blue Peridot stepped in.

"Excuse me, but, your ship is fully charged and ready to go," Blue Peridot announced. The Gems and ponies understood. Blue Diamond got up and went with them, so she could see them off.

In no time at all, they were back on the landing platform, with their ship standing and awaiting for them. It was some time since seeing the ship, and they began to board up. Before she could though, Fulgurite looked back and saw that Jasper and Peridot were following them in.

"You coming too, huh? Thought you'd stay with Yellow Diamond," Fulgurite noted, arms crossed and smirking. The two felt unsure how to put it, especially with Blue Diamond right there. Jasper rubbed the back of her head.

"Well ... Things happened," Jasper said.

"Yeah, some things did indeed ... Happen, and -"

"I know she banished you two. It won't be long," Blue Diamond suddenly said, making both cringe. They forgot that Yellow Pearl was standing right there too. Fulgurite merely shrugged on the idea.

"Welcome to the club then," Fulgurite shrugged, motioning both of them inside. And so they did.

When everybody and everypony was on board, Blue Diamond, Blue Pearl, and Yellow Pearl stayed and watched as the ship came to life. The engine came on, and in no time at all, the ship became airborne. Blue Diamond waved goodbye to them, hoping they see her, and soon the ship blasted off.

They were off from Homeworld.

And heading for Home.

Author's Note

A strong and happy ending for Book two ^^ the moral: if you believe in yourself, you can achieve anything. ^^

I've planned the big fusion since I started Book Two. And I have one thing to say about that ...

Dilos1 , you couldn't had called it better than you had right there with that video :pinkiehappy:

See you all in season three! :raritywink:

Fusion Confusion

Ever since the announcement, the production had gotten pretty busy on their big goal for Homeworld. While the hype for such a trip was a bit mixed more or less, many of the Gems and ponies helped with a helping hand (or helping hoof for that matter). Jasper still wasn't back just yet, so, strength was a bit limited on that part. Course, Garnet was indeed aware of the number of stuff that can easily get in the way (extra missions, other events, etc.), but that didn't deter her. After all, the vision didn't give any clue on when this special event will occur. Also, many other things needed to be planned out for the trip ahead, and if things are to go smoothly for the future, they needed to get things all set.

For the exact construction of the ship, a good group was put together; Pearl, Fulgurite, Peridot, and Twilight. Others helped them out when they need it, but, it was them who made the progress. Plus they had some strong know-how on the construction anyway. They chose by the barn to do the project because it was open, not many people were around, and they had a lot of material around the area to use. Nearby on a chalkboard they found, Pearl redrew a part of the main blueprint, basing it on the main print Garnet showed everybody. Twilight and Fulgurite were looking over the drawn out print, Pearl busy in the barn working on one part of the ship. Peridot however was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, anything we're missing for the engine?" Twilight asked.

"Don't think so. Might need to check on the major components when we're done though," Fulgurite replied. Soon, Pearl stepped out of the barn for the moment, a bit stained from working with the metal but fine.

"Had any of you seen Peridot? She was supposed to be back an hour ago," Pearl said, wiping her forehead.

"Meh, I dunno. She's probably busy fiddling with her screen or something," Fulgurite said.

"She's supposed to be helping us; I'm sure she wants to go to Homeworld same as anybody. Can one of you find her?" Pearl asked. Twilight decided to take it, and flew off to look for Peridot. For the moment, Fulgurite and Pearl were alone, looking over the plan together. As they were, Fulgurite began to think.

"Hey Pearl? What're your thoughts on this big trip anyway? You haven't said much bout it to Garnet," Fulgurite brought up. Pearl took a bit before she decided to answer.

"Well, it sure is a surprise. But, whatever Garnet saw, I'm sure it must be for a good cause. And ..." Pearl trailed off in her mind about it, looking off like she was daydreaming.

"And what? Don't leave me hanging here."

"And ... Well, it's been over 5,000 years since I last heard of Homeworld. I wonder how much has changed? ..." Pearl thought for a little bit on that, yet Fulgurite leaned against the chalkboard.

"Then talk to Peridot bout that one; she's been at Homeworld recently, right?"

"I don't think she's willing to talk about that with me. She doesn't listen to me anyway." Unfortunately for Pearl, that was true. Peridot, since being teamed up with Pearl, didn't remotely bother with her in anything she tried to tell her. Either Peridot would ignore her or just take the idea. Soon, Pearl switched the subject.

"And what about you?"

"Me? Oh, well Homeworld did lock me up in that darn geode so, I dunno if they remember me or what."

"I see. I guess if you're worried -"

"I ain't worried; I'm psyched! Come on, let's keep at it!" Fulgurite said, changing the mood very quickly. The Gem went into the barn, as Pearl joined her inside. The engine Pearl was working with looked like a jet engine, though it looked only half-finished. Wires, bolts, and various pieces weren't in place. It seemed it might be some more time before this would be finished, and with Twilight and Peridot gone, the two were stuck in continuing.

"Man, how much is left of this thing?" Fulgurite wondered in annoyance.

"If we both work together, and keep everything on task, we should get it done by the end of the day," Pearl replied, looking over the opened area of the engine. Fulgurite thought over the 'work together' part, and then got an idea. A bit of a gutsy one, but an idea really. Pearl looked to Fulgurite only to see a big smile on her face.

"So, wanna work together?" Fulgurite asked. Pearl just said they were doing that, but she could tell that Fulgurite meant a more literal sense. Pearl was going to straight up protest, but, then she got to thinking on what'll happen. She was careful and precise, Fulgurite was fast and quick thinking...

...

Sometime later, Steven and Rainbow Dash had come around to the barn with a few items requested by the working Gems. These stuff had included a number of extra parts and different types of fuel for the engine (seeing which one will run the best). Soon after showing up, Rainbow helped open the barn door, the stuff blocking her view in front of her. Steven placed his down inside, along with Rainbow.

"Hey, we got the stuff, anything else you -" Steven's words were cut short when he and Rainbow saw what had happened. Pearl and Fulgurite both weren't there working on the engine, but that didn't mean nobody was working. Handling various parts at once, and at pretty good speed, was a taller Gem. This gem was a few feet taller than Jasper, though she was about the same body structure as Garnet, and skin color looking like a human (like Steven or Sadie for instance). The clothing seemed to resemble a sort of ninja; the pants and shirt connecting in an orange, skin hugging suit with a yellow belt connecting both. Her white hair was long, yet smooth, and in a beed ponytail reaching down just past her hips. Her hands (all four of them) were gloved, with only the fingers exposed. She had heard them both come in and turned to face them. She had an opening on her suit, like an partially opened jacket, with a sort of netting connecting from the neck down to her torso within that opening. She had two sets of eyes with a similar orange color. The gemstone on her forehead looked like Pearl's, though with a tannish color instead of the cream white color. Fulgurite's knee gems were also where they normally are, but they were in the same shape as Pearl's Gem rather than the lightning bolts. Steven gasped with astonishment at the fusion, and Rainbow was left mouth agape.

"WHOA! Who's in there?" Steven asked, extremely surprised. The fusion looked down to them both, her hair working out some extra kinks in the engine. She seemed a bit surprised to see them so soon, not expecting anybody back already.

"Steven-san, Rainbow-chan! Check me OUT! how do I look?" she said, showing off her form to them both.

"Awesome!" Steven beamed, as Rainbow flew around to get a full view of the fusion. As for the fusion herself, the boasting and excitement was mostly Fulgurite talking, Pearl keeping to controlling the hair and focusing on the task. It wasn't easy with all the posing the body was doing. As this was going on, Twilight had come back with Peridot to see the fusion there instead of Pearl and Fulgurite.

"What the hay?" Twilight said, showing their presence to the fusion. Peridot did not expect this in the slightest, as the fusion looked to them both. Peridot immediately gave a scan of her before she did anything to them. The fusion stopped for the moment on her work to go to her.

"Cool, Peri-chan, you're back! Like my new form?" She asked. According to the scan, the type of Gem came out as Sandstone. Must be what Pearl and Fulgurite ended up as in their fusion. Soon, another visitor showed up; Garnet!

"How's it going?" Garnet asked. She wasn't too surprised on seeing Sandstone there instead of Pearl and Fulgurite, but was happy they can stay in a fusion like this, and seeing them happy by the looks of it. Sandstone happily presented the forward progress on the engine. Garnet smiled.

"That looks great. Let's take a break," Garnet decided. The others agreed, but Peridot had some confusion towards Garnet on this. Happy, Sandstone went off to show off what she can do, as Garnet relaxed on a hay bale. Peridot groaned.

"Okay, I'm at my limit," Peridot stated annoyed.

"Afternoon, Peridot."

"Listen fusion; I can see if you're using your fusion for a functional purpose. But you? You're not using your enhance strength and power to do anything!"

"I'm doing something," Garnet stated calmly. Peridot crossed her arms.

"And what's that?"

"Cloud watching." Peridot simply huffed.

"You can do that alone."

"Don't want to."

Peridot didn't get it; she had seen Ruby and Sapphire already, but since then the two hadn't split up from Garnet. Why? Peridot could scan for an answer, and actually got ready to do that. However, before she could, Garnet reached out and moved her screen away, chuckling a little bit.

"If you really want to understand fusion, I can help you," Garnet said, getting back up. Peridot moved her screen away for a minute, a bit confused.

"What do you mean?"

Garnet smirked, and mover her shades so her bottom eyes locked to hers.

"Let's fuse."

"OH MY STARS!" Peridot nearly stumbled over her own enhancers on that kind of response. First she gets the idea for Homeworld, now she wanted to fuse with her?! Peridot got up, trying to relax a bit.

"Okay, you're not ready, I understand. Another time then," Garnet said, hands up. Seeing both gemstones on her hands just reminded Peridot she was talking to a fusion again. Embarrassed a bit, Peridot didn't want to stick around, and quickly flew away with her finger copter. After she left, Garnet focused on Sandstone nearby with Twilight, Rainbow, and Steven. Garnet smiled on seeing this, but then she remembered her own fusion with a particular Homeworld Gem. Garnet felt ready to talk now, and she hoped that Jasper wasn't ready to shatter her now. So, with a stretch, Garnet got up and, while some of the others were busy with Sandstone, went off.

~~~~~~

It didn't take too long of a walk, but, Garnet took her time in getting to her spot; the apple tree where she revealed her big mission to everyone. The apples were still ripe and hanging from the tree, although some leaves looked ready to fall off. Having a good look around, Garnet leaned against the tree. For the first few minutes, Garnet just chilled out, feeling the cool breeze going along her skin and watching the clouds above her gently move along. Her future vision had her prepared for this one, and so eventually, she moved out into the open.

"Alright, Discord, bring her over," she said to herself. As she expected, a portal soon opened up nearby, with not only Discord, but Jasper coming through. Garnet didn't say anything, and waited for them to notice her. Soon, Jasper caught Garnet just standing there. The portal disappeared behind them, and the Draconequus, giving a wink, went off as well in a white flash.

"Jasper."

"Alright, fusion, you're not getting out of this. You will tell me what happened back at the kindergarten," Jasper firmly growled. However, Garnet could tell Jasper was acting less volatile at her than before. So, Garnet took off her shades, and nodded to her.

"I'm sure it's been long enough. First off; what exactly troubled you with our fusion?" Garnet asked. Jasper snorted.

"These new thoughts and images, that's what! Since being split from you, I can't get my decisions working straight because of them, and I kept seeing these random things in my head. And I haven't been myself because of this "conscience" thing I ended up getting thanks to you! You caused this, now get rid of it!" Jasper accused. Even if told that everyone has a conscience, Jasper still believed that Garnet at least triggered this thought-effecting state somehow, and she basically wanted Garnet to fix it. The request on gaining a conscience thanks to her though, struck Garnet as pretty silly, making her chuckle.

"Well, Jasper. Welcome to Earth," Garnet said with a smile. Jasper still didn't get it, and was just getting more annoyed over it. She wanted to hit her, but the "Conscience" thing seemed to trigger her to stop, only coming out as a rough groan.

"There, right there! it got me again! Why?!" Jasper snapped through gritted teeth. Garnet felt that she might as well help her out.

"Tell me; do you know what a Conscience is supposed to do?" Garnet asked. Jasper, after trying to chill, tried to remember what she was told.

"Something about what's good and what's bad or something like that."

"Good. And ... ?"

"Okay, so it told me it was wrong to hit you, so what?!"

"And how do you feel?"

"Annoyed, frustrated," Jasper groaned. But soon, she looked away, looking a little bit embarrassed. "... but, not regretting that choice." Garnet went over to her, a hand on her shoulder with a smile on her face. Jasper still wasn't very sure, but, at least she was getting somewhere.

"Now. Tell me what you saw."

~~~~~~

Further away, Peridot, Lapis, Applejack, and Diopside were hanging out for a while away from the barn, along the beach. Garnet didn't task Lapis and Diopside to do much of anything, so, they had time to relax. Peridot wasn't with them for very long, only just arriving. Lapis was gently going along the shores, the cool water gently sweeping her feet, as Diopside was sun-bathing with a bag of chips. Peridot was fiddling with her screen still, adding in some extra detail about Garnet's sudden offer to fuse with her. There was no exact benefit for the moment to either side if they did, so, why would they do that?

"How's the project going along, Peridot?" Lapis asked, walking over to her.

"the construction is progressing well; engines currently being worked on," Peridot replied. Glancing at the screen, Applejack and Lapis notice something on the screen, looking like a multi-armed figure with some information around it. On the right shown Peridot, and on the left was other different Gems. Basically, Peridot was doing her own little bit of hypothesizing with the whole fusion thing. Applejack and Lapis looked it over, but only then did Peridot get rid of the screen.

"Something on your mind, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"First; I'm not this sugarcube. Second; I'm fine," Peridot insisted. As they were talking, Diopside took the moment to look out to the calm sea. The waves were going about by the wind, and the clouds above floating freely in her sight, nothing out of the ordinary ...

"Well what were you checking?" Lapis asked.

"Checking potential fusion possibilities for other Gems," Peridot answered, not signifying herself in particular with the fusions in question. Nearby, Diopside kept her gaze up to the clouds, but one of the clouds seemed to catch her attention. While her normal eye saw just a white cloud oversea, her Gem eye caught sight of something else ...

"How many did you find out?"

"None of your business, Lazuli."

Diopside began to back up a bit to the others, her eyes locked to the cloud in the sky. Something just didn't seem right with that cloud. While the other clouds moved along like they should, one of them seemed moving their way. No Pegesi were moving it, so that was ruled out. Diopside went to Lapis first, poking at her shoulder rather quickly. Lapis got Diopside to stop poking at her.

"What is it?" Lapis asked. Diopside pointed to the cloud moving their way. However, it wasn't the cloud itself that look off, but the shadow it showed. While the cloud didn't show any exact shape, the shadow was far more exact in shape, looking like a sort of plane or aircraft. It was far too exact to be apart of the cloud. Applejack and Peridot both glanced to the cloud as it hovered overhead. Peridot wasn't too familiar with clouds alone, never mind this one, but upon a closer look something else caught in her sight. Just shining through the cloud cover, a small visible stone seemed to poke out of the cloud. The item was a sort of Gemstone, gleaming in a dark brownish color ...

But just as Peridot realized what it really was, four large orbs suddenly appeared around the stone. The group got out of the way as a loud sonic ping was blasted down at the beach. That same sonic ping removed the disguising cloud cover whatever was up there, was using. Upon removing the cloud, the creature it revealed was clearly a corrupted gem. It had a boat structure mixing a fighter jet and a hummingbird; a long sword-like beak jutting forward from its rounded, eyeless head. It had no arms or legs, but its wings had a shape to match a ray, with jet propulsion being used from its four opening to help it fly. It's entire body was dark brown in color, and had an aerodynamic body type to match a jet plane. Even with no eyes, it seemed to know Peridot, Diopside, Lapis, and Applejack were there. The wings didn't make a single beat; the jets strictly keeping it from falling on the ground. The holes were aimed downward in hover mode, but after pinpointing each location of each Gem, the four "engines" turned and it rocketed forward. It seemed that it couldn't make an exact hit, but it did make a long turn until it lined up with the shore at breakneck speed. The group could only duck, the giant, plane-sized Gem missing them by inches. After the dodge, the thing made a shot upward, made a 180 spin, and turned down to them. That time the dodge was even closer, and Applejack's hat was caught in its beak.

"Hey, you thieving varmint!" Applejack yelled, realizing her hat was gone. The corrupted Gem stopped abruptly, the hat shooting off its bill. Applejack quickly caught it as it turned again to the Gems. Applejack raced in between it and the others. Diopside and Lapis kept some distance, Peridot readying her hand gun. However, rather than charge in blindly, something opened up on its forehead, like a hatch. It revealed a silver-like skin, shining off the light like it was metal. A small yellow light beamed down to them, spreading apart like it was a scanner. The wave of light went over them all fast before the scan was done. Peridot shot at the Gem, but each shot just bounced off it like a bouncy ball thrown at a wall. That seemed to trigger another aggressive response; the Gem reared back, and the four jet engines released another powerful blast of sound. The blast just missed Diopside, Lapis and Applejack, the blast focused strictly on Peridot. The sound blast was more than painful; her enhancers were also effected by the corrupting sound hit; starting to malfunction and break apart! In just a few seconds, both her feet and arm enhancers broke off of her, leaving Peridot exposed and startled.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Peridot stuttered, trying to rework the parts. It was no use; they were as good as garbage now. And at such a horrible time; the Gem began to home in ...

"EEP!" Was all Peridot could sputter out, as she screamed and ran like mad for cover. Since she was smaller though, she didn't make it very far until the Gem got close to her. Luckily, Lapis zoomed in and grabbed her at the last second. Lapis flew away as fast as she could manage, but the giant was by far a quicker flier, and the U-turn quickly got it homed in on Lapis.

"Hang on, Peri," Lapis said, Peridot gripping on to her for dear life as Lapis tried to loose it. When it came to flying, Lapis's turning outmatched the corrupted Gem, but its speed made up for its maneuverability. Lapis turned, bolted, and rushed every which way, but she could shake the Gem flier. As for Peridot, she now regretted on shooting the thing in the first place, and was beyond freaked out. Soon, Lapis was flying down to the water, and towards the shore. The beast gave a large flight spin in the air, and aimed at them once more. Lapis saw it, and tried to fight it with the water she had under her, but each blast of water had little effect on it. Unlike before, there was no time to dodge; the beast slammed its pointed proboscis right through both Peridot and Lapis, narrowly missing Lapis's gemstone by millimeters! Diopside too was skewered , and all three ended up poofed. Applejack wasn't targeted, and as such was avoided entirely as three Gemstones fell into the sand. It hovered for a bit at first, and Applejack rushed to the Gemstones. However, seemed it planned ahead; another opening in the body appeared on its stomach, just under its own Gemstone, and a tractor beam suddenly brought all three Gems inside before Applejack could stop it. Applejack could only watch as the monster gem released another cloud disguise, and flew away inland.

"Oh, pony feathers," Applejack thought aloud. She didn't know where it was going, but if this thing was on a Gem hunt, then she could make a pretty good guess. What happened to the three, she didn't know, but she needed to warn the others before they end up captured. So, Applejack high-tailed it out of there, trying to get the others.

It did not take very long before Lapis, Diopside, and Peridot all reformed again. However, with their return they realized where they ended up. They were still trapped inside the corrupted Gem; the inside of it looking like the inside of a stomach with fleshy walls. the floor underfoot was quite firm, like hardened mud. Since they were inside something with no window or anything, light was very limited. The air was brisk and dry, not much water within the place. That didn't mean there wasn't any light at all; the walls around them gave off a faint glow of what was also inside. All over the inner walls, the three Gems ended up facing a large amount of Gemstones bubbles along the walls. all the Gems were either cracked, or shattered completely. Gems of all sorts of types, different shapes and different colors, all ending their lives within the belly of this beast. The sight was mortifying, to say the least of the three living Gems inside.

"Oh my stars ..." Peridot breathed out. How could she think of anything to say when they all were basically staring into a Gemstone gravesite? At least with Garnet's Gem room, the gems were still alive in their bubbles! It didn't matter in here.

~~~~~~

"Sharing memory?" Jasper asked.

For sometime, Jasper had been telling Garnet about the visions she was stuck with in her own head since the fusion. Most of these other images were actually Garnet's memories leaving an imprint to Jasper. The two were laying on the ground by the tree at that point.

"It happens in fusion. Guess mine got to you," Garnet stated.

"So all of that stuff I saw; corrupted Gems, portal jumping, that singing thing with Discord. You did all of that?"

"Yep."

Jasper took a bit to consider it. It was strange; she seen a lot of crazy stuff in her visions, including before Garnet came to Equestria. Even if Garnet was a fusion, Jasper could at least credit her for getting a lot done on Earth, and in Equestria.

"You know, Jasper. I didn't mean to fuse with you; it was an accident," Garnet said eventually, as she turned her head to her. "But it was fun to try out. I'd like to try it again another time."

"Well, that makes one of us," Jasper said, Garnet giggling again. Still, even if unexpected, Jasper did feel different on being so tall and strong. So much strength in that fusion, so much potential with such a form... Still, she preferred herself all the same. After a bit, Garnet got back up to her feet, looking out at the hillside around them. As she was though, and as Jasper sat up, something began to come into view for much further away. Something dug up from the ground, not noticing either one of the Gems much further off, and started to roam around. Garnet may be new to the thing, but Jasper knew exactly what it was; the armadillo corrupted Gem that faced her before back on the beach. It hadn't seen them just yet, and focused instead on browsing the grass and scrubs of the hillside. As it was though, and in sight of Jasper and Garnet, one of the clouds in the sky moved strangely close to the corrupted Gem down below. The armadillo Gem seemed to sense something there, looking at the same cloud, and actually began to run towards Jasper and Garnet. However, it did not make it too far, as something from the sky struck the creature's head. The sound was very loud, even if Jasper and Garnet were farther away. The armadillo stumbled in its step, and something much larger appeared out of the clouds, and stabbed it right in its head, forcing it to poof! It was then that Garnet and Jasper saw the Jet Gem monster hovering overhead. They could barely see the tractor beam, and not even notice the Gemstone being levitated up. Inside the creature, Diopside, Peridot and Lapis were greeted with the remains of the armadillo's Gemstone, currently cracked and placed inside. That got the three even more worried, wondering what's to become of them.

"Get me outta here!" Peridot said, trying to punch her way out. But the walls didn't even budge around her, and the Gem monster barely even noticed Peridot's tiny fists hitting it's inner walls. Lapis got Peridot to stop, but the situation was getting a bit hard to work with. Diopside and Lapis both already tried their power anyway, and that didn't work, no matter what they did.

"Get ready," Garnet warned, getting out her weaponry. As she figured, and possibly as Jasper figured, the creature moved over to them fast, and waited in hover mode. The front hatch opened, and another yellow scan was made of the two. Seconds after, it got itself in position, its four engines ready for another sound blast. Garnet dodged, but the concentrated sound hit a blocking Jasper head on. The forces the sound had made was beyond anything Jasper could think, and she thought she would go deaf over it. It was just strong enough to push her against the apple tree, which surprisingly didn't get affected much apart from a lot of blown off leaves and some fruit.

Still inside, the repositioning of the body from horizontal to vertical was hard for Diopside, Peridot and Lapis to adjust to, the three continuing to stumble about inside. The thing going in their favor was none of the walls were hard, so risk of cracking any Gemstone was very small. The Gem monster, after adjusting for flight, began to fly off and make its U-turn back to them. Jasper and Garnet charged at the beast, Garnet jumping in the air for a sky hit. The attacking Gem suddenly went into a spiral; one wing hitting Jasper into the dirt while the other sending Garnet flying in the air. The beast targeted Garnet in the air as she fell, making flying turns around her like a circling bird, until it's bill was aligned with Garnet! Garnet looked to her oncoming skewer, but before she could get hit, something knocked her out of harm's way!

Garnet landed on the ground, only then seeing who saved her; Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia and the stars above, Applejack got to the others before the beast got her. Pearl and Fulgurite though weren't fused anymore when Applejack got them.

"Late for this party?" Rainbow said, helping Garnet up to her feet. With the oncoming brigade, the Gem beast didn't spent time with a scanner, and immediately charged right in full speed. The others barely dodged the jet-sized beast, and the beast made a U-turn again, shaking up the Gems inside.

"Incoming!" Amethyst yelled, but the beast was pretty fast, and not everyone caught up. The Gem monster rushed in a side turn, and whacked Twilight with its large wing, sending her flying off far.

"Twilight!" Fulgurite gasped, rushing at her lightning speed to catch her before she hit the ground. Fulgurite skidded to a halt, but the Gem monster did not. Fulgurite and Twilight braced for the impact of the beak, but the beast suddenly started to slow down, hitting the breaks hard and opening the front hatch. The two felt the wind, but weren't moved from their spot. Something did touch them, but the 'hit' became a simple nudge. One can only imagine the shock Twilight and Fulgurite felt when they saw the razor sharp skewer. Time seemed to have stopped for that moment, and it really did look like someone hit pause. The sudden stop made Diopside, Lapis, and Peridot tumble head over heels to the front, Peridot slamming on the very end of it, pancaking herself on the frame. Fulgurite and Twilight could actually see Peridot peeling off the frame, before the Gem Monster scanned them both. Peridot tried her best to tell them what to do, but while they can see through the frame, they couldn't hear her, as the hatch closed. Fulgurite took the moment to rush Twilight back to the rest, the jet Gem taking a bit to do a hovering turn.

"Alright, I'm shattering that thing," Jasper decided, ready to rush at it, but Fulgurite got in her way.

"Hold it, you can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Peridot's inside that thing, that's why!" Fulgurite answered, pointing at the thing.

"You kidding me?!"

"We got to get them out," Garnet stated, as the beast got itself ready to charge again. However, Amethyst already had an idea.

"On it!" Amethyst announced, getting out her whip. Before the beast could charge, Amethyst got her whip wrapped around the bill, and pulled down. Applejack helped her keep it still. The idea was to keep it still so they could get them out, but the beast wasn't going to let them so easily, trying to fly backwards. More people tried to help keep it down, Garnet rushing over to its stomach and getting ready to open it up. Sensing Garnet under it, it did something else; one set of engines on one wing stayed down in hover, but the other wing had its engines aimed upward. Pearl saw what was coming first, and let go of the whip just as it started spinning in mid air. Garnet jumped back before getting hit, and the whip was jerked out of their grip. Amethyst however ended up in a 360-spin for a good seven seconds. Lapis, Diopside, and Peridot were tossed about inside like dolls in a drier until the beast abruptly straightened out. Amethyst still spun around the bill, holding onto the whip, until she landed right on it, face-to-face with the jet beast.

Inside the beast, the three Gems were pretty much doing terrible inside the thing. So far they could barely keep themselves on their feet, let along help in the fight. Even if they couldn't see, they know that their friends were in trouble out there.

"Come on, there has to be someway out," Lapis said, looking around.

"This is beyond comprehension; even that fusion's having trouble! How're we going to get out of this alive?!?" Peridot wailed. As if loosing her enhancers wasn't bad enough, here she was trapped in the belly of the corrupted Gem... For Lapis though, that word. Fusion. It began working out an idea in her head. So far, they alone can't get themselves out, but there was one thing they hadn't tried yet.

"Fusion."

"Wait, what?" Diopside asked.

"We'll use fusion! We can get out of here with it, and help fight!"

"WHAT?! Are you crazy?!"

"Do you have a better idea? Our friends are getting hurt out there, they need our help. We can't just sit in here and do nothing," Lapis said, trying to get them to accept it. Both of them looked to each other; Lapis was right about that. Peridot, at least, was for sure that the others were out there doing something to help them, seeing them herself. Lapis went over to her.

"Peridot?" Lapis asked, a hand out in front of her ...

Outside, the beast hovered with a steady ease, everyone else ready to fight whenever the beast will strike. With the basic attack strategy all figured out, the group had got the main idea on what to do against it. The Gem Monster started to shift again, getting ready for another sound blast. Before they could do anything, Garnet had decided upon Jasper for an idea of hers.

"How about we put the odds in our favor?" Garnet offered, a hand to Jasper. It wasn't the best time for anything like this, but Jasper saw the situation at hand; one of their own was inside, and it might not be too long before something could do them in. Eventually, the situation demanded it.

Jasper took her hand.

The beast went horizontal, the Gems inside it stumbling again, and launched another set of sound blasts at it. The blasts made everyone scatter, but gave Jasper and Garnet enough time to do what they needed. The others noticed themselves what Garnet and Jasper were going to do, and soon, the two started to glow in their synchronized dance. The beast suddenly sensed a major disturbance, and readjusted itself, becoming vertical and turning again in hover mode. However, it soon ended up face to face with a colossus fusion!

Compared to the floating Gem beast, the fusion had it beat in size. The Gem monster tried to gain some height, but the fusion gripped it hard to keep it still. The jet Gem tried to move, but no matter what direction the engines made, it got nowhere. Inside the beast, it gave the Gems in it the chance to act themselves.

"WOHOO, YOU GOT THIS!" Amethyst cheered, psyched on seeing the fusion again. Steven was hyped too, yet most of them hadn't seen this fusion before. The beast took the second to open the front hatch, but as it scanned, the inside of the head seemed brighter than usual - something the fusion could easily see. The huge fusion smirked, as the Gem monster started to behave a little differently; flying a little awkwardly on release. It got so bad, the bottom hatch it was using for the tractor beam suddenly opened up. A bright light blasted out, as two Gems ended up released. One of them was Diopside, but the second Gem was by far a different one.

She was just taller than Jasper, skin a sea green. The gemstone on her forehead resembled Peridot's, but was a more bluish color than the bright green Peridot would have. Her hair, similar color to her skin but darker, spread back to three points. She also had a peculiar visor over her eyes as well, her eyes still visible through them. Her outfit consisted a mix of Lapis's and Peridot's; the chest area matching the V-shaped design from Peridot's suit, but the colors of the diamond mark matched the color of the Gem's skin. The outfit mixed sea green and dark blue within the outfit, which ended in a deep blue skirt. Her hands and feet each had a dark blue band around them.

Seemed Garnet and Jasper weren't the only ones in fusion.

She got upright, as the beast prepared to shoot again. A sound blast shot out, but she leaped clear out of the way, right over the Gem monster's head. Compared to the beast, the other fusion was a bit small, but had enough strength to cause some trouble for the beast. The smaller fusion looked to the larger one.

"Carnelian. Prepared?" The blue fusion asked, gripping the gem monster by the head. The corrupted beast couldn't fly or move correctly because of the forces involved. Carnelian cracked one of her knuckles.

"Let me have it," Carnelian replied with a grin. Pulling at its bill, the green fusion redirected the Gem monster, and made it fly towards Carnelian. The Gem monster tried to spin the other fusion off, but by the time the other Gem let go, it was whacked hard by Carnelian's fists, sending it out of control. It soon gave a harsh crash landing, tumbling along the ground until it skidded to a stop on its back. This left its own Gemstone completely exposed, but the Gem monster got the engines to get itself back in the air, already in horizontal position. The fall however left it disorientated, and it couldn't focus as easily as before. It tried to fly out of range again, but the fusions got to it first; the smaller Gem grabbing it while Carnelian held onto her legs. Carnelian gave a powerful swing, and like a ball on a chain, the Gem monster slammed into the earth hard. That hit finally finished off the beast; it poofing back into its Gemstone.

With the danger finally taken care of, Both fusions smiled to each other before they began to unfuse, and returning back to normal. Jasper and Garnet got back to normal, and the other two; Lapis and Peridot, got back to normal too. The others came right over, some cheering and some congratulating on a job well done. Peridot needed a minute though out of the others, sitting down by the tree. Jasper looked over to Garnet, who gave Jasper a thumbs up, but before anyone can do anything else, Peridot glanced up in the apple tree, and saw something hanging down to her level, popping up out of nowhere! It wasn't a danger, but actually was Discord; being in the tree and watching the whole thing happen. Peridot's yelp got the others to see him.

"Bravo, BRAVO friends! A wonderful show you put on, I must say! a full five star," Discord complimented, five random yellow stars popping up above their head.

"Thank you, Discord. Glad you enjoyed it," Garnet said with a nod.

"Oh, you already knew that, eh? Along with everything else with that vision you got?" Discord said, pinching Garnet's cheek. However, that comment did get Jasper a little confused.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, you weren't here for that? You see -"

"You can say, I have future vision," Garnet answered, cutting off the draconequus. Garnet didn't feel troubled with it, and was glad to fuse again. For Jasper though ...

"Wait ... You knew this would happen?!" Jasper said with building anger. Garnet could've easily avoided everything, and stop everything before it happened, yet Garnet did not even bother herself. Garnet adjusted her shades with a grin.

"You could say that," Garnet chuckled, walking back to towards the direction of the barn. However, Jasper wasn't done with her yet, and went right after her.

"WHAT?! You little - you could've told me before it showed up!"

"Why? Ruin the fun?"

"What fun?! We were stuck with a corrupted Gem!"

"And we beaten it with Carnelian. That was fun to do, right?"

Even if the anger was one-sided, the argument continued on with the hot-headed Jasper following a smirking Garnet back to the barn. The others followed, seeing this time the anger wasn't as threatening, and more just like friends arguing amongst each other. They might as well get used to it, anyway, and soon they all began heading back.

Author's Note

Oh boy, we got fusions all over the place now :heart::heart::heart:

I'm not going to lie, I mostly based the design of the Gem monster off of the flying skewer:

Seriously, these things are awesome :3 Should I draw it? I feel like I should draw it :pinkiehappy:

Jasper and Garnet charged at the beast, Garnet jumping in the air for a sky hit. The attacking Gem suddenly went into a spiral; one wing hitting Jasper into the dirt while the other sending Garnet flying in the air.

Sensing Garnet under it, it did something else; one set of engines on one wing stayed down in hover, but the other wing had its engines aimed upward. Pearl saw what was coming first, and let go of the whip just as it started spinning in mid air.

DO A BARREL ROLL!

Thank you, I'm here all week. :derpytongue2: (I'm sure someone was gonna say it anyway X3)

The Pony, the Gem, and Osicone PT1

Garnet had gone through a good dash straight back to Blue Diamond's city. She had no intention on Kyra getting in trouble at this point, as she had other things in mind. It was late in the night by the time Garnet had come back to the tower. It was lucky for her that Blue Diamond knew what she was doing, so explanation for her absence was avoided and out of the question. The throne room was quiet, the only one there being Blue Diamond herself. Not even Blue Pearl was present at the moment, just Blue Diamond and her shadow. The leading Gem felt a bit unnerved about what had happened earlier that day with Kyra. How he got there was a complete enigma to her, and the damage he made to her fellow Diamond made him dangerous. being able to poof Rupee with one attack with his tail also made him something to worry about. She had continued with her thoughts for a little while longer until she heard the door open across from her, showing Garnet coming in.

"Ah, Garnet, you're back. Did you locate Kyra?" Blue Diamond asked, hopefully. Garnet thought on putting her words together correctly, before she answered her.

"I have, but first, I want to ask you something. About something called, the Osicone?" Garnet asked. Blue Diamond didn't expect that question, but didn't feel too unsure with it to not answer her. If Kyra did blabber on about the Osicone, then Blue Diamond felt that Garnet had been messed with.

"Did Kyra tell you about that? It's nothing more than a mere tale, as all, no need to threat yourself," Blue Diamond assured her. However, Garnet wasn't looking very convinced by her, and that made Blue Diamond a bit confused. Garnet went as far as to take off her shades to look at her with her own eyes (which Blue Diamond didn't know about the three eyes, by the way).

"That's just it though. My vision, the Osicone, it's -"

Suddenly, Garnet stopped her words upon what happened next. Coming out of nowhere, the ground around them began to shitter and shake, as if a small earthquake had just started itself. Garnet kept her balance as best she could, Blue diamond looking around in surprise. The entire room was shaking up something terrible, much of her décor threatening to break. One of these pillars beside her began to crack a bit, and Blue Diamond moved out of the way just before the huge pillar fell onto the throne, and smashing into rubble. The second pillar fell forward and smashed in a similar way. Blue Diamond and Garnet kept still until these tremors began to cease ... Then silence. In just under thirty seconds, the room shown cracks and rubble everywhere from the tremor. How'd this happen so subtly, and so quickly?

"M-MY DIAMOND!"

Suddenly, Blue Pearl, completely scared after feeling the tremors and hearing the crashing, rushed in as fast as she could. Of course, she wasn't alone, as the ponies rushed in to see if anypony got hurt in it. It was also the first time they heard Blue Pearl scream, too.

"M-My diamond, are you okay? did you get hurt?" Blue Pearl asked, almost sounding like she was begging for a good answer. It'd been a long time since Blue Diamond saw Blue Pearl this scared, and she gently placed a hand and stroked her hair.

"I'm alright," blue Diamond assured her. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie rushed over to Garnet, gripping her.

"Did you see what happened?! Everything was so bouncy and shaky like a outta-control bouncy castle! Everything was like this!" Pinkie quickly began to hop in place very rapidly to show her point, as if the tremor was still going on.

"Are you all okay?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah, but seriously, what the stars just happened? Someone messing with explosives down here or something?" Fulgurite asked, looking around for something like a bomb or a mine. This must be what Kyra had meant when saying how they'll figure out the Osicone's arrival.

"No one did, Fulgurite. My Diamond, please listen; the Osicone's real, and it's going to come here tonight! We need to be ready as soon as we can," Garnet insisted urgently. not many of the group really knew what that was, but Garnet didn't had time for explanations at this point. Besides, if that really was the sign of the Osicone, then they don't have much time before it would appear. Blue Diamond would rather believe someone bombed the tower rather than that. Even if she was a fusion, Blue Diamond knew by the tone that Sapphire was talking to her in there, and this was very urgent for her. Blue Diamond leaned down to Garnet.

"Garnet, calm down, it's just a -"

Before Blue Diamond could do anything or protest, suddenly Garnet got her hands on the side of Blue Diamond's head. Garnet had to get her to believe her, and there was only one way to guarantee that. All of a sudden, Garnet moved her head in just out of sight by the ribe Blue Diamond was wearing, and kissed her forehead. Blue Diamond suddenly saw something in her head that made her worry; the vision Garnet shared with her consisted of the ground amongst Homeworld, and a gigantic being standing in the distance. It was carrying something big, and an echoing, ghostly roar yelled in her head. It was short, but it was all she really needed. It wasn't until afterward when Garnet let go, allowing Blue Diamond to straighten up. The Diamond needed a moment to taker in what Garnet showed her, but it wasn't just the fact that the Osicone was real that shocked her ...

She had been given the warning before, and she'd done nothing ...

"S-Shall I clean up?" Blue Pearl asked.

"Not yet. Everyone, listen to me, we don't have much time. My Pearl, get the word out to the quartz guards, and gather a fleet together to scout for the Osicone. We need to find where Kyra had went and stop the -"

"Wait, wait, wait, what's the Osicone?" Steven suddenly asked. They were simply confused at this point on what this Osicone was, and Blue Diamond decided to just say it out.

"The Osicone is a legendary beast on Homeworld, capable to wiping out entire cities in one rampage. I'm sorry, but, we don't have much time for explanations. We have to act fast, and find the Osicone before it finds us," Blue Diamond instructed. Hearing what it can do was enough to scare some, and unnerve others. Blue Diamond needed to get the fleet together, and left Garnet to take charge of the Crystal Gems and Mane six.

"Listen everybody; I know this is sudden, but we all have to act quickly."

"Alright, some action. So what're we talking here? Corrupted Gem, alien hunter?" Rainbow asked, her front hooves together ready for battle.

"A giant impenetrable by known weapons. Twilight, you and your friends go to Kyra; he's hiding out in a cave to the east of the city. First one you'll find, he should be there," Garnet instructed.

"Want us to give him the left hoof?" Rainbow asked, acting like she was punching something.

"No, you all need to wait there and watch him. I don't want to lose him. Gems, we have to go after Osicone. Like blue diamond said, if it gets here, then who knows how much damage will come to the city. I need everyone's support on this, am I clear?" Garnet instructed. They got it, including Steven, but Garnet had something else in mind for Steven.

"Steven, I need you to stay with Twilight."

"what? But what about you guys?"

"Steven, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. It's best that you stay safe, okay Steven?" Garnet asked. Steven didn't want to be left out of such a thing. So many of the Gems ended up deeply damaged last time he didn't help out, and were used as some horrid necklace for a particular dark unicorn. What would happen to them with this thing? He didn't want to in the slightest, but he also knew Garnet really meant well, and the other Gems too. The only one troubled was Diopside, who went right next to him.

"Wait a minute, I won't leave him!" Diopside insisted, her arms around him.

"You need to come with us, Diopside, Steven will be fine," Garnet assured her. But, Diopside didn't seemed too convinced on leaving him behind.

"I won't!" Diopside snapped. The others understood why she wouldn't go, but Lapis soon went over to her.

"Dio, we're all worried about Steven, that's why he's going to stay with Twilight and the ponies. At least he will be out of the way, and they can keep him safe," Lapis said.

"Yeah, we'll try to keep him safe, we promise," Twilight added in. Steven felt like he was some delicate glass, but, he can slightly understand their troubles so he didn't say anything. Diopside considered, but before she could make a full decision, suddenly they all felt another slight tremor. This one lasted longer, but wasn't as strong, though that just reminded them of how less time they had. Pinkie shuttered in place, bouncing very fast with the shaking tremors.

"We have to go. come on," Garnet urgently instructed. The others began to go, but Diopside took one more hug to Steven before heading off herself. Steven really wanted to help them, but it seemed whatever this Osicone thing was, it was best for Steven to stand aside, though he felt bummed out.

"Cheer up, sport, they can't be in that big of trouble. We'll just find Kyra and chill out til they're done, alright?" Applejack assured him. She knew very well how it feels to take care of somepony you care about, being from a extended family back on her farm. Steven watched the Gems go, only left to wonder what to come of them.

~~~~~~

Blue Diamond's entire city was on edge around this point. Even if not everyone believed the Osicone, the tremors were impossible to ignore, and got everyone aware of the danger. Blue Pearl and Blue Diamond quickly got themselves working, and gathered up a strong Quartz team together for the search to begin. Thanks to the future vision Garnet gave her, Blue Diamond had an accurate read out on where the giant would be coming from. Blue Diamond wasn't going to take any chances, so she had her city on full lock-down; the barrier around the city increased in power to go against the Osicone if it got too close. The team of Quartz were set off to the northeastern way, according to Garnet's vision. Speaking of which, Garnet's group followed along the Quartz group, ready for wherever the Osicone would come around. It was pretty clear that if tremors were made before the Osicone were to appear, then this thing was far deadlier than any of them could imagine. As they were going, the Mane Six went off in the direction Garnet told them to, galloping non-stop. Steven tried to keep up for a good while, but the equines moved a lot faster. The only one keeping by him was Fluttershy for the longest time, who didn't enjoy going fast as much as the others. Plus she didn't want to leave him alone while they're going on. Steven still wished he could help out with the fight somehow, instead of being left out like before. Eventually, Steven began to tire out, and stopped running at a moment.

"Come on, Steven," Rainbow called.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Steven panted, his hands to his knees, and trying to catch his breath. Running across the city wasn't the easiest task ever, and topping that off with the dangers the Osicone represented, and having to find Kyra after his potential war starter, it was putting a lot of pressure.

"We'll catch up with you," Fluttershy decided. They'd try, but they were on borrowed time right now. Besides, Kyra could easily slip away while they were there, and they needed to keep an eye on that. So, most of them began to rush off. Rainbow took the longest to go. She didn't want to leave Fluttershy anymore than she did for Steven, but for the sake of everypony else, she had to get going. With a quick flap of her wing, Rainbow went off. Fluttershy and Steven watched them go, Steven trying to regain his energy a bit.

"You okay, Steven?"

"Yeah, I am. You think they'll be okay?" Steven asked after a bit. Fluttershy really didn't know, still a bit shaken up by the tremor metaphorically.

"I'm sure they'll be alright ..." Fluttershy tried her best to be assuring, but without knowing herself, her nerves felt a little fray. Steven felt a bit troubled himself on that, and he really wanted to be with the gems. If he had the choice, he'd get the Mane Six back together, join the Crystal Gems, and have all of them fight the Osicone together alongside the Quartz scouts. As they were sitting there, all of a sudden another brutal shake of the ground occurred. This one was brief and brutal, The two staying close to eachother to keep their balance and keep eachother safe. The tremor around this part of the city had done just enough to knock down one of the Diamond décor from one of the buildings, almost landing on top of them! Fluttershy and Steven backed up, seeing the yellow diamond symbol ...

Yellow Diamond.

.......

The two needed their idea to work. Not only will it help the Crystal Gems, but maybe it can stop the Osicone much faster. They needed Yellow Diamond's support before it gets here, or before the Crystal Gems get into trouble with it. They hadn't gone to her tower beforehand, but Steven remembered just enough to have an idea on where it was. Heading towards the tall tower, they wasted no time in getting to the center. However, they didn't had any clue on where the door was, and the only thing there was the Diamond communicator, which didn't seem disturbed by the tremors. Turned out they weren't the only ones; Emerald too was there, trying to activate the communicator, but with no luck. Guess he had a similar idea, or at least wanted to warn Yellow Diamond of the problem.

"Oh, hi, you trying to find her too?" Steven asked. Emerald noticed them, and pointed to a part of the communicator which he couldn't seem to get. Fluttershy and Steven went over, seeing he was pointing to the upper level of the Diamond object. Fluttershy flew up to the spot, pointing with her hoof. Emerald nodded quickly, and Fluttershy looked over. All she could do was press her hoof on the part, which suddenly made it activate into the signature screen. Instead of showing the room though with Yellow Pearl, it showed a blank screen with a loading symbol on it. After a little bit, it turned red, and turned off. Fluttershy and Steven were worried, yet Emerald looked frustrated despite his grin. He decided on his personal plan B; getting his disks out and go in from the other entrance. AKA the window. with the hexagons making some platforms, Emerald started up. Wanting to see Yellow diamond themselves, Flutterhsy and Steven followed after him. Fluttershy had no problem, and Steven had to get his legs together as he jumped from platform to platform. The window inside was bit high up, but it seemed only a minute when they managed to get in. Emerald jumped right in, as Fluttershy helped tired Steven inside before the hexagons flew back to Emerald.

The window got them to the throne room, which ended up looking quite a mess. The floor was cracked in a number of places, rubble on the ground, and some of the many screens just showed static. This meant that some of the surveillance on Homeworld had either been cut off or wrecked by the tremors. On her throne, or rather gripping it, Yellow diamond was still there. By the looks of it, the tremor from earlier had struck here too, and Yellow Diamond was trying to regain herself when the others arrived. Yellow Pearl was trying her best to get some debris up, and comfort her Diamond as well, though that didn't mean she didn't get bothered by the tremors. Yellow Diamond noticed the trio first, still remembering what they did back at the arena. She'd normally be cross with random trespassers not notifying her, but as it stands, it wouldn't matter anyhow. The communicator in her room had fallen and cracked anyway nearby, which Yellow Pearl tried to get together.

"You again?" Yellow Diamond asked, trying to be more formal rather than shaken up.

"Yellow Diamond, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Steven asked. The Gem in question wasn't in any good mood, trying to re-gather her screens again.

"Yeah, we always get hit with tremors," Yellow Diamond groaned out of sarcasm. Course, they weren't hit with this many tremors at once. They were lucky to get one at all. For Yellow Pearl, she tried to stay calm, but her movements seemed a bit more off. All of a sudden, she glitched fast, and she dropped whatever she was holding. Steven knew what that meant. Rushed over to Yellow Pearl, he saw that her Gemstone didn't go through the tremor unharmed, and a cracked laid in sight on the gemstone!

"D-don't look, I'm fine!" Yellow Pearl insisted.

"Wait, wait, let me help you," Steven insisted. The prideful Pearl though didn't want his help, and tried to keep him from getting at her gemstone. Steven got some good saliva going on his hand, which made Yellow Pearl even less willing.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She gasped. As Fluttershy tried to comfort Yellow Diamond, Steven had just managed to get his spit onto her gemstone. Yellow Pearl felt both disgusted, and frustrated.

"Why I never! You annoying pebble, what gave you the right - ... to ..." Yellow Pearl trailed off when she noticed something with her Gemstone. Yellow Diamond, Fluttershy, Emerald, and Steven watched as her gemstone started to glow, and the cut beginning to disappear! In no time at all, her gemstone was fully healed up. Yellow Pearl was left completely speechless, and even Yellow Diamond showed a look of surprise. Emerald showed immediate interest, but there wasn't time for that at the moment.

"W-what? ... but how?"

"Nevermind that; we got bigger problem. Please, the Osicone's coming, and we -"

"The Osicone?" Yellow Diamond questioned, "That's nothing more than a old fable."

"Please miss Yellow Diamond, mam, we're telling the truth. Please, we need your help," Fluttershy insisted. Yellow Diamond knew the tremors were going on, but by the Osicone? Yellow Diamond didn't believe in that old tale, and wasn't used to other defying her so quickly.

"They should know that there's nothing real about the Osicone. Bad enough we've been having these -" Yellow Diamond was cut off when she saw Emerald acting frantic again. He saw one of the screens nearby her flashing a warning red, and he wanted her to look. Instead of standing there pointing like last time, Emerald rushed over to the screen in question, using a hexagon platform to bring him up to level. They all soon saw the screen, while it wasn't static like the others, it didn't seem to show anything at first. Yellow diamond brought it over to front to have a better view, and activated the screen to see what the problem was.

She went and activated the screen. This one in particular was pretty far off from the main city, and instead was placed as a border camera for overseeing passers by from other Gem settlements. It was supposed to be up on a pedestal to oversee much of the land, but instead it was down on the ground, the camera just seeing the ground in front of it. A bit of rocks and rubble was scattered about, showing signs of activity, but the camera couldn't catch exactly what the danger was, or what activity was going on. The frame did show one particular object, which looked like a stone staff, poorly crafted too. Even from the odd angle, the staff looked ginormous, probably the size of a earth tree. Yet, the ground shuttered with something walking towards it, a huge shadow casted over it and the camera. A large arm, grey and rocky, grabbed the gigantic staff with little effort, and pulled it out of frame as a low growl echoed. Another, louder vibration rang out, enough to spin the camera upward slightly, but just enough to see a gigantic foot come down, and smash it. Soon after, only static shown ...

Yellow Diamond didn't know what to say, left lost for a few seconds with the screen in place. After a bit, she moved it aside, and looked to Steven, Emerald, and Fluttershy. The circumstances demand attention first and foremost.

"Yellow Pearl, alert the troops. Get them to the northeastern boarder point at once."

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, farther away, Yellow Diamond and her troop of twenty five Quartz went straight off in the direction instructed. It may seem odd that Yellow Diamond would face the Osicone, but not Kyra, but the Osicone was a much bigger threat than the draconian, and therefore she had to get herself in to fight this time around, rather than ignore it. Comparing her to the troops Blue Diamond sent, the threat was closer to her than to the others, and her troop was the first to arrive and foresee the horrifying disaster looming.

Down out on the open wastelands, something huge was going through. This thing, from its head to its feet, was made out of slabs of metallic plates, resembling that of steel, or as the legend goes, flint. It looked humanoid in shape, with large muscular arms and powerful legs, ending in toeless feet that ended in a point under sheets of flint. It's entire body was fully armored, not showing any signs of any weakpoints. Its hands ended in five sharpened fingers, looking like animatronic claws. In one hand, it was holding a gigantic staff, which was broad and made of similar materials. It's head didn't show any sort of mouth, nose, or usual facial features, but it did show a set of white, lifeless eyes within a set of indents on the titan's head. This beast was also very tall, twice as tall as Yellow Diamond. This beast was the Osicone.

Yellow Diamond couldn't really believe that this legend was real, and right in front of her, but she tried not to get her mind lost. she had to stay focused, and get this creature gone for good. Before she could make the order though, the Osicone suddenly looked over to them, sensing their presence the second they showed. Yellow Diamond had no choice, and a sneak attack or ambush was out of the question. Yellow Diamond raised her arm towards the creature, and the Quartzes following her charged forward into battle. The Osicone straightened up, raising its staff as the Quartzes homed in. Yellow Diamond stood aside, thinking that this number of quartzes could take on the Osicone. Yellow Diamond waited for a bit as the first Quartz made contact with a charging fist. The other quartzes tried their luck, but the Osicone didn't seem very fazed by the Gems pounding at its feet. With one swing of its staff, the Osicone whacked them all away from its feet like they were nothing! Some managed to get back to him faster, but a second swing defeated three of them almost at once, leaving just their gemstones! The Osicone lifted its huge foot up, and stomped in the direction if its attackers, a huge fissure being created and heading right for them! About five of them dodged it, but the other ten were hit hard, and launched into the air. Yellow Diamond watched as the Osicone threw its staff like a throwing hammer, it spinning in the air like it flew on its own. Half of the group were poofed while the others landed on the ground hard. Eight Gems already down in a few motions, and Yellow Diamond had to take action before it could go any further.

The Osicone turned to face the Diamond, as she rush towards it. A low thundering groan escaped the Osicone, despite the lack of any vocal, as Yellow Diamond summoned her grand weapon. Pulling from her chest, Yellow Diamond had summed a huge, yellow sword. The blade was lined with a yellow rim, the rest looking more like light molded into shape, but just as efficient. The holder was solid though, making this a futuristic laser sword. One that Yellow diamond knew how to use with expert precision. It didn't had the staff in hand, but it seemed from its reaction that it didn't need it to deal with the Gem. As the quartzes tried, Yellow Diamond ran head long into battle, her sword ready to skewer it. The Osicone raised its hand upward, but Yellow Diamond was a bit faster, and her sword stabbed through a crack in the armor, at the stomach.

The sword went through up to the holder, but the beast didn't even flinch at the attack! Yellow Diamond tried to get her sword loose to try again, but the armor slabs jammed together upon the mental work on the Osicone's will, and as such made the sword lodged in it. This distraction gave the Osicone time to slam its open palm right in Yellow Diamond's right temple, knocking her away. The hit was brutal, and the Osicone pulled the sword, making it break and disappear. The Osicone looked over to Yellow Diamond, beginning to move over to get its staff off the ground. Yellow Diamond rushed at the Osicone again, but the beast turned and grabbed her by the throat. Seeing more quartz running to it, it swung Yellow diamond around with one arm, and threw her right at them! This gave the Osicone enough time to get its staff as Yellow Diamond staggered back up to her feet. With the staff in hand, the Osicone groaned again before it raised its weapon good and high. Yellow Diamond rushed forward again, but one side hit sent the Diamond flying, landing the ground hard yards away. The quartz remaining were smashed to bits with a few swings of the Osicone's staff. By the time Yellow Diamond got herself back up, she only saw two Quartz standing out of her twenty five, and the two that remained looked very weak. The Osicone didn't seem to be any weaker from the Gems, nor the skewer from Yellow Diamond's light sword. The Osicone moved forward, the two remaining quartz fighters staying in the way, yet the Osicone stomped on one, and threw the last remaining one out of sight. If anything, the quartz just made slight dents in the armor. As for Yellow Diamond, the Osicone had her in its sights, and it raised its staff in her direction. Yellow Diamond looked down to the gems on the ground, many of which were shattered ...

"You all served me well," Yellow Diamond sighed, standing up, and redrawing her sword Gem weapon. She wasn't going to let the Osicone reach the cities if she could help it.

~~~~~~

The ponies, unaware of what had happened, were still going off to the east. At this point, they've past the main area of Yellow Diamond's city, and were going through the main lands outside. The night sky was brighter, so their navigation wasn't hard to do.

"Anypony see any cave yet? Sure if this Osicone thing will be back, it might've dun that by now," Applejack asked. Suddenly, Pinkie bolted ahead, her nose to the ground like a dog. Suddenly she pointed ahead like a pointer hound. Not the most expected approach, but Pinkie did get them in the right direction. Up ahead, they all saw the cave in question, seemingly undisturbed despite the shaking of the constant tremors. Taking a calm breath, Twilight took the lead in going into the cave, the others following her inside. At first, since it was dark, the cave seemed lightless, even if shallow. Twilight provided the light with her horn, revealing that they were looking right at the main draconian pony, Kyra! Kyra hadn't really moved much since arriving, and his cut had stopped bleeding by this point. He was trying to sleep out the disaster when Twilight's light woke him up. On seeing them, Kyra just sighed.

"See you found me," Kyra stated.

"You are in here. Garnet sent us to keep an eye on you," Twilight said. Kyra raised his head.

"She thinks I'm going to run off on her? It'll be days before I can walk normally again, much less run," Kyra sighed, looking to his leg. Rarity looked to his newer slice that Pearl had done on him.

"Pearl really did a number on you," Rainbow commented. Not the best thing to say, but Kyra didn't call her out on it, just resting his head.

"Unfortunate, but deserved. Listen, do yourselves a favor and don't bother over me."

"What for? We all didn't run all the way from Blue Diamond's pad just to ditch you!" Rainbow protested. Kyra took a minute to count who was there.

"I don't know if "all" is the right word. Where's Fluttershy?" Kyra asked. The others looked back for a second, but noticed she wasn't around, and neither was Steven.

"She's catching up," Twilight answered.

"What?! You mean you - ... Oh forget it. What difference does it make now?" Kyra groaned. Even if they found it wrong, what could he do? Applejack went over to his head, sitting down.

"Listen, sugar cube, don't be like that. We'll be right here to look after ya til it's over."

"If you don't mind my asking, why should you five care about me? I attacked Yellow Diamond, and even you at one point."

"While it would be nice to get even with you, we got bigger problems involving this Osicone to worry about," Rainbow answered.

"The Osicone ... Listen, there's something I should tell you all ..." Before Kyra could say anything, Pinkie was suddenly hopping in place.

"Oh oh oh can I guess, PLEEEEASE?"

"... If you insist."

Kyra could explain after. Pinkie was very excited, took a deep breath, and ...

"You were brought to Homeworld a long time ago, and while you were here found some spooky tale and wanted Gems to be ready, but they were stubborn with you and you got grumpy, and then you fought the Diamonds so they will listen, which made that nasty boo boo on your leg, but one of them didn't show up, so you went helter skelter until you ended on earth, then you found out about Rose and how awesome she is, and you spent your time on Earth looking for a way to save Homeworld from mister evil space golem rock bully!"

Never before had Kyra felt so dumbfounded and speechless in his entire life. Pinkie explained everything so fast, and so well.

"... Uh ... Well, that's not the exact order ... How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Pinkie said with a big smile. Kyra didn't know what to say. Maybe she took a tip from Discord, but he honestly had nothing. His face said it all.

"That's Pinkie for you, dear," Rarity said.

"Is she Discord's apprentice?" Asked Kyra.

"She's good without him, trust me," Rainbow stated. If Pinkie got a hold of Discord's magic, by Celestia's name, who knows what'll happen? Either way, Pinkie pretty much summed up in her own way what Kyra was really about. Twilight looked down to Kyra, thinking it over.

"Why didn't you say anything? You never brought that up."

"I wasn't sure if anypony would believe me. The highest authority didn't. But, now what can I do? I'm crippled, and the Crystal Gems are out there right now, throwing their lives away to fight that dreaded Osicone."

"Oh, come now, the Osicone probably hasn't even come up yet."

"... Put your ear to the ground." Kyra insisted, tapping the ground in front of him. Applejack was the one who did it first. On doing so, she began to hear the similar vibrations Kyra had been hearing.

"Do you hear that? That's the Osicone going about and running amok," Kyra revealed. The other ponies placed their heads to the wall, hearing the same vibrations. If this really meant that the Osicone was running around, then that meant that it's already causing trouble for everypony. Kyra felt guilty for not warning them about it, but what would it matter anymore.

"Listen ... I'm very sorry. I really am. Look, Garnet needs you more than I do, you go." Kyra never wanted anypony to get themselves into danger, but at this point, the Crystal Gems need all the help they can get. His flawed mind must be jumping around on him again.

"Kyra, you can't walk, if that Osicone finds you -"

Kyra was starting to loose patience; suddenly he pushed himself up.

"To Tartarus with what happens to me!" Kyra suddenly stopped when his site leg reminded him, making him fall. "If that thing finds any of the Diamond cities, it's over for all who are here. If it finds me before that, then fine, but the Crystal Gems need you with them." Kyra's overthinking mind told him that they would probably run off and do that after awhile anyway, regardless of him telling them or not. They were their friends risking their lives to fight the Osicone. Course, Twilight realized that he was right. If the Osicone was as dangerous as Blue Diamond said, then they shouldn't stand aside, even if they have reinforcements. The Mane Six were their friends, and friends have to take care of eachother. This includes protecting. Seemed they all had the same idea, and Twilight looked to the Rainbow.

"Rainbow, try to find Fluttershy and Steven. Tell them to stay here," Twilight instructed. Fluttershy wouldn't be able to stand up against the Osicone, and the Pegasus should be the one who should wait it out here out of the rest of them. Kyra turned away and closed his eyes. He'll just pretend he woke up after they left, and never saw them to begin with ...

With the Osicone, who's to really say how everything will turn out? ...