My Little Universe II

Chapters

Friends and Enemies
Rebooting System ...
Overruled!
Don't You Believe It?
Tricky Game
Whoever Dares Wins
Snowfall Stars PT1
Snowfall Stars PT2
Rose Bud
Late Bloomer
Tongue-Tied
With my Tanks
The Reef
Child's Play
There Goes a Thought
Gathering Thoughts
Just One Day
Peaks of Peril
Bull-Headed
Here Comes a Thought
Once Upon An End
I Have Spoken!
True Kind of Love PT1
True Kind of Love PT2
True Kind of Love PT3
A Universe Away
Battering Ram

Friends and Enemies

"O-Okay, if you can move that just a tad to the left," called Rarity at one point, waving her hoof in said direction. A shadow was casted down to the ground near her hooves, moving in said direction for a bit.

"How's this?!" a voice called from a distance away.

"Ehh … no, actually, a inch to the right," Rarity replied after a little bit. Whoever she responded to moved it a little bit to the right as Rarity instructed. When they stopped moving, the unicorn squinted, her keen eye for detail getting to work.

"Wait, wait. … Uh, maybe you could -"

"Rarity," nudged Amethyst. Rarity blushed a bit.

"Oh, sorry. Uh, nevermind, you can put it down now!"

"Finally."
Now finally given the order to place it, the roof to the latest part of the Castle of the Two Sisters was now finally complete, and as such the crowning jewel of today's construction was now done for the two Quartzes as some Pegasus and Aquamarines got the nails and screws to work for the top.
The world itself never stopped moving, even while Steven was away. Beach City and Ponyville, for the last couple of weeks since Homeworld's fiasco with Grogar, had been put under quite a bit of change, namely construction and groundwork for Ponies and Gems alike. And for this point with much of the Harmony Gems it was work right in the middle of it all, plenty of Ponies from Ponyville and Gems from Homeworld lending a hand in making this all work. Rarity and Amethyst, in their case, were going through a good amount of their progress, which mainly was the interior of the old castle within the work-in-progress town, having features from Gem and Ponykind mixed within it. Though in a way, normal Gems wasn't correct in a sense, as many of these Gems had some more unique details on them: one Gem for example, a Sapphire, had her hair in a bit of a flowy manor similar to the tentacles of a squid or jellyfish. One of the Quartz soldiers too looked a bit different, having a set of stubby horns on her head. Interesting details indeed.

"Oh Amethyst, just look at that castle," Rarity sighed, "It almost looks like it never was abandoned at all."

"Yeah, good call making this a new Gem Hud. It's a lot better than letting it just sit here counting dust or something. I'm telling ya, I already feel at home," Amethyst replied, leaning against one of the statues within the main room. Which she suddenly fell back as Topaz picked it up and carried it away. The statue may be nice, but it was too worn out.

"Sorry," said Topaz.

"It's all good," Amethyst replied, giving the thumbs up.

"I know what you mean," agreed Rarity (not realizing who she was talking to), as she was getting some areas dusted clean to make it looked better, "You know, I've always wanted to tidy up this place for the longest time, but never had the time to get around to it."

"Whatever you say, Rar," Amethyst shrugged, pulling out what looked like an iPhone, "this is your world's castle. Hey think you can give me a pose for a second?"

Pearl insisted progress pictures, and Amethyst had nothing better to do. Rarity did give her what she wanted, and just gave a smile and good pose to present the castle, Amethyst taking a quick picture (not before adding herself with a funny face of course).

"Alright, coming down!" called a voice nearby. Amethyst and Rarity looked, and sure enough there was Applejack over nearby one of the castle's main doorways, pushing what looked like a larger Homeworld create towards the edge of the upper balcony. Lucky for her though, as she pushed the box over, a waiting mega-fusion Fluorite got it on her back, and she got herself moving along with several others off towards the door.

"Great, that's about seven Homeworld storage units," said Spike with a smile, another mark handled on the list. Applejack wiped away some sweat off her forehead from all of the work, her specifically having a bit of dirt in her fur from working plenty of hours in this project. AJ then saw Rarity and Amethyst down on ground level.

"Hey you two!" AJ called, "Y'all get that top roof on?"

"After three hours, yes!" Amethyst called back, which that remark earned her a rough nudge from Rarity.

"It was two hours, and you know it," Rarity stated. It still was a long time just to get the roof placed. Anyway, Applejack grabbed a nearby rope, and slid right on down to see them, Spike following her down and both meeting up with the Pony/Gem duo.

"And I see they got more deliveries from Homeworld?" Rarity pointed out, seeing the one on the wagon, along with at least several others being unpacked and used for more work outside the door.

"You bet," Applejack replied, "We're getting more deliveries for Little Homeworld than we give delivering Zap Apple Jam. And let me tell ya, they got QUITE the motherload."

And Applejack wasn't fooling much either, as one of the Gems opened up one of the storage units, getting easily a good ton of building materials for the other workers to handle with. In this case, it was compacted metal beams and a good week's worth of welding tools.

"They're looking more and more like those building kits, huh?" Amethyst pointed out.

"I thought of the exact same thing after delivery eleven," Spike admitted. Amethyst even saw a few pieces she swore came right out of a puzzle, two sets of Rubies carrying the pieces in question. It did seem that they did get a lot of work handled throughout this part though, as Rarity trotted over towards the central Warp Pad.

"Well, anyway," said Rarity, "this side of Little Homeworld is going pretty fine, why don't we just hop back to Earth and see how their side's going?"

"K, but only fer a minute: somepony's got to keep handling these orders coming through, and Starlight and Jade's already got their necks up in work," Applejack said, as they got themselves on the Warp Pad. Applejack got the coordinates handled with a few clicks with her hooves. Connecting this Warp Pad to Earth barely took much time to do, and AJ hopped to join the others just as the Warp Pad activated right then and there.
It hardly took much time to get them from Equestria back to Earth, and they soon got themselves from one plenty-built town of Little Homeworld, to a … more in-construction state of Little Homeworld. The Warp Pad was probably the most complete things so far, with many other buildings still a bit behind. They got the main constructs and colors handled, but many details were still missing on some of the areas. Some buildings were still not even made yet, most construction steps and some cranes still in operation.

"Huh. Well it's getting somewhere," said Spike.

"I know hard work when I see it, and I say it's looking just fine," Applejack said.

Many Gems were still handling a few pieces of the work here, but that wasn't the only thing as the four checked the area, walking off of the Warp Pad and seeing what they can see. And the first one they seen was Bismuth working with one of the much larger buildings, hammer hand in, well, hand, and keeping a good pace on getting a metal beam in place. The main work frames for what can easily be the tallest building in the Earth half of Little Homeworld, which itself looked like a tall tower with a spinning structure built at the very top courtesy of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Lapis Lazuli with instructions from Peridot and Starlight. But that wasn't the only thing they were seeing going on in this part of Little Homeworld, as there was actually some activity inside the building.

*FLASH*

This was probably the best part of their work as of late. Sure all the buildings were fine and good, but as the four looked inside, they saw that the fusion Nephrite was keeping to their promise. The four smiled, seeing Nephrite focusing on another Corrupted Gem inside. The next un-corrupted Gem to come out (three familiar Citrines in this case) were more than pleased to be back to their normal selves, only after the healing that Nephrite split up, and the fusion returned back to Jade and Flint. The Citrines were quick to come in and give their thanks and admiration, mostly in hugs and cheering.

"Garnet and Steven would've loved this," Amethyst commented, smiling on seeing the Gems back to normal. They couldn't help but chuckle too as Flint was all flustered from such a big thanks.

"Uh … you're welcome," Flint simply said, patting one of them on the head.

"Need a hand there, Flint?" joked Jade.

"I'm fine Jade," Flint insisted. Eventually though Jade did help in getting the Citrines to give him some space as the other four arrived to them. The three Citrines stood in a row, happy to see some good company since Grogar's invasion on Homeworld.

"Where're we?" asked one of the Citrines, not recognizing many of the buildings in the area.

"You three are in, what will be, the new Little Homeworld," introduced Rarity, "Nice of you three to come back to us."

"Little … Homeworld. … Wait, what about big Homeworld?! I-It's not destroyed is it?" one of the Citrines asked nervously.

"No, no, no," insisted Amethyst, "It's still standing, they're just clearing out the mess Grogar made that's all. That, and we're helping make a sort of "Homeworld away from Homeworld" here. You can still go back to Homeworld Homeworld if ya want."
The Citrines gave a big sigh of relief from that news. Last thing they wanted to find out was their home in wreck by that demonic Ram.

"But we are a bit busy making Little Homeworld work," added Applejack, "I mean y'all don't have -"

"Say no more!" one of the Citrines said, "You just saved us from corruption, we'll get Little Homeworld looking great in no time. Just point us in the right direction."

"Oh! Well, in that case, there's several deliveries to Equestria's Little Homeworld so, just use the Warp Pad and th Off-Colors can get you started," Rarity said. The Citrines gave a quick salute before they went off to do just that, the Warp Pad going off quick in no time.
Meanwhile with Bismuth ...

"Now this is some fine work, if I do say so myself," Bismuth said proudly, getting another beam in place. The four from the ground up can easily see the work being done up there. Bismuth whistled up to the crowd above.

"K, Rainbow, fly on down and start hammering!" Bismuth announced. Rainbow Dash was happy to oblige, and after getting her hooves ready started to dive down from the top of the building to the ground. In her falcon dive, her hooves slammed down each nail into the beam like it was nothing. From the very top, down to the very bottom, and not a single nail missed.

"HA! Count em out: twenty five nails in five seconds. See you top THAT," Rainbow stated smugly.

Just to hear a whistle off nearby. Bismuth had gotten a few more beams set up, and who better to challenge Rainbow Dash in a game of speed-building than Fulgurite herself. Fulgurite simply gave the cocky Pegasus a wink and she not only bolted up the building and right back down, but also used her quick-timing hair "arms" to hammer in at least three beams in a row, getting them all sealed up tight.

"Bet against Fulgurite and lose, Rainbow ol buddy," Fulgurite said, nudging the loser Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash didn't feel too well about hearing that, as Bismuth came back down from her position on the Scissor lift.

"Okay, let's not turn this into another contest guys, but I do have to say everything's coming together," Flint said tiredly, going over to see AJ, Rar, Amethyst, and Spike as the others from the rooftop came down to see them too. Lapis Lazuli held Peridot as Fluttershy held Starlight Glimmer on their way down. Jade's tiredness didn't go unnoticed for long.

"Hey, you okay? You look a bit worn out," Spike pointed out. Jade sighed.

"Well, I am, and Flint too. It's wonderful we're healing all of these Gems, but it's just a bit … exhausting," Jade explained.

"Using a lot of energy eh?" asked Amethyst. All Flint and Jade did was nod on that answer.

"So what's the story behind this building?" asked Spike, looking to the very top of this building.

"Every town needs a capitol, so we got this beauty built up as Little Homeworld's top building," Lapis explained, "Just needs the interior worked on and we'll be good as golden. We even got the windmill installed up top."

"It's called "wind turbulence", but yep it's going to help power up Little Homeworld without draining resources out of Earth," Peridot explained.

"Sweet. Hey, where're the others at? I want to show them our digs back in Equestria," Amethyst asked. Lapis put her memory to good use here.

"Well last I've heard they're kinda all over the place: we got Pearl and Pinkie Pie checking in on Twilight back in Canterlot on her recovery; Jasper took Emerald, and Diopside off on some Mystical Creature mission somewhere; and I think Star Quartz is over with Greg, and Pink Pearl to talk things over with Nanefua about Little Homeworld."

"Isn't politics Flint's thing?" questioned Applejack.

"But we don't have any politics on retainer, so we had to make do," Fulgurite said.

"That, and I got my work cut out for me as it is," added Flint. Fair enough.

"By the way, how's Little Homeworld coming along on your end?" asked Bismuth.

"Well we're actually almost done," said Rarity. "All we really need right now is how to work out the main -"

"Wait wait, how're you almost done?!" gasped Fulgurite in surprise, "We're only half way through over here, and we got even more advanced stuff to boot, how're you ponies faster than we are?"

"Nothing but good Ponyville work ethnic and plain ol hoofgrease," said AJ, acting like it wasn't that big of a deal. Fulgurite still didn't believe it, so instead she went straight for the Warp Pad, activating it right away. And it only took her about twenty seconds before coming back, looking wide-eyed and … well, shocked.

"You even got the fancy doors already. … HOW DO YOU EVEN?!"

"Fulgurite, you are talking about a race who can plan three national holidays in just one week," reminded Starlight Glimmer, speaking as a Pony herself about things like this.

"... I'd be more mad if that weren't true, but still: Building half a town in just under two weeks, is not something that just "happens"," pointed out Fulgurite, which in a way was true given the odds against them. But then again, how many holidays did Ponyville celebrate given their timeframe anyway?

"Now who's winning the bet, eh ol buddy?" said Rainbow Dash, now nudging the loser Fulgurite. Fulgurite just gave the cocky pony a little zap with her hair on that one.

"Laugh it up, but we got a surprise for your Cutie Marks," said Fulgurite, which got the four's attention.

"You do? What is it?"

…

"Now, behold. Our vision into the universe, I give you: Little Homeworld' very own GALACTIC TELESCOPE!" announced Peridot.

That was their main message once they all got to the top of the capitol building. It was a quick flight for them all to get to the top, and low and behold they got their eyes set on Peridot's own addition to Little Homeworld. The Telescope did not appear like any normal one. It was a bit bigger than a typical telescope for one thing, the main lens appearing like the top of a jewel.

"A Telescope?" asked Amethyst.

"Yep, and I had it set for 110% better efficiency than any Human Telescope can remotely comprehend. You can even see the surface of Homeworld with this masterpiece," Peridot explained, feeling very confident about her creation.

"But don't you all already travel through space," smirked Starlight. Peridot flustered and cleared her throat.

"Well, yes ... B-But it's still the most efficient Telescope Gemkind has ever made. Come on, try it out!" Peridot insisted. That probably wasn't true, but it'd been long enough since Peridot actually had some time for tinkering so they didn't push it. Besides, it did look pretty neat to try out after a day's work.

"Just let her do her thing," chuckled Lapis.

"Alright, Peridot, I'll take your offer. Let's see what we got," AJ decided, strolling over to the Telescope to try it out. Could be fun.

So Applejack began to check out the world through Peridot's fancy Telescope, the green Gem giggling in glee as the look of impressiveness came to Applejack's face. Clearly a lot of work was put into this thing, and it worked wonders too, the orange mare looking around all over the place. To give an idea, Little Homeworld was off in the countryside, a bit ways away from Beach City, and she can actually make out the people on the boardwalk as if she was just standing right there.

"Well, look at that. Peri, this thing's amazin: I can see the Lighthouse front door from over here," Applejack said, as she kept checking things out.

"I've had the lens of the Telescope modified from the same materials that make up my visors," explained Peridot.

"Really? Mind if I have a look?" Rarity asked. Applejack stepped aside and allowed the mare a turn with the Telescope, equally as impressed on the detail as Applejack was.

"Oh my, you're right. This is very impressive, Peri - *gasp* oooo, they finally have my fashion line on sale at the T-Shirt Shop!" Rarity noted, seeing some of her designs on display over in the shop's windows. Applejack smirked: she didn't want to say it, but she would figure Rarity would catch that before long.

"Well don't leave us out, what else can you see through that?" asked Rainbow Dash. Rarity took a gander some more, moving the telescope around a bit.

"Hmm … aww, Lars and Sadie are having a lunch out together. So cute. … I think that's the Rutile Twins playing one of the Funland games, and … I think Ronaldo's on one of his alien campaigns again."

"We're never telling him about this," commented Amethyst. That was universally agreed upon. They didn't need Ronaldo with THAT kind of viewing range outside of his own Lighthouse. Anyway, Rarity continued to check things out with this telescope for a bit, eventually bringing it up to the sky.

"Oh my Celestia, even during the day the stars look beautiful," exclaimed Rarity. While this did give another stroke to Peridot's ego, the white Unicorn herself began to continue her look through many of these stars. Since it was midday though, it did give of a slight blue hue of the afternoon sky. But as she moved the Telescope over just slightly, the sky and stars suddenly turned completely white … and a single eye looked back at her.

"AAHH!" Rarity yelped, stumbling back from the Telescope. "Eye!"

"... Eye?" Fluttershy asked.

"E-Eye! White eye! There's a eye in the sky!" Rarity insisted, hoof pointing to the Telescope.

"Rarity don't start this all over again, we got enough work to do -" Fulgurite was cut short when she felt Flint's hand grab her, and turn her to look off into the sky.
It turned out, after a minute or two, that this "eye" did not need to be seen through a Telescope anymore, coming close enough for them all to see it from the sky itself. Something was coming in from the stars, and coming down fast. Something HUGE. Something pure white from the hair to the torso, and they all knew what it was almost immediately.

"WHITE DIAMOND'S SHIP!" gasped Fluttershy and Jade.

"For stars sake, what's she doing coming in with that?" Flint wondered, bringing out his pistol in defense, and maxing out the power in case it got too close. The White Diamond Space Station was NOT slowing down at all, but something didn't seem right at to how it was flying. It seemed aimed, but … not aimed at all, like a stray missile or something. Peridot was the first to catch it.

"No one's piloting it. EVERYONE DOWN!"
The luckiest call of the day, and just in time too. White Diamond's Space Station flew in close, WAY TOO CLOSE for any of them, and with them all so high up all they could do was duck down for the oncoming behemoth. They all just barely got missed by the giant station, hearing the VERY LOUD deafening hum of the entire construct, it striking off the spinning piece from the tower top. Once it cleared Little Homeworld (somehow), it flew above ground for a good ten more seconds before it inevitably struck ground. It was like Earth was struck by the Dinosaurs' meteor all over again (only no mass extinction this time).
Everyone held on as much as they could to whatever they can as the earth itself shook up a storm, shaking the entirety of the coast out of its mind. All snow on every roof was shaken off onto the ground, every foundation threatened to tumble, and the weaker buildings in Little Homeworld were at more serious risk, especially when the wave of tossed up snow was launched into the air in a wave of flurries thanks to the impact. Anything flying would be tossed right off into the rip tibe gusts easily across a good mile or two, snow by the tons washing over all of them. The entire countryside was given at least two more feet of snow thanks to the tossed up wave of it.

And everyone was buried in snow, only after recovering from the shaking poking their heads out.

"Another adventure, anypony?" said Rainbow Dash, shaking off all of that snow from her wings.

"How did that get here?" wondered Lapis, "It couldn't have flown here by itself. We cut the power on it last time we were in it, didn't we?"

"Looks like White Diamond wanted to surprise us again," Flint said, wiping the snow off of himself and helping Jade out as well. As they got the snow off of the rooftop, and Bismuth mourning over the wrecked addition to the building nearby, Amethyst then felt the iPhone in her pocket go off. She answered it, and …

"Hello?"

"WHAT IN THE STARS JUST HAPPENED?! IS EVERYONE OKAY OVER THERE, PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY!" Pearl screaming was enough to make Amethyst fall on her back.

"We're fine Pearl, just a bunch of snow and a wrecked tower spinning thing," Amethyst said, picking her ringing ear before getting back to the iPhone. Pearl would react with such a tone after feeling everything shake in Beach City WITH the wave of snow.

"And over there?" asked Fluttershy over the iPhone.

"We're alright," they heard Greg say, "But I think Jack Frost worked a bit more overtime now."

"Who's Jack Frost? If he has this much power ..." asked Pink Pearl to Greg.

"No, no, it's just a figure of speech," Greg replied. But they didn't have time to check in on Jack Frost now, not with White Diamond's Space Station just outside of Little Homeworld.
Speaking of Little Homeworld, it didn't take them very long to see that their side of Little Homeworld was more of a mess now, snow covering both Gems and buildings alike, some buildings completely wrecked.

"We were doing great! But no, she just HAD to fly in and wreck everything," Bismuth exclaimed in distress.

"Ok, ok here's what's gonna happen: Flint decided quickly, "you guys get the rest of the team, Elements of Harmony and Crystal Gems whoever you can, and go check out the Space Station and see what's going on. The Pearls, Bismuth and I will check and see if everyone's okay here and in Beach City and catch up with you later."

"Aye-aye boss," said Amethyst.

~~~~~~

It took a good half an hour for them to do just that and, with the exception of four Gems and an Alicorn for now (Starlight was her stand-in), the entire Harmony Gem team got themselves together and were now standing in attention right in front of the White Diamond Space Station. Or at least the area where it landed.
The whole farmland field it seemed was replaced by a gigantic crater left by the station itself, the colossal station left slightly standing up, but leaning due to the rough landing. Snow all around the area no longer seemed existent, with a slight wall of it built up nearby the space station, leaving much of the team standing a good twenty feet off of the ground. Speaking of, the ground itself looked dried up down to the dirt thanks to the hit.

"What a sight for sore eyes," said Jasper, "So you said this just "crash-landed" here?"

"It didn't really look like anything was piloting it, with how it was flying. But I don't get it: it didn't exactly just slam into the ground either," noted Peridot.

"Falling in style?" shrugged Fulgurite.
They began to venture a bit closer to the Space Station, them all keeping an eye out for anything that might've came out of the thing.

"YO WHITE, YOU IN THERE?! IF YOU WANTED US HERE, THE CALVARY'S WAITING!" called Amethyst. Strangely though, no one responded to the yelling.

"I don't think she's in there," Fluttershy said.

"What? But who else can pilot this thing? I've been in there already, and everyone's either clustered up or corrupted outta their minds," Fulgurite said, remembering her last trip to the place rather prominently.

"Hang on," said Jasper. She was gonna try something a BIT bold, and maybe a bit stupid as she walked up to the thing itself. Cracking her knuckles, and readying her arms, she brought her hands to the closest side of the Space Station. Her fingers tightened their grip on the wall, and she began to pull it and pull it as much as she could.

"Let me know if you want to help," Jasper groaned.

"Oh, right, I gotcha," Starlight Glimmer said, getting her horn up and working as magical aura wrapped around the area where Jasper was pulling. Soon, and with a loud crack, a huge chunk of the wall was pulled off, revealing the interior of the Space Station. a bit dark, and at first a bit quiet. None of them can see what was inside. But one thing they did see: a few distant lights from deeper in the station.

"Light? So there's still power in this station?" wondered Diopside.

But then …

"WHITE DIAMOND?! YOOOWHOOO?!" shouted Pinkie Pie. Her high-pitched voice echoed all over the interior like a vast cave. Pinkie's muzzle was quickly slammed shut.

"No, Pinkie, bad idea," said Starlight.

"What apart of calling for White Diamond in a dark spooky hallway inside an experiment Space Station sounds like a bad idea?" Pinkie asked.

… Then they heard the rumbling.

*RAAAAWWW!*

Then came out the stampede! hundreds of Corrupted and Cluster Gems suddenly appeared to the noise called to them by the pink mare, making everyone standing there having to bolt aside to let them all pass. Corrupted Gems of all shapes and sizes poured out of that exit like flowing water. Some of the Harmony Gems barely got out of the way in time to the rampaging Gems inside, some flying out like bees while others just ran out, making some of the team trip in their scramble. It was probably lucky for them that none of those Gems wanted anything to do with them, and only wanted out of that horrid hive of a place, scattering like a cattle stampede. Some of them even trampled over eachother just to get out, they were that desperate to get out of there.
They all covered up with whatever they could, hoping this giant herd wouldn't just go after them.

"Are those … ALL of the Corrupted Gems?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"We better tell the others," suggested Diopside.

"I think they'll know," Jasper simply said. Not even being serious about it, and saying it more bluntly. But that wasn't the only issue.

"Guys, there's one more! Up there!" pointed out Diopside. The whole group took a look up away from their make-shift exit, and it turned out there was another exit from the Space Station, only this one was VERY high off of the ground, out of the White Diamond Space Station eye. Most of them couldn't exactly make out what it was, but Peridot and Diopside both got a good idea once they looked up at the figure.

"It looks normal for a cluster Gem. Or a Corrupted Gem," said Peridot.

"What's she doing?" wondered Diopside, her Gem eye readjusting to get a better look. The thing was still too far away to even see properly. But the two did see one thing go on: a few sparks flying out … and the figure jumping right into the air, right out of the Station!

"She fell out!"

"On it!" Rainbow Dash said, quickly taking off into the air as fast as a Pegasus could fly. The figure spurred into the air a bit, freaking out and spazzing a bit before gravity started making it come down. Luckily for the figure, Rainbow Dash got under it just in time.

"Gotcha!" said Rainbow Dash, a grunt escaping her muzzle as she got whatever cargo "shot out" of that giant station. The Pegasus kept her flight at a more glide than flapping her wings, in part because she had to keep her wings spread to keep whoever this was from just falling off of her. It took a bit for Rainbow Dash to get to the ground below, a little roughly thanks to the extra weight, but soon as she landed her passenger stumbled off of her, and just flopped onto the ground.

"Oh my. Um, are you uh … okay?" Rarity asked, cautious in approaching her. One little tap on the head and …

*zap* "HELLO!" Suddenly the new figure bolted upright, the scream making everyone jump.

Now they got a better look at her, standing there in a stiff way, arms straight down her side as if she was in some line-up. She appeared human in appearance, though strongly pink in overall complexion. Her eyes stared in magenta color, irises shrunk as if freaking out at first. The hair on this being matched those eyes of hers, styled in a way of a spiky set of ponytails. As far as clothing went, she had a bit of an odd mix of "Yellow Diamond esque royalty" and "early 60's cartoon character" vibe: A dark magenta top companied by hot pink pointed sleeves along with magenta pointed knee-high boots, but she also had puffy magenta shorts reaching passed her stomach, and hot pink wrist-length gloves. It was a weird mashup.
With this though there were still a few odd details: on her face were three black lines, starting from under her eyes down her cheeks almost like mascara, and there was a clear gemstone right on her chest in shape of an upside-down heart. As for that zapping noise, that seemingly came to an attachment on her head: a bit metallic and looking almost like it was forcefully pulled out of a wall or something.

"OoooOOOOoooo," said Pinkie, very curious over this person. Pinkie was gonna go over and check her out, but Starlight and Applejack quickly grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Wait, wait, don't set her off again. Here, let me try," Starlight said. Making sure not to freak out whoever this was again, Starlight only took a few steps closer, clearing her throat.

"Hello. I am Starlight Glimmer, and these are my friends. We are NOT here to hurt you," Starlight Glimmer made sure this was slow speaking to not overwhelm her right away. But oddly, this Gem was … quiet. Not even uttering a word, and just kinda staring at the unicorn. The others were kinda stuck too, glancing to one another, but they kept going anyway.

"If you're looking for somewhere safe, then you found the right place," said Amethyst.

Nothing.

"Uhh … So, who are you?" Starlight asked, putting on an awkward smile.

Nothing. Again.

"Hmm … STARLIGHT GLIMMER. FRIENDS. … Anything?"

Still nothing. A bit rude, but Starlight even waved her hoof frantically in front of the Gem's face … which only tilted her head like a confused puppy.

"Maybe she can't understand us," whispered Fluttershy.

"Well that's dumb: Gems are compatible with numerous spoken languages," pointed out Peridot.

"Then why ain't she talking?" Applejack asked, pointing to the dumbfounded Gem just standing there. Applejack then tried her luck.

"DO YOU. UNDERSTAND. PONISH?" Applejack asked, again good and slow just in case there was a sort of language barrier here. Again, nothing much out of her except for a puppy head tilt. They weren't getting anything except for a stare, and nothing else. However, they did start to notice a bit more on the weird thing attached to her head, when it gave off a tiny spark.

"Maybe this thing has something to do with it," said Amethyst, going over to investigate it a bit more.

"Wait, Amethyst, don't touch that," warned a worried Jade. However, Amethyst's curiosity just got the better of her, and she did eventually give it a little touch. All it took was just one to suddenly give the purple Gem a good hard ZAP!, sending her flying off back to the Space Station wall. The zap did show something happen to the Gem, making her shutter as if getting some crazy goosebumps or going through a mini tremor, but that was about it.

"Well that did something to her," shrugged Diopside.

"Her and Amethyst," added Fulgurite, seeing Amethyst seeing stars a foot away.

"Darn it, there's got to be some way to make her speak," Applejack said, getting impatient with this silent Gem. But before she could go up to her, Pinkie Pie was actually the one who pulled AJ back. The pink mare had her gears going for some time now, and seeing this Gem like this …

"I know that look … I know it VERY good," Pinkie said, surprisingly serious as she moved in closer to the Gem. Silence hung in the air between Gem and Pony, as Pinkie moved in close, eyes squinting as if trying to see the very essence of the Gem's soul through those blank eyes. The mare even stood up on her back legs briefly, and even climbed up the Gem (as much as the others didn't want her to) to look her right in the eyes. Looking in so close, she finally reached her verdict.

"... Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. …"

And nothing.

And then Pinkie blinked. And just like that -

"I WIN! HA! I'm the champion starrer, babe!" The Gem beamed, suddenly coming to life as Pinkie bounced off of her, this Gem all giddy and bouncing in place herself.

"A staring contest? THAT'S why you didn't talk?" questioned Spike. The Gem laughed a little bit before calming down a bit.

"Yeah, sorry, sorry. It's just I haven't played a good game in SOOOOO LOOOONNNG -" she said "so long" while suddenly giving her arms and legs a VERY long stretch, her arms long enough to wrap around the entire group if she wanted to, only to suddenly whiplash back to normal length, "- I wanted to give it a go. It can be so boring in a dictator's flying head, you know what I mean?"

"Ehh … sure," said Starlight, taken aback slightly.

"Well, on the bright side, at least she isn't going to attack us," said Rarity.

"Oh yes," agreed Fulgurite. This new Gem hadn't forgotten what questions they wanted answers to, so she cleared her throat and spoke a bit herself.

"Hello, I'm a polymorphic sentient inorganic lifeform, member of the family "Gemisus" or "Gemisis" hehehehe - *zap* - if you can't tell I'M A GEM!" her sudden shout thanks to another zap from that thing on her head made her own head expand and shoot forward, making a number of the group jump back from the surprise only for her head to return to normal size moments later.

"How the hay are you doing that?" Rainbow asked.

"Doin what?" she asked, her arm stretching and curving into a circle before her hand scratched her head.

"... You know what, nevermind. I think we'll just figure it out later," Rainbow figured. That usually was how it worked anyway, as her arm retracted back.

"Well I got a question: WHEN'D YOU GET A HOLD OF THIS THING?!" Emerald asked, referring to the GIANT White Diamond Space Station she parked on their planet. The Gem turned around, looking all the way to the very top of the monument.

"OOOHHH, that? I've been in that head for thousands of years, and when I got free I took it for a ride. Next thing you know, here I am," she said.

"Thousands of years?" gulped Jade.

"Yep, been cooped up but I'm back and I'm flying free!" the Gem said, her arms flapping like a bird and her actually airborne briefly. "Here I know, let me tell you a story that's all about -"

*ZAP* before she could even finish her sentence, the attachment suddenly went off again, making the Gem freak out as if someone just punched her in the gut, her cheeks puffed up before puffing out a bit of air. Whatever that object was doing was clearly messing with her head.

"Whoawhoawhoa, easy," said Peridot, hands up to try and calm her down. But this Gem was NOT going to stick around, and all of a sudden, while wrapping her arms around her mouth, collapsing down into a heap on the ground. She looked terrified now: shuddering, covering her mouth and looking around as if everyone was gonna kill her.

… for about five seconds.

*ZAP* Rap mode engaged. The whole world (for the song's sake, not real life) turned vibrant in color, everyone and everything in more bright and exaugurated colors.

(02 "Batty Rap" - Robin Williams parody)

YO! My nickname's crazy!
The logic's all erratic

After the standard rapping steps, her arms suddenly stretched again and wrapped around herself, looking like one of those madman coats.

Tornado in a jacket

And suddenly she retracted, and shot into the air like a spring, joining Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Lapis up in the air for a bit, a freaky big smile on her face as she saw them.

Toys in the closet

Once getting back to gravity, she took a few steps forward while singing (everyone keeping as MUCH distance between them and her as possible), as she used her hand like a cake mixer to twist her hair into a swirl.

I'm rocking and ramble
My coding's SCRAMBLED!

And on the word "scrambled", she pulled back hard, her hair and head stretching like taffy for a bit before she released it, her hair now looking like a beanie. She then "warped" right next to Pinkie and Jasper, and while Jasper was weirded out, Pinkie was actually digging it as she listened from on Jasper's shoulder, her body bobbing to the music.

Rap like an animal

In another jump, she was suddenly over by Diopside, wrapping an arm around, and pulling her close, having a more "questionable" bedroom expression.

BUT, I'm no mammal~

CREEPY! But this Gem was not done yet, as she squeezed Diopside so some of her eye goo gel came out. A bit brutal, but the Gem got said goo, and suddenly applied it onto her eyes and lips as if it was mascara and lip stick.

"All of our cosmetics and non-cosmogenic -" *zap* "- AAHH!" another zap launched her in the air, only to land nearby.

I've been deep-fried, electrified
panicked and inject-ified!

Each "fied" word only got her stepping closer to a very troubled Starlight Glimmer and Rarity, the Gem actually taking steps almost like a boxer, fists up and doing punches until she neared Bismuth and Peridot.

deep-corruptified! And popped forcified!

She appeared over by the Space Station, seeing the reflection of herself briefly, the reflection morphing into some of the others as she turned away and kept singing.

My face is all cut up
cuz my radar's all "SHUT UP"!

"NURSE!" the Gem shouted, an arm branching out and grabbing hold of Fluttershy, bringing one hoof to her head, and a wing to her gemstone.

I need a checkup, from the gem up
I'M BATTY!

Another quick zap later and she was suddenly huddled on the ground again, looking into the reflection as she was making some sort of shadow puppet show.

"It seems to have no effect, my diamond," the Gem said, seemingly working off what looked like a Gem working for a particular diamond.

"Then put her away, and find me another one."

They used, and abused me!
Battered, and bruised me!

Her attachment aided her this time, as flashes of color aided in her next sentence.

Blue wires
Pink wires
Stuck em right through me!

Reality JUST managed to break into her final verse, everything looking normal except for the nutty Gem and her singing.

So hear my rocky words
and excursive a little eluss
when dealing with -

*ZAP!* And just like that, another zapping from her head made to song abruptly stop itself with a twitch of the Gem's head. This zap of her head made her completely shiver and shake, collapsing onto the ground in a heap with her spaghetti arms and legs sprawled out. Silently, Starlight waved her hoof for the others to come over to her in a huddle.

"Okay, it's obvious she's a little too unstable right now to go off on her own, what do you think?" whispered Starlight, concerned very much over this Gem's state of mind. She may not be any expert on this Gem, but she knew a corrupted mind when she saw one (she did work in the space station briefly after all).

"Really? What makes you say that?" Amethyst asked, not too keen of being thrown at the wall.

"Amethyst, it wasn't her fault she blasted you into the wall. In fact, I don't think she knew what happened there," noted Lapis, glancing back at the Gem, who while back standing was scratching close to where that attachment was on her head, only for it to let off another spark.

"I get ya. I bet she's been stuck inside that madhouse since she came out," figured Jasper, slightly bitter in her voice.

"That actually wouldn't surprise me at this point, but what do we do? We can't just leave her here," Starlight asked.

"Not to mention she did kinda release an entire zoo full of Corrupted AND Cluster Gems out near Little Homeworld, so we might wanna check on that too," noted Peridot.

"Peridot, we released them," corrected Starlight.

"But what even is she - … Where'd she go?" AJ was cut short when she looked back. They all looked back to the Gem at this point, but the Gem was suddenly gone. Not even any actual footprints, or disturbance to say she was even there at all, she was just gone.

"SHE'S GONE! … Oh wait, there she is," said Pinkie, only needing a brief look-around before finding out where she ended up … pointing at Jasper's head.

"Eh, Pinkie Pie?"

"Dang it, how'd you find me? I was so quiet and everything," the Gem suddenly said, popping out from Jasper's hair and falling on the floor (wait what?). Jasper immediately jumped back away from her as she did that, keeping her hair away from this pink Gem. Times like this she wished she cut her hair. Immediately after seeing this though, Fulgurite immediately got their answer.

"Congratulations Pinkie, you've been selected to keep an eye on her for us," Fulgurite decided, picking up the pink mare and placing her right by the hot pink Gem.

"You sure about this?" asked Spike asked.

"Guys, it's Pinkie Pie, and she just found her hiding in Jasper's hair like it was nothing. I can't think of anyone better to keep to party game Gem busy," Fulgurite figured. The group checked back with Pinkie and the Gem again briefly, who both were looking eachother over for a bit.

"You know, I can't argue with that. At least until we get her back to Homeworld," figured Lapis.

"Yeah, and NO WAY Pinkie Pie can make her feel bored -" before Rainbow Dash finished, one other look, and they both were gone. That was, until they both popped up behind Diopside.

"You all talking about me?" the Gem asked, appearing from one side of Diopside.

"And I think I heard me in there somewhere," added Pinkie, popping in from the other side. Diopside of course spun around to face them. It took a little gesturing from Starlight, and Jasper got the news down for them.

"Okay, so we've decided that uh … whoever you are -"

"Spinel," said the new Gem. Guess that was her name.

"Right. Spinel, you can stay here with Pinkie Pie for a while until we work this out. You need time to get your mind straight before we get you back, so you can wait here if you want."

"Wait … they're gonna send me back home?" the Gem thought, suddenly in a bit of a cold sweat.
All of a sudden, Jasper felt the Gem's arms wrap around her at least three times before she pulled her body right to her, the Gem's eyes locked with Jaspers and literally an inch away.

"Nonononono! I don't wanna go back to Homeworld, I-I wanna stay here with you!" The gem pleaded. Now this was a bit of a turn.

"... First off, can you let go of me?" Jasper asked, the new Gem complying and getting her arms off of her in one motion up, the arms sliding off of her and retracting as Jasper continued, "And secondly … why?"

"Why? What kind of question's that, I don't want to go back to Homeworld anymore, I'd rather stay here! … Or is it a bad time?"

"No, no, it's not at all it's just kinda … sudden," said Rarity.

"But I get it. She was stuck in there for thousands of years, who wouldn't want to get out of there and stretch their legs? I know how that felt while I was stuck in that Geode," Fulgurite said.

"Yes, exactly! Besides, I can be myself here, and not how my home wants me to be," Spinel said, giddy about the idea with a big smile, hands together.

"Let's slow down for a second here, you don't even know who we are," Jasper questioned.

"Yes I do, the guards complained about you all the time: you're the Crystal Gems - a group of awesome Gems who fight against the system, sing a lot, and be whatever YOU wanna be even against that beast of a Diamond. THAT'S a group I wanna hook up to! PLEEEASE?" the new Gem said. Well that at least confirmed that she wasn't lying about how long she was in there if she overheard that from the guards of the White Diamond Space Station. It still was a little questionable though all the same.

"That does sound like us," said Fluttershy. It took them a minute to consider, Spinel standing there and waiting for an answer.

"Alright sugarcube, you're in. Pinkie Pie can help you get settled in wherever you like," Applejack decided, Pinkie nodding her head. Spinel was sure pleased, stars in her eyes.

"AWESOME! Thank you thank you thank you!" she said, actually grabbing AJ and giving her a big kiss on the cheek. Applejack blushed a bit.

"Uh … you're welcome," AJ said, as she was placed down on the ground. Spinel was then picked up on Pinkie Pie's back, the mare more than ready to go.

"Okie dokie partner, let the tour begin!" Pinkie beamed.

"Let's go!" said Spinel, and soon they both were on their way from there, Pinkie and Spinel off and out of sight on their tour together. The rest of the group simply watched her go off on her way.

"... We're gonna go tell the rest eventually right?" asked Diopside.

"Oh yeah," replied Jasper.

…….

Unfortunately, while the Harmony Gems might've been busy on their end, that didn't mean members of Grogar's Army weren't any more relaxed. This whole conversation was caught by peering ears, a familiar trio just managing to overhear the entire ordeal with Spinel. One donkey, one bird Gem, and one broken Unicorn.

"Grogar would want to hear this."

~~~~~~

"Weeeee!"
Pinkie and Spinel had a nice little ride from one world to another, sliding in from one of Pinkie's Portal Key doors. On their landing, they both got themselves right into the middle of Ponyville, landing conveniently into a big pile of snow somepony had just finished getting together.

"So you can do that all the time? I wanna go again!" said Spinel, still hyped from the long slide down. Pinkie hopped out of the snow pile, shaking the snow off like a dog (though her tail spun like a fan to get the snow off of Spinel).

"Well, we could do that again … or I can bring you around Ponyville, show you around, bake cupcakes, and then we can slide around again. How's that sound, eh?" Pinkie offered, nudging Spinel in the side and giving her a wink. Spinel paused, thinking a bit about the idea.

"Have more fun instead of one fun. … Yep, forget my plan, let's do that. So where do we start?" Spinel asked. She did glance away for a moment though to see the ponies around, which gave Pinkie Pie enough time to bolt away to another spot in town. Since it was nearby, the first place to start was the fountain in town, which since it was winter was frozen now.

"Over here, Spinny!" called Pinkie Pie.

"Spinny? Is that my code name?" Spinel asked, strolling over to her.

"Nah, it's a nickname. Rainbow and Amethyst always come up with them, so it's my turn to give you one. You like it?" Pinkie asked. Spinel thought about it.

"I dunno. It sounds a little … Twisted," Spinel said, suddenly spinning in place and basically turning into a spring shape. Someone could practically hear the "ba dum SH" from a mile away, but Pinkie Pie still laughed it up, making Spinel smile.

"Spinny it is," Pinkie said, "Now, about Ponyville …"
Pinkie Pie pulled a trick of her own, and out of her own mane she pulled out a book it seemed (don't ask), and after skimming over a few pages she managed to get the information she needed. Though, she could probably recite it herself without the book, it looked better for the role as teacher. Spinel sat down and looked to Pinkie as she sat on the rim of the fountain.

"Ponyville is founded by Granny Smith many moons ago, selling lots of yummy Zap Apple Jam to anypony coming by. Lots of ponies decided "hey, this is a great gig, let's stay and keep this going". And so, more and more ponies stayed right here, and soon we got ourselves Ponyville," Pinkie Pie explained, Spinel working out much of the details on her own head. There was probably a LOT more to it, but who wanted to just sit in the snow and listen to history anyway?

"Huh, that sounds nice. That Zap Apple Jam must be really good to get them all to hang out," Spinel said curiously. Pinkie Pie closed her book and suddenly she hopped off of the fountain.

"It is! And you're lucky, because I just so happen to have a jar of Zap Apple Jam back in Sugarcube Corner. Which just so happens to fit in our little tour, and it's just right down the road," Pinkie offered, pointing just down the road a ways. Spinel scratched her chin in thought, eventually nodded. But just before she could give her answer to the pink Mare, suddenly her headpiece sparked on her again, making her spas out all over again, limbs flailing like noodles.

"Spinny?" Pinkie asked. Spinel suddenly curled up on the ground.

"NO NO NO, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't hurt me anymore please!" Spinel pleaded, as if Pinkie Pie was ready to kill her for no reason. Pinkie was taken aback by such a quick response.

"Hurt you? Why would I - … OOOOHHHH." she took more careful note about the thing on her head. It did seem to just go off every time Spinel gone a bit off the deep end. Despite the pleads, Pinkie brought her hoof over to the device.

"No, no wait I'm - *flick* *ZAP!* "GAH! Ooohhh ..." Spinel relaxed again after that, coming to her senses.

"Feeling all better, Spinny?" Pinkie asked. Spinel needed a minute or so, taking a deep breath and relaxing her limbs to calm down. She no longer saw Pinkie Pie as very dangerous anymore.

"It … did I have an episode again?" Spinel asked, rubbing her head.

"Well if "getting your head all sparked up, and you acting very scared for a minute" is an episode … then yep," Pinkie replied. Spinel got back up, cleaning herself off.

"Sorry about that. Ever since that … Diamond got this stuck on my head, it keeps happening to me. I go all nutty when it happens. Well, more than people say I usually do. … I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"You don't remember?" Pinkie asked, confused. Spinel unfortunately shook her head. Pinkie Pie though shook her head as well.

"Nopony hurt around here," Pinkie Pie reassured. This made Spinel feel a lot better, though they both did still hear a few stray sparks come out of the headpiece again, which did bum out Spinel slightly. Pinkie Pie would have to keep this in mind for later, but there's even more important matters to attend to. Pinkie Pie got to moving, prancing along towards Sugarcube Corner at a more brisk pace to give Spinel the satisfaction of a delicious treat. It just wouldn't feel right if she didn't.

"Hop along, Spinny, the sooner we get to Sugarcube Corner, the sooner you get to experience a whole new taste that is cupcakes," insisted Pinkie Pie. Spinel was willing to go and give it a try, but on the way Spinel glanced off alongside the road, making her stop on the spot. While staring at her target, her arm stretched out a good ten feet, grabbing Pinkie Pie and pulling her back.

"People here are usually happy, right?" Spinel asked.

"Well yeah," Pinkie said, being held off of the ground by the Gem.

"So what about her?" Spinel asked, moving Pinkie Pie so she could see who Spinel was seeing.

… Connie.
She was off a little bit away from the main path, but both Pinkie and Spinel could see her just fine, as she was just sitting there by herself. The Gems may have kept themselves busy for the last week or so, but Connie was left with little energy to actually do much of anything. Well, outside of just moping that is. One good news though, they did indeed manage to cure Connie of her slight corruption by Grogar and physically looked normal. But that still didn't mean that she was recovering all too well mentally.

"Connie? Uh, excuse me, Spinny, BRB," Pinkie wondered, getting herself out of Spinel's grip for a brief moment. The pink mare bounded right over to Connie, the girl not really paying enough attention to note her even coming. Not that it mattered.

"Hi Pinkie," Connie simply said.

"Hiya. … Uhh, whatchu eating?" Pinkie asked, pointing to a bowl that Connie had in front of her. Connie stuck a spoon into it and got the contents into her mouth.

"Macaroni and nothing," she sighed.

"Again?" Pinkie asked, troubled, "can't you at least put some cheese on it?"

"Don't want to," Connie replied, taking another bite of the bland food. Pinkie Pie took a seat down besides Connie, the pink mare already knowing what was wrong with her.

"Still bummed out about Steven huh?" Pinkie asked. Connie rested her head on the table, but she did nod her head anyway. Her sadness might not be on par with how Steven handled it, but it still was there and still was eating her up in its own way.

"Why did they have to go? I mean I know why they did, but … why?"

"Aww, come on Connie, turn that frown upside down. Steven wouldn't want his sweetie to be so sour," Pinkie encouraged, hoof on her shoulder. Connie grunted, straightening up to look at the mare.

"Pinkie. Steven's gone, and Garnet's dead, one of which was partially my fault, and the other thing I didn't do anything about to fix it. What do I have to be happy about?" Connie asked.

"Aha, okay but look at what happened now: you and Steven are alive, Homeworld's goat-free, and look we even got Corrupted Gems not so corrupted anymore! You gotta admit, that's pretty good. Things could be worse, right?" Pinkie pointed out, hint of sincerity in her voice along with the usually bubbly demeanor. Connie thought about it a little bit more, but eventually she did get a slight smile.

"I guess. … I mean, I could've been Grogar's princess. Why did he want me for a bride anyway?"

"I don't know. Steven did say before how cute you are, so that might have something to do with it," Pinkie joked, fluffing Connie's hair a bit. Despite herself, it did end up making Connie smile and even giggle, much to Pinkie's joy. Nothing better than seeing someone smile, even for a little bit.

"Thanks. I needed that," Connie said.

"No prob, bob. And you know, Spinny and I are gonna fetch some cupcakes, you like some?"

"Well, sure but … Spinny?" Connie asked.

"Oh she's this Gem we found inside of White Diamond's Space Station that crash-landed earlier this morning. A little bit experimented on, you know how it is," Pinkie explained nonchalantly. Connie looked passed her, and there was Spinel waving hello to her. Connie could already tell her state thanks to the item stuck on her head.

"Swell to meet you," said Spinel, extended a hand to her. While her hand was just in front of her, her body was two feet away. Still, Connie wasn't too deterred by that and shook her hand anyway.

"You too, Spinny. Welcome to Ponyville," said Connie. Spinel was feeling more welcomed again, as Pinkie saw them both smiling at eachother for a moment or two. The mare eventually nodded.

"We all know what this means …"

(one scene jump later)

"Time for a friendship baking!" Pinkie concluded once they got to the kitchen. Been a VERY long time since Connie had been in Sugarcube Corner, let alone inside Pinkie's kitchen, and both Connie and Spinel have their own special Chef hats and aprons on. Spinel was looking at a spatula for a bit, not sure where to start.

"Do we need this for cupcakes?" Spinel asked, seeing her reflection in it.

"No, you can put that away. Don't worry, we'll show you how it's done," said Connie. Spinel shrugged and got the spatula put away, as Connie took a nearby bowl to begin the process.

"Spinny, can you get some salt? I'll go get the -"

"WAIT!" Pinkie suddenly said, snatching the bowl away from Connie in a slide across the countertop.

"Pinkie?"

"Before we do ANY baking, one must learn the one thing. THE one thing before anything can start making and baking any cupcakes," Pinkie revealed, her tone overly-serious about this. Spinel looked to Connie for an answer, but Connie already had an idea what was going on now, resting a hand on Spinel's shoulder.

"... The Cupcake Song," Pinkie revealed.

"Song. More singing. … Ok, how's it go?" Spinel asked, intrigued. That was more than enough to get Pinkie started.

All you have to do is take a cup of flour!
Add it to the mix!

With that, she went and did just that, snatched a cup of flour and got it right into the bowl no problem in a good flip, before snatching some sugar.

Now just take a little something sweet, not sour!
A bit of salt, just a pinch!

Pinkie then went and got a cupcake cooking pan, spinning it on her nose like a seal would with a ball

Baking these treats is such a cinch!
Add a teaspoon of vanilla!

With the teaspoon of vanilla, she flicked it off of the table, the contents landing into the bowl again with pinpoint accuracy.

Add a little more, and you count to four,
And you never get your fill of...

And then basically Pinkie Pie was dancing all over the place.

Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty!
Cupcakes! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!

Spinel and Connie gave Pinkie a round of applause for the job well done, all of the mixture in the bowl like it was nothing at all. Which to Pinkie it probably was. The pink mare then pushed the two back to the countertop.

"Okie Dokie Lokie, now it's your turn," Pinkie Pie said.

"We get to sing that song too?" Spinel asked.

"If you want to," Pinkie said with a wink.

For the next half an hour, it was namely a lot of baking going on for the day. Connie and Spinel were going into the project in their own way, as Pinkie Pie happily included herself in their cooking: though while Connie was keeping her mind busy with calculations and right measurements of ingredients for her stuff, Spinel mainly just followed lead to her and Pinkie Pie, not entirely knowing what she was doing for most of it. Not that she was complaining at all, this beats all those years being stuck as some WD experiment any time.
During the baking process, Connie and Spinel were both at pretty much the same pace in mixing their ingredients together, Connie working her mixture into the cooking pan while Spinel was working mixing her bowl still. Sure seemed they both were having fun, much to Pinkie's relief.

"This cooking thing's not so bad. Especially the mixing part," said Spinel, though she was mixing it a bit roughly, making some bit of it spill out onto both the floor, the counter, and Connie nearby.

"Easy Spinny, you don't have to be so rough with it," said Connie, "Here like this."
And Connie showed Spinel the way to mix up the dough, firmly yet gently and without making so much of a mess. Spinel did start copying her a little bit, but the slower pacing of the stirring did make it less interesting. She did however lift her spoon out of the bowl and gave it a little taste, a quick lick of her tongue.

"mmmMMMmmm! This sure is yummy. Way better than the junk those guards would give me," Spinel said.

"Guards? … Oh wait, you were from the Space Station, that's right," Connie remembered.

"Yep, all I get out of that was this gray stuff made to look like you can actually eat it. Nasty."

"Wait a minute, I thought Gems don't need to eat," Connie pointed out. Spinel groaned.

"Yeah. …"

Spinel only needed to say that for Connie to work out the rest for herself. But then something else started going on, as Spinel continued stirring up the mixture inside of her bowl, which by the way did look familiar to that gunk she was given back in the White Diamond Space Station.

"Sorry you had to go through that, Spinel," said Connie.

"Say, Spinny? There's something I think we gotta tell ya," Pinkie said. Or tried to say, but Spinel was already talking.

"I'm just glad to get away from them for once, Connie. … Those liars. I mean, Sure they say they like ya, and want to play with you, and they got you thinking "aren't they just the bestest friends in the world?", and yep it's fun at first -" the more she spoke, the more anger started filling her voice, the stirring slowly turning more and more rough again. "- but one day they got a game you wanna play, and when they got the nerve to tell you to just stand there, THEY DON'T. BOTHER. SHOWING UP -"

*snap* And the spoon Spinel was holding, which near the end she was just stabbing the mixture by that point, broke in two with the front end in the bowl, and the back end on the table. There was a bit of silence for a moment, Pinkie and Connie kinda just staring at her. Spinel giggled nervously.

"... Uh … you have another spoon? Someone broke this one," Spinel asked, feeling embarrassed for that outburst. Still wide-eyed, Pinkie did get Spinel another spoon, this one metal instead of wood so it wouldn't break so easily. Spinel simply took it and started stirring again, more relaxed this time as to not make a mess again. Still, this did raise a bit of warning to both Connie and Pinkie Pie.

"I don't like the Diamonds," Spinel then said.

"No, we got it," Connie simply said, not wanting to push the matter any further.

"Did you want to say something, Pinkie?" Spinel asked. Suddenly though, the pink mare no longer felt as confident about the news anymore, which was rare for a mare like this one to feel.

"Eeeeee … you know, the snapping of that spoon and that yummy dough flying everywhere made me forget what it was," Pinkie meekly stated.

"Oh. Okay," Spinel said. Pinkie Pie didn't know if she was gonna regret it or not, but, there was a time and place for everything. And the death of Mr. Spoons was not a good time for the news.

Especially since they still had a shadow standing just outside the nearest window. It took a world jump from Earth to Equestria, but she still heard everything.

"A Gem who hates the Diamonds, huh? Well this should work well. …"

…….

*psst*

after things had calmed down, Spinel paused her mixing upon hearing that noise. Spinel glanced off one way and then the other, but not seeing anyone outside of Connie and Pinkie, who were focusing on their own cupcakes. So if it wasn't them, then -

*psst*

Now it was a bit more focused, and Spinel turned over to the window, seeing someone standing just outside. Standing there and waving a hoof for her to come out for a minute. Spinel was a bit curious, and taking one more look to Pinkie and Connie, she actually opened the window and "bounced" out. Curiosity got the better of her.

Spinel was a bit further away now from Pinkie and Connie, the *psst* noise luring Spinel further and further away down some of Ponyville's alleys, away from Sugarcube Corner.

"Okay, who's playing game? Where're you?" Spinel asked, trying to see where the sound was coming from, or who was making said noise. The alleyway was remote as Ponyville can make it, not many ponies anywhere that would see her right away. The most common thing around was snow. At least at first. Spinel's messed-up mind got to work a bit more and she tried to figure out who was around. Well, except for a VERY big pile of snow.

One that looked recently made. Spinel started getting a little smug.

"OH WHERE, OH WHERE could you be? HMMMM, they're not hiding in the giant pile of white stuff, are yee?"

And she dug away the snow quick.

"AHA!" Spinel shouted … only to find nobody. Spinel was confused, but then she heard the noise of hoofsteps coming up from behind her.

"I wasn't in the snow," said a pony. Spinel turned around a bit quick, and saw the unicorn who was luring her away from the start. Instead, the pony just strolled out from another alleyway, revealing herself as the Commander Tempest Shadow of Tambalon's army! Though that would be a bit more of a shock to Spinel if she knew who the hay this even was, as Tempest walked up to her.

"Oh, hi there. Was that you?" Spinel asked. Tempest nodded her head, but did check once more to be sure she was alone.

"Yes it was ... Spinel is it? I want to have a word with you," Tempest said, having a seat over nearby the experimented Gem. Spinel took a bit to see what kind of pony this was, seeing that this Unicorn was a bit more rugged than many of the ponies she seen so far with the scar and horn. The question had to be asked.

"Geesh, what happened to you?" Spinel asked.

"I was gonna ask you the same question," Tempest pointed out, seeing the cuts on her face and the thing on her head. Spinel looked to the headpiece on her, which she did touch a little bit before it sparked a tiny bit again.

"Ehh, don't worry about it, it's something I got from … things. I'm kinda stuck with it anyway," Spinel said, waving it off. Though she did hope another episode didn't happen to her while a new Unicorn was here. Tempest of all ponies knew scars when she saw them, and even if she overheard the story behind the device earlier she didn't bring it up just yet. She had her plan figured out already.

"I see that. … and does that bug you?" Tempest inquired.

"Uhh … sometimes. But it's nothing to -" Spinel suddenly stopped talking when Tempest's horn began to glow a little bit, producing the same sparks as the device would make.
Without hesitation, Tempest Shadow connected the tip of her horn to the device itself, and the sparks from both suddenly caused a crazy reaction: lightning bolts shooting everywhere like live wires to water. Spinel freaked out a bit from this sudden reaction, but wasn't able to get herself free for the next three seconds as Tempest held her in place before … something fell off.

"Huh? What ... the …"

"It shouldn't bother you anymore now," said Tempest, presenting the detached headpiece in her hoof! Just like that. The device she had been stuck with for who knows how long was now off her own head, Spinel staring wide eyed at what just happened. Sure it still stung slightly given she had to zap it off of her, but feeling the open space on her head revealed that Spinel was free of it.

"You freed me. … You freed me! OHMYSTARS!" Spinel beamed, immediately grabbing Tempest in a wrapping hug and hugging her tight. "YOU'RE A LIFESAVER! You have no idea how nutty that thing makes me! I knew it was a good idea to join the Crystal Gems!"

Tempest was caught off guard by the hug, but did get herself out of it, drawing the line there.

"I'm not with those fakers, Spinel, believe me. I'm better than them," Tempest made clear.

And just like that, Spinel suddenly switched gears.

"Fakers? What fakers, the Crystal Gems?"

"You heard me. I know we hardly know eachother, but believe me. You don't want to be with them," Tempest explained to her. Spinel was side-struck by this change. She thought for a second or so, thinking to what the guards were saying about them and how they're willing to let her join fairly quickly despite circumstances. That, and Pinkie was so fun.

"Whaaat? Nah, they're cool. And I think they're gonna start missing me if I don't go back now," Spinel said, starting to go back. However, Tempest got in her way with a few questions for her. Time for the plan to hit.

"And how do you know they miss you?" Tempest questioned.

"... Because they do," Spinel simply said, shrugging. Tempest sat down, quizzically judging this Gems' decision making.

"If that's true, then why did they bring you here instead of keeping with them back on Earth?" Tempest asked.

"They have their reasons!" Spinel reassured. Overly-trusting this Gem. Something Tempest might be able to work with. Tempest Shadow shook her head.

"Spinel, face reality for a moment. They left you behind, and they weren't planning to ever get you back. If they did go into that -"

"Hold up. … Were you eavesdropping?" Spinel asked. Tempest just huffed.

"Yes. Anyway, if they did go into that White Diamond Space Station, then why didn't any of those times they ever found you? They could've stayed to look for you, but they didn't."

"Huh? … Well, *pfft* they didn't know I was there," Spinel figured. Tempest sighed and shook her head.

"I'm gonna let you in on a secret of theirs I've worked out," Tempest said, walking to her side, "The Diamonds? They're friends with them now. And from what I know, they've been friends with them for a long time. And yes, that includes White."
Spinel could feel a horrid chill run through her back when she heard that information, especially that name. The same diamond that made her an experiment than a play thing, and the Crystal Gems are friends with her now? Spinel eventually shook her head.

"That's stupid: the guards always complain how they wreck her things, and keep fighting her every time they met. There's NO WAY they're friends! … Right?"

"I know it's a stretch, but I'm only trying to look out for you. … Now, if you really want to be free and be yourself, then I think I know someone better. Grogar," Tempest suggested.

"Who?" Spinel asked. Tempest then lowered her head and showed her horn to Spinel, it letting off the same sparks that Spinel's head device once did.

"Look at me, Spinel. A Unicorn without her horn, and with no one to help her in life. But Grogar found me, and he agreed to help me. And now, I'm one of his commanders for his military force. I doubt anypony would've given me that kind of chance in my state. ... He can give you the same chance, if you'd let him."

"... Really?"

"Of course he would," Tempest said, "Especially after hearing what you've gone through. Being experimented on by the diamonds, stuck with wires, being fed nothing but muck."

"You heard that too?" Spinel said, humbly this time.

"You were screaming in there," Tempest pointed out, making Spinel fluster a little, rubbing her arm. The unicorn then looked Spinel in the eyes for a moment or so, but before she could talk again, she then heard someone starting to come over.

"Here, I'll give you time to think it over, but consider your options, okay? Watch yourself now."
And Tempest galloped away, leaving Spinel to thinking about it all.

The Diamonds, and the Crystal Gems. Friends. … Is that a thing now?

~~~~~~

Back in Little Homeworld, the progress on the Earth Side of the settlement to get this all fixed was still in a slow process. Bismuth, Flint, and now joined by both Pink Pearl and Pearl. All of the excess snow wasn't doing much for the settlement at all, Bismuth getting out both arms to act as a snow plow to get much of it out of the place as the Pearls got a few smaller Gems out of the snow.

"How're we doing so far?" Flint asked.

"This is the tenth one," said Pearl, helping what looked to be a Carnelian to her feet, who herself was covered from head to foot in snow.

"I guess snow … doesn't come in like that all of the time?" Pink Pearl inquired.

"Not really," said Pearl, "And this really doesn't help anyone either. So much work, just swooped away by this … snow wall."

"Nevermind the snow, why would White Diamond just show up in her own Space Station? We lost contact with it months ago," Flint wondered, more concerned about that than just some random snow. In fact, they could still see the station from afar from where they were, which only begged the question even further.

"Okay, I think we got the main plaza cleared up," said Bismuth after pushing another bit of snow aside. But unfortunately there was a ton of snow to get through, a huge chunk of it over one particular building that got Bismuth ticked.

"COME THE HECK ON, not the new forge too!" Bismuth said, rushing over to see if her new forge was still in one piece.

"I didn't know she was moving her forge," said Pink Pearl, only vaguely hearing that Bismuth had a forge at all, let alone this.

"Neither did I," Flint said, legitimately surprised actually. But the fact there was a new forge in the place was the least of their problems now.

*mmmoooooooo!*

As if getting a tidal wave of snow wasn't bad enough, Pink Pearl started to hear a very distant call from ... something, further away from the Little Homeworld settlement. The distant call turned Pink Pearl's gaze towards the same place as the White Diamond Space Station. She tried to keep her own gaze up to the sky, as a dark mass started to form …
It was enough to make Pink Pearl back up a bit, eyes fixated on the approaching mass. Her hand reached out, and tapped the closest person on the shoulder to get their attention as well. Slowly, more residents of Little Homeworld began to notice the oncoming wave. Only this time the wave was alive!

"Corrupted Gems!" shouted a nearby Gem.

"Everyone, get behind me!" Bismuth shouted, already bringing up the snowplow hands up like a shield.

*RAWWR!* And not a moment too soon, as the Corrupted Gems started running their way through Little Homeworld. Unlike earlier though, the Gems running was slower, and were a lot more wide spread, but the rumbling of the earth still told them that there was A LOT of them coming through. Bismuth's shield stopped any Corrupted Gem from just charging over them, forced to run around or even jump over. However, with so many buildings set up, the Corrupted Gems were stuck trying to figure out where to go like panicked cattle.

"There's so many of them," Pink Pearl said, covering her head as she kept close to Bismuth

*MMMOOOO!*

"Whoa, big boy!" Bismuth said, and that was all she had time to say before a VERY big Corrupted Gem just slammed right into Bismuth's blockade. The large buffalo-like Gem trotted through and over the four Gems, its large hooves barely missing all of them as it moved with the other Corrupted Gems, running into the same problem. They were lucky not to get trampled, but still were frazzled nonetheless, Pearl stiff as a board as she was laying there.

"Where'd all these come from?" wondered Flint.

"That doesn't matter right now, let's get them corralled before they wreck the town," Bismuth said.

"Right!" the Pearls said. They had to do something, but as the four tried to get close, the "herd" of Corrupted Gems weren't giving them a chance to even do much, scattering away while some were bucking them back. It was basically a mad scramble to try and get these Corrupted Gems under control, one of which other Gems in Little Homeworld had to help with (they didn't want Little Homeworld wrecked either). Much of their involvement though was mainly grabbing the Corrupted Gems and trying to weigh them down however they could, which of course wasn't easy. At all.
Pearl and Pink Pearl for instance tried keeping a Quartz Corruption from running off too far by grabbing its back legs, only to keeping getting tossed around by its thrashing. Bismuth tried a similar tactic with her snowplow hands to keep them from wandering too far, but they were pushing very hard against her to try and get away.

"C-c-c-c-calm d-d-d-d-down! H-H-H-H-H-HELP!" shouted Pearl, shaken like a ragdoll on the bucking Corrupted Gem. Flint took action and tackled them away before the Quartz corruption could swing around and attack them.

"This is getting out of hand," said Flint.

"B-But can't you control them? You and Jade were healing them for days!" Pink Pearl exclaimed.

"Right after Fluttershy and Star Quartz calmed them down, but they're not here," Flint replied, only for all three of them to scatter when a set of Corrupted Gems raced by them in fear. Flint and Pearl may have gotten out of the way, but Pink Pearl found herself struck by the buffalo Gem, making her slam into a nearby building. Pink Pearl slowly came to, the giant Gem just about to turn and trample a pebble. Just before it could charge though, something suddenly flew right in between it and Pink Pearl …

"We got em!" shouted Rainbow Dash. The gang had fully assembled now. Now with the odds more even'd out, Gem and Pony alike began their work in getting the Corrupted Gems under control:
Rainbow Dash and Fulgurite were weaving their way through the herd, getting the animals to come together, their speed catching any strays off guard to bring them back to the main plaza.
As for those fighting, Applejack and Jasper handled much of those with vigor, accompanied by Amethyst who (alongside AJ with her lasso) used her whip to pull some of the more troublesome beasts over to the group again.
After getting the group together, Lapis, Starlight, and Rarity got to work making a fence around them so they all can have a moment to stop running around and calm down.

"Huh … well thanks," said Bismuth.

"It's nothing. Everyone okay?" asked Peridot.

"I think so. But what about you, what happened at the station?" asked Pearl. Jasper just got it out there.

"All of the Corrupted Gems came from it for one thing," Jasper said, pointing to the Gems contained. "And there's … something else."

"Like what?" Flint asked.

"Um … we found a Gem that brought the ship here. Her name is Spinel," revealed Fluttershy.

"... Spinel?"

…….

"Okay, what do you know about her?" asked Lapis.

After the small catch up back in Little Homeworld (and getting the corrupted Gems calmed down), the remaining top tier Harmony Gems were brought right back from Little Homeworld to Ponyville. Bismuth, Pearl, Pink Pearl, and Flint were glad to be given a break from the Corrupted Gem rampage, but given their recent information about Spinel, Flint and Pearl were a little bit on edge about it.

"Okay, so let's just be on the same level here: we ARE talking about the same Spinel right?" Flint asked.

"Hot pink color, metal thing on her head, heart-shaped gemstone, looks like a cartoon character in a goth phase. Ringing any bells?" Emerald asked. Flint and Pearl looked to one another, feeling a bit more humbled on hearing that description, though Flint seemed more humbled than Pearl was about that. Pink Pearl was a bit humbled too, hand covering her mouth briefly.

"Spinel … I can't believe it," said Pink Pearl.

"AHA, you do know her," said Amethyst, "Okay, what's up?"

"Well I don't know. I mean, I know one Spinel, but -"

"Don't tell me, is this another thousand-year old enemy coming back for revenge, or what?" added Fulgurite.

"No, no!" Pearl exclaimed, and after taking a breath Pearl began to tell her side of the story through a projection from her gemstone, showing both Pink Diamond and what looked like some sort of Spinel there, acting silly and playing with her.

"Spinel is a Gem from thousands of years ago, a perfect cut of her kind. And she was made to be Pink Diamond's little playmate before she got Earth as her colony."

"A … playmate?" Peridot asked.

"Well it explains why she was so giddy with us, but uh, I thought Homeworld wouldn't want a Gem like … that," figured Starlight.

"They didn't, normally," Pearl said, "but Spinels are a very special occasion only made for a very specific Gem. To put it simply, they are extremely rare, and I've only seen one through my whole existence - Pink Diamond's Spinel."

"She and Pink were so happy together," said Pink Pearl. "They would play games all the time in her Garden …"

"Garden?" asked Jade.

"It's a Gem place out in space," said Pearl.

"And you both know her," pointed out Rarity. Both Pearls glanced to one another.

"Hmm … Well I … only met her once or twice. Before I was taken away," Pink Pearl said.

"And I haven't seen her in over six thousand years," added Pearl, working off what memory she knew about her Spinel. But if this was the same Spinel or not is still hanging in the air.

"Well that's very nice, but we're still wondering how she got in the Space Station?" reminded Rarity. The Pearls were a bit puzzled again.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound like the same Spinel to me - It can't be," Pearl said.

"It might be though."

Everyone then turned over to Flint, who until this point was just quiet about this Gem in particular. What a name from the past this is for him, and considering where she came from Flint didn't have much doubt in his mind who this was (to a point at least).

"Flint?" asked Bismuth. Flint instead got more to the point, and made a projection of his own which overshadowed Pearl's projection. This time it showed someone inside a sort of lad, wires on her, and the Spinel standing there under test by a few other Gems nearby, giving this Spinel a nasty electrical shock. The others were taken aback by this sudden shift from playful Spinel to tortured Spinel.

"While I was working under White Diamond," Flint explained, "there was this one Spinel that showed up one day. Even for a rare Gem, White Diamond still wanted to test a few things on her: electrical currents, re-coding, fusion mixtures, whatever she wanted to do to her. She only held back a little bit because she was so rare and didn't want her shattered … like me."

"That sounded a lot less scary when it was in a song," said Applejack, unnerved.

"But why didn't we see her in there? We've been in the Space Station before, a few times actually," said Amethyst. Flint shook his head.

"I don't know, I think White Diamond kept her in solitary and just didn't talk about her," Flint said, though come to think of it he wasn't so sure himself. He hardly did talk to Spinel during her "stay" on the space station anyway. This news didn't suite well with everyone though.

"This is just peachy," said Fulgurite, "not only is this another thing about Pink Diamond, but White Diamond too? I thought we were done with all that already after that big space trip."

"THAT only got White Diamond to stop experimenting, and stop killing us, that doesn't get rid of the experiments themselves. Besides, it's not like that Spinel, and this Spinel are the exact same Spinel," Pearl said, dismissing the idea they could be the same thing almost right away. Such polar opposites sounded just too off-putting to her.

"But … should we discount it?" Jade asked. The group was a bit quiet. This is White Diamond they were talking about, and the Gem did kinda brain-wash other Gems before, not to mention the kind of experiments she had done already in that Space Station. It didn't sound too out there …

"Well, maybe she is, maybe she isn't," confirmed Diopside, "But let's not get too hasty. We don't exactly know what's going on in her head right now. Maybe if we show her the other Diamonds, we can try and help her understand things are different now."

"I hope it's that easy," said Starlight, troubled a little.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"Well, I mean, obviously we should try to help her out, but, and this is a shot in the dark … what if she won't? She's been experimented on by White Diamond for thousands of years, going through who knows what? W-What if she's still hating them?"

"... Oh boy," sighed Applejack.

…

"How do I know?" wondered Spinel.

It seemed rather unfortunate too, but at this point the very Gem in question was starting to come up from the next corner over. Spinel had been thinking up and down about it all day long since her encounter with Tempest not too long ago and, while she did want to not believe her, she wasn't sure. What exactly was the deal, and why was she left for so long anyway? She hadn't gone out to the main street just yet, but the stretchy Gem then started to overhear that same conversation from the Gems, stopping just shy of the next corner thus no one saw her there.

"We'll never know unless we try, Starlight," said Jade.

"Yeah, and let's face it: Spinel does NOT look like the fighting type to me," added Rainbow Dash.

"I'm just saying that if the Diamonds are coming here to check on things, I don't want her to get the wrong idea that's all," Starlight explained, wondering how would a gem like Spinel would react to seeing all of the Diamond Authority on Earth so quickly.

"Come on, Starlight, it won't be that bad. It wouldn't honestly be the first time," reminded Jade.

"Hmm … yeah good point. I mean, it took me months before I stopped trying," Starlight realized.

"I'd say it took me a day, day and a half," said Bismuth in a shrug.

"I'm still on the fence," joked Flint. They shared a chuckle briefly about it, but the point was still there: they all were in a fight with them before and now they're good joes.

"Seriously though, I think we need to ease it in a bit more, give Spinel time to settle down before we get the plan started," Flint confirmed.

"But aren't the Diamonds coming tomorrow?" asked Fluttershy. Fulgurite quickly got an idea.

"Well okay how's this: when we go to meet up with them back in Little Homeworld, we'll leave her behind on Earth until they're all ready. For now, let's just keep an eye on her. Sound good?"

… Leave her behind. Spinel stayed quiet, starting to walk away from the alleyway. It took a moment for her to actually take this information in, over what she just heard them say. The Diamonds were coming, and they were going to bring her to them at a point. Her face was blank at first, just staring off into the distance … But eventually, ever so slowly, her eyes narrowed into a glare. A very. Angry. Glare.

"So that's it. They're with them after all. … Well, if THAT'S the game you wanna play." Spinel's voice was almost growling by the end of it, but she didn't have to finish what she had to tell herself. With this in mind, she turned around and launched right off out of sight, disappearing far before anyone could have a chance to even realize she was there. Spinel landed off at least a good twenty feet into a alleyway, away from the Harmony Gems.

"Reconsidered, Spinel?"

Tempest. Seemed she didn't leave too far since last speaking with Spinel after all. The unicorn walked out to see Spinel, similar manor as before, but with her was someone else. Someone she wasn't sure of. yet this time Spinel had the answer more prominently this time.

"Where's that Grogar? If they think they can one-up me, they got another thing coming," said Spinel. Rather than Tempest speaking to her, the unicorn stepped aside, and allowed the other figure to walk out.

"You're looking at him."

"... OH! HI Grogar, didn't know you were right there. Tempest said you take Gems like me in?" asked Spinel. Grogar looked Spinel over.

"Are all the Gems in the Space Station like you?" Grogar inquired, examining this Gem a bit more, thinking about the situation. A bit of an odd question though to Spinel, though Spinel was curious over the gemstones around his neck.

"I … I guess?" Spinel shrugged, "Most of em are Clustered or Corrupted, I'm just experimented on."

"Experimented how?" Grogar inquired. Spinel actually sighed in annoyance.

"You want me to sing it again? Alright, give me a second," Spinel said. She cleared her throat, and took a deep breath to start, only for Grogar to shove his hoof in her mouth.

"Hey hey, if I wanted to hear a song, I'd go to the opera. Now just talk to me," Grogar made clear. Spinel was admittedly taken aback by the response, but didn't deny the request.

"Ok, have it your way. Basically, I got myself injected, wired up, code-warp'd, whatever by that wrenched White Diamond. And after all of that what do I get? Getting completely ditched!" Spinel summed up. Grogar didn't need to be told anymore to figure out the trouble Spinel went through, taking a glance over towards Tempest Shadow.

"And you want them gone, do you?" Grogar inquired.

"They're not taking me. Call in the army captain, they're going down," Spinel made clear. Grogar smiled, bringing his hoof up, but he had to draw the line on her command.

"I can handle it without my whole army behind me. But if you want to join me, then let me help you out," Grogar said, his hoof cutting a portal right by him. It took him a bit more effort than he had before, straining a bit to finish up cutting the portal opening.

"You doin more than get rid of that device on my cranium for me?" Spinel asked.

"Much more," Tempest answered. Once Grogar got the portal opened up, he turned back to Spinel. Before he could talk, Spinel peeked through the portal, seeing something on the other side, seeing that it was out of Equestria and back to Earth. This surely showed what power Grogar had.

"Absolutely. Just submit your loyalty to me, and I'll make sure the Harmony Gems are at your mercy."

"You mean the Crystal Gems," corrected Spinel.

"Sure, whatever works," Grogar said, though it honestly didn't matter to him which name they call themselves now. Spinel paused and thought about it some more, thinking what Tempest said earlier about Grogar. But at the end of the day, she'd rather be anywhere else except for the Diamond Authority's hands. So, she did a "regal" bow to Grogar.

"A pleasure to be with you," she said in a coo. Grogar smiled.

"Good lad. Now I want them gone, same as you. I'll gather them in one place … And I want you to join me in wiping them out. You think you can handle that, Spinel?" Grogar asked. Now it was Spinel's turn to give a sinister grin.

"Just leave those clods to me."

"Lovely. Let's prepare for their "homecoming"," Grogar said. Grogar and Spinel got themselves through the portal to discuss some matters, Tempest thinking about the situation herself before she too went back to Earth.

~~~~~~

Time ticked by, and still there was a lot to do. As if building up Little Homeworld wasn't enough to work with, the arrival of even more Corrupted Gems gave Nephrite far more work than she anticipated, not to mention the time to rebuilt the damages was quite a setback too throughout the day, them only getting a quarter way through the rebuilding by day's end. That, and they had to put some work on it aside to aid Beach City in cleaning up their snow, which was also time-consuming. With all of their work however, they were left just a bit too distracted to think about Spinel. The stretchy Gem had been gone practically all day long, doing who knows what, and after talking about what to do with her the group weren't checking in on her as much as they should. Even Pinkie Pie couldn't tell them there was so much to do …

If there was one person that wasn't doing that much work on her mind was Connie. Pinkie Pie's little cooking time with her did give her time to relax and take her mind off of things, but that was really all she got to do. With how much she had gone through already, she was lucky to even go into Ponyville without trouble. But she couldn't stay in there forever, and she was soon off at home and passing the time away by just looking into one of her Spirit Morph Saga books. She read it plenty of times, but it still kept her mind somewhat busy as nighttime approached. She went through at least half the book by the time she heard someone knock, and open her door.

"Connie?"

"Oh, hi mom," Connie simply said. She did notice that her mom had a drink for her, setting a warm glass of milk by her bed. Connie kinked the page she had, and then closed the book for another time.

"How're you holding up, sweetie?" Priyanka asked, being a while since she did ask about it since Connie got healed. Connie placed her hand on her head.

"Well, better that I don't have my horns anymore. Thanks for the milk," Connie replied, seeing it by her bed.

"I've read online that this can help you sleep better. I hope it does," Priyanka said, as Connie took a few sips of the warm milk. As Connie was drinking, she looked to her mother, who was herself still trying to help her own nerves herself. This became a bit more apparent when they both heard the curtains move, which got Priyanka looking to them almost in a jolt.

"Mom, easy, it's just the window," Connie said.

"Oh … yes. … I'm sorry, I-I've just been a bit more jumpy lately," Priyanka admitted, as Connie went and closed the window for a bit. Considering her own daughter was almost forced into a marriage with a tyrannical ram after being turned into some monster, Connie can't find a reason to blame her for being worried.

"Don't worry, I'm here now, and Grogar's been gone," Connie reassured her. But at the same time, Connie felt the guilt of Garnet come at her all over again, though she tried not to show it in front of her mom.

"I know, and I believe you. I believe you. …"

"You sound like you don't."

"Ok … I did promise I'd give you more freedom and all, let you go on these "adventures", but Connie … don't you think it might be too … I don't know ... dangerous?" Priyanka asked, trying not to simply say 'don't do this'. Connie paused and thought a little bit about it, but she did turn back to her worrying mother.

"Well, I can't promise it won't be dangerous again, but I can promise I'll always be safe and careful. I won't let what happened with Grogar happen to me again," Connie promised. It was a promise Priyanka simply had to hold on tight to, for her and Connie's sake. Priyanka got back up.

"I know you won't, sweetie," Priyanka said with a smile. After stating that, they both took a moment and looked outside to the falling snow. Even if dimly lit from the night sky, it still looked pretty for what it is. Priyanka walked over to the window, and opened it back up for Connie. Now, she would leave it at that, but that moment to look outside of Connie's bedroom gave Ms. Maheswaran a sight that left her stopping cold.

"Mom? What is it? Is dad back from work yet?" Connie asked. Curious, Connie too got up and moved over towards the window to see outside for a minute. Outside of the room, they got a bit of a view of the front road despite the night sky and snow. It was no blizzard by any means, but still a decent snowfall for anyone to be out in right now. But alas, some people were still outside at this time of night.

"Wait. … He's back!" Connie gasped.

"Connie, wait, don't go anywhere!" Priyanka tried to say, but Connie was already out of her room by the time she turned around. Priyanka was still right behind Connie by the time both of them got to the door. The figure himself needed time to gather himself before confronting them, being more than long enough since he saw Connie at all.

"... Steven? … STEVEN!!"

"Connie!" gasped Steven. Steven was back, at last. And Connie was the first to welcome him back home, giving him a hug almost immediately on seeing him. And while humbled still, he too returned the gesture with just as much relief. Priyanka just stayed over by the door, but she started to calm down realizing who it actually was.

"Steven, I'm so glad you're okay. … And you've grown," Connie realized, looking him over for a second, him now about as tall as he was during his Birthday Party (or at least his attempted height). Steven kinda noticed something similar to Connie too, both matching height now.

"Yeah, I guess I did. You grew too," said Steven. "And how's the rest?"

"They've been keeping themselves very busy. Believe me, there's a LOT to show you. I can't wait," Connie said. As nice as that might sound, now wasn't time for casual talk just yet, Steven had some things to say.

"Connie? Listen, I'm so sorry for running away on you, again. it's just -" before Steven could continue, Connie actually brought her hand up, Steven pausing just to see Connie's smile.

"Oh no you don't," Connie said, though it wasn't in a threatening tone, "You don't have to explain anything to me. … I missed you, Steven."

"... Yeah. Me too," Steven simply said. The two stood there for a moment or two, smiling to one another before Priyanka caught their attention again, walking out onto the front steps.

"You two want to come inside? It's much warmer in here than standing out in the cold," Priyanka offered, feeling her heart swell a bit on the reunion. Steven and Connie found the offer nice, and while Connie was ready for it, Steven had to decline.

"I'd love to, but there's something I have to do first," Steven said.

"Getting your eye healed at the fountain?" Connie inquired. All caught up, and Steven almost forgot about that.

"Well, yeah that, but -"

Before Steven could properly explain the situation to Connie and Priyanka, he took a look down the road a bit from Connie's place. Connie was outside, and so was he, but there was one more person starting to come in from the darkened snowfall. It was a bit of a blur at first, but even with his one eye, Steven Universe recognized the shape as she moved out into the light. Steven only recognized her more from the day he left Beach City, but when Connie followed his gaze to the figure she had a more prominent memory of this figure from her time in Grogar's prison.

Tempest Shadow.

As if Steven's return wasn't shocking enough. Priyanka, worried over the children, got out and stood in the way almost immediately, though Connie and Steven were a little indifferent with her. They didn't like her, but they didn't jump at her either.

"Sumu said this was the place," Tempest said to herself, glancing to the people in front of her. Tempest took one more step before she realized Steven was there too, making her retract her step.

"Who're you?" Priyanka asked. Tempest stepped at a reasonable distance.

"Evening. My name is Tempest Shadow, I'm only stopping by for a minute," Tempest said. Oddly formal and straight-forward, but eventually Connie and Steven moved over to Priyanka's side.

"Steven. You came back," Tempest said. Steven stepped forward, presenting a shield not in attack, but just in case she would hurt anyone there.

"Good to be back," said Steven, "Now what do you want Tempest?"

Tempest paused for a moment.

"... You look healthy Steven, since running away. And are you holding up well, Connie?" Tempest asked. Connie was a bit beside herself. Sure she was Grogar's commander, but Tempest wasn't exactly like the others in his ranks. At least from what she knew from Twilight. Still, she kept it safe.

"Why should you care, pony? Connie told me about you, you're one of that dead ram's commanders," Priyanka said, keeping Connie and Steven closer to her.

"I still am, and he's still alive my dear, so I'd be careful," Tempest warned. Not that she needed her troops behind her to deal with these three if she had to come to that.

"Alive … Grogar's still alive? HOW?" Connie gasped. Well so much for Steven giving her the news. Tempest took a step or two forward towards them.

"He may be muscle, but he has a few tricks too: he simply played dead while you two were there and snuck away after you all were gone. … But that's not the game I'm here to tell you about," Tempest made clear.

"Then what's the game this time?" asked Steven.

"And what're the rules?" added Connie.

"Grogar is planning his next attack on both the Diamond Authority and Harmony Gems tomorrow morning with a new recruit. And he's going to wipe them all out this time. The only rule you have to follow is to stay away. Don't let him catch you in his way again," Tempest explained. A bit of silence hung in the air on her explaining this. She did say she was with Grogar still, but yet she'd tell them all of this?

"You're just telling us this? But you're from Grogar's Army, why should you care what we do?" Steven asked. Tempest sighed.

"Because you two suffered enough under his hooves fighting him all the time. He's making you obsessed with him, and he'll gladly take you out with him if you keep fighting him. Besides … I'm not on the same stoop to torment children."

"Tempest. …"

"... Anyway, just stay out of the way. For your own safety," Tempest advised. The word "obsessed" seemed to stick in Connie's head, but Steven was more focused on the now. She was just about to go, but after a few more steps -

"NO! We can't just leave them to him!" Steven retorted.

"You're not listening -"

"I'm listening fine," insisted Steven, "Tempest, I know what you're saying, but what good is that if it means letting everyone else get killed by him? I have to do something."

Tempest should've expected this from him, and just huffed.

"Fine. Be like that," Tempest scoffed. She turned to go, and took a few steps before she paused and said one more thing to him.

"You wounded him a bit back at your final fight. He's weaker in the chest these days."

"Uh … thank you."

"Don't thank me. He'll kill you anyway."

Connie and Steven just stayed there, letting Tempest go off to meet with her comrades, as they all took a moment to get this information in. Steven and Connie both just stood there for a moment, but while Steven readied to continue going off, Connie didn't really move … and actually started going back to the house.

"What're you doing?" Steven asked.

"... What're WE doing?!" Connie exclaimed, spinning back to Steven.

"We're going after Grogar, we're going to beat him at his own game," insisted Steven. But Connie then started putting that into question.

"I know, but … why do we even have to play his game?"

"Because he's just ... just … AUGH!" Steven said, angry all over again at him.

"I know! So then why should he have any say over how we feel?" Connie insisted.

"He doesn't!" Steven retorted.

"But he's the reason we're out here right now. The reason I had my horns, the reason you ran away! … Steven ... he's the reason we fused."

The reality of the situation struck Steven like a tidal wave, the truth sinking into him fast as a gasp escaped him. The entire fight went through his head all over again, but now their reason for using Stevonnie for the fight was no longer just to get back Homeworld. It was just about Grogar.

"We are obsessed with him," Steven realized, in a quiet hush. A silence kept in the cold night air for a bit more, nothing but the sound of the breeze going across the road by them. Both of their training, both of their injuries, both of their anger. It all connected back to a demonic Ram who probably wanted them to focus so much on him. To give them a reason to lose sight of what was important …

"... Connie? I want to finish this. … But not for him."

Connie looked over to her mother too, who at this point already knew where this was going. She just nodded for a silent answer. Connie smiled, and walked over to Steven, hand out.

"For us."

~~~~~~

Dear friends: meet us at the northernmost fields outside of town. We'd really appreciate meeting with you all for the reunion there.

This message was what got much of the Harmony Gem team up and moving the next morning. The whole group as instructed was there for this little meeting on Earth, ponies and Gems alike with the exception of Star Quartz. The morning was a bit chilly according to some, the snow covering the open fields around them as they got themselves to the meeting point. Which in this case was the open fields, with a Warp Pad placed further along the path. Not exactly the same Warp Pad as the one in Little Homeworld, but still a Warp Pad all the same. However, it still would be a bit before the Diamonds would show up, leaving much of them still out in the open and waiting.
Including Twilight Sparkle.

"Sure you feel alright enough for this, Twilight?" Applejack asked her.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a little bit sore still," Twilight replied. Though admittedly she was mostly being modest about it, given her injuries were still fairly evident on her thanks to Grogar's army, most notable damage done on her wings. Still enough to fly, but only just enough.

"Your feathers are growing back nicely. You'll be back in full flying shape by next week at this rate," said Jade, gently holding her wing gently.

"Well mostly thanks to you guys," said Twilight.

ONLY NOW did they ask the one question though …

"What do you mean you don't know? Pinkie you're supposed to be watching Spinel," stated Pearl.

"I was watching her: I watched her ride on my back, I watched her make cupcakes with me and Connie, and … oh. Oops," Pinkie said, realizing her little mistake. Such an unstable Gem out on her own didn't suit well for many of them now.

"Who knows what trouble she's gotten into now? And with the Diamonds just showing up," said Jade worriedly. Fulgurite though went over to them.

"Well look on the bright side: she isn't here, so she isn't gonna freak out seeing the Diamonds. We were gonna leave her behind during this chat anyway," Fulgurite said.

"Oh, right, it was your idea to leave her with Pinkie wasn't it?" Flint pointed out.

"How's I supposed to know?!"

Luckily Fulgurite and Flint stopped butting heads when another one of the Mane Six got in between them in the form of Applejack, pushing them both away.

"Guys, stop! Look, we already got the Diamonds coming here any second, so can we not start a fight right now? We'll look for her later."

"Are you sure about that? I mean, if I remember her right, Spinel can be … what's the word? ... unpredictable," Pearl asked.

"So's Pinkie Pie, and she's okay," AJ pointed out, Pinkie Pie nodding and agreeing.

But both Twilight's status and Spinel's location would have to be put on hold for a minute, as they then all heard the Warp Pad go off not far ahead of them. The full warp needed a bit more time to handle, considering who and what it had to bring over. The silhouettes of four giants appeared from within the warp stream. Pink Diamond, Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, and White Diamond had finally showed themselves, all at once.

"The Diamonds are here!" announced Pink Diamond.

"Pink!" said Starlight. Pinkie Pie, Starlight, and Pink Diamond met with eachother first, as the other three Diamonds moved off the Warp Pad to meet with the other Gems and Ponies.

"Hello everyone," said Blue Diamond, as she went down on her knees to be on better level with the rest, "You're all looking better."

"Hey Blue. Yeah, we're getting by. How's Homeworld holding up now?" Amethyst asked casually.

"Much better since Grogar left it," remarked Yellow Diamond, "everything was so out of place: cleaning out the Kindergarten of animal fur, sanitizing Blue Diamond's bath -"

"AND cleaning my room of all those vines," cut in Pink. "They could've at least trimmed some of it while they took over."
Yellow felt a shiver run through her on that part, dealing with so much disarray and ... plants. Lots and lots of plants.

"You're lucky that's all they did," said Jasper. As they were standing there, a cold breeze went by them, making Emerald shiver a little.

"Nice to meet you all again, but uh ... why'd you want us to meet THIS far away?" Emerald asked, scratching his head about the invitation. This statement did give the Diamonds themselves a pause for thought.

"... Isn't this where you wanted us to be?" Blue Diamond asked, a little confused on the question.

"Uhh. We got your message saying you wanna meet here, see?" Starlight said, showing them the Gem message as they got it. The message they got was purely Gem writing, something the Diamonds could read fairly easily, Pink Diamond checking it first before the other three saw it themselves.

"I ... don't remember writing this," White Diamond stated.

"You … what?"

"Look, we got your message right here," Pink Diamond said, showing them their version of the message, this one rolled up in a scroll and everything. Twilight opened it up and checked it out herself. The ponies saw this weird, sure, but when the Gems saw this …

"Hang on a call … Starlight, can I see the Gem message?" Pearl asked. Starlight presented the Gem message with her magic again. Pearl got the scroll and compared it side to side with the Gem message. One written by Equestria, one written by Homeworld. And they said the exact. Same. Thing.

"... This is a set-up."

"You darn right it is."

*ZAP!* What a way to make an entrance. Before any of them could do anything, the Warp Pad nearby suddenly let off a gigantic explosion, making them all brace themselves. The debris flew everywhere, some of the group scattering while others managed to hold their own and block the falling pieces. But no doubt that this Warp Pad was destroyed, leaving them with no immediate escape as someone began moving out from the cloud of smoke.

"GROGAR?!" exclaimed ... pretty much everyone. Grogar, Bray, and Budgerite went along towards them, the gemstones of Ruby and Sapphire glistening in the morning light.

"I-I thought you were dead," gasped White. Grogar growled.

"Heh. And I thought you gave up. But life's full of disappointments, isn't it?" Grogar said, making his approach towards them. It hardly took them much time to arm up in his presence, the fighters more than ready to go and get him.

"I will rebuild my empire, and unless you want to be apart of my new necklace, then you better kneel before me. NOW."

"Come try us, goat, I dare you!" Rainbow Dash warned, hooves up and ready to get him. Grogar snarled.

"Goat, goat, GOAT, can't you pathetic mules -" Grogar readied to go forward, but the gemstones swayed a bit, hitting the scar on his chest. It was enough to make him stop and regather himself.

"What's with him now?" Twilight asked, suspicious. Grogar did eventually get himself together, but the hesitance did give Diopside a moment to see what was around his neck. It was enough to drive any Gem up a wall.

"You got Garnet around your neck … you sick freak!" Diopside hissed. Grogar chimed the gemstones.

"Do I need to go over the Harvesting horrors your kind did again? KNEEL!" Grogar demanded.

"We will NOT fall before you again. We're ready for you this time, and you will yield!" Yellow Diamond said.

…

"Well it's a good thing I brought a worthy challenger." Grogar huffed.

"Worthy challenger? You mean you're not fighting, coward?" Jasper questioned. While he'd love to get her for that remark, a nudge from Budgerite reminded Grogar on who was actually coming, getting him back to focus.

"I'm all worn out from your human doll hybrid already - the only one I KNOW can actually kill me. Fortunately for you," Grogar growled, straightening himself up and showing the gash in his chest in between Ruby and Sapphire.

"You mean human Gem hybrid," corrected Peridot.

"Gem, doll, whatever. He's not here. Which means she's going to tear your heads off."

"Who. Is. She?" questioned White Diamond. Before Grogar could answer, his ear flicked up at the sound of something spearing high up in the sky. It started out very small, but opened up into a decent-sized "black hole" high in the sky.

"Well here she comes now," said Grogar, before he actually joined his buddies in bolting off for some cover, leaving everyone else exposed.

"Is that a … warp tunnel?" wondered Twilight, unsure of what she was seeing exactly.

"Oh no," gulped White Diamond.

Then they saw it.

It warped a bit passing through its own tunnel, but it didn't take long for it to fully take its shape for all of them to see. The clouds swirled and moved aside to let the giant object slowly float in. They've seen objects like this before: the same large hourglass-shape body, the same three foldable spider-like legs near the base, which swirled open upon reaching the main surface, the same specialized gem-like piece at the very top of the construct. The accents were as black as night, the stone hot pink, and within the glass casing appeared to be a form of pink liquid. And it's size. It towered over every organism present for its arrival, so large and vast that it can wrap its legs around Brooding Hill with ease, and it dwarfed even the largest of Dragons.

"Holy smokes," gulped Peridot. The colossal titan of Injectors everywhere slowly started to move once again, taking dead aim directly at the entire group below, the legs stretching out across from the base, preparing to make their first contact with Earth. Each legs alone cut right into the ground, shaking up everything in sight, everyone covering up in case something were to fall on them. However, the injector didn't crush any of them, but it was extremely close to them no doubt, their backs over towards the sea, and the injector covering the countryside with its mere presence.

"Don't remember that being part of the deal," Grogar thought suspiciously.

"Oh no, this is bad," gulped Pink Diamond.

"Look! Up there!" called Amethyst. Everyone down below looked right on up the entirety of the structure, ALL the way to the very top of it. All the way up there, they all saw a teeny tiny silhouette of a Gem standing right up at the top, looking down at them all with a more than satisfied face. Or at least, she will be satisfied once this is all handled. Peridot and Diopside were the first to figure out who this was.

"Wait a minute. Is that …" Diopside couldn't get the answer out fast enough, as the figure gave a sinister grin before jumping right off of the top! A fall from that far, and that fast would kill anyone, but this Gem was not gonna be taken down like that. The whole machine echoed as the metal was struck by the Gem herself, her gemstone glistening in the light as that, along with the upside-down heart of hers, made everyone realize who this was.

"Spinel?"

"Well well well WELL!" said Spinel, her tone having all sorts of emotions mixed in it, "Look who decided to come out and see the BIG surprise. Let's just see what's the menagerie this time."
Spinel brought her hand up to her eye, which stretched and warped into what looked like a telescope, the end of said eye like that of a reptile as she checked out who showed up.

"We got the "Crystal Gems" here, the "Elements of Harmony" over there, and OH WAIT, we even got the O SO GREAT! DIAMOND AUTHORITY! We got ourselves a full house here, folks, isn't that. JUST. SWELL?"

"She's gone mad. Very, very mad," shuttered Emerald. Only a true madman could have such a crazed-sounding voice, mixing anger with so much energy, saying "swell" like she was ready to pull the trigger to any gun in range of her any second, despite the smile.

"It can't be," gasped Pink Diamond, taken aback a bit. Spinel heard her Diamond loud and clear, and just laughed, having ALL THE POWER to herself now, and not with those four.

"Oh but it can be. And it is! I got myself a brand new style -" she leaned back, and ran her hand through her hair. "- and a few new TOYS -" she then slammed her hand on the machine, again making it echo as her hand almost "splat" on it, "That's gonna put an end to your wonderful, "happily ever after" ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"Spinel where'd you even get that thing?! Put it away before you hurt somebody!" shouted Bismuth, but Spinel was not having any of it.

"I ain't putting away nothin! And for where I got it, let's just say someone should've kept a lock on their little toy box. Isn't that right, WHITE?!"

Everyone turn to the blushing White Diamond on that remark.

"... I uh … got bored one day, so I … made time?" White said humbly.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!" Yellow Diamond shouted. Pinkie actually felt heart broken.

"How could you?! After everything we did today together, you and me! WE SANG THE CUPCAKE SONG!" Pinkie screamed.

"Oh, oh really? Just like we were going to go out on a playdate in Las Pegasus, but wait a minute. That wasn't going to happen, because you were going to send me RIGHT BACK to that White head over there, and have me RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED!"
A vague idea, but it's still just enough to tell the majority of the Harmony Gems what was wrong here. Or at least how she came to that conclusion.

"Spinel! Clearly there's a loss in translation here. In case you haven't heard, I've already made peace with -"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'VE HEARD," Spinel scoffed, unamused again, and actually shocking White Diamond, "I got your little message that you decided to go all goodie-two-shoes and ditch everything, and leave everything you and all your diamond preppies did behind them. ON LOOP!!" Spinel's angry voice echoed across the entire field, showing just how angry she was in front of them all. And to everyone's shock, Spinel had the absolute nerve to bring her fist out, expand it to the size of White diamond's head, and slam the diamond right in the face! It was like getting a direct hit by a wrecking ball. The hit itself was so strong, and so sudden, White Diamond actually was knocked back onto her knees, shaking the ground. WHITE. DIAMOND. Was knocked off her own feet!

"I just loooove that part. When you actually think you can just walk away from all the bad things you've done and say everything's all hankie dory, like it never even HAPPENED AT ALL!"

"You're wrong! Spinel, get down from there, and we'll explain it to you!" Flint called.

"DON'T YOU EVEN TRY ME! Why in the universe's butt would THE DIAMONDS, the QUEEN CLOD OF CLODS, would want to actually enjoy their time on this NOWHERE PLANET, with a BUNCH. OF. NOBODIES?!"

And her first assault was a leap right off of the platform. Here she comes.

That's right, I've heard your story
over, and over again!

Upon landing on the ground, Spinel's elasticity became her working piece again, moving very much like a slinky, with Applejack trying to grab her but to no avail except face-planting the ground on a second jump, as she went straight for Pink Diamond herself first, her assault enough to actually knock Pink Diamond onto the ground, Spinel still doing a sort of jig to the beat of her own song.

Gee, it's swell to finally meet your
OTHER FRIENDS~

Unfortunately, now they had to fight her, but Spinel had got them more than well-matched. Her first assault was directed right to Bismuth first, who tried to use hammer arms to get her, only to keep missing as she wormed and swayed to avoid every hit like it was just a dance or something, very loose and boneless.

That's right, I've heard your story
DON'T really like how it ends

*flick* she popped up by Pearl next, and with a wink she actually flicked Pearl's honkin nose. God was that an annoyance from the past, and pure disrespect! Spinel bounced over to the big fighters Jasper and Amethyst next, and all she had to do to them was grab their hair, and swing them forward, giving them both blocked view by their own colored hair. Spinel was not giving them a chance to breathe, let alone fight back.

Gee, it's swell to finally meet your
OTHER FRIENDS~

Time for a more direct approach: extending her arms, she suddenly had a grip on both Pink Pearl and CG Pearl, yanking them close. Next thing the two knew, they were upside-down by Spinel, who wrapped herself up in one of the injector's legs, hands holding Pearl, feet holding Pink Pearl, both being shaken up as Spinel watched on.

What did she say about me?
What did she SAY?

Rainbow Dash and Lapis tried to get her from the sky, but Spinel bolted aside before they could fetch her, instead both hitting the Pearls mid air. As for Spinel, she targeted the ponies next, and suddenly Applejack, Rarity, and Starlight were being juggled around radically like a bunch of performance balls, Spinel again dancing to the beat in a sort of in-place prancing.

What did you do without me?
What did you DO?

She'd continue if not for Starlight shooting down a magic blast at point-blank range. Still, Spinel dodged it easily, making her stop her juggling and all three of them falling to the ground, but Spinel targeted someone else in the group, this time being Jasper, Flint and Bismuth, who she did a bit of a unique routine with all three of em on her arms. She made her arms all wavy, making all three unable to connect as she just stood there with such a grin on her face.

Did you play games without me?
what did you PLAY?

This time Yellow Diamond tried grabbing her, but Spinel moved too fast and her hand only slammed into the ground. Lucky for Flint, Jasper, and Bismuth Spinel yanked them aside (why, who knows). Spinel became completely flat next, slithering on the ground directly back to point A to Pink Diamond. With one main question as she sprung out.

Did you think all this time
that I wouldn't find out about YOU?!

It was enough to scare Pink Diamond outta her mind. If she did had any memories of Spinel still in her, then NO WAY was this that same one. Spinel went in for a full team blow now, all her limbs branching out all over the place and wrapping around every member of the Harmony Gem team. All she had to do was recoil herself, and all the team slammed together in one big pile.

OH, that's right I've heard your story
Over and over again!

Letting them go, the crazed elastic Gem got a grip on the edge of her injector, and landed right back where she started her assault. Right back at square one, only one it was her who was standing and them down on the floor.

Gee, it's swell to finally meet your
OTHER FRIENDS~

"Holy oak, you're right Grogar. She's taking them down," said Budgerite in absolute amazement. Spinel wasn't even trying by the look of it.

"YEAH, down and out," agreed Bray.

"Of course she is. So satisfying. C'mon lads, let's get a front row seat," Grogar snickered, really enjoying himself and gutsy enough to actually walk out. Very risky, but with Spinel doing everything for him, they were too busy anyway. He and his comrades sat down by the injector, getting a show. As for the group, they did get themselves shaken off from all of that, but they can tell this challenger wasn't any normal Gem fight like before - at least THEY gave them some opening!

"She's running circles around us," said Flint.

"Believe me, we can see that. Any clue how to stop her?" Rainbow Dash asked. As they were trying to recover, White Diamond was still left in a bit of a troubled state, and shocked still by the fact Spinel struck her at all.

"I … it really is her," White Diamond said, "I can't believe it …"

"Believe what? White, Pink, who even is this Spinel?!" Yellow Diamond asked.

Spinel was TRIGGERED. And now she was more than ready to kill. So she didn't even say ANYTHING about her. To the point of twitching she was so angry, she leaped up and, throwing Pink Diamond onto her, landed right on top of them both.

Who am I? WHO AM I?!
WHAT'RE YOU EVEN SAYING?!

Spinel marched forward with them both, until Pink Diamond felt her back press against White Diamond's chest. Spinel literally was on toe with Pink AND White at the same time, and her hammering wasn't even close to being done.

I'm the loser of the game you
didn't know you were playing!

But then the playing field got even harder, as Spinel then pulled out something from the confines of her gemstone. Something that, for the Harmony Gems' worry and Grogar' pleasure, turned the tide entirely into her favor.

Let's play another game
this time, I get to WIN!

A object. A handle, you can say. Similar color to that of Spinel herself. She tossed it a bit before getting a good grip on it. On this, the object started right up right in front of them, revealing what this really was. A Gem weapon. But not just any Gem weapon, not even close. a long, dark magenta pole extended from the grip with a gemstone-like object on its tip. From there, two beams of pink energy extended from either side of the "faux" gemstone, with one of the beams coalescing into a short, v-cut blade, and the other becoming much longer and scythe-shaped. A Gem Scythe!
And this scythe was all powered up, energy sparking like electricity. OH Spinel was ready for cutting up some snitches.

LIVES ON THE LINE!
WINNER TAKES ALL!
READY OR NOT!
LET'S BEGIN!

ATTACK! And Spinel's first target was the whole group right behind her, rapidly spinning like one of those throwing stars with the scythe nothing but a blur. Everyone was quickly forced to scatter away, Spinel still spinning and slicing anything that was close. Gem weapon or not, NOONE wanted to get sliced! Any none Gems that got close she just kicked or punched aside with ease, making it almost impossible to get close without either or.

OH, that's right, I've heard the story
Over and over again!
Gee it's swell to finally beat your
OTHER FRIENDS!~

This was getting far too out of hand. Spinel then went for a final blow: charging forward to make the team split, her feet hooked on one of the legs of the injector, making her swing all the way back around (and nearly striking Grogar in process) and rushed passed them, again narrowly missing them. But the momentum swung her right at White Diamond, wrapping around her until her body was right at the top, ready to release.

That's right, I've heard your story
DON'T really like how it ends
Gee it's swell to finally beat your other ...

Part of the Gem team started for her, and it would've been the rest of Bismuth didn't keep them back first.

Other ...

Spinel then released.

OTHER … friends~

*POOF*

The count: Pearl. Amethyst. Jasper. Peridot. Lapis Lazuli. Pink Diamond. ALL OF THEM were struck down at once, Spinel's scythe slicing them all right in half, each and every one, yet somehow avoiding the gemstones of each one of them.

"HOLY SSSSSHHHHE GOT THEM ALL IN ONE HIT!" shrieked Starlight. It was a major shock, Spinel laughing maniacally at this setback she had just created, Grogar actually applauding her for her efforts. But that didn't stop them by a long shot.

"HEY, we're still here, spaghetti arms!" shouted Rainbow Dash, the ponies making a circle so Spinel and Grogar won't reach the fallen Gemstones. They weren't sure what Spinel will do if she reached them, but they knew what Grogar will do and weren't having it.

"Did I hit a nerve, pony?~" Spinel joked. She then made her bolt for them, scythe at the ready, but unlike before, Starlight, Rarity, and Twilight all at once got their aura out and caught her midflight. Just in time.

"Easy Spinny," called Grogar, "You go and play with your own toys, I'll take it from here."
And to prove it, his horns lit up and shot all three unicorns at once, getting Spinel out of the catch with ease.

"I thought you said you're too worn out to fight," questioned Blue Diamond coldly. Grogar laughed.

"To fight ALL OF YOU, sure, but looks like the field's more even'd out. The plan's working like a charm if I do say so myself," Grogar said, ready to charge in and get the fight started. Everyone else armed up and readied for a double-battle between Spinel and Grogar, but while the ram got it all handled and figured out, Spinel had different ideas, seeing some of them scared over their friends.

"Awww, you miss your friends already? Don't worry. YOU'RE RIGHT BEHIND THEM!" shouted Spinel.

Time for the true surprise: Spinel warped her hand, stretching and curling it into what looked like a blowhorn, and didn't hesitate to give it a good hard blow. The horn bellowed across the countryside, stretching for miles around the empty plains, and the great injector heard the ringing loud and clear. Triggering from the noise, the injector's bottom piece started to extend downward into a sharpened drill, making Bray and Budgerite go and bolt for it. The drill, glowing the same hot pink liquid, The ground gave way with ease, sizzling and blowing smoke, as the drill injected into the ground. The process began.

"BOOM! Now you'll get what's coming to ya," Spinel said wickedly.

"Get what? A new Gem outta the ground?" asked Applejack. However, the Gem Injector nearby kinda answered the effect for them, as some of the pink liquid actually seeped out of the drill like a leaky faucet, which happened tp splash nearby Budgerite and Bray. Budgerite was fine, but Bray got his tail in the stuff.

"... Yow … oh yow. Yow. YEEEEEOOOOWWW!" Bray shrieked, galloping and bucking in panic as his tail felt like it was on fire. Whatever the liquid was, it was VERY painful.

"Wow, you really don't know anything, do you? Soon as that thing's empty of all that poison, there'll be NOTHING of your precious, happy Little Homeworld LEFT. This hunk of rock's gonna crumble away, and ALL OF YA are goin with it!" Spinel explained, her smile and eyes saying how much she enjoyed all of this. So THAT was the real revenge plan she had in mind, the others looking to the gigantic Gem Drill.

"WHAT?!," Grogar roared.

"Not if we can help it: get that thing out of the ground, now!" Twilight shouted, galloping over to the Gem Drill and starting a magic beam on one of the legs. Rarity and Starlight followed the lead, rushing to each leg and used their magic to pull as much as they could.

"Oh no you don't!" Spinel shouted, leaping up to slice them all into ribbons with the Gem Scythe, only for something to suddenly slam into her, knocking her weapon far away, and digging his teeth into her and dragging her into the ground. Immediately she reeled up and kicked her attacker off, only to see who it actually was: Grogar!

"You traitorous excuse for a predator!"

"Traitor? Hold on, I'm on YOUR side, you wanted them dead don't ya?!"

"I'm taking over the world, not destroying it!" Grogar yelled, before charging her again. As before, Spinel dodged each and every attack Grogar tried at her, which was a bit … odd for the Gems to see. Ironic almost.

"Should we do something about them?" asked Diopside.

"One crisis at a time, Dio. Come on, help em getting that drill out," instructed Bismuth, already getting over to the base of the drill to try and make it get out, her hand turning into a crowbar. At least they can say Grogar was distracted right now and won't bother them. So the remaining Gems joined the Ponies in trying to get the Gem Drill out of the ground, the Gems at the actual base. This piece was extremely heavy, and at first none of their efforts were remotely moving this huge chunk of metal, everyone trying their absolute hardest to even budge the thing. But they did eventually got some extra help, feeling the entire thing become easier to lift thanks to Yellow, Blue, and White coming in to lift the drill at the base.

"We can handle this," said Blue, "Go get your friends before Grogar does."
The Gems and Ponies looked back towards the others, seeing the two fighting with eachother for a bit more. They have to get them quick, because the liquid seeping from the drill was dangerously close to the gemstones on the ground.

"Holy hay!" Rainbow gasped, before quickly flying in. She and Fulgurite were quick to go in and snatch up all of the gemstones off of the ground, Rainbow barely saving Pink Diamond from falling in by snatching both with her muzzle.

"Got em!" Rainbow managed to say through a closed muzzle, with Amethyst and Lapis in her front hooves.

"Me too," said Fulgurite, holding Amethyst, Peridot, Pearl, and Jasper in her arms. With their tussle, neither Grogar nor Spinel actually noticed what was actually going on, even while the ground was shaking from the force used by the diamonds to move the mentioned drill. At one point, Spinel in all of her jumping and dodging actually (and this was ridiculous) literally tripped over her own foot. This made her stumble, and Grogar FINALLY got her pinned down.

"What're you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing - getting rid of some worn out toys," Grogar snarled, ready to tear Spinel to pieces.

"B-But I thought you wanted me! You said we're friends! Right?" Spinel pleaded, trying to make sense of it. Grogar though could care less, his hoof pushing her head down and almost flattening it.

"Don't you put words in my mouth, lad, I never said that! I just wanted someone to kill the Gems for me without me getting killed again. And now that you did it, I don't need you anymore."

"You … you just wanted to use me? TEMPEST LIED TO ME! You don't want to keep me alive even if I'm super rare!" Spinel gasped in shock. Grogar laughed.

"Oh lord, you're as bad as Steven! Of course she lied to you! Did you honestly think that a warlord like me would want a "playmate"? I got Bray and Budgerite for that," Grogar said, pointing to the two nearby, who by this point Bray finally calmed down with his tail in a crisp. Spinel's face turned from realization to anger in three seconds flat, killer look to Grogar but still had tears.

"And besides, as rare as you are, loyalty and worth is a bit more important. And thanks to that -" Grogar pointed to the Injector, which the Diamonds were still trying their hardest to budge "- I don't think it's worth it to have a toy like you with me."

Spinel got her strength up, and kicked Grogar off of her, and quickly got him pinned down fast, VERY angry.

"OH NO YA DON'T! You think it's gonna be that easy to get rid of me, then YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!" Spinel shouted. Grogar then began to get himself beaten down, and while Budgerite and Bray were freaking out about it, Spinel's punching actually didn't last very long as Grogar finally got one of her fists locked in his teeth. Even though she was elastic, Grogar made sure she wasn't moving anywhere and bit by bit forced her back on the ground, THIS time making sure her arms and legs were pinned down, but she still managed to give Grogar a strong headbutt, just enough to make him get off of her, and her springing up to her feet after unraveling herself. Grogar got up and prepared himself.

"If you were just a bit more obedient, I would've liked you as my captain. Too bad it had to end this way."
Not like it would matter anyway. Spinel saw Grogar make a mighty leap right for her, horns at the ready -

*BAM!* "OOF!"

The moment was almost slow motion. Spinel was about to jump back, but as Grogar was so close to tearing her to pieces, something from out of nowhere just met Grogar right in the head. Something very fast, rounded like a disk, and shaded a very peculiar look of … pink. Spinel didn't know where it could've came from, no Gem out that could match it, or any pony capable of bringing that up. Grogar was launched a good twenty feet, slamming over and over again on the ground before stopping. Everyone around watched the object fly high into the air, making its B-line back to its owner.

"What just happened?" Grogar grumbled, still seeing stars from such a blindsided hit.

"I happened."

There was the owner, coming in from the direction of Beach City, standing tall once again. There was no mistaking this being this time, and now no blind eye, or horns remained on her anywhere. Whatever reminder to her of Grogar's control were now removed, and she wasn't wavering.

"STEVONNIE!" gasped her friends.

"S-Stevonnie?! She's back?!" gasped Bray.

"I thought they ran off!" added Budgerite, holding Bray in fear.

"Huh? Who?" Spinel wondered. The ONLY one who wasn't scared or confused from the enemy side was confident Grogar. The scars might be gone, but Grogar still had his trump card around his neck, and at least somewhat knew how to handle Stevonnie.

"This is our home, Grogar, and if you're not going to respect it, that means you have to pack up, and go," Stevonnie said boldly. Grogar snorted.

"PAH! This again?" Grogar huffed, amused this was done twice on him, "So how you wanna handle it now? Is this gonna end in another bloodbath again?"

Stevonnie smirked, and much to everyone's confusion, actually tossed the shield aside.

"Nope. Don't have to. I can get you to leave, I just don't have to beat you up to do it," Stevonnie said, almost smugly. Grogar blinked, and as Stevonnie expected him to, started laughing hysterically.

"So it's back to square one for you. So tell me then "hero", if you're not here to fight, then what business do you have here?" Grogar questioned. Stevonnie took a glance down to Grogar's neck, seeing Ruby and Sapphire glistening in the dim light. The smugness was replaced by seriousness, and Stevonnie took a step forward.

"I'm here to look you in the eye, and tell you that you have no power over us. We will no longer be scared of you."

Grogar decided to test that. And in a terrifying roar, charged forward, hooves kicking up the dying dirt, eyes red and glowing in a glare. Many of her friends suddenly got alarmed, and readied to rush forward to help Stevonnie, who actually suddenly felt a flash of fear run through her in Grogar's charge. THAT look though was all Grogar needed, and he halted his fake charge on the spot.

"HA! You sure look scared to me," Grogar growled, grinning in satisfaction on seeing Stevonnie's jump. Stevonnie did feel afraid rather quickly, knowing well both what he can do, and what he had done to both Steven and Connie. But Ruby and Sapphire were there too, and with how much she had done, Stevonnie took a deep calming breath.

"Well … I'm not. I'm not scared of you Grogar, and I'll never be scared of you again."

"Is that right? … Well maybe YOU SHOULD BE!"

And now for an ACTUAL charge at them, Grogar roaring and charging forward again. Stevonnie did jump out of the ram's way, only to have to dodge again when Grogar blasted them with one of his electrical charges, burning her feet almost. Spinel wasn't sure exactly what the beef was between Grogar and Stevonnie, but she did begin to quietly tip-toe away as best she could. One step after another. …

"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" Grogar snapped, jumping at Spinel. Spinel freaked out on being spotted, getting zapped by the ram. The electricity shot through her and while it would've been enough for a normal gem to poof, her elasticity made it like she was rubber, making her shake but still keep together. It still hurt a lot though, and the stinging gave Grogar time to actually grab her, and try to strike Stevonnie with her.

"Seriously?" Stevonnie thought. She dodged a few of the hits, but each time she did meant Spinel was getting hurt from being used (literally) as a hammer several times, her yelping "OW" with each hit on the ground. After the hammering, Grogar swung her in a circle, tossing her like a Hammer Throw ball. This again missed, but it swung Spinel right at her own injector, splatting right on one of its legs before peeling off and plopping onto the ground in a daze.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, going over to her.

"Besides being abused, and betrayed. Peachy," she grumbled, before laying down on the ground. Stevonnie looked concerned for Spinel as well, but this only gave Grogar an opening for a dirty trick: scraping the dirt up and tossing it at her eyes. No more honorable fighting. With Stevonnie blinded, Grogar jumped her.

"Stevonnie!" gasped Blue Diamond.

"We're on it big B, just keep lifting! metal B, hold these," Fulgurite said, giving the gemstones to Bismuth, electricity flying off of her hair as she readied to charge for the fight. As the fight was going on though, Stevonnie did see Fulgurite about to run into the battle, Fulgurite already running towards them both and knocking Grogar off quick. That may be good, but Stevonnie got her out of the way quick.

"Stevonnie!"

"This is my fight, Fulgurite, just focus on the injector," said Stevonnie. And just in time for another blast, this time a green bomb, to be launched at them. Stevonnie dodged it just fine, but turned out the bomb wasn't aimed at her.

*BOOM!*

"GAAHH!" Yellow Diamond suddenly collapsed when the bomb blew up right at her foot, which made the injector itself suddenly drop down, digging deeper into the ground below and cracking the entire area. Everyone had to keep balance while avoiding the going cracks in the earth, branching out all over the place like cracks in an icy lake, and even more fatal as the pink liquid quickly filled in each one, giving off a ominous glow around all of them.

"WHOA! Hold on," said Rainbow, her and Fluttershy quickly flying up behind her and pushing her back up and balanced. Yellow Diamond had to really put herself into it, lifting as hard as she could to regain herself.

"Don't you fall on us now!" Rainbow added, groaning a little to keep Yellow Diamond up.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Yellow replied, adding some extra strength that actually, combined with the other two, started to force the drill piece out of the ground again. As they were focusing on the drill, Stevonnie and Grogar were still in the middle of their tussle, though it was mainly Grogar attacking and Stevonnie defending whenever she could, not willing to put up a punch or kick, and using the shield as it was supposed to rather than a throwing disk. She did push Grogar back with it rather roughly, but that was as far as she did. Besides, her goal wasn't just to beat up Grogar anyway. Fulgurite was keeping up the fighting too, only more forcefully. This also meant though she was getting hurt more than Stevonnie, being launched back several times until, finally, Flint and Diopside grabbed hold of her to keep her back.

"Hey, HEY!"

"It'll be fine. Believe in Stevonnie," said Diopside.

"Fight you coward!" Grogar mocked, his hooves slamming over and over again into the shield at one point, making it crack up over and over again. Stevonnie wasn't going to listen though, and kept her more level head, even smirking at him much to his anger. After another pushback from her shield, Stevonnie removed her shield and finally charged at Grogar first. The ram was more than happy to rush at her, leaping to her like a enraged lion … and Stevonnie slide underneath him last second, making Grogar stumble upon landing.

"Lucky cheek. You really think -" Grogar would mock her further by chiming Ruby and Sapphire around his neck, but as he tried doing that, he realized one little detail that made him stop and check himself and the ground around him.
Only to find Stevonnie holding Ruby and Sapphire in her hands, getting rid of the string and leaving only the blue and red gemstones. Stevonnie began to feel tears come up freely as she saw them both like this. Garnet didn't deserve this.

"Garnet? I'm so sorry for what happened. Please come back. I'm here! I love you!" Stevonnie held them both close to her.

Out of all the surprises today, this one had to take the top spot: as Stevonnie held them close to her, as if it was a response to her words, started to slowly come to life and glowed bright. Stevonnie's own body too started to glow a bit more. They all knew what this could mean. The whole world seemed to pause briefly, seeing Stevonnie's glowing body morph away slowly into a vibrant fiery blaze, stretching taller and stronger than ever. A full head of fire branched out from its, strong arms stretched out. But just before it could be complete ...

"NOOO!"

Interference. Grogar, refusing to have THAT kind of advantage on him, leaped out of nowhere and slammed down on top of this figure in a huge explosion.

"Stevonnie!!" Diopside shrieked.

"Wait … I don't think so," said Flint.

…

"... Garnet. … Garnet, I'm so sorry for what happened, I never meant to take it that far. … I didn't want to hurt you. Can you forgive me? ...

"Oh Steven. Connie. We already love you."

…

"AAAAAWWWWWW YEAH! You better step off!"

And eureka, there it was, launching Grogar off of it, the ram slamming into the ground nearby. A new fusion, never seen before to any of those still standing there in awe. A very tall, humanoid figure stood tall and bold, standing easily half the height of Blue or Yellow Diamond. The skin was as bright as the sun, a valiant bright orange with patches of dark and normal orange within it. Her very head itself was a grand inferno: no details like a nose or ears, but a prominent hairstyle to mirror a campfire, tied into a ponytail. Since this was a fusion too, two sets of arms were present: a stronger, larger upper pair and a smaller, slimmer lower pair.
Steven's signature star shirt and blue pants were on the body, evident of a dull blue and dull red inner pocket peeking out from the rims of the shorts, with Garnet's gloves on the smaller lower arms, and dark red shades.

"Relax, my dudes," she said, giving a peace sign with one of her smaller hands, "Your rocking pal Sunstonnie is holding it down."

"... YOU'RE ALLLIIIIVVVVEEE?!?!" screamed Grogar, his screeching voice echoing all across the plains. He may not know too much about Gems, most gained from Sumu and Budgerite, but THIS is only supposed to work with alive Gems, not one alive and two dead! Spinel nearby was almost speechless seeing this fusion standing in front of her.

"U-Unbelievable," she muttered. Sunstonnie heard her pretty well though, but rather than be upset, she gave Spinel a smile and lifted up her shades. One would expect multiple eyes, but instead there was still only three of them, one eye in the middle, with two side-by-side with the pupils somewhat fused together.

"Oh, you better believe it, friend," Sunstonnie said with a smile and a wink.

"F-Friend? … OKAY," Spinel simply said, astounded Sunstonnie would even say that. Sunstonnie smiled and patted her head, giving Spinel a shiver but still starry-eyed all the same. No member of the Diamond Authority would just do this and NOT get apprehended for it. Even the Diamonds though weren't doing anything, taking a bit to take in what they were seeing as they tried keeping the drill in the injector.

"They're not jumping at her?" Spinel thought. As Bray and Budgerite were getting Grogar back from his shock, the others went over to her.

"Sunstonnie, what're we gonna do? Grogar's NOT gonna listen, and that injector's gonna tear open this place," Twilight said, needing SOMEONE to figure out.

"If he won't listen, we'll make him listen," said Sunstonnie.

"And HOW are we gonna do that?" Rainbow Dash asked. Sunstonnie took a glance up to the giant injector first. Even if the diamonds kept the drill part up, the actual liquid was still coming out bit by bit, the diamonds finding it a little hard to keep it up there with the stinging. Blue Diamond looked, seeing that the injector fluid was overflowing from the drill itself! Sunstonnie, adjusting her shades briefly, already began to see what was about to happen.

"They can't hold it!" gasped Fluttershy.

"I'm way ahead of ya. Charging in!" Sunstonnie said, starting to make her way right over towards them, not showing any fear.

"White, what did you put in this thing?!" Yellow Diamond asked, cringing from the liquid getting on her hands. White Diamond didn't answer, almost crying from how much this stuff stung her. It was like holding a boiling pot of water by this point. Sunstonnie got to them just in time, summoning a GIGANTIC shield courtesy of Steven Universe, and in one motion, she managed to get enough strength to push White, Blue, and Yellow out of the way in one motion. And just in time before the injector overflowed completely, and the drill jabbing right back into the ground, adding more devastation to the plains like an earthquake.

"Thank you, Sunstonnie," White Diamond muttered.

"All in a day's work," replied Sunstonnie.

"It's too dangerous here. Rainbow, Fulgurite, get them out of here and fast! I don't care where, just NOT here," Flint instructed.

"Got it, chief," Fulgurite said, getting the gemstones back. And they had to be fast, as the ground kept opening up all over the place, Rainbow Dash and Fulgurite having to dodge and weave before racing off to safety. As for the injector itself, the liquid within the machine was starting to slow down a little bit, but a TON of it was still in the ground, that liquid flowing through the cracks like water in a fast-flowing river.

"King, we gotta go before we get kabob'd! Please?!" Bray pleaded, freaking out some more as he almost got covered in the stuff thanks to the overflow. Grogar was not up for it though.

"If you wanna leave, then go, but I'm NOT going away empty hoofed," Grogar growled.

"... Good enough for me! Let's hit it!" Budgerite decided, hopping up onto Bray and the donkey started galloping away. Grogar, while annoyed all the same, almost couldn't blame them for wanting to stay alive. Underline almost. One of these cracks was eerily close to a backwards-walking Spinel, and suddenly she lost her footing right at the edge.

"Gravity, no - AAAHHHhhhhh-huh?"

She thought that would be it for her, but Sunstonnie was NOT going to let that happen, and in a slide already grabbed her by the foot. Firm grip, yet gentle.

"I got you, buddy," Sunstonnie said. Again, an act of kindness to a Gem who caused this to happen in the first place. Spinel couldn't believe it. Sunstonnie lifted her out, Spinel holding onto her arm like a koala and not letting go, starry-eyed again.

"You're helping me … again? Even after I was so cruel?"

"No one deserve to get stuck in all of that, and you don't need to be bullied," Sunstonnie said, adding some playfulness to her statement by fluffing Spinel's hair. Such a ray of sunshine. Then Sunstonnie too remembered Grogar nearby, who himself was trying to keep from getting touched by the liquid.

"But always remember kids, if you ever have to deal with a bully, be sure to tell an adult," Sunstonnie said to the audience.

"Forget the bully Sunstonnie, let's focus on the doomsday device here!" Emerald shouted. Spinel was placed down by the others, safe and sound for now, and Sunstonnie saw the challenge that laid in front of her.

"Kids: don't try this at home. BUNGACOWA!" Sunstonnie, without any fear, leaped right up into the sky and right to the injector itself. Once she got onto it, she got her own specialize gem weapons out to give her a hand. Well "weapon" might not be right: it was Garnet's gloves with a set of bright pink suction cups attached to them, but they were just her ticket to start climbing up the giant injector. Grogar snarled at such a display, but as he looked around, one more item presented itself to him. He considered his options a little bit, and in the end just snouted.

"Screw ruling this planet, they're dying tonight!" Grogar decided, rushing for the object. Spinel though saw it just beforehand, and snatched it away.

"Give me that!" Grogar demanded.

"Sorry, my mind's in a weird place right now," Spinel admitted, rubbing the back of her head.

"Then let me clear it for ya," Grogar snarled, charging for her. Spinel readied to jump, but the injector's fluid and drilling shook up the ground again, making her hesitate briefly, and giving Grogar the chance to yank the weapon out of Spinel's hands.

Which he didn't hesitate to slice her clean in two! Half of her head, shoulder and arm slid slightly to reveal the light within Spinel just before she poofed altogether, catching their attention.

"Spinel!" shouted Pinkie Pie. The luckiest for Spinel that Grogar wasn't wasting anymore time in shattering her, and would rather go for the gold instead. With the Gem scythe locked in his teeth, he made his mad run right for Sunstonnie, who by this point was still climbing up the glass surface of the injector.

"You stay away from them!" Flint demanded, before immediately drawing out his pistol and began firing at him to make him stop. However, Grogar proved just capable enough to dodge the shots, and even spun around to use the Gem scythe to slice one shot in two, it exploding beyond him.

"Ok, seriously, how's this old guy STILL GOT IT?!" Emerald had to ask. That question became even more needed an answer to, when Grogar started to climb the injector himself, starting from one of its legs and then to the base in just two mountain goat leaps.

"Sunstonnie! Look out!" Jade shouted, trying to reach her. But the fusion was too far up to hear them properly. Unfortunate for her, as Grogar needed a few more bolts up the glass to be on the same level as her. Sunstonnie only had time to look back and see him.
One slice for Ruby, one slice for Sapphire, and one more for Steven. The Gem Scythe did its job, and in a huge cloud of this new fusion, Steven and Connie fell right out of the sky, with Ruby and Sapphire's gemstones flying into the air nearby. The fall took a long time, but lucky for them Twilight was quick to jump in, using her magic to catch all of them before they could hit the ground. As for Grogar, he landed very hard on one of the injector's legs, Gem Scythe locked in his teeth. Upon landing, he tossed the Scythe aside.

"First Stevonnie kills me. Now Sunstonnie defies me. Have you ever tried fighting me WITHOUT your pathetic trump cards?"

"You're one to talk!" Yellow Diamond snapped, trying to attack him, only for the ground to shutter once again, making her aim off and shooting the injector's glass by mistake.

"Yellow, stop! Don't attack him," Steven called.

"WHAT? WHY NOT?!"

"Because he knows I can kill you all right now, Diamond. Or did you forget the festival?" Grogar answered. As angry as Yellow Diamond was, she knew he was right about defeating her, at the least. Then the ram looked to Steven.

"We're all here for you, Steven," Connie quietly said. Steven nodded, and managed to get back up, as Grogar closed in. Grogar snarled good and loud, hoof scraping the ground as he was just about to rush in for them, but he paused to check on the menagerie as Spinel put it.

"I don't get it: Why are you fighting so much for literal objects?"

"I'm going to keep giving you the same answer Grogar: because they're my friends. My family, and I love all of them. I'm not going to watch my family die because of you, and nothing's going to change that," Steven made clear. Grogar had enough.

"I didn't want to play this card yet, my boy. But you left me no choice. … Steven. You're half Human, right? Some self-aware ape with Gem components in him?"

"Okay, I am, that has nothing to do with this. Why should that matter?"

"OH OF COURSE IT MATTERS!" Grogar roared, finally having enough of this, "What you have there are inorganic, mechanical weapons and tools that out-live ALL LIFE elsewhere on this hunk of rock! That spike-haired runt is over five-thousand years old! And the diamonds there lived well over that fifty fold! They. Will. Out-live you and everything else, and by the time you're too old to even breathe they won't look no older than what they are now!"
The more Grogar kept shouting about this, the more Steven's mind was taking in this information. Steven knew they lived for a very long time, that's not exactly a secret, but that didn't prepare him for what he said next.

"And you know what else? YOU are going to do the exact same thing to your girlfriend right there!" Grogar shouted, pointing a hoof at Connie, "Gems lived for thousands of years, how long do Humans live? Like what ninty years? A hundred at best? That hardly a blink of an eye compared to those dolls!"

"Don't listen to him Steven, he's just trying to drive you away again!" Twilight shouted. A bit funny she would say something.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MUZZLE! But you know, kinda funny that you're gonna do the same thing too. You're an Alicorn, your friends are made up of Unicorns, Pegasus, and ponies."

"They're still my friends!"

"Friendship can't fix that! You may be her student, but even Celestia didn't make any close friends because she knew well they'd turn to dust before she could even grow a wrinkle. Try and make a friendship lesson out of THAT."
Twilight actually stepped back from such information, backing up to her friends as well before the ram turned to them all, the reflection in his eyes showing Steven and Twilight.

"You seem to always have something to put me down, so tell me then: when you're up by that Brooding Hill, looking out onto some abandoned beach, knowing all the friends you knew there are long gone without you, what're you gonna do then?"

*creeeeek*

"Oh no … now you've done it," gulped Bismuth.

Rather than remark, Grogar turned around on hearing that creaking noise, everyone looking up towards the Injector itself. The abuse it gained from the Diamond interference, and damage onto its leg was more than the gigantic structure could take. Slowly, the groaning sounds of metal aching rang across the now silent field of cracked earth and pink liquid. The injector was moving. Leaning ever so slowly, more and more pressure building on its injured leg. Then came the inevitable ...

*crack*

"Oh sweet Luna - somepony grab Spinel and HIGH-TAIL IT!" Applejack called.

The metal leg Grogar landed on moments before finally succumbed to the pressure, and snapped off like a twig, broken metal flying off and near the others as they all had to scatter away from the falling structure. They didn't get too far away though when they all felt the gigantic collapsing of the injector striking the ground. The earth shook, and many chunks of the ground overflowed with the gigantic wave of liquid, wiping away any and all life in its way before pouring into the cracks of the earth.
In this dash to try and get away, Grogar began to get his own comeuppance as the heavy metal flew near him. He jumped left and right, but his back hoof just got itself slipped right in the pink liquid, searing the bottom of his hoof and making him collapse in a roar.

"That'll teach him. Get to high ground!" ordered Flint. Many of them had no problem in getting themselves moving, but the roar from Grogar made Steven stop and look back at him. He could see Grogar struggling amongst the devastation around him, more cracks forming in the earth. His injured hoof made it too hard for him to get a proper footing. One flow of this pink liquid created a crack right behind the ram, and next thing he knew he was left hanging on the ledge.

"Steven, what're you waiting for?!" shouted Starlight Glimmer.

"... This won't teach him."

And Steven ran, not towards his friends this time. But this time towards Grogar of all things! The ram tried everything to keep from falling into the flowing river below, but his hooves couldn't get a grip, and not even his teeth gave him enough to hold onto. The hot steam from the flowing pink magma below made it hard to breathe for him, him starting to cough and strain, sliding more and more off of the edge.

And Steven Universe caught him just as he lost his grip. It was a last second grab he just managed to pull off. Grogar thought that would be the end of it, but feeling Steven's hands grab hold of Grogar's front hoof left him … confused. Him and almost everyone else there. Getting his grip handled a bit stronger, Steven steadily pulled Grogar right out of what would be his grave, tossing him out of danger. Grogar, straining from the fumes in his throat and the severe burn on the bottom of his back hoof, just laid there at first trying to catch his breath. Steven didn't attack him, and simply stood there. Waiting.

"Why did you save me? … You should've let me fall," Grogar managed to say. Gathering his strength, Grogar pulled himself to standing, Steven stepping back to actually let him do so.

"You'll only regret it later, you know … I didn't decide not to kill you yet …" Grogar would lunge at him, but he just coughed some more and turned to Steven, wanting to knock him back into the pit and letting it finish from there.
Steven just stood there, looking into Grogar's eyes. The same eyes of a monster that tortured, killed, and wanted to traumatize him and Connie so they'd always fear him. … The same eyes who saw death everywhere he went. …

"So it doesn't matter to you, does it? To you, it makes no difference if you kill someone or not," Steven said.

"... So what?" Grogar questioned. Steven paused and looked back to the others nearby, wondering what he was going to do. Steven had him weak, and right where he wanted him, but Steven already had gone through all that …

"I don't know what to say to you … but there is one thing that I can say."

"What's that?" Grogar huffed. He expected some sort of insult, or something about "they'll never stop for him" or something like that. But Steven didn't have to, nor did he want to. Instead, he took a deep breath, and then extended his hand to him.

"I forgive you."

Did Grogar hear him right? This same kid who he kept trying to kill, and made him believe he too was a killer for a good while … forgave him? Silence hung in the air a bit more, Steven waiting for Grogar to give a response. Slowly, Grogar began to lift up his hoof towards his hand …

And swatted it away.

"Nice try," Grogar growled, making sure Steven backed away so he had more room to move. He saw the others ready to jump in, but the Ram didn't jump at Steven right away. In fact, he actually turned around, glancing down at the receding liquid within that same ditch, absorbing down into the ground and settling in a pool of rose magma. He silently thanked his lucky stars for being alone without an army for the moment with what he did next ...

"You know what, lad? If you want to keep your playground and play things ... then take them."

And with that final statement, Grogar turned around, and after one more glance back to Steven, began moving off on his way, limping with his bad hoof but still long gone after a while. Steven silently watched him go with a bit of dismay, though eventually his friends did come back to him, Connie placing a helping hand on his shoulder before they all stared off to the ruined land ...

Author's Note

... In case you ask, yes, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest had some influence (okay, a lot) on Spinel. It was a headcanon of mine before the movie that Spinel was this complete nutcase of a Gem after comparing the song to her. Guess it was how she looked? Either way, i might've been dead wrong, but at least I can put it in this story here ^^

Speaking of which ... A LOT IS GOING ON: Connie and her issues, Grogar's return, introduction of Spinel, Stevonnie's rematch, Little Homeworld from Earth to Equestria, White Diamond's Space Station?! That's a lot to take in, but I'm not holding back any longer - whatever I got thinking up is gonna happen one way or another!

Rebooting System ...

Pink Diamond. Ruby. Sapphire. Pearl. Amethyst. Jasper. Lapis Lazuli. Peridot. And Spinel.

That was the line up that they got going when they all returned from the fields of battle to the Beach House. All of the gemstones they've managed to keep safe were kept lined up along the table within said Beach House, Steven himself still sitting there and keeping watch of them throughout the night, and into that morning. For those that remained, it was mainly a waiting game for when they'll come back, all of them putting what work they could on hold for the morning at the least as they waited for the moment the Gems would come back. Some were pacing, some were passing time with TV, others were just sitting there and watching. Whatever the case, they weren't gonna just leave them behind.

"I can't believe this," Steven sighed at one point, "First I run away, and when I come back this happens. … How long did you say until they can reform again?"

"It's gonna take a while Steven," said Bismuth, "Just be glad they're all in one piece. I mean, I still remember it taking weeks for Pearl to come back from reforming."

"And hey," added Connie, "Garnet's alive after all, so that's gotta count for something."

"I guess so. It all just happened so fast. … Well, soon as they come back out, I can apologize and we can work out what to do from there," Steven concluded, holding one of the Gems in his hands. In this case, Amethyst and Lapis Lazuli. Bismuth wasn't so sure though on that remark, but before she could say anything, they all then heard the beach door open up, revealing not only Flint coming back, but a few of the Off-Colors too.

"Steven, you are back. Flint said something - … HOLY SSSSSSHE GOT THEM ALL AT ONCE?!" gasped Rhodonite.

"Pretty much what I said," agreed Starlight from by the TV.

"Oh yeah, all in exactly one song sequence. Such a twisted way to do it," Pinkie explained. However, the ponies weren't too sure on what kind of item she was using, though they did keep it with them for safe keeping by the counter top. Which Twilight herself levitated to try and check it out.

"Speaking of which, what even is this? Is it some kind of destabilizer, or -"

"Be careful with that!" Bismuth suddenly said, grabbing it away when Twilight tried looking through the smaller opening, it aiming at her eye. Bismuth held it properly.

"It's a Rejuvenator," Bismuth stated, activating it so it extended, and showed the eerie scythe that took them all down in the first place. A few stray sparks shot out of the scythe's light-glowing blade upon release, everyone seeing it was there.

"These were once used on Gems who started steppin outta line. One hit with this … and you're back to how they made you," Bismuth explained, as she got the weapon put away and retracted before anyone could get hurt by it again.

"Back to how they made you? … So, just reforming then. That ain't bad, you guys do that all the time," shrugged Rainbow Dash, as Bismuth placed the Rejuvenator down back in the kitchen, glancing back to all the gemstones on the table.

"It's not the same as just getting poofed out in the battlefield. If you get hit with one of these, then you won't even remember the fight. You won't remember how you got there! … You right back at square one, right when you first come out."
For a moment, they all took a bit to realize just what exactly Bismuth meant as they looked to the fallen Gems. It was a bit to swallow, but as Steven looked to each and every one of them … well … was it his friends he was looking at anymore?

"So … they won't remember anything when they come back? They're just completely reset now?" Steven asked.
However, as this information fully sunk in, one pink mare brought up something that only added even more escalation.

"Holy moly, and Twilight was holding it!" Pinkie gasped, "You could've lost all your character development! … Wait a minute. Hey Steven, you were hit, how'd you keep your memories?"

Steven stopped cold on that question. He hadn't forgotten that Grogar did strike him during the last fight yesterday, a weapon that was supposed to "reset" him. Garnet he knew now must've been reset to some degree, but him?

"I … did I? ……. Oh no."

"Oh no what? Oh no what?" Pinkie gulped.

"I don't know if I did. I did get hit, but I'm half Human. … Give me a second, I wanna try something," Steven said, getting up and taking a few steps away from them to try it out. This information left a rather scary theory floating in his head, and as far as he knew there was only one way to test it. To make sure it wasn't as bad as what he thinks. Steven Universe took a breath, and then with a motion made an attempt to summon his shield.
… And all that came up was a glitchy mess of a shield, which only lasted for about five seconds before it fizzed out completely.

"Steven?"

"I knew it: my Human half survived but … my Gem. It took the hit! I've been reset, I don't have any control over my powers anymore!" Steven concluded, in dismay over this news. Whatever control and grip he had over any of his abilities was now completely gone on him again. No more shield, no more healing, nothing. Just a regular boy with a gemstone. However …

"Wait, maybe this is a good thing," noted Starlight.

"HOW'S THIS ANY GOOD?!" Steven exclaimed.

"Wait wait, just hear me out. I mean, you didn't lose your memories after getting hit right? Just your powers. Maybe that's all that happened to them," Starlight hypothesized, pointing to the gemstones. Was it a long shot? Probably, but it didn't sound like it was too far off either. It was wishful thinking at least, but they couldn't just ignore the other possibility either.

"That does make sense if you want someone to stay in line … but even more sense if you don't want them to know why they're out of line," figured Flint.

"Well we'll just have to see when they do come out," Bismuth replied, Steven taking a seat back on the couch again. Suddenly the hopeful idea of just "apologizing" to them on reforming no longer was a thing. Steven could only hope they even remember who he was, let alone anything else. The dismayed look on Steven's face wasn't ignored for too long, Connie picking up one of the Gems himself.

"Don't worry Steven, we'll all figure this out. Sooner or later, all of them are going to reform and come back, better than ever," Connie said, trying to be supportive.
And just as soon as she said that, suddenly one of the Gemstones actually started to glow and float up into the air, catching everyone's attention.

"Good call, Connie, here she comes!" said Fulgurite. However, while most Gems would just pop up right then and there, the Pearl here didn't technically just "come out" right away. Her gemstone was floating sure, but it seemed there was a bit of a delay in actually rebooting up.

"Uhh … any moment now," Fulgurite muttered, but the gemstone didn't come up right away, not rushing the process. Instead, a shape began to form up on the gemstone itself, or rather around it. Not entirely the human body, but instead …

"... A … clamshell?" questioned Twilight.

"Well this is new," said Rarity.

Please identify yourself

Okay, this is weird. And since Connie was the first to touch the gemstone, she could only presume that this meant it was for her, so she was the one who spoke after some hesitation.

"Ms. Maheswaran?" Connie said, shrugging.

Greetings, Ms. Maheswaran. please state preferred customization options

"Umm … w-what am I supposed to say here? Guys?" Connie quietly asked, still blind-sided by all of this. They don't remember anyone mentioned about this kind of feature to a Pearl, even with the Pearl distribution known of already. Was this unique only to their Pearl?

"Don't look at me," shrugged Starlight.

Default Settings selected. Please stand by.

Well here we go. The clamshell moved out from its original spot to make some room, the others having to move out of the way for it to do so. The clamshell landed softly on the ground, opening up and only then did the gemstone inside started to form up on them. Pearl's form did start to slowly come to, the same shape appearing before them all. However, given how this was "default" setting, that meant that all the special details Pearl had beforehand no longer seemed to exist. No blue, no ribbons, not even a single star. Literally it was just a pale white outfit by default, one piece suit and shoes and her hair was left rounded out in a clean circle around her head. The ONLY thing she kept from before to now was the placement of gemstone, and even then that probably was just a universal trait for any Gem so that didn't help them that much. On fully forming, Pearl simply stepped off of the clamshell, the platform disappearing.

Only then did Pearl open her eyes.

"Pearl! Thank Celestia, are you feeling alright?" Rarity asked, being the first to go up to her.

… Pearl walked right passed her, and directly over towards Connie. The only one she actually seemed to recognize one of anyone there, and not in the way they wanted.

Pearl; How do you do?
My "Ms. Maheswaran",
Thank you for bringing me into the land,
I am at your eternal service,
Welcome to your new Pearl!

"... Oooohhh noooo, what'd I do?! I-I didn't mean it, whatever I did!" Connie said, freaking out. She didn't want Pearl to be her, well, Pearl.

"Connie, Connie, this is perfectly normal for Pearls you didn't do anything bad," Bismuth quickly said, not wanting anyone too freaked out. Pearl simply stood there at attention, oblivious to what the problem could possibly be. Far as Pearl knew, she just came back and was where she needed to be - with her master.

"Pearl, don't you recognize them?" asked left Rutile.

"Don't you recognize us?" added right Rutile. Luckily for the Rutile Twins, since Pearl just came out without much memory, so too was the natural fear a normal Gem would get out of these two. Though that didn't mean that Pearl didn't question the appearance of these two, thinking a little bit about it.

"Hmm … well, I certainly recognize my Ms. Maheswaran."

"Oh boy," sighed Connie.

Pearl's main issue though would have to wait some more, as they then saw another light begin to glow some more. The others moved out of the way of the table, seeing that this time it was the red Gemstone Ruby who decided to come out. Upon reforming, Ruby stood there with the diamond insignia already formed with her hands.

"Ruby?" asked Diopside. Ruby took one look though and it immediately put her on edge.

"Who're you?! You're not my assignment," Ruby said, trying to look around for what assignment was there. Unfortunately, and eventually, Ruby pinpointed her target amongst the Off-Color crowd. Padparadscha.

"Sapphire! As my sworn duty, and sole purpose, I will defend you with my life," Ruby proudly said.

"Everyone, I predict that our Ruby won't remember who her Sapphire is!" Padparadscha said in worry. It may have just happened, but heck it was still such a mix up.

"Oh geez, this is getting bad. Shouldn't she know who she is?" Connie said, getting a bit more troubled about it.

"Allow me to illuminate," Pearl gleefully said. Pearl went over to Ruby and Padparadscha, their Ruby guard on edge and keeping between Padparadscha and Pearl.

Pearl; A Ruby Guard,
But just a single one,
They tend to come in teams of three or more,
A precious Sapphire,
She sees the future,
That's who the Ruby's for.

Speaking of Sapphire, only now did the blue gemstone on the table start to glow and illuminate. Eventually, out came their Sapphire. While it was more clear that Ruby and Pearl were wiped clean of memory, Sapphire … they dunno. She didn't seem that much different, and as she looked around, Sapphire didn't seem very fazed by the strange surroundings.

"Ok, Sapphire, I know this looks confusing, but I promise we'll try and get it all worked out. Okay?" said Flint to Sapphire, REALLY hoping that this one had at least some idea of what's going on.

"I know you will." Sapphire simply said, which at first sounded easily like how Sapphire would normally act, albeit a bit more melancholy. … Only to turn around and say, "That's why I predict you patience won't last more than a week."

"Huh?"

"Come now," Sapphire said, stepping off of the table, and actually starting to "shoo" Flint away from the table. Good timing too, because this time two Gemstones started to form up at once. And with the MUCH LARGER shape, Rainbow Dash quickly flew and grabbed the remaining gemstones just before two Quartzes finished their reformation (and smashing the table with their weight). Jasper and Amethyst.
Jasper looked alright for the most part, but Amethyst looked a bit funny, as if her form was incomplete: her joints on her arms and legs were lined, her suit was literally just two colors and nothing else, and her hair was short and scruffy. But one detail for both of them that was too far off: they both lacked a Cutie Mark.

"Amethyst! Jasper! you're -" Pinkie was about to jump up for a good hug, but suddenly Jasper got on the offensive, and swatted Pinkie Pie away, knocking her through the Beach House screen.

"Take that!" Jasper snarled menacingly, fist raised for another punch only for Emerald to jump and grab her arm. Nope, this wasn't the same Jasper, and strangely Amethyst was … kinda copying her. Same expression and stance and everything. Not that Jasper enjoyed it much either way.

"Hey, Amethyst?" Steven said humbly, waving a hand.

"Hey, Amethyst?" Amethyst said, basically doing the exact same thing.

"What? No, you're Amethyst!" Steven insisted.

"What? No, you're Amethyst!" Amethyst repeated. By this point, Pinkie Pie pulled herself back into the room through the window, very dazed and blind-sided.

"Is it natural for Quartzes to act like parrots?" asked Rainbow Dash to Bismuth, only for her to shrug. Amethyst must've been struck down especially hard, or this was just her when she came out. Either way, she wasn't having many memories either. Still, Pearl came up between them.

Pearl; You must be right,
They are both Quartz soldiers,
This Jasper is perfectly big and strong,
this Amethyst is very different,
Something is clearly wrong.

"Geesh," said Fulgurite at the shocking insult. However, Amethyst didn't seem to care, and in fact only copied Pearl's end stance (a dumb smile with a tilt of the head, and a shrug). It wasn't until this point that Pearl actually started to wonder a little bit about her surroundings.

"Something is clearly wrong," Pearl said, "What're all these creatures doing in this strange place?"

"THAT'S what you think is wrong here?!" exclaimed Fulgurite, "Work with me Pearl, don't you know ANYONE here besides Connie?"

"... Con … coonie?"

"Ms. Maheswaran?" Fulgurite corrected after a groan.

"Oh! Well I do recognize my master. As for you, hmm …"
Unfortunately for her, Pearl couldn't seem to make any connections at all. Amethyst nearby copied the expression and peering look Pearl was making. Nothing was clicking in her head at all when seeing her.
But this reformation train was not done yet, as Lapis Lazuli's gemstone started to glow and make its reformation before them. Though, her stone had to get out of Rainbow Dash's hooves first before she was capable of doing so.

"Please have that memory in tact, Lapis," Steven hoped. Lapis Lazuli had a better memory than anyone else he knew, so something from their experience HAD to stick with her now, right?
Well as with many of the Gems reformed so far, Lapis Lazuli no longer had any special features in her form, only reverting back to the original one she had at the very start. Lapis took a glance to the others nearby, wiping herself clean from … whatever dirt got on her.

"Lapis? Hey, Lapis?" Steven said. Lapis didn't exactly respond that much except for a simple sideways glance. After getting herself cleaned up, she took a look around the area, and …

"This place looks horrible. Whoever lives here obviously doesn't know how to."

One could possibly hear the heart inside Steven shatter into millions of pieces by such harsh words. He might've heard some harsh words from Lapis before, but this was just so sudden.

"What? YOU live here, remember? You HAVE to remember something!" gasped Steven. Lapis actually looked insulted.

"Excuse me? WHY would I live in such a quarry yard?" Lapis questioned.

"You really don't remember, huh?" Steven sighed in dismay. Pearl, still under "order", went by Lapis Lazuli next with a hint of admiration.

Pearl; Oh can it be?
A Lapis Lazuli
Terraformers traveling from world to world
They are highly respected beings
such an honor being with her

Lapis only gave Pearl a pat on the head for the singing performance before she started walking on her way from there towards the Warp Pad. Bad enough they don't remember, they didn't need anyone just wandering away from them just yet.

"Wait, wait, wait, where're you going?" Diopside asked, getting in Lapis's way.

"Anywhere, that's not here," Lapis simply replied, bringing out some water from her wings to lift Diopside out of her way, dropping her behind her before getting on the Warp Pad. The others tried fetching her, but the Warp Pad already went off, so Lapis was already gone.

"Clod it all," growled Flint, "... Ok, is that everyone?"

"Nope," said Pinkie, just as another Gemstone started to reform, in this case being their Peridot. But as the humanoid body of Peridot began to take shape, something else started to happen around them. It started with the drawers, which opened up with all the silverware coming out on their own, floating.

"Get back here you!" snapped Applejack, grabbing what she could with her hooves. However it was no use, and whatever she did grab simply forced themselves out. As the form kept shape, it seemed each silverware found its specific spot: spoons on the left arm, forks on the right, all knives on the legs and feet. On that they morphed into a simple pair of arm and legs. They weren't as long as normal Limb Enhancers, but it seemed Peridot wouldn't reform without something along those lines. Only after she got her enhancements did she reform completely, landing down on the table instead of the floor.

"... uhh … huh?" muttered Starlight.

"I don't even know anymore," Flint sighed, hand to gemstone.

"Hmm … current conditions are of more primitive resources. Proceeding with material study."

"You too Peridot? This house isn't that bad, really!" Steven gasped, not believing his ears as Peridot used her limb enhancers to cut a piece of wood off of the floor to better examine it. Again though, as with the others so far, Pearl got her word in, which actually made Peridot jump (first one to do so).

Pearl; Correct again
this is a Peridot
Although a Peridot is tall yet new
Even if she's presentable
something's seems wrong here too

"Not exactly "wrong" but the materials used to create this base seem highly inefficient. At least put in a few iron alloys in between the bonds instead of … this," Peridot said, pulling out a nail and flicking it aside, which landed in Twilight's mane.

"Peridot. My friend. please say you remember something? Anything? Them, me?" Twilight asked. Peridot glanced over to all the Gems in the room, though she did cringe slightly on the Off-Colors present.

"Hmm … depends. …"

"Yes?" Steven asked hopefully.

"... Is this an experiment station?"

"Dang it!" the two thought, hand (er hoof in Twilight's case) to forehead.

"Ok, NOW is it everyone? We're getting kinda crowded in here," said Fulgurite.
Before anyone could answer, one more Gemstone started floating up. THIS time it was Spinel, floating out of the grip of Rainbow's hooves, keeping its upside down shape for a bit. Unlike the others, they were a bit more wary of Spinel, mostly given that SHE caused this in the first place, and who knows what'll come out this time. Some of them took a stand back from her, ready just in case it was a quick attack. Even Steven tried his shield, but that barely lasted a second.

"Get back!" Flint warned. But as with the other Gemstones, a strange thing happened with this reformation. Before any could start, the gemstone flipped right-side-up, the heart now properly shaped, and only then did her physical form start to take shape, with some … notable differences, like what happened with Lapis and Amethyst already. Only here, Spinel didn't wait to suddenly stretch her arms out at the first person she saw, coiling him in her grip, and slamming them both onto the ground! Just for them to hear …

"I'M SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU!" said Spinel.
The exact look she had, in contrast, almost seemed more round than sharp: She had black cartoonish eyes and her hair was styled into a pair of heart-shaped buns. Her top was white with more rounded pink sleeves and her boots become a pair of big magenta shoes. Spinel's previous color palette is also brighter than her current one which uses darker tones. Overall, her appearance was similar to that of an old-fashioned cartoon … er, more so, anyway.

And now this cartoon character was standing right on top of Flint with such a big goofy grin.

"Huh? You're not mad still?" Flint asked.

"Mad? Why would I be mad at my … BEST FRIEND!" Spinel beamed, all giddy and giggling at meeting her brand new friend, and getting off of him in a little bounce. And of course, Pearl was there as well, only here Spinel was dancing a bit to the tune of the song.

Pearl; This will be fun!
Aren't you the lucky one
Her cut is perfect, and she's Pink as well
She'll bring you endless entertainment
your new Best Friend, Spinel!

"... What a turn around," muttered Fulgurite.

"So all we got left now is Pink Diamond," said Connie, looking to Pink Diamond in Rainbow Dash's hooves. At this point though, Pearl cleared her throat.

Pearl; What have we here?
It must be -

"Ok Pearl, we all got it. You can stop singing now," Connie simply said. They got enough information out of her already, so Pearl simply gave a thumbs up, and a smile, no longer singing the introduction songs she'd been rattling on about.
With all of the singing stopped, they took a breather to see what they were all dealing with now. The good news was none of them were angry at them, or saw them as enemies, but as far as they could see, that was as good as it gets.

"Oh look, there's more Gems," said Spinel. "... Let's ask them to play."

"Don't tell me. You don't remember anything either," Flint sighed.

"Remember what?" Spinel asked, oblivious to the obvious problem. Flint pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance by this news. Well, at least Bismuth gave them a heads-up, otherwise this would've gone south a lot quicker. Still, Flint went right over to Bismuth, hand on her shoulder.

"Well now what're we gonna do?" asked the troubled Rutile Twins.

"Is there a way to change them back?" added Starlight. Bismuth looked around the others for a bit.

"... I don't know. I never heard of any Gem that came back around after getting cut open by a Rejuvenator," Bismuth said in dismay.

Well that was it then. The room was a bit split, leaving the memory-wiped Gems to one side of the room, except for Ruby, Pearl, and Spinel (they weren't leaving their respected Gems for any reason). The oldest members of their group, and all of them weren't even knowing who the Harmony Gems even were. And to think Steven was ready to apologize and try to make amends, just to have that taken away.

"W-Well, we still got everyone back," Connie said, trying to salvage the situation.

"... Did we?" Steven asked. That was all he had to say for the point to come across. It was then though that they took a look between Ruby and Sapphire. It seemed so strange now that they were so distant, and apart already with Ruby thinking Padparadscha was her assignment.

"Garnet would know what to do … she always knows what to do …" murmured Flint, feeling a bit more hopeless now … before Spinel suddenly popped up by him.

"Hey, don't be sad! Your new best friend~, Your new best friend~, Your new best friend! YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND SPINEL IS HERE!" Spinel beamed, shortly after that going into a giggling fit as she cart-wheeled around him, standing on her head and clapping her feet together, each clap sounding like a squeaky toy.
Although she was trying to make him happy, it was too bittersweet: so many veterans were just taken out so quick Flint couldn't think of anything else.

"Spinel please, don't be crazy right now," Flint insisted.

Hmm. … Crazy. Crazy like -

"Twilight!" gasped Rarity. "Your memory spell!"

"Memory spell?" Twilight asked, not getting it straight away.

"Think back dear: before you got your wings, when Discord was ruling over Ponyville, tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves. So …"
Twilight thought a bit on that subject, hoof to chin. It seemed so long since they actually heard of Discord, nevermind remembering him as a tyrant. She thought about their involvement with him, going through a bit of a maze in trying to figure everything out (figuratively, and literally), even a brief moment when Twilight no longer was willing to try against Discord … and then it clicked.

"I think we got our solution! Thanks Rarity," Twilight said, not hesitating to trot over to one of the Gems first. In this case, the first Gem to be approached by the Alicorn was Pearl, who at the point was probably the least hesitant or violent to her.

"You think this'll work?" asked Diopside.

"I dunno, but I got a Plan B worked out in case it doesn't," Fulgurite said.

"Okay Pearl. We know you're in there, just give me a second, this won't hurt …" Twilight's horn began to glow. They all held their breath as Twilight's horn just barely touched Pearl's forehead. A lot of light shined for a bit more for about ten seconds before it eventually faded away.

"Well, Pearl? … Anything?" Steven asked. and Pearl then spotted Connie off nearby.

"Umm, is this invasion of privacy alright to you, Ms. Maheswaran?"

A groan escaped quite a few of them, Fulgurite even hitting her head on the table.

"Well that answers it," Bismuth said.

"PLAN B, let's do it!" Fulgurite decided. Plan A clearly was a bust, so this had to work, and Fulgurite was already basically pushing them out the door before she could properly explain herself (if she was planning to do so).

"H-Hey, where're we going?!" Flint asked.

"To the only Diamond that can actually figure this out and has enough power to do it, that's what, now get a moving," Fulgurite said. She got much of the group just outside with the exception of the Off-Colors, who only watched them go down from the Beach House's hillside.

"Hey you guys, think you can watch them for us so they stay put?!" called Fulgurite to the Off-Colors.

"Um. OKAY, SURE!" called back right Rutile, left Rutile nodding. Fulgurite gave them a thumbs up, and so that was that. The Off-colors were left with the brain-wiped Crystal Gems, as the rest had to go off and handle whatever Plan B was. Hopefully this'll work. After the Elements of Harmony and remaining Gems leave the area, only Padparadscha came outside to watch them leave, with Ruby with her and keeping an eye on everything as her "life goal" seemed to be. Ruby did only one pace by her when she caught sight of something off by the corner of the beach house, Ruby acting on instinct and standing at attention between Padparadscha and the threat. Padparadscha didn't notice until a thud was heard nearby, and even then it took her a second or two to react.

As for the "threat", a plant-like head quickly pulled out of sight once Padparadscha spotted her, not from Ruby growling at her.

"Threat neutralized," said Ruby.

~~~~~~

Little Homeworld meanwhile was still in a bit of repair. A full day of all the Harmony Gems just stopping altogether did bring some bit of it to a screeching halt, and now the work was more of a pace for a walking mare than a galloping one. However, with this going on, there were still some that were left in disarray: the Diamonds all there even! Blue, Yellow, and White hadn't left Earth since the attack by Spinel, and now they were waiting in Little Homeworld like an anxious set of parents in a waiting room at the doctors. White Diamond was even sitting down on one of the sturdier buildings, foot tapping as she tried to wait it out, as Yellow Diamond was off nearby in pacing. Blue Diamond was beside White diamond, supporting hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but she was worried about it herself. During this while, Yellow, Blue, and Pink Pearl were standing aside and at attention, alongside both Priyanka and Doug who had gotten news of the aftermath last night.

"Yellow, can you stop pacing, you're making me nervous," White Diamond finally said at a point. Yellow did stop at the request, but it didn't make her feel any better.

"Not now, White," Yellow Diamond said. White Diamond gulped.

"Yellow, I-I'm sorry about the injector, really I am. I didn't think Spinel would be able to control it," White Diamond said, but that didn't really help Yellow's mood much.

"If you didn't make that Injector, we wouldn't even be out here!" Yellow Diamond snapped. White diamond gasped, but luckily Blue Diamond stood up and got between them before it could get any worse.

"Yellow, restrain yourself please! We know you're upset, but yelling at White won't make their reformation go any faster," Blue Diamond made clear. Yellow Diamond only crossed her arms, but she didn't go any further than that. White Diamond knew she was right though: first Spinel, now the Injector. Both things she played part in making happen, one way or another.

"I know," she grumbled. But it seemed timing was working for Yellow diamond today, because as they were all standing there, they then began to hear the sound of a "welcoming trumpet".

"Master "Ms. Maheswaran" has now officially arrived."

"We didn't need that, Pearl," said Steven.
Finally some good news. Coming in from the direction of Beach City, the Harmony Gem team had gotten themselves back to Little Homeworld, though with a lot of them not with them which did give them some issue. However, seeing Steven there along with Connie was enough to give them a lot of relief. The first to reach them were the diamonds themselves. Connie's parents were heading over too once they realized she was there.

"Connie!" gasped Priyanka. Only to suddenly have Pearl standing in way of her and Connie.

"I'm sorry, but my "Ms. Maheswaran" is too pre occupied to see you right now, so if you could wait until her word, that's be appreciated."

"... What? I'm her mother," Priyanka said, blind-sided by such a response. However, they all felt the ground shake when White diamond got down on her hands and knees.

"STEVEN! Oh thank the stars, you're still okay, I thought something too terrible happened while you were away," White Diamond said. Of course, it didn't take long until they notice quite a few of them missing.

"Is everyone with you?" asked Blue.

"Well they are back, yes, but we had to leave them at the Temple. You see -" *poke* "-huh?-" *poke* "- what the?"

"SURPRISE!" said Spinel, coming out and holding Flint's arm after playing one of those "poking" games with him. Flint could tell this was gonna keep happening all day.

"Here she is. Our new best friend, Spinel," sighed Flint.
Now they THOUGHT that Spinel would try and act differently since White Diamond was standing right there, but she looked more bewildered if anything at all. Not even the diamond insignia or anything.

"Wait. Isn't that the same Spinel that tried shattering all of us yesterday?" Yellow Diamond questioned.

"I did what now?" Spinel asked, not getting it at all. The memory wipe seemed worse than they thought if they couldn't recognize their own DIAMONDS at this point!

"Is this a joke?" Yellow Diamond questioned. Spinel was pulled back by Flint by that point.

"No," said Fulgurite, "Turned out that weapon Spinel was using was a Rejuvenator, and now they don't remember anything. But don't sweat it, we got ourselves a solution!"

"You do? Well that's great, what is it?"

"You!" Fulgurite revealed, pointing right up to her, and making White Diamond freak out a little. "You can give them their memories back! Just use whatever diamond stuff you did on Gems before -"

"But I can't give them their memories back!" exclaimed White Diamond. Suddenly they all went silent.

"... What?! … Wait. WHAT?!"

"I can't do that. It's …" White Diamond checked to see not too many others were around them at the moment, so she could talk a little more freely, "not easy."

"Wait, wait, are you serious right now?" exclaimed Steven, "What about all that stuff you did on Orthix when you brainwashed everybody into being your puppets?"

"Puppets?"

"Or when you altered Gems' memories before the Gem War so they wouldn't know it was you who started it?" added Flint.
White Diamond flustered up all over again, which she tried in vain to hide with her hands just in case Gem company was around to see her outside of the Harmony Gems. Humbled still, she tried her best to explain.

"Mind alteration, and mind restoration are two different things. I mean, anyone can erase someone's memory and then put in what they want. But giving them their pieces back exactly how you found them is more … complicated."

"You are White Diamond, aren't you?" questioned Rainbow Dash. Since when ever did White Diamond say she couldn't do anything? She at least seemed willing to try anything while she worked against them before. Still, White Diamond wasn't very thrilled with her own reasoning either, but facts were facts … as stupid some facts are.

"Hmm … missing pieces, huh? …" Bismuth thought. Pondering.

"Do you at least know a way to turn this around?" Steven asked, "I mean, there is a way to fix this, right?"

White Diamond didn't know how to answer any of them. She never actually tried to fix a Rejuvenator's effects before, so even she wasn't too sure.

"Can't you at least lie to me and say there's something we can do?"

"OH! OH! Over here!" said Spinel nearby, her hand raised like a frantic kid in class, hand waving like crazy. They didn't have any other ideas, so …

"Yes, Spinel?" Flint asked.

"What if it's like a puzzle?" Spinel asked.

"Puzzle? Spinel?" wondered Connie.

"The giant lady said their stuff's pieces. If we give em' all the pieces, eventually, they'll get the full picture," Spinel said, her hands looking as if they're framing a picture. They doubted that White Diamond literally meant actual pieces to their memory, but this random idea started to work its way into them.

"Spinel, you might be onto something. If every experience they lost is a piece of who they are, we just have to give them back all the pieces, one experience at a time," Steven concluded.

"And how do you propose we do that?" asked Flint. Before anyone could answer that question though, another question was soon brought up when Blue Diamond looked out from Little Homeworld towards … something.

"Lapis … she was struck by the Rejuvenator wasn't she?" Blue inquired.

"Yeah she did, but she kinda walked out on us so we might have to find her," admitted Steven.

"That isn't gonna be hard," muttered Diopside, who did spot what Blue Diamond did.

And they all soon spotted the water tower beginning to form farther away.

"Oh no," gulped Twilight.

"You guys go and handle that, I'll keep track of things here," Connie said.

"Thanks. Come on," said Flint, ready to go off to handle the situation. He was joined by the others, but then he suddenly felt someone just grab him by the arm, only to find Spinel with him.

"Don't forget your best friend, Spinel!" said Spinel with a wink. Flint huffed.

"Spinel, just wait here for me, we need to handle this," Flint said, getting her to let go of him only for a second, until Spinel grabbed him again.

"Yep, we gotta go and handle things together," Spinel said with a big smile. Flint made her let go again.

"I can handle it, you stay here and play with them for a bit. Come on Jade," Flint said, getting a running head start before Spinel could say anything. Spinel paused briefly, seeing Flint go away, and despite what was actually going on placed a hand on her side.

"If you wanna come, you need to help us with this. Okay?" Jade asked.

"... YAY!" Spinel beamed, before springing off to join them.

"We'll be back soon, diamonds," Jade answered.

…….

A GIANT, pillaring tower of water. That was the main thing that they saw once the group got back to the Temple. The whole tower, top to bottom in ice cold sea water, was already itself gigantic in size by the time they all got there and checking it out, easily reaching heights matching the hillside of the Temple itself, at least seven different levels matched by a single pillar of water connected to the structure, each one flatly-topped and flowing like a waterfall. Along the beach they could already see water retreating much farther than usual, probably because the water was being used for said tower.

"WOWEE! That this sure is big! … You wanna climb it or somethin'?" Spinel asked, bouncy and ready to spring up to play.

"Only Lapis can make a tower like that. But where is she?" Bismuth wondered, not seeing her anywhere at first. No one out on the beach with them to actually make this happen, and no one inside the Beach House they remember could do any of this either. Eventually though, as Diopside glanced upwards, her keen Gem eye just managed to catch sight of a figure standing on one of the Temple's hands.

"There she is. WAY up there on that hand," Diopside said, bringing everyone's attention straight up to see the very figure in question, hands out to manipulate and work the tower itself.

"What in tarnation's she doing? All that water's gonna be gone the way she's going," asked Applejack.

"It's something she's made to do: Lapis's terraform, they change the planet to suit the Diamond's needs … at least, I think she's doing it for the diamonds," explained Jade, as more water from the beach was lifted right out of the coastline, and added to the tower itself.

"Well not today she's not. Come on, maybe we can talk some sense into her," Twilight decided.
Since they were the only ones that could fly technically, the roster that arrived up there were Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Starlight thanks to her magic, and Emerald thanks to his hexagon plates. Everyone else had to wait down below as they went right on up to the land. When they got up there, they quickly found Lapis Lazuli standing right there, focusing on the tower much like a painter would to a canvas.

"Lapis!" shouted Rainbow Dash. Lapis did flinch on the voice, but didn't stop her work.

"Oh. You again? What do you want this time?" Lapis questioned, a hand still raised to keep the water from collapsing to the ground.

"To know why you're just taking the ocean! We've only been away from you for twenty minutes," said Rainbow, hoof pointing right at the tower she was creating.

"And what an impression you've made. ... Hmm, it's leaning a bit," Lapis noted, getting some water from her wings to even out the structure of hers until she felt satisfied.

"Lapis. Can you please stop making this?" Fluttershy asked, walking up next to her. Lapis looked down to Fluttershy like a spoiled royal.

"Why? It's not hurting anybody important," Lapis said nonchalantly. They did feel a sting on her adding "important" to that sentence, but they had to keep going. Twilight tried next.

"Okay if you won't listen to her, maybe you'll listen to me," said Twilight, "I'm the princess of Friendship, a royal like you. So, as one royal to another -"

"You're not a Gem," Lapis simply said.

Another stab. Well so much for using the princess card.

"Ok how's this: Blue Diamond wants you to cut the cord on this operation. What do you say to that?" Emerald made clear.

"I'd say "who's Blue Diamond", along with "I don't care". Now if you don't mind, I got work to do."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Emerald thought. He swore the Diamond card would work, but that didn't seem to get through to her at all either.

"But you're hurting everything on the planet. If you keep adding water to it, there won't be any water on Earth, that cannot happen!" Twilight made clear to her. That might be pushing it given the current look, and Lapis seemed to know that so she didn't comment on her with that one.

"And there's so many creatures that live in the water too," added Fluttershy, "they won't have a home to live without it. All those poor sea creatures."

"That's not my problem," Lapis scoffed, bringing her arms forward, and then up. Like a shifting titan, the tower started rising higher and higher upward until it was about tall enough to peak the height of the Lighthouse, much to their trouble.

"Drop that tower, princess!" Emerald demanded.

"Or. What?" Lapis questioned.

"Oh you don't wanna know what we'll do! We faced a lot of bad guys, and if you wanna step right up, then go right ahead!" Rainbow said, flying off the ground and right in Lapis's face. Lapis raised an eyebrow on the remark.

"... OK. Allow me to rebuttal that in the following way."

…

"AAAAAAHHHHHH -" *SPLAT*

And just like that, Lapis sent them all flying back down to the beach in a water balloon, leaving them all soaking wet, cold, and slightly dazed. So much for talking things out with her, Lapis wiping her hands clean of the dirt she just threw aside as she got back to work.

"She's not going to listen," concluded Fluttershy, trying to get the water out of her wings. Rainbow Dash shook it off fairly quick, wings flapping to get the water.

"Did you use the princess card?" asked Pinkie.

"Let me put it this way, not even the Diamond card worked," Emerald stated.

Time to tackle this bull by the horns.

"Spinel? Think you can make your hand into a megaphone?" Bismuth asked, though she had a more serious look to her face.

"Oh, sure I can. … What's a megaphone?" said Spinel.

"Big, round, cone-shaped, about yee big," described Fulgurite, making her hair in a similar shape. Spinle immediately got it on seeing it, and as before her hand morphed into the exact same shape. She even allowed Bismuth to grab it and bring it up to in front of her, aimed directly towards Lapis.

"Lapis! We know you're our friend, and we get what you're made to do, but no one's giving you ANY order to start anything here, especially a giant water tower! So, if you don't get rid of that thing right now, We're gonna come right up there and tear it down ourselves!" Bismuth warned. Lapis simply stared down at them from her pedestal, not remotely scared of the threat to her creation. It was a look that a disappointed queen would give to her failing subjects. However, she didn't bother with a verbal response, and instead dropped something down to them in the form of a water ball, which Twilight was quick to catch. And what did the message say?

"... "Challenge accepted." …"

"Alright, you asked for it. Come on crew, let's take this tower apart!" Bismuth said, bringing out her axe hands. Not thinking of another way, Bismuth charged forward first. But this tower had a few more tricks up its watery currents. Just before Bismuth could reach the actual water tower, something actually came out right then and there, meeting with Bismuth half way.

Bismuth. Another Bismuth, made completely out of water! The water clone stopped the real Bismuth on the spot, her own axe arm clanging against Bismuth's own. The strength was equally matched until the water Bismuth got her other arm, and launched Bismuth back with a direct blow to the stomach ala water cannon.
And this water Bismuth wasn't the only one: merging out from the water wall just by the Bismuth clone emerged, to sum it up, a watery copy of the entire team! Ponies AND Gems were all copied to a watery doppelganger. And NONE of them looked too happy to see them.

"Ooooo, it's a Changeling Fight all over again," Pinkie said, bewildered Lapis could even do this. Spinel shared the same bewilderment, but everyone else was on edge. Steven tried arming up, but his shield didn't come out again.

"Steven, get behind us. Rest of you, don't let them separate -" before Flint could even finish, suddenly a loud *BANG* echoed in the air, and Flint was shot right off the beach, right into the rocky wall of the cliffside thanks to his watery counterpart.

"ALRIGHTY, this is happening!" Fulgurite said. The speeding Gem tried at her counterpart next in a mighty leap, but the water clone already proved a tough challenge with the same long hair used as weaponry. They both tangled halfway and landed into the water.
With that, the two teams quickly broke into a skirmish. With all water clones confronting their real life selves, both sides were left at almost equal odds, the water clones having the advantage of being made up of water. Any projectile launched by any of the Harmony Gems was simply mirrored in water form by the clones, blasting away. This became most apparently after Twilight made a magic blast at herself, actually strong enough to blast off the eye and side of its head … only for it to slowly grow back. It was everyone fighting mirrors, the exact same moves right on eachother.

"Ok, this is just creepy," Starlight muttered after seeing that, her own clone took this distraction to its advantage, getting a shot dangerously close to Starlight from the air.

"BACK OFF!" Rainbow shouted, bucking the Starlight clone aside with a swift fly by, leaving nothing but the hooves on the ground until they became water completely. Rainbow Dash was ready for another fly down, but the Pegasus was quickly blind-sided by not just her own clone, but Fluttershy's clone as well. Rainbow Dash, almost growling, raced off after those two from there.
Nearby, Fluttershy, Steven, and Jade were struggling with the Steven and Jade clones, each one ready to come in and attack them easily. Unlike the current Steven, his clone had its own form of attacks, with its arm launching forward at them both and making all three jump back.

Some of the clones weren't … well, fighting. Grant it, neither were their counterparts.

"Spinel, Pinkie, we need help over here!" Steven shouted. However, both didn't really jump at the clones of at first. In fact, Spinel was actually beginning to do a bit of a copying game with this clone.

"Ok, ok, try this," Spinel said, suddenly standing on her one hand as she twisted her legs in a DNA-like shape, only for the water clone to morph and do the exact same thing.

"Wow, you're really good! Do me, do me!" said Pinkie, her suddenly starting to pull a "tails" move, her tail spinning like a helicopter to float off the ground, just for her water clone to do the same thing. The clones made many of these moves attacks, but Spinel and Pinkie were just turning this into a game of giggles.

"You gotta try this guys!" Spinel called, seemingly oblivious to the danger.

"Spinel, stop fooling around and help get rid of these things!" shouted Flint, just before shooting back his own water clone. Suddenly Spinel remembered what Jade said earlier.

"Oh yeah. ... WILL DO," Spinel said, with a big smile on her face.

What happened next was no short of crazy: with a whistle tune, Spinel grabbed her and Pinkie's clone with one giant hand, and packed it down into a round water ball. With a beachball-sized ball o two water copies now in her hand, she wound up the pitch with multiple spins of her arm, a keen eye checking the entire group all around her.

"Spinel's up to plate! Here comes the pitch!" Pinkie shouted, ducking just in time before Spinel launched the ball ahead of her, one eye open. However, she didn't technically released the ball, more her arm extending and stretching all over the place, clocking and grabbing water copies left and right, the real counterparts getting well clear of the water ball forming, bigger and bigger the more water copies added to it like snow to a snowball. Eventually the water ball was the size of a van. Keeping the ball still, Spinel then popped her finger in her mouth and brought it back out to test the wind. All she had to do then was turning her legs into springs, and like a trigger-happy spring in a video game, she launched the ball of water clones clear out into the remaining sea.

"Wanna go climbing now?" Spinel asked innocently. Everyone was just staring at her for a minute or two, wide-eyed at what just … kinda happened.

"... You know what? Sure," said Flint.

"YAY! Last one up's a rotten egg!" Spinel said, taking the lead laughing all the while.
With the way cleared, everyone went straight for the water tower itself, giddy Spinel already bouncing and springing up the tower one hop at a time, arms and legs stretching to accommodate. Lapis Lazuli, meanwhile, wasn't going to stand by and watch them just wreck her creation.

"Barbarians. I'll show you," growled Lapis. Now it was time to upend the steaks, and the entire structure started to come to life, watery sprouting hands jutting up wherever they could to try and grab them. Speedy Spinel found this just as another obstacle, and dodged each and every hand as if they weren't even there at all. The others tried to do the same, some finding it much harder on their own compared to others. However, Lapis's work on the tower was actually very efficient in getting aggresors off of it, one by one Harmony Gems getting shot back onto the beach. Some smaller ones such as Jade, were caught by the flyers of the group before landing too hard

"Come on, you can't be THAT desperate over one tower!" shouted Emerald, just to nearly get shot out of the sky at least three times before being helped upward by Twilight Sparkle.

"Got any idea how to break this down?" Steven asked, much of them now half way up.

"She's the one making it, so we got to deal with her directly," concluded Bismuth.

"Uh, hello? We just tried that, she tossed us down in a water balloon," Rainbow Dash reminded. But then they saw Bismuth's weaponry hands return.

"Your words just didn't stick," Bismuth said.

"Bismuth?" Steven asked. Bismuth looked up to Lapis, who herself stared them all down with anger for rushing around her terraforming.

"Steven, you said to get their pieces back one experience at a time, didn't ya? Well far as I know, I'm her first big experience, so … Long as it's fine with you."

"Ok, we'll keep her busy for you. But don't hurt her too much, please?" Steven asked.

Bismuth understood perfectly.

"Emerald, feel up for an airdrop?"

"Already on it, B, hang on tight," Emerald said, bringing up the hexagon he was flying with. Bismuth held on with one arm, and took off from the structure. Flint grabbed Steven and jumped up before another water hand could grab them. Flint and Steven both got up one jump after another, Flint having to carry Steven up to the top. Turned out, Spinel was already up there.

"Wow, you guys climb sssllloooowwww. Looks like I win, but you can have the win of you want for trying so hard," Spinel offered. They weren't sure if she said that from ego or being legitimately nice, but now wasn't the time for it.

"Get off my work," Lapis warned, her hands clenching up as more water hands tried to get to them.

"Spinel? New game: don't get caught by those hands!" Steven said, just before yelping and jumping away from a grabby hand.

"I Gotcha!" Spinel said, bouncing away from another hand. Quickly Flint, Steven, and Spinel were more than keeping the water Gem busy and distracted. Naturally, Spinel found it the easiest compared to Flint and Steven, mainly thanks to her sporadic nature and spaghetti arms and legs making her go all over the place. Heck, she even seemed to "taunt" the hands a few times just so they can jump at her some more through funny faces. At least someone was enjoying this.
As the trio were busy doing this, Emerald and Bismuth just managed to get themselves higher up, closer to Lapis on the same arm she was on.

"Here goes nothin," Bismuth sighed, before letting go of Emerald's hexagon. Emerald flew off out of sight, as Bismuth slid down the arm, leaping closer to Lapis. The water Gem didn't realize until after Bismuth landed that she had more unwanted company. Without anymore hesitation, Bismuth ran forward to fetch her, but there still was one key difference between one encounter, and another:

Lapis was prepared this time. All she had to do, was bring another hand out, and a ton of water grabbed Bismuth in one strike.

"Nice try. Now if you all don't mind, I still got work to do," Lapis said, griping harder on Bismuth so she wouldn't escape. However, Lapis only had two hands, so …

"BARBARIAN ATTACK!" shouted Emerald, jumping off his hexagon, and throwing it like a disk. Bismuth and the trio distracted Lapis just long enough to get this to even work, the hexagon clocking Lapis right in the head. Lapis gripped her head, still keeping one arm up for the tower, but this still got Bismuth free. Just enough time for Bismuth to lunge at her, and finally pin her down. Which means …

"The tower's breaking up!" gasped Steven. No longer having a force to keep itself up, the Gems remaining on the structure found themselves on top of a collapsing water tower, every drop of it going straight back into the sea in a giant wave! Those on the ground had to try and avoid being swept out to sea, the beach house itself just tall enough to avoid being caught in the water. Flint and Steven were left falling to the world below, Flint immediately grabbing Steven, ready to shield him from what can easily be a lethal fall for him, bracing for impact.

Until Spinel suddenly grabbed them both in a bungee-like arm and hands. The two then were pulled back up, Spinel already on the hand of the Gem Temple, whistling a tune as she pulled them in like a fisherman (her arm even looked like a fishing pole).

"Well look who I reeled in," Spinel said, dropping Flint and Steven on the hand safe and sound.

"Get off me!" Lapis shouted, trying hard to get herself loose from Bismuth's grip. Her large hand was enough to keep her under some form of control. Bismuth really didn't want to do this, but this was probably the best chance they ever got to getting Lapis to try and remember anything about them. Keeping Lapis down, she then readied her hand, it morphing into an axe, the blade hovering over Lapis's head.

"If you're gonna harm our planet, you have to answer to us!" Bismuth said, trying to play the role of a Crystal Gem back in their war days. Bismuth raised her arm, and readied for the finishing blow. At least, it seemed like she was. However, fighting an enemy, and fighting a friend are two different things, and fighting an enemy that's supposed to be your friend is even worse. However, mighty Bismuth took a look at Lapis's eyes, seeing if this was enough to hit a memory at all.
For a brief moment, Lapis looked scared, staring at the end of Bismuth's blade …

"NO!!"
And in a sudden burst of strength, Water shot out of Lapis's back, pushing not only Lapis off the ground, but forcing Bismuth onto her back. It all happened so quickly: one moment Bismuth was ready to finish Lapis, and the next it was Bismuth on the ground with Lapis standing on her, wings extended and even sharpened at the tips. This time, hesitation was out of the question. And neither was Bismuth.

*POOF*
A quick stab right through the stomach was all it took to get rid of Lapis Lazuli. The signature cloud, and the gemstone falling on top of Bismuth once all that was handled. It took a bit for them all to calm down, going over to Bismuth as she got herself up.

"Close call. … I hope that was enough," Bismuth said. Though it was impossible to say that now, considering she wasn't even reformed properly.

"That wasn't very nice," Spinel said, peeking over Bismuth's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know …"

"EVERYTHING OKAY UP THERE?!" shouted Twilight from way far below them.

"We better get down there," sighed Steven.

~~~~~~

For the rest of the day, the world kept moving on forward: the Harmony Gems were left just taking some time to relax and comprehend on what to do for the remaining amnesia-ridden Gems. It wasn't gonna be easy, but they were gonna have to figure something out, and hopefully soon. luckily for them, no more incidents occurred from there throughout the day and towards nightfall. Be that as it may, it wasn't only Beach City in contemplation.
Isolated and distant from much of the world, the tyrannical ram Grogar was left in thoughts since he left Steven with his Gems and Ponies, his hoof still sore thanks to Spinel's injector and all of that mess. Even while just sitting there with a few of his troops, he could still feel the sensitive stinging under his back hoof. With him in the darkened field of the farmlands were Bray, Budgerite, Tempest, and two of his captains in Nichrome and Storm.

"And the army's still hidden away," Grogar said at one point, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Good as we kings can. But seriously, why are we hiding? Let's just bulldoze them to the ground, and we got ourselves free real-estate by tomorrow morning," Storm asked. This wasn't the first time Storm said this since leaving Homeworld, and he REALLY wanted to get going, but Grogar's ears were deaf to his demands, him only rubbing the bottom of his sore hoof.

"Need some more massaging?" asked Budgerite?

"No … Blasted pink goop, I can't feel a thing in this hoof," Grogar growled. He even tried biting into it with his own teeth to try and feel something, but the only thing he felt was his own teeth grinding against something. But nothing much came up from his hoof. He stomped the hoof down, again not feeling much. But then he heard a huff come from either Storm or Nichrome, both of which didn't look very thrilled, talking amongst themselves.

"Something you two want to say?"

"You know what, yeah I do," said Storm, "This plan stinks! I got every single storm troop out the wazoo ready to pummel and takeover, and you're making me hold back because you're listening to some fat little brat?"

"That 'fat little brat' nearly killed him -"

"ah ah ah, I'm sorry, was I talking to you?" Storm snapped, hand raised to shut Budgerite up.

"But they are right, you power-hungry baboon," Grogar stated, "And I said he can have that pack of fools of his, and his doll-set he calls Beach City."

"WHY?!" exclaimed Storm, "Come on, think chief, Sumu gave us gold info: you got only three Diamonds now, several Gems who don't even know their names, corrupted Gems up the heehaw you can use, not to mention an entire army waiting to jump in at the flip of a coin! Seriously, even by yourself, you can probably trample them without breathing hard."

"Then Spinel would kill me. Is THAT what you want?" Grogar snarled, before getting up and starting to move off a ways, a small limp in his back hoof still.

"Since when did that bother you?" Storm asked, confused. "Steven tried killing ya, and you didn't cry over THAT!"
Grogar stopped altogether hearing that name. Those three words "I forgive you" replayed inside his head for just a quick moment, Steven extending his hand to him pictured in his mind before he quickly shook it away.

"I planned for that in case it happened, you idiot," Grogar growled, getting right in Storm's face, "but Spinel's outburst and fight with me nearly ended me and my authority! And if I lose my authority … where will yours be?"

Storm would surrender, but as he knew Grogar was willingly staying away from this brat, he quickly got himself together.

"You know something? I don't need a hot headed ram telling me where my "AUTHORITY" is! You had Steven right there, and instead of killing him and calling it a day, YOU RAN! HA! I bet I can take over all of Equestria with an arm and a leg behind my back! And I won't be holding back."
Grogar should've suspected this would happen.

"Is that a fact, boy?"

"Of course it is! I didn't get my crown by chasing my tail like a mutt," Storm said. Grogar wasn't amused by his confidence at all. Here was a boastful creature that barely did much to help him in the first place. Before he could speak though, Nichrome gave the king a nudge. Once he got his attention, Nichrome then whispered something to him right then and there. The idea Nichrome had seemed to please the ram.

"Fine. Go. Try and take your kingdom. I'll even send you there myself. If you do it, then you can have it. But when you fail, you submit to ME."

"And if I refuse this deal?" Storm questioned, eyebrow raised.

"Then the Red Diamond can have you," Grogar warned.

"Yeah, I dunno who that is, but whatever. Let's get this storm started! … Oh, that's pretty good, I should trademark that," Storm remarked, before starting off on his way. However, Storm stopped briefly and turned back to the unicorn.

"TEMPEST!"

"Coming, coming," Tempest said, though she wasn't thrilled about this either. Nichrome couldn't help but snicker, but Tempest just ignored him. Grogar, as he said, got out his hoof and made a good slice for Storm and Tempest to travel through and while Storm didn't hesitate to go through, Tempest only glanced back one more time before following the other king away.

"Geesh. I wouldn't wanna be her right now," Bray commented.

"May I have the honor of killing them, sir?" Nichrome asked, excitedly. Grogar was quiet for a bit.

"You can have Storm if you want. … I'll deal with Tempest myself. ONLY when it comes to it. Now you three get back to the army. I got some more thinking to do," Grogar concluded. Nichrome, Bray, and Budgerite went off on their way from there, leaving only Grogar himself to his own thoughts.

It was gonna be a long night.

…….

"So now I got to wait for you," Steven said.
Steven's room was mostly quiet for the most part, with many a Gem and Pony now off and doing who knows what. The least he could say was that he knew where the mind-erased Gems were (more or less), and with Grogar away they wouldn't end up in that serious of trouble. At least he was sure that Sapphire was keeping where she was, the blue Gem not moving off the couch since first settling down on it earlier that day. Too bad she was the only one who stayed put.
Steven just laid there in bed, holding Lapis Lazuli in hand out in front of him for a bit until another sigh escaped him, bringing Lapis to his chest.

"She will be back in the next couple of days," said Sapphire.

"Thanks, but I didn't say anything," Steven said.

"I predicted you would've asked me to look in the future, so I acted accordingly," Sapphire explained. Even if Sapphire seemingly behaved as level-headed as she usually did, Steven could still tell this isn't the Sapphire he knew and loved. Too monotone.

"I need to write this stuff down," Steven decided.

And write down he did. After fetching himself some paper, and getting some small light up in his room, Steven started to go right ahead and write some things down in the form of a list. There was a lot he had to do, and he couldn't afford to forget any of them now. Sapphire, while not seemingly noticing Steven doing this, did listen in slightly.

"Ok, let's see … number one: recover my friends' memories. Number two: make a home for the Dazzlings … somewhere. Number three: finish building Little Homeworld. Number four: somehow heal the spot that Injector left. … umm …" Steven paused, seeing the list he was making so far. That was the bigger issues he was left with right now. "... number five: … handle Grogar."

He will NOT go after him. Not yet. After finishing up the whole list of the big five, along with a few extra things, Steven gave his list a title, folded it, and placed it by his alarm clock. He'd put it in lion's mane or something, but his lack of power probably made that a problem to do anyway. Lion wasn't there too, so there's that. He placed Lapis Lazuli's gemstone over by the paper too so he wouldn't forget her either. He had to sleep on this … somehow …
And he felt so close too. He was ready to just go to sleep.

but not before one small verse ...

Here we are, back together …
He we are, back together, and it's wrong …
we all could've enjoyed, could've sang this song …
but now, they're gone …
Because of them …
Happily ever after, could've been ...

Author's Note

Oh how mind-recovery can be so stingy sometimes eh? You either get it, or you don't XP
So yeah, looked like Spinel's scythe left WAY more of a mark now, and while the movie left four Gems to fix, now we got ourselves seven to handle. Not to mention a few new mix-ups, just making it more complicated. :pinkiehappy: Sorry, no "Uh Greg Universe" this time. But anyway, here's to seeing how the remaining Gems and Ponies can handle this little issue. Not to mention Storm's upcoming attack ...

When it rains it pours, and it's still got some pouring to go before it chills out. :rainbowderp:

Overruled!

While it may seem nice for the Diamonds to now return to their old stomping grounds back on Homeworld, it still seemed a bit more empty since Pink Diamond wasn't anywhere around. The throne room was absent one more Gem to fully complete the Diamond symbol (again), Yellow and Blue Diamond sitting with the empty space in between them within their throne room as one of their own Gems was going over the current situation with them all.

"So at our current rate, my Diamonds," concluded the messenger, "we'll be at full function by the end of this month."

"And the healed Gems? How're they handling their situation?" Blue Diamond inquired.

The messenger Gem actually seemed to recoil a little bit, but as she was in company of the Diamonds themselves she had to try and say something to them.

"W-Well … some are fine. Some are still adjusting …" it did appear that the messenger wanted to say more about it, but Blue Diamond didn't want to force any information out of this one Gem if she could help it. It was a hard time for everyone after all, no doubt there would be some lasting trouble after so much tyranny.

"Thank you. That will be all for now," Blue Diamond simply said. The messenger Gem actually breathed a sigh of relief, before bowing to the trio and starting to go away. Pretty soon it was only Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond present in the room.

"This is wonderful news. It'll make all the difference when Grogar's touch on Homeworld's been fully removed, don't you think so Yellow?" said Blue Diamond.
However, looking over to her fellow Diamond did leave her seeing some more … irritation. Not as much as the intial Spinel thing left her in, but seeing Yellow Diamond tapping her finger on the arm of her throne did give Blue Diamond enough to know.

"Yes, everything going wonderfully. Blue," Yellow said. Yet her tone said a bit more bitterness. Not dramatically angry, but more of a "tired housewife" kind of bitter tone. But for Blue Diamond she didn't have to wait too long to figure out what the problem was, as another Gem from Yellow Diamond's sector came in from nearby, giving her signature Diamond insignia as she stepped in.

"I've returned my Diamond!"

"About time. And …?"

"Uhh … she's not back yet," the Gem informed. Yellow Diamond brought her hand to her head, groaning from the news.

"Seriously? … Fine. That will be all," she grumbled, letting the other Gem go off on her way. This news was enough to make her get on her feet for a bit. Blue Diamond got up to try and comfort her.

"Now, Yellow, we talked about this: Pink Diamond will come back around, it just takes more time for her to reform properly. You're just going to have to be a bit more patient with -"

"Blue, I'm NOT referring to Pink, I'm referring to White."

"Huh?"

"Don't say "huh" like you haven't noticed," Yellow Diamond said, thumb aimed to the other, much larger empty throne between the two, "White Diamond didn't take one step out of her own room since we got back from Earth. It's bad enough the whole Injector incident was partially her fault to begin with, the least she can do is show up."
As Yellow Diamond was saying all of this, Blue Diamond took a look over by the empty throne. They all have their own reaction when it came to the injector incident, and the temporary loss of the current Pink Diamond, but White diamond seemed to be having the most trouble. Yellow Diamond blaming her for the incident wasn't helping much either in this recovery of hers.

"For a start, please stop blaming her for what happened," Blue Diamond stated.

"Well it's the truth! She created that injector that nearly destroyed Pink Diamond's Earth, and it was her experimenting that made that Spinel go insane!"

"But it wasn't her who made Spinel come to Earth, was it?!" retorted Blue back, "She feels sorry enough without you blaming her all the time!"
Not an often happening, but Yellow did recoil a little bit after Blue Diamond's outburst. Not withstanding a grunt escaping her closed mouth. At least Blue was quick to correct herself.

"I'm sorry. … Look, why don't we both check on her, and see if she's okay?"

"... Fine. …"

…

A short walk was all it took for Blue and Yellow to get from the throne room to White Diamond's room, her door shut tight and with nobody by the door for any recognition. Yellow simply stood aside by the nearest wall, arms crossed as usual in such situations, as Blue Diamond knocked on White's door.

"White? It's us … you've been in there all day and night. Is everything okay?" Blue Diamond asked. But even with the offer, neither of them heard anything going on from inside the room. Sure they heard … something. But a clear voice was hardly any. Blue Diamond tried again.

"White, are you in there? We just want to check on you," Blue said, knocking a bit more loudly. But again, nothing. Eventually, Blue sighed and turned to Yellow. All Blue really had to do was give Yellow Diamond a look that told her exactly what she wanted to do. Yellow Diamond didn't feel too keen on it, but with a sigh she went to the door next.

"Hey, it's Yellow Diamond. Listen, if you're feeling bad about … you know. The Injector. Spinel. I'm not fully blaming you -"

"Yellow."

"Ok, I'm not blaming you at all," Yellow Diamond corrected (reluctantly). "But can you come out now? You should know by now this isn't good for any Diamond."

"... N-No. … Go away …"
Now Yellow and Blue were paying more attention. They finally got a voice, yes, enough for both of them to hear … but it wasn't White Diamond's voice. Too high-pitched. Quieter. Younger even. Blue was confused, but Yellow immediately started getting suspicious.

"Who's in there?" she demanded. Then both Diamonds began to hear shuffling going on in the room, as if whoever was in there was trying to hide before anyone could find her. Yellow even placed her ear on the door to be absolutely sure something was in there, hearing the shuffling and muffled voices a bit clearer in there. Suddenly Yellow Diamond was trying to force the door open, despite it being locked.

"Yellow, wait!" Blue gasped, but with a quick electrical shock to short-circuit the locking on the doors, Yellow Diamond forced them wide open to see what the game was in there. Once she got that door opened up, and looked into White Diamond's bedroom, there was no one in sight. No clue saying anyone got out either, nothing opened to escape so they must still be in here somewhere.

"White?" Blue asked.

"We know you're in here, so come out," added Yellow, referring to the new voices she heard. Both Diamonds ventured in closer, trying to find some sort of clue.

"I don't believe this. Did someone sneak in here and take her?" Yellow wondered, though she really hated to admit what was growing to be a more likely idea. But no evidence said anyone took her away anywhere. As they kept trying to look around, Blue Diamond went beyond the bed, and actually caught sight of something on the ground. It was fairly small, only a little bit of silver fabric, but it was enough to tell her who indeed this belonged to. As confused as it was to suddenly see it get yanked under the bed.

"... White? What're you doing under there?" Blue asked, getting down on her knees and trying to look under the bed to see her. The fabric though made view under said bed a little bit difficult, and while she couldn't see White Diamond herself, she knew her cape was in there at least. They both could hear a whimpering from under there, something sounding very scared for some reason, and trying desperately not to get caught.

"White can't fit under there, Blue. That's ridiculous, even for her," Yellow Diamond stated.

"Do you see her anywhere else?" Blue remarked.

"D-Don't see me, PLEASE don't see me!" a voice quietly screamed … apparently not realizing that the two could still hear it.

"We can hear you, you know that?" Yellow Diamond said sternly. A quick yelp was heard under the bed and, tired of waiting, Yellow Diamond gathered her strength and grabbed hold of the bed. If they won't come out, then she'll just have to move it out of the way. Before Blue Diamond could say anything, Yellow Diamond lifted the giant bed off the ground, and … finding nobody.

"Whoever's in here, stop playing games! You're not allowed in this part of the palace … or in the palace, at all -" Yellow Diamond warned. However, as Blue Diamond was looking on in a surprising amount of shock, Yellow Diamond then felt what seemed like something small slip off of the underside of the bed … and on her head, right in her face.

"GAH!" Yellow yelped, blindsided by this thing suddenly on her face. The bed was tossed aside, landing on its side as Yellow Diamond quickly slapped whatever it was off her face, the thing landing on the floor nearby the white cape. Normally a hit like that he could walk off, but not in the condition he was in … or the size he was in, that is.
On removing the bed, the two looked and saw the seemingly unknown visitors to the palace, one trying to make room under the cape briefly until Blue Diamond just picked it up and revealed -

White. Diamond.

Only much, much smaller. Just yesterday she towered over all the Diamonds. Now she barely reached Pink Diamond's height thanks to her hair, the cape like a giant blanket. Her outfit was the same, minus the cape itself, and her complexion seemed younger, more like a teenager at least.
And she wasn't alone either, White Diamond clutching another creature in her arms out of fear. As for what the creature, compared to how he was normally viewed, he looked downright tiny - about normal Pony-sized, limbs equal proportion despite being the same mish-mash of eagle, bear, lizard, and goat. He didn't have any horns anymore, and his wings (which were already small to begin with), no longer helped him fly around.

Discord.

"...…. Uhh ……. We can explain," muttered Discord.

~~~~~~

*SLAM*

"Jasper, we just built that!" shouted Bismuth, as Jasper just finished punching the daylights out of yet another doorframe for being just a tad too small.

Little Homeworld was not taking any breaks either in its work, but while the Harmony Gems still had a lot to do in rebuilding it along with healing what corrupted Gems remained, that would have to wait for a while. For now, as the group gathered nearby the big tower at the center of the settlement, their main focus now was on trying to get the memories of their friends back. Lapis and Pink Diamond were still trapped in their gemstones at this point, so they were going to have to wait on them for a while longer. All the remaining Gems of the Harmony Gems (the ponies couldn't make it today) were present and accounted for, with only Pearl, Spinel, and Sapphire being there mainly on necessity: Spinel being with Flint, Pearl providing an umbrella for Connie during the soft snowfall, and Sapphire … well, because her future vision told her she would be there anyway.
As for the others, Flint and Steven were both standing up at attention, Flint already drawing out what he thought would be the best diagram for who to do first on a chalkboard brought to them from Ponyville.

"Okay, so if we're gonna get their memories back, we can't just go in without a plan, so here's the best scenario we got," Flint explained.

"Why do we need a scenario if we're just repeating events? We can re-create them, can't we?" Diopside asked.

"We are re-creating them," said Steven, "But it won't be that easy if it's just us. We need people closer to each of them. Like Peridot!" Steven took a piece of chalk, and drew an arrow connecting Ruby, pointing to Peridot, "All of her experiences Ruby keeps helping her with: her fighting, her Cutie Mark, even having her enjoy fusion some more."

"Oh yeah, Rubidot! Totally forgot that was a thing," said Emerald.

"So I guess Lapis is off the list because we already got the boulder rolling," assumed Bismuth, noticing how Lapis Lazuli wasn't up on the diagram like the others.

"Well you did poof her like she did when she first got to Earth, so I assume -" *SPLAT* "- what the?!"
A bit out of nowhere, but the snow coming down did pile up on the tower's outside building platforms. One of which just needed a little bit of nudging to land on him.

"Sorry!" called a worker from far above them.

"Pearl, can I borrow that?" Flint asked, pointing to the umbrella.

"I'm sorry, but my Ms. Maheswaran will be vulnerable without it," Pearl stated.

"I think I can handle a bit of snow without the umbrella, Pearl. You can give it to him," Connie said. Only then did Pearl give the umbrella to Flint, who got it tied to the side of the chalkboard so the snow wouldn't land on him again … only for Pearl to pull another umbrella out from her gemstone, and got it over Connie's head again.

"I tried," Connie said.

"By the way, where is Ruby? Haven't seen her since she reformed back at the Beach House," wondered Flint.

"She is guarding Padparadscha now, so, I'm gonna guess wherever she is, she is," Fulgurite assumed. Ruby didn't seem willing to leave "her" Sapphire's side. Though bringing that up did get them wondering on a very keen detail with Ruby and Sapphire.

"But how do we get them together …?" Steven wondered. It wouldn't be that hard if Ruby and Sapphire were already together, even if it was just a guard with her assignment, but the fact Ruby was with a completely different Sapphire only complicated things even more.

"Well, if we're starting with the those two, why don't we get the Dorito out of those Limb Enhancers first, huh? I mean, look at her," Emerald pointed out.
Peridot in question wasn't actually that far away at all, though much of what she was doing was just checking out the area, not really accounting for the things that they needed, or if anyone needed any of it (like testing a hammer on some snow to test its density).

"It's not that bad. She's more hand-on than she did with her normal enhancers," shrugged Steven.

"That and she's actually helping Little Homeworld get itself rebuilt," said Connie. And indeed she was, as after testing the hammer on the snow, she started hammering some nails into a plank. It was again for testing density, but in a way she was still helping them out somewhat … only for the same plank to suddenly get knocked over by Jasper, who needed SOMETHING to train with.

"I was examining that!" Peridot said. Jasper though wasn't in the mood for anyone shouting at her, and picked up the Peridot by the collar.

"I got nothing else to train with, so I'm taking this. Got a problem with that?" Jasper questioned, relying on intimidation in full to make Peridot shut up.

"Jasper, not again!" gasped Diopside.

"I'll take this one. Watch this," Emerald said, clearing his throat, and starting to march right over to the brute. He may be small, but there was some advantages for Jasper being reduced to how she came out. She may've been reduced to just a brute and a bully, but …

"ATTENTION!"

Jasper was also shockingly obedient. Upon heard an Emerald's demand, Jasper immediately dropped Peridot, spun around, and presented the diamond insignia to Emerald.

"What … the …?" said Connie.

Spinel couldn't help but snicker as Emerald got out his hexagon and floated up to Jasper's eye level.

"What're you doing?"

"No one's even bothering to train, so I'm taking this for some practice materials, sir," said Jasper, showing the plank.

"On who's authority, shrimp?" Emerald questioned, giving Jasper one of those "evil eye" expressions, humbling the Quartz soldier as she didn't technically get any orders. Jasper quickly got the plank back where she found it, all under the watchful eye of Emerald so she wouldn't get in any trouble.

"Okay, quartz, here's the update: my pals are looking for a Ruby guarding a Padparadscha around here, so instead of smashing the daylights outta everything, how about you go fetch them both for us."

"Yes sir!"

"Yes what?"

"Y-Yes, your clarity," Jasper corrected.

"You got it. And don't hurt them will ya?" Quickly Jasper turned and raced off to find her assigned targets, as Emerald smugly got off his hexagon and strolled back to the rest.

"How did you do that?" Jade asked.

"Just show em you got bite for your bark, that's how," Emerald replied with a smirk, "Also helps Emeralds are build to take charge of Quartzes."

"I'll buy the second one," Fulgurite said. They've tried showing "bite for their bark" all last night, but Jasper didn't really give them much mind except for when Emerald tried it. As dumb as the idea sounded. At least Jasper had some form of leash to her destructive manners.

"That's great, but what're we gonna do while she's doing that?" asked Connie.

A question that, before anyone could verbally answer, was already given one due to sheer timing: just before a word could come from anyone, the Warp Pad in Little Homeworld suddenly flashed bright. The flash itself stood only for a moment, until the weight of two Diamonds touched earth's ground. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond had arrived … at least it seemed like just those two.

"Yellow? Blue?" Steven asked.

"Hello, everyone. We're so glad to see you … it is only you for now, is it?" Blue Diamond asked.

"We got a few workers up along the tower still. And NO Yellow, Pink's not reformed yet, so don't ask," Flint said. Well so much for that. They didn't have anymore time to wait, so Yellow looked up to the workers.

"That will be all for now. See if Equestria needs some work," Yellow Diamond quickly ordered. A bit of a quick order, but those that remained for the day did eventually work their way down from their posts, heading towards the Warp Pad.

"Hey, hey, w-what're you doing?" asked Fulgurite.

"Just a moment," Blue whispered. The whole group waited a bit more until what remained of the workers got into the Warp Pad. A few flashes of said Warp Pad later, and it appeared to be just the two Diamonds and what Gems of the Harmony Gems remained. Blue and Yellow checked the area once more, only seeing the Harmony Gem members and nothing more than that.

"Ok, so what's the matter?" Bismuth asked.

"... Ok. It's safe to come out now," Blue said to her hair.

"T-This is so embarrassing." muttered a voice that didn't sound familiar. "Can I just talk from in here?"

"Let's just get this over with - OUT YA GO!" said another oddly unfamiliar voice.

And suddenly something was "kicked out" of Blue Diamond's hammock of hair at front, landing down abruptly on the ground, as the kicker just jumped out himself, landing not-so-gracefully himself right next to her. No Gemstones were harmed in the fall, though what dignity this Diamond had was quickly being gone as she got herself off of her face.

White Diamond and Discord.

"W-WHITE?! DISCORD?!?!" exclaimed Steven, shocked like everyone else.

"H-Hello," muttered White Diamond. Seeing all of their shocked faces did not suit White Diamond well, but there wasn't anything she could do about it in the state she was in. For a good half a minute, everyone was just trying to accept what they were seeing was real. They looked so … frail now.

"... Oh … my … gosh … you look so CUUUUUUTE!" Squeaked Spinel. Much to White Diamond's own embarrassment, Spinel couldn't help herself, and placed a hand on her head. … Stars, this felt weird.

"W-Wha? … How … y-you - …" As for Flint, he couldn't even come close to comprehending what trick this was. The same world-conquering, experimental, GIGANTIC Diamond Authority leader, and now ... she looked so small he probably can look down on her for the first time in history.

"I predict you will all get a quick shock," said Sapphire.

"Sapphire, you're not Padparad - YOW!" Emerald was cut off when Fulgurite zapped him, along with every other Gem of the Harmony Gems all at once … including herself.

"Nevermind," he groaned.

"Welll we're not dreaming," Steven said, dazed slightly.

"I'd love this to be a dream, then I can wake up like this," Discord said. He got his talon out and snapped his finger.
Now, what WOULD happen was that he would pop in bed, and an alarm clock of himself would appear next to him to ring away, and jolt him away. … But nothing happened. Discord, annoyed, tried snapping over and over again like someone trying to spark a lighter, but it was no use.

"Stupid magic, not working. I could've at least kept my good looks, but NOOOOO I got ditched of that too."

"Your magic isn't working, Discord?" gasped Jade.

"Does it look like it's working?" Discord sighed, slouching. This all felt too weird without asking the obvious question, and Diopside readied to ask it.

"We're really hoping you and your friends are capable of changing them back. Please," said Blue Diamond with a hint of worry.

"But … HOW?!" exclaimed Diopside, "You're this strongest beings we know!"

"We could really use an explanation here," Connie added.

"Allow me, my Ms. Maheswaran!" Pearl suddenly said, going over to White Diamond and Discord to investigate herself. Typically it would be White diamond giving her subjects the more judgmental investigating look, so being given one herself just felt so backwards. Especially with how diligent Pearl was investigating both her and Discord. And her verdict? …

"Ah! What we have here is an Off-Colored Diamond."

"I could've told you that!" commented White.

"Ehh … thanks Pearl," said Connie, looking a bit troubled on her just flat out saying it. She wasn't wrong, but still it wasn't helping White Diamond much, who at this point was flustering all over again.

"Actually, you can tell us a lot. What even happened to you two?" asked Steven. Discord and White diamond looked to one another, but Discord was the one who went to talk for them both.

"Ehhhh … well … how open-minded are you?"

"Don't you know?" Fulgurite asked.

"Well … okay, so. It seems that I maaaay have gone just a teeny tiny bit overboard with my whole broken reality magic for a fairly long time. I mean, you know how it is, when you have so much -"

"Get to the point, Discord," butt in Bismuth.

"Ok, ok. … I … I lost my magic. All my reality-bending ways are GONE! Taken away from me because I was so "reckless and beastly"." Though Discord didn't see it as either or.

"And White?" asked Steven, "did she lose her powers too?!"

"Yes, but I don't know why: I mean I know why I had to be powered down, but I have NO IDEA why they brought her along too," Discord replied, pointing to White Diamond.

"I believe they were very clear about that," White Diamond said meekly, rubbing her arm.

"Trust me, WD, compared to me you barely did a thing! I can control the very fabric of reality, you just do it in a more "realistic" way."

"And who's "they"?" asked Yellow. A detail that Discord and White Diamond didn't technically explain that well on the first chat.

"It's like this," said Discord, only to snap his fingers and show nothing again.

"Ok, I'll explain it and you can just imagine it! So boring," Discord huffed. It never was fun to be without powers.

"Maybe I can just show them," White Diamond said. They did weaken her a lot, but she had to have something still in her to work with. She stood at attention as best she could, eyes closed as she focused hard on the remaining energy inside her gemstone. It took a lot, but eventually she finally got the effort to create a display screen.

"Are we watching a movie?" Spinel asked curiously.

Through White Diamond's remaining display screen, it showed a rather vivid memory of what occurred to her and Discord, the best she could remember. Since she was so much weaker though, she needed some extra effort to make the image crystal clear. The first main image was of the almighty ruler North Star, apparently just waking up as she was on the ground … somewhere. Wherever it was she was locked up, stuck inside what looked to be a cage of sorts with Discord alongside her. Neither one seemingly tried to break out of the cage, and despite their large size the small servant was pulling them along just fine. Which in case was a blast from the past: a red-capped crane. The same one that they've seen months before, alongside the members of the Spirit Council. The bird seemingly walked along nothing for a while, until the bird pushed on some doors.
And out came the light of a much brighter room, which at first seemed blinding to not only White and Discord, but for those watching the screen too. Eventually though, with the bells of the building still chiming a rather eerie tune, the two found themselves in the most unlikely place. A courtroom. A Very, large courtroom. … At least, they assumed it was a courtroom, given how things were set up with numerous odd figures about the place. With the largest of all being at the very front, seemingly expecting them.

Then the crane came forward in a few steps, and began to speak, starting his first sentence with a regal bow to the leading charge.

(Pink Floyd - The Trial + FENNAH's The Trial parody)

Red-Capped Crane; Good morning, your great honor!

After bowing, the crane straightened up, starting to walk pass the cage briefly before continuing, a wing aiming at the condemned, and the accused.

Red-Capped Crane; The crowds shall plainly show
the Prisoners who now stand before you
And caught red-handed showing FEELINGS

Confusing statement, but White Diamond and Discord still heard the crowd make a slight gasp on such a statement. Maybe the idea had more meaning to the council than they figured. The crane paced around in tune to the song, step by beat.

Red-Capped Crane; Showing FEELINGS
of an almost Human nature
… This will not do.

The crane seemingly was done with its statements about their reasons here, and once it was done singing it flew off out of sight, presumably to join the others. "Your Great Honor" eyed them all for a moment or so. While White Diamond and Discord may not be too intimidated under normal circumstances, they still could sense that whoever "Your Great Honor" was, it will NOT be messed with.
Then they both felt something land on top of the cage, easily viewed on the screen, but humbling the Draconequus and Diamond. Only Amethyst would've easily recognized this guy from her dabbling with Time Travel way back when.

Time Jumper; I always said I'd like a well-made story
but I won't suffer sorry
ones who bring forth not but worry
to the lack of bitter will

Time Jumper got off of the cage, allowing the other two to see him in full, as he moved along the cage. White Diamond didn't know if he was with them or against them, based off what he was talking about as Time Jumper paused by the side of the cage, resting one of his arms on it as another pair seemingly revealed a written list, which he unraveled apart to his singing.

Time Jumper; But here, presents your bill
The result of heart and artist
I'd say "The universe is joyous!"
But with that, we have to say ...

Discord checked the bill itself, which almost seemed to extend down to the floor, and then some, combining not only the shenanigans of Discord's world-bending magic, but White Diamond's experimentation as well. Let's just say the bill was REEEAAALLLLY big.

"Oh poo," Discord gulped. But the song was far from done, as they then heard a voice off from who knew where. One that the Diamonds recognized vaguely, and one White Diamond in recent days felt silly for cutting down in the first place. The Rose Tree. The Lost One.

The Lost One; Diiiistaaant …
trapped in your own mind
you are diiiistaaant …
Constantly dreaming ...

Even if the tree didn't have any legs or arms, it still seemed to move on its own, and moved closer towards the cage itself. White Diamond moved back as much as she could to the back of the cage.

The Lost One; I'd just wished they'd give us some more time to think

???; Diiiistaaant …
trapped in your own mind
she is diiiistaaant …

After the tree seemingly went away, then came a figure Discord knew WELL wouldn't be happy to see him: The Spirit of the World Yet To Come. They all knew who this was this time, her appearance unique to her alone (well, since Luna was with them that is). Spiteful, the spirit was more handsy, and actually grabbed Discord by the neck and pull him to her.

The Spirit; You little rats, they've done it now
I hope they throw away the key
you should've stayed away and kept down to your world

Discord tried pulling and squirming out of her grip, but she only got out another hoof and wrapped around him tighter, keeping him locked in her grip like if he was a worm.

The Spirit; But NOOO!
You HAD to go your own way
Did you shatter any more worlds lately?

She attempted to wrap Discord around her neck to mock him, but all the draconequus could do was slither back to the cage as she walked towards "Your Great Honor".

The Spirit; Just five minutes, Your Great Honor
Them, and us, alone ...

"Hold me," muttered Discord. For a brief moment, it almost looked like Your Great Honor was going to give her that privilege, much to Discord's trouble as with White Diamond. But before she could go in and do so …

???; WWWAAAAIIIIIIT!

Out of nowhere, in came probably the most caring one of this council so far, and one that Steven knew right off the bat: Quetzalcoatl! The winged serpent flew in from above, quickly wrapping around both the diamond and draconequus, making sure he was heard out.

Quetzalcoatl; These two aren't bad by character
it's coincidental fare!

Quetzalcoatl slithered forward, his coils slowly loosing from the cage as he moved closer to "Your Great Honor".

Quetzalcoatl; They never aimed to tear their calling
rather a sprawling display of
emotion, in their nature
Your Great Honor, we can take that whole!

It seemed briefly that Q's words were reaching them jury nearby, who were looking in between eachother in silent discussion about the matter. At least there was ONE who was trying to make this fair, but the highest weren't all too convinced by his words. Quetzalcoatl wasn't ready to give up though.

Quetzalcoatl; Maaayyybee
There's more to this tall tale
just Maaayyybee …
both sides of the wall

The Spirit moved forward towards Q at this point, White and Discord telling that they were ready to butt heads about this, glaring at one another.

Quetzalcoatl + The Spirit; There's a difference between nonsense, after all

Their singing though was briefly cut short as they began to hear a very low and distant rumble coming from "Your Great Honor" himself, which itself sent shivers down the bodies of White and Discord. If the Spirit of Chaos was left shaking in his hoof and foot over this thing, you just know it was a force to be reckoned with.
Then came the voices again, this time aiming to Discord.

???; Craaazzzy …
Over the rainbow
he is Craaazzzy ...

…

"Your Great Honor" then revealed himself before the prisoners in full. He had heard more than enough against White Diamond and Discord, the titan of a creature leaning forward and slamming down onto the ground with a pair of tortoise feet. The mighty being was a GIGANTIC, COLOSSAL tortoise, so big he could probably swallow White Diamond whole if he wanted to. Which given his angry expression on both her and the chaos spirit, was probably an idea he had in mind. His eyes matched those of a scorned Dragon. Discord, freaking out, wrapped around White Diamond as the Diamond held Discord close as well. Neither could tear their eyes away from the giant, which probably would have dire consequences anyway.

Your Great Honor; THE EVIDENCE BEFORE THE COURT
IS SO INDISPUTABLE
THERE'S NO NEED FOR THE JURY TO RETIRE!

The voice from Your Great Honor showed a force in of itself, one that kept the rest of the council silent as he spoke. No one was going to defy his words in this session, not after everything he heard and knew. Your Great Honor then started marching closer and closer to the cage, his shadow casting over the prisoners like an approaching storm.

Your Great Honor; IN ALL EONS OF JUDGING
I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE
OF CREATURES SO DESERVING OF THE FULL PENALTY OF LAW!

The powers of the council began to take more effect once the titan of a tortoise got close enough, the cage morphing into a zoo brick wall, the Draconequus and Diamond left trapped inside. With Your Great Honor's reptilian head and jaws taking up what was the top of their ceiling, every word slamming down hard.

Your Great Honor; THE WAY YOU TORMENT, FELLOW
YOUR EXQUISITE BLUE AND YELLOW
FILLS ME WITH THE URGE TO DEFACATE!!

"W-What're you gonna do to us?" White finally asked. Your Great Honor already got an answer for not only her but Discord as well, one of his feet reaching in, and grabbing her.

Your Great Honor; SINCE, MY FRIEND
YOU HAVE REVEALED YOUR DEEPEST FEAR
I SENTENCED YOU TO BE EXPOSED
BEFORE YOUR PEERS!

TEAR DOWN THE WALL!

Even if it was through a screen, the voice itself almost seemed to shake the ground, they all felt so humbled by the voice. After the announcement, the whole screen turned a shining white, and abruptly cut short before White Diamond got too tired.

"So let me get this right," said Diopside, "A Giant Turtle. Not a mythical one, just a giant turtle. Took away your powers AND White diamond's powers, simply because you're too crazy and distant?"

"But he's a magical tortoise," said Discord, "... and the highest judge in the Spirit Council. Apparently."

"YOU can say that?" Steven asked.

"And I don't like it any one bit."

"BOULDERDASH!!"

A rather loud and sudden screech from seemingly nowhere, as everyone turned to the now ticked off looking Fulgurite, sparks coming out of her hair.

"WHOA WHOA, what's with you?" Emerald asked.

"THAT turtle that's what's with me! "Your GREEAAT honor" tried and convicted those two without even having any proof! Did any of you hear ONE THING of evidence in that whole song? HUH?!" Fulgurite complained, up a wall about the whole thing.
They all paused and replayed the entire song in their heads from start to finish, listening to each of the Spirit Council in their turns for something. They had a defendant in Q, prosecution in the Spirit, the jury for the others … and who had any evidence?

"Huh … you know, they actually didn't say anything other than "we hate you, die in a pit"," Emerald said.

"No. They had enough proof; I was too distant and made so many suffer … and Discord was too reckless," White Diamond gravely said.

"Well okay you were, but look at you now: you've been making a lot of progress to be better without making anyone suffer," Steven pointed out.

"I told them that on the way: I stopped experimenting on Gems, I stopped trying to conquer more worlds, I say "please" and "thank you" to lower lifeforms!" insisted White Diamond. Steven suddenly looked a little stern.

"What did we talk about?" Steven reminded.

"Ok, uh, equal lifeforms," corrected White Diamond. Suddenly it didn't seem as bad that they wouldn't listen to her even if she had plenty of evidence to protect her.

"There must be something you can do. You're more experienced with such happenings like this far more than we are," Blue Diamond inquired, hoping for a good answer here. That might be true, their track record being full of magical mayhem, but this was on a different kind of level. It still got some of them thinking on what to do however ...

"Hang on a sec. You said something earlier, Fulgurite. "Your Great Honor"'s already tried and convicted them," Bismuth pointed out.

"You got an idea, Bismuth?" Connie asked.

"Maybe. But I need to get a good look at that guy first," Bismuth concluded.

Everyone was quiet.

"... Y-You … you don't mean …"

"You got it: I'm gonna go right up to that Great Honor, and give him a piece of Harmony Gem mind. Anyone wanna join me?" Bismuth offered confidently. It took some bit of thinking, but some of them already were on board.

"We can't leave them like this. I say we go," Steven said.

"I'm game!" said Fulgurite.

"Me too!" Spinel said, all giggles (and possibly not knowing what's going on).

"ARE YOU COMPLETELY MAD?!" Discord screeched … which was extremely weird coming from him, "Did you not see with your eyeballs what "Your Great Honor" even is?! He's HUUUGE, and he can tear you in seconds! PLUS he's the big head judge of that council!"

"So?" Bismuth shrugged.

"... Aww heck, you made your point, but I can't take you there! I can't even do card tricks. … or shuffle. …"

"That's fine, Discord, you don't have to. Steven?" Bismuth waited for Steven to get her plan started, but Steven kinda got stuck.

"I think I left it back at the house," Steven admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry, we'll fetch it," said Connie, her and Steven (and Pearl as it ended up being) going off on their way. Or at least, they would've if not for Fulgurite to suddenly bolt by them, and then returning with Steven and Connie's portal key. Hardly breaking three to five seconds. Spinel, impressed, actually clapped upon her reentry.

"Hey, if we're gonna get going, we're gettin' going. Here ya go, Steven," Fulgurite said, tossing Steven his key, and tossing Connie her key (which Pearl caught for her).

"Wait, now?! Right now?" White Diamond asked.

"Duh," Fulgurite replied.

"Discord," said Bismuth, "you've been there, and they told me you made these keys. So think you can work them into sending us to where "Your Great Honor" is?"

Discord felt himself shiver a little bit, but he knew still that they will not exactly give up on him. Besides, he wanted his powers back! So, without a word, he snapped his talons towards Steven and Connie, talon opening and waiting for either of their keys. The method for actually making this work was surprisingly simple: after Steven gave his key to him, Discord brought the head to his mouth and whispered the exact location to said key. All Discord had to do then was toss the key out to a random direction, and it found its opening within the large tower, opening a door for them all to pass through.

"B-But wait, you're just "going"? But what about your pony friends?" White Diamond asked.

"Oh yeah. … White, Discord, you two can tell em for us while we're away. They'll believe you right away after seeing you both like this, so don't worry about that," Steven said. Blunt maybe, but they'd face it either way.

"If you're sure …"

"When have we ever let our friends down?" asked Bismuth with a wink. She'd say "let you down" but that's a hefty list actually.

"Anything you want us to do?" Blue Diamond asked.

"You two can come help us. I think we can make a case for White Diamond with two of her closest supporters," Steven concluded. Politics was a common and boring thing for them to do, but really it at least was something they can join the Harmony Gems with. With that decided, they group finally -

"Spinel's here to save the day with her best friend!"

Wait, they still had Spinel to deal with.

"Again, Spinel? You've been following me everywhere, just wait here will you?" Flint groaned. This had become such a common thing for a while now, and while Spinel didn't technically do anything harmful (thank the stars), Flint's patience was thinning out …

"Why would I do that? Best friends ALWAYS stick together!" Spinel said with her beaming smile. Only for Flint to push her back a bit, but Spinel still held his hand.

"I can't right now, I'm going to handle court session stuff. So please, just wait here with the others, and I'll be right back …"
Flint released her hand, just for a brief moment, and …

"NO!" she snapped, suddenly looking ready to kill him!

"WHOA! Ok … let's go together?"

"... YAY!"
And just like that Spinel was back to being her bubbly, happy self. Spinel wrapped her arms around him, and next thing he knew, he was stuck giving Spinel a piggy-back ride as they started going through.

"We'll talk about this later," said Flint.
Pretty soon, the only ones remaining were Discord and White Diamond.

"... Soooo … how far's the castle?"

With those two working out what to do, the rest and their teleportation actually took a bit of time compared to their typical teleportation with the portal keys. This at least gave them some time to consider what exactly to do on their way through the warpstream.

"Now, do you actually have a plan, Bismuth?" asked Connie.

"You bet. I just want to see what this guy's like first, then we'll get started on it," Bismuth replied.

"Sounds great, but be ready," said Steven, "Considering this guy drained Discord, who knows what we'll end up getting into?"

"Come on, how crazy can it be?" Fulgurite asked, just before their main method of teleportation reached its place. One step in and -

*CAAAWWW!*

The entire world of the Spirit Council laid out before them. And it was MASSIVE, starting with the bird-like creature that just flew by them, knocking many of them over with ease as it flew onward into a land that, for a lack of a better word, looked like a land of clouds and stars. Not too far off compared to a view from the Earth Moon Base, mixed with the flooring foundations of Cloudsdale. And they were seeing quite a fair share of beings not found in any of their worlds (far as they knew).

"... I should just keep my mouth shut," muttered Fulgurite.

~~~~~~

They may have been busy lately with Little Homeworld's construction, but the Mane Six still weren't going to let that get in the way for the upcoming holidays. Hearth's Warming was on its way to Canterlot, and even after what had been going on with Grogar's Army, they still took the time to setting up Canterlot for the great harmony holiday to come. Many a pony was at least lending their hoof in getting it all looking nice and sweet.

"Up goes the streamers, up goes the bows, and up goes the tinsel, here we goes!~" sang Pinkie Pie, hopping from building to building and getting both the red bows and minty green streamers and tinsel strung up across the rooftops, some of course stretching across the street. Not a single part missed in her hopping. In her hopping though, she made only one miss (kinda) and a red bow flew in the air for a bit until it landed on Applejack's hat as she was passing by with Twilight and Spike.

"I see the decorations are comin along, Pinkie Pie," said AJ.

"Yep! All bows, streamers, and tinsel hung by the chimneys with care! Chimneys, rooftops, AND street corners," Pinkie Pie reported, pointing out the decorations around them.

"Huh. Keep this up and we'll be done decorating Canterlot before lunchtime," said Spike, as he marked decorating off the list of to-do's.

"You know, after everything that's been going on, this is just the thing to unwind a little bit," Twilight said, taking a look up to the tinsel up on the buildings.

"Even a busy princess needs a holiday," said Spike, even playfully giving Twilight Sparkle a noogie to the head.

"Especially after being stuck inside that Tambalon place by a VERY evil goat king, and saving Earth from a super big injector," added Pinkie Pie. Twilight knew what they were talking about, and smiled as they all went along towards Canterlot's main square. THIS is where much of the activity's been going on inside Canterlot when it came to getting the city all prepped up for Hearth's Warming.
And coming out here Twilight got quite a bit of eye-candy: Moondancer with her friends of Canterlot enjoying the day, some decoration prepping on the Off-Colors part (with Ruby keeping guard of her Padparadscha Sapphire the whole time), and the rest of the Mane Six working some special preparations.

"Twilight, darling, there you are," said Rarity.

"Hello!" called the Rutile Twins.

"Hi, Twilight. Had a good walk on the way back?" Starlight asked, as the trio of Ponies and Dragon came up to them.

"Yeah, I'm all good. It's nice to be back to normal for a while," Twilight said. "... well, almost."

They knew who she was referring too, checking over to guarding Ruby. For the moment, Ruby was on high alert, "hup"s repeating from her mouth as she patrolled back and forth.

"Hello, Twilight," Padparadscha said with a smile.

"Well, memory or not, at least we know they're safe and sound," said Fluttershy.

"AND we get to re-introduce them to the most festive time of the year all over again!" added Pinkie.

"Besides, it's not like this is something we can't fix. Let's just get through the holidays first," Rainbow added, nudging Twilight Sparkle. Twilight looked back over to the Off-Colored Padparadscha and on-guard Ruby again.

"... I guess we can wait just a day or two. Uh, speaking of which, is she uh …"

"She's been rather protective, but meaningful," explained Fluorite, "Padparadscha told Ruby that we're all friends."

"Well that's one problem solved," Twilight said. Though as she was gonna find out, it won't be the last one today …

"ACK! My aching metatarsals! You know, you forget how convenient snap-travel is."
And just like that, the Elements of Harmony got their next problem for the day, in the form of an arriving Discord. Though aside from his obvious physical change from Draconequus serpent to Draconequus Pony, he also looked a bit ruffled up and worn out, sitting on the ground as he massaged his reptilian foot.

"And one problem given," remarked Starlight.

"Wait, did you walk here? On foot?" questioned Spike.

"And what's with the new look? Trying something new or what?" added Rainbow Dash.

"You're not reacting shocked or anything? Just give me a minute, I think I got a cramp in my hoof," Discord griped, trying to get his now sore muscles back into shape. So many eons using only his magic and he couldn't even go for a casual stroll without getting sore feet. But for Discord, he didn't need to say something was wrong just yet, especially with who was coming up next alongside Sapphire, also looking a bit worn out from her a long travel to Canterlot from the Warp Pad.

"Remind me *huff* to make a Warp Pad *huff* closer," White Diamond huffed, leaning against one of the buildings.

"WHITE?!" gasped the others.

"That's better," Discord sighed. Not on him, but whatever, he was too tired to care. They could buy Discord being in a different form, but White Diamond was just that much more unexpected.

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" asked left Rutile.

"What happened here?" asked right Rutile. The twins went quiet when White Diamond raised her hand, giving her a minute to catch herself up.
After getting themselves together, Discord and White Diamond both began explaining their situation to them, though being so tired they didn't include the video and song this time. It wasn't as entertaining, but it avoided the strain of even making it work at all so at least that was something.

"So let me get this straight," said Starlight once they were done, "You two don't have any power now because you got too power-nutty?"

"That's what he said, so the Gems are just up and off to try and see him about this. I know, it's crazy," White Diamond said, already wondering if they will even come back in one piece.

"And they left without us?!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"It's not like we were there to hear this, Pinkie," Applejack said, "Besides, someone's gotta hold down the fort til they get back. I bet they'd be a bit more worried if we all just up and left."

"But what do we do?" asked White Diamond, "I can't go back to Homeworld like … this."

"Well, then don't," Spike simply shrugged, "Weren't you gone from Homeworld for thousands of years before?"

As they were talking about things, Padparadscha saw Sapphire standing at attention off nearby. She may not know too much about Ruby and Sapphire in terms of backstory, but she did know they did belong together. So, eventually, Padparadscha moved over towards Sapphire, and stood alongside her. Ruby of course moved to the right position, and upon seeing the other Gem, she stood in between Sapphire and Padparadscha.

"Do I have permission to confront her, my Sapphire?" Ruby asked.

"I'm over here, Ruby," Padparadscha said. Sapphire wasn't all too fazed by this despite Ruby looking ready to fight. The others saw this happening, but Sapphire spoke up again.

"It's okay. I predict she won't have time to act," said Sapphire.

"Why?" Rhodonite said, worried over what answer would come next as Sapphire thought about it. …

"Because a large enemy ship will arrive in the settlement in the next minute, lead by a large white creature, accompanied by his own army. They will try to take over the kingdom as soon as they land," Sapphire explained.

… Oh clod. They were left mostly blank-faced after hearing that future vision being said, but it was quick to raise some alarm. Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash leaped off of the ground, going airborne. She was really hoping this wasn't true, but as soon as she got a good fifty feet off of the ground …

"Oh great."

Rainbow Dash was the first to see the oncoming danger, though it didn't take very long until Canterlot itself began to see just what kind of danger was starting to loom overhead. An airship. A huge, darkened zeppelin slowly coming in from the sky, the light blue streaks mirroring that of armor worn by a very particular group of Grogar's Army. An armored balloon and dark wooden base made up the body of this vessel, and as the pitch black smoke uttered from the ship's engines, it began to move into place right next to Canterlot's balcony. Time seemed to have stopped for everyone in town, looking on to the unfamiliar airship, some backing away out of worry. It was a sight that all in Canterlot, including the royals in the castle itself could see.

"Get back, everybody!" called Twilight. Those that were closer to the zeppelin quickly galloped away from the threat, and good timing as the hatch opened up from the side, a bridge connecting the Zeppelin to the Canterlot grounds.

"G-Grogar? Already?!" gulped Rhodonite.

"Everyone, keep it together," said Rarity.

Then they began seeing someone start to walk out into sight of the entire grounds of Canterlot. Though, she wasn't the white-furred creature described by Sapphire at all, she still was a pony that Twilight knew well.

"Tempest," Twilight muttered. At first, Tempest Shadow didn't really speak, but she did look over what exact "army" she was dealing with. She saw the Elements of Harmony no doubt, even some of the Gems alongside White Diamond. Though, she didn't have much time to go and confront any of them right now, as the royals arrived up front to see her. Princess Cadance, Princess Luna, and -

"Starswirl the Bearded? What's he doing here?!" quietly whispered Twilight.

"We were saving it for a Hearth's Warming surprise," quietly replied Spike. Well so much for that. The broken Unicorn meanwhile wasn't too fazed on seeing two more Alicorns, and a Unicorn who specialized in magic better than any Unicorn alive.

"And who might you be?" questioned Starswirl.

"My name is Commander Tempest Shadow," revealed Tempest, "And you must be Starswirl the Bearded. Alongside both Princess Luna of the night, and Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire. How nice to meet you three."
Though, the way she said "nice" made it sound a lot more threatening, as if her words themselves were venom. Tempest started to casually walk down from the Zeppelin before them all as they continued talking to her.

"And how may we help you?" asked Cadance.

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked. How about we start with your complete, and total surrender?" Tempest offered.

"Oh my - blue Sapphire! You were right," gasped Ruby, though in a more surprised way than a scared way, "what'll happen next?"

Sapphire paused and began to think before glancing to the third Alicorn nearby.

"The purple one will try talking to her."

"Come on guys, let's thump this chump!" Rainbow said, ready to fly in. However, Twilight quickly intervened.

"Hang on a second guys," said Twilight, "Let me see if I can talk things out."
With that idea in mind, Twilight flew right over towards Starswirl, Luna, and Cadance, standing up at front so Tempest could see her clearly. Tempest stopped moving briefly upon seeing her.

"Twilight Sparkle. See you've recovered well."

"Listen Tempest, don't do this," said Twilight, "If you just try and hear us out, maybe we can reach an agreement?"

"An agreement … alright, here's my agreement: the king doesn't like competition and can be a bit dangerous if he doesn't get his way, so surrender nicely please … or we make things difficult."

"The dark blue one will choose difficult."

"And why should we?" questioned Luna, "There's only one of you, and hundreds of us!"

For a moment, Tempest just stood still, looking around once more at all the ponies. Some knew of the full extent of Tempest's army, but instead of calling the cavalry in, Tempest decided to test something …

"They will then run away."

By jumping at the crowd! In a big leap, Tempest landed dangerously close to the citizens of Canterlot, her horn sparking up a storm like the king she followed, and that alone made the ponies scatter away, like mice before a cat. Some just as desperate in trying to get away from her. Heck, one pony literally found a barrel and dove inside to hide as if it'll do anything.

"THAT'S your army?" Tempest questioned, the scare so easy it wasn't even fun. Admittedly, Luna did feel a bit rough about how quickly they were willing to bolt off, but that did seem to further prove Tempest's point.

"Leave them alone," demanded Twilight, "It's us your after, not them."

"I was just testing, anyway. But it looks like you're the only ones not so … skittish. Why stand up for ponies who can't stand up for themselves?"

"We're more than capable of standing up for our lands," warned Starswirl.

"Really? Let me see what you're capable of."

"The large white creature will appear."

"Fascinating! And what'll that be?"

The Storm King! After all of that warm up, Storm got just too tired of waiting, and decided to just get up out of the ship to check out his future kingdom. Tempest quickly stopped and turned around to see him, regathering herself.

"To submit to you, your excellency," Tempest said.

"Submitin's good, I like that!" said Storm, just before catching sight of the Gems nearby. The Off-Colors were odd, but his first target came the very bright white one in front of them. "Uh. Who're you supposed to be?"

Why her first?

"... I'm the leader of the Diamond Authority," said White Diamond, attempting (and possibly failing) to be brave and regal. Storm though just laughed a bit.

"Oh yeah. Heh. That's nice. … why's this one still here?" Storm questioned to Tempest, his growls so low and menacing they could come from underground. Tempest was probably the only one not intimidated by the Storm King.

"She didn't go with Yellow and Blue with the rest, but she's powerless now. She won't be a problem," Tempest reported … only to get her mane rubbed by Storm as if she was a dog.

"In just a moment, the white creature will call his troops, and a brawl with start."

"Yeah, that's nice, now speaking of problems, this place looks a little too O I dunno … CUTE!!! I hate cute! I never liked CUTE! It doesn't go with the whole "big, bad, powerful, warlord" thing does it?! Deliver the punch line Tempest, because THIS HAS GOTTA BE A JOKE!!"

Then came the loud whistle from the Storm King himself to kickstart the invasion. The zeppelin started to come to life on them now, Storm Creatures starting to come out and coming into Canterlot itself. As Tempest herself figured, many of the "hundreds of ponies" suddenly started to panic and run away as the Storm Creatures raced in.

"You're amazing!" said Ruby, actually psyched at how accurate Sapphire had been so far. This remark actually made Sapphire smile, a very slight blush as she continued.

"Next, the King will command the broken one to attack them, only to have it reflected, and hit himself."

"K, if you're done having teatime Tempest, be a good pony, AND GET RID OF THEM!" the Storm King demanded, pointing directly at the royals and Elements nearby. Tempest galloped forward at full speed, her horn sparking and zapping forward stray lightning right at them. Thinking fast of course, Cadance brought up a protective shield. It was just enough to get them all safe, though one of the lightning strikes bounced off said shield, and struck Storm right in the head, making him twitch and shutter until he fell onto the ground.

"Everyone, get the Storm Creatures! We'll keep the Storm King busy while you do," called Luna, hearing more lightning strike the shield as everyone raced off to try and get the rest of the army handled. However, there were still a few that were left aside (White Diamond, Padparadscha and Rhodonite specifically). Ruby and Sapphire nearby were still idle, Ruby psyched and wanting to hear more as Sapphire continued on, beginning with three of the creatures cornering some ponies.

"The rainbow one will fly right at those three creatures. They all will fall nearby, one of which landing on top of another one."

"BACK OFF!" Rainbow Dash said, diving in like a falcon as she collided right into the three Storm Creatures. Fluttershy helped escort them to safety as Rainbow got them knocked out right away, two Storm Creatures rolling and landing on the ground, and one actually bowling into one more before it could take another runaway pony. The two of them landed hard into a building rather harshly as well, the two down and out.
The Pegasus landed briefly, but another Storm Creature soldier got right behind her, using its large claws to give the Pegasus a quick and strong whack to send her a good ten feet away. The fighter did land on her hooves, albeit a bit dazed from the blindsided hit.

"Looking for a tussle, ugly?" Rainbow Dash said, wings open and at the ready. Rainbow Dash dodged a few more strikes from the creature: one from above, one she jumped off the ground to dodge, and pulling her body back gave the Storm Creature a buck to the face. It dazed the soldier enough for Twilight to shoot a magic beam right at the creature, knocking it out and crashing it into a nearby building by mistake.

"The building will start to collapse on top of them, and they will be saved at the last second."

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were caught in falling debris from the building itself, flying and dodging falling blocks of brick and parts of the falling roof. They dodged a bit of them, but the actual wall wasn't gonna give them time to get away. Suddenly though, Starlight popped up with them, and thinking quick, teleported all three of them five feet away and out of the collapsing building.

"What next?! What next?!" beamed Ruby. Before Sapphire could reply this time, one Unicorn was picking weaker targets.

"I predict," said Tempest Shadow, "That you two will collapse in a heap of shards."

Ruby stood in protection of Padparadscha, arms out in protest and making a wall, but Sapphire wasn't worried at all.

"Hmm … Actually, you'll be bombarded by a rain of pink balls of sugar," Sapphire corrected.

"What?"

*SPLAT* and out of nowhere, a cupcake projectile splatted Tempest right in the face, making her jump back. There stood Pinkie Pie with a plate of cupcakes, in her battle pose just before going rapid-fire on the unicorn. Tempest Shadow backed up, eyes shut tight as all she got was a face full of frosting and sprinkles as Pinkie Pie was laughing hysterically.

"Look out everyone, Tempest is about to attack us!" Padparadscha said in worry. Angry though, it was Tempest Shadow's turn to turn the tables, her sparkly lightning from her horn zapping the rest of the cupcakes to a crisp. The lightning shots as well jumped all over the place, catching attention of both soldiers and the Elements of Harmony.

"Nothing is going to get in my way from getting my horn back," Tempest stated, anger filling her voice as her horn threatened to barbeque them all on the spot.

"NNOO!"
Like a literal train, Fluorite barreled right into the unicorn, sending her flying off and skidding on the ground. Out of all the fighters, Fluorite had to be both the biggest enemy and the one targeted the most, at least three to four Storm Creatures trying to weigh her down but with no luck. Sapphire, Padparadscha, and Ruby were moved away by Pinkie Pie, who picked all three up and bolted off to a safer distance as Fluorite basically was like a mix of a bucking bull and out-of-control locomotive. The Storm Creatures punched, and even tried stabbing her with their weapons, but they were literally just sticks compared to this Mega-Fusion.
Fluorite herself managed to KO all of them with a single flip onto her back, squashing them underneath her. One of the Storm Creatures was even tapping out after that, and Fluorite rolled back over to find four knocked out Storm Creatures.

"We're not going to win this. Your excellency, we have to regroup!" Tempest shouted, just as Storm was knocked back closer to her. Storm heard her well and good, but -

"What? Are you giving me an order, Tempest? Get rid of them, or I get rid of you!" Storm growled, before getting back into the fray. Seemed Tempest no longer had any choice on the matter.
Tempest could just look passed the bombardment to see the Storm King off in his own fight against Luna, Cadance, and Starswirl the Bearded. Tempest and the army may have their own issues, but Storm … well he's lucky to last a whisker at the rate he was going. He couldn't even touch them half the time with his crazy strikes all over the place, only for the Magic users to either fly aside or teleport away.

"YOU WRETCHED TOY HORSES! STAND STILL!" Storm shouted.

"Alright," said Luna, stopping briefly only to blast strong magic right at the Storm King to send him flying off a good twenty feet skyward before he slammed down into the ground.

"He will be defeated in a few moments."

"Do you submit?" Starswirl asked.

"Get your flanks in line so I can beat you!" Storm demanded in a angry roar. Clearly this Storm King wasn't going to be giving any of them any sympathy anytime soon, and he looked more than ready to kill them right then and there. Luna, Cadance, and Starswirl together charged up their horns, and as the Storm King rushed right for them, he suddenly got a face full of powerful magic, sending him flying so far back he smashed into the mountainside wall! He was knocked out cold right after that, falling off the mountainside, and out of sight into Canterlot's flowing river.
The king was down.

Out in the battlefield, it did seem that even with the larger size and fighting power, the Elements of Harmony and even the Off-Colors were giving the brutes the runaround for a good while. During the fight, after head-butting one guard and bucking another behind her, Applejack looked to the rest of her friends.

"How're y'all holding up?" Applejack asked.

"Actually, surprisingly well," said Spike, who he even fought a bit by shooting fire at one of the large guards.

"But we can't hold them off forever," added Rarity. Even if they were fighting well, the numbers were still a bit high for them to be at it without the Gems' help. Applejack then saw, closer by, one of the Canterlot bridges. It was their closest shot. Applejack gave another buck to a Storm Creature's knee before calling the rest.

"We gotta go, come on!" AJ called. Her friends heard this loud and clear, and trying to give them as much time as they could, quickly started off following Applejack to the bridge. No fighting was over there so they could regather themselves before going right back in. They all were heading there, but the Elements of Harmony were a bit ahead, and got to the bridge first. The ponies themselves were just about half way across the bridge when -

"Wait. The bridge!"

"HALT!" Tempest was not going to let them get away so easily, and in a mighty leap and rough landing, hard enough to dig her horseshoes into the bridge itself. The unicorn turned to face them all, her presence alone making them all stop, but Twilight Sparkle immediately went on the offensive and blasted a magic beam at her.

"It will break …"

The magic beams and lightning shocks collided in mid air for a bit, bouncing off here and there, but while many of them missed the group, the bridge kept getting hit over and over again, until it started to crack open from underneath them. One particularly large bolt of electricity smacked right center in between the two …

"And they will fall!"

And that's exactly what happened next. The explosion caught everyone off guard, the bridge cracking open like weak ice from the blast, even the flyers caught in the crossfire. Tempest and the Elements of Harmony all fell straight down before anyone could realize it, collapsing the bridge into rubble and all of them landing right into the raging river below! The rest could only make it to the edge of the rock wall just as this happened.
The Ponies now in the river were struggling to keep themselves above water, the rushing winter water trying its best to swallow them all up.

"Twilight, I'm coming!" Starlight shouted, and almost blindly leaped over the edge herself.

"Hurry and save them! Especially Fluttershy!" shouted Discord, who himself was freaking out by this sudden change of events. His magic gone, he couldn't do anything but watch them.
Starlight Glimmer meanwhile landed head first into the raging river below, quick to start swimming to their aid as they all struggled to try and not drown. Starlight though was more focused on trying to reach the others just ahead of her. And she better do it soon: because this river was edging closer to the mountain's edge. Straight to a two hundred foot drop!
Swimming as much as a pony possibly could, Starlight got herself in the middle of her friends, her horn glowing like a beacon.

They all then could only see the following flash right at the waterfall's edge.

"GUYS!" called Spike. Unfortunately, the whole group up above the Waterfall couldn't find the Elements of Harmony anywhere. And the Storm Creatures couldn't find any signs of neither the Captain nor the Commander. Nothing of them remained.

~~~~~~

Steven's group were left wandering. None of them exactly knew where "Your Great Honor" was, but if the Portal Key brought them here, then they must be close somewhat. Some of them were treating this more like a field trip (guess who?), in awe and fascination over pretty much everything around them, others simply trying to go and find out where this guy is and nothing further.

"I've been wondering where a thing like Discord would come from," pondered Flint as he kept checking around the place.

"Can we go play hide and seek? Pleeease?! You can be it first if you want," offered Spinel, really wanting to go out and have some fun around the place. Rather than answer, Flint just held her a bit tighter so she wouldn't just bolt away on them. Last thing they needed was a lost Gem in a realm of gods.

"Okay, he's got to be here somewhere. Yellow, Blue, do you see anything?" Connie asked.

"Not exactly much luck," sighed Blue, "But … I think we're the ones being watched."

And Blue Diamond wasn't wrong either. A number of locals were at least pausing briefly to see them go by with a bit of curiosity, though it wasn't exactly the same kind one might get when seeing something entirely new, but more of something along the lines of a returning urge. Something like 'why're they here' over 'what are they'.

"That's fine, just long as we don't start anything we should be okay. Let's just find him, talk to him, and then we go," Steven concluded.

"You know, for being as big as a mountain, he sure can hide," remarked Fulgurite, not seeing any signs of the giant tortoise anywhere in the area.

"Maybe that turtle's too big to stand on clouds," added Emerald with a shrug.

"Excuse me, my master wants to know some information," Pearl suddenly said, the others quickly finding her in presence of one of the local Cranes of the neighborhood. They didn't need to be bothering anyone right now, but it was a little too late for that, as the red-capped crane took sight of everyone else there with a similar kind of curious look. And of course came the inevitable question.

"Who're you?" asked the bird. Well how were they supposed to answer this question?

"Uh … hi?" said Diopside, "We're uh -"

"We're just passing-by gods, don't worry about it," Fulgurite quickly said, covering Diopside's mouth. This made the bird confused a bit, as with the others, but Fulgurite wanted them to tag along.

"No we're not," whispered Jade.

"I know, but you remember how angry they were last time we met em? How do you think they'll react for us being here?!" Fulgurite said. Not exactly the full story, but bit by bit they did start seeing a point. After all, the other two were punished over their own power being too much for their own worlds.

"Gods?"

"Y-Yes," said Yellow Diamond, clearing her throat, "We've only decided now to pass by with our subjects as all. Now that will be -"

"Gods of what?" the crane questioned

"... Isn't being a god enough?" Yellow Diamond questioned back. the crane then got a scroll out, opening it and reading it out

"Well technically no. Beings that're given the god status are given it over attributes, objects of interest and/or specified locations," the crane explained, rolling back up the scroll. Before the others could figure any of this out though, it was Bismuth who stepped forward.

"Oh no, we're not doing this today fellas," Bismuth said.

"Bismuth no -"

"Okay, we're not gods," Bismuth made clear much to Fulgurite's dismay, "But we are here over one what you guys did to -"

"... Then how'd you get here?!"

"We had to use our Portal Keys to teleport here," said Steven, not wanting to lie and make things more difficult either. The crane was a bit confused again, but then Steven even went as far as to show the crane his own Portal Key. The bird looked it over, even pecking it at one point, before the bird seemingly got the full picture.

"Chaos magic ……. so Discord sent you?" the crane figured, actually not as surprised as he was just moments ago.

"How'd you know that?" asked Jade.

"There's no mistaking the kind of aura Discord leaves in any of his creations. They're all always unique."

"Putting it mildly," said Flint.

"So you don't mind us being here? We're not breaking anymore rules, or anything?" Steven inquired. The crane paused and thought about it for a short bit before shaking his head.

"If you're already familiar with the beings of this realm enough to actually come here, then there's no trouble just for being present, well, here. Eh, speaking of …"

"Oh, the information right! We're looking for a "Your Great Honor"?"

"I might've known."

Before the crane could actually answer, another one of the beings caught sight of them present in her realm, and landing down roughly not too far away she did not look too happy to see any of them at all. The landing too was very rough, making many of them having to run back to avoid her as she straightened out.

The Spirit of the world yet to come.

"Why am I not surprised to see you all here?" the Spirit said, her wings already spread open to give off a colder chill to the air.

"Hello! Uhh … long time no see?" said Steven, trying to get the chill off of his own skin.

"You know her, Steven?" asked Blue. However, this remark got the Spirit's attention to check out the rest of the crowd. If it were only Steven, and probably only Connie, then this would be fine, but seeing newer faces didn't suit well for her.

"And what are they doing here? Haven't you learnt nothing from the past?!" The spirit bellowed, her voice easily overpowering any Royal Canterlot voice Luna could muster. The only one not scared of her aside the Diamonds, was innocent Spinel who was looking on with actual amazement.

"Hey, back off! Coming here was my idea, not his! You gonna start yelling, know who you're yelling at!" Bismuth said, standing in defense of Steven. But the Spirit wasn't any more pleased by the answer. The spirit loomed over them all, towering over Bismuth.

"Don't say it: you all arrive on behalf of the Spirit of Chaos, and the leader member of their authority, in hopes you're capable of making amends."

"That's right," said Steven, confidently. The spirit huffed.

"You're wasting your time. The Council has already spoken, for they deserve their rightful punishment when no one else was willing to give it. And we've no plans on returning that kind of power. So however method you managed to arrive here, use that to leave. NOW."

"NO WAY!" shouted Fulgurite, "We're not leaving here til we see that turtle!"

"... Tortoise? You mean?" the spirit asked, though it was a more snotty remark if anything.

"WHATEVER!" Fulgurite snapped.

"You're not being fair," Steven said, "You all are punishing them without any proof!"

"Without? Proof? Did he or did he not alter the very reality to his will and connected both your worlds to the world of Equus unprecedented, and triggering conditions for the Everstorm? And did she or did she not continuously attempt to play the role of creator to the point of creating false life, and forcing torment and pain upon you all?!" the Spirit bellowed.

"Yeah, so?! They're learning from their mistakes, they're trying to be better," insisted Steven.

"Doesn't matter. Your Great Honor had -" suddenly, and abruptly, the Spirit stopped talking right then and there. The anger in her voice turned to silence, and she suddenly actually started thinking about the idea of them meeting Your Great Honor. "...…. Actually. ……. Perhaps you should meet Your Great Honor."

"Well, bring him up here!" insisted Bismuth.

The Spirit's change in tone did give them mixed feelings. Yes they were gonna meet the guy, but the way she seemed more willing to do so told them that maybe this might not end too well for them. Not that it wasn't something they didn't consider, but still.
The suggestion itself seemed to pass around quick to the other locals, as they started to move and clear the area as the Spirit walked over into place to bring him out. Even all the birds had to fly off away, sensing something big was about to come over their way. The Spirit herself, her horn glowing a ominous hue of silver, but while they expected something to shoot out of her head, nothing seemed to come up. That didn't mean some of them didn't arm up just in case.

Especially when the ground started to shake.

Off in the distance, opening up slowly from the floor of the cloudy realm, a portal was starting to open and widen up, growing easily to the size of a lake, swirling magic forming up from underneath like a whirlpool. Then they all began to see something start to slowly rise up from the portal below, one large foot after another rising upward and causing an earthquake with each step. Each foot was large enough to crush a house with little to no effort. Once two of these feet were placed on the ground, up rose the upper body and head of the massive animal. The head of Your Great Honor already went into the clouds.
Upon finishing his arrival, the Spirit then flew right up to his head, and explained the situation to him, bringing his attention to the others down below.

"WOWIE WOW WOW, that's the biggest thing I've ever seen!" exclaimed Spinel.

Your Great Honor then lowered his head, and began to speak.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Your Great Honor bellowed. It was intimidating enough to hear his voice from a TV screen, but hearing it in real life was … something else. NONE of them were feeling confident at all seeing him anymore, many too quiet to talk at first.

"U-Uhh … Hello, Your Great Honor. Sir? We wanted to talk to you about uhh … Discord and White Diamond?" asked Blue Diamond.

"WHAT ABOUT THEM?" the colossus demanded, not in a very good mood. The demand even made Blue Diamond cower behind Yellow Diamond slightly, although not intended to.

"W-We want you to change them back," Fulgurite answered.

"They really aren't doing good without their powers," added Connie.

"THAT'S THEIR PUNISHMENT!" bellowed Your Great Honor, "THEY UPSET THE BALANCE OF EARTH, AND EARTH ISN'T READY FOR ALL THIS MAGIC! HOW MUCH LONGER DID YOU WANT US TO LEAVE IT ALONE?!"

"I-I don't know, forever?! You did this, so you have to fix it," Steven said, finding a pluck of courage.

"Please! Homeworld and all Gemkind won't take White diamond being like this," added Blue Diamond, only for their confidence to be stripped away by Your Great Honor's bellowing.

"WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF LITTLE ONES? I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN PUSH PEBBLES AROUND!!"
And then much to their surprise, Your Great Honor started to go away with his large footsteps shaking the ground.

"WAIT, where're you going?!" Bismuth shouted, actually trying to run around so Your Great Honor could catch him.

"We're not done with you yet!" added Fulgurite added. Your Great Honor ignored them, and in desperation, Fulgurite actually zapped his hard shell.

Bad move.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Your Great Honor's voice was so loud, and so harsh that they felt their ears would crack under pressure. But this magic Tortoise had his own display of power to present to the crowd below him. Raising both feet, he reared back, and the bottoms of his feet began to glow bright and strong, bringing them both down like hammers.

"RUN FOR IT!" Steven shouted. Some stood in defense. Some tried to run.

One stomp covered them all.

~~~~~~

The river flowing out of Canterlot calmed down into more of a slow stream by the time it reached more forested areas of the countryside, the rapid flow of the mountain river no longer forcing the water any further. Within the water, a lone hat slowly flowed along. Soaking wet, but still floating along in the current as good as a cowgirl hat would be able to do. For some who saw it, it would mean at least one pony didn't make it out of the rapids alive. But as the hat found itself gently touching the river bank, the orange pony found it and gently picked it up, getting the wet headpiece back on her head. As if she wasn't already wet from swimming in the river to begin with.

"Everypony okay?" asked Applejack, as she turned to see the rest of them over nearby. It was great that Starlight Glimmer managed the quick save, though quick-dry was still something they had to handle themselves: some squeeze-drying their tails and manes, others just shaking off the water like a dog would.

"Well that wasn't exactly our best way of retreating," said Rarity, just finishing ringing out her tail before it curled back into shape.

"I didn't know Canterlot's river can be used as a Waterslide," commented Pinkie Pie, who while holding her nose, squirted out a good amount of water from her ears like fountain streams.

"Sorry about that guys, but at least we're all okay. … You are, are you?" Starlight Glimmer asked after a bit. It was a good thing she was o good in magic, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to pull off the mass teleport like that.

"We're fine, but we gotta go back," said Rainbow Dash, going airborne, "Canterlot's still being attacked by those goons, we gotta get back there and fight!"
Rainbow Dash readied to fly off to go and handle the situation, but as it always seemed to happen, Applejack had to grab hold of her by the tail before she could rush back in to try and handle this. Some habits never really seem to go away.

"Don't go charging back up there now," AJ advised, "we got to think about this first."

"There's no time to think! The Storm King's still up there, and it's gonna be his crumby throne if we don't go back, right Twilight? … Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle was handling her own issues off nearby, but funny enough they didn't involve the invasion at Canterlot Castle, or anything actually involving royalty either. In fact, the alicorn was actually in process of getting Tempest Shadow more promptly settled on the sand of the bank. Most of them were fine and all, but the fall looked like it did a bit more on Tempest Shadow, enough to briefly leave her unconscious at least so she wasn't struggling.

"Is she okay?" asked Fluttershy, walking over to her.

"I think so, but she's hurt. That fall must've knocked her out," Twilight said, even using her wing to try and fan Tempest Shadow a bit. This did put some ponies in confusion though.

"I know you're the princess of friendship and all Twilight, but … why're we helping her? Didn't you say she's from Tambalon as a Commander or something?" Starlight Glimmer asked.

"None of you have to if you don't want to, but I'm not going to leave her stuck in that river," said Twilight, sitting down by Tempest.

"But she's Grogar's commander! It'll actually help us," retorted Rainbow Dash.

"Right now, she's a hurt Unicorn," replied Twilight, "Besides, even while I was locked up in Tambalon, Tempest Shadow actually helped me more than hurt me. She kept me alive in there when everyone else wanted me dead, that's got to count for something."
Since they needed time to rest anyway, Twilight continued on explaining how much Tempest Shadow did for her while she was locked away in Tambalon. Even if she was the same Unicorn that captured her in the first place, she still avoided torturing Twilight any further than she had to, the Alicorn still remembering times when she defied Captain Nichrome and his cruelty whenever she could. Twilight at least knew what she was talking about, and the tension between many of them did start to relax a bit …

That was, until Tempest Shadow began to stir.

"H-Huh? … Where am I?" Tempest muttered in a groan. She tried getting up on her own, but it turned out that not only her head was hurting, but one of her hooves too due to the falling debris of the bridge.

"Are you okay, Tempest?" Twilight asked. It took the broken Unicorn a bit to regain herself, and realize just what kind of situation she found herself in. All of these ponies were NOT from her army, so Tempest did feel apprehensive at first.

"You're here too? …"

"Starlight teleported all of us over here before we could fall down the mountain," said Pinkie Pie.

"Is that so? … and we're all alone now, are we? … We must be pretty far from Canterlot then," Tempest figured, intrigued admittedly.

"Now let's not start any war games," insisted Rarity, "you're injured, and we're all a bit worn out already."

Tempest sighed, looking around the place. Sure they weren't near Canterlot anymore, but they didn't look like they were near anywhere anymore, in more like Everfree Forest or something. Even if she fought and won, where would she go from there?
The Unicorn then tried to stand up a bit, finding it a bit rough thanks to the hoof injury. Despite being the enemy, Twilight did help her stay on her hooves instead of letting her fall again. A bit of a weird gesture to Tempest, considering who's side she was on and all.

"Any reason why you're helping me out?" Tempest asked.

"Does it matter? It's what friends do," Twilight asked. It was a bit of a blunt answer, but Tempest didn't ponder on it much further, as she sat down and started rubbing her injured hoof a bit.

"Friends? … I don't know if a rock fell on your head, but I'm from the Tambalon Army remember? I tried to fight you just a … hmm … how much time passed?"

"About half an hour," said Rainbow Dash, pointing to the sun.

"Huh …" Tempest focused more on the injured leg of hers, giving it a rub so it wouldn't feel as sore. For a moment, the Elements of Harmony looked to one another, still wondering exactly what to do with this unicorn. Though with their mental discussion, Starlight Glimmer did take a seat over next to her.

"So … Twilight said you helped her a lot in Tambalon, and she thinks you're better than the others hanging out with Grogar," Starlight began.

"Well I'm no worse," Tempest remarked.

"You can't really like how Grogar's running things, do you?" Rarity inquired.

"Look, we're getting along, don't spoil it," she huffed, not too in the mood for these mind games right now. But that still didn't technically answer the question all that much, whether Tempest meant it to or not.

"Tempest, you don't believe him. I know you don't. You were probably the nicest one there," Twilight insisted, shaking her head. This was starting to annoy Tempest Shadow a little bit, but the Unicorn wasn't in the mood for another fight right now. Not a physical one, anyway.

"Sure you do," Tempest said, rolling her eyes.

"You're after something else from him, and it's not just to takeover Equestria," Starlight said, "We did talk a bit, and Pinkie, didn't you say Tempest was trying to get her horn back?"
Tempest gritted her teeth, what energy she had sparking up her horn again at the pink mare. First being humiliated by cupcakes, now this. Rainbow Dash was ready for another round, flying in her way before any of it could hit anypony else.

"Grogar's not as bad as you think," Tempest said after some pondering. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't enough convincing.

"You kidding? He tried to take over Canterlot just now, and he already took over Homeworld and look what happened there!" Rainbow Dash said. Tempest found the strength to get up now, and with her just taller than the other ponies, found herself looking down on them.

"Before I met him, I was starving and falling apart!" explained Tempest Shadow, "My horn had been broken, and nobody was willing to help me out when I really needed it - I wouldn't be here without him. And everyone else that Grogar took in dealt through the same thing, if not even worse. Nobody else could've saved us!"

"... Maybe … but who's going to save everyone from Grogar?" Twilight then asked. Tempest stopped, but she didn't seem to pay it that much mind. She knew what kind of leader Grogar was, and it was gonna take more than just a few words to turn her around.

"I'm too tired for a fight today," she groaned. Rather than get into another tussle, she decided the best cause of action right now was to try and find her way back to her army, so she turned and started to hobble off a bit.

"... Oh, and by the way, Grogar didn't plan this attack," Tempest said, "The Storm King just ditched him, and tried taking over himself."

"He isn't helping Grogar?" asked Fluttershy.

"Not anymore. … Well, if he's still alive, anyway," Tempest said, still remembering seeing the Storm King get slammed into the mountainside.

"You really expect us to believe that?" Rainbow questioned.

"Not really, but I can't make you believe something," Tempest said. It was the best she could say to them. The Elements of Harmony stood there and watched Tempest go off on her way, having enough energy to at least go into a slow gallop away from the situation.

"After that fall and she still can gallop away?" said Starlight.

"Dang, she's one tough cookie," said Pinkie Pie.

"Well … it was worth a try. I just hope she reconsiders," Twilight said, as they saw Tempest Shadow go out of sight and away from them. This still left the question: if Grogar didn't plan this attack, what was he doing now? …

…

*SLAM!*

"What the hay?!" Rainbow gasped. The slam was enough to shake the ground, as if a meteor had just struck ground not too far away. The group started to go away from their river bank towards the noise, though Twilight and Starlight both did stay a while longer before they too started going off on their way to the noise.
It was a quick gallop through the nearby forest, but soon the group caught sight of something that made them stop on the stop: AJ stopped first, but Pinkie ran into her and made Pinkie tumble onto the ground. Laying on the ground, she was perfect eye level.

With Spinel.

"Is it … over?" Spinel asked.

"WHAT IN CELESTIA HAPPENED?!" exclaimed Rarity. EVERYONE from the Gem side was stuck there, laying on the ground from their encounter with Your Great Honor, but even after getting stomped on be metric tons of tortoise, none of them actually looked crushed or even hurt. Fazed and dazed, of course.

"I'M GONNA SLAUGHTER THAT TURTLE!" Fulgurite said, springing up and actually jumping straight upward, only to not reach anything, and slam back to the ground. She wasn't gonna get back there that way. The Elements of Harmony spread around the group, helping them up.

"Everyone okay? What happened to you?" asked Starlight Glimmer. Steven was the first to answer, shaking his head.

"Well, we found "Your Great Honor" … he stepped on all of us and sent us back here," Steven simply answered.

"He STEPPED on you? ALL OF YOU?!" exclaimed Twilight, not believing her ears. Someone had to be VERY HUGE to do that, especially if that included Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond too.

"But you all look just fine to me," said Fluttershy, checking to see if any gemstones were cracked.

"He must've used some teleporting trick or something then," said Diopside, "Either way … we're not gonna change White and Discord back by just talking to him."

"Speaking of which," said Blue Diamond once she got together, "Where're they?"

"Oh, they're at Canterlot, but we just got finished fighting off an invasion from the Storm King just half an hour ago, so everything kinda nutty right now, not to mention just finished going down a big waterfall. You know, the usual," said Pinkie.

"... What?"

"Don't worry about it," Pinkie simply replied. They had more time to work out the details later on. The ponies went around, helping the Gems get back up after their brush with death, and eventually they all managed to find their feet. But out of all of them, there was one Gem who actually seemed … pleased. Chuckling even as she stood there, after contemplating what just happened.

"Oh no, the turtle did something to her," Emerald said.

"No, no, I'm fine," said Bismuth.

"We just got crushed, are you sure?"

"Just hear this rock out," said Bismuth, "Now, what is it that big guy said before he kicked us out? Why we won't fix this for us?"

"Uh … something about Earth not being ready for magic? Why?" shrugged Connie. Bismuth smirked.

"So why not show them how ready Earth already is?" Bismuth concluded.

"... Explain," said Flint.

"Okay, put it together: the Spirit got mad at Discord for making Earth and Equus together right? And they think it's gonna mess up everything since they think Earth "isn't ready" for all this stuff. So If we convince them that Earth's used to having magic before this happened, they won't have an excuse to keep Discord locked down! And if we get Discord back ..."

"He can fix White Diamond with his chaos Magic!" concluded Steven.

"Exactly!"

"So, we're still here, and we don't have a clue what you're talking about," reminded Starlight Glimmer, reminding them that there was still some who weren't there in the realm of Gods.

"We'll catch you up if you catch us up," said Emerald.

"But we're talking about gods here, it's gonna need A LOT of convincing to trick them. You know how to do this?" Flint brought up. Before anyone could speak, they heard Emerald clear his throat nearby, him and Fulgurite both seemingly getting a bit of an idea going.

"I think I got a good idea how," said Emerald, "We just need some good material. A few legends, some myths, a monster or two."

"I can research some at the library," suggested Connie.

"And I'll be there to help you if you need learning," added Pearl.

"Great! Spinel? How would you like to be … a Heart Fairy?"

"I'll do it! … What's a Heart Fairy?"

~~~~~~

Further away, and despite having an injured leg from her fall, Tempest Shadow gained a pretty good distance away from not only Canterlot but also from the Elements of Harmony. It was a bit of a long move for her with three good hooves, but she still managed all the same, only briefly stopping once she cleared the forest. At this point, she looked on back to Canterlot … only to see the ship fly away from the settlement.

"Of course. Weak soldiers following an even weaker king," Tempest sighed. She was just about to move on when -

"Grab her!"

Ambush! Tempest was weak, but not ready to give up without a fight to whoever wanted her down. Not thinking of who was jumping her, she spun around and shot a few good sparks at whoever was charging her. The electricity did get at least one, but this came out in a wave, and Tempest was pinned down by two large bull subordinates to Grogar's army. Tempest was stuck under two tons of bull, as the king himself started to come out with Captain Nichrome off close behind him. She should've expected Grogar himself to show up not too long after her conversation with the Elements, especially since she saw Sumu on Grogar's back in a flower pot.

"What's this for?" groaned Tempest Shadow.

"Safety precaution. You DID leave the Elements of Harmony without an attempt at capture," informed Grogar.

"I heard you talking to them earlier," said Sumu, though more curious, "But what happened? You didn't fight them?"

"Well, Tempest? … Let's hear it," said Grogar. Tempest should've known by now. NOTHING gets passed Grogar with Sumu as a informant.

"No. I didn't fight them. I got injured falling out of Canterlot, and without the army, odds were against me. Besides, they … saved my life. … They didn't leave me to drown."

"They … saved you? Really?" Sumu asked. Tempest was surprised Sumu didn't get that detail yet, but just nodded.

From there, Grogar didn't speak, but he did give a physical gesture for the bulls to move her onto her hind legs, standing her up but keeping her back in case she tried to retaliate. Nichrome looked like he was enjoying this troubling situation for Tempest, since it was her who kept defying him while they were on Homeworld. As for Grogar, he moved right up to her, and stood up tall on his hind legs himself, sharpened hooves at the ready. All Grogar needed to do, was give Tempest one quick slash …

But NOT to kill?

"Congratulations," said Grogar in a surprisingly moment of pride, "your commander days are over, Captain Tempest. Of the head mark."

"What?" Nichrome gasped. Sure enough, Tempest Shadow's already scarred eye got a re-cut, fresh and new thanks to Grogar. Only then did the bulls released her, letting Tempest stand on her own power as she rubbed the new cut.

"B-B-But my lord, she just said -"

"I heard what she said," said Grogar, "Any real traitor would try to lie their way out of this. But she not only told the truth, but told it knowing it could kill her."

Grogar then turned his attention to the Unicorn.

"You don't got any fear in you, lass. If your loyalty matches your courage, then you'll make one fine captain of my army. … But betray me. … And I'll grind your bones to dust."
With that final statement, Captain Tempest Shadow simply stood there for a bit, as Grogar started to leave. Nichrome joined him, him now carrying Sumu on his back. Tempest glanced over back towards Canterlot, knowing where her boss was. If he was still alive, he's gonna have a pretty decent surprise …

"As you wish sir."

Author's Note

Is someone gonna get mad at the Spirit Council for OP'ness?? Eh, probably. … But let's keep going and see what happens! :trollestia: As shocking as this sounds, i could've added a lot more here, but I don't want you all reading a movie-length chapter (yet x3). there's a whole season to go through still

So now a chapter with not only dealing with Gods, but also the Storm King's ~~underwhelming~~ attack on Canterlot for your enjoyment :3.

Don't You Believe It?

Ever since returning from the other realm, the remaining Harmony Gems had been more than hard at work when trying to set things up for the Spirit to come down. It was something they've been working on for nearly a day now, with morning arriving in the Little Homeworld settlement with some of the group either chilling out or prepping up for the big show. For the moment, nearby Bismuth's new forge, Lion was getting himself all ready by letting Pinkie Pie and Connie give him a bit of a paint job using fur coloring and dyes, Connie particularly making a heart mark on his chest as Pinkie Pie added glitter to his fur.

"Doesn't he look sparkly?" asked Pinkie at one point, who herself was covered in sparkles and shimmer. Lion though was not too comfortable with all this stuff, at one point shaking so at least some of the glitter could get off his fur.

"No, no, no Lion! We know this isn't comfortable, but you got to look as magical as possible," Connie said, "We'll give you a nice warm bath as soon as this is over."
Typically Lion didn't like baths like any other cat, but in this case he'll make an exception. Though he did draw the line on having his muzzle dyed in darker pink, giving Connie a rather rough huff.

"Ok, no muzzle lining," Connie said, retracting.

"Oh, don't you look festive, Lion? All you need is a magical entrance and you'll be all set at this rate," said Jade, who was standing nearby with some decoration of her own in the form of firefly lighting, being strung up with Rarity and Steven's help. It was the most magical thing Rarity could think of that didn't involve actual magic.

"I hope this all works," said Rarity, "with everything going on, I'd hate to leave White Diamond and Discord like … well, this."

"Well like my dad always said: "You can't fail if you don't do anything"," said Steven, finishing wrapping one more firefly lighting to the string.

"Oh? I thought his saying was about … oh what was it? About hot dogs and porkchops?" Rarity was a bit vague on that kind of detail, only hearing that saying a few times ever.

"Yeah that too, but I'm saying let's do our best. Even if we mess it up, we can't say we didn't try right?" Steven said, standing up and checking the handiwork.

"Even if so, we might actually get something from it. The Canterlot attack did in a way help bring Sapphire and Ruby closer together," Jade said, pointing off not too far away.
That, out of much of the recent attempts, was a good change in the right direction. The others took a look nearby, and saw Ruby hanging out with Sapphire. She still thought of herself as Padparadscha's guard, but lately since the Storm King's attack on Canterlot, the focus was starting to shift more towards the proper Sapphire, Ruby feeling a bit giddy actually while being with her.

"Yeah. You're right. Maybe we might get more out of this," Steven said. If only he could actually remember what the next step was. Getting them together was one thing, but getting them together was another.

"I wish you were here, Garnet …" Steven sighed.

"So I predicted the Spirit will be arriving onto this planet out of suspicion and curiosity," Sapphire explained to Ruby (who wasn't there for the main explanation). It was mainly her future vision that got them preparing for the Spirit in the first place, or at the least skipped the first step in how she was supposed to come to Earth at all.

"You're so incredible," said Ruby at a point, laying on the ground and smiling to Sapphire, "So, how far can you see?"

"As a Sapphire, I can predict my entire existence. Every step of it, for mine, and yours," said Sapphire in her typical calm tone. Ruby was amazed.

"WOW … how good can you see?" Ruby asked, fascination like a child. Sapphire was ready to answer that question, but instead of just using her matter-of-fact speech, she decided to work out a different kind of route to the answer. Sapphire smiled and cleared her throat.

"What kind of pathetic soldier would come out looking like that."

"Huh?" Ruby wondered. Sapphire simply counted down from three on her fingers, and soon as she passed one ...

"What kind of pathetic soldier would come out looking like that?!" said a strong and stern voice of Jasper from not too far away. Predicting the future right down to the voice is simply beyond incredible.

With that exclamation though, everyone else began to see the rest of the team come by, Pony and Gem alike, with Peridot and Jasper trailing them not too far behind. Seemed Jasper might've overheard their plan for the Spirit, and she wanted in on SOMETHING since coming out. All Jasper had been doing was training herself for some mission, but that could only go so far.

"Okay folks, stage is set and curtains will be up in thirty! How's Lion coming along?" Emerald asked.

"Sparkled and ready to dazzle," Pinkie said in a salute. Lion still wasn't as thrilled, but if it meant to make this all work, then he might as well not gripe too much about it. Besides, it could be worse.

"We got Beach City ready for the Spirit's arrival," explained Flint, "So they shouldn't freak out too much when she shows up to investigate. Twilight and Starlight will be on standby in case we need some extra evidence too, so don't worry about that."
Even if Flint was explaining all of this however, some of the others couldn't help but smile, some trying not to laugh.

"H-Hey Flint … Spinel's supposed to be the Heart Fairy," Jade said, honestly finding it hard not to at least giggle on seeing him. Flint was NOT thrilled about this at all: he was stuck wearing what looked like a pixie outfit more akin to an Aquamarine, skirt and everything alongside heart-shaped wings behind him, and his hair matching Spinel's heart-shaped pigtails.

"Heart Fairies reporting for duty! How do we look? Magical, right?" beamed Spinel, who herself didn't really need much of an outfit change outside of a small tiara on her head and one of those. Spinel hugged Flint and gave them all a wink, as Flint looked a bit less than enthused.

"I struggled as much as I could," Flint grumbled.

"It's okay Flint," Steven said with a chuckle, "maybe you can be Spinel's apprentice or something. Whatever makes it look more believable."

"I hate to break it to you, but I can't be involved in this idea," Flint insisted, his free hand getting rid of the heart-shaped pigtails in his hair, "We got report of a mystical creature running around the Jersey Quarry again, and we need to investigate. … We just found out."
Flint glanced up and saw Spinel fix his hair back to the pigtail heart shape, much to his annoyance.

"But you can't leave now, the Spirit will be here in half an hour!" insisted Steven.

"Which is why we're splitting up teams: one team handling the Spirit while the other team handles … well, whatever's in the Quarry," explained Diopside. It seemed simple enough, although Steven did feel a bit worried that the team would be cut shorter for the Spirit showing up.

"You got this," said Rainbow Dash, "She won't know what's coming."

"I hope so …"

"You will."

Everyone then turned over to Sapphire.

"We will?" asked Steven.
Could either be a attempt to show off her ability to Ruby, or perhaps just a way to help them out a little bit, but Sapphire began to see a clear path to branch off a bit.

"Yes. She will arrive near one of the Human settlements to the west of here, upon which the pink "Heart Fairy" will appear out of a log. She will take her over to a nearby body of water to present her pet Lion. From there the Spirit will go to the town, where she will see a group of water-walking, humped animals as apart of Steven's kid's ride. After seeing all of that, she will realize that Earth is ready for magic after all, and she will remove her sentence upon White Diamond and Discord."

"oooOOOOooo," said Ruby, eyes sparkling at the confidence of Sapphire's prediction.

"WELL there we go!" Steven said, "Let's go make this all work."

"But try, ok? Just because she says it's destined to happen doesn't make it guaranteed," said Flint.

"I'm sure it will," Sapphire simply said. Flint just ignored her on that remark.

"We got this. But who's gonna go after the monster?" asked Connie. Might as well ask that question, given the idea and all.

"I AM," Jasper suddenly said, at the ready for any mission. All of her training she'd done since coming back, she was more than prepared to -

"NOOOOO," said Emerald.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"Listen, Jay, not that we don't think you can do this, but we got to have everyone on the level. That means you just hang out here with them," Bismuth explained to her as she placed a hand on her shoulder, only for Jasper to swat her hand away.

"First of all, I'm Jasper. Get it right. And B: I didn't train non-stop for days to do nothing," Jasper made clear, cracking her knuckles and readying herself for the mission.

"You've torn up half the countryside," exclaimed Applejack.

"That's what I said," Jasper remarked. Applejack just rolled her eyes on the remark. The sooner they get Jasper back, the better for the environment.

"OK OK, I got a better idea!" Steven said, "we'll just make this simple."

And out from his pocket, Steven pulled out a coin. A shining quarter piece.

"... And THAT'S gonna decide something … how?"

"Heads you stay, tails you go. Ready … and flip!" Steven flicked the coin good and high, the shining quarter dollar spinning in the air over and over again. Jasper wasn't remotely convinced this was a good idea, as Steven caught it, and …

"Heads it is! So Jasper, you're gonna stay -"

Jasper grabbed the coin and crushed it in her hand before Steven could even finish.

"I don't take orders from such a pathetic pebble!" Jasper said, tossing the now destroyed coin off out of sight. Jasper for one was getting tired of waiting for an answer, though this left a cold shiver down everyone's back, staring at the deceased quarter.

"Is she talking to me or the quarter?" Steven wondered. Either way, he almost forgot until now how scary Jasper could actually be.

"We're getting nowhere here, I will solve this people! … Jasper, go with em," Emerald said.

"What? But we -" Unfortunately, Flint wasn't gonna speak.

"I'm trusting you to take care of things for me on this job, so I don't want anything sloppy, ok? Deal with this monster whatever ya gotta do as long as the thing's alive when you're done beating the pebbles outta it, got it cheesepuff?"

"... What's a cheesepuff?" Jasper questioned. Some things he missed O so much.

"Do you wanna go on a mission or not?" Emerald firmly stated.

"Sir, yes sir!" Jasper said, diamond insignia and everything. Jasper, on instruction, then moved straight towards the Warp Pad, waiting for the rest of the team to go onto it. It seemed Bismuth and Flint had the same idea, as they both then looked over to Sapphire, especially after she seemed to get a bit of a shiver.

"Emerald you can't tell her that," said Applejack.

"Why not, it got things moving, what's the worst that could happen?" Emerald said.

"She's been bossing everyone over everything since she reformed, Emerald!" explained Rarity, "I mean, just yesterday she ordered me out of finishing my latest winter's line because it looked too frail against our enemies! I've spent HOURS stitching all those feathers, and she tore them all off!"

"Technically it was 90% of the organic material," corrected Peridot. … Who'd been silent the entire time up to this point.

"... How long were you standing there?" bluntly asked Rainbow Dash.

"The whole time," Peridot simply answered, her focus not entirely on them as she started studying some of the new iron in the forge's walls. After they were reminded of the green dorito's existence, Flint slipped away, moving Sapphire along until they were at least some distance away.

"Sapphire. You're the one with the future vision … think you can tell us what'll happen?" Flint asked. Sapphire, being the Gem she was made of, paused and took a look ahead of time. Something big must be going on if it was enough to give Sapphire a shiver, regardless if she had her memory or not. … And then she shivered again.

"That bad?"

"Not bad … it's just a lot."

"Then just give me the summery. Anything important?"

"Hmm … the Peridot will lose her limb enhancers. The Jasper will be put in harm's way despite your warnings. … And … you'll be … you'll be …" Sapphire had trouble getting out the last part, but Flint was a smart enough Gem to know what the last part was supposed to mean. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to after all.

"I see. ……. Peridot? Perhaps you can come with us?"

Sapphire was taken aback by the request, but Peridot didn't seem too interested at all.

"Reason?" Peridot asked. Flint already got an answer.

"Because you can study the planet more besides roaming around here?" Flint offered. Peridot thought about it briefly, but then shrugged.

"I've studied more than a third of this location anyway," Peridot figured.

"You heard what I said," stated Sapphire. Flint turned to face her.

"Okay, I'm just going to be forward here: you and a lot more of the Harmony Gems got your memories erased thanks to a Rejuvenator. You had a more exciting, more dynamic life before that, and we're trying to help you, and them, remember that. And part of that is to get Peridot out of those limb enhancers."

They had enough trouble already, so they couldn't just stay around any longer. They had all the time in the world to handle Sapphire's amnesia, but for now they got a monster to catch so Flint just left a confused Sapphire there as he returned to the group. Sapphire looked over to Peridot, who herself was impatiently waiting to go by the Warp Pad, but she wasn't that concerned over her state.

It was actually enough to give Sapphire a bit of a headache.

"You okay?" asked Ruby.

"I will be. You better return to your Sapphire," Sapphire said, calming down after a breath. But after hearing this …

"MY SAPPHIRE! Oh my stars, I forgot her?! I-I can't face her, I need to be replaced immediately!" Ruby said in a panic.

"Look for the town by the body of water east of here. She will be in a "Big Donut"," Sapphire explained.

"Thank you!" Ruby said, before suddenly rushing off to wherever the heck it would be, running as fast as a Ruby could run. A Ruby's job was to her Sapphire, and far as she knew, she wasn't her Sapphire … although it was fun while it lasted.

"Okay, everybody ready to go?" asked Flint.

"Ready, willing, and able," Rainbow Dash said.

"Good luck out there, guys," said Steven.

"Same to you," replied Diopside. From that, each of the teams started to split away, one side getting into their respected positions for the arrival of the Spirit while the rest went to the Warp Pad and readied up for the monster hunt wherever that would be (Jasper being the most impatient by the way). Flint took a deep breath, but before he could go, he already could hear the squeaky footsteps of Spinel following him.

"Why're you following me this time?" Flint asked.

"You wouldn't go anywhere without your best friend would ya? I'll follow you anywhere," Spinel asked in her giggly tone.

"Spinel, there're times when you can't always have your friend with you. I got work to do, and I don't want you to come along … SO PLEASE STAY HERE WHERE YOU'RE SAFE, ALRIGHT?"

"Hmm ……. Got it!" Spinel said. Surprisingly cooperative today.

"Good," sighed Flint. He turned and was just about to go to the Warp Pad when -

*squeak* *squeak* *squeak*

"ARE YOU LISTENING?!" Flint shouted, his outburst actually making Spinel scream in panic, before Flint grabbed her, carried her away, and placed her down on a nearby crate. In a matter of five seconds.

"For stars sake, STAY HERE! Handle the spirit like you're supposed to! We'll meet later!" Flint said roughly, before going off in a huff. Spinel meanwhile was feeling extremely blindsided by this remark, but she did as she was told and simply sat there, and watched as him and his team went away on the Warp Pad, leaving Spinel kinda stuck by herself.

"He left me here … H-He just left me …" Spinel was shivering a little bit, but eventually she smiled.

"Ah, he's just busy. I'll go play with him after playing Heart Fairy! Yeah, that'll be fun! So much fun," Spinel told herself, looking … a little fragile actually as she turned and readied to go. Though before she could, she saw Lion.

"... You know, you could use some more flare," Spinel said after thinking. Lion didn't like the sound of that, but it'll give Spinel a bit of a distraction as she bounded off to find the stuff to fix that. Lion turned to Sapphire, the only other who remained, her feeling a more prominent shiver this time.

~~~~~~

Silence over by the barn. With so much activity happening everywhere else, the barnhouse had been left surprisingly quiet and vacant for the most part, standing still and somber in the winter cold like most buildings do, though the barn didn't have anyone inside to keep it warm and lively.
Or at least, not the typical company of the Off-Colors today. As one Illy-powered Draconequus tried to get comfortable on a cold couch inside of the barn, a very weakened diamond was left pacing back and forth, worrying and worrying.

"So this is where the Off-Colors stayed?" White Diamond said at one point, trying to distract herself a little bit, "It looks filthy …"

"Well it's no extra-dimensional cottage, but I think it's cozy … as soon as I figure out how," Discord said, trying to get cozy on the couch until a loose spring shot him off the couch and onto the wooden floor. "There we go!"

"I-I'm sorry, but how can you ever get used to living like … this?" White questioned. Discord got himself off the ground.

"I'm sorry, have we met? I'm the Spirit of Chaos, my whole shtick is to be chaotic and unpredictable, while being quite one good-looking boy," Discord said, brushing his mane back with his claw while giving White Diamond a smug look. White Diamond didn't feel too amused by that, as she did eventually find a seat nearby on a cold hay bale. A little uncomfortable, and a bit pokey, but at least it was something.

"How can I even face anyone looking like this? My subjects are going to laugh at me, berate me!" White insisted, "A leader can't be a laughing stock to her subjects, it's … it's ridiculous!"

"Oh, stop being such a ninny, Whitey," Discord said, playfully flicking White Diamond's nose, "I swear, some people think they're on top of the world, and one tiny mishap they just crumble up."

Like he were to talk.

"Whitey? How can you say something so controversial yet so brave?" White asked, appalled he was talking to her with such nonchalance.

"Well for a start, I can break the very fabric of reality with a snap of my tail … er, I could," Discord explained, reminded that he couldn't do anything after snapping his talon. He just continued anyway, suddenly looking more regal in tone and posture.

"Secondly: It is not about the name that makes a leader, it's what they do with it," Discord explained, sitting upright with a talon finger pointing to the sky as if giving a lecture. Only for him to just lay down next to White and add "It's a little somethin KK liked to say, saying powers aren't everything."

"... Well you don't have planets to look after," White Diamond muttered, not feeling better but more confused if anything.

"Come on, you Diamond you," said Discord, pinching her cheek, "I just know that all of our friends are easily working hard to convince them to give our powers back, and I will be a grand being of chaos again, and you will be the mighty overlord -"

*BAM!* right outside of the barn came a loud and almost thunderous landing, enough to shake the very foundation of the barn itself, and fluster up the snow outside into a cloud of white, coming in from the cracks of the door and the open window.

"Discord?! Where is that excuse for a spirit?"

"Oh no," gulped Discord, his confidence dashed on hearing the familiar voice. It took him and White Diamond a bit of work to look out from the upper window (they were NOT opening the door), to see just who had landed nearby the barn.
The Spirit herself had arrived. Just as Sapphire had predicted she would, and just like she said, this spirit was full of suspicion as she tried to figure out where Discord was.

"Why's she back? Isn't getting rid of my powers enough? That thing'll crush me!" Discord gasped.

"Didn't you just say power doesn't matter?" White Diamond questioned.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one she's after!" Discord retorted, both quickly bolting out of sight as the Spirit glanced over to the barn. The Spirit was not pleased by the looks of it (when was she?). As the spirit kept going around, the thoughts of so many appearing in her realm thanks to Discord's involvement.

"How in worlds can his magic still be working? I should've known the trial went too smoothly for it's own good," the Spirit thought. She was so distracted by this, she didn't notice that a yellow blur zoomed by her, and hid away in some nearby bushes. Sapphire was right about the Spirit location, as Fulgurite, emerald, and Spinel soon discovered.

"There she is. Ready to do your thing, Spinel?" asked Fulgurite.

"Ready, Freddie," said Spinel, giving them a thumbs up before looking around and eventually finding the log that Sapphire predicted. All hollow too. In a quick bolt, Spinel slid herself right inside. not retracting her arm until after getting in there. Emerald and Fulgurite just stayed within their bush for now.

Time for the show to begin.

"SPIRIT! O regal and valiant one!" Spinel shouted, good and loud like a true being of power. The Spirit herself wasn't exactly startled, but the yell from apparently nowhere did catch her attention. Wasting her time even coming here at all now no longer seemed correct.

"Who called my presence?" the Spirit questioned, looking around the area. There didn't really seem like anyone that was around to call her for miles, but then -

"Tis me! Spinny, the mighty Heart Fairy!" Spinel bellowed.

"Heart? Fairy?" questioned the Spirit. She was aware of quite a few things, but a Heart Fairy sounded just a bit too sketchy for her. Equestria never had a "Heart Fairy" before. As for Spinel, she didn't really have a special way to appear, so she had to improvise a little bit.
Basically sneaking her hand around, and tapped away at the Spirit's back until she turned around, and only THEN sliding out from her hiding place in one of those "French girl" painting poses.

"BEHOLD! Spinny the Heart Fairy appears before you!~" sang Spinel, springing up to her feet in her typical springy manor, ending her hops with a ballerina's pose. Spinel tried looking as magical as possible.

"... What're you doing, Spinel?" the Spirit questioned, recognizing the heart Gem almost immediately. Spinel froze up on the spot, as did those watching nearby. Was the mission over before it could even begin?!

"S-Spinel? Spin-who, I'm SPINNY THE HEART FAIRY!" insisted Spinel, trying to add even more flair by hopping up off the ground, spinning like a corkscrew, and stretching her arms out and even showing her name up above her head due to some "magic" off of her own.

"Naturally that's the case," sighed the Spirit. And here she thought she was stuck doing something important. Spinel needed to keep her attention somehow, but as she tried to make her laugh or giggle, hopping up to her face time and again, the Spirit seemed to not pay her any mind at all.

"Nononononono," Spinel thought. But Fulgurite quickly got a sign out for her to handle, it simply saying "magic tour". Well it's worth a shot.

"WAIT! If you DARE to leave me now, you won't be granted you're MAAAAGIC TOOOOOUUUR~" Spinel said, her voice "vibrating" on "secret wish" to make it sound a bit more spooky. The Spirit, possibly either from curiosity or just out of boredom, stopped moving and glanced back.

"I'm well aware of how magic is to be handled, thank you."

"NO no no, the magic tour of Earth! It's always so magical here, and you got no belief in the magical workings of this wonderful would of mine~"

"... Earth. Isn't. Magical," the Spirit stated, looming over Spinel to the point when she fell onto her back.

"Not magical? Then what am I supposed to be?! I'm super-duper magical: I show people sweet, sweet love and affection," Spinel said, passionate about the last bit of that sentence as she held her heart Gem. She sounded so convincing for never having a lesson, but the Spirit didn't seem to be all too thrilled about any of this herself.

"Prove such power to me then," the Spirit stated, waiting for Spinel to do something. Emerald and Fulgurite couldn't believe what they're hearing. They planned some resistance, but it's WAY too soon to start showing off Spinel's magic! But happy-go-lucky Spinel just laughed, wrapping a long arm around the spirit's shoulder, "hovering" next to her.

"Naughty, naughty," said Spinel, "Magic is about belief, not proof. And if you wanna see my magic, you're gonna have to walk the enchanted trail! … If you daaaarrrre!"
The Spirit rolled her eyes and didn't answer right away. Fulgurite and Emerald were silently praying that this was enough to at least make her wanna go along with Spinel, at least for a bit. But the silence stood for an uncomfortable amount of time, as the Spirit used her own actual magic to loosen Spinel's grasp on her, and making Spinel fall onto the ground. Her landing into the snow though tossed a bit of it over by the others close by, and then …

*achoo!*

"Who's that?" the Spirit questioned.

"T-That's the … apprentice Heart Fairies! they're just gonna be in the bushes. COME! The magic awaits right over here!" said Spinel, bringing the Spirit's attention to her, as she started skipping along her way. The Spirit glanced over to said bushes for a moment or two. It could be just pure dumb luck, but rather than just attack them right there, the Spirit decided to just go and follow Spinel anyway.

"Clod that was close," said Fulgurite, who was holding Emerald hostage, wrapping her hair around his mouth. He was gonna get a hairball from this, big time.

…….

As for Flint and his team, the Warp Pad travel hardly took that much time for them to do, and they got to the main location in no time at all. It was a sight for sore eyes for some of them, remembering vaguely of their last trip to this quarry and how "wonderful" that ended up. Unlike before though, not only was the quarry covered in snow in several spots, but there were still workers amongst the area trying their best to mine up the place for what minerals were left. Bit odd since it was cold winter and all, but work doesn't wait for no one it seemed, as the machines' chiseling echoed across the quarry.
They could see at least twenty to thirty workers scattered around the place, either working the machines, moving minerals, or just keeping track, but no exact signs of any reported mystical creature anywhere. Though, that probably was expected, given all of the noise everything made.

"Okay, so how do you guys want to handle this?" asked Flint, "Do we just go in altogether, or do we split up -"

"Of course we're all going in!" Jasper said, "what'll the enemy think if it saw us going in one-by-one, now come on!"

"Jasper, hold it!" said Applejack, but the warrior already jumped in practically blind, getting into the quarry in no time at all. The others had to rush down to try and catch up with her. The only ones who stayed were Flint, Bismuth, and Peridot.

"Ok, fine. This is happening," Flint groaned. At least Bismuth stuck back a bit for his sake, but the two did join the rest in catching up to Jasper as Peridot trailed behind, wondering why she was even there again. And just in time too, as Jasper looked about ready to start beating the daylights out of one of the machines, only for the group to grab her and pull her back.

"Not a monster, not a monster!" shouted Diopside, pushing her back with aid of AJ and Rainbow. It was just enough to make Jasper stop, but her focus was moved to her troops.

"Who ordered you to get in my way?" Jasper questioned firmly, shaking them off of her with a simple motion of her arm. Of course, seeing all of them just show up out of nowhere did ring up more attention from the Humans working there.

"Oi, you there!" called a foreman, "You can't just wander in here, this is a work zone! What're you all doin here anyway?"

"W-We're sorry for just charging in," said Diopside, not wanting a fight, "We just got reports of a some creature wandering around in here, so we came to check it out."

"K, but this ain't a tour attraction," the foreman made clear, "any of you got any ID or something? Or at least some headgear?"

"I didn't realize anyone made you in charge, human," Jasper growled, not keen on letting a human order HER around. How she knew what a human was, who knew, but right now that wasn't important. Quickly Jasper was pushed away by Bismuth.

"She didn't mean that, she's just a bit on edge that's all," Rainbow Dash said. She'd be happy to get into a tussle, but not at random, or with a foreman of all these machines.

"Yes I did," said Jasper.

"Jasper, not helping," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well why should we care? They're just a bunch of humans, what can they do to a Quartz like me?" Jasper questioned, hardly amused at all. But it seemed the Foreman gave the loudmouth cheesepuff her just comeuppance with a well aimed wrench to the head. Jasper growled a bit, instinctively summoning her headgear, but Bismuth got in the way.

"Okay, okay, hold on!" Bismuth said. "Look, we won't get in anyone's way, we'll just check the place for this beast and we'll leave right after that okay?"
The foreman did withdraw his "weapon", which Peridot was actually surprised did as much damage as it did to her head.

"So when you find this "thing", you'll stop snooping?"

"Uhh … yeah? That's what we've been sayin," Applejack said. The foreman thought about it a bit more, but eventually he withdrew his wrench.

"Alright, fine, I'll let ya look around after we're done workin here," the Foreman concluded. As long as they weren't in anyone's way, then there wasn't a reason to stop production for them either, so he had to go back to work. That seemed reasonable for some of them, but for Jasper, she started walking away.

"Don't just stand there, start looking," ordered Jasper.

"We have to wait until they finished working, weren't you listening?" Flint asked.

"Says who?"

"... The foreman just now?" said Rainbow Dash. Jasper rolled her eyes.

"Can't you at least pretend to wait?" Applejack asked.

"Hey, I've been put in charge of this mission, I'll do it however I want!" Jasper harshly stated, before she started going off to handle the mission. Jasper had always been known for being a bit mean time to time, harsh even if especially angry at someone, but the fact she sounded so cold and selfish there just didn't suit too well with … well, any of them.

"AND how many minutes was that?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"According to the position of the planet's closest star … five minutes," said Peridot.

"I'll keep an eye on her for you guys," said Bismuth. She was probably the only one who could handle Jasper anyway if she were to go off the rails. As Bismuth went off to go handle them, Applejack looked to both her and Peridot back-to-back, remembering what the Rejuvenator was supposed to do.

"Hey Flint, Dio? Can I ask y'all somethin?" Applejack asked. The two Gems turned to the two ponies, but looking to one another they could probably guess what they were gonna ask anyway.

"Yes, Gems often start off a lot less caring most of the time. We're made for function, not emotion, so those things come later ..."

"So is that why most of you guys acted like complete jerks after coming back? Lapis, Jasper, P-dot over there?" Rainbow asked.

"Ehh … not for all Gem types, but … yeah. Pretty much," Diopside admitted.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash found that WAY too understandable: Lapis and her terraforming, Jasper's military anger, Peridot's more science-techy approach, Sapphire's more distant view with everyone. Only Pearl and Spinel seemed friendly, but that was because they were made to do so. They almost forgot about all that …

*CRACK* and Peridot just dismantled a tool box to investigate it.

"The sooner we get our friends back, the better," Rainbow Dash commented.

~~~~~~

"Here they come. Get ready," said Twilight.

Back near Beach City, Twilight and Starlight were keeping their own watch for the next step to this plan to start, finding a comfy spot within some of the foliage. It was a bit cold of course, but they needed to keep in their position. That didn't take very long though, as they saw Spinel going straight over to the nearby country pond. Spinel kept the Spirit's attention the whole time, knowing some of the others are close by. After getting close to the pond, she then started to shiver.

"OoOoOoOoOo," said Spinel, "I feel some magic starting to come up. Can't you feel the magic?"

"I can sense magic, indeed … but I don't sense anything going on," the Spirit said matter-of-factly. Spinel hesitated, but chuckled.

"I haven't conjured up my magic Lion yet, silly, no magic's out here yet! He's off giving kiddy rides," Spinel said.

"Then how can you feel it?" the Spirit questioned. Spinel decided it was best to just dodge it, hopping on ahead of her until she reached the side of the pond.

"Say the magic words with me, and he will come," Spinel explained. What she did next basically went like this:
"Steephi!" - she posed as a karate master, leg up and kicking to the sky.
"Leafie!" - she sprung up into the air all arms and legs were stretched out like a star.
"Tofilo!" - she squatted down, and her arm moved into the shape of a heart.
As silly of a display Spinel was pulling off here, the Spirit was just standing there … silent as a mouse. She wasn't gonna look like an idiot if she could help it, magical or not.

"... Uhh … you're not saying it," said Spinel.

"Ohh very well then, I'll play along with your drabble," the Spirit decided, deciding to humor her instead of bringing down any hammers. The Spirit cleared her throat, and this time the two said the magic words together, Spinel repeating her dancing as earlier.

"Steephi! Leafie! Tofilo!"

THIS TIME, the "spell" seemed a lot more impressive, as within the outline of Spinel's arms, a sort of pinkish glow began to show itself (Starlight Glimmer and Twilight both working their magic into it). The Spirit stepped back a bit as something seemingly started to form, leaping out from seemingly nowhere and skidding to a halt right by her, at first appearing like nothing but light and hearts, but eventually given a full body. NO GEM could just do this, not by a long shot.
And once more, Lion himself looked a bit more extravagant than he was before: instead of just a pink lion with a light pink mane, his mane now appeared almost fiery with purple highlights along the edges, and a marking of a heart was right on his chest that almost seemed to glow. Even Lion's tail almost looked like a beacon.

"I don't remember making him look like that," noted Starlight.
Upon fully appearing, Spinel gleefully gave Lion a good hug, cheek to cheek.

"Hello buddy. Did you have fun today?" asked Spinel, giving Lion a friendly little rub on the head. Lion returned the kind gesture with a hearty lick to Spinel's face, making her all giggly again. NOW however the Spirit had to call a bit of bull on this.

"Now hang on a moment, what is this?! Gems can't summon creatures out of thin air!" the Spirit insisted. Spinel looked a bit pouty.

"I'm not a Gem, I'm ~Spinny the HEART FAIRY!~" Spinel insisted.

"But that's -"

OOOHHH HARVEST MOOOON, HEAR MY TUUUNE! AND BRING US LOTS OF STRAWBERRIES REEEEAAALY SOOOOON!~"

… Lion just sang. Not only talked, but he sang! The Spirit felt almost blind-sided, unaware of the voice-throwing spell that Starlight Glimmer was working with on Lion in order to even make this work. Lion simply played along with it, though it was hard to tell if Lion really was acting, or if the ponies were indeed controlling him for a bit to make this all work.

"What on Earth is he doing?" the Spirit asked. But rather than Spinel answer, Lion "answered" for her.

"I sing to the Harvest Moon for the town's Strawberries," said Lion in Twilight's voice. The Spirit glanced up into the sky.

"... It's noon," the Spirit bluntly pointed out. She didn't even bother pointing out that it was winter either, because that was a given.

"Best time to sing to the Harvest Moon," explained Lion, "She's not so busy shining the night away during the day."

And with that, Lion went back to singing some more, trotting away from both the Spirit and Spinel for a bit until Lion seemingly disappeared with a aura covering him, and flashing away to somewhere else. The Spirit glanced to Spinel, who gave the Spirit a thumbs up, a smile, and a wink.

"NOW do you believe in the Heart Fairy?" said Spinel. the Spirit was still trying to better comprehend the random singing fiery Lion of hers, knowing all too well that Gems weren't capable of just conjuring up things out of nowhere, ESPECIALLY living things! … well, outside of pulling it out of their gemstone storage, that is.

"Maybe, but there is still many a contradiction, for Strawberries don't grow in winter, and the aforementioned "Harvest Moon" isn't even close to this time of year."

"You need to get updated more," said Spinel jokingly, "next stop: town! Let's see if we can play with the Waterwalkers today - they got free tickets!"

The Spirit scoffed on the idea. "Impossible, Waterwalkers don't exist outside of fantasy and legend. That, and Camels don't walk on water."

"Belieeeeeve in the magic.~" said Spinel, before she started skipping along towards town. Spinel kept going, but then she turned her head and saw that the Spirit wasn't moving. Did she see through the ploy?

"What's up slowpoke, you coming?" Spinel asked.

"It's all very well for you, but I can't just wander into some town unannounced -"

"Oh, PSH, they already know ya! They get big spirits every day, two on the weekends! C'mon," Spinel said. The Spirit may seemed to buy her authenticity in magic, but there was still some ways to go according to Sapphire in order to fully convince this being to give Discord's magic back. However, as Spinel went on, the Spirit paused and turned over to a peculiar bush nearby …

And blasted it right out of the ground! All that remained was a burnt mark in the snow.

"Hmm … nothing … let's be more discrete," the Spirit concluded, before she went off to follow Spinel a bit more. THANK THE STARS Sapphire predicted an outcome like this, otherwise Twilight wouldn't have teleported them both away in time, Starlight, Lion, and Twilight re-appearing over nearby a old tree by the pond.

"Okay, THAT was not needed," Starlight muttered.

"Hey Lion, go into town and join the others. It'll really help with you there," Twilight instructed. Lion roared a little, and went through his own portal back to town. They still got plenty to do if this was to work.

"I wonder if Flint's team is doing any better," wondered Starlight Glimmer.

"I think we'll find out soon enough," replied Twilight, before the two went on their way.

…….

So despite the Foreman's instructions, Flint, Diopside, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were off and investigating the area for any signs of this monster, whatever it might be. With Jasper being handled by Bismuth, they took it at a more casual pace, with Rainbow Dash being the biggest eye in the sky as she flew high overhead. The Pegasus could see quite a bit of the Quarry: lots of machines and workers, but as before finding this mystical creature was not easy.

"Monster. Monster … monster … nope, nothing but hulks of metal everywhere," Rainbow Dash concluded. You'd think it wouldn't be too hard to find a creature lurking in an open quarry, but whatever this creature was, it sure knew how to hide. After soaring around some more, Rainbow Dash flew back down towards the rest of the group, who were basically hanging out nearby the Warp Pad and away from the quarry (minus Bismuth and Jasper).

"Yeah I got nothing. Did these reports say how big this thing's supposed to be? Because if this is huge, it sure knows how to hide … but I did see Jasper and Bismuth," Rainbow Dash said upon landing.

"Unless it gave up, it wouldn't come out with everyone working," noted Flint, who admittedly appeared the most chill, but his bobbing knee suggested he was ready to start blasting at any second.

"How's Bismuth holding up with Jasper?" Diopside asked.

"Hmm, how do I put this? …"

"WHAT'RE YOU ALL DOING?!"
they didn't need to go on any further though, and soon Jasper and Bismuth came back to the main Warp Pad. And of course, the shouting was from Jasper, bismuth actually looking worn out a bit physically, much to the surprise of the rest.

"Bismuth? You alright?" Applejack asked, concerned. Bismuth gave a huff.

"I thought she was determined before. I can barely hold her down now," Bismuth answered, flicking some stray gravel from her rainbow hair.

"I thought I told you all to get to work, and I find you all doing nothing?!" Jasper said.

"Wait, not true, we were just waiting until we're allowed in!" insisted Diopside.

"I did tell you to go in, you pebble," Jasper reminded, leaning towards Diopside as a means to humble her.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Rainbow said, moving in Jasper's way.

"I don't take sloppy discipline from a Gem, so I'd be dead if I take it from a chump like you!" Jasper yelled. She may be Rainbow Dash's friend, but lord was she getting under her skin now.

"Alright, settle down everypony, don't start getting ugly," Applejack said, but Jasper didn't care.

"If you're not big enough to do your job, I don't want you in my platoon!"

Now she broke it.

"YOUR platoon? Who said you were in charge anyway?!" Rainbow exclaimed, flying right in Jasper's face, only for the Quartz to slap her away.

"My Emerald did: he put me in charge of this mission. WHY do you think I'm here?"

"He said to handle the mission, not be in charge of it!"

"Are you in his service?"

"Of course not -"

"Then how could you possibly know?" Jasper scoffed. So not only was she a brute, she was a stuck-up.

But as all of this was going on, even with the working machines still making a lot of racket, Peridot began to note something further away. She had been observing the machines from afar and took interest in wondering how they work, but it wasn't that that got her attention. But more over, what exactly decided to actually come out to do some excavating of its own. It was enough to bring Peridot away from the group, and even down closer to the Quarry itself towards what came out.
The monster finally decided to come out. Though the word "monster" didn't seem fitting as the creature didn't look all too threatening. In fact it looked fairly simple in body structure: a small rounded head, a long curved neck with a loping posture like that of a Kangaroo. This included smaller hands compared to large back legs, and a tail that dragged on the ground as it moved along at a slow and steady pace, sniffing the ground for something to eat. Seeing this creature, in spite of her "brain wipe" something seemed to click.

"Bipedal movement. A reptilian exoskeleton. no external hearing aid." more such descriptive words kept going through her head, as if she was scanning the animal rather than just watching it, not even thinking of the danger as she walked right up to the animal. She stood tall, finding that Peridot's head lined with the animal's hip.

"Approximately seven feet tall at the hip bone."

*pluck* and not considering the animal, she actually saw the scales of the creature and straight up pulled one off. It was like plucking off a hair from someone's head: not a fatal injury, but still painful and quick. Peridot didn't care though and looked over the scale more closely, flicking it and seeing it reflect the light.

"frail overlapping scale covering, slightly reflective coating -"

*snort*
And the creature was then stared Peridot face to face, enough to actually make Peridot step back. Not scared, but still took some mental notes of the animal, even after it turned fully to face her, towering twelve feet tall. Rather than being completely scared, Peridot's scientific curiosity got the better of her and she held the creature's front foot to give it a better look.

"Sturdy claws for excavating … what kind of creature are you?" Peridot wondered. The animal looked to her with curiosity as well, lowering its head and sniffing her a bit. Peridot took this to advantage and actually took a look inside the mouth of the creature, seeing its teeth up close.

"Hmm … Hmm? …" Peridot wasn't sure what to consider this animal's diet, though she subconsciously licked her own teeth after seeing how similar this animal's teeth were compared to her own. Human-like teeth in a not-so-human like animal. Still the creature wasn't enjoying this random investigation, and shoved her away a bit before it started to move out towards the active Quarry. It wasn't considering her as much of a threat, and neither did it seem to consider the noisy machines a threat anymore, actually going right up to one of the mining conveyer belts, much to the surprise of the workers.
The workers quickly got out of the way, freaking out seeing this random dinosaur just pop up from out of nowhere, one worker even tumbling to the ground and making a run for it. As for the dinosaur, it found one of the moving mineral rocks on the conveyer belt, and didn't hesitate to snatch one up and start gnawing on it like a dog to a bone.

"Hey!" shouted one of the braver workers, trying to get one of their rocks back. The animal only pushed him away with its head, as if to say "shoo", before continuing to gnaw on the rock. Peridot was curious again, moving over to the animal and observing.

"A high mineral diet? …" Peridot thought about it briefly, and felt a shiver run through her. Gems were basically rocks too. But this did give her another question. Were these things edible? … Well, one way to find out.

*chomp* "ACK!"

Nope. Not edible. In fact it hurt a lot. The yelp did catch the creature's attention again, this time the creature.

"PERIDOT, where'd you go?!"
Hearing the distant voice, Peridot should've figured that she would be found out eventually. The group were quick to find where she went thanks to Rainbow Dash's flying.

"Peridot, what'd we tell ya about -" Applejack was cut short the second they saw the creature standing right next to her. Peridot might not have spooked this animal, but seeing the more intimidating forms of Bismuth and Jasper did start to make it feel more uneasy.

"Is THAT the thing you were talking about?" one of the workers asked.

"Evidence points to yes," said Flint, though he felt a bit uneasy himself. The others wondered what to do, but as for Jasper.

"Finally," she said, a rather scary smile forming on her face, as she summoned her own form a gem weaponry. It took it long enough to come out, now to drive it away. She'll keep it alive as instructed, but NO WAY was she leaving it without a scratch.

"Jasper, wait -" Diopside tried stopping her, but Jasper went just too quick to grab and the orange quartz took the first attack almost immediately. The creature meanwhile took action too and stood tall, but this just left it open to Jasper's ram, sending it and her off a good twenty feet into the Quarry, making a lot of workers scatter. After landing the creature spurred to life and used its large back legs to kick Jasper over and over again.

"Heh. Too easy," Jasper said smugly, hardly even feeling the kicking on her stomach as she readied a strong punch to the animal. One good hit to the head should be enough to get it to stop thrashing. Everyone else was just about ready to go rush in, but Jasper already gave the creature a powerful punch right to the head, making this animal stop altogether.

"JASPER!" exclaimed Diopside.

"Will you shut up?" Jasper scoffed, as she grabbed the body and lifted it off of the ground, bringing what she could take up over her shoulder like it was nothing.

"Please tell us it's alive at least?" Bismuth said.

"My Emerald didn't tell me to kill it, but he did say I can beat it up if I wanted to. NOW be useful and grab a limb," Jasper ordered.
But this all seemed a bit odd to Flint: Sapphire predicted a lot happening during this mission, but if the monster was already down and out … well, how could any of that stuff happen now? The monster was stuck in Jasper's headlock hold after just a single punch.

"Something doesn't feel right here," Flint mumbled.

"Then just watch - whoa!"

After coming back around, the creature was suddenly standing again, now Jasper being held up off of the ground as it suddenly bit into her arm and held her up high a bit. The headlock though was freaking this thing out, making it thrash and buck to try and get free.

"Jasper, let go of that thing!" called Applejack.

"Over my shattered stone!" Jasper shouted, able to swing her weight enough to get a footing on the ground and swinging the creature back over onto its, well, back, the motion whacking it into one of the machines, leaving metal broken a bit. This time though, being on its back completely made all of its kicking a bit more wild, Jasper getting several to the face until the eight double-kick FINALLY made Jasper release it, and back up.

"Oh great, you made it mad," said Rainbow Dash.

"Scatter!" Diopside shouted. And good timing too, as by the time they bolted the creature took on attacking, and would've landed on top of them if they were just a bit slower.

"Now we're talking," said Jasper, "BRING IT!"

"No, no, don't bring it, let's not just bring it!" Diopside pleaded. However, the animal was already ticked off plenty, and jumped right for them, back legs ready to crush Jasper under it. The orange Quartz blocked all the weight of the animal, and threw it off of her with ease, making it land down hard on the ground. The animal was targeting Jasper only though, and got back onto its hind legs, straightening up tall in a Kangaroo threat posture, front limb rubbing against its chest and stomach. Summoning her helmet, Jasper was finding this all too convenient for her and charged head long into the creature's stomach -

*ZZZAP!*

"... IT'S ELECTRIC TYPE?!" exclaimed Peridot. Jasper was suddenly launched back towards the others, her hair spiked up all over and looking slightly burnt thanks to the electrical charge. All that rubbing got sparks jumping off of those reflective scales, sending lightning off of it all over the place.

"That makes more sense," Flint thought.

"Everyone back up and take cover, that thing's kicked into overdrive!" Bismuth ordered. Everyone got to a much safer distance, getting themselves behind some cover while dodging lightning here and there. If there was a time for the prophecy to be fulfilled, it would be now. The only that wasn't moving was Jasper, just staring at the spectacle.

"JASPER, WAKE UP!" shouted Rainbow Dash. But it seemed Jasper was stuck in place, the lightning bolts dancing around the creature and the area around them.

"She's frozen. I'm going in!" Bismuth said, and before anyone could stop her, she charged head long towards the seemingly paused Gem. Jasper felt someone grab her, and drag her away just before one especially large spark zapped right where she was just sitting. The creature only stopped the threat display once everyone got a much better distance, the blinding light and electrical sparks dimming down to nothing.
Everyone looked to Jasper, who was left wide-eyed and stiff. Bismuth moved her as if she was a tree, to give you an idea of how stiff she was.

"Oh geez … Jasper, you okay?" Diopside asked, looking to Jasper's face. Not even snapping fingers in front of her face did much of anything to snap her out of that funk.

"What kind of creature is capable of electromagnetic creation? There's nothing in my studies suggesting anything," Peridot wondered in both bewilderment and amazement, despite it nearly killing them moments before.

"You barely studied that thing," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Welcome to Earth, Peridot," sighed Flint. As for the creature itself, after seeing no one else around, it felt time to go on its way. The quarry seemed too dangerous anyway. So, with the rock it was gnawing on earlier, it looked around one more time before it started going off to a safer distance, running up out of the Quarry, and right on out of there

Still nothing happened yet that Sapphire said.

"Hey, you all okay over there?" called Bismuth to the humans nearby.

"We're all good I think," called one of the workers, "What on earth was that thing?"

"Doesn't matter, it's gone now. You're all good … no one got hurt …" Flint said, though the last part just left him confused if anything. Peridot's enhancers were still on, and Flint was still in one piece so … what gives?
Their attention then turned over to Jasper.

"She alright?"

"She doesn't look hurt, but she does look zoned out," Bismuth noted.

"Hang on, I know how to wake her up," Applejack said … as she turned away from her, and swatted her face with her tail. It took at least seven hits to snap Jasper awake, the huge Gem suddenly swinging her arm, narrowly missing Applejack as she sprung back to her feet.

"What. Was. That. Cluster?" Jasper asked, still trying to get herself together. Flint still felt uneasy, but he went and helped her chill out anyway.

"It doesn't matter. We drove it out, so … mission over. Let's get back home, see how the others are doing, okay?" Flint decided. Jasper straightened up and looked around all over the place, not finding the monster anywhere in sight. No more electricity, no dinosaur. Nothing.

"If any of you say anything about this. I'll kill you," Jasper warned.

"Our lips are sealed, Jay," Bismuth said. The creature now seemingly gone, they all began to go back to the Warp Pad, but as they were Flint was left with one question: when is it going to happen?

Will it even happen?

~~~~~~

It took some more time until The Spirit arrived into town. Though not many a folk did recognize her as the Spirit of the world yet to come, but rather just "Princess Luna" walking through town, seeing what there exactly was to see. The whole town itself looked pretty mundane if anything, people just going about their day with some crows hanging out by rooftops. Since everyone was planning for The Spirit to show up, not Luna, they took her arrival with a more surprise than the casualness they practiced.

"Some amount of surprise, given they're supposed to be used to such sights," the Spirit thought. Then again, she always suspected something wasn't sitting right since she got here.

It was then she reached the docks. She didn't fully come out yet, but sure enough there they were: Spinel as Spinny, with a few ponies, some people, a Gem or two, and of course at least four Camels (Waterwalkers in legend were basically water-walking Camels). As expected, the dromedaries were very reluctant to even get close to the water, let alone try to swim in it, but Fluttershy and Star Quartz all were helping in calming them down.

"Don't worry, Matilda," said Fluttershy, rubbing one of the Camel's heads, "We won't let any of you sink, we promise."

The Camel was still reluctant though, speaking Camel to the mare.

"Okay, so let's try it out," Starlight said, focusing her own horn, and zapping the water's surface. The seawater wouldn't freeze in any time of the year, even during winter, so instead of just freezing the ice, Starlight made a disk-shaped glass covering to place just above the water, invisible but stretching for at least a good thirty feet around the bay passed the docks. The Camels themselves were then coaxed by Steven and Connie into getting onto the surface, which while a little cold to the feet did keep the Camels standing up above the water's surface, but still low enough to appear that they are on water.
At least, that's what it looked like to the Spirit.

"I knew it," the Spirit thought.

"See? Just stay by the docks and act it out, okay?" Fluttershy said. The Camels nodded, understanding her.

"Looks good. Ok, we better get out of sight before the Spirit shows up," said Steven. They would go off out of the way, but before any of them could -

"Before who shows up?"
Shifting back to normal, the spirit loomed overhead, and moved over towards all of them. Spinel may have given them some early indication, but this was far too soon.

"Spirit! Uh, nice ... to ... see you," said Steven, trying not to simply freak out that she was even here at all.

"... So may I question what this is supposed to be?" the Spirit asked, looking over to the Camels quizzically as they already started practicing some of their walking.

"Oh this?" said Steven, "It's just our Waterwalker ride. It's just before the holidays, so we set one of these up every year when fishing dies down."

"Yep, nothing out of the ordinary here," added Connie, rubbing one of the Camels' heads.

"Obviously," the Spirit scoffed. The Spirit loomed over towards the docks' edge, the Camels standing there as they were being judged by this being from another world, but her gaze wasn't strictly on the Camels, but rather the water they were walking on.

"I think you're too big for a ride right now," said Spinel, only getting a death glare from the Spirit to keep her quiet.

"I think she's onto us," muttered Twilight.

"Wait, let's just see," Steven muttered back. The Spirit only found the muttering confirmation of what she saw earlier. Now more confident to expose them, she took a long step off of the docks towards the center of the Camels' walk path. She just had to step on the invisible floor to work the exposure in.

She fell into the water with a loud splash, splashing the Camels and the others by the docks. She was as shocked about this as a spirit could be, as she darted her head out of the water, only to be met with one of the Waterwalkers snorting in her face.

"B-But I … I saw … Camels don't walk on water, it shouldn't be possible to the rules of this world!" exclaimed the Spirit, her voice booming as she pulled herself out of the water, her entire outfit soaked with the cold seawater. The group were caught off lucky, and given the chance to regather, went along with it.

"Well, this is how it's always been here. … Uhh, you need me to dry your clothes for you?" Steven offered.

"NO," the Spirit stated, her voice slow and growling, before she started to walk off to try and rekindle her dignity, flying off instead of walking. Soon as they were sure the Spirit was far enough away …

"Hmm … you think she bought that?" Spinel asked, unsure actually herself.

"... No," Steven stated, blindsided. Wasn't that enough?! Steven was shocked, but he needed to keep it together.

"Okay, if this isn't gonna be enough, we gotta move on to the big finale. Get the Camels out of the water, they don't have to do that anymore," Steven said.

"But … what's the big finale?" asked Twilight.

"I'll let you know when I think of it."

"Steven, we're back!" called a distant voice. The whole group took a look up into the sky, and sure enough there was Rainbow Dash flying overhead.

Well they might as well check in and see how they're doing.

…….

As for the Spirit, she found a spot isolated from the rest of town to try and regain some composure after her slip into seawater. She wasn't ready to go back home just yet, so she went for the next best thing and found a good spot over by the Beach City lighthouse. Her fur was cold, her clothes soaking wet as she wringed it out a bit with her magic.

"Pathetic Humans. Pathetic Ponies, pathetic gems can't ever accept "no" for an answer," she griped, wringing out what she could until she was all dry. Cold, but dry.

"Thank the realms of every universe the mistress didn't see that. I'd never hear the end of it," the Spirit added, looking up into the sky. Her eyes then moved downward towards Beach City itself, which the Spirit could probably guess was trying to plan yet another little escapade to make her change her mind. No doubt Discord was behind this game, the only problem was where the heck he was.

"Where are you?"

*flash*

The Spirit heard the sound of an iPhone camera loud and clear, and immediately she turned around towards the lighthouse. She expected Spinel to be playing games, but instead it was another human from Beach City, who thought seeing her so up close would be perfect material for his "Keep Beach City Weird" blog.

"Perfect picture. The blog's gonna be amazed!" Ronaldo said.

"GIVE ME THAT," the Spirit bellowed. Last thing she needed was her image shown all over the place, so she swiped the phone from him, and without a second hesitation … snapped it like a twig.

"NOOO! MY CONNECTIONS!" Ronaldo shrieked, down on his knees at sight of his iPhone now in pieces. The Spirit was in no mood for his grief, and just about ready to leave, but the heart-broken Ronaldo was up in arms. "Who do you think you are doing that to me?!"

"I'm in no mood for anymore games," the Spirit hissed, "I've had more than my fill of it all this day …"

"But my information's on that iPhone! All my recent studies. My evidence," Ronaldo said, actually looking ready to cry. The Spirit loomed over Ronaldo, as she usually did to lower lifeforms.

"My presence wasn't supposed to be known by everyone, you lonesome creature," growled the Spirit, "I'd be darned if I allow myself to be publicized by your … iPhone."

"But the public eye must know," retorted Ronaldo, "Just stand there for a second, I'll draw you out -"
He was cut short when the Spirit opened her wings and readied to fly away. In a surprising amount of stupidity or courage, Ronaldo grabbed her cloak.

"Wait, don't leave! It'll only take a minute, they need this!"

"It would be better if you all didn't require it," the Spirit said, kicking Ronaldo off, "Why is such a matter so important to you anyway? I can understand the desperation from your Harmony Gems, but this has no involvement on you."

"Are you kidding? You're supernatural, of course it involves me! It's my duty as an investigator to show the world everything weird and unusual," Ronaldo said, sounding almost mighty in his statement. The Spirit was not amused in the slightest.

"Sure you are. And I already noted a few airborne swine on my way over here."
While Ronaldo would just at picturing them, he could just tell that the Spirit wasn't being serious about it, nor his credibility.

"It's true, I got the blog to prove it. … If I have my iPhone … wait. Wait, my laptop! Wait right here," Ronaldo said.

"Don't bother yourself. Only one human doesn't prove the rest of the world's familiar with this," The Spirit scoffed. THAT'S when Ronaldo had to draw the line. Bad enough he got his iPhone wrecked, now this spirit's shooting him down like this?

"MY blog has hundreds of followers, and fellow investigators who're just as deep into the weird and wonderful! Just today they told me all about a giant spider spotted by a ski lodge a few states away -" the Spirit suddenly spun around, facing Ronaldo Fryman.

"AND DID THEY TELL YOU COWS COULD JUMP OVER THE MOON?!" The Spirit bellowed, her version of the Royal Canterlot Voice strong enough to knock Ronaldo back to the wall, his ears ringing a bit.

"That was last week," he mumbled, before falling onto the ground. The Spirit shook her head.

"What you're seeing is byproducts of what was never meant to be for the few years your "ponies" arrived. Whatever display the Harmony Gems had set up this time will NOT work," the Spirit said, turning and ready to go away.

"You think everything in this world's just a set-up?" Ronaldo questioned, arms crossed. "There's so many secrets out there, and people like me are out to find it."

"Only for the five years, perhaps. And I know exactly the responsible one," the Spirit said. She was growing tired of hearing all this drabble from these people, she had Discord to find. She walked a bit aways from the Lighthouse, ready to take off, but Ronaldo needed to work this out. It'd been too long since he got something actually good on such a scale, and with his iPhone wrecked he needed stronger tactics.

"The truth is out there! But if you don't want to be safe from the Sneople, then fine," Ronaldo said.

The Spirit stopped.

"... Dare I even inquire what that is," the Spirit huffed.

"Snake people - beings hiding in our society, half Human, half snake," Ronaldo explained. The Spirit expected a more profound explanation than that.

"Ridiculous. Your friends already tried to deceive me with their "Heart Fairies" and "Waterwalkers", why would I believe these "Snake People". And even so, their existence hasn't been very long at all," the Spirit questioned, believing these beings to be yet another sort of trick from Equestrian Magic in Earth, or something along those lines. Ronaldo though started to feel a bit more daring.

"I'll show you."

~~~~~~

Back in Little Homeworld, and one Sapphire was still feeling a bit unsure about herself. She didn't know why, but ever since she got her vision for Bismuth's team, she couldn't seem to bring herself to keep still and simply wait for them and instead she was walking around Little Homeworld further away from the Warp Pad, unaware of the team's return just yet. Whichever team were to show up, she had to say something to them.

"Friends. It is my sad duty to inform you that your friend didn't make back from the mission. ……. No, too blunt. Hmm … *ahem* I know you're all busy, but … I'm sorry to say that your friend won't be coming back. ……. No, that won't work. …"

Sapphire had been doing this for a good half an hour, trying her best to figure out what to exactly say that WON'T result in making everyone crumble and cry. Honestly it was hard to do, even for a Sapphire, to deliver bad news. So much so, she didn't notice someone stopping nearby her.

"Hello Sapphire," said Star Quartz, her voice making Sapphire jump. She can see the future, but can't see where Star Quartz would come in.

"Oh! … It's you is it. One of the specialized quartzes," Sapphire said. Star Quartz nodded, and walked over to her.

"You look scared. You okay?" Star simply asked. Sapphire hesitated a little bit, but the Gem still had to tell SOMEBODY. So, seeing Star Quartz standing there, she decided to do a test run.

"I … I have something to tell you. It's about your fellow Gem, Flint. ……. He's … no longer with us, I'm afraid," Sapphire revealed.

"Is he?" Star asked, curiously. As if she didn't actually understand it at all. Sapphire thought that would be good, but in this case she might need a bit more of a push.

"On his latest mission, I predicted he would be shattered while there. … It's my reasonability to tell you that at the least," Sapphire informed. So many of her future visions kept on telling her that this would be horrifying news to them, many of them crying and/or in shock at the news. It only made sense.

"No he's not," Star Quartz replied.

"I know it's hard to accept," Sapphire sighed. She wasn't expecting them to be in denial over it.

"Strange. We were just talking to him. By the Warp Pad, over there," Star Quartz said, pointing over to the direction of Little Homeworld's Warp Pad.

"... Huh?"

…….

"So yeah, I don't think she's convinced just yet," Steven concluded, as they all were basically hanging out by the forge.

"And she's still saying no?" questioned Bismuth, "Didn't Sapphire say she'll have to be convinced after all of that?"

"She sure didn't look like it to me," Starlight sighed, "Maybe it needs a while to kick in."

"How much more does she need?" said Rainbow Dash, "You showed her the Heart Fairy, her pet lion, water-walking Camels. What, does she need flying cows too?"

"No. But that might not be a bad idea," Steven pondered, thinking about a herd of flying cattle for a moment or so.

"Well at least you did alright. … Sort of," Emerald said, bringing their attention towards Jasper, who while they were talking was standing aside and leaning against the nearest wall.

"What happened to her?" Fluttershy asked.

"Our monster used some electric shock, and she's been freaking out since," explained Bismuth, "looked like she saw the world crash down in front of her while we were there."

"You mean she. JASPER. got scared of some monster?" asked Emerald, finding it hard to believe in that kind of idea.

"An electric-type Monster," corrected Peridot matter-of-factly. They paused and looked to Jasper for a bit, the orange Quartz still trying to ponder what the heck happened herself. Emerald, being her "boss", went right over to her and checked out the still seemingly puzzled look on her face. Jasper herself actually didn't notice Emerald there until he was directly in front of her field of vision.

"Attention!" Emerald shouted. Jasper sprung up and into stance, her diamond insignia back into position with her hands. Freaked out or not, loyalty to her superior comes first.

"Got a bit of a problem, cheesepuff? You look like you're zoning out," Emerald asked, confronting it head on despite the annoyed looks from the others.

"S-Sorry sir, just a bit worn out from the mission I went on, sir," Jasper explained, upfront. Emerald continued the upfront approach, even standing on her head after levitating himself up there with his hexagon.

"Worn out?" Emerald question, tapping his foot on her head. Turned out it didn't take very long.

"I got scared, okay! I don't know what happened, sir."

"Well that didn't take long," Applejack commented. Considering Jasper threatened THEM for saying the exact same thing.

"Hmm. Got scared of an electric-type … I feel like something's important here, I just need to think what it is," Emerald pondered. Something was there, but what? Emerald hopped off of Jasper, leaving her puzzled at what he was saying, as with everyone else.

"Look, we're done with that for now, let's just give her a minute, and we'll get back to it. Maybe we can help with the Spirit now this is over," Flint suggested.

"Can you put back on the Heart Fairy costume?" Spinel asked … who the whole time was holding him rather tightly.

"No."

"Hello."
The unmistakable voice of Star Quartz soon caught their ears, her arriving with Sapphire alongside. Sapphire couldn't believe it, not sure if this was just some trick or not.

"Oh, hey Sapphire. How was your …" Twilight didn't get an answer. In fact, Sapphire ignored everyone else as she walked straight up towards Flint, even moving the hair out of her eye so she could see who exactly this was.

"Flint."

"Hey, how're you?" Flint simply said casually. Sapphire … wasn't sure what was going on.

"But … but … I don't understand. How're -"

"We'll talk about it later," Flint said, knowing what she was worrying about. Now was NOT a good time to go over her predicational screwup.

"But, no this isn't right. My future visions."

"What about them?" asked Rainbow Dash. Sapphire took a breath.

"I saw so much on this mission: the Jasper would be put in danger, the Peridot would lose her Limb Enhancers, How were they wrong?"
That last part did leave a bit of unease, but considering Flint was standing right there, there wasn't much need to worry about it.

"Okay, easy Sapphire, calm down. It's okay if they weren't right - nobody's perfect," said Steven. But it still felt so off to Sapphire with this kind of news. Seeing Steven though, another Future Vision did come across her mind.

"The Spirit! That vision's still correct, it has to be. She must've been convinced after all your attempts," Sapphire said. THAT'S when they felt a bit uneasy again.

"... She … is convinced … right?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah about that -"

"Eh, hold that thought Steven, I think we're gonna find out," Twilight said.

Amazing how on cue some things could be. As if she overheard them talking, the whole group paused when they heard something start to close in on Little Homeworld from the air, the shadow of a bird starting to form up in the sky. Turned out it wasn't the Spirit, but more rather one of the Spirit's messenger cranes. While she would've sent a Red-Capped crane, the messenger this time took form of a Crowned Crane, which glided down from the air in a circle, until landing down in the snow with gentle feet, a message wrapped around its neck, and a passenger riding on its back.

"GEMS! Your new Harmony Gem has arrived," said RONALDO.

Ronaldo.

Yes.

"RONALDO?! But when'd you get the bird?!" exclaimed Steven, as Ronaldo confidently got off of the bird, seemingly full of pride about something.

"Let's get over the whole "new Harmony Gem" thing first," said Bismuth. The first one to be confronted by Ronaldo about this was Twilight actually.

"Twilight Sparkle! I'm really looking forward to working with you on the team," said Ronaldo, a point and a wink to the alicorn.

"Ronaldo, wait a minute, what're you even talking about?" Twilight asked, dumbfounded by the concept altogether, "what's this about you being a Harmony Gem now?"

Ronaldo was looking a bit smug, adjusting his glasses like some cool anime character.

"Isn't it obvious? I've been proclaimed the newest Harmony Gems thanks to my skills as an investigator, and information gatherer," Ronaldo explained, "she said I'd be perfect for your team, so here I am. You know, I can already feel like we'll get along great."

"Not in this lifetime, sorry," Fulgurite said bluntly.

"What? But -"

"Ronaldo, you can't just join the team like that," Flint said, "You just an average joe, you won't last more than a few days with the work we do. Besides, don't you have that lookout job for the town?"

"Not since Nanefua confiscated my telescope," Ronaldo said. For some reason, no one was surprised hearing that.

"But you just met Spinel on the spot, yet you let her join the team," pointed out Starlight Glimmer.

"Are you really going to entertain this?" meekly asked Emerald.

"And who even told you you're a Harmony Gem anyway?" added Twilight, more to Ronaldo. Then the answer …

"The Spirit of the World yet to come," he announced confidently.

What?

"Whoa, whoa, wait. The Spirit told you this? We are talking about the same spirit right? A very tall pony in a dark moon cloak?" Steven asked.

"And her own messenger bird, and here's the message to prove it," said Ronaldo, as the crane gave Ronaldo the rolled up message, and him proudly giving it to them to read. That did explain why he had the crane to begin with, but that didn't explain how the Spirit thought that RONALDOwould be good for the team. As Steven unrolled it, and some of them looking over his shoulders to see, the answer was written right there in black and white …

Harmony Gems.

By the time you're reading the enclosed passage and possibly questioning life as you claim it, I'd already return to my realm and discussing matters with the deities. I've been well aware that you've been setting up your "attempts" to persuade me not only of the world's adaptation to magic, but more over to return Discord and White diamond's power. In a way it worked. But, not in the way you wanted. Your "Ronaldo Fryman" shown me that Earth has been shown to, as he kept stating it, "conspiracy and secrets" long before Discord's known involvement. In short, I will admit I am wrong in saying Earth isn't magical. On that thought, I've given Ronaldo my own personal regards to be the informant to the Harmony Gems on the otherworldly matters outside of both Equestrian and Gem knowledge.

P.S.: NO, this doesn't mean I'm giving their magic back. That is no longer under my decision, and never will be. DON'T TEST ME.

"... Are we being punished? I feel like we're being punished," said Fulgurite. They all looked back over to Ronaldo again, oblivious to the rather odd feel in the room.

"Come on guys, maybe this'll be a good idea," Starlight insisted, trotting over to Ronaldo.

"Thank you, my dear," said Ronaldo. Not needed, but whatever.

"I mean, think about it: you guys had been together for a long time, but I don't think anyone besides Connie has actually tried to be apart of the team. And besides, he convinced that "Spirit of the World yet to come" this world's actually used to magic when we tried three times with ACTUAL magic. At least we should hear what he has to say. Seriously if it can convince a god she was wrong, it's gotta be good for something."

"Hmm … well, the mare's got a point," said Bismuth.

"Not a very good point, but a point anyway," said Fulgurite shrugging. As annoying as Ronaldo was from what they knew, it was hard to deny something must've happened. Eventually Steven spoke first.

"Alright let's do this," said Steven.

"It's not the strangest guest," figured Flint.

"Welcome aboard!" beamed Spinel.

Nearby, Sapphire was … well, it was hard to say how blindsided she felt. One future vision didn't even happen at all the way she saw it, and the other future vision was completely muddled up even if it did happen, again not in the way she saw. Her visions were ALWAYS right and on point, weren't they? ...

All of this was giving her even more of a headache.

Author's Note

It seems interesting that the Jersey Quarry has such OP creatures in it, isn't it? Don't think that this is the end of what'll be coming up for this creature though, but on the bright side: FINALLY some things are starting to come back in the form of Jasper's fear of Thunderstorms, and ... eh, guess that's it. Baby steps folks x3

I will admit, i didn't entirely think of how the Spirit would just "come back" when writing the last chapter, outside of this reason of suspicions to the Portal Keys, so if you don't fancy this reason, sorry. It's the best i could come up with on such short notice outside of plot convenience. :twilightblush: It's hard to make a perfect story, especially with a story as long and old as MLU.

Hope you like this anyway. ^^

Tricky Game

"Okay, we're here. And everyone's asleep in there … Bray, you got the stuff?"

"Yep, you bet. … What is it again?"

"The thing hanging around your neck?"

"OOHH, yeah yeah yeah I got it. Let's sprinkle this bad boy."

"I guess … But how's this supposed to work? We got an unpoofed Gem here, and apparently THIS is supposed to mess up her coding and make her messed up? I'm no magic nerd, but tell me how that makes any sense."

"It's magic."

"... That's it? … That's just stupid."

"I'll prove it!"

"You don't have to prove it, I believe you're stupid."

"You're darn right I am. Now watch."

…….

"One. Two. One. Two. One. Two. And turn."

Another day, another time to be on guard for the remaining Gemstones. The Beach House had been a decent spot to let them both await their physical forms to return, but Lapis Lazuli and Pink Diamond were apparently taking their time to actually make this work. For Pink Diamond this might be understandable, being fragile as it was, but Lapis Lazuli … well who could say how long she will be? Either way, as they marched back and forth, Blue the Gem Dog and Spike the Dragon were keeping some watch over both of them in a almost military manor, marching back and forth and occasionally looking out the window in case something were to show up. Spike had an extra hand in a telescope, which at times he did use to check outside by the ocean and beach, as Blue would occasionally give the Warp Pad a sniff or two (for whatever reason). As Spike and Blue were doing this, there were still some that were just chilling out nearby: Emerald was taking time to catch up on some of his shows, Nora the cat was just sleeping away the afternoon (as cats do), and strangely, Spinel was standing nearby … just standing.

"Hey, Spinny, you sure you don't wanna watch just one episode or what?" Emerald said. Spinel though shook her head, keeping her gaze to the Warp Pad.

"Nope. I'm in the middle of a game, and I wanna win," said Spinel.

"What game? Freeze tag?"

"Nuh uh: Flint told me to play the "stand still" game, and wait til' he gets back. The rules are I can only move when he pops back … He'll be back any second now," Spinel said, though that last part did sound a little bit forced. She didn't budge though, keeping still and at attention as she just looked to the Warp Pad. Waiting.

"Uh … how long were you playing this game?" Spike asked, overhearing the conversation.

"Dunno. Couple hours? A day maybe?" Spinel shrugged, not turning her gaze. Emerald and Spike weren't buying the idea Flint would play a game with her. Emerald paused his show, and he strolled over and, with Spike's help, started pushing Spinel away from her spot. Even Blue helped out by pulling on her from the back to make sure she was moving.

"OKAY, let's play another game, it's called "do not stand here and do ANYTHING else"," Spike said.

"Wha? But the game -"

"If any game lasts more than a day, it might as well be over," Emerald commented, "Here, why don't ya just chill out up here and watch some anime with me?"

"Ani-who?" Spinel asked. Soon, Spinel was set down by Steven's bed over by Nora, who only now woke up given her space was invaded by the new Gem. Not that Nora minded, all she did was hop off the bed and found another spot over by the couch.

"Come on, Spinel, you'll like this," Emerald said, starting to play his show for her. It didn't take very long until Spinel began to take notice of the show he was watching. The scene in particular was one of the comedy bits of the show

"What's this thing?" Spinel asked curiously, scratching her head.

"Oh this show? Something called "Koala Princess" or something, I just got into starting this after Ronaldo pestered me about it. So far it's decent, but I've seen better," Emerald said as the episode continued. The episode itself was decent enough, playing out some scene with the main character dealing with a boyfriend. Y'know the usual shtick. But the more Spinel watched this go on, the more she began to grow invested into it.

"Girl friend? ... What's that word?" Spinel wondered, hearing the word at least three times in this one scene by the lead character, her thinking it in her head.

"Oh, some title Humans like using on eachother. If your a girl and you love someone, then you're their girlfriend. And if it's a guy that love you, then he's your boyfriend."

"Wait … there's something BETTER than being "friends"?" Spinel asked, shocked admittedly that being friends was actually lower than other relationships.

"Sure, of course. Look it up," Emerald suggested. He even gave Spinel his iPad for use, which he tossed to her for leisure. Spinel only had a vague use over these things, so it took her a bit to actually use her big poofy fingers to work the buttons on the thing. Eventually she got her explanation.

Girlfriend:
a regular female companion with whom a person has a romantic relationship

"Wait. Flinty has a lot of friends who look like girls. NO WAY, is that …?" Spinel's thoughts screeched to a halt when she saw a particular picture shown up on one of those "search engine images" category. In particular, there was a couple within the shots that looked VERY familiar to her. It could be a trick of her eye, but not only did it look like Flint in the shot, but the girl … well clearly it wasn't Spinel, but someone else … someone in the room with them, but not in form just yet.

At first, all was quiet …

But then …

"AAAAHHHHH!!"
Spinel's screaming made everyone in the room jump: Spike falling on his back and dropping his telescope, Blue falling flat on his snout, Emerald falling off the bed, and Nora looking like a witch's cat with its hair standing on end. Spinel herself (for the first time in days) no longer looked so cheery. Something clicked in her head, but before they could figure out what, they all then heard the Warp Pad go off nearby. Blue and Spike got "armed and ready" - ok, Spike only had the telescope - but they went a bit more at ease when they saw some familiar faces come through the warpstream, in the form of Steven, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Flint.

"We're back," said Steven.

"Flinty!" Spinel said, immediately ignoring the TV for a second and the iPad horror discovery, stretching her arms out, and tried for another hug. However, Flint was quick enough on the draw to duck as she reached, Spinel actually launching herself to the back wall on the miss … but she hugged him anyway on second attempt, arms wrapping around him like a mix of lassos.

"Spinel, we talked about this," Flint stated.

"I know," Spinel said, not letting go. Flint just ignored her though as they went inside to see what was going on.

"Hello Spike, Blue, Emerald," said Fluttershy, her and Steven giving Blue a few pets on the head, the Gem Dog happy to see them.

"Hey guys, How's all the work back in Little Homeworld coming?" Spike asked, retracting his telescope.

"Well let me see," Steven began, "we got plenty of Gems cured of corruption, and it looks like they're settling in well with Little Homeworld, which apparently is 45.06% complete."

"45.06%?" asked Emerald.

"Peridot kinda calculated it out of boredom," Steven admitted. It was nice to be getting updates time to time, though their attention then turned to the remaining Gemstones.

"How's Lapis and Pink Diamond doing?" asked Flint, picking Lapis Lazuli up and checking her gemstone for a bit. Spinel felt a slight sting on the question, but didn't show it outside of the coloration of her eyes.

"Yeah, still nothing. How long did you guys say reforming … takes?" Spike asked. He didn't mind the guarding job, but it was taking quite a while for him to do alongside everything else with everyone else.

"That depends on the Gem," Flint said, Spinel curiously holding Pink Diamond's gem in her hand like a kid holding a toy as they were talking, "in any case, Gems sometimes need more time to reform and recollect themselves than others would. Spinel, put her down that's not a trinket."
And Flint yanked Pink Diamond's Gemstone out of Spinel's hand and placed it back down onto the table, to which Nora went over to and took a cuddle by it, tail wrapping around it. Still, Spinel released Flint, resting her chin on the table as she checked each of the gemstones sitting there, poking at least one of them.

"So anyway, any of you wanna come back now?" Twilight offered, "I think the Gems are gonna be fine for now."

"Well sure thing, but if you need another great guard, I got ya covered," said Spike, giving Twilight a wink. For a brief moment, Flint looked back over towards Lapis Lazuli, which Spinel was taking interest in too. Flint had been tense about her return the most, considering what happened while she was around last time. For a brief moment, Flint picked up Lapis Lazuli, looking over her gemstone as it seemed to shimmer in the light. It almost seemed to flash even with the light bouncing off of it ...

But another flash from the Warp Pad meant they had to put that on hold, as a rather disgruntled looking Sapphire. As if getting headaches wasn't enough trouble, now it seemed something physical was going on somewhere.

"Sapphire?" asked Twilight.

"You're needed. NOW. Back at Little Homeworld," Sapphire said, straining in breath a little bit. This would be an alarm, and in a way it still was, but sadly they might already know what the problem was, given they too were a bit annoyed by the answer.

"Not again," groaned Steven. "We'll be right back."

"Alright, see ya," Emerald said. The group began to go, but leech Spinel wouldn't let Flint go without her. Given the timeframe, Flint just groaned and HAD to bring her along this time. The sooner they get back, the sooner they can get this problem fixed and handled. Soon, it was only Blue and Emerald there this time.

Left to witness Lapis's gemstone start to act up and glow. ...

~~~~~~

"RAH!"

Another fight, this time in Equestria. With another powerful punch from trigger-happy Jasper, another one of the soldiers was knocked back a good ten feet, rolling on the ground as Jasper looked ready to crush some heads. This did get a crowd started, some weaker healed bystanders watching it all like it was some sort of street fight (which it might as well be). Jasper's opponents all looked like tough Quartz soldiers of a sort, and they weren't giving Jasper any time to get herself back together. By the time the others got to Little Homeworld, the fight had escalated to the point when Jasper tried grabbing a support beam from a nearby building for a good hit.

"For stars sake," Flint groaned.

"Guys, over here!" called a voice. Jade, Connie, and Pearl were present for the fight, but given they too looked a little bit ruffled up they couldn't stop the fight either. Steven was riled up when he saw Connie even got herself hurt in the fight, bandaged up all along over one of her eyes.

"CONNIE?! Your eye!"

"Steven, it's fine. I just got a little scratch. Pearl just insisted it was better safe than sorry. … I tried my best," Connie said, quickly calming Steven down as she showed him her … rather small cut on her head. It wasn't even close to her eye, but "helpful" Pearl simply smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Steven brought his focus back to the fight.

"Okay, what started the fight this time? This is the seventh one already," Steven asked, just as Jasper was actually thrown onto the ground by an angry healed Amethyst, just for Jasper to kick her off.

"I don't know, they were talking, and the next thing I know it's a wrestling match," Connie answered.

"Didn't Bismuth try stopping her?" asked Spike.

"She's not here, she went on a mission before this happened," Jade answered gravely, just for that same Amethyst, joined by a Carnelian, tackled Jasper again and actually keep her down briefly before she forced them off with a good shake.

"Stop!" Steven called, blindly rushing in. However, while Steven did briefly get in the way, all that happened was him getting whacked aside by Jasper, making him land hard in the snow.

"Stay out of this!" Jasper shouted. The quartz was then grabbed by another quick Jasper, enough to make her stumble a bit. Twilight Sparkle raced in next, but instead of forcing in, she used her magic to make the fight stop, making all of them finally stop.

"Enough!" Twilight demanded. They tried breaking free, but it wasn't doing any good. They needed to have a talk with them later, but for now they need to just get the fight to stop. Steven confronted the crowd as the others went to the fighters.

"Okay everyone, the show's over, you don't have to keep watching," Steven called. This was done and they began to go, but some of them did start to act a bit hesitant, instinctively bringing up the diamond insignia to him as if they knew immediately he was a Diamond. Steven sighed.

"You don't have to do that here, you're not on a rank anymore," Steven insisted. Meekly they nodded and just left. some things are hard to change it seemed. Soon as the crowd left, they confronted the four involved after releasing the magical grip.

"Dare I even ask how THIS started?" Twilight asked, not amused by yet another fight.

"Why don't you ask your trigger-happy titan over there? She started it!" accused one of the Amethyst.

"ME?! You're the ones that got in my way, you pathetic rock!" Jasper shouted. The quartzes looked ready to fight again, but Steven braved the turmoil and got in between them, trying to push them away.

"Stop it, the fight's over! All of you go away, and calm down before you hurt anyone else," Steven sternly ordered. Not a typical forte of his, but this would only get worse otherwise. Unfortunately, they didn't seem so willing.

"You're not the boss of me," snarled Jasper.

"You really want me to bring Emerald into this? Because I will," Steven questioned, arms crossed. Jasper buckled up on THAT threat, and with a rough huff she decided to just go away, walking off a bit but not before punching the daylights out of a nearby light post. Steven took a deep breath before turning to the others, who while two of them did leave, only one remained. A rather tired looking Jasper, just sitting there.

"Sorry, guys," she said, rubbing her arm, "Fighting is just something we're so used to doing, you know? It's what we're made to do …"

"Not anymore, Biggs," said Fluttershy, "You're all free now, you don't have to do only what you're made to do."

Biggs Jasper lowered her gaze a bit. They've all been told of the changes time and time again since getting healed up by Nephrite, but that didn't make adapting to it any easier. From a life of discipline and placement, to a life of … well, the opposite, Biggs Jasper simply felt uneasy with it.

"I-I'm not so sure," Biggs sighed.

"Look, why don't you go and chill out? We'll even fix up the support beam for you," Steven offered.

"Oh. Ok," Biggs sighed, walking away and taking a minute to regather herself, finding a seat over by a Warp Pad to try and relax. This of course brought up a bit more concerns from everyone, and it also didn't help that some of the others nearby cowered a bit when seeing other workers nearby.

"Oh boy, these healed Gems are either too scared or too ready to fight. I thought everyone would be happy to not have to be labeled anymore," Steven sighed.

"Well Steven, they've had a lifetime of being told what to do, Diamonds or no," reminded Jade. "It's … gonna take a while for them to get used to it."

"Hopefully not too long. We've done so much, we're so close to making everything better again. I mean, how much do we have left now? We healed most of the Corrupted Gems, the Diamonds aren't ready to get rid of Earth or Equestria -"

"But," cut in Flint, "we still have the Crystal Gems' memories, Grogar's roaming somewhere, and there's the healed Gems actually trying to adapt a bit. That's A LOT to do, and who knows -"

*AHEM*

"... Sorry. Force of habit," Flint murmured, blushing a little.

"That's fine, and soon as it's all done, everything will finally be good. Our Happily Ever After," Steven said with a smile, almost a little dreamingly at the thought of everything good FINALLY coming to fruition again. They still had a bit to go though, and looking to Pearl and Spinel, they knew where to go next.

"So our first main focus: getting their memories back," Steven decided.

"Cool, but who do we go with? I'd say Jasper if she wasn't so ready to kill us," Starlight inquired.
Before any of them could come up with an answer this time, the Warp Pad nearby began to activate again, making Biggs jump off of it so the travelers could actually use the Warp Pad. Soon, Blue and Emerald were back and immediately they jumped out and towards them.

"GUYS! Thank stars, you didn't go too far, you all free, great great -"

"Emerald, easy easy!" Connie said. "Now, what's the matter?"

"... First of all: WHAT THE CLOD HAPPENED TO YOU?" Emerald asked. Connie gave a quick sigh, proceeding to just take off the bandages so no more people would be freaked out by her, showing him the rather meek looking injury.

"Did Pearl do that?"

"It was a struggle in of itself," Connie said. Pearl wasn't fazed at all by it.

"So, the problem?" asked Spike. Emerald and Blue glanced to one another, Blue whimpering a bit and lowering his head. Emerald just had to make this work, and they couldn't wait.

"Okay let's just get it out there: the Good News is that we got Lapis Lazuli reformed and back in the game and she's not willing to seek out revenge or kill any of us. Cool," said emerald, thumbs up on the last statement.

"So what's the bad news?" Connie asked.

THAT answer came up upon a secondary use of the Warp Pad. Emerald and Blue thought they had more time before she could come with them, but unfortunately, Lapis Lazuli seemingly couldn't wait around for much longer. She … looked okay. The form didn't match the one they knew before her Rejuvenator incident, so that didn't help them too much. Still, Lapis didn't look like she was looking for revenge. In fact, she didn't open her eyes at first.

"Lapis! … Lapis? You okay?" Steven asked.

Eventually, Lapis's eyes started to open up, and she examined the group around her. She didn't say a word to any of them at first, her gaze at first focused on Steven. Lapis took a few steps off of the Warp Pad, walking from there and towards one of the Gems present. Spinel started to feel uneasy all over again, especially with what happened next. …

"... F … Flint? Is it?"

"Um … yes?" Flint said.

Next thing he knew, Lapis reached out, grabbed hold of his free arm, and actually brought him close to her. Spinel felt a shock run through her on seeing this horrifying revelation.

"I have my knight in Shining Armor,~" cooed Lapis.

"WWWWHAT?!" gasped the others.

"Could her Gem be cracked?" asked a dumbfounded Connie. As Lapis seemingly was keeping property to Flint and not letting go of him, Spike and Steven went around to check the gemstone. Flawless in texture, not a single crack on it anywhere.

"Looks fine to me," shrugged Steven.

Guess who wasn't fine with this? More than the rest?

"Flint Buddy?"

Flint could feel a cold shift in the air as Spinel was suddenly right by him and Lapis Lazuli. It was enough to actually make the calm and collected Gem turn around fast in startle, only to see the rather "killer" look in Spinel's slightly pinkish eyes. Lapis wasn't feeling deterred about seeing Spinel like this, though Flint was hesitant and, with no one to back him up right now, unsure what to do.

"Your friend?" Lapis asked.

"Yep," Flint sighed. Spinel didn't say much at first, her gaze focused on Lapis Lazuli at first, but then she bowed her head.

"Thank you for being so nice to my friend," Spinel said, a bit monotone actually.

"Huh? Well, thank you," said Lapis. Only for Spinel to give her another cold glare.

"Don't look into it, I'm just being polite," Spinel said. Flint felt a shiver run through him, that same glare Spinel given him before when he tried to make her stay the first time was coming back to bite him. The mood quickly shifted though as Flint found Spinel reaching to him and wrapping her arms around his waist like a little sister or something.

"Flint, what's she doing with you?" Spinel asked, looking up to him, "What's her story with you, huh? Are there others like her?! Y-You're not her girlfriend are you?!"

"Spinel, what in the stars are you talking about?" Flint asked, in a rare moment blindsided by the question. Unfortunately, it seemed Lapis and Spinel were more focused on eachother than on him, Lapis speaking next.

"Looks like you really like him, don't you?" Lapis remarked.

"Of course I do, he's my best friend. IT'S NORMAL," Spinel replied, pushing her cheek against Flint's chest as she hugged him tight … while giving Lapis a look saying "don't come any closer, I'll kill you".

"She's a little over-attached sorry," Flint said, trying to push Spinel off of him a little bit, but not able to make her let go of him. Lapis was undeterred by the response.

"She's a Spinel, it's only natural for her to be attached to her owner. So why not try someone who's more serious?"

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Flint asked.

"YEAH, what exactly are you to my bestie anyway?!" added Spinel.

time for this water Gem to have some authority over these two. not to mention some fun, but not exactly in a professional way …

"That's a good question," Lapis said, her gaze looking to Flint. Before Flint could even respond, Spinel was already in his face, her eyes now fully changed from black dots to hot pink fireballs, her teeth sharpened and jagged now for dramatic effect.

"WHAT IS SHE? JUST SPIT IT OUT!" shouted Spinel, not giving Flint a second to even breathe or respond. It was enough to make him fall over onto the ground, Spinel standing on top of him face-to-face.

"Just to make it clear, you two aren't dating right?! No lovie-dove yet or anything or what?" Spinel pleaded.

"Get off me!" Flint pleaded back, trying to make Spinel get off his chest, but the hijinks weren't done yet. While Flint was busy trying to comprehend what was even happening, Lapis helped Flint up off the ground and onto his feet, much to Spinel's annoyance.

"No, no, nothing's happened yet, we're just friends. … For the time being," Lapis said, but her smile was really suggesting otherwise in her own head. And Spinel, as silly as she was, caught that pretty quick.

"She's trolling me, Flint! You can't possibly have feelings for her right? RIGHT?" Spinel asked, looking desperate towards her best friend. Honestly, Flint couldn't even keep up with all this nonsense, not even finding an answer to whatever question Spinel had for him. Unfortunately, that only made things worse, as Spinel suddenly looked ready to faint.

"W-Why're you hesitating?" Spinel murmured, "Just reject her already, you're only gonna hurt her if you lead her on."

"O-Okay, can we just slow down -"

"She's right you know, if you're not interested just say so," said Lapis Lazuli, looking away from him and FINALLY letting him actually breathe for a second or so. Flint forced Spinel off of him at last, and cleared his throat.

"Okay, stars … now, I don't know what's even going on, and me and the rest of the team have so much to do already …"

"Let's go!! Let's go!! KICK HER TO THE CURB!" Spinel cheered in the background, actually going full cheerleader and even pretending she was kicking Lapis by grabbing a rock and kicking it clear out of Little Homeworld. But Flint hesitated again.

"It's not like I'm NOT your friend, Lazuli, but …"

Oh boy.

"Flint!" Spinel yelped, suddenly hugging him all over again, now worried it seemed, "I'm just trying to look out for you and be a good friend. If you stay with her, you're only going to get hurt."

Flint HAD to calm down a little and not panic.

"Now. Spinel. I never said I was going to date her, so calm down please," Flint said, even placing a hand on her head. While she may appear weak and scared, the second she heard this she had an almost devilish grin. That was all the evidence she needed, though Lapis seemed perplexed by the answer (which pleased Spinel more).

"BULL'S EYE!" Spinel said, just before cuddling against Flint and adding, "You don't need a girlfriend, don't cha Flint, you already got your best friend forever right here."
But Lapis Lazuli wasn't rearing to give up. She wasn't an aristocrat just by quitting everything, even if she was made to be one, so instead of letting it go … she threw in a few tears. Great.

"So … I've been rejected?"

"Lapis, no don't do that, I don't mean we're not friends. Just not … that way," Flint insisted.

"No, I understand. If you like some over others, that's just fine," Lapis said, as she wiped some tears away from her face. Flint grunted a bit, not sure if she was legitimately sad, or actually playing with him. But Flint couldn't bare it.

"Stop, I don't hate you, j-just quit crying. Okay?" Flint insisted, which in turn made Spinel feel questionable about him.

"You're serious?" Lapis asked, wiping tears away. Spinel felt triggered.

"HE'S ALWAYS SERIOUS," Spinel stated in a growl.

"I know he is. That's why I like him."

Spinel's grip tightened on Flint's waist. "NO, you can't take him, HE'S MINE!"

"S-Spinel, you're hurting me," Flint groaned, feeling like a snake was constricting him. Probably not far from the truth. Lapis found her reactions amusing admittedly.

"Oh well, if it makes you feel better I'll drop it. Flint, why don't we let you take your time for your answer?" Lapis said, staying right by Flint's opposing side much to Spinel's anger.

...

"Let me establish right now that this is NOT my fault, I don't have a clue what happened and I got no involvement in this clingy, apparently passive-aggressive Lapis Lazuli," Emerald made clear.

"Something must've happened - you reform your body, not your mind! Emerald, Spike, did you two see anything weird happen before she reformed?" Flint asked, still trying to comprehend this properly himself more than anyone else here.

"Ehh, nope," Spike said, trying to think, "Unless you count Emerald screaming at the TV during episode 5 of his Koala Princess series."

"My ship sunk that day, cut me a break!" Emerald retorted. Flint may seem to be worried, but it was actually Steven who was starting to word out the problem with this scenario.

"Who cares how it happened, we got to work this out! We have to make them remember, and for that we need their missing pieces. One of them for Lapis is handled by Bismuth, but now we need the next big thing: love! Lapis loved Jamie, they always hanged out together."

"Oh yeah, you did mention that before," said Starlight. "Well why don't we just call him over and see if that works anything?"

"Right, but how can we work that out if Lapis loves Flint now?" Steven asked.

"That's not the only problem," said Connie. They all looked over to her, who at the moment was already trying to find her phone. She usually had one on her, but today it kinda wasn't there. She tried checking her person, but then Pearl simply smiled, her gemstone glowing, and brought out her phone from her storage.

"Next time tell me when you do that," Connie sighed.

"Of course, my Mrs. Maheswaran," Pearl said, giving her the phone.

A talk for later. Connie started skimming through her messages, and it turned out she had a little something from Jamie within the message box. Particularly, it was a picture when Lapis had to seemingly say goodbye to Jamie, as he went onto a travel bus.

"Jamie went away from Beach City while you were gone, Steven. Last we heard he left to try his acting talent off in Kansas."

"He … did say when he was gonna come back, didn't he?" Steven asked.

"Hmm … he left on the second day you left, and you took a week to come back, and Jamie said a month, so … two days before Hearth's Warming Eve?" It was a rough estimate, but that was the closest she was gonna get.

"That's still a good week away," remarked Twilight. Eventually they got to their conclusion.

"Okay, so if we're gonna help Lapis remember, we need to wait until Jamie comes back. So Flint … you're gonna have to watch both her AND Spinel," Steven decided.

"If you're sure," Flint murmured. It's hard enough dealing with Spinel as it is, dealing with Lapis Lazuli on top of that (which not to mention was making Spinel protective) did NOT sound like heaven to him.

"Don't worry, we'll all help you out through this," Steven promised. Flint glanced down between Spinel and Lapis.

"This better be a quick week."

…….

And while they were all working out this problem, the ordeal did not go unnoticed by Grogar's army (Bray, and Budgerite specifically), as they spied in on them all.

"Huh. I can't believe that worked," remarked Budgerite, still in disbelief that their hex worked on Lapis.

"Who's the stupid one NOW?" Bray said with a snicker, giving his Gem friend a nudge to the side. Budgerite didn't like being wronged by a donkey, but the results were still there all the same.

"Ok, ok, don't rub it in. Come on, Bray, Grogar's gonna want his info on this," Budgerite said. She started to go, but Bray still watched what was going on over there.

"They sure are lovey-dovey huh?"

"Bray!"

"Coming, coming," Bray said, before rushing off himself.

~~~~~~

What a week it was turning out to be.

Day in, day out, and the week was going by as slow as possibly possible (much to Flint's already high stress and pressure). Having to juggle around not ONLY the concentration of handling Little Homeworld's growing population of healed Gems, but topping that with handling Lapis and Spinel's "advances" on Flint only made him go up the wall even further. As prementioned, it was enough of a challenge to keep Spinel in check, and them pestering him on "who to choose" wasn't doing him any sort of favors as time went by. Not to mention some paranoia over an extra factor ...
And in such regards he wasn't alone: the rest of the Harmony Gems had a bit to handle too: juggling Flint's aid with adapting the new healed Gems to the world without rule or labeling, alongside trying to work out how to get their friends' memories back, Ronaldo and his "teachings", AND keeping with missions of mystical monsters as well. … Yeah, that's a lot to handle, even without Grogar's Army coming after them. Not that any of them were complaining, but ever since Canterlot's assault, Grogar's troops had been staying well out of the way for some reason.

And by day five …

"Flint, you look like you've been running a marathon in your dreams, you okay?" asked Tiger's Eye, as she and the other Off-Colors (and Ruby) went into Little Homeworld for a little bit only to find Flint looking ready to just fall over, sitting at a table with his face nicely planted on the surface as Spinel sat right next to him, oblivious to the problem.

"You'd have to sleep to dream," Flint grumbled. His groaning pretty much summed up the entire week for him so far.

"Oh my," said Fluorite. Rhodonite gave Flint a poke on the shoulders, but that barely stirred him up beyond that. While much of the Off-Colors were checking Flint out, the rest of the Harmony Gems off nearby were taking this opportunity with Sapphire and Ruby in the same place to try and work them out next. They couldn't do much with Lapis until Jamie comes back, so they had to make do and work in a few things. Padparadscha was standing over by Sapphire, allowing Ruby to technically guard both of them, which was helpful. And now with Steven there, along with Bismuth, they got some leverage on her origins story.

"So, when Ruby and Sapphire first became Garnet, Ruby rushed in to save Sapphire from danger, and bam! They fused. So, maybe we've gotta create some sort of dangerous situation," Steven concluded.

"You mean we have to attack them?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"Looks about the size of it," said Bismuth, "If it means they're gonna remember, then we gotta do it. Question is, how do we get them to fuse without making them fuse?"
It was a rather tough question. Fusion itself was a big game to gamble with, but as they tried to think, Ronaldo (who was hanging out with them for whatever the heck), took a glance off towards what looked to be a box of tools. A smirk came up on his face.

"I think there's something dangerous we can dig up," Ronaldo said, before going right over to the toolbox - it was actually a dumpster. - and started looking through it. The dumpster had quite a lot of tools to handle: a handsaw, a drill, hammers of a lot of sorts, things like that. The others checked over to see what was up, but did have to watch it as Ronaldo kept tossing stuff aside. One hammer did end up bonking Pearl in the head, but Ronaldo didn't stop.

"Find anything?" Starlight asked.

"Not exactly," Ronaldo replied. Starlight eventually joined in, using her magic to move tools aside, but eventually both Ronaldo and Starlight found the proper item. Ronaldo pulled hard, but Starlight's magic helped dislodge it. And what was the item they pulled out? …

"A giant cake cutter?!" Pinkie gasped.

"More like a giant pizza cutter. Steven?" corrected Ronaldo, giving the weapon over to Bismuth. The blacksmith checked it over a little bit, seeing its sharp edged and automatic start button, even using her finger to give the blade a spin. It was an odd way to do it, but heck it could work.

"I can't threaten them with this," Steven said.

"Hmm …" He got in the way, and before Bismuth could go, Ronaldo clicked the button on the device, starting up the blades in a threatening spin. The pizza cutter turned into a chainsaw. "Now it's MUCH more threatening. You're welcome. And off you go!"

Ronaldo even gave Steven a simple push towards Ruby, Padparadscha, and Sapphire. However, Steven couldn't bring himself to move closer with the spinning blade. He already "killed" Garnet before, why did he have to do it again?! Steven gulped, feeling a cold sweat, but before he could take another step, Twilight snatched the cutter away from him.

"I'll take this one, Steven."

"Thanks Twilight," Steven sighed.

"Good luck," said Pinkie.

Twilight took a breath and began to move her way over towards the two Sapphires and their guard. With the singular jagged circle of a sawblade still whirring above her head, Twilight trotted over towards the trio, trying to feel as threatening as she could manage. Just walking over to them though was enough to make Ruby jump on edge, arms spread out and making herself a wall.

"Halt! I can't allow you to approach my Sapphire with such a … threatening device," Ruby said firmly.

"Well that's too bad. Because I'm going to GET YOU!" Twilight said, raising up the blade and ready to attack them.

"My Sapphire, permission to dispatch the purple one?" Ruby asked. Padparadscha was still a bit behind, but Sapphire actually answered for her.

"It's okay Ruby you don't have to: the purple one won't be able to follow through," Sapphire said.

Sapphire wasn't wrong.

"She's right … I can't, even if we're pretending," Twilight said, turning off the blade and bringing it back with her, dragging it on the ground as she did so. Threatening her friends just wasn't her thing, even if it was for the greater good.

"Sweetie?~"

"Oh clod," groaned Flint, the voice all too familiar. He would hide away in his cloak, but he already tried that on day two, and that didn't work well for either of them. Flint felt Spinel's arms tighten their grip around him as Lapis made her landing nearby.

"Hello my Knight~ … Spinel," said Lapis. Spinel growled at her, but Lapis wasn't deterred and focused her attention on Flint.

"So, Flint, I'm ready for my answer. Who's it gonna be?~" Lapis said.

"Why don't you go find something else to do?" Flint asked, getting up with some difficulty thanks to Spinel's arms wrapping around him. Spinel meanwhile gave Lapis a cheeky grin, as Flint started walking away from Lapis with Spinel on him like a backpack … you know, for at least ten seconds until Flint made her let go.

"Here we go again," Starlight said.

"I'll take care of this," Jade said, starting to move her way over to the three. It took a bit of her clearing her throat before Lapis and Spinel could give her any mind, Flint silently thanking the stars SOMEONE was gonna try and give him a break.

"Lapis? Spinel? Why don't you two go and give Flint some time to himself?" Jade suggested. Spinel and Lapis didn't seem willing to do that anymore, Spinel grabbing Flint by the arm.

"Why does it matter to you?" Lapis questioned coldly. Jade tried not to be intimidated.

"Girls, please," insisted Jade, "Take a moment and look at him. Doesn't he look like someone who needs some time to himself? Or at least a minute to rest?"

Both Gems looked to him, seeing his tired eyes, and overall worn out demeanor he carried with him.

"Well when he gives me an answer, I'll stop. Until then, I'll just have to wait for it.~" Lapis said, resting her head on Flint's chest without a care in the world. Spinel knew what this could mean, getting angry as she then eyed a particular circular pizza cutter.

"Evil witch trying to seduce my best friend. … I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Spinel thought, finally releasing Flint from her grip … and going right for the pizza cutter!

"Wait, SPINEl! Nonononono - don't touch that thing!" Steven shouted.

*click*

Too late. Twilight and Steven could handle the weapon just fine when they had it, but soon as Spinel clicked on it to try and "cut Lapis down to size", suddenly the goof of a Gemstone started to shake like crazy to the vibration of the cutter. It was too much for her to hold on to, and suddenly Spinel was off running without control, smashing the closest set of clay pots with the blade.

"Stand clear everyone! She's about to lose control!" shouted Padparadscha. Ruby jumped in protection of both Sapphires, as Spinel suddenly started bolting by, the blade digging into the ground and snow with her holding on for her life, going every which way.

"Whoa here she comes!" yelped Pinkie, everyone jumping out of Spinel's way as she plowed her way through the dumpster she got it from, along with a few more boxes and along a mid-constructed building wall for a bit, cutting up boards and scaffolding all the while. All this cutting, and the scaffolding started to crumble up and fall right down towards them all!

"Oh sweet peas," gasped Applejack.

"Spinel!" exclaimed Steven, seeing Spinel suddenly shoot up high into the air as she shot off the building with the cutter. Only NOW did she let go of the cutter, flailing in the air as she screamed.

"I got you, Spinel! I got you!" Steven called, running out with his arms out stretched to catch her. Freaking out, Spinel stretched out her arms and grabbed Steven, but gravity still made her slam into Steven, leaving them both on the ground. As for the pizza cutter, it landed on the ground, but on its side, so it wasn't cutting anything anymore. Even if it was though, the scaffolding that fell onto it broke it up easily.

"My Scaffolding! MY BEAUTIFUL SCAFFOLDING!" shrieked Bismuth, seeing her work start to crumble on her AGAIN.

"We got it. Starlight, with me, go!" Twilight instructed, though Starlight already knew what was up as she and Twilight started working their magic to keep the items from falling. Their telekinetic magic kept many stuff from shattering on the ground, them placing it aside, but still a lot was falling down in a huge wave, with whatever stray debris falling down the others have to either catch or jump out of the way. And to Flint's horror, Jade found herself caught in its sights.

"JADE!" Flint shouted, finding the speed and strength to charge forward, and push Jade out of danger before -

*CRASH!!!*

Just like that, what remained of the scaffolding struck ground RIGHT ON FLINT. A huge dust cloud erupted from the destruction. The only one that seemingly got stuck underneath everything after all of that was Flint, not a sign of him out of the rubble of the wrecked scaffolding.

"Is that it? …" Sapphire gulped.

Fortunately it wasn't. After a minute of silence, Flint's fist shot out of the rubble. And then his head. And soon, he pulled himself out with the help of the others. If he didn't look like wreck before, he sure looked like one now.

"What happened?" Flint muttered.

"Spinel got a hold of the saw," replied Rainbow Dash.

Flint looked to Spinel and Lapis nearby. Spinel looked overjoyed to see that Flint was okay, and quickly raced towards him.
But Flint had reached his limit.

"Flinty! Oh my stars, you're okay! For a second I thought I lost my bestest best buddy -"

"JUST SHUT UP!" Flint demanded. Spinel stopped on the spot on the scary demand. Flint got himself back up onto his feet, this time all by himself as he stared not only Spinel down, but Lapis Lazuli down as well. The two were side by side by the time Flint pulled himself free.

"Floor's all yours," said Bismuth.

"Here we go," Steven thought.

"F-Flint? What's wrong, why're you so scary?" Spinel asked.

"What's wrong? Did you NOT see what you just did right now!" Flint shouted, pointing to the wreckage nearby, "What were you thinking?!"

"Waitwaitwait, I didn't mean to! That was for the evil witch trying to take your heart," Spinel said in her defense, looking to Lapis Lazuli. That only made Flint even angrier.

"I can't believe this. Another day and something goes wrong, and do you know why?"

"Because of the saw?" Spinel asked meekly.

"Because you can't decide between us?" questioned Lapis.

"NO! It's because of YOU TWO! Ever since you both reformed, all you've done is make things worse!" Flint stomped over to Lapis first. "YOU'VE been nothing but a trollish leech -" he turn turned to Spinel, "- and you've just been PLAIN ANNOYING!"

"I helped! I said to work the puzzle in everyone's heads -"

"AND YOU'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HELP! I'd rather take you when you tried killing all of us with your giant injector than how you are right now - at least THEN you thought more clearly!" Flint roared. He got close enough to her that Spinel actually bent her back, Flint leaning above her as Spinel looked terrified, not knowing what he was talking about. Flint didn't keep his high anger up though, and he took a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"If you'd just answer us instead of dodging the question, this wouldn't be a problem. And if you're gonna be a jerk about it, then just spit it out," Lapis said, not even caring about what just happened.

And just like that Flint's anger was peaked again, and he rushed Lapis, punching her square in the face and sending her flying ten feet up until she landed hard on the ground. It hardly was much for a Gem, but it woke Lapis Lazuli up as she got to her feet, suddenly realizing the situation she was in.

"You know what, I'm DONE with you! Both of you! I'd rather go and fulfill Sapphire's prophecy than spent another day dealing with this cluster. That means you're finished, you're through, I don't need you!"
Each word Flint shot you was a direct hit on both of them, Spinel even more so. What even was he so mad about? Wasn't she doing what she was supposed to do? Be funny? Be a good friend?

"... heh … hehehehe … o-of course you don't neeeed me. But you want me right? Hehehehee … So, what's the next game you wanna play … buddy?" Spinel asked, trying to get onto a more "fun pose" by the end of it to lighten the mood.

"THERE IS NO GAME! None of this has ever been a stupid game, and if you can't get that through your head THEN DO IT ELSEWHERE. Now I'm going to go now, and if either of you follow me there, I'll beat you up so bad it won't even be FUNNY!"
Now the sledgehammer was swung. After that barrage of released anger, Flint turned and went straight for the nearest exit in the Warp Pad. The others would stop him from leaving, and Sapphire actually was ready to do that but Jade held her back. She knew that Flint needed time to himself before any of them could just go for him, at least for a minute.

"Did he say … Sapphire's prophecy?" Connie wondered.

Their attention turned over to Lapis and Spinel.

"... Lapis? … Spinel?" said a humbled Fluttershy.

Lapis Lazuli, staring off a bit as if reality struck her for the first time, slowly went from standing on her two feet, to falling down onto her knees, and then just sitting on the ground as her hand felt where Flint punched her. She didn't say anything now, still trying to mentally accept the fact that Flint didn't want her. In such thoughts though, Lapis started to feel a headache rushed through her, which was enough to make her get her water wings out and fly away.

As for Spinel …

At first, came short giggling. Short, and weak giggling. But as seconds ticked by, these humbled chuckles turned into whimpers. And the whimpers turned into cries, tears forming and streaming down Spinel's face. Her heart was broken. Shattered.

The others couldn't leave them like this.

"Bismuth? Think you guys can check on Flint and where he went? I'm gonna stay here with Spinel," Steven asked.

"What about Lapis?" asked Diopside.

"We'll find her later. I want to help her, but I need to help Spinel first."

"Alright. Good luck with her," Bismuth said, looking to Spinel before starting to go. Taking a breath, it was Steven who walked over towards Spinel, the Gem now on the ground and almost trembling. Soon, Spinel broke completely, and was crying her heart out.

"Spinel. There, there, everything's gonna be okay," Steven said, hand on her back.

"NO IT WON'T!" she wailed, "I tried to be good, to be fun to be around, but he still doesn't like me. He hates me now! I'm a b - … b-b-b-b-bad f-f-f-friend!" Spinel fell onto the ground, crying even more so, and basically going into a fit like a child would. It kicked up snow and everything, looking like a mess when she grew tired of doing that.

"Spinel, Flint doesn't hate you, I promise. He's just stressed that's all," Steven promised her, gently wiping away some of the tears.

"B-But everything he said at me, it - … all these feelings are just flooding back to me," Spinel whimpered, sounding like she was gonna wail all over again. Hearing this though, in spite of what just happened, that last bit started to turn the gears in Steven's head.

Was she … remembering ...?

"Feelings. Wait, Spinel, your memories. … Do you remember anything?" Steven asked.

"I don't know … It … feels like I did something super bad, but … Steven … What did I do? Did I … do something?" Spinel turned to Steven for some answer to her dilemma, tears going down her face. Steven quickly snapped out of the surprise, and just focused on what was in front of him. He began to think hard about it. This pink Gem that was effected in some way by both White Diamond and -

Then it clicked.

"The garden."

"H-Huh? … The … Garden?" Spinel asked, her voice weak and barely making a squeak.

Steven knew what he had to do.

"It'll get better, Spinel. But first … I want to take you somewhere," Steven said, his hand out for her to hold.

"T-To where?" Spinel asked. Spinel was gently helped back up to her feet as Steven pulled something out of his pink coat pocket: his Portal Key.

"Somewhere I think you'll remember."

~~~~~~

As for Flint, he actually didn't go that far away. With a travel from the Warp Pad, he got far away from Little Homeworld, and off more towards a forest. The forest, covered in winter with all the snow on the trees, gave the area a nice "comfy" feel to it. Flint though was still trying to calm down from it all, so he didn't notice it much as he strolled through the forest some more, a light snowfall coming down around him as the bitter wind moved through the branches.

He only got about twenty steps before he fell to his knees, a loooonnnnng groan uttering from his mouth. Now he wished this prophecy was over with, because he couldn't take the guilt for snapping at them any longer, no matter if he was right to do it or dead wrong.

Didn't matter anyway, because the others soon caught up with him.

"FLINT, WHERE ARE - oh you're right there," said Pinkie.

"Well that didn't take very long," Flint remarked, before turning away from the path and seeing the rest of the Harmony Gems (minus Steven of course), come over to him.

"Did you get everything out of your system?" Bismuth asked, helping Flint up to his feet.

"I guess so. I … didn't lay down the hammer too hard did I?" Flint asked, humbled.

"You did drive Spinel to tears," Starlight Said.

"And Lapis looked like she saw someone kick a puppy," added Fulgurite. They didn't need the details for Flint to get the idea. He'd have to go back later and apologize for that, but for now, Flint just turned away, leaning against the nearest tree.

"I'm sorry guys, I dunno what got over me. I mean, yeah maybe they might've deserved it for driving me mad all week, but … I dunno, I should've said it differently or something," Flint sighed.

"Well Steven's handling them right now, but we got a little something to ask you too," said Rarity.

"Don't worry, I'm NOT actually thinking to beat them up if they did show up … that much …"

"Oh no, we're not worried about that," said Jade, "But you said something about "Sapphire's Prophecy" during your outburst. So what's going on?"

Flint clammed up.

"... Uh … d-did I say that out loud?"

"Uh, yeah, you kinda did. Like, really loud," said Rainbow Dash.

"So what is it, Flint?" encouraged Diopside.

Well, it had been over a week since Sapphire told him what was going to happen to him. He looked around to all the Gems and Ponies there, and after considering it all, he just decided to come clean. He wouldn't gain anything for keeping it to himself any longer.

"Several days ago, Sapphire foretold me that I will be shattered before I left for the Jersey Quarry. She told me this herself over a week ago, and far as I know it hasn't happened yet. But I think I'm gonna be nothing but shards soon," Flint summarized.

"What? NO, no that can't be right! You've been on tons of missions all week, if it was gonna happen it would've already! It's gotta be a mistake," said Diopside, surprised on the news as everyone else.

"I don't think Sapphires make mistakes. You did see it, didn't you Sapphire?" Flint said, looking to the blue Gem. Sapphire needed to get herself together.

"... Yes. I s-saw him standing out in the open somewhere, away from help. A monster will come in and target him alone, before coming in for the -"

"Alright, they get the idea," Flint cut in, tensing from all of the information again.

"Do you have any idea how dreadful this is, Flint?! Especially to us! Why wait now for such horrible news?!" Rarity asked.

"Well A) because I didn't want you freaking out over me, and B) … well what's the point? It's gonna happen either way, one way or another."

"Do you NOT know what team you're on?" exclaimed Bismuth, "Flint, we're not gonna let you be turned into rubble, not on our watch! Just point us in the right direction and we'll get it done."

"Listen. It's nice you all want to help, but let's face it; there's not much left. I mean, Jade and I already handled almost all of the Corrupted Gems as it is, and Homeworld's guaranteed to be on good terms with Earth now so there's nothing to be scared of from that."

"What's THAT got to do with anything?" questioned Connie.

"It means there's not a reason left for me to be here, that's what. As much as you wanted me to heal the corrupted Gems, once that's done that's all I got. Face it, Little Homeworld wouldn't be where it is without you guys, so if it's going to survive they need you and … all of those special ideas of yours."

"What are you talking about? So all those missions hunting mystical monsters, helping us with Little Homeworld, you're doing WAY more than you've done before. And now you're telling us you hardly did anything? Flint, you're doing an amazing job and WE'RE NOT losing you," Diopside said, confident and determined to work this out.

"Maybe I did do a good job, maybe I didn't, it doesn't matter anymore -"

Everything suddenly stopped when the low rumble echoed through the forest. Something HUGE was roaming in this part of the forest, but what it exactly was they had no idea. It also didn't help that a ton of forest birds started flying away almost immediately when the world heard that rumble. And whatever this was, it sounded VERY CLOSE.

"W-What's that? It sounds big," Fluttershy said.

"I uh … I have to go now. Be good guys," Flint said. He took a breath, and was just about to start walking off towards the noise, but they all weren't gonna make it that easy.

"Flint, get back here you're talking crazy," Applejack said, jumping in his way and trying to push him back. If words weren't gonna get through, some more physical work might.

"My time is almost up," Flint insisted.

"That doesn't mean you have to speed up your clock and make it happen!" exclaimed Pinkie insisted.

"My clock? What?"

*ccccreeeak* went a nearby tree, as it proceeded to start falling.

"MOVE!" Bismuth shouted.

The tall tree slammed into the ground, shaking the earth and tossing up a cloud of snow after everyone bolted away out of its path.
And in came their monster for the day, only this time the beast looked far larger than many of the monsters they've dealt with this week. The animal was a titan of a beast, easily as tall as most of the trees, with a bulk large enough to hold Greg's van AND Bill Dewey's van at once. Its legs alone were the size of stone pillars, its head sturdy, Elephantine, and like a giant boulder of fur and skin with a long trunk. Tusks jutted out with two pairs: one large and curved between its snout, and a smaller sharpened pair out of the lower jaw.

"There it is," said Flint.

"Is that a Elephant? In winter? That doesn't make any sense," Starlight questioned.

"You live in a world of Dragons, Unicorns, and flying horses, and THIS is the thing that crosses a line?"

The giant animal, dwarfing practically everyone else, didn't seem to notice them at first as it kept going along, crushing the tree as it went, and pulling off the branches to eat … before knocking the bare wood aside at everyone else!

"Woodpile incoming!" exclaimed Applejack, everybody having to scatter to avoid the broken pieces of wood. Some dodged it, and some actually blocked it. Once the rain stopped, the giant elephant started grazing on the tree, stripping it with ease.

"Everyone alright?" Twilight asked.

"More or less. So this is our monster for the day," noted Diopside. As the large elephant was chewing up on pine needles and branches, the others went and checked where the beast came from. The entire path the elephant walked was a mess: trees knocked over or snapped into rubble, with large footsteps all along the way.

"Oh my," Fluttershy said. To think of how many hibernating animals just got an early wake-up call thanks to the behemoth.

"So what's the plan guys? What do you want to do with this thing?" Connie asked. Flint though was more focused on the monster itself, who after eating up the branches did start to see at least him standing there. The Behemoth turned and brought its long trunk closer to Flint, the Gem hearing and feeling the creature start to sniff him for a bit. Flint had his weapon, but still on mind about the future vision, he wasn't so ready to just start blasting. In fact, he looked ready to just let it happen.

"Alright, you got me. Make it fast," Flint said.

And it seemed the animal was ready to do that, as it wrapped its trunk around him …

"Hold it, Dumbo!" Bismuth suddenly said, rushing in and using her muscle to open up the Elephant's trunk, pulling flint right on out much to the Elephant's angry, a low exhale emitting from the trunk.

"Flint, get a hold of yourself, you're NOT dying today, now quit it," Bismuth instructed, putting him aside.

"You'll a good bunch, and you'll get along fine without me!" Flint said, getting free of Bismuth's grip, and ready to just get his execution done. As for the others …

"Grab him."

"Wait, wha - ACK!"

And next thing Flint knew he was suddenly grabbed and pinned down by Rainbow Dash, Diopside, Pinkie, Applejack and Jade.

"We don't care if you're walking into Grogar's front step, we're not letting you face this alone," Diopside made perfectly clear.

"Alright, uncle uncle, I GET THE POINT!" Flint said.

And not a moment too soon, as the giant elephant started getting annoyed with this sudden takeaway. It WANTED some Flint in steel armor, and if they were gonna keep it away from that, then it just had to try some more force. It trumpeted good and loud, trunk raised up good and high as if to show its tusks to them. But its first attack wasn't in a trample, or a swing of the trunk, as the trunk itself started to turn red.

The Mammoth then shot a huge blast of fire right at them! Everyone jumped back from the flame, which melted the snow off the nearest tree, even burning it a little bit.

"OKAY we got a Fire Mammoth here! Up and atom girls, it's game time!" Fulgurite announced.

And the fight was kicked right away, swinging its trunk and trying to strike at them all. They managed to jump aside, but the strength alone made some stumble on their feet. The Fire Mammoth had a specific sight though, and only focused on where Flint went, and with a trumpeting roar started going right for him. Bismuth just got in the way, locking her hands to the animal's tusks, making her stop completely.

"Picking targets or something, Mammoth?" groaned Bismuth, seeing how it wasn't going for anyone else. The Fire Mammoth then started groaning and "speaking", Fluttershy all ears all of a sudden.

"Huh? What's that?" Fluttershy asked, flying over to the Fire Mammoth's head. The creature looked to her, and after a few more grunts, Fluttershy turned pale …

"What did it say?" inquire Twilight. Fluttershy gulped.

"S-She's asking to … eat Flint," Fluttershy muttered.

"HECK NO!" Bismuth exclaimed, breaking off from her grip briefly to turn her hand into a hammer, and whack the Fire Mammoth's trunk away. The hit stung the animal, making her back up a little bit. For Flint, this just confirmed that if he was going to get shattered, this WILL be the day it'll happen. None of the monsters were that specific before.

"Starlight, Twilight, get your shield magic going and cover Flint. Rest of ya, let's send this pachyderm flying!" Bismuth instructed.

"Or at least just get it out of here!" Diopside added. Either way, they had to keep it away from Flint. Starlight and Twilight got a shield up and working to protect Flint just as the Fire Mammoth sprayed fire onto them, flames and embers bouncing off of their shield, and into the snow-covered area.
Ponies and Gems alike were in a scuffle with this tyrant after just ten seconds, with the Fire Mammoth swinging her trunk, stomping the ground, and occasionally shooting fire all over the place. Emerald and Rainbow Dash kept any fire-blasting up in the sky instead of at the ground or the trees, as speeding Pinkie and Fulgurite kept giving kicks to the animal to keep stomping away from anyone in the way. The few times she tried to move towards Flint again, Jade sent her eastern Dragon projectiles to keep the beast focused away from them, not wanting her closest friend to be shattered. The only issue was the swinging trunk, which they kept having to dodge time and again as it flailed around trying to get something.

After trying to blast Rainbow Dash out of the sky right above her head, the Fire Mammoth swung her trunk down hard, FINALLY striking someone in the form of Bismuth - right in the head too! It was like a bowling ball striking her head from a fifty foot drop. But this did give her a chance to grab hold of her trunk with both hands, holding on tight.

"Got her! Whoa wait -" spoke too soon, as the Fire Mammoth not only blasted fire in bismuth's face, but she also lifted her off of the ground and started swinging Bismuth around for a bit before sending her flying into the air.

"Bismuth!" shouted Fluttershy, flying straight up to fetch her, alongside Rainbow Dash. Each Pegasus grabbed her by each arm, and while very heavy for the two, did keep Bismuth from crash-landing.

"Thanks guys," said Bismuth.

"Don't sweat it," Rainbow Dash replied, putting Bismuth down before they had to move away from another strike of the animal's trunk.

"Hang on, I got an idea! AJ find a rope and work with me," Fulgurite decided, skidding to a halt at one point and using her hair to Lasso a tusk, bringing the Fire Mammoth down to one side. The giant animal tried to move, yanking HARD of Fulgurite's hair. Applejack though needed a rope, but wasn't sure if there even was one around.

"Sorry, but I don't got a rope!"

"I do!" Pinkie said, getting into her mane and pulling out a rope (out of nowhere) "I was gonna save it for practicing my butterfly knot, but this works too."
Pinkie tossed the long rope to Applejack, not bothering to question it for the situation, and got a lasso thrown right at the Fire Mammoth's free tusk and pulled down as hard as an earth pony could, yanking the animal down closer to the ground.

"We're sorry, Fire Mammoth, we don't want you eating our friend!" Fluttershy called to the animal.

"Maybe we can find you some non-living Flint?" called Diopside. Applejack felt herself get lifted off the ground until Bismuth got hold of the rope and stomped the free end on the ground, keeping it firmly placed.

But THIS solution did not last for very long, and what happened next felt like slow-motion: the beast reared back in a mighty roar, and the momentum swing Bismuth, Applejack, and Fulgurite high into the air. Still having the grip on the tusks meant they swung head long right into eachother, slamming in mid air before all three dropped to the ground, right in the path of the animal's large feet! Luckily, and BARELY, Fulgurite shoved Bismuth and Applejack back so all three narrowly avoided getting stomped, but this left all three of them stuck underneath her. It was a mad scramble to get out of there AND avoid getting trampled.

"Guys, let me in there! It doesn't matter if I'm destined to die or not, I can't watch this," Flint insisted, him having been trying to get passed Starlight and Twilight since the fight started.

"Seriously, stop acting so suicidal! We'll handle this," Starlight insisted.

Just as the Fire Mammoth launched another fury of fire right at the Alicorn. The magic shield handled it just fine, though some of the spray did actually jump close to Flint. … At least, that's what he thought it was as embers started falling down. All Flint had to do was look up and see the burning tree right above them to say what was gonna happen next.

"Well I'm handling you!" Flint said, before rushing forward, grabbing both ponies by their tails, and jumping away into the open as burned branches fell right where they were standing. The crash did catch the Fire Mammoth's attention, and she saw Flint now more in the open instead of hidden off near the treeline. If she wanted to eat Flint, then she had to handled his cavalry first. And in her fury, the Fire Mammoth readied to do just that with a 360 swing of her mighty trunk, toppling trees and sending A LOT of them flying back.

"Flint! I-I'm sorry!" gasped Sapphire, "I told you, you were going to be shattered!"

Starlight and Twilight had to go on the offensive, but the giant Fire Mammoth wasn't having any of it and actually pulled a more double move: shooting fire from her trunk AND swinging her head so her tusks could clip the Alicorn and Unicorn. Flint was in the open now, by himself for the moment just like Sapphire said. But rather than be scared (er, more scared) Flint looked to Sapphire.

"Well … I'm just glad I got to know you."

Something snapped.

"FLINT!" Twilight gasped, as the Fire Mammoth reared back to bring down all her weight onto him. Flint closed his eyes briefly, ready for the hit himself. She was making it quick. But Sapphire was NOT having any of it. Flying in as fast as she could, Flint suddenly, ever so brief, found Sapphire face-to-face with him as she tackled him aside. His two eyes locked into Sapphire's one, and as they felt the ground tremble and shutter under the weight of the Fire Mammoth, everything turned bright …
A HUGE snow cloud formed from the Fire Mammoth's mighty slam, making the entire area impossible to see much to the horror of everyone else. Did they just watch Flint get shattered? Or worse, Flint AND Sapphire? The Fire Mammoth paused to see if she got her Flint to consume, but looking under her feet, she found nothing. Not a single shard anywhere.

But as the cloud cleared, there was someone else standing not too far away. The reality was slow to reveal the figure as the white fog of snow lifted around them. Their color appeared pale, a silver almost with a slight hint of blue on their skin as they tried to comprehend what just happened. They were only slightly taller than Flint, about two feet taller than Bismuth, though they still had a slim physique. Their hair smoothed out, pale silver but still short-length just reaching passed their neck. They at first seem to only have two eyes, but a third more crystalline eye was in place for a head gemstone. Their outfit was a mixture of a princess and a knight: a frill skirt with knight's armor on their arms and legs, accompanied by smooth gloves along each arm.
They paused, trying to work out what just happened as they looked at themselves. It might've been an accident, maybe now, but there was no denying that THIS was Flint and Sapphire's fusion. The fusion stuck in place for a bit, the stress making Sapphire's future vision go all over the place, as they kept seeing one scenario after another, either from the past events or possible future.

They had little time to work this out though. The Fire Mammoth was still after them!

"Fusion, get out of there!" called Diopside, as the Fire Mammoth moved right for them. The fusion themselves started to get back to reality, looking up towards the titanic and furious Fire Mammoth as the animal closed the gap. The fusion didn't speak, but eventually they took a breath after thinking. If they ran, the beast would chase them all over the forest, but any more of a battle would tear the forest to pieces AND put the others in danger.

They stood there, and she just stood there looking them down.

The Fire Mammoth lifted her foot up, hovering it right above the fusion's head, but the fusion still didn't move, locking all three eyes to the animal's gaze. It was as if time just stopped.

"… Are … you … quite … finished?" the fusion asked. Their tone was slow and stern, but not harsh or cold. A sort of tone of stern respect.

… And the animal stepped back. Humbled. Almost like a guilty dog to their angry master.

"Good … now go home."

The animal made a few low groans, no longer as willing to try and attack them anymore. It was a kind of tone that seemed to say "I'm sorry" to the fusion. The fusion placed a hand on the animal's trunk, gently rubbing it as they knew it must've gotten sore from Bismuth's earlier grip.

"And we're sorry too. … Now go on. Off with you now."

And slowly, one step after the other, the Fire Mammoth withdrew from the fight herself. She moved through the forest from there, and left the battlefield she had started. The fusion took a breath, and closed their eyes for a bit, trying to calm down the barrage of future visions they were seeing. All sorts were jumbling around, but as they relaxed (seeing a vision of Steven leading a meditation class it looks like for some reason). And only THEN did the two suddenly unfused, Sapphire and Flint back in their own forms.

"Flint! Sapphire! Are you two okay?" Starlight, as they all went over to the two.

"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Flint asked, dumbfounded.

"You fused! You fused with Sapphire and stopped the Fire Mammoth! Who even was that?" asked a psyched Pinkie.

"Sapphire and I … fused? … I need a minute," Flint said, surprised that even happened.

As for Sapphire, it was even more so. While Flint had to handle visions of the future for a little bit, Sapphire had to handle both that AND the memories Flint had for a brief bit. Her headache now was SPLITTING AWFUL, but … somehow needed? It was hard to explain it, but Sapphire was strangely starting to make sense of many of the others' talk about her earlier.

"Sapphire?" asked Fluttershy. Sapphire herself didn't respond at first, but eventually she calmed down enough to think properly.

"...…. Fluttershy? …"

"Huh?"

"Ooohhh my head ……. what's going on?"

"What do you mean, your fusion with Flint just drove off a giant Fire Mammoth with a few kind words and a death stare," Emerald said. While Sapphire seemed to be surprised about that, it's what she said next that confirmed what just happened, as she suddenly realized something.

"Steven! What're we doing here, we have to get back right away!"

"Why?" Fulgurite asked.

"Grogar! Oh my, we're all the way here and we left Steven to fight him alone. As if his ordeal wasn't horrifying enough. We have to go," Sapphire instructed, starting to go off towards wherever the nearest Warp Pad. But everyone else was stunned silent and not moving ... until ...

"SAPPHIRE, YOU'RE BACK!!!" Pinkie of course was the first to give Sapphire her hug, everyone else very happy that SOMEHOW this finally got her back to them. Sapphire meanwhile was a bit blindsided.

"U-Uh ... someone explain to me what I missed. B-Besides the fusion part," Sapphire said.

"Well you got hit by this scythe thingy that can hit a Gem and brain-wipe them," said Pinkie.

"A-A Rejuvenator," Sapphire said.

"Yep! And we got this new Gem who's like some cartoon character," explained Diopside, "But we're not sure if she's actually okay with us, or if she's just acting silly ... because she kinda got hit herself."

"Spinel," said Sapphire.

"OK, what's the point in telling you if you know already?" remarked Emerald. Then Sapphire's attention turned over to Flint nearby, who at this point was just sitting down in the snow. As her memories started coming back to her, she began remembering just what kind of trouble Flint had to go over through the last week, part of it still her fault for saying the Future Vision in the first place.

"Ready to go home?" Sapphire asked.

"Now THAT is a great word. … But what if -"

"Don't start," Jade insisted firmly, holding Flint's hand, "Everything's fine, and you are not allowed to worry about anything anymore. Agreed?"

Flint paused on hearing that demand. He was still alive, even after the Future Vision …

"... Agreed."

~~~~~~

Steven didn't hesitate any further. Getting the Portal Key to open a door into Spinel's past (figuratively and somewhat literally) Steven gestured Spinel to go through said portal with a gentleman's bow. Spinel was hesitant of course, still teary-eyed, but as she looked through the portal beyond the swirling magic making up the path, she began to see sight of Steven's Garden. Only one step through was all it took to travel lightyears, from the cold snow of Earth to the hard smooth rock of the Garden.
The same dead, dried up vines and shrubs and small trees standing amongst the place. The same cracked ground that covered up the foundation, the same clouds circling the barrier of the transparent glass. Just like how Steven last saw it. and in a way, the same as Spinel remembered it.

"Does this jog any memories, Spinel?" Steven asked upon entering through the door with her. Spinel didn't know what to say at first, but the more she kept looking around the scenery, the more she began to realize where she actually was. She could only make a small gasp.

"It's still here," she said, as she started going down the platform stairs, moving over to the first thing she could see, which was the ancient fountain. Steven followed her close behind, only stopping as Spinel paused herself, placing a hand down on the borders of the once fertile, water-filled pool.

"How did you know this was here?" Spinel quietly asked.

"I got captured by a giant teleporting spider and got dropped off here," Steven said, "And … for a while, I was actually going to stay here."
Steven frowned a bit on that memory, but it almost seemed that this was bringing up more to Spinel than he realized, especially with what she said next.

"... You wouldn't want to. …"

"Hmm?" Steven turned to Spinel, who took a seat along the rim of the fountain. It all was feeling so strange to Spinel. Strange yet familiar at the same time.

"Spinel. Tell me what happened," Steven said. Spinel, still sad and reluctant, did eventually look off to the distance at the reminiscence of the Garden. Well, they were here. And as far as Spinel knew now, no one else was waiting for her.

"... This was our Garden," Spinel began, "A special world, built just for Pink and I. … Pink Diamond was so lonely on Homeworld, so sad, but not here. … Here, we would play for hours. We'd play all sorts of fun games together, and every day was so much fun. … At least. That's what I thought."

As Spinel explained everything, Steven could just imagine it all happening: Pink and Spinel having the time of their lives in the Garden. During a time when all the world was lush, green, and alive. In a way, Spinel was remembering it too, bit by bit. Back during a fun time when Pink Diamond was still a young youth of a Gem, and Spinel was always there with her in the Garden to play whatever games they would come up with together.
A cute little game of Hide-and-Seek, with Spinel making Pink Diamond laugh with a funny look as a reward for finding her.
A bit of playing pretend as they were by the fountain as galactic warriors traveling the universe on an epic quest.
Even simple things such as Spinel having some bubbles and showing Pink Diamond how to juggle.

It was such a long time ago. Spinel quietly wiped some more tears from her eyes, as Steven placed a supporting hand on Spinel's back.

"So you were Pink Diamond's friend. Did something happen?" Steven said. Spinel just quietly nodded, but before she could answer, she then pointed off to the one spot that Steven once stood last time he was here. He could tell it was the same spot, because the footprints were still there. Still facing the Warp Pad and, as Spinel walked over and stood in the exact same spot, a perfect fit.

"One day, she told me to wait for her here … to stand right in this spot until she came back. I thought it would be so much fun, just another game to play. ……. But she never did. Thousands of years, all I did was stand here. Waiting. The only thing I was thinking was "am I doing this right? Is this how it's supposed to work?" … Actually, I thought of just calling it quits, to see where she went but … but ……."
Steven, knowing what little there was about Spinel thanks to the other Gems, could already tell what was gonna happen next.

"But then White Diamond found you," Steven concluded. The sudden look of horror suddenly hit Spinel's face as the memories of White Diamond came flooding back into her in a huge wave.

"She told me where Pink Diamond was. What happened to her, a-and how she "ditched me for her own life". And she wanted to play with me. I was so happy when she said that. So … so silly, I … I-I …"

"Spinel?"

Then something started to happen to Spinel. No pain or any headache, but as Steven simply stood there and watched, Spinel's entire body began to glow. Her whole form of all its details shifted into a pure white. Steven knew a reformation when he saw one, and Spinel's gemstone, right in front of him, turned back upside-down, the hearts in her hair turning back into the signature scruffy ponytails. And upon completion of form, the mascara was back on her face. Spinel would continue crying if she had any more tears to shed, as she looked back at Steven.

"Spinel! You got your memories back," Steven realized. He'd be excited, but now was not the appropriate time for it, given Spinel's currently mental state.

"I can't believe mom just left you like that. … Er, no. Wait. I can totally believe it. She's hurt a lot of Gems besides you -"

"YEAH RUB IT IN WHY DON'T YOU!" Spinel suddenly snapped, turning to Steven and going right up to him, angry, and knocking Steven onto his back, "You must know everything she did without me, don't ya?!"

"No, spinel, that's not what I meant! you deserve a better friend!" Steven said, but Spinel's fire was still raging.

"OOHH yeah, listen to Best Boy, because he knows what it's like to be alone!" Spinel scoffed, "You're the sweetest, kindest best-est super-est HARMONY GEM, since when did YOU ever not have anyone to look and say they like ya? GO ON, MAKE MY DAY!"

"One two three!"

AMBUSH.

They all seemed to come from everywhere, a small troop of a number of animals leaped out of hiding and rushed right for them, as fast as they could and as violent as they could. Spinel, being so distraught already, actually found herself getting struck by something big and quick, sending her careening down to the ground in a rapid spin. Steven could barely get up on his feet before one of the animals tackled him, making him fall to the ground more roughly again. Only now he knew exactly who was there the second he saw those red eyes of his.

"Did you miss me, lad?"

"Grogar!" gasped Steven.

"W-What, how'd - what're you doing here?!" Spinel exclaimed. Grogar, in the flesh, was back in the game and ready for a fight.

"Finishing what I started, that's what. It took you both long enough to get here, I was getting bored. But I DID say I was gonna kill you one way or another."

"But how'd you even get here?" Steven asked. For that Grogar had a more blunt answer.

"You left your door open, idiot," Grogar said, glancing over to Steven's portal, which was actually kept open by a simple stone.

"So anyway, let's "cut to the chase"," Grogar said, making sure that all of Spinel's legs and hands were pinned down, and THIS TIME as extra measure used his magic to keep her head still. With his hoof, he moved the dagger edges towards her gemstone, and looked more than ready to start cutting up her already broken heart.

"Get away from her," Steven shouted, trying to get up, just for one of Grogar's minions to ram him back to the ground. Grogar wasn't gonna make this easy.

"Why should I listen to you now? I already let you live once before, I don't owe you anything anymore," Grogar said, as Steven got back up to his feet. So even after saving his life, Grogar was STILL after them. Steven started to feel a little bitter, but he knew he would eventually. Just not like this.

"Grogar, don't hurt her," Steven said, "I don't care what you do to me, but keep Spinel out of this! She's got nothing to do with you, you don't have to hurt her - hurt me instead. Beat me up as much as you want, just let her go."

"S-Steven?" gasped Spinel. Was Steven serious? Was he REALLY gonna let these guys go at him for her own safety? Steven sure looked ready to do that, even if he was powerless with his gemstone out of commission. Grogar huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry chum, but you're powerless, useless, you can't even fight proper without your fancy Gem powers. You're no threat to me anymore. … But if that's what you want … BULLS! KILL HIM! HE'LL MAKE A GOOD PRACTICE DUMMY!"

Steven tried reaching them, to get Spinel free, but the bulls weren't having any of it and the more muscular beasts of burden went whole hog on Steven, their horns ramming and swinging him around every which way.

"STEVEN!" Spinel gasped, trying to get herself free. However, Grogar wasn't giving her the benefit of a doubt this time, and each limb was firmly kept in place by each of his dagger hooves. In fact, as a means to humble her, Grogar used his magic to stretch her head and neck so she could see Steven's "demise".

"Watch well, Spinel. You're about to see just what your "friend" can and cannot do," Grogar said.

And it seemed that was what exactly was going on. Just like a ragdoll, Steven was tossed around all over the place with each hit and swing of the Bulls' horns, tearing his clothes up, some even cutting into him. Steven was hardly even given time to get up, as after one Bull knocked him down, there was another bull coming in and flipping him head over heels.
But even during all of this, Steven was still getting up, and trying to reach them.

"You two shouldn't be fighting -" *BAM!* "- s-she's suffering enough without this -" *BAM!* "- you got nothing to do with her -" *BAM!* "- s-so stop it!"

"Why won't he stay down?" Grogar thought. Even with at least five full grown bulls beating him to a pulp, Steven was still somehow finding the strength to get to his feet. But the more times Spinel watched Steven get beaten up, not only was she feeling more and more angry, but the more it seemed Steven wasn't finding as much strength to get back up. One point in particular: Steven got knocked down by another ram from a bull and sending him into the fountain, but the next bull, instead of just sending him flying with his horns, started to trample him underhoof. If this kept up …

"NOOOO!!!"

Spinel snapped.

Suddenly, Grogar was launched off of her with a punch-kick combo, sending him flying in the air, crashing through the fountain and into the wall of the middle platform. Spinel broke free of the magic, which broke up the ground actually.

"Spinel's free! GET HER!" Grogar ordered.

"What about Steven?!" one of the Bulls asked.

"He's dead already. He better be," Grogar said.

"RAAAHHH!" Spinel yelled, going into a complete rage. Without giving a second thought, suddenly she started to spin like crazy, only her head locking in place, the rest of her body as if it was the body of a spinning top. Only a LOT more destructive. With lightning speed, Spinel rushed forward at them, striking the first bull with the strength of a cannonball, and knocking the bull over her own head. After that hit it was like a game of pinball: Spinel bouncing from one enemy to the next, sending them all flying all over the place. The bouncing only stopped with Grogar, whos' horns briefly stopped her from coming at him, but didn't remotely stop her spinning. She was spinning so fast and so hard, sparks were coming out!
This only lasted a little bit, as during her spinning, she actually opened her hand, and grabbed Grogar by the horns, sending the tyrannical Ram in a rapid spin. Spinel made sure he struck the building and pillars as she bolted around with him for a bit, before tossing him high into the sky, the ram slamming into the borders of the Garden before he fell to the ground.

"Good lord, Spinel," Grogar growled, "You Gems never listen to anything -"

"JUST SHUT YOUR TRAP!" Spinel yelled, "Now call of your thugs, get outta here, or I'll pummel you all so bad IT WON'T EVEN BE FUNNY!!!"

"Make me!" Grogar roared back. Spinel didn't give Grogar a chance to breathe as her arm stretched and grabbed him right then and there, forced him down, and Spinel just went to town on him with her fists like jackhammers on the old goat. Grogar tried over and over to do SOMETHING, but Spinel was just too fast for him to connect. At least when he faced the Diamonds, they were dumb enough to take their time with their attacks.

So much in fact ...

*punch!**whack* "Alrigh -" *BAM* "Alright!" *punch* "I SAID ALRIGHT!"

"Then stop stallin and DO IT!" Spinel demanded, holding Grogar by the collar and throwing him over towards the portal so he can go. Grogar, dazed and bruised up almost as bad as Steven thanks to Spinel, decided to just see himself out, and cut open his own portal away from Steven's location. The Bulls, shocked but ready to go, started heading out through Grogar's portal. One of them though Grogar stopped.

"This moment never leaves this Garden. Got it?" Grogar growled.

"Don't worry about that," the bull replied, before Grogar allowed him to go through. Grogar turned to Spinel and Steven.

"You'll suffer for this!" Grogar warned, just before he too had to go.

As suddenly and abruptly as it began, it was all over. The Garden still got beaten up thanks to them, but Grogar and company were gone either way. Spinel felt the fire of her anger start to diminish, wearing her out, and she fell back down into a heap of her own arms again.
If not only for a little bit until she remembered what actually happened, and looking to Steven. He was SOMEHOW still alive, even finding his feet as he leaned against what remained of the fountain.

"Steven! You still here? Can you see good? H-How many touch stubs am I holding up?" Spinel asked after going over to him, her hand showing three to Steven's face so he could see (hopefully). Steven wasn't sure exactly what happened, being so beaten up he looked like he walked out of a wrestling ring, but he eventually smiled to Spinel.

"I'm glad you're alright, Spinel. … And I see three," Steven said softly. Spinel, pleased, gave a sigh of relief.

"Whoo boy, talk about out-of-nowhere," Spinel said, looking tired, "I guess Grogar's back now, huh?"

"I guess so. Come on, let's get back home. The others have gotta be worried by now, and I think they might want to know about this," Steven decided. Despite his injuries, he still stood up and readied to get back home.

"Eeehhh, you sure ya wanna do that? I mean you're not exactly up to scratch after that fight, and … I don't think the others will be exactly, incredibly thrilled to see me like this," Spinel said. Steven sighed.

"It's not like it can get any worse from here, right? We just have to talk to them."

"But I … I don't know. I did kinda screw up A LOT before I got reset," Spinel said, sitting back down by the fountain. She didn't know how to, not after she left them. Steven had at least some idea what she was talking about. After all, he only found this place even existed because he "screwed up a lot". Steven looked to his bruises and small cuts for a bit, then looked over to Spinel.

Someday … Somewhere … Somehow …
You'll love again …
You just need to find someone ...

Steven's gentle, soft voice carried the song along the quiet air, Spinel quietly turned away from him, though she no longer was feeling sad, or angry, or … well, anything. All that raw emotion earlier had just worn her out, to the point when all she could feel now was being tired. Steven gently brought his hand out for her. …

Spinel; Someday … Somewhere … Somehow …
I'll love again …
I just need to find someone ...

Spinel found herself, and Steven standing up now, her hand holding onto his. It was a quiet moment for them both, Gem and Human beginning to make their way back towards the portal. It was still left open by the stone left behind, some now even blowing in from outside back on Earth to coat the ground in white. The portal back home.

Steven; Someone … who treats you better …

Spinel; Someone who wants me around …

Both; Someday. Somewhere. Somehow.
You're gonna feel … fine …

Steven was happy to show her the way. Spinel paused for a brief moment, seeing Steven standing right by the door, opening it wide and inviting her back with a simple gesture and a sweet smile. Even after what she did, and after everything, he was still giving her a chance.

Spinel; Today … right here … right now …
I've already feel … found.

Author's Note

Here's a writing tip for you guys: if you want to write a fight with a giant monster (or any fight in general), just listen to Monster Hunter OST music while you do it. ... It sets you in the mood :3.
So yeah, Spinel and Sapphire are back in the game so FINALLY PROGRESS! Only six more Gems to go :pinkiehappy: fingers crossed!

Whoever Dares Wins

*beep**beep**beep**be -* *click*

"No up yet," mumbled Spinel, her arm stretching all the way up to Steven's alarm clock, her sleeping down on Steven's couch on the main floor and cuddling a sleepy time buddy (in her case, a cute green smiley mushroom). It was too peaceful to get up now: Steven asleep in his bed with Nora cuddling next to him, Blue sleeping next to the couch nearby and Lion finding a spot over by the front door. This time of quiet tranquility couldn't stay forever though, and with a small grunt Steven got himself awake.

"Good morning everyone. Good morning Spinel," Steven sighed, stretching to get some of his own sores and kinks out of his body.

"Not yet, I wanna sleep. … I like this sleeping thing," Spinel mumbled, cuddling closer to her sleepy time buddy. Steven took a bit to get himself out of bed, though saying he wasn't hurting would … be lying. No other way to put it. Although he kept saying no, Spinel did get him bandaged up to the best of her ability once she found out what toilet paper was. If he let her go any further he'd look like a mummy, but the care was still there. As she laid there though, she began to feel something huff on her, only for her to look and see Lion staring at her.

"Oh. … Uh, hey there big guy … y-you still like me, don't ya? No hard feelings?" Spinel asked, smiling but still worried if Lion was gonna just bite her or something. Lion knew this Spinel was different from the one he was playing "Heart Fairy" with. Lion's main response though did come a little bit, leaving Spinel unsure until Lion gave her a lick to the cheek.

"Is that a yes, or no?" Spinel asked, not sure how to take it. Lion though gave her a nudge and few cat purrs to give his point across. Did Lion know her story? No, and he didn't need to. Steven just chuckled. Him slowly coming down the stairs as the animals in the room started to stir.

"Aww. Looks like Lion likes you, Spinel," Steven said with a grin. Spinel wondered about it a bit, but she smiled herself, giving Lion a hug of her own. It wasn't as forceful as before, but still a hug nonetheless. Lion though only allowed her five seconds before he stood up and moved back, pulling Spinel outta bed and onto the floor.

"Guess nap time's over," Spinel grumbled. She'd love to stay asleep, being so peaceful and all, but the day waits for no one.

"So how was sleeping for the first time, Spinel?"

"It was … nice. Quiet, nothing happening all night. But it's not the same as standing in the Garden, so it's a plus," Spinel said, rubbing the back of her head as she actually tried to think about it.

"That's good. Now, I'll just take my morning shower, and we'll see how the others are doing, okay? I won't be long," Steven decided.

"Oh! Uh yeah, great. You do that, I'll just be waiting here," Spinel said, unsure but thumbs up anyway. Steven wouldn't ditch her again would he? However, as Steven took his time with his shower, Spinel began to feel a little bit more antsy as time went by. It was only ten minutes, but Spinel just had to wonder how long Steven was gonna be gone for. Was he gonna come out of there for her, or was he just gonna stay in there?

She tried standing there. All too familiar to her. Her foot tapped after two minutes. Then she started playing with her fingers at five minutes. Her face became scared at nine, and she was just about to go in when -

"Okay, ready to go! Ah, nothing like a good shower," Steven said, once he got out, fully clothed and drying off his hair a little bit. Spinel looked like she was about to run into the room...

"GREAT." Spinel simply said with a big smile, pretending she wasn't about to charge in and panickily try to find her best friend. Like she would do THAT!

"Were you just about to check on me?" Steven asked.

"PFFT, WHAAAAT? NOOOO, that would just be silly! I was just uh … practicing my greeting pose! Wanna make a good impression for my re-intro," Spinel said, suddenly getting into a more cheery one as if she was on a stage, arms out and jazz hands too even. Steven paused, but just chuckled at Spinel's attempts at covering herself. He couldn't blame her now for being at least a little clingy, but that was a subject for another time.

"Spinel, we just have to talk to them, that's all. You don't need to go into a full introduction for that, let's just go to them, tell them you're sorry, and show them we're all okay."

"... You really sure that'll work?" Spinel asked. Steven placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If it makes you feel better, Spinel, I was a bit nervous too when I tried my re-intro. You're not gonna be alone," Steven said.

"You serious? But you're loved by everyone, you didn't try killin em first, right?" Spinel asked.
Steven paused on that. Spinel didn't mean to, nor would she ever know beforehand, but Steven found himself remembering all that drama all over again. It was gonna be A LONG WHILE before he can get that handled again.

"Wait, did I say the wrong thing? DANG IT, what's with me?"

"No, no, you're fine!" Steven insisted, "I just had to … go through the same thing. ... You know Grogar?"

"I'd better be by now, but yeah I am, what about it?" Spinel asked. Steven looked down to his feet briefly, but that just reminded him that a bit more.

"Well … I had to fight him at one point, and I ended up … well … shattering two of my friends. Because I got too caught up and wouldn't listen to her and maybe got really angry."

… Never had silence been so awkward by that point.

"Huh … Yep that can bust up a friendship pretty good," Spinel admitted. She wasn't gonna lie, and why would she judge him anyway? She was the LAST person to judge him for trying to kill someone anyway, considering she tried killing the whole planet.

"Garnet told me she already loved me, but with her memory wiped …" Steven suddenly realized what he was doing, and quickly shifted gears, "But we can only find out when it happens right? Come on, let's go see them."

"Okay. If you say so, Mr. Universe," Spinel said, taking Steven's hand as they started walking towards the Warp Pad. Spinel followed him the whole way there. Lion, Blue, and Nora followed em along until they got onto the Warp Pad themselves, but before Steven could activate it, Spinel suddenly spoke up again.

"waitwaitwait, before we warp, just clear something up for me: you and the Diamonds … you're cool, right? We're not gonna go back there and find them ready to turn us into puppets or something?" Spinel asked nervously, not willing to get stuck through ALL OF THAT again.

"Trust me, Spinel. Remember: everything's chill," Steven promised.

"Yeah. Chill," Spinel repeated. For an extra boost, Steven even showed Spinel a little old trick he picked up from Twilight from way back when: hand to his chest on inhale, hand outward on exhale. Spinel did the same thing, puffing out her chest on inhale but still the same idea in mind. She was feeling ready to go back and try to work out her amends. These thoughts kept with her as she went off on the Warp Pad with Steven by her side.

"Okay. Chill Spinel … chill," Spinel thought to herself, smiling and ready as they continued through the warpstream. At first it was just the two going through air, but eventually the two felt the ground under their feet. They knew they made it to Little Homeworld, and upon arrival it didn't take them very long at all until they began to see sight of some familiar
Gems and Ponies not too far away. However the only Harmony Gems present with their memories were Jade and Emerald, with everyone else not there or just don't remember - Jasper especially. She looked surprisingly beaten up as she sat there, with scratches and even some hair missing due to some form of fight she had earlier. The only reason that Jasper wasn't ignoring the treatment was that Emerald told her to.

But she wasn't the only one there, a MUCH LARGER titan sitting right next to her on top of Bismuth's forge as if it was a seat, not entirely thrilled either and looking scratched up.

"CHILL CHILL CHILL CHILL!" Spinel thought, freaking out and trying to find somewhere to hide. In the end she simply hid behind Steven, her ponytails visible from behind his head. Steven knew it was gonna be a little difficult, but5 this might be a little bit too rough of a push. He had to ease some tension first.

"Here, I'll be right back. For real, I'll be back," Steven said, before going off to check the situation. Well at least here Spinel can see Steven from the Warp Pad, unlike the bathroom. Spinel though started to feel uneasy about her re-introduction again. Was THIS rugged Gem her first shot?

"If you keep this up, Jasper, you'll become more scars than skin," advised Jade, as she was handling healing to Jasper.

"Oh shut up," Jasper huffed coldly. Jade didn't give her further remark after saying that, but again Jasper didn't go further with her remarks either. As she kept doing this, Steven went over to the four.

"Oh, morning ki - Steven! What the heck happened to you?" Emerald asked, seeing the bandages on him still. Caught up in the moment and Steven forgot he even had those on.

"Oh that, don't worry about it I'm good," Steven insisted (which they found hard to believe), "I got someone to show you. Check it out: Spinel's back!"

"H-hiiiii," Spinel said meekly, hand raised in a small hello.

… Emerald and Jade became alarmed almost immediately, Emerald getting some hexagons up and at the ready in case she started jumping at them. The other two were more indifferent about it, but at least one of them remembered Spinel's earlier attack. Seeing them ready to attack though made Spinel jump, but Steven got in the way.

"Hold it, don't jump at her! She's back to normal, but she's not gonna hurt us. Everything's chill!" Steven insisted, making it quick before anyone could do anything.

"Isn't that the same Spinel that tried to shatter us?" quizzically questioned Yellow Diamond. Spinel gulped, and moved right back to Steven in a single step (which was a good ten feet in one jump).

"Well, yes but she's not gonna hurt anyone, I promise," Steven reassured. Yellow Diamond looked down to Spinel for a big. Spinel then did the only thing she could think of to appease a Diamond, and her hands started to crisscross and stretch.

"My diamonnnnnnd," said Spinel, her hands stretching into not one, but four Diamond insignias. It might not be something they HAD to do, but it was the best she could think of. Yellow Diamond took some mental note on it. She wouldn't do that if she still thought they deserved to die like earlier.

"She turned around fast. … What did you do to her, Steven?" Yellow questioned.

"I didn't "do" anything. Turned out mom left her on a floating Garden in space, and White took her as her experiment."

"You poor thing," Jade gasped. It was a brief re-telling, but still was a scary idea. Spinel shrugged though and smiled.

"Eh, it was only 6,000 years since this thing started. I can do that standing on my head!" Spinel said, flipping onto her hands and clapping her feet, each time making them squeak. And how did they react to this? …

"UuAAAahahahahahahahahahahaha! only 6,000 years! Hahahaha! It's true, that's no-o-thing! Ahahahahahahaha, and that goofy handstand hahahaha! ... I like this Gem."

Well at least Yellow liked her. Either that or just needed a good laugh. Either way, Spinel felt very good about it, and spun back to her feet with a good smile. Any worry about them not liking her disappeared just like that.

"Great! Now uh, sorry for changing the subject, but what happened to you guys?" Steven asked. Yellow did calm down, but Jasper was still a bit of a grump about it. Seemed Jasper wasn't willing to talk about it. She looked over to Emerald, who he simply nodded to her.

"If you have to know, I went out on solo "monster hunt" and found them. They thought it would be fun to see the sights. They saw a monster instead."

"What kind of monster did this?!" Steven exclaimed. The question hung in the air for a bit, the only ones knowing being Rhodonite and Yellow Diamond. At least it looked like it by the look on their faces. Eventually, Rhodonite looked to Spinel and Steven.

"Do you two like stories?" Rhodonite asked, slightly gravely though.

"Uh, yeah? Sure," Steven said.

"We're doing story time now?" Spinel asked, confused and scratching her head. Rhodonite felt a bit uneasy but what could she do now? She made her bed, she has to sleep in it.

"Just my luck. I was hoping you'd say no …"

~~~~~~

Ok, here it goes … we were just at the barn, but since you all weren't around Little Homeworld, Fluroite thought it'll be good for us to keep an eye on the place. You know, until you all get back. I didn't WANT to be guarding (or fighting) but Fluorite said -

"They did so much for us. It's what we can do to repay them," Fluorite said, her tone slow as per usual.
She, Rhodonite, Tiger's Eye, the Rutile Twins, and Padparadscha were out by the Equestrian side of Little Homeworld for the moment. Normally Padparadscha would be on Fluorite's back, but Ruby was back to her job as playing guard since Sapphire didn't seem around, and she wasn't gonna let Fluorite just carry her around.

"B-But guarding? From what, there's nothing here to wreck the place! … Right?" Rhodonite asked, trying to get out of it.

"We don't know, that's the whole point," said left Rutile, placing a hand on Rhodonite's shoulder.

"We don't know if anyone will come, that's why we're here," added right Rutile. Rhodonite didn't feel good about this at all, looking around to the other Off-Colors, but the second she looked to Padparadscha, Ruby got on edge.

"What're you looking at?" Ruby asked.

"Then let's get started," said Fluorite, "I'll take the north."

"We'll take the east," said the Rutile Twins.

"W-Wait do I get a say in this?!" Rhodonite gasped … only for the others to now wait for her to say where she wanted to go. "... Oh, I actually do. Umm … I'll … I'll go guard from in here, excuse me."

…

"Outta the crate, Rhody," Tiger's Eye exclaimed, pulling Rhodonite out from the nearest storage unit.

"I'm not going anywhere unless my Sapphire says so," Ruby stated.

"I can stay with Fluorite," Padparadscha decided, her mind catching up now as she climbed up onto Fluorite.

"Oh. Then I guess we're going with you," Ruby said, also climbing up to join her Sapphire. Rhodonite was dropped by Tiger's Eye soon after that was decided. Fluorite started to move off on her way, and the Rutile Twins mainly did the same, leaving a moment with Tiger's Eye and Rhodonite.

"Tell you what, Rhodonite, if you're gonna be like THAT, then you can just chill out by the Warp Pad. I'll go handle double shift for ya," Tiger's Eye offered.

"Really? Gee thank -" Rhodonite's joy was suddenly changed to confusion. "... Like what?"

"Huh? Oh, THAT," said Tiger's Eye, scratching a little bit, "Y'know, when you end up too scared to do anything again. You do it all the time."

"Now wait a minute, n-no I don't!" Rhodonite retorted. Tiger's Eye stopped cold.

"You don't? … Rhodonite, are you kidding me? You get scared of something every other day. I mean, just last night, we found this new creature in our barn and you wouldn't even come down from the balcony remember?"

"W-Well it's your fault for disturbing it! Who would grab some random creature out from its hiding place and try showing it to everyone? T-Those beady eyes, that flat body, it's so hard you can crack a Gem with it. You don't mess with anything like that!"

Wait … you're saying you found a Turtle in your barn?
… Yes.

Tiger's Eye rolled her eyes at the statement, "Rhodonite, we're not in the Kindergarten anymore. We've been out of one for over a year now, and you still think a Robonoid can jump out of nowhere and zap you."

"You guys said it yourselves, we don't know that! … I'm just being cautious."

"Being a wimp you mean," Tiger's Eye said, getting up to go out.

"Stop that, you!"

"Alright, alright geesh! … You know, I gotta feel sorry for you: you don't enjoy life as much as you should," Tiger's Eye said, pausing as she sat down on a nearby crate like a frog.

"You don't worry as much as you should," Rhodonite said, though mow it was more of a mumble. Tiger's Eye decided then to just tackle it by the throat a bit more.

"You know something, I'm just gonna be honest with ya since I'm your friend and all."

"You haven't already?" Rhodonite thought.

"And the truth is. My friend. …" Tiger's Eye rested a hand on Rhodonite's first shoulder. "... You're annoyingly scared of everything. EVERYTHING! Can't you at least pretend to be brave for once instead of hiding behind the closest tree or wall and cowering like a pebble, or is that something you're incapable of doing?"

"I-I'm getting better …"

Tiger's Eye turned her face away, only to look back to Rhodonite with a sharp-toothed grin, and her irises shrunk into dots for some extra effect. Tiger's Eye didn't even turn her head fast, and Rhodonite still flinched and readied to run. Which by the way, only proved Tiger's Eye right.

"Come on, I didn't even say "boo" yet!" Tiger's Eye said, her face back to normal. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

And with that remark, Tiger's Eye went off on her way to handle her own guarding. Rhodonite simply stood there to contemplate what Tiger's Eye said. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't anything new though, so she just did what she suggested - guarding the Warp Pad.

"I AM getting better, I swear."

So I did the … well, "easy job" of staying by the Warp Pad. But I mean, it's not like Tiger's Eye was wrong, but I know I've been getting better. I thought it would be easy, but WAIT, guess what happens next?!
Grrrr, I remember this part.

*BAM!* *ROAR!*

Rhodonite jumped in place after half an hour's worth of guarding, only to hear the sound of fighting going on not too far away. Shaky, Rhodonite looked off to the direction as something started coming in from nearby, a large barrel being thrown and crashing into the wall by her. Wouldn't you know it, Rhodonite found herself watching a fight between a Slingtail and Jasper, the two combatants rolling out and slamming into another wall close to her, making Rhodonite freak out.
In the fight, Jasper got the Slingtail by the jaws, keeping them from clamping down on her head before she threw it off of her, the creature landing on its back by some crates.

"Bring it, you beast! I can go all day!" Jasper shouted, proud and aggressive with teeth barred in her grin. It was almost primal, but it didn't make the Slingtail back off. In fact, it got its tail under some crates, and used them as projectiles, which Jasper simple smashed with a few good punches and one slam of her head. But while fighting Jasper was a good challenge, the Slingtail then noticed Rhodonite shaking nearby. Jasper could probably guess what the Slingtail was about to do.

"HEY YOU, move out of the way!" Jasper shouted, but as the Slingtail got closer, Rhodonite suddenly found herself stuck, legs shaking. The Slingtail scooped her up anyway.

"W-What you doing?!" Rhodonite yelped, before SHE got flung at Jasper. Jasper didn't get knocked over, but rather than punch or headbutt she just whacked Rhodonite aside. She might not have her memories back, but she always knew a dirty trick when she saw one. The fusion turned around and saw the Slingtail come for Jasper, only for the orange Gem to grab it and finally, with a very powerful swing, sent the beast flying away. Jasper turned to Rhodonite, but -

"You clod, why didn't you move?" demanded Jasper, as Rhodonite got herself back up.

"I … huh? What happened. I blacked out for a second," Rhodonite said, trying to regather herself from being used as a projectile. All that response got Rhodonite though was Jasper looming over her with a scolding look.

"You didn't listen to me, that's what happened," Jasper said, "What're you even doing here anyway, fusion?"

The way she said fusion just made Rhodonite's skin crawl.

"... Guarding?"

"What?" Jasper asked, unamused by the answer. "And who decided to put YOU to do a Quartz's job?"

"I didn't want to do this either, but I got -" Rhodonite stopped yelling when she saw Jasper's face again, making her clam up.

"Well you're doing a lousy job," Jasper scolded, "What kind of guard freezes on the spot when the enemy comes charging at them? And worse - you're A FUSION! Not only is that a pathetic tactic to begin with, but you can't even bring yourself to guard? you're nothing but a mess."

"WHOA she did NOT say that! Did you say that?"
"Do I look like the Gem that would lie about weaklings?"
"Uuuhhh … no."
"W-Well she wasn't WRONG exactly, but it still hurt …"

And hurt it did, Rhodonite looking simply shocked at all of this stuff being shouted at her. She couldn't bring herself to speak right away, clamming up and worried that Jasper would just start slapping her face or something. However, Jasper already got much of her anger out on the Slingtail anyway.

"... I'm not a mess …"

"YES. YOU ARE."

"No I'm not!" Rhodonite yelped.

"Then why do you keep acting like it?! I've been seeing you, and all you've ever done is stand there and scream. Do you do ANYTHING ELSE?" Jasper demanded, unconvinced. Then Rhodonite, still shaky and actually almost ready to crumble, said the thing that would kickstart this adventure of hers.

"I-I'm going out, a-a-a-nd I-I'm gonna prove it," Rhodonite meekly decided. And with that decided, Rhodonite went right over to the Warp Pad, and activated it to get her mission started. If only she knew then what her mission even was.

~~~~~~

By this point they were mostly settled down listening to Rhodonite's story. Although Rhodonite wasn't planning on it, Spinel and Steven got comfy, with Steven sitting on a crate while Spinel was laying on the ground with a pillow resting her shoulders on.

"Huh, so you went out to prove you're not scared. … So what did you do?"

"I'm gonna guess and say you went to Homeworld? I mean, that's how her Diamond got involved, obviously," said Spinel, feeling more casual a bit as she was laying there. Yellow Diamond's simple huff got Spinel to be quiet, but Rhodonite actually had a bit of trouble explaining this part, rubbing the back of her head.

"Welllll … uhh … It's kinda funny, a-actually," Rhodonite explained, trying to choose her words carefully with Yellow Diamond sitting right there. However, before Rhodonite could say anything, the group found themselves hearing the Warp Pad go off not too far away. No doubt someone was going to return to Little Homeworld to re-check some things. In this case, the ponies were both Starlight and Rainbow Dash, accompanied by a Gem of course in the form of Fulgurite. Rainbow Dash however was laughing herself silly … though not meaning to, Fulgurite tickling Rainbow with a sly strand of her hair.

"Hahaha - stop! stop! I give, I give!" Rainbow finally said, only then Fulgurite stopping her assault on her, smug as ever.

"Hey, your rules never said I couldn't," Fulgurite simply said, as the trio walked off the Warp Pad.

… They took one look at Spinel and …

"S-SPINEL!" gasped Starlight, horn already glowing. Spinel sprung up, but lucky Steven got in between them (just before Rainbow Dash slammed into him that is).

"Nobody hurts the - … Steven?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No fight! Everything's chill!" Steven exclaimed, making it very clear once again on Spinel's current state. Rainbow Dash glanced over to the currently shaky Spinel, arms wrapped around her, standing on one foot - typical freak-out stance.

"Wait, she's … not planning to kill the planet anymore?" Rainbow asked.

"NOPE NOPE NOPE, swearsies, I'm not doing that anymore!" Spinel insisted frantically.

"Yeah, she's good with us now. So can you get off of me, Rainbows?" Steven asked.

"Oh! Right. Sorry," Rainbow Dash said, getting off of him as Starlight and Fulgurite looked over to Spinel. She stood normally, but she was reminded of the whole "do they trust her" problem.

"Heh … so ……. no hard feelings?"

…

"Nuh uh, not from us," Starlight said, "I can safely say we're all good if you're good."

"You sure bout that? I mean I did kinda try to destroy the planet and everyone else," Spinel reminded, playing with her fingers a bit.

"So? Starlight already tried messing with time travel and nearly destroyed the universe, so I don't think you got anything to worry about," Fulgurite said casually. Starlight didn't comment on it, as Fulgurite got an arm around Spinel and added, "Besides, looks like you already learned your lesson, so why should we try to beat ya up now?"

Spinel felt a smile come up on her face, "... Golly. Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Now, anyone wanna tell me why Yellow D looks like she's been in the battle ring?"

Spinel flinched on that response, quickly turning to Yellow Diamond for her reaction which … well, by this point, she didn't care. She did look a bit ruffled up no matter what she said.

"I'm gonna get to it, don't rush me," insisted Rhodonite.

~~~~~~

After teleporting away, Rhodonite got herself far away from Little Homeworld, and instead found herself walking through Beach City, in a more steady yet hasty stroll along the boardwalk, hand over her mouth as she tried to think. At least, one side was trying to think, while the other was freaking out.

"You stupid clod, what were you thinking? "I'm gonna leave and prove it"?! How am I supposed to do that without shattering myself? B-But I can't go back with nothing - Jasper's gonna insult me, Tiger's Eye will make fun of me, I will feel like I want to kill myself! ……. Maybe Lars can help," Rhodonite wondered, one hand playing with her hair as her secondary pair were playing fingers. Lars and Sadie were the only humans nearby to help her out in this mess, and looking ahead she was on her way towards the Big Donut anyhow.

Besides, she could use some comfort food.

The winter times did give the Big Donut some business as Rhodonite walked in, seeing a few Humans, and some Gems and even Ponies in there. Seeing how many of them were ordering a warm hot cocoa with their sweets, it was easy to see why.

"Busy day," Rhodonite said. Guess she had to wait to talk to Lars, even if she could see him alongside another human right at the front counter. She had to wait in line for at good ten minutes, the whole time the fusion having to just stand there and impatiently wait.

I mean, OKAY, maybe I should've gone to someone else, but I figured Lars had enough know-how on something like this. At least that's what I was hoping for. I mean, it was either that or come back to being called some cloddy mistake again, a-and who wants that right? … Well, I knew I didn't.

"Hey there, Rhodonite," said Lars. A bit quicker than she realized, but it was good anyway.

"Huh? Oh, hi Lars! I need some uh … comfort food," Rhodonite said, only just remembering how the term worked.

"You want your usual?" Lars figured. Rhodonite sighed and just nodded. It wasn't the first time she came here.

It took just a minute to get Rhodonite her "usual" (three cinnamon rolls) before the fusion took a seat off nearby. She couldn't ask him up front because it would probably bother everyone else in line, so she tried a different approach.
The art of appearance: she basically was stuffing her face with the treats, scratching her head and basically playing the role she mastered in - being stressed out.

"Is this enough for him to notice me?" Rhodonite thought, glancing over towards the pink-skinned Human off nearby. It'd look TOO desperate if she just straight up asked for his help, though it would be something she'd do if the place wasn't so packed. Lucky for her, Lars did eventually see her stressing as Sadie was coming out from the back.

"Oh, Rhodonite's here?" asked Sadie.

"Yeah, came for her comfort food again," Lars replied, "Looks ruffled up too."

"What're are you talking about, aren't you coming over?!" Rhodonite thought.

"Must be a big one this time. You wanna check in on her, or me?" Sadie offered.

"I got this. Just remember: Jelly-filled, three cinnamon, and the Dewey special," Lars said. Seemed simple enough to remember, Rhodonite, not turning around, then heard someone walk up to her.

"Oh, thank goodness. Listen I -"

Bill Dewey. Not Lars, but apparently Bill took note of her too and was right by her with his own smile.

"Hello, valiant customer! What can I do for ya?" Bill asked.

"... You're not Lars," Rhodonite blurted out, unsure and having an expression that mixed both "who the heck are you?" and "I got the wrong target". Bill Dewey just kinda stood there.

"No, but I'm here making sure every customer's happy. So what's the problem?" Bill asked. Rhodonite clammed up - she didn't come here to talk to Bill Dewey, she came here for Lars! Rhodonite felt herself almost shift in her seat.

"Eeeehhhh …"

"Something on your mind, Rhodonite?" asked Lars, now coming over and catching up to the two. Rhodonite felt a wave of relief come up through her, a *phew* escaping her mouth.

"Thank the stars," Rhodonite thought.

"Well, alright, leave it to the expert then," Bill remarked, though it was more playful really. Lars chuckled but his focus was more towards the fusion. Rhodonite can talk a bit more freely now, as Bill went back to work.

"I don't know what to do, Lars: I just got caught up in the moment, a-and I MIGHT'VE said something I'm gonna regret later, but I DUNNO."

"Well, what is it you exactly said?" Lars asked.

"OK. You know how I've … kinda been trying to be a bit braver, right? Not so freaking out, or so much like that silly-looking farm bird," Rhodonite explained.

"Yeah …?"

Rhodonite took a breath. "I REALLY messed up! One of the Crystal Gems mocked me for being weak, and scared, and ya know being me, and guess what I ended up saying? "I'm gonna leave, and prove it!" And NOW I'm stuck with trying to be brave, and do something that's probably gonna be the end of me!"
And she ended her sentence with a face-plant to the table. It did catch attention from the other customers, but they didn't really bother her.

"Come on, Rhodonite, maybe this isn't that bad. Did you talk to the other Off-Colors before coming out here?"

"EH they're off guarding pony Little Homeworld … and Tiger's Eye is no help as ever," Rhodonite groaned, still remembering that face Tiger's Eye left her with. Lars got to thinking on how to handle this. He'd be lying if he said this was the first time Rhodonite went to him for some sort of advice on stuff like this, or most of her problems come to think of it.

"Ok. So you didn't say WHAT you were going to do, so why not just find something easy and work from there. I think Fishstew Pizza needs someone to take care of some gulls," Lars suggested. Rhodonite shivered on even hearing that name.

"I made a personal vow to never go anywhere near those birds. I didn't forget the incident at Funland!" Rhodonite made perfectly clear.

"OH! Sorry, forgot about that. Geesh, that was a nasty time, uh okay … wait, I know! You guys are always hunting monsters, right? Just go out and -"

"I'm trying NOT to do that!" Rhodonite cut in shakily, "They'll make a necklace out of me. I don't WANT to have to be brave!"

Lars began to feel some bit of reflection when Rhodonite said that, and Lars actually took a seat.

"You know what's funny? Neither did I."

"WHAAAT? No way you were a coward. I'M a coward, you're brave and smart and -"

"Ok ok, I get it," Lars said, not wanting Rhodonite to go on into another rant, "But speaking as someone who had to save my town from being a Warp Zone episode, you don't always have a choice."

"Who'd of thought that he was actually SCARED of anything before? I never did, and he had a point too: I mean, how many adventures did YOU all end up getting stuck into whether you wanted to or not?"
"Hmm … actually, a lot. I don't think there's one adventure that didn't start that way except for that one with the Changelings."
"And guess I added another one to the pile, huh?"
"Eh … yeah."

Rhodonite still felt unsure about the whole thing herself, slumped over in her seat, and finishing up her usual meal of sugary rolls.

"Well you're helpful," Rhodonite grumbled.

"Sorry, what do you want me to say? If you wanna be brave, you gotta, well, do it," Lars shrugged.

"Do WHAT though? It's not like my answer's just gonna walk right through that front door looking for me!"

*ring*

Some things just shouldn't be said. The Humans and Ponies amongst the crowd weren't fazed by the sound of the door, but when the other Gems inside saw who was coming in, they quickly donned their insignias of respect with their hands. Guess which Pearl was coming into the Big Donut today?

Well, a member closest to the Diamond Authority that's for sure, as the Pearl took a look around the establishment -

"Wait, stop the flashback! You're not making any sense: You met up with Yellow Diamond at … the Big Donut? What was she even DOING there?!
"I second that question."
"... Maybe I should explain before this "story" looks too contrived. *ahem* while Rhodonite apparently was there, I was back on Homeworld, trying to handle some unfinished business."
"Trying. … You mean ..."

"You did WHAT? Surely I could've handle this on my own!"

Yep, she mean. Yellow Diamond looked simply furious (or at the least frustrated) once she heard the latest report back in the Diamond palace, looking down at some of her subjects, which at the point looked stunned by the surprisingly negative response.

"I-I just thought that it would … be better?" the meek one-eyed Emerald said, but that didn't really help Yellow Diamond's anger.

"That's all well and good, but if I wanted an Emerald doing a Diamond's job, I would've told you! What am I supposed to do now?" Yellow Diamond demanded. One of the Gems under one-eyed Emerald's couldn't handle the freak out.

"S-Sorry my diamond, w-w-we thought it'll be safer!"

"...SSSSSAFER?" Yellow Diamond hissed through gritted teeth, some sparks jolting out from her. Yellow Pearl, who was standing nearby, had to jump back as some of those sparks were a little close. The one-eyed Emerald glanced to her subordinate briefly before looking back to her diamond.

"What my worker MEANT to say, is that we just figured that s-since you worked so hard already, we can handle the extra work," the Emerald said. "S-Speaking of which, is there anything else you want us to do, my Diamond?"

Yellow Diamond didn't answer at first, and eventually a rough huffed escaped her. She rolled her eyes.

"NO. That will be all," Yellow Diamond simply said, her clap sealing the deal and silencing anymore doubt and questions that would've come her way. The trio of workers went off out of the Diamond palace, a little more briskly than needed but soon it was just Yellow Diamond and Yellow Pearl. Yellow Pearl stood there, quiet and available as she usually was as Yellow Diamond took a seat on her throne. None of the other Diamonds were with her, so she couldn't talk to any of them right now. Speaking of which …

"Pearl."

"Y-Yes, my Diamond?" Yellow Pearl asked, a bit hesitant since Yellow Diamond was so angry.

"Open up the assigned tasks. … Is there ANYTHING available?" Yellow Diamond asked. Normally that was a bit of an odd question, but Yellow Pearl knew the circumstances and context to the request and opened it up on a nearby touch screen.

"As you wish, my Diamond. Hmm let's see … oh there's a rehabilitation - … no, no that's full. Wait, there's some terra - … wait, no -"

"Just let me see it," Yellow Diamond instructed, getting impatient. Yellow Pearl gave the touch screen to her Diamond quick and easy, and Yellow Diamond expanded it to give it a good look. The Diamond looked the list up and down, seeing if there was anything available for her to actually accomplish. But as she kept looking, even seeing working screens of on-site footage, she stopped when she saw BLUE Diamond out in the field, talking to some of the recovering Gems.

"Pearl, what am I looking at?" Yellow Diamond asked, turning the screen so Yellow Pearl could see.

"That would be Blue Diamond at the rejuvenation site, my Diamond," Yellow Pearl said, "she, uh, thought it would help the Gems recovering from … you know who."

Yellow Pearl didn't choose her words carefully enough, and a resounding crack crushed the touch screen. The Diamond tried not to just lose it, though she REALLY looked ready to just blow up for a few seconds until she just gave a long sigh, her head hanging off her shoulders, looking down to the floor.

"I. Can't. Believe this."

"Believe what, my Diamond?" Yellow Pearl asked, jumping up onto her throne's armrest, just for Yellow Diamond to get up and start pacing. The more she did this, the more a particular scene kept replaying through her head over and over again. And it was making her almost trigger-happy …

"... Pearl. Get off the throne," Yellow Diamond instructed.

"Yes, my Diamond," Yellow Pearl said, hopping off the throne, "I-Is something troubling -"

"RAH!" *BAM!*

And the throne was punched back right to the wall. Yellow Pearl yelped, covering herself as debris from the wall was tossed her way, but that was the least of her worries.

"Am I allowed to do ANYTHING ANYMORE?" Yellow Diamond screamed. It'd been long enough since she had gotten her frustration out. Even if it was just punching the daylights out of a chair, it still was enough to let out some steam and NOT make her just go a-wall on the whole palace. Much to her own surprise, she actually started hearing Yellow Pearl start taking a few steps away from her.

"... Pearl."

One word was enough to make Yellow Pearl stop, and turn around. She admired her, of course, but this was one of those times she'd rather not get shattered. Too bad she wasn't allowed to leave yet.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and I want a straight answer. … Do you think I'm …. mmmmm ……. weak?"

"NO, of course not my Diamond!" Pearl exclaimed, appalled on even thinking that, "WHY would you even bring yourself to ask that question?"

"Are you meaning that, or are you saying that because I'm your diamond?" Yellow Diamond asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion. Yellow Pearl's confidence was quickly muddled now.

"Whatever you want it to be," Yellow Pearl said, letting Yellow Diamond work it out for herself. It always worked well before, but Yellow Diamond just gave Yellow Pearl a look. … an uncomfortably long look.

"Go maintain a Ruby squad or something. I want to be alone for a while," Yellow Diamond decided, one hand over her face while the other shooed Yellow Pearl away. In one hand, Yellow Pearl felt relieved and she went off out the nearest door, leaving Yellow Diamond to her lonesome. Brewing.

"Even my own Pearl," Yellow Diamond thought. She went and opened up another touch screen to see what was there to do somewhere else. Clearly Homeworld wouldn't give her much of anything to do, so another planet could give her something to do. Hopefully.
She looked through colony after colony, but the results weren't all that impressive. Either the planet was all booked up or there wasn't a job that would suit Yellow.

"I hope your happy, Grogar, you single-handedly made all of Homeworld think that I can't do a thing on my own," Yellow Diamond thought, "If only I'd actually beaten that pathetic lifeform, none of this would've happened! I'll show them just what I can really do. … Isn't there anything on one of these planets that's dangerous?"

Then Equus flashed on screen briefly. It was brief, but Yellow Diamond stopped it just in time to see the planet Equus up on her screen. It still wasn't classified as a Gem colony by any means, and data of said planet still classified as, and it's quoted "too weird to bother with". She wrote that in herself. The more Yellow Diamond looked to it, the more the gears were turning in her head.

"Didn't Grogar come from Equus? … And there's quite a bit of organic lifeforms there too. … Very strong lifeforms. …"

She looked through some of Equus's files, and when one particular piece of information was brought up, then the idea clicked. After that, she turned off her touch screen and got up off her throne, heading towards the door.

"Pearl, come back! I got a more important mission for you," Yellow Diamond called, opening the door to go look for her Pearl … only to find her crouched right next to said door, ear on the wall.

"... heehh …"

"We'll talk about this later. Right now I got something else for you to do," Yellow Diamond said, ignoring the creeper aspect of Yellow Pearl's eavesdropping.

~~~~~~

"So Rhodonite did this so she can prove she isn't scared, and you did this so you can prove you're not weak," concluded Steven.

"I know I'm strong. … I just needed to remind everyone else," Yellow Diamond said. Spinel and Steven took a minute to take in what they heard so far, both sitting there, still confused but at least getting some context on this story. Steven looked back and forth between both Rhodonite the fusion and Yellow Diamond the, well, Diamond.

"And you're … not disgusted for working with a fusion? E-Er, no offense buddy," said Spinel, quickly correcting herself last second.

"No, no, I'm with you!" insisted Rhodonite. Weird, but okay. "How'd you think I felt when Yellow Pearl was asking ME to come out and see her?"

"I tried to find the Harmony Gems," corrected Yellow Diamond, "But NONE of you were around at the time, so I went with what was available."

"... I want you to think about what you just said. So what happened after she found you, Rhodonite?" Steven asked.

~~~~~~

"Well after going over my paralyzing fear of how out-of-nowhere and terrifying the concept was, I followed her right outside and back to the Temple. And wouldn't you know it -"

"WWWWHHHAAAA?!"

That was the main reaction for seeing Yellow Diamond herself, Yellow Pearl standing off nearby as Rhodonite was left almost paralyzed on the spot all over again. Out of ALL the Diamonds, did it have to be Yellow?

"Don't look like I'm going to shatter you," Yellow Diamond said, rolling her eyes.

"I-I-I-I-I-what'reyoudoinghere?!" Rhodonite asked, too shaky to actually speak properly. All by herself, with a being that essentially was in charge of her own race. Instead of answering Rhodonite though, Yellow Diamond looked over to Yellow Pearl.

"Harmony Gem?"

"I recognized her being with the Harmony Gems, my Diamond," Yellow Pearl said matter-of-factly. Rhodonite though quickly was shaking her head.

"OH no no no no you don't mean me, I-I'm just with a team that happens to be good friends with the Harmony Gems!"

"Close enough," Yellow Diamond sighed. Both fusion and diamond weren't thrilled on the answer, but Yellow Diamond got down on her knee to get a better look at the fusion, all the while her Ruby Button was trying to keep her Lavi Pearl from just going into a panic attack.

"Um … w-what is it you need? MYDIAMOND!" Rhodonite asked in a cold sweat. Yellow Diamond couldn't bring herself to swallow her pride and say it straight, so she worked out another excuse.

"I am here for some maintenance work."

"Maintenance?"

"Given how so much activity is happening back on Homeworld, there isn't any left to actually check in on the planet. And there hasn't been enough updates on this current world, so here I am," Yellow Diamond explained. Seemed like more than enough of a reason to be there, though Rhodonite was still a little unsure about it. Wouldn't she at least send Yellow Pearl to do that for her? She did that before after all.

"Whelp, we got it covered for right now, so you can just head back to Homeworld now," Rhodonite said. Bold, but safer than having her loom around. Yellow Diamond felt beside herself, but quickly got back to it.

"Well clearly something must've been overlooked. Like in Equus perhaps? Preferably by Little Homeworld?" inquired Yellow Diamond. Rhodonite, for a brief moment, dropped her fear and looked confused.

"Equus?"

"W-Well," said Yellow Diamond, realizing her slip, "Little Homeworld's connected to both worlds, so it's natural I'd check that too."

"Wait … did Yellow Diamond … slip up?" Rhodonite thought, but she didn't have a clue what that could be. Yellow Diamond cleared her throat.

"Anyway, since it appears the other Harmony Gems are … out for the moment, and clearly you don't have any idea, so I'll just be going."

"Great! Er - I mean - have a good time, my diamond!" Rhodonite said, both hands making diamond insignias. Rhodonite stood still as Yellow Diamond simply went off on her way. Clearly nothing was gonna get done over here with the fusion. Yellow Diamond started walking away, leaving the fusion feeling a wave of relief come over her.

"PHEW! That was WAY too close for my comfort. Now, what am I going to do about my other problem? ……."
But as Yellow Diamond was walking off further and further away, Rhodonite began to have a little bit of an itching. That kind of itch in her head saying there was something here that could … well … help her? …

You know, I gotta feel sorry for you: you don't enjoy life as much as you should.

You're A FUSION! Not only is that a pathetic tactic to begin with, but you can't even bring yourself to guard? you're nothing but a mess.

Rhodonite ended up with two hands slapping her forehead. "I'm nuts."

...

"YELLOW DIAMOND, WAIT!"
Yellow Diamond stopped herself a good couple of yards away when she turned back and saw Rhodonite getting enough courage to run towards her and not running away from her. Rhodonite only stopped when she was just five feet away from the giant Diamond.

"Now what is it? I have my own schedule to keep."

"I-I … I. I … Rhodonite just say it," Rhodonite told herself. She even had to slap herself first before blurting out "I WANNA GO WITH YOU!"

"...…. Excuse me?"

"J-Just for the day! I'm not gonna bother you, I'll just follow you. Don't even worry about me messing with you, I'm too much of a coward to do that!" Rhodonite insisted, a big smile in spite of how stupid it all sounded. Rhodonite didn't knew at the time, but that only got Yellow Diamond fuming even more. EVEN A COWARD believed she was weak?! The diamond clenched her fist, which made Rhodonite gulp.

"I can handle this by myself. THANK. YOU."

"I know you can, why wouldn't I think that, I just wanna tag along a-and uh ……. hang."

Hang?! No way she'd buy it.

"... Hang? What?" Yellow Diamond asked, legitimately confused by the term. Far as she knew, hanging out meant finding a cliff somewhere and dangle off of it or something, or at the least hang off of her arm. But looking at the fusion, she did NOT look ready to do that.

"I insist you not to hang off my Diamond, fusion. It wouldn't suit her well having someone hold onto her the whole duration of this visit," Yellow Pearl instructed.

"I mean kinda … maybe … stand by her. Like you do all the time! Except not exactly like you," Rhodonite said. Yellow diamond felt a cringe come up on her face, but suddenly an idea came through her head, legitimately thinking about it.

"Hmm ……. Yellow Pearl would just say what I want her to say," Yellow thought, "These two though … they wouldn't lie to their friends. And even for being flighty, they are still Harmony Gems. So they wouldn't just do what I say just because I'm their Diamond. …"

She made up her mind.

"I will allow it. JUST THIS ONCE."

"M-My diamond?!" asked Yellow Pearl, not believing it at first, but Rhodonite took it anyway.

"Thank you! I promise you won't regret it!"

"... Yeah. Sure," Yellow Diamond simply answered, starting to move off again. Rhodonite was still a little uneasy about doing this, but if it could help with her being so anxious, than it'll be worth it. Before Rhodonite could actually start moving, Yellow Pearl finally felt like saying something to her, clearing her throat and saying the following …

"If you are gonna … "hang". I insist you unfuse. You being like you are, It's making My Diamond incredibly uncomfortable," Yellow Pearl advised.

Rhodonite wrapped both arms around herself in a death grip, look of sheer horror on her face.

"Leave the cowering fusion alone, Pearl. They won't bother us anyway," Yellow Diamond ACTUALLY said. It still sounded just as cold though, Rhodonite feeling a shiver run through her body. But it wasn't just a shiver out of fear, or just a shiver from the cold. More like one of keeping together. But Rhodonite still stuck together, and took a breath.

"Keep it together. Keep it together. Stop being scared," Rhodonite told herself, as she began to follow Yellow Diamond.

"From there, with your Rhodonite following me and my Pearl, we ventured out from your planet and onto Equus. You STILL weren't available even while we were going through Little Homeworld, so there was no interruptions there. … Where were you anyway?"
"Oh, well Spinel and I were spending a lot of time in Pink Diamond's Garden, and we spent the rest of the night back at home so Spinel can get used to living with me."
"And we had to follow Flint to a distant forest. We'd come back sooner … well, if a giant fire mammoth didn't find us first, and nearly shattered him. But everything's much better now."
"...…. Anyway. I thought the travel there would've been longer, but lucky for me there wasn't that much haste in reaching my destination."
"So where'd you end up?"

The Warp Pad's workings were complete with little trouble sure, but as Rhodonite, Yellow Pearl, and Yellow Diamond looked around, their main location seemed … a little bit different.

"Wait a minute. Where're we? This doesn't look like Ponyville," Rhodonite questioned, not really comfortable with where they ended up. For that matter, it didn't look like they were even close to Ponyville over here, the main location being some rocky beach somewhere. The cold wind of the sea didn't make it any better, colder than Beach City even. Yellow Diamond stepped off of the Warp Pad, undeterred as she and her Pearl began to look around. Rhodonite gulped before joining Yellow Diamond in looking around for … whatever there was here.

"I never said I'd be going into Ponyville to handle maintenance. Anyway, weren't you just going to "hang" with me, not interfere with me?" Yellow Diamond made clear.

"Oh. … right," Rhodonite simply said. Yellow Diamond just looked to her briefly before checking around the rocky beach.
The three continued along the beach, not speaking a word to eachother as if this was just some casual stroll on the beach, all the while the two were in their own thoughts. Yellow Diamond was starting to get impatient.

"Pearl, go ahead and see if anything's here," Yellow Diamond ordered.

"Of course, my Diamond," Yellow Pearl said, before she sprung off ahead of them, barely even disturbing the sand as she went off ahead to scout the area. Rhodonite just stood there, glancing up towards Yellow Diamond as she crossed her arms, one finger tapping impatiently again.

"There's nothing here? … I should be happy about this, but …" Rhodonite thought.

"Come on, Pearl. There had better be something here, or so help me …" Yellow Diamond thought. She for sure didn't see anything, and neither did Rhodonite. But they both had the exact same thought.

"I can't go back with nothing."

…

"EEEHHHH!" *BLAWRR!*

"W-What was that?" yelped Rhodonite, instinctively hiding behind Yellow Diamond despite what she was there to do. Yellow Diamond looked down to Rhodonite, but strangely felt alright with her doing this.
And then in came back Yellow Pearl, running like mad away from whatever made that noise. The pearl didn't stop until she joined Rhodonite in hiding behind her Diamond.

"I believe we found it, my Diamond," murmured Yellow Pearl.

"Wait, wait, "found it"? Found what?! No one said anything about hunting something," Rhodonite asked.

"I thought you wanted to come with me," figured Yellow Diamond.

"To maintenance, not monster hunt," Rhodonite yelped, bold for a surprising moment before -

*BLAWRR!*

Then the creature that chased Yellow Pearl dragged itself out into view. Regardless if it was Equestrian or Earth-originated, it looked downright disgusting: a large, dragging creature hauling itself along the beach. It had no "legs" exactly, but instead a strong set of arms, a fat body, and a seal-like tail to move along the sand and rocks. The head of this strange creature was probably the thing that made Yellow Pearl freak out the most (and somewhat sick). Forward facing, bulging eyes, and a dangling lower jaw that almost looked unhinged, with two sets of forward-facing tusks. The skin of this creature glistened in the light, almost like it was slimy like a frog.
And it was easily joined by several others, some climbing over the rocks while some moved along the sand to confront the trespassers. Their *blawrr*s echoed all over again, their calls bellowing and somewhat juicy, like their mouths are filled with water. As gross and intimidating as they seem, there was just one small problem. …
They're all small. Well, crocodile-sized yeah, but to Yellow Diamond that was hardly anything.

"No. No, this CAN'T be the threat reported here, this is hardly anything," Yellow Diamond said in disgusted disbelief.

"I don't know, they look threatening to me," Rhodonite said, cowering behind her. Yellow diamond just looked around at all of the creatures, calling and bellowing at her. However, suddenly Rhodonite shook her head.

"Wait, no, what am I doing?! Ok, I gotta do this. I gotta be brave. I gotta be brave. I gotta -" Rhodonite started to gather her courage and move forward towards the creatures, only for one of them to suddenly push itself right over to her, rear back, and bellow right in her face. The bellow itself left Rhodonite frozen, hair blown back and saliva all over her face.

"You know what, another time," Rhodonite said, now feeling disgusted. And to make matters worse -

"PuNY ssLug!" the creature bellowed, before swiping at her, making her stumble back.

"OOOU PHIGHT!" bellowed another creature. Seemed these guys were smart enough to talk. But Yellow Diamond …

"... NO," she simply said, before charging up an electrical attack, and proceeded to blast at the pod of mermaid wannabes. The creatures croaked and roared on the electrocution, being defeated fairly quickly.

"I didn't come here for that, I want a challenge!" Yellow Diamond stated, annoyed. Rhodonite couldn't take it.

"Isn't this enough?" Rhodonite asked.

"NO! If I'm going to waste my schedule in fighting anything, I want it worth while, not just a bunch of organic soil," Yellow Diamond remarked angrily.

*BLAAWRRR!*

"You HAD to ask for it," Rhodonite murmured weakly.
Yellow Pearl, while disgusted by the smaller creatures, didn't get scared off by those things. There was one more coming in from behind the rock wall. Something bigger. MUCH. MUCH. BIGGER. Its skin was red, head more rounded with much larger lower tusks, aimed upwards like an ogre. Forearms flabby and muscular all at the same time, and its body large enough to cover a Ponyville train! The titan of a beast reared back into a standing position, arms spread, and mouth hanging open in a guttural roar.

"You're not thinking of fighting that thing," said Rhodonite meekly. However, seeing Yellow Diamond's face turn from surprise to a smile of righteousness was all the answer Rhodonite unfortunately needed.

"There's my challenge," Yellow Diamond said with a sinister grin. "Pearl, do NOT interfere. And make sure our "friend" doesn't get into trouble."

"Don't worry about it!" Rhodonite exclaimed, but Yellow Pearl kept Rhodonite at bay (not that it'd matter, Rhodonite wouldn't dare), but Yellow Diamond was more than willing to face this beast. THIS was just the thing to prove to Homeworld how strong she was. Yellow's fists clenched, both her and the beast staring eye-to-eye.

"IinSECT! OOFmY BeaCH!" The queen of the big nasty creatures bellowed, the voice barely recognizable from its loose jaws.

"You don't know it yet, but you're about to solve all my Homeworld problems. I'm ready," Yellow Diamond said, her fists sparking with electricity. Just get this defeated creature back home in a cage, and that'll more than prove to everyone how strong she is. The blubbery animal smacked its lips a bit before roaring at her.

"Pearl? PLEASE tell me what she's actually trying to do here," Rhodonite asked Yellow Pearl.

"You ask too many questions, fusion," Yellow Pearl said.

The fight then began.
The first to bring an attack to her opponent was of course Yellow Diamond, rushing forward with good speed and lightning shooting out of her. The blubbery queen roared and met her about a forth of the way, and they both clashed together. The beast felt itself stiffen from the electrocution, but unlike the smaller sea monkeys, this giant wasn't gonna just get knocked out THAT easily, and while it slid back from impact it still kept itself standing (er, not falling over anyway). Both Diamond and giant beast soon got themselves in a wrestling match, both locking grip with eachother and trying to push the other over. Yellow Diamond had her diamond strength, and given this beast didn't have magic for backup or anything to enhance its strength like Grogar did, this beast was being pushed back quite a bit.

"She's actually doing it," gasped Rhodonite.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Yellow Pearl said confidently, as she and the fusion watched Yellow Diamond push the leading beast into the rock wall with a loud thud, stray rocks and snow falling down onto them. While Yellow Diamond had her fight, there was another matter that started to become more apparent: the minions were waking up. Stunned, but able to move, and now ticked off! They saw their leader being pinned on the wall at first, bellowing but not trying to stop the Diamond.

"QUEEEN!" bellowed one of the creatures. So apparently, this was a girl. The queen tried a bite, but Yellow Diamond clamped her mouth shut, pushing her head into the wall.

"Okay, maybe this won't be so bad. Yellow Diamond's got the biggest problem, so maybe I just have to fight just one of these smaller ones. No one said I had to bring back something huge to be brave, right?" Rhodonite thought.

But then one of the beasts saw them. And as the one bellowed a guttural croak, the others of the pod turned and saw Yellow Pearl and Rhodonite.

"Oorr fight the whole group. That's a thing too," Rhodonite thought gravely. They couldn't handle their queen, but they can handle her subjects easily enough. The whole pod started to make their way towards the two Gems, Yellow Pearl and Rhodonite both sharing the same feeling of worry as several of these sluggish brutes crawled towards them, some even hauling themselves over eachother to get them.

"I'm gonna be sick," Yellow Pearl murmured.

"I guess this means we oughta go," Rhodonite said. The two were just about to do that, but three of the animals already were blocking the way. And one in particular flopped down right in front of them, rearing back with a fist raised. Rhodonite readied to run, but while Yellow Pearl was fast enough to bolt out of the way, the beast grabbed Rhodonite by one of her arms, punching her into submission.

"Let go!" Rhodonite pleaded, but the Sea Monkey was not gonna just let her leave. Another one of the creatures found hold of her other arm. These beasts were NOT working together on this, and Rhodonite was stuck in a tug of war. With HER as the rope.

"Ow! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"

"ET GOOO!" one of the beasts demanded, yanking very hard one way.

"U ET GOO!" the other beasts demanded, also pulling very hard the other way. Rhodonite couldn't get herself free, feeling her entire body start to widened, stretch -

*POOF*

And split! She wasn't poofed exactly, but Rhodonite was no longer there anymore, one of the beasts holding onto Lavi Pearl, and the other gripping Button Ruby. Even the beasts themselves were surprised, quickly throwing both Gems to a nearby rock wall. This caused the entire pod to go in an uproar, Button actually starting to freak out and make a run out of the way. Lavi however couldn't move.

"What is she doing?!" Yellow Pearl asked.

"Uh oh. LAVI, WAKE UP!" shouted Button. But Lavi wasn't listening, her focus too fixated on the looming creatures right in front of her, paralyzed in fear. The looming group crawled closer to her, with one of them almost on top of her. A low gurgle rumbled from its hanging jaws, saliva dripping down onto Lavi just before it made a guttural bellow right in her face.
It would've clamped down on her head too if Button didn't blindly bolt in and tackled Lavi away.

"S-Sorry, I forgot this here, I'm just gonna go now," Button quickly said. Button and Lavi didn't have time to fuse again, so Button lifted Lavi over her head and basically made a sonic dash away. The beasts bellowed and tried to catch up to them, but in this mess, they all then heard the bellow coming from their Queen, who herself was still struggling with Yellow Diamond.

"QUEEEN!" they bellowed, this time following her seemingly non-worded command and started for the Diamond. Yellow Diamond did see them coming, and raised her foot to send a thunderous stomp close to the pod.

"Just try it!" Yellow Diamond said with confidence. "I'm not going anywhere until I have my proof!"

"MY DIAMOND!" Yellow Pearl yelped.

The queen had her own dirty tricks. Looking back to the queen pinned, Yellow Diamond saw only the end of her tail, the queen's body looking almost folded in half for a brief moment. In a loud grunt, Yellow Diamond was forced off, the queen straightening her body with the wall as leverage, and sending the once triumphant Diamond off her feet. The smaller creatures scrambled out of the way, though some did end up stuck under the angry diamond. Feeling them squirm like worms under her back made Yellow Diamond herself feel grossed out. All Lavi, Button, and Yellow Pearl did was stand aside, not able to bring themselves to actually move to the fight.

"Get away from me, I don't want to fight you!" Yellow Diamond demanded, grabbing a number of the creatures and throwing them off of her like someone would to a bunch of leeches. But while the little guys were a nuisance, it was the queen who saw her chance, and suddenly Yellow Diamond found herself under tons of blubber. The queen got a good grip on Yellow Diamond's shoulders, biting into her neck, but Yellow Diamond wasn't going to go down like that and found the strength back to her feet.

"I WILL NOT LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!" Yellow Diamond exclaimed, finding her own grip on the giant slug of a queen, and swinging the beast over her head, the queen slamming into the rocky wall of the beachside. The impact shook the entire coastline.

*BRAAAWWWWW*
Shaking off the swing and crash, the queen sprung back to life, throwing off any rocky debris that landed on her. Rather than keep fighting though, the queen seemingly felt she didn't want to keep being pummeled around, and quickly dragged herself off of the beach and into the cold waters of the sea. The Diamond smiled, feeling empowered seeing that happen, more so when she saw the rest of the pod flee away from the beach.

"You did it, my Diamond!" applauded Yellow Pearl.

"Oh thank goodness," Lavi sighed, Button joining the applause. Yellow Diamond smiled.

"MUCH better. Pearl, have a report ready for Homeworld on my victory," Yellow Diamond instructed.

"DAAANG! Sure wish I could've seen that fight go down. You gotta tell me, did you do the surplex or the overthrow?"
"Sounds like an overthrow to me."
"It doesn't matter WHAT I did. For the moment, I only THOUGHT I won. …"

"Huh?" Button tapped Lavi's side, bringing that pearl to the attention of the rest of the pod. With them fleeing, you'd think they'd go into the water, but instead the whole pod was moving inland. Some even stopped just by the edge of the rocky cliffs of the beach, looking down as if anticipating something to happen.

"What're they doing up there?" Button wondered.

"I don't know. They just saw their queen get beaten, why would they stay?" Lavi wondered. Both Gems thought about it for a little bit, but then the same thought suddenly went by both their heads as they both looked out to the water.

"U-Uh … D-Diamond, we better go," said a shivering Lavi.

"Don't tell me you think it'll come back. I defeated her, you all saw it," stated Yellow Diamond.

"Y-Yes, of course we did, and it was brutal yet great," Lavi said quickly, not wanting to get on Yellow Diamond's bad side. However, Button kept her look out to the water, and soon saw a sight that made her shutter. The water was shifting. Fast.

"What's that?" Button asked, pointing towards the water.

By the time Yellow Diamond looked, the queen had made her return from the water in an explosion of waves and splatter. The lunge wasn't even calculated, as the queen made a head-first body slam right into the Diamond, launching both herself and her opponent into the rocky walls in a huge crash! Dust and stone flew everywhere, with Yellow herself now pinned to the wall for a moment. Angry, Yellow Diamond shoved the beast off of her, but as she tried finding her feet, she suddenly found herself staggering …

"OH NO. H-Her Gem cracked! Whatdowedo whatdowedo whatdowedo?" Lavi asked in panic, as the diamond herself glitched slightly. The queen may not have any clue how Gems operate, but she knew enough to see when her opponent's down.

"I can't fall again, not like this!" Yellow Diamond thought, trying to keep together, "Just deal with it. You got this -"
*BAM!* in a sloppy yet harsh swing of the arm, the queen knocked back Yellow Diamond. Normally this hit wouldn't be enough to knock her over, but her glitching made Yellow Diamond a little more unstable, and got her to her knees.

"M-My Diamond?!"

"Don't you DARE INTERRUPT THIS -" Yellow Diamond shouted, only for the queen to bring in another strong hit to the weakened Diamond's side, slamming her into the wall. The smaller subordinates to the queen roared and "cheered" for their queen, the blubbery monster going to town on the Diamond with harsh hits and bellows to the face.

"Okay, this is only ending one way. I'M COMING MY DIAMOND!"

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Yellow shouted. Yellow Pearl got decently close, but the queen moved to the side, her tail whacking Yellow Pearl square and sending her flying. The way she did it though, she didn't even mean to do that. It still got Yellow Pearl stumbling before she landed on her feet … only for her to be grabbed by one of the bloated seals. Yellow Diamond herself didn't even realize what happened just yet, the queen grabbing her by the collar and basically punching her lights out some more.

"Pearl! Diamond!" gasped a worrying Button, Lavi pulling at her hair but not sure what to even do. Yellow Pearl, disgusted and terrified, struggled to pull herself free but the nasty beast kept a strong bite on her arm. She was NOT going anywhere, not by its teeth.
As for the queen, the beast finished off her showdown of the Diamond by simply turning around, and slapping her tail on Yellow's face. The whole pod then basically scrambled out of there, taking Yellow Pearl with them, and going right out to the ocean.

"Get back here, you cowards! We're not done!" Yellow Diamond exclaimed, only to glitch out once again.

~~~~~~

"BUT it was the end," concluded Rhodonite meekly. "Yellow Pearl was taken, and we both … let it happen."

"Speak for yourself," Yellow Diamond huffed. "I could've finished it off. I knew I could've but she HAD to turn tail and just leave us there. … With a cracked Gem. …"

"Sweet Luna," remarked Rainbow Dash, "Guess it wasn't one of your better days, huh?"

Yellow Diamond glared at the mouthy Pegasus, but she didn't bother giving her an answer for satisfaction on Rainbow's end. Out of all of the crowd though, Spinel actually seemed the most surprised.

"C'mon you're joshing," Spinel insisted, smile and shrug, "I mean, this is just some sloppy organic. Eh, no offense Steven, you're a powerhouse Human in my book, but NO WAY you saying that it actually got the better of ya! Right? … Right? …"

Yellow Diamond may be proud, but she was not cowardly, especially since she had a witness to confirm everything did happen that way. The others didn't want to really say the Diamonds "string of defeats" to Spinel just yet, especially with Yellow Diamond standing right there, but all of those memories quickly kept going through their heads as they thought about it. It was at least a lot for a Diamond to deal with anyway.
With all that thought up though, Starlight suddenly gotten her own memory working its gears.

"Wait a minute. What … exactly was it you all fought? Not that "queen of the ugly nasty things" wasn't a good description already," Starlight inquired. Rhodonite shivered.

"W-Well, she was big. REALLY big. She was red, and sort of uh … crawled on the floor?" Rhodonite said.

Starlight wasn't getting a good enough picture, and then looked over towards Yellow Diamond instead.

"Fine. It was a large creature, about my height, with a … Gem-like face. Can't believe I just said that. With one set of upper limbs, and a pair of rather disgusting-looking teeth." Yellow Diamond shivered a little, but Starlight got to thinking, hoof scratching her chin.

"Gem-like face … upper limbs … disgusting looking teeth - oooohhhh MY GOSH It's Leviathan!"

"Levi-who?" Spinel asked.
Starlight, probably caught up in the moment, worked her own magic and summoned up the exact creature in question (well, a hologram. She wasn't dumb enough to do that). Just seeing the hologram of Leviathan made Steven back up. The hologram altered and basically acted out the story Starlight went on to explain.

"Leviathan: according to legends, ponies used to rule all of Equus, both the land and the sea. But thousands of moons ago, Leviathan emerged from the dark abyss to claim the sea as her own. She was so powerful and ruthless that it drove all the Ponies out of the ocean, and onto land. Seaponies, Sirens, you name it, none of them could match her. She would've taken over all of the land as well, but then -"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT, don't tell me: Celestia and Luna right? Somehow they always get involved in these stories," said Emerald. Starlight turned to him with a perplexed look.

"Uh, no. Starswirl the Bearded," said Starlight, as if it was something that was obvious. "Leviathan was so close to taking over, and when she saw Starswirl she thought it wouldn't be anything. But the battle was short, and it was Starswirl's wit and magic that subdued the power-hungry queen. He couldn't put her back in the ocean, but he couldn't keep her on land either. So instead, he simply left her on the beach where she was defeated, keeping her locked deep within a seaside cave, where she remained … until now apparently."

"Something we could've known earlier," growled Yellow Diamond, as Rhodonite nodded. Well, at least hearing this, Yellow didn't feel as pathetic for being beaten by her. … She still felt ticked off though.

"Well Don't feel bad for being beaten, Yellow. It's not like we had the perfect track record either," said Starlight.

"Can we just continue the story before this becomes a emotional wreck?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, yeah of course. So you lost Yellow Pearl, and then what? Did you go back and save her?" Steven asked.

"Not right away," replied Rhodonite.

~~~~~~

"With Yellow hurt, and me split up, we kinda had to stay by the beach for the night. It wasn't like there was anywhere else we could go."
"What about the Temple? Little Homeworld? The Barn? … The Arcade?"
"OK, anywhere else we WANT to go. It was … awkward."

No better word to actually describe the situation Lavi, Button, and Yellow Diamond were in. Still by the rocky beach, the trio remained there as sunset started to end. Yellow Diamond was keeping quiet, huddled up from the embarrassment and not saying a word. She couldn't go back, not without her Pearl and NOT with a crack in her own Gem. She could feel herself glitch again, her hand pressing against her own Gem. Lavi wouldn't dare talk to Yellow Diamond like this, but cautious Button at least stood closer to her. Button gulped.

"...…. M-My Diamond? … Is everything -"

"Don't talk to me."

"Oh ……. thought about how to get Yellow -"

"I said. DON'T. TALK."

Button could see Yellow won't be speaking to anyone anytime soon. So, hands raised, Button backed away to a much safer distance, as Yellow Diamond just sat there. Once far enough away, Button went right back over to Lavi, who was simply sitting by a shallow pit by the rocks.

"She's still silent over there?"

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever heard of her acting like this before," Button replied. Both Gems looked over to Yellow Diamond, who was simply sitting there still, the two unsure if she could hear them or not.

"... Do you think she's gonna be okay when she gets back to Homeworld?" Button asked. Lavi scoffed.

"She's a Diamond, Ruby, I've heard she's got her own healing pool in the palace. … Or was it a sauna? Hmm …"

*CAW*
It was a distant call of a nearby seabird, but with them out alone it still made them both jump a little bit. Lavi moved closer to her Ruby friend for some protection.

"Oohh, I hate staying out at night," Lavi said.

"Me too, Pearl. But all the brave people do it, and if we want to be brave we got to do it."

"Easy for you to say. At least you were made to be a soldier," Lavi remarked, before another seabird distant caw made them both come closer together. With their latest "fight" with Leviathan's minions, who knew what else could be there lurking just beyond the rocks?

"... You know … maybe if we faced something very scary, everything else gets easier," suggested Button.

"Y-You don't say."

"...…. You know what I think? … Maybe if WE faced that queen. You and me. Then after that, we wouldn't be afraid of anything else, ever again."

Did Button REALLY suggest that? Lavi sprung to her feet on that answer, horrified.

"What?! Ruby, she isn't like us, she isn't even like her!" Lavi said, pointing to Yellow Diamond, "She can crush us if she wanted to, w-without even trying!"

"I know, that's the point! If we can be brave against that, how can we be scared of anything else? Besides, Yellow Pearl's stuck with them, someone has to help her so ..." Button pointed out. Lavi still was convinced that it wasn't a good idea, but …

"... Do we dare?" Lavi quietly asked. Button looked back to Yellow Diamond one more time, this time not wanting her to see them in what they're about to do.

"I think we have to. …"

"Sorry to be the blunt stick here, but you do know that makes no sense right?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"So where're they?"

With Yellow Diamond behind them, Lavi and Button went right back to the beach, going along the same area of coast where they encountered the creatures. Leviathan may be huge but she couldn't move THAT fast. Nothing was around the beach though, at least not from what they could see. All they found was sand, rocks, and water for the most part.

"Let's see. When the fight ended, they all went into the water, so they're either there … or not. Hmm …"

Jump cut to them underwater. They didn't need to breathe since they were Gems, so going underwater was no problem for either Gem to do. They looked around the shallow coast, mainly being sand and water and … well that's it. Lavi did get spooked by a small fish swimming by her face, but that was about it. Calling for Yellow Pearl didn't help either since they … you know. Can't talk underwater.
Cut back to them on land, now soaking wet as Lavi got the saltwater out of her hair.

"Ok, so they're not underwater," Button concluded. They did that for nothing.

"I wish we didn't have to go home to insults," said Lavi, "Where is that Yellow Pearl?"

"Maybe they hid her somewhere. Now if I was a good hiding place, where would I be? …"

*BLAWRR!*

Button and Lavi gasped on hearing Leviathan's guttural grunt from a little too close. Most of their being kept saying to stay away, to go run back home and hide, but the rest of their being was just strong enough to make them go and investigate what the sound actually was.
Lavi and Button, after a quick yet quiet approach, peeked pass some of the rocks and looked onward towards the long stretch of beach. The ENTIRE POD was there, sleeping and lounging in the dim light of dusk. Many of these mini-Leviathans looked passed out on the sand, like a whole pack of sleeping dogs with some even snoring good and loud. It wasn't the best sight they've seen. As they kept looking around, they did find the good sight in this sea of bad: Yellow Pearl herself, standing on top of a very tall pillar of rock just off the coast.

"There she is! Yellow, over - MMRR!"

"Will you be quiet, you're gonna wake them up," Lavi said, keeping Button's mouth shut. Luckily her outburst didn't even come close to wake them up.

"Ruby, I know we wanna be brave, but can we just focus on getting Pearl out of here? … Please?" Lavi asked, hands on Button's shoulders. Button looked back towards Yellow Pearl off the coastline, the Gem actually sitting in the same position her Diamond was. Rescue now, brave later.

"Okay," Button answered.

"Good Gem," Lavi stated.

Then came the task of actually reaching her without waking the entire pod. They were furthest inland, and they had to pass through at least some part of the pod in order to get to the water. The task itself though was far easier said than done, much of the pod sleeping very close to eachother, some even on top of one another as if someone just flopped them there.
It was a delicate dance, and both Gems were being very careful not to wake any of them up. Pearl with her longer legs and slender frame made it look somewhat easier than Button, who had to actually jump once or twice just to keep up with her Pearl friend. If any of them touched and woke up at least one, then the whole pod will follow and they weren't up to facing the entire pod. YET. But things were about to get worse: one of these creatures suddenly yawned and stretched its arms … and wrapped around Button's leg!

"Pearl. PEARL," Button squeaked. Lavi stopped and turned around, almost screaming when she saw Button in her predicament.

"OHSTARS, uh … Ruby. Move. Slowly," Lavi said in a hushed voice. Button looked down to the slightly smaller animal (smaller compared to other members of the pod, anyway), and ever so slowly and gently, Ruby tried pulling her leg free of the animal. As she kept moving though, the young sea monkey actually tighten its grip in a grunt.
It must've been dreaming during this, because after that it began to lick Button's leg like a hungry dog to its favorite bone. And then …

*CHOMP*

"...…. Whatever," Button squeaked, her mouth struggling not to scream from the pain of those teeth. After getting over that, Button tried to get herself free again, but this time Lavi helped her out and got her loose before the animal could get its grip on either of them again. Lavi moved at a more quick haste, and soon she and Button were at the shoreline, the wave rushing against their feet as they looked on to the outcrop. Button and Lavi looked out to the rock.

"Ready?" Button asked, extending a hand to Lavi. Lavi was scared, but they couldn't turn back now.

"Okay. Let's go," Lavi answered, holding Button's hand.
Time to go out to the water. Lavi and Button didn't have to go that far out into the ocean this time, the water being up to Lavi's waist by the time they made it to the rocky outcrop. The only thing they got to do now is climb up the rock itself to reach Yellow Pearl. Button started up first, being more built for this than Lavi was. Even if she would slip on the wet rock, Lavi was right behind her to push her up and keep themselves going.

In no time, they got to the top.

"Pearl!" gasped Button. Yellow Pearl looked like a complete mess when the two found her; her hair scrunched up in several places, looking cold and soaking wet, and basically looking like just finished a bad wrestling match. Yellow Pearl jumped when she heard the two, but immediately she felt overjoyed, finding someone who wasn't gonna be beating her up tonight.

"OH THANK THE DIAMONDS, someone came for me! You don't even wanna know what those horrid things were doing to me! Gnawing at me, keeping me stuck up here like I'm some tool, or jewelry, not letting me - oh who cares? I'm just so glad you're here!" Yellow Pearl said, down on her knees and holding onto Lavi for some support. This was a first - typically they were the ones doing that to someone else, not the other way around.

"It's alright, Pearl, get a hold of yourself, then we'll go back," said Button, holding Yellow Pearl by the hand, and ready to climb back down. While Button and Lavi were more than ready to go, Yellow Pearl suddenly stopped herself when she looked down and realized what they were gonna do. Going back down off of the outcrop, right to the entire pod of beasts.

"I can't."

"You can't?" Button asked. Yellow Pearl got Button to let go of her, and stepped back to the center of the rock, sitting back down and this time staying there.

"Come on, before they wake up," Lavi said, just about ready to jump down.

"Uh, we're a little bit stuck. Any ideas?" Button asked. Lavi knew FAR too well what she meant. Unfortunately, Lavi couldn't think up of what to do now.

"N-No, sorry."

"So, what, we're stuck here? No one else is coming?! W-What about my Diamond, SHE'S coming right?!"

"SSHH! … We don't know, she didn't want to talk and she's huddled up somewhere, so … don't think she's coming," Button admitted. No that didn't help. Yellow Pearl gulped, but again didn't move.

"N-No, no, that's fine. I'm sure my Diamond will know we're all here, and she'll come and save us. YEP. All we gotta do is wait here and maybe she'll save us."

"You said "maybe" that time," said Button. Yellow Pearl turned back to them.

"Well, EXCUUSE ME Ruby if I'm not at least a teeny bit nervous that my Diamond's cracked somewhere, and I'm trapped up here on this outpost with all those disgusting clumps of dirt right there, just waiting for me to mess up and jump down there. I was lucky to even make it up here!"

"QUIET. Wait, they didn't put you up here?"

"Of course not, I had to climb up here. They left me up here," Yellow Pearl answered.

"We can't wait for her, if we're gonna leave, I vote we leave now before they know what's going on. I don't want to fight an entire horde tonight," Lavi said. Yellow Pearl turned to her fellow Pearl.

"I can't leave without my Diamond!" exclaimed Yellow Pearl.

"Why not?!" Lavi retorted, "Do you want to stay here?"
Now Yellow Pearl started to feel insulted, standing up to her fellow Pearl as Button stepped back.

"My duty as a Pearl is to always be with her owner at all times. Yes, I'm not with her now, but that's even more of a reason that I can't leave her without her consent. In other words: I'm not leaving my master to these things!" Yellow Pearl insisted.

"That's stupid! If you don't want to stay here, then just go, you don't have to wait on Yellow," Lavi said. Yellow Pearl then said something that'll change the whole night.

"What do you know?! I'm trapped here and my master's somewhere cracked open, one mistake and I can be shattered - SHE can be shattered! how do you know how that's supposed to feel like? None of you understand the situation I'm in right now!"

That triggered it. Lavi stayed quiet, but her expression turned cold, and she went right up to Yellow Pearl.

"Take that back right now."

"What?"

"You're talking to what could possibly be the most cowardly, and pathetic Pearl made in the entire universe, stuck with a Morganite master who's always forcing her to do everything she didn't want to do. When I met Ruby, I thought I finally found a way to have some security someone to actually understand me, and what do I get? WE GET REPLACED. Next thing I knew, we were stuck in the Supreme Kindergarden, running, hiding, and for a chance of pace we ran some more, trying to stay alive as YOUR robonoids constantly searched for us and tried to kill me and Ruby! Try hiding for six thousand years and THEN talk to me about being scared!"
Lavi was almost crying at that point ...

*HUFF* a HUGE sudden gust of wind blasted by the three in a short burst, the scent of rotten fish now hanging in the air. Lavi, Button, and Yellow Pearl turned towards the sea, only to find the upper face of Leviathan herself staring right at them. snarling a little bit.

"... Oh yeah … we were supposed to be quiet …"

All Leviathan had to do was make a guttural roar that shook the ground, and the sheer force launched all three Gems right off of the rock, landing right into the entire pod. Even if they didn't land on top of some of the sleeping creatures, the roar alone was more than enough to alert the entire pod. Button was bucked off of one of the mini-Leviathans, the Ruby landing outside of whole pod as they started to circle the Pearls, the queen herself circling passed the rocky outcrop and heading inland towards them.

"Cooomb hERe BIrDie," one of the creatures said, closing the gap between it and Yellow Pearl. Lavi stood there in complete fear herself, legs shaky as she kept watching this whole ordeal unfold. Yellow Pearl tried backing away from the beast, just to back right into another one that kept her still. Yellow Pearl wasn't moving.

"Now, I don't know what happened. Maybe she got too freaked out, maybe Yellow Pearl did something. Whatever it was … something in her snapped."

"THIS WAY, YELLOW!"

In a blind dash, Lavi raced forward with all her speed, dodging a few swiping hands and she leaped in between both Yellow Pearl and the oncoming creature. It was just the distraction Yellow Pearl needed, and both Pearls were off running, the entire pod trying to catch them. Yellow Pearl was held onto by Lavi, holding her hand as Lavi bolted left and right to avoid getting caught. Both Pearls were agile in their run, but Lavi was just a little bit more jumpy in movement, making it even harder to catch her. The beasts were either hitting eachother or slamming the ground more than actually reaching them.
It was a gamble, but Lavi and Yellow Pearl got themselves free of the pod and bolted off down the beach, Button joining them as the pod began to give chase. A whole wave of seal monsters sloppily following them and trying to capture them all over again. The three kept themselves ahead of the pod, moving much faster than the pod, but they abruptly stopped once they rounded the corner, slamming into something somehow harder than the rock.

Take a wild guess.

"JASPER?!" gasped Button and Lavi.

"I was wondering when she was going to show up."

"You AGAIN?" Jasper huffed, "What do you want now?"

"Again?" Yellow Pearl asked.

"Wait, but how'd - you were - ok, you know what who cares?! Here, can you take her, we got to go before they find us here!" Lavi said, pushing Yellow Pearl into Jasper, as they heard the distant calls from the oncoming horde. Unfortunately, Jasper pushed them away from her.

"First you're too scared to guard your post as a fusion, NOW you think you can give ME an order. Make up your mind, will you?" Jasper said harshly.

"I would if we had time," Lavi said, just before the horde came into view. Several of the miniature Leviathans "washed" into view, scrambling over eachother and stopping once they saw the more brutish looking Gem in front of them. The queen loomed in on them shortly afterwards, her shadow hovering overhead.

"Do I even ask …?"

"We thought - … or, I thought," explained a shuttering Button, "That if we dared to fight them, we'd never be scared of anything again."

Jasper compared the three Gems to the giant organic and only had one thing to say as she dawned her Gem weapon of choice. …

"There's daring. And then there's DUMB."

And without any further hesitation, Jasper moved them aside, and faced the entire pod head on.

"Not again," thought Button and Lavi.

Jasper's fight went much differently than Yellow Diamond's fight earlier: the first Mer she rushed she did a uppercut with her head to the jaw, knocking its head back before giving it a swift punch to the chest, sending it flying out of the way before she clocked two more in the side of their heads. The left one was knocked out, but the right one still tried hitting her, just to get its arm in a vice-grip, and to be swung like a huge mace. Only one of the creatures actually got her in the face from a sideswipe. It barely was much but Jasper was impressed with how much power was actually in that hit.

"That all you got?" That same mini-Leviathan then got a fist in the mouth. The animal gagged a little before it got swung around, knocking back four more beasts before Jasper swung the unfortunate creature right at the queen's face. The Queen of the Ugly Nasty Creatures wasn't gonna take that laying down.

"IiIinsECT!" the queen bellowed, staggering right towards Jasper. Some of her subjects scrambled aside, as those unfortunate enough to move too slow were whacked aside. Now, the trio saw what it could do to Yellow Diamond already, so what chance did Jasper had compared to this monstrosity? But while Yellow Diamond may be stronger than Jasper, one thing kept Jasper just ahead of this monster.

Speed.

The queen swung her arm down, but Jasper jumped back to let her slam her webbed hand into the ground. The Quartz then got moving, stomping on the queen's hand and possibly cracking a finger before rushing up the beast's arm. The queen tried clamping her wide jaws on Jasper, but only clamped down on her own arm instead. Jasper raced up to the beast's head, which she tried to crush under a fist but again, only struck herself instead like a hammer to the head. The orange Quartz jumped right up to the rocky cliffside above the monster. Jasper started rolling in her sonic-style wrecking ball, and blasted herself straight down. Right down on the queen's head. OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
The queen couldn't connect now, getting struck by this insect at least twenty times in a row before Jasper found her landing off in front of the now dazed Queen.

"mmiSHURble WURM! NOT AGAIN!" the queen bellowed in a daze. Jasper didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but she didn't care. Rolling her eyes, she found a decent-sized boulder along the rocky coast, single-handedly picked it up, and threw it right at the queen's face. In one more groan, the queen collapsed right down onto the beach.

The Queen of the Ugly Nasty Creatures was down.

"It's about time SOMETHING happened on these patrols," Jasper scoffed, giving the queen a small kick before walking away. All of her subordinates quickly bolted away out of sight, not wanting to end up like Leviathan.

"What. Just. Happened?" Button meekly asked, reminding the orange Quartz who else was actually there.

"Work getting done."

~~~~~~

"So we all went back to here, and that's the story of how we ended up like this," finished Rhodonite.

"Woooow," said Spinel.

"Some story," said Steven, "Glad you all got out of that okay though. Well, more or less."

"Yeah, thanks," sighed Yellow Diamond, keeping her gaze away. Steven knew this sign.

"... You care to talk about it?"

"Why, we just finished the whole story for -"

"No, no, not that. You still look like you want to say something," Steven pointed out. Yellow diamond wished it wasn't that obvious, but at this point … well, no point was even left, so why bother hiding anymore? Especially after THAT performance. Button at least tried to talk to her about it already. Upon that, she turned to them all and looked down to everyone like a diamond would usually do.

"I wanna make it clear, I'm not weak," Yellow Diamond made perfectly clear, in spite of her appearance, "I don't care how many times I seemingly have "a bad day", I'm stronger than all of you. Don't forget that. … And promise me you won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Oh don't worry, lips are considered zipped," Spinel promised, even zipping her lips herself to be sure. Yellow diamond tried not to laugh again.

"Sure, we'll keep quiet for you," added Starlight.

"Promise," added Rainbow Dash.

"As long as it's helping you out," concluded Steven.
As long as at least THEY didn't actually try and spread the word about this, they should be all good. Yellow didn't want Homeworld to have more reasons to try and keep her from doing things. Rhodonite felt some relief too, even if this promise wasn't focused on her.

"PHEW, okay so now that our silly story is over, we can just go on and forget it even happened," Rhodonite said with a smile.

"Silly story? What're you talking about, we were hooked and you acted like a hero by the end of it," insisted Starlight. Rhodonite immediately flustered, but that opinion was agreed by the others in the crowd.

"ME? No, no, I'm a coward myself. I mean, they didn't even fight, they just ran around," Rhodonite insisted.

"Well maybe you didn't fight, Rhodonite, but surely you can't keep calling yourself a coward after what you did. You saved Yellow Pearl's life," Steven pointed out. Rhodonite again felt a blush coming up, replaying what Lavi did for Yellow Pearl that night with those Leviathans.

"But … Lavi did that without thinking," Rhodonite said. Rhodonite than felt someone wrap their arm around her shoulders, only to see Emerald next to her.

"Give yourself some credit, Rhody: It might not make sense, but HEY, you got the guts to try so that counts for something," Emerald said. "any real coward wouldn't even bother."

"Besides," added Jade, "If you didn't do anything, who knows what would've happen to Yellow Pearl that night. You did a great job, Rhodonite."

"No she didn't," Jasper huffed. Emerald's glare got her to be quiet, but Rhodonite knew what her friends were trying to say.

Standing off nearby, Spinel was finding herself smiling for a bit. It might not be attention to her for the moment, but seeing them act this way despite Rhodonite basically not doing much by the end of the day. The Gem then felt another hand on her shoulder, seeing the one that helped her here in the first place, him having a similar smile.

"You know, once upon a time she would get in big trouble for that. But now …" Spinel said, referring to Rhodonite and her adventure.

"One mistake isn't going to stop their relationship with her, Spinel. They still like her even if she didn't do what she set out to do," Steven said. For a moment, both of them just watched them chat on for a bit, seemingly getting the same idea after a little bit. Spinel spoke first, hands together.

"Steven? I think I'm ready to see your other friends."

"Yeah. Me too."

And the Warp Pad went off. Talk about timing again. Spinel and Steven might've already worked out who was coming back to see them, as the light of the Warp Pad cleared and a few figures could be seen within said Warp Pad. Spinel herself still wondered how quickly they were going to accept her back into the group after what she did to them (and come to think of it, what she did to Flint). Steven though made a silent gesture with a nod and a smile to promise it'll work out, as they saw Bismuth, Flint, and -

"Sapphire. ..." Steven said softly.

"OK, we're back. Sorry it - … Spinel!" said Bismuth. Spinel and Steven could already sense the tension.

"Everything's chill now!" they both said, right at the same time before any weapons could be drawn out.

"Huh? You … remember, by the look of it, but you're not gonna hurt anyone," concluded Flint.

"Cross my Gem, and hope to die! … though I prefer not to. Sorry about my past me bugging you so much, by the way," Spinel said, getting that out of the way before anything else.

"Guys? Is she …" Steven pointed to Sapphire. Bismuth nodded.

"Yep. She's back," Bismuth revealed.

"Steven. …" Sapphire said.

There was a moment of silence between Steven and Sapphire, the blue Gem walking over right to Steven first, even moving her hair aside to see Steven clearly. No injuries anymore, no missing eye, and he looked older and taller than the last time she saw him.
Steven felt his mind start to wander. He still killed her technically back on Homeworld (even if Grogar faked it to torment him more). He still defied her, yelled at her, and took her down just because he wouldn't listen to her or Ruby. He could feel a cold sweat come up, his reassuring expression now gone. Steven took a deep inhale, calming down and ready to talk.

"Okay, I know what you're going to say to me, and you're right: I should've listened to you back on Homeworld. I acted selfish, and destructive, and … I let you down. I'm sorry."

… Sapphire hugged Steven tight.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Steven. …"

She didn't need to say anything else anymore, and neither did Steven. Steven could feel tears start to come up, but he couldn't leave a hug un-returned, and he gave Sapphire a hug right on back. Steven had been itching to figure out how they would truly react to him, and seeing Sapphire's love come flooding back to him was just the thing he needed. It was only one, but it's a start.
The others could feel some emotion come up too, but Spinel was literally on the verge of just baling, her eyes very watery. But these tears were a good feeling to the Gem.

"H-Hey. Are these emotional moments gonna be a thing?" Spinel asked, smiling. Bismuth rubbed away a tear.

"Yep. And don't worry, you're never gonna get over em," Bismuth replied, giving Spinel a pat on the shoulder.

"... That's good. …"

Author's Note

Yellow Diamond and Rhodonite double team ……. this is about as opposite as you can get I think. Sorry this took so long, I was trying to get this done before Steven Universe: Future aired, but i guess that didn't happen. Sorry. BTW, had fun seeing the latest episodes of the Epilogue series, go have fun watching them if ya can ^^

I'm HOPING to make one more chapter before December 25th comes, but in case it come up late ... consider this my Christmas episode :twilightsmile: . Enjoy this chapter. :)

Snowfall Stars PT1

A lone bus going through the countryside. With the winter snow along the ground every which way, the entire world alongside the traveling locomotive was a blanket of glistening white, some trees looking like cauliflower they held so much snow up, and farmland and open grass a landscape of cold, quiet snow dunes. Passengers riding in the bus were only seeing a few wild cows going about the snow like semi-domestic tanks, pushing the snow away to get to the grass underneath. As for the passengers, at least one of them was both sight-seeing on his way back home, and writing down his thoughts within his own journal he had with him.

Dear Diary: There has been a unfortunate snag in my efforts to get back home in time, but now I'm working my way back to Beach City. I'm more than looking forward to returning to my town again after many a week in my acting career attempts. I don't think my heart can take anymore disappointment. One more rejection would destroy my fragile heart. Alas, my heart still is beating for the one waiting for me. My Sea Angel, my dearest Lapis Lazuli. I hope I didn't tick her off because I was late for the bus for a few more days, but I'm sure the holidays will rekindle that pain. Well, the Equestrian Holidays, we don't have anything this time of year. Besides, I believe I got a grand return that could make up for it. Anyway, Let's wait and see.

…….

"Ok, Spinel, watch closely," Steven instructed. Spinel, curious about some of this new stuff, kept her gaze ever so focused right on the objective in front of her, chin on the table counter. Steven actually joined her in doing so, with one hand holding something else to add into the object in question. Steven made it very careful to not add too much flour into the container, stopping almost perfectly on the line.

"Is that it?" Spinel asked, a bit surprised how mundane it actually was.

"Yep. Now we got our mixture, we can get it onto its pan, and right in the oven. We'll have our banana upside-down cake in no time. Spinel, if you would do the honors," Steven concluded, reaching to find the cooking pan as he gave the baking mixture to Spinel for the final piece. Spinel looked to the mixture and then to the pan. She had been watching this whole process go down for at least an hour, something had to give.

"Alrighty, here we go … here we go, one. Two. Here we go!" Spinel attempted to roll the container along her spaghetti arms like a basketball. She got that part down right, and she even landed it right in her hands so it was upside-down. But she did NOT plan for the splash back. Plop it all at once made plenty of it fly out of the pan, some of it on the floor or on their faces.

"... Uh … Spinel?"

"Why does this work for Pinkie, and not me?" Spinel questioned, her elastic tongue licking all of the mixture off of her face in one clear sweep. "... Still delish though."
Steven did the less gross option and got himself a towel instead, wiping off the dough.

"If you EVER want to compete with Pinkie Pie and her baking, you better get your big boy pants on. You need to be expert level before attempting to do any of her tricks. Trust me, I've tried … didn't end too well," Steven explained. :Let's just say it was a much bigger mess when he tried it WAY back in the day. So with what mixture they got left in the pan, all they had to do was get the pineapple in it. As he was reaching for it though, the tropical fruit wasn't there.

"Hey, did you move the pineapple?"

"Don't look at me," Spinel shrugged. Before any of them could even look, suddenly there was the Pineapple, held right in Steven's face.

"Here you go," said Flint. Guess he got to it first, though he acted like it was no big deal.

"Thanks, Flint," Steven said, taking the pineapple from him and placing it on the cutting board. Flint stood nearby, hands behind his back as he casually observed Spinel and Steven proceed to cut up the fruit. Spinel was a little sloppy with her cutting, but it came out alright in the long run.
Soon they got two different sides to the Pineapple Upside-down cake: Steven's side with flat rings, and Spinel's side with diagonal for some, and halves for others that look like triangles of cheese.

"I think we did pretty good," said Spinel.

"Not bad for the second time," agreed Steven. Spinel and Steven high-five'd eachother, but before Steven could actually move it into the oven, Flint stepped in again.

"Can't I just put it in there? You might get burnt," Flint suggested.

"Flint, the oven's not even on yet. Just have a seat, we can handle this," Steven pointed out, his hand inside the oven and waving it around, not feeling any heat. Flint didn't give Steven anymore answers and while Steven and Spinel got the oven on and the upside-down cake inside, all Flint could do was go right back to the couch, and sit right back down.

He was not enjoying himself at all.

"There. Soon as that's done, we can go right on to decorating it. What kind of icing do you want?"

"Yes, chef, all of em," Spinel replied after licking her lips. Steven and Spinel chuckled, but they soon heard Flint groan from nearby, as he tried O SO HARD to actually relax. He turned to his side. He laid on his stomach.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Flint in a groan, "How can any of you stand to not do … anything? It's not the first time I've handled myself."

"Yes, but as Jade and Sapphire said: you're not allowed to worry about anything else anymore. Besides, last time you worried about something you nearly let yourself get shattered by a Fire Mammoth! Taking time off of work is gonna be good for you," Steven said. Flint could only find comfort in laying on his back, as if he were in a coffin.

"That's all very well for you, but there's another thing they say too: an idle conscious mind is a Diamond's personal kindergarten."

"Pfft, who says that?" Spinel asked.

"I do," Flint simply replied.

"Okay, if you need to take your mind off of something, why not watch some TV, or play some video games, or …" the idea struck Steven quick, him snapping his fingers, "oh wait, I got it! Why not get into literature? You look like a book type more than a TV type anyway."

"Books, Steven? I dunno about -"

"Hey buddy, why not show him that thing you showed me? That book about that Human and that, what was it uh, big chicken?" Spinel suggested.

"It's called an Eagle," Steven said with a chuckle, "But yeah, "Unfamiliar Familiar" can work!"

"Come on guys, there's so much to do -"

"AH AH AH, no worrying for you," Spinel said, her arm wrapping around his mouth like a rope, "The gang's got the fort down!"

"mmkay," Flint mumbled, only then Spinel releasing him. It was the only way to get that problem fixed quickly. Flint could tell they weren't gonna make this easy for him (ironically), but then his attention shifted over towards the cooking oven.

"... So why're you baking that cake again? Hearth's Warming?" Flint asked, pointing to the oven. Steven walked over to the oven.

"No, that's what the mint candy cake's for. This cake's for someone else important," Steven said, even patting the oven top. The only thing was to wait for it to even finish. Spinel slid over next to her bestie on hearing that.

"Yeah, speaking of which, you never said who this "special someone" is yet. Who's the surprise guest today, Mr. Universe?" Spinel asked, hand on counter with another hand on her hip.

"Let me go fetch them. Be right back guys. … for real, I'll be back," Steven promised. It was the one detail Steven wanted to not just blabber on about, as to not overwhelm the upcoming folks for the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. They were gonna find out soon as the cake's done, but since they were insisting, Steven went right over to the Warp Pad and NOT using the Portal Key, to get right to the destination. Spinel and Flint were left alone by then.

"You don't look as worried," Flint said, seeing Spinel look more relaxed about it. At least it seemed to be. Spinel brushed it off.

"I know Steven for a long time, he won't lie to me. If he says he's gonna be back, he's gonna be back," Spinel said. Flint just gave Spinel a blank face.

"You only knew him for a few days," Flint remarked.

Regardless, they didn't have to wait for very long (half an hour at most), as the Warp Pad went off again. They saw Steven amongst the figures in the Warpstream, but three of the figures they didn't exactly recognize all too well. Two of them got their footing upon arriving, but the third one fell onto the floor. Gravity was always tricky in the warpstream. And who exactly were the girls he brought back with him to Beach City?

"Happy Welcoming Day, Dazzlings," Steven announced.

"Owie!" the girl grumbled, picking herself up off the floor because her sisters weren't going to do it. Flint sat up immediately on seeing the three, even if he didn't recognize any of them, and Spinel grew curious over the trio.

"Hey, Steven, who's the trio?" Spinel asked.

"So THIS is where you live?" Aria asked, looking around at the Beach House for a bit, though she didn't look too impressed.

"Ooooo, cozy," Sonata said. Not too impressive.

"Yep, welcome to the Gem Temple girls!" Steven introduced with his arms outstretched to show the place. He then turned to the two Gems.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet the Dazzlings: Adagio, Aria, and Sonata," Steven said, allowing both Flint and Spinel to see the trio of Sirens. Adagio and Flint were taking some mental notes, but it was Spinel who got to talking first, going over to the other two first as the emo spaghetti arm Gem checked them out. At least THEY don't know what happened to her, so she could be a bit more forward.

"So you got music names. Are you girls in a band or something?" Spinel asked. Aria was about to speak, but Sonata already remembered she had a mouth and decided to use it.

"Yep! We sing all the time," Sonata said, "Dagi's our lead, and we're the backup, and we're all super good! People will do whatever we -"
Aria clamped Sonata's mouth shut.

"Already, idiot?" Aria whispered, just to look to Spinel and say, "We sing from time to time, but we're taking a break."

"Oh. Well, anyone who's friends with my bestie Steven is someone I can handle," Spinel said with a smile. Aria and Sonata looked between her and Steven after Sonata got her mouth un-clamped.

"Your Steven's bestie?" Sonata asked.

Spinel just pulled the smuggest of grins as she wrapped her arm around Steven Universe's shoulders. This reminded Steven that he had the others to introduce to the Dazzlings. Yep, Steven's HER best friend.

"Oh yeah! Dazzlings, these two are Flint and Spinel, some of the Harmony Gems," Steven introduced, not really trying to make Spinel let him go. Not that it would matter.

"More Gems. Well, good to meet some of Steven's friends," said Adagio, looking more to Flint basically.

"Likewise," agreed Flint, "I'd assume you and him met while he was out of town? He did mentioned you while he was away from Beach City."

"We gave him somewhere to stay as he was passing through," Adagio explained, "He was all by himself, so we felt it was only right to have him brought to Vidalia's apartment for a while with us."

Flint immediately caught the lies in Adagio's Siren lips, crossing his arms.

"Really. I'm sure Steven appreciated his clothes being thrown in the garbage can," Flint said with his usual brand of suspition. Adagio and Sonata actually didn't know what he was talking about, but Aria did clam up. Adagio only needed to see her face one time to work out what happened, but Aria just took it in stride.

"She had a bad day, and wasn't in the best mood," Adagio said, though she silently gave Aria a look that said "watch it". Steven and Spinel both could feel the tension and needed to quickly change it. Lucky for them, the Bing from the oven got them thinking about something else.

"Soooo who wants some welcome cake?!" Steven said, as he and Spinel got to the oven.

"Welcome cake? Is that what smells so yummy?" Sonata asked, sniffing the air for the smell of dough and pineapple.

"Yep. Aaaand Out it comes!" Spinel said, as Steven opened the oven and got the finished cake out (with oven mitts of course). Boy did that cake look delicious, and it was enough to make Sonata's eyes sparkle. It'd been far too long since they had anything that looked this delicious.

"That looks sooooooooo good," Sonata said, almost drooling at the sight of it.

"You … made that for us?" asked Aria.

"Sure, why not? Help yourselves, just keep it to one plate," Steven offered, setting some paper plates aside and a knife for them to work out. Sonata was more than happy to take a big slice of the stuff, particularly from Spinel's side of the cake with the specially cut pineapples.

"Go on, try it! It's my first time doing this baking thing," Spinel encouraged. While normally that's a red light to normal people, Sonata nodded and then she took a good bite of the Pineapple welcome cake. One chew. Two. Three …

"OoooooOOOOOO YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!!" Sonata beamed.

"Don't you have any pride at -" before Aria could finish, Sonata shoved a forkful of the pineapple cake into her mouth. It was enough to make her shiver. … Even a tear came down her face.

"It's good right?! I haven't had anything so yummy in centuries!" Sonata beamed.

"WOO, first customer of Spinel cooking," Spinel beamed, "I'm soooo glad you're lovin it, Sonata."

"You have the recipe for this? We could really use some cooking while we try getting back to our world," Sonata inquired, just a little too quick for Aria or Adagio to stop her. Strangely, that little detail didn't faze Spinel, and in fact she stretched her arm and snatched Steven's nearby cookbook.

"Your world? Sonata?" Flint asked.

"DUH. We've been stuck here WAY TOO LONG and it just SUCKS here! There's hardly any good food," Sonata said, taking another bite of the O so delicious Pineapple cake. "Mmmm so good."
Adagio and Aria REALLY wanted Sonata to stop, but they couldn't just jump in there to do anything unless they want them to get even more suspicious. But what question came next sealed the deal.

"And what world are you from?" Steven asked.

"Me? I'm from Equestria!"

Aria and Adagio felt like they've been shocked by lightning. NOW what're they gonna do?!

…

"OOOHHHH, so that's why you're all colorful! I'm not gonna lie, I thought you three were a group of Gems," Spinel admitted, feeling embarrassed. Adagio and Aria couldn't believe their ears, but Sonata didn't feel anymore worried about it.

"Really? Hmm, what kind of Gem would I be?" Sonata wondered, actually thinking about it more than she would usually do. Suddenly Aria couldn't take it, and actually yanked Sonata away before she could blabber on any further.

"Excuse her, she didn't have her breakfast this morning and isn't thinking straight. Anyway, we're so glad you could invite us to your home, Steven, wouldn't miss it for the world -"

"Wait a minute. Adagio, what's this about? Are you trying to keep this a secret from us?" Steven said. Adagio stopped. Was he actually wising up to their scheme? She couldn't jump him for it though, trying her best to keep her composure. Adagio tried to think, but being the sly one she was, she got a new story thought up quick. Her troubled expression quickly relaxed.

"OKAY you caught us, we are from Equestria. But really, it was all just a big mistake," Adagio explained.

"What is?" Spinel and Sonata asked. Adagio ignored sonata, but answered anyway.

"You see, me and my sisters were found out one day by this evil unicorn back in Equestria. We tried our hardest, but in the end, he took not only our forms away, but sent us all the way here with no clue how to do anything, and with no food or water. We've been lucky to survive as long as we did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steven asked, feeling his heart sink.

"We just didn't want to bother anyone else here, that's all. And with what you've been through, who needs our problems mixed with yours, you know what I mean? … That wouldn't be fare," Adagio even put in some "tears" for good measure, wiping some away from her face.

It was just enough to pull it off.

"Adagio, of course I want to help you. Why did you think I offered to let you live here? I wasn't going to leave you three like that."

"Live here?!" Spinel asked, blindsided. Steven suddenly covered his mouth.

"Ack! Oops I was supposed to save that!" Steven said, as if ruining the surprise. "Eh … surprise!"

"Wait a second, you letting them live here Steven? Didn't you at least talk to everyone else, you already got Spinel living here," Flint said firmly.

"Huh? NO, now here here, Little Homeworld here," Steven corrected, "I promised them after working things our I'd give them a new home in Little Homeworld. You know, after working everything else out."

"Little Homeworld? Where's that?" Sonata asked. Steven smiled.

"You know what, I can show you guys if you want to. We can just go through town and catch up -"

"NO! Er … no. We can just take the shortcut. I really want to see what you made for us," Adagio insisted. Last thing the trio needed was a whole town trying to drive them out again. A slight red flag, but given Adagio's earlier story, Steven decided not to jump at them for it.

"Oh. Uh, okay, hang on a second," Steven said. Steven went over to his bedroom from there, opening his drawer and getting out his handy dandy portal key. So much for the scenic route to the Little Homeworld. Steven got the portal key working for the front door, the similar magic light shining the way. Steven held the door open.

"After you," Steven said in a polite manor.

"Why thank you," said Adagio, "Come on girls."

Well what else were they supposed to do? It was either this or risk getting their cover even more blown by the public outside. The Dazzlings eventually went on their way, but Sonata made sure to take the rest of the Pineapple cake with them. She was NOT wasting any of it today. Spinel of course was more than ready to go.

"Wait for me, Steven," Spinel said, ready to go off with him. However, before she could go, Flint suddenly grabbed her by the arm, and then pulled her close, looking her right in the face.

"Make sure nothing happens to him," Flint ordered, his tone very slow and serious.

"I understa-a-and," Spinel said, trying to mimic the serious tone. Only then did Flint release Spinel.

"I don't think you do. Clearly something's going on with those three. All that stuff they kept saying, it sounded like they made it up on the spot just to be on good terms with him. So since I'm … not allowed. I need YOU to keep an eye on things for me, and for Steven, just in case that Dazzling trio tries to work in some form of scheme. Do you think you can handle that for me, Spinel?" Flint asked.

"They sure looked nice to me, but if it's gonna make you freak out, then I'll watch him. You can count on me," Spinel promised, giving Flint a Diamond insignia salute before she stretched her foot through the portal and pulled herself in. It was all Flint could ever do, and soon he was all by himself.

"... So where were those books at?"

~~~~~~

Beach City itself was going through its own but of renovations thanks to the snow, though not in the means of decorating if not more cleaning up the place. Much of this new snowfall had made Beach City much brighter, but a bit more cleaning needed to be done. Whether is it just using a snow shovel, or driving through town with a snow plow, the heaps of snow was being handled with relative ease. AKA, shoving the snow into the sea. It's still water, so pollution was out of the question.
Despite the success, not every plow truck was handling all the snow with ease, one particular driver accidentally hitting the gas to the floor instead of the breaks, shoving a wave of snow off of the street, and onto the sidewalk. Or, it would've landed on the sidewalk if not for a startled Unicorn's quick-acting magic.

"Sorry bout that!" called the driver.

"It's all good," replied Starlight Glimmer, as she levitated the snow back onto the street for the driver to continue his service. Even with the time close to Hearth's Warming, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all were heading off through Beach City towards the nearest bus stop.

"Okay, so Sapphire predicted he'll be showing up any minute here, let's just chill out til he arrives. So … how do you wanna approach this?" Starlight said at one point, the whole group stopping once they reached the bus stop.

"Speaking from experience, darling, the first thing anypony should do is give Jamie some time to calm down and then start giving him the latest news," instructed Rarity.

"You sure we shouldn't just go in and tell him? I mean, last time we saw her, she didn't look, Oh … good," Starlight said, recalling Lapis's current state of mind.

"And make the king of all drama worry all over again about their love story going kaput? No way!" Pinkie said, "That'll break his heart into teeny teeny tiny winy pieces, and we won't be able to find all the pieces and put it back together again!"

"... So in other words, we're not gonna tell him yet."

"Not right away. Unless he asks outright, then we'll tell him," Rainbow Dash said.

"Guys, here it comes," said Fluttershy.

And sure enough, right on cue, a familiar transport bus started coming into town. The ponies there all moved out of the way of the main stop, as the bus itself made its stop in Beach City. The passengers started to go out, one by one, but at first none of them were seeing Jamie come out of the bus, but eventually it came down to the last one.

And he presented a bouquet of red flowers.

"For you, my sweet watery goddess of the stars.~" Jamie said, drama mode activated. With his eyes shut though, he didn't see who he was presenting the flowers too, as the bus drove away.

"Oh no, he's love-confused too," Pinkie said in dismay.

"Uh, Jamie?" said Fluttershy, tapping his side. Only then did Jamie open his eyes, just to see his bouquet of love now in Rainbow Dash's face. What a lovesick goof. Jamie immediately straightened up, the flowers now behind his back and his face very red.

"... Sorry. That was uh for … someone else."

"I won't tell if you won't," Rainbow Dash said, feeling equally embarrassed from the flowers to her face. She even found a small red petal on her head, which she shook off.

"How're you, Jamie? It's been a fair few weeks," inquired Rarity.

"It's been going well," replied Jamie, "I uh ...wasn't expecting a welcoming committee for me. I'm a bit flattered."

"It's no trouble, dear. We're looking forward to how your acting went. Did you manage to get into any roles?" Rarity asked, starting with a subject she thought would make him happy. However, the Human actually felt hesitant to talk about how his time went, glancing to his bag, which held his diary. It's one thing to speak through written words, but another to actually say them to people.

"Um … did I say the wrong thing?"

"No, no, sorry. It's just … *sigh* I didn't do well," Jamie admitted.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to -"

"Yeah, life is crazy," Jamie cut in, taking a few steps away from the ponies and looking on to the sky, "One day you're right here in Beach City delivering mail and then the next thing you know, you're on a bus to Kansas, following your dreams of becoming an actor. "Follow your dreams," they said. But no one said anything about all the rejection and sadness there was to be found. So many auditions day after day. So much rejection day after day. …"
It was actually enough to bring some tears to Jamie's eyes, which he went on to fix up and wipe off his face.
"Sorry, guess I got caught up in the "drama zone", you know? At least I still have my love waiting for me. My dear, sweet Sea Angel."

Oh boy, already.

"Yeah. … Uh Jamie? We got something to -" Starlight would've just gone on with it, but Rarity quickly "zipped" Starlight's muzzle shut through magic before she spoke.

"Can you give us a second, Jamie?" Rarity quickly said. Jamie simply nodded, and suddenly the pony group was walking off a short bit, giving Jamie some space as the guy sat down on at the bus stop's bench. Rarity made sure to unzip Starlight's mouth.

"What're you doing?" Starlight asked, checking her lips for any zipper still there.

"Sorry, but didn't you all just hear him? He's already feeling so much pain, we can't tell him right away about Lapis Lazuli," Rarity concluded.

"Huh? But Rarity, this was your idea, you're just gonna bail out now?" Rainbow Dash questioned. Jamie did technically brought up Lapis, sooner than they expected but still brought it up nonetheless. Rarity recoiled.

"I know. I just. Changed my mind, that's all," Rarity said. Not that she wanted to admit it, but seeing him looking ready to crumble was just too much for her to take.

"Well, what do we do now?" asked Fluttershy.

"Jamie's heartbroken. Obviously now isn't the best time. It's not like we can just show him Lapis Lazuli," said Rarity.

However …

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Starlight said. She was about to go back to him, but Rarity quickly went in her way.

"DON'T! I didn't mean that!"

"We can't just leave him like this. Besides, maybe Lapis seeing Jamie again might trigger something in her head and make her remember something," Starlight concluded.

"Perhaps, but -"

"She forgot about me?"

Uh oh. The ponies looked to Jamie, who only now just heard what they were talking about. Apparently, namely the Lapis Lazuli part from Starlight.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! … Maaayyyybe?" said Pinkie.

"What's going on? Where's Lapis?" Jamie simply asked.

Ok, NOW they don't have a choice.

"Look, we'll show you," decided Starlight.

…….

"Is she still there?" called Starlight.

"Yep, she's still huddled on top of the hill," Rainbow replied.

That basically summed up where they were after walking off from the bus stop. Kinda fitting too that, after a short Portal Key teleport, that they managed to get themselves near the top of Brooding Hill, and sitting at the very top in her sorrow was Lapis Lazuli herself. She did not react to the cold much at all, not budging an inch from the wind coming at her. Any stray snow just settled on top of her as if she was a literal rock.

"Lapis …?"

"She's been sitting up here for three days," said Fluttershy, "She's been so sad."

"Did any of you talk to her?" Jamie asked.

"We tried. But let's just say she's a little bit edgy," admitted Starlight.

Jamie looked back over towards Lapis Lazuli. They weren't exactly sure if she was hearing any of them or not, but if she was she wasn't doing anything to them yet, or making any attempt to escape. Jamie knew well what the signs were for a broken-hearted angel, and Lapis Lazuli was showing all the signs just from this one moment. He had his bouquet of flowers still, so he attempted his approach …

One step got Lapis to react: her water wings sprouted out, but this time it took the form of sharp cold ice. Jamie gasped in shocked, the flowers being chucked out of his hand in reflex. Luckily for Jamie, Starlight quickly jumped in and got a forcefield up right between him and the oncoming ice shards, the spikes shattering on hitting the shield, but destroying the bouquet Jamie had.
All that remained of the flowers were stems and holed wrappings.

"Y-Yikes," Jamie gulped.

Only then did Lapis turn around.

"Oh. It's you again," Lapis simply said, sounding like a shallow shell of her past self now. Jamie remained in initial shock for a little bit more, but soon he got himself back together.

"Hi, Lapis. How're you uh … feeling? You feeling any better?" Starlight asked.

"Does it look like I feel any better?" Lapis questioned, a sharp coldness to her voice. Lapis didn't really bother to answer the unicorn further, but instead brought her attention to Jamie. She simply looked and kept her look, Jamie meanwhile trying to get what remained of the bouquet of flowers. Second verse, same as the first, as he cleared his throat and tried again.

"For you, my sweet watery goddess of the stars.~" Jamie said, same flair as before, only this time NOT in a pony's face. Lapis simply stared at Jamie for a bit more, looking to the currently wrecked flower bouquet in front of her. Only one flower didn't get torn to pieces amongst the bouquet of stems. Jamie had high expectations that this would be plenty to rekindle their relationship … of only Lapis had her memory in tact. In fact, the flowers were only giving her a headache if anything.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Lapis hissed.

"Uh … A joke?" muttered Fluttershy. To show that she wasn't interested in the most blunt way possible, she raised her hand and SLAPPED the bouquet out of Jamie's hands. It was like he was struck by Fulgurite's lightning, and stung like crazy.

"My bouquet!"

"Lapis!" exclaimed Rarity.

"I just got dumped by one love. NOW you think I'm pathetic enough to go out with that?!" Lapis demanded, finger aimed directly at an already stunned Jamie.

"No, no, that's not it at all!" insisted Starlight.

"Then take your pet, and go away," Lapis demanded. She turned around again, and went back over to her spot on the hill, leaving Jamie absolutely speechless. Sure, forgetting him was one thing, but THIS was something else.

"L-Lapis? Is this a joke or something? Or tell me, do you really not remember who I am?" Jamie meekly asked. Lapis placed a hand on her head to try and handle her headache.

"Go and bother someone else, Human. Whoever you're talking about I'm not her," Lapis made perfectly clear.

"N-No wait. Lazuli, it's me Jamie! There must be something - … wait, how about this?" Jamie went into his bag, and looked around inside. Eventually his hand pulled out what looked like a hand-written letter, but this one wasn't from Jamie as evident by the water mark on it. "Surely you must remember the letter you gave me!"

Lapis opened it up, looked it over slightly … and, again with a headache, tore it up right in his face.

You could probably hear his heart shatter like glass.

"I didn't write that," Lapis simply said.

"But it's true. Look, this face. Isn't it slightly familiar? Huh? Isn't -"

*SLAP*

What a nerve. Lapis, irritated by her headache turned migraine, gave Jamie a hard slap on the face to keep him from walking any closer to her. She may be heart-broken, but not desperate.

"Hey, hey, watch it prancy! We're only trying to help," Rainbow shouted, immediately jumping in between the angry water Gem and the hurting Human. Lapis simply slapped Rainbow Dash away, back-handedly.

"I'm not asking for anyone's help! I don't want your help!" warned Lapis.

"So what, you're just gonna sit up here and mope for the next century?" Rainbow asked.

"I never said that," Lapis said, before getting out her wings. But while she did get airborne, she hovered over Jamie. Just looking him in the face was giving her a migraine for whatever reason, she couldn't stand it.

"As for you, Stay away from me, or I'll do to you what I did to your … your … YOUR THINGS," Lapis made clear, before she turned and flew off on her way to who knows where. Jamie reached out, eyes filling up with tears and his hand unable to reach her.

"T-That's not my beautiful angel …"

"Maybe the direct approach wasn't such a good idea," said Starlight gravely.

"You think?" Rainbow remarked.

~~~~~~

Steven's arrival back to Little Homeworld went without a hitch, and the Dazzlings soon found themselves from a comfy-side wooden house, to a fairly busy future-esque city. Gems and Ponies were still as busy as ever, the production on the city still going and now just beyond 50% completion. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata checked out the whole place in their stroll, Sonata and Spinel enjoying the pineapple cake the whole time.

"I feel like we missed something big here. What's with the circus?" Aria questioned, admittedly weirded out by some of the Gems going about within. They were used to colorful horses, but these colorful weirdly-shaped people were just a little bit off to them, especially since they were once corrupted for the most part so they had a stranger look even for normal Gems.

"It's a long story, but the summery is that all these Gems used to be corrupted. But now, not ONLY are they healed, but they're making their lives free and independent right here in Little Homeworld. Here, what you want to do is you're own choice," Steven explained. It sure seemed like it.

"You're free to do what you want," repeated Adagio, actually finding the idea rather interesting. Spinel then hopped up in front of the trio.

"You bet! Take me for instance: back on Homeworld I was made to be lovable, innocent … stupid," the word Stupid made Spinel look annoyed actually, "But now here, I can actually be smart, and with my best friend."

"Huh. And I thought you had to be stupid to be lovable and innocent," Sonata wondered, thinking what she said wasn't controversial in the slightest.

"Then you're not doing it right," Aria commented.

"What do you know about comedy?" Sonata bickered.

"More than you do," Aria replied. Sonata and Aria were going to bicker on some more, but Adagio caught them quick this time and split them apart before they could go into another skirmish.

"Can't this wait until Steven shows us to our new home?" Adagio questioned, "You can complain all you want then."
Aria and Sonata decided to just drop it.

"Does this happen a lot?" Spinel asked.

"You have no idea," Adagio sighed. All of her time spent with them over the years was more than proof enough, and she didn't need to lie about THAT.

"Now, Steven. You were showing us to our home?" Adagio asked.

"Alright, alright, I think it's -"

"Steven!"

Before they could go any further, a new voice was heard off nearby the main town Warp Pad. Let's just say that Steven wasn't the only one with some special guests coming by Little Homeworld today, and when they looked, they saw Connie Maheswaran waving to Steven from the pad itself. Her company though was a little bit more of a surprise. You know, outside of Pearl, who was carrying some things for her as Pearls typically do.

"Oh, Connie!" Steven said, "tour's on hold for a second."
Steven happily went right over to Connie, the two going in for a good hug with eachother. Spinel meanwhile had the urge to join in on the hug, even hugging herself for a short bit, but the reason she didn't jump in to join them was because her focus shifted to the company that was with her. She brought not just a Pearl, but a small Draconequus, and one pure white figure in particular. This figure was clearly in a kind of "public disguise" in a way; a heavy looking brown coat, black sunglasses, and a large sun hat for her illuminating hair. Spinel felt a cold shiver run through her back … And in a way, that same figure started to feel uneasy too. The Dazzlings kinda did the same thing for the Draconequus.

"No. Way. Is that …"

Discord suffered no such problem, and joined the hug with Steven and Connie.

"It's so good to see the love doves pair up again during this time of year, isn't it?" Discord remarked. Pearl willingly (kind of willingly) pulled Discord away before the moment could be ruined.

"Hello Steven. I see you're ready to go already," White Diamond said.

"Uh, yeah but … what's with the disguise? We're all friends here, there's no need to hide," Steven inquired. White Diamond flustered, and tried to keep some of her hair more under the hat as a few of the Gems were looking over her way. Discord slid over by Steven.

"Eh, just let her do her thing. It was the only way to get her out of the barn," Discord simply said. It was such a struggle to even get her this far anyway.

"Great to see you, Steven. How's the cake coming along?" Connie asked.

"Actually it turned out great. My special guests love it, that's for sure," Steven replied, referring to Sonata mainly for she was still enjoying it to no end.

"Oh yeah, you did say you're bringing surprises. Who're they?" Connie asked.

"He told her about it?" Spinel thought, feeling left out. But rather than have Steven introduce them, Adagio decided to take one for the team and stepped forward first. Not as if the other two were wanting to anyway.

"Adagio Dazzle. And these are my sisters, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. You must be …" Adagio said, acting friendly, and holding out her hand. Connie shook her hand with a smile.

"Connie Maheswaran. Steven told me about you three: you girls met him while he was in Fairfax?" Connie asked.

"We had some fun at the ski resort. Well, until a giant spider showed up, but you know," Sonata answered with a full mouth. There was NO HIDING SECRETS with this girl! Adagio slapped her forehead in annoyance, as Aria just turned away. Did they have to improvise AGAIN?
Lucky for them, the focus shifted when Spinel actually went over towards Steven, feeling uncomfortable with who Connie brought with her.

"Buddy, can we uh have a private chit-chat for a second?" Spinel asked. Spinel technically didn't wait though, already kinda pulling Steven along away from them for a brief moment. Once they were at a seemingly safer distance.

"Steven? You didn't tell me … she'd be here," whispered Spinel, referring to White Diamond.

"Spinel, I didn't know she was gonna be here either," Steven insisted. However, Spinel was a little smarter than that, despite her goofiness. Steven caved in.

"Okay, I asked her to bring her here. But it's not as bad as you think, I promise."

"I believe you there. I mean, she clearly looks like she lost a few miles of height, but … are you sure this is a good idea? It's White Diamond," Spinel said. Steven looked back to White Diamond, who didn't really say a word and actually looked almost as uneasy about this as Spinel was.

"I know you and her didn't have the … best time ever. But she's really trying to be better now, we both know that right? Think about it, she wouldn't be here if she wasn't trying."

"Or she just couldn't go back without getting laughed at by everybody. I … don't know if I wanna go," Spinel said. Which actually didn't sound like a bad idea. Steven started to look more stern with her now.

"Spinel, everyone's been giving you a chance to make up for what you did, so why can't you do the same for White? You might've been put through a lot because of her, but she's been through a lot too. You're not the only one going through issues," Steven made clear, speaking from personal experience. Spinel though was not buying it.

"Oh yeah, the great "North Star" herself has been through worse than me. What'd she do, try to shatter herself or something?"

Spinel meant it as a joke and even chuckled at the idea, but Steven found himself clamming up on that response. Out of ALL things Spinel could've said, that was the most awkward one she could've said.

"... What? …" Spinel asked, feeling the awkwardness start to build up more and more, but before they could go any further, some of the others were off over to the two.

"Looks like we're having a nice conversation, now shall we be on our way to Canterlot? I heard wind they're gonna be making some Gingerbread houses, and that sounds delish right about now," Discord offered.

"Is everything okay here, guys?" Connie asked. Spinel and Steven were a bit hesitant to answer, especially when they both saw White Diamond again. Steven cleared his throat.

"Everything's fine guys," Steven answered, "Now, who's ready to go to Canterlot?"

"Wait. We're just … going? Right now, we're just going? … How?" Sonata asked, legitimately confused. It was one thing to teleport one place to another, but one world to another was a bit more complicated than that.

"Through the Warp Pad?" Steven answered, bringing their attention to the Warp Pad at the center of town. The Dazzlings, despite the seemingly easy answer, did have some doubts.

"Is that it? I don't know too much about magic, but I can guess traveling between worlds takes a LOT of it," Aria said, not exactly buying it.

"What magic? They're just built in. It's one of Gems' technology quirks, and this can be used by anybody," Connie explained. Well that would explain the Equestrian ponies casually walking around Little Homeworld. Adagio Dazzle actually looked very pleased. NO WAY was she passing this up.

"Well if that's all it takes, then let's be on our way. We can't make it by just standing here."

"Huh? Don't you want to see your house?" Steven asked.

"Oh, that can wait. It'd mean the world to us to see Equestria again," Adagio replied, seemingly eager to go back to Equestria. Spinel kept close to him, not only for White Diamond but for the Dazzlings as well.

"They're from Equestria?" Connie asked. Spinel simply nodded. They got all the time to explain to them later on once they get there.
Canterlot was waiting for no one today, and Steven took the lead in getting onto the Warp Pad. Well if they were going off to the celebration, then why waste anymore time in getting themselves there? Steven though could feel some bit of tension between not only Spinel and White Diamond, but strangely with the Dazzlings as well. Connie for one could already see it.

"Hey, Steven," Connie said, hand to his hand, "Let's have some fun today, okay? Happy Hearth's Warming."

"... Happy Hearth's Warming," Steven said.

And the Warp Pad went off. The group was off and on their way from Earth to Equestria, though it seemed most of them didn't realize that a snow-covered flower pot had heard exactly what was going on. Once they left, the "flower" slipped away.

~~~~~~

"What … the heck … was that?" Lapis thought, her head still pounding. She couldn't even focus on her terraforming properly, as whenever she tried to get back to molding the world to her image, her head would pound and make her stop. The water Gem tried to at least re-work her water tower outside of Beach City, but not near Brooding Hill. She just couldn't make it work.

"Keep it together, Lazuli. Something isn't right here … since seeing that thing …" just even thinking about it was making her head hurt. It was like something deep in the back of her mind was trying its best to actually speak to her, to tell her something important. But she was more concerned over how it was hurting her rather than what it means.

"It must've did something to me. I just got to keep away from whatever THAT was, and I should be alright. Now, just relax …" Lapis told herself. She took a very deep breath, and attempted to focus her energy on her work. With Jamie being pushed out of her head, the headache slowly started to fade away to just a minor sting, one that she could more properly handle.

"Now. … If I bring this over here like this … and bring this part upward a bit -"

"LAPIS, YOU OVER HERE?!"

Lapis felt herself curse something awful, again the call making her loose concentration. Who was there to bug her THIS TIME? The construct she was working with over by the water collapsed into a wave of cold water. At least this case she wasn't met by the ponies again (not yet), but she then saw another Gem come up. Fulgurite. And Fulgurite wasn't alone either, accompanied by a smaller passenger she was carrying on her back, and one floating above her with his hexagon disc.

Rather than answer, she raised her hand, and a huge water hand stopped Fulgurite, making her slam into the cold hand.

"You want to talk to anything, talk to that," remarked Lapis.

The ice hand was opened by a ice door.

"I'd rather talk to you," said a new, unfamiliar voice.

Not even a break. Lapis turned over, and sure enough there was Sapphire, her making a door out of her own barrier (she even had a doorknob and everything).

"I just want to work on my terraforming. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!" Lapis asked in agony. "Take whatever situation you have, and do it somewhere else. AWAY FROM ME."

"Told ya she's doesn't remember," Fulgurite whispered to Sapphire.

"Yeah. But you didn't mention how rejuvenated she actually got," Sapphire said, concerned with her determination to make this work.

"I can hear both of you, you know?" Lapis remarked.

"Easy, Lazuli, we just wanna talk for a second," Emerald said, not wanting to tango with her for a second time.

"No thank you. I got better things to do than talk to two Off-Color rejects."

Her words stung like bee stings.

"Don't make this personal, for stars' sake," Emerald muttered.

"I'll talk to her," Sapphire simply said. Sapphire was NOT approving any of this, but she could see that she got her mind pre-occupied about something. Without fear, Sapphire walked over to Lapis's side. At first Lapis and Sapphire didn't say much as Lapis kept working. Eventually though, the silence was too much.

Sapphire had a plan.

"Yes? …"

"I'm just admiring your work, that's all," Sapphire said, "The towers really compliments the décor, and you even lined up the surfaces like mirrors."

Lapis rolled her eyes. "Someone making you say that just to make me stop? Because it's not gonna work."

"Why would I stop creativity? That's bad parenting," Sapphire replied, "And from what I see … you're an excellent artist, Lazuli."

And just like that, Lapis actually began to relax a bit.

"... Oh. Well, thank you. Nice to hear someone appreciates me," Lapis said, actually feeling a bit better just from Sapphire's words. The ONE THING they didn't do, and Sapphire just did it. Fulgurite just slapped her forehead, as Emerald looked on in annoyance.

"I could easily make it look much better if I didn't have any distractions," Lapis added, referring to Fulgurite and Emerald.

"Can you now? I'd like to see that," Sapphire encouraged.

"Huh. Well, alright," Lapis said. She opened up her water wings, and she got right to work.
She pulled up more and more water from the sea, easily tons upon tons in a matter of minutes to work into the creation of hers. She even gotten a bit cocky, closing her eyes as she continued her work. Part of her kept driving her along her task to keep to her schedule, but another part of her was actually enjoying her work. Enjoying the art. Whether she meant it or not, and they began to tell that she was working it as more of an art piece than a actual construct. Could be Sapphire's compliments taking hold at this point, but the big construct looked more fluid and flowy.

"The heck, Sapphire? I thought you were -"

"Give her a minute to finish," Sapphire insisted to Emerald. Emerald had no idea where she was going with this, but as Lapis started to get more and more into the piece, something was starting to take shape. And by the time she finished ...

"You clever, clever pebble," Fulgurite remarked.

Guess who's head Lapis accidentally sculpted out of the water?

"No!" Lapis gasped, suddenly dropping the construct into the water all at once, making a wave of water crash along the shore, dousing them all in water. For some reason, Sapphire didn't budge from the impact, but Emerald and Fulgurite were hit to the wall. Sapphire smiled, but Lapis was flustering all over again, her head pounding.

"You didn't see any of that," Lapis said with a even bluer face, as she tried to re-work the construct how it should look.

"Sorry. I guess you had something else on your mind," Sapphire said. Lapis began to feel her headache again, losing concentration again but quickly tried shaking it off. That feeling again.

"That's none of your business, Sapphire. You're giving me a headache," Lapis remarked, feeling a little colder again. Sapphire took it in stride, and actually look impressed. Clearly something was working, but to keep Lapis from just flying off again Sapphire went back to the constructs.

"Alright, alright. … Still, imagine if you had an audience to appreciate what you're doing, instead of just sitting here all alone."

"Well, not everyone likes what I do. Something about sea animals, or whatever," Lapis said, not caring much for it. Sapphire turned to Lapis. Sapphire secretly signaled the other two nearby to join her in what she was about to say next.

"Why don't we find somewhere else then? I know some art-lovers from Canterlot who'd love stuff like this," Sapphire said.

Clever indeed.

"Canterlot, Canterlot … and where's that?"

Fulgurite, catching onto the idea, was the first to speak up as she slid into view of them both.

"Oh yeah, that's what we came to talk to ya about: we wanted to invite you to the Hearth's Warming shindig back in Canterlot. And trust me on this one, Lazuli, there's plenty of high-society people that would love to see you," Fulgurite explained. The moment she said "high-society" Lapis became more interested. For days she'd been stuck with grass, sand and dirt, and THAT was just the thing she could go for.

"You mean there are ACTUAL ARISTOCRATIC CUTS I can talk to? And you think they'll like my work too?"

"I don't foresee any doubt, but how about a water bouquet? The clarity would like that," Sapphire answered.

"C-Clarity?" gasped Lapis, imagining a very regal Gem accepting her "bouquet" with admiration. Lapis suddenly snapped out of it, and pulled some water out of the sea.

"What does a Bouquet look like? That pony's pet said something about it, let me see. A-Am I doing it right, I don't want to make any mistakes here," Lapis said, working the water to match the bouquet how she saw it. Fulgurite, Emerald, and Sapphire were honestly surprised how quick Lapis was going along with this, but they weren't complaining. Pretty soon, Lapis Lazuli got herself a finished bouquet of glistening ice flowers, wrapped gently in a watery bouquet paper.

"It looks perfect. Now there's a Warp Pad in the closest Gem settlement. It's operated by control panel. Set the coordinate to "Equus", and its the first castle on the mountainside. Enjoy the holiday."

"Yeah, sure, thanks," Lapis said, opening her wings and already taking off to her "home". The three waited until Lapis Lazuli was far enough out of sight.

"Did I forget to say how happy I am you're back, Sapphire?" Emerald said.

"So don't tell me, Sapphy," added Fulgurite," we go fetch Jamie for the Hearth's Warming festival?"

"No need: Starlight will already be taking him there to cheer up his broken heart. Let's just go and enjoy the holiday," Sapphire said, starting to walk on her way.

Good enough for them.

…….

"Did I do good, Mr. Grogar?" asked Sumu, once she finally got herself back to Grogar's army and their location. It was always harder during winter for any plant to stay awake, and Sumu was feeling just a bit tired in trying to stay up and atom like Grogar wanted her to. The ram did look pleased.

"Very good, lass. So Steven is going off to celebrate "Hearth's Warming" in Canterlot, is he? And with quite the company too," Grogar said, pacing back and forth as he thought about what to exactly to do. This time there was quite an audience by him: Nichrome, Tempest, Stubby, Bray, and Budgerite in this case. And at this point, his entire current line of high-ranking members.

"Hearth's Warming," wondered Bray, "Should I know what that is?"

"It's a pony-esque celebration over the "Fire of Friendship", and how it united all three pony races and how Equestria became something. In other words, it's ANOTHER holiday showing how happy everything is so Windigos don't kill everypony," Tempest explained, not entirely thrilled over what should be a grand holiday to her.

"Another holiday? GAG, I REALLY wonder how ponies get anything done with a party every week," Nichrome remarked, finding the idea both stupid and somewhat gag-worthy. However, Grogar was actually snickering.

"On the contrary, Nichrome. It's perfect," Grogar decided.

"Sir?" questioned Nichrome.

"Think about it: a holiday during winter, the coldest time of year. Nights grow longer, snow grows colder, and yet everypony up in Canterlot's too busy hanging treelights, and cooking their sweet sweet cookies. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"... You're sounding WAY too evil for what you just said, care to explain?" Budgerite asked, Bray and Stubby nodding in agreement. Grogar stepped forward, making them move back.

"Course you don't get it. What I mean is that they'll be so busy with this celebration, they won't even have the time to set up any defenses. No one at their posts, no one setting any alarm, not even anything to attack with!"

"That's always one problem with ponies: they'll put so much effort in celebrating and party time when there's so much more they could be doing for themselves. Like decent ways to guard your house," Tempest remarked, actually sounding almost disgusted with the idea. No one really can say she was wrong, since the Unicorn could probably think of several moments off the top of her head with how much Equestria's been put under siege, with the guards doing JACK.

"Soooo what're you suggesting exactly?" asked Bray.

"I'm not suggesting anything. I demand that you all prepare yourselves for our assault on Canterlot. Once we overthrow the remaining Alicorn and the leading White Diamond herself, Equestria AND Homeworld will be ours!"

"Eh, not to damper the mood my king Grogar, really I don't wanna, but didn't Storm try to take over Canterlot already?" Budgerite inquired. Grogar turned to her, inches from her face.

"That fool thought he could do it without my aid, and took that gamble … AND LOST. Unless you all think you can do it without me."

"NOPE, not me!" chirped Budgerite.

"Nu-uh!" added Bray, shaking his head quickly.

"I'm good too!" Stubby added.

"Good. Captains, inform the troops. We invade by nightfall, when everypony is asleep," Grogar instructed. Tempest and Nichrome both bowed before him and went off to do just that before the ram looked to whoever remained.

"Budgerite, Bray, Stubby, Sumu. You four are gonna mess with their heads a bit. Sumu, didn't you say that Pink Diamond had something involved with them?" Grogar asked. Sumu nodded.

"I think so. Something about how she lied to everyone, stood up against her other Diamonds, and kinda made an entire war happen. … At least, I think she did," Sumu said, trying to remember that story correctly. Grogar though was already in his own plan to give her time to think.

"Use that. They still got some complicated things with that Pink Stone, and I want to use that against them. Make it blunt, put on a show, I don't care how, just be sure they DON'T get too comfortable. And strike them where it hurts. Got it?"

"Got it!" Stubby, Bray, and Budgerite said … before they all walked into eachother.

"Hey!" said Budgerite.

"Hay's for ponies!" Bray remarked back.

"Bicker later, go now!" Grogar demanded. THAT was enough to get Stubby, Bray, and Budgerite running off on their way. All that was left was Sumu and Grogar by that point.

"Anything else I can do?" Sumu asked.

"Go with those three stooges, help em however you can. Make sure they get it right," Grogar simply instructed. Sumu nodded, and rather than "move", she just shriveled away as her conscious moved somewhere else. Grogar had his own plans for the upcoming invasion on Canterlot, but his sights were far more focused. One hybrid will make it all worth it in his eyes.

"STEVEN …"

~~~~~~

Canterlot. Just before the big day of the year. Despite their initial setback thanks to the Storm King, Canterlot had recovered pretty quickly and the whole kingdom looked simply splendid. By the time Steven's company arrived into town, they were all greeted with festive lights, and a few banners to boot.

"Wow, look at all this! How much is here?" said Spinel, checking everything out.

"A lot. Equestrians LOVE to celebrate, they always bring their best," Connie explained, just as some of the ponies of Canterlot were finishing up their decorating for the day by hanging up some red bows along the windows of the nearest shop.

"Canterlot hasn't changed much," remarked Aria to the other Dazzlings.

"I know," agreed Sonata, "They're still using white blocks for the castle?"

If there was a time to go off though, Adagio found this to be the perfect time. After some walking, Steven turned to the others.

"Sweet, we're still early," said Steven, "So what do you guys want to do first? We can go check on some snowmen, build some gingerbread houses, or -"

"Actually, Steven, me and my sisters are just going to explore on our own for a while. Take in the sights, see what we've missed," Adagio decided.

"Oh. You sure?"

"Yeah. We wanna take some time to get to know Canterlot again," Adagio said. Before Steven could get another word in, she got Aria and Sonata moving away from the main crowd, and off on their way through Canterlot. A bit sudden, though Spinel at least felt a bit safer now. Flint didn't have to worry about those three if they weren't around.

"Okay, what do the rest of you wanna do?" Steven then inquired. White Diamond cleared her throat.

"Well you might have to explain this uh … holiday to me, Steven. I'm not entirely familiar with this custom that much," White Diamond requested.

"A GOOOOD question!"

"AAHH!"
Out of NOWHERE, though they probably should've expected it given who actually showed up, one grand party pony Pinkie Pie of the hour came right up from a passing basket of reefs, springing out in a confetti and streamer explosion to see the group herself. Pinkie was looking very festive herself, now wearing a reef around her neck and with red, green, and white confetti in her mane and tail. Some bits of confetti got onto the others.

"Happy Hearth's Warming!" announced Pinkie Pie, her hooves stretched out and giving Connie, and Steven a great big hug, strong but gentle and full of joy. Now, THIS TIME Spinel was having a little more trouble keeping herself back, but Pinkie Pie only needed one look and smiled.

"Don't think I'm forgetting about you, c'mere Spinny," Pinkie said, her hoof out and pulling Spinel in for a hug too. Spinel's eyes sparkled. There was something special with Pinkie Pie's hugs, though she couldn't put a finger on it. Eventually though the hug was released, the pink mare checking out who they brought with them, immediately seeing Discord, Pearl, and White Diamond with them.

"Okay, your turn. Hearth's Warming hugs for everyone!" Pinkie said, White Diamond stepping back as the mare jumped and gave her a hug too. Her entire head turned from white to pink, and even a little red almost immediately as if the hug was warming her up. White Diamond patted the mare on the head.

"Sooo, you want to know about Hearth's Warming, I hear?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"W-Well … in a way," White Diamond said. Pinkie Pie released her and sprung off of her and to the front of the group.

"Sure thing. But first … Presents!" Pinkie revealed. The pink mare had a LOT of retainer, going about the group with a lot of gifts, one for each of them, and colored as brightly and as pretty as ever. They didn't even question where the present even came from, at least not at first, as some were more eager to see what was inside the gift. Steven, Spinel, and Connie were the first to open their gifts.
Spinel got herself a warm, cozy looking sweater stitched by Rarity herself, with a lot of white fluff along the neck and a lovely color of festive green with cute little stars along the coat like rings. It felt so soft~
Steven got something a little more close to home from his childhood: a Cookie Cat plushie, this one with a space suit and helmet included too.
As for Connie ...

"Oh my gosh! The latest "Unfamiliar Familiar" sequel edition?! How, I thought they weren't gonna be released until next year," Connie gasped, not believing her eyes. Pinkie smiled.

"I may have hinted about it in my letter to the author. And she was very happy to give you the first edition," Pinkie said with a wink.

"Uh. Thank you?" White Diamond said, opening her gift. The gift looked … confusing, and looked like a space-techy thing. The galaxy represented as a wind up toy. "... What is it?"

"I stopped by Bismuth's forge and got her to whip up a model of the Galaxy, Steampunk-style. Why, ya don't like it?" Pinkie asked.

"No, no, of course not, that would be silly of me. Besides, judging anything based on appearance is WRONG," White Diamond insisted. For some reason the word wrong she REALLY tried to push out.

"By the way, where's everyone else? I thought they're gonna be here with you," asked Connie.

"Oh that, they all off on their own Holiday Adventure with Lapis and Jamie since they started hanging out together again. But don't worry, we got it covered, you all can focus on your holiday-based episode today," Pinkie Pie said.

"That's good, thanks," Steven said. That was another bit of responsibility not hanging over his head, so that was all good. Then the pink mare looked over to White Diamond.

"As for the presents, it's not always what the gift is that matters, it's what the gift means!" Pinkie explained.

"What it means. Oh, you mean function," White said.

"Nope, it's about how it makes you feel!" Pinkie said, suddenly holding a small toy, "A small toy can mean "I love you!" -" she then held onto Connie's book briefly, "-Or a good book can mean "Have a nice day!" -" and after giving the book back, she then had a scarf, "- A scarf can mean … well, usually that means "you look cold" That one's easy."

"I … don't think I follow," White Diamond said.

Then something seemed to trigger something from the pink mare. Before the mare could speak, her tail started to quiver. Next her legs started to shiver. And next thing they knew Pinkie Pie was shaking like crazy, a gasp escaping the mare before a smile returned to her face.

"Pinkie, w-what's wrong? Something going to fall, is there something crazy about to happen?" Steven immediately asked, looking around. But nothing seemed to happen, and Pinkie looked very cheery still.

"NOPE! If a doozy's about to happen I go all bouncy, and then I get all SUPER DUPER SHAKY. THIS time it's a tail twitchy, leg shaky, and THEN I get all super duper shaky."

"Which means …" Connie asked.

"That means a SONG IS COMING OOONNN!~"

"This should be good," Discord said with a smirk.

Without wasting anymore time, Pinkie Pie got the entire group moving on through Canterlot, feeling more festive than ever now that a great big musical number was about to begin. And what better time for one than on Hearth's Warming itself, not to mention everything looking so festive to begin with. Pinkie of course lead the group at this point, her trotting in tune to the song she was about to sing, and the music playing along with her.

Pinkie; Take a look at everything around you
All the smells that surely will astound you

The first stop they've seen was by the edge of town square, where some ponies were hanging up some Hearth's Warming Bells, them even ringing a little to the music and adding some extra chime to the song. Nothing wrong with some bells a ringin'

Pinkie; Open up your heart, it will surround you
In the magic of Hearth's Warming Eve

Pinkie Pie sprung up and tossed the reef she had around her neck, and got it around White Diamond's head, knocking off her hat but the reef looking like a necklace. Not too bad really, and still festive. The group soon got off to the main town square, seeing many a pony doing all sorts of things for the holiday, but the overall feel was still welcoming. And there were so many examples all over Canterlot for what this holiday meant. The first one was a kind pony giving a cold young mare some warm hot cocoa.

Pinkie; The little things that make it better

Another example was a group of fillies and colts singing a carol for a elderly mare.

Pinkie; Little children spreading cheer

Next one was from Pinkie Pie herself with some more stuff to give. Namely, as apart of her next set of lyrics, she gave a young filly a doll, a hug to a sad-looking stallion, and an older mare a warm fluffy coat.

Pinkie; Give a toy, a hug, a sweater
Memories that last all year

The mare brought her attention over to the group again, singing along once more. Though this pink mare wanted the others to join in with her, so in Pinkie Pie fashion, she got on some tap-dancing shoes on Spinel, Steven, and Connie.

Pinkie; The present's always filled with presents
Large, medium, and small
Sometimes the most important things
Aren't very big at all

What catchy tune was complete without a dance number? Pinkie Pie took the lead and did a few good tap-dancing steps to start things off. Steven and Connie, being more familiar to these dancing cues were soon to join in on the fun and started tap-dancing away. Steven did it the best out of the three, and while Connie was a little bit slower, Spinel tried joining in but was a bit sloppy. She nearly fell over her own feet but was caught by Steven and brought back to her feet to re-join the dancing. Good timing too, because now it was Steven's turn to sing as he and Spinel continued dancing.

Steven; What a party, there's so much to see here
Can't believe you didn't want to be here
You'd have had a blast, I guarantee here
This is the spirit of Hearth's Warming Eve

Steven went on with his dance some more, and conveniently there was somepony passing out cups of hot chocolate, which Steven gleefully took a few, passing them about to those not apart of the song.

Steven; Cocoa's flowing, this is living
Come on and feel the beat

Pinkie; Life is better when you're giving
Each time you do it feels so sweet

During this whole ordeal, they weren't completely left alone. Hidden away, just off out of sight, the Dazzlings actually didn't go that far away, and found themselves watching the whole musical number play out hidden away. Only Sonata really seemed to enjoy it though, as the group in the open continued with the song.

Pinkie; The present's always filled with presents
So come on, open your eyes
Spend time with ponies just like you
And watch your spirits rise

Steven; The present's always filled with presents
Take a look around
The reason for the holiday
Is quite easily found

Pinkie+Steven; Yes, the reason for the holiday
Is quite easily found

"And the reason is to be with your friends!" finished Pinkie Pie, the song concluding with an explosion of confetti. Even if they weren't apart of the song, a good crowd did give their applause for the performance they all made. Pearl also joined in the applauding, but mainly out of principal: her master was up and performing, why would she NOT applaud?

"Excellent performance, Mrs. Maheswaran!" Pearl called.

"Thank you, Pearl," replied Connie.

"What're we waiting for?!" Spinel beamed, holding onto Steven's arm, "Holiday's are here, let's do something with it!"

"Ok, ok, easy Spinel we got all day AND tomorrow," Steven said. "... but there's still a lot of cookies that're begging to be eaten."

"Okie dokie lokie! Now if you excuse me, I gotta get back to the others before they start wondering where I've been for the past half an hour. See ya!" And with that, Pinkie Pie bolted off on her way. Her purpose of showing White Diamond what the holiday was about was now completed. They'll probably meet up with her later.

"Okay, we've done our holiday musical, let's go and see what the rest of the holiday has to offer," decided Steven.

"Lead the way. I wanna get into this holiday," Spinel said, staying right next to him with her signature big grin.

…….

"Me too! Happy -"

"Keep it down," Adagio demanded, pulling Sonata away before they could be seen out in the open. "You want to ruin the plan?"

"No. … What's that again?" Sonata asked.

"You can never keep track of anything," Aria groaned, "To get our magic back."

"... OH YEAH. But I thought you said -"

"Forget what I said, listen to what I'm saying. Not ONLY are we back in Equestria, but we're in Canterlot - the heart of magic. As soon as we find out the source of our magic, we'll get back our power, and this world will be at our mercy in no time. It's just a question of how," Adagio concluded.

"And as soon as we start getting our magic back, we'll just get banished back to the Human World again," Aria remarked.

"NOT if we keep a low profile and have Steven on our good side. If anyone asks, we're just a group of Human friends stopping by for the holidays. Okay?"

"But I don't want to be a Human anymore. I can't even fly," Sonata complained. Aria and Adagio just gave Sonata a sort of a long look.

"... How about this? Sonata, just act like you're lost, okay," Adagio decided.

"That can't be too hard," Aria remarked.

"Okay, I can do that. I'm lost most of the time anyway," Sonata said. Adagio and Aria didn't answer her there, and just walked off to try and work this out, dragging Sonata away with them. They got a bit of work to do to figure something like this out. The sooner they can regain their singing and magic source, the sooner domination can -

*HE-HAW!*

"Who's that?" wondered Sonata.

"Just ignore it," Adagio replied.

Easier said than done though, as all three then started to hear a loud bang from not too far away, not to mention a stray paint can just rolling on into view.

"What the heck, Bray?!"

"Hey, YOU try tying knots with hooves, you'd find it's not as easy as it looks!"

Curiosity got the better of the three. Looking passed the next corner a ways, and avoiding getting paint on them, the trio of Dazzlings saw that they weren't the only odd ones out in Canterlot today. Off in the back of one of the buildings in town, Bray, Budgerite, Stubby, and Sumu were together and getting to work on … well, something, the Dazzlings weren't sure what. A lot of work, whatever it is, mainly involved in making some props for what they could assume to be some form of show. And Bray and Budgerite had to pull themselves out of a mess of rope, Budgerite getting out quicker than Bray did.

"Why're we doing this again? Grogar said to make Steven uncomfortable, didn't he?" Sumu asked, confused a little bit.

"I know, he also said we can do whatever we want to do that, and I WILL NOT let that slip by. Why'd you think we've been making the Candle Queen look so familiar, huh?" Budgerite said, pointing to a rather large looking figure made entirely of wood.

"Huh. …"

"LAY OFF, ROPE, go bind something else," Bray said at one point, getting very frustrated and incapable of getting the rope off of his tangled mess.

"Wait, wait, hold still," Stubby said, getting his teeth on one part of the rope and tried pulling it off like a dog to a chew toy, tugging and pulling as much as he could.

"I swear, this rope's trying to strangle me!" Bray yelled, tumbling and struggling to even stay on his hooves. It was sad, really. Budgerite tried helping him out too, but Sumu mainly was just watching the stooges do their business. Until she saw the secondary stooges standing not too far away, which Stubby was unknowingly backing right into.

"Got a problem, mutt?" Aria remarked.

One look at the three humans, and …

"WE'RE FOUND OUT!" Stubby shrieked, the rope whiplashing right back at Bray, whipping him right in the flank. After another loud *HE-HAW*, he actually bolted out of the rope, free. But hurt. As Bray handled his flank, Stubby bolted right back to the others, getting some distance between himself and the Humans that just randomly showed up.

"Uh-uh-uh-what're you doing here, this is public property you're not allowed here!" Budgerite suddenly squawked.

"But aren't they the public?" Sumu asked.

"Okay, calm down," Adagio said, hands raised in submission, "Me and my sisters are just passing by and were just checking on the noise, making sure things are okay."

"We're cool over here, both literally and not-literally," said Bray, "Just fought a rope that tried to bull-tie me, no big deal."

"Is that what that was?" Aria snobbishly remarked, unimpressed by the so-called "fight".

"Anyway, why don't you three just run along and we'll wrap up things here?" Budgerite insisted, trying to push the Dazzlings away. This sort of worked for Adagio and Aria, but Sonata slipped by Budgerite and looked more focused on the large being in the back. It was enough to actually make her snicker.

"What even IS THIS? It looks just terrible!" Sonata chuckled.

"I worked all morning on that thing," snapped Bray, jumping at the blue girl for insulting all the work he put into it.

"Which is why we should keep working on it before the show," Budgerite said, quickly going over to Sonata and pushing her along towards her sisters so all three can just go on their way. Sonata was pulled over by Aria.

"Can't you just stop being dumb for once?" Aria questioned.

"That's not dumb, that's curious! There's a difference," Sonata retorted.

"Hard to tell with you," Aria replied, releasing Sonata and letting her fall. Adagio didn't need dumb and dumber making anyone suspicious, so she stood in between her sisters and Budgerite to get the half Gem's attention.

"Ignore them, they act like this all the time. We're not here to make any trouble, we're just a trio of Humans visiting on Steven's behalf, so if you want us to leave, then we'll go do that." Adagio promised.

"...…. You're humans?" Budgerite asked, legitimately confused.

"Yeah, clearly," Aria said.

"And … Steven invited you here. Steven Steven?" concluded Stubby.

"Yes, indeed. We're all friends here."

…

"Give me the rope," Budgerite quickly instructed.

"Huh?" said Sonata. Bray was already on it and threw the rope to Budgerite, who quickly tackled Adagio to the ground, and worked the rope to tie her up. They were so blind-sided, they hardly had time to react. Next thing they knew, Aria, Adagio, and Sonata were tied up and tossed together over by the nearest wall.

"Good going, Adagio," Aria groaned.

"Shut up, what did I even do?" Adagio groaned, just before Budgerite slapped on some gags over the Dazzlings' mouths.

"Oh great, great, GREAT, NOW what're we gonna do?! Guys, any ideas?" Stubby asked.

"Give me a second, this just happened! Obviously we can't let em go, they'll rat on us to Steven," Budgerite said, struggling to figure out what to do with these three. It was risky all together, but they weren't taking any chances. Adagio though was a bit intrigued by that herself. They sure didn't sound like Steven's friends ...

"Rats? That doesn't sound too bad."

"That means they're gonna tell Steven about us being here, SUMU."

"Oh. I still don't see the problem," Sumu shrugged.

"You don't get it plant! No one's supposed to know we're here, and if we screw this up, Grogar's gonna make me cry! You don't wanna see me cry, do you?" Bray yelped, looking very scared about it himself.

Sumu gasped in surprise. "No!"

"Mmmm! MMMPH!"

The four looked over to Adagio, who while joining the other three in trying to get free, actually was trying to speak passed the bind in her mouth.

"Not now, Human, we're thinking here," Bray said.

"Well think of something, donkey, before -"

"Before what? Budgerite?"

Budgerite gulped on the voice, and felt even more cold when they all saw a shadow from one of the rooftops. Sure enough, next thing they knew, the king of Tambalon himself leaped down to confront the four.

"G-G-Grogar! Y-You're here already?" Budgerite stuttered.

"I am, lass. … And what do you call this?" Grogar questioned, taking one look to the three Humans tied up in knots. The sight of Grogar made the trio halt in their efforts, the tyrant of a ram moving towards them. Sonata looked the most freaked out.

"A trio of Steven's friends," Bray said, "but we got them tied up, we just wanted to know … what to do with them?"

Adagio had to go through some good handiwork before she finally forced the bind out of her mouth, letting her breathe and talk properly.

"Wait a minute, I think there's some misunderstanding here," Adagio said.

"What misunderstanding, you JUST SAID you were friends with Steven Universe," Stubby said from behind Grogar.

"No, wait, just hear me out. Maybe we can work something out … something with Steven in mind, perhaps?" Adagio suggested, smirking.

"HA! You think we're just gonna keel over because -"

"HOLD! … I will hear them," Grogar decided. All of Grogar's subjects moved out of his way, as he stood right in front of Adagio, staring her eye to eye.

"But if I don't like what I hear. Then you'll share his fate. Agreed?"

"Mmm?" Sonata asked.

"You won't regret it," reassured Adagio.

"We'll see about that …"

~~~~~~

Despite all of this festivities though, one particular new arrival to Canterlot had a more direct goal in mind, as she flew in from the sky above.

"Finally," Lapis thought, "Some more familiar ground. The Terraforming on Earth can wait just one day. At last, I'm in a place where I can be with my own people instead of being surrounded by those -"

And then Lapis Lazuli actually landed. She did not see any Gems anywhere. The only thing she saw were aristocratic ponies, not anything remotely like her. … Well okay, they were dressed the part, albeit somewhat festive but that was about it. She didn't dare try to wreck her bouquet, but …

"You kidding me?" Lapis grumbled. She felt like she had been … well, had. At least she can say they were aristocratic on some way, so this wasn't as bad as they figured it would be. They looked clean at least.
With her now standing there, looking around, one of the ponies among town took notice of her arrival. The ponies sure looked fancy in their own way, especially the stallion with his almost full body tuxedo suit with golden buttons and a purple bow tie, monocle over his eye, white gleaning fur and his blue mane and tail that almost seemed to glisten in the sun it was so well-kept.
Joining him was a mare of equal status, a slim unicorn with a flowing light pink mane and tail that almost flowed down her head like a waterfall.

"Well, they look the part at least," Lapis thought.

"Oh, it's you is it? Lapis Lazuli of the Harmony Gems," said the stallion, going over to her, "The pleasure's all mine to be seeing you this holiday season."

"Well spoken too," Lapis thought again, though the Harmony Gems being mentioned did bother her head again for whatever reason.

"L-Likewise. Um … Have we met before?"

"Oh, yes of course. Fancy Pants, my dear. And this is my mistress, Fleur de Lis," Fancy Pants introduced. Fleur smiled to her, though Lapis didn't really know too much about these "Harmony Gems" or whatever that was. She just cleared her throat.

"Right," she said, putting on one of those fake smiles, "Well, I'm mainly here for one "Princess". I want to show her these, so if you could just tell me where she is."

Lapis then presented the bouquet of flowers to the two ponies, showing them what kind of gift she had in mind. Fulgurite did mention they would like such a thing, and it only took them a little look to show impressment and surprise, Fancy Pants readjusting his monocle.

"My word, this would make a perfect gift for the princesses. I must ask, where'd you get these?" asked Fleur, admiring the work. Lapis had to hold back a groan from the question.

"Get them nothing, I made these myself," Lapis corrected. Fleur realized her mistake.

"You made them! Oh, sorry about that, Ms. Lazuli. I do have to say, you've made such a beautiful bouquet. The princesses would simply adore it."

"Y-You think so? It takes a lot to get this right, and I wanted it to look its best," Lapis said, pretending that it took a lot of time over the literal seconds to make it work.

"Oh, no doubt in our mind," agreed Fancy Pants. "Ice flowers are always so difficult to make, but you make it look so easy."

"Well the tops are the hardest part. Just ask ANY terraformer," Lapis said, referring to the flower buds themselves.

"I personally find the stems hardest myself. They can be so fragile," said Fancy Pants, looking at Lapis Lazuli's flower stems. To each its own.

"Right. … So, uh, the princesses?" Lapis asked again. She had her priority to handle.

"Oh, the princesses would be in the castle, right over there. The rest of the Harmony Gems I've heard are helping them out with decorating the castle anyway," Fancy Pants pointed out, pointing to the main castle of Canterlot.
That word again. Lapis felt her head start to ache, making her grunt a little bit.

"Huh? You alright?"

"No I'm fine, Thank you, happy holiday, I gotta go," Lapis said quickly, ready to go and walk along her way again.

"And a Happy Hearth's Warming to you, madam," said Fancy Pants, before he and Fleur de Lis went off to enjoy the holiday some more. Lapis felt comfortable for the first time in days, taking off off towards the castle. With her head a little achy though, she took some more mental notes.

"Come on, not again. What's wrong with my head now, I'm not thinking about that one thing this time! What making my head hurt now?" Lapis thought, hand to her as she tried to calm down the headache she was gaining. However, her thinking of Jamie alongside the Harmony Gems made her migraine even worse, to the point when she actually had to stop walking altogether, and try to take a few breaths. She placed her bouquet down nearby, and brought both hands to her head, pressing into it and trying to will out the pain.

"Stop hurting! I'm not doing anything wrong," Lapis thought through gritted teeth. She had to think about something else - ANYTHING else, her fingers going through her hair and actually messing it up a little bit. In this headache though, there was something else going through her head.

Visions. They were very quick, but Lapis actually slapped herself to make them stop. After calming down, she began to reconcile. Something in her head … her memory …
Angry and still hurting, Lapis Lazuli got out her wings and started flying fast, forgetting her bouquet of flowers she left behind on the snow-covered ground. She had other priorities to handle before she'll poof from her migraine. Her flight path was fast, and swift as she looked around Canterlot from fifty feet into the sky for her answer.

"Where is that thing?" She thought through a mix of gritting teeth and clenched fists. At first in her flight around she couldn't find him anywhere, just lots of ponies and maybe a familiar Gem or two following her way, but no Jamie in her sights.

And soon she found him. He was still feeling grim over what happened earlier by the looks of it, the ponies trying to make him at least somewhat better. Lapis was too far away to hear what they were doing, but she didn't care. She started diving towards them, at full speed.

"Maybe we can go and find a tree to decorate, what do you say?" offered Starlight.

"No thanks. My broken heart can't be mended by sugar," Jamie sighed.

"JAMIE!" shouted Lapis Lazuli.

"L-Lapis?!" exclaimed Jamie, the whole group soon seeing her diving towards them. As if her headache wasn't enough, seeing the same guy again felt like she just got shot in the head. She wasn't stopping. Starlight and Rarity both quickly jumped to create a shield, but Lapis Lazuli fell down just a bit too fast.
Then came the hit: Jamie and Lapis tumbled together for a good several feet, spinning and spinning and rolling down the road until both of them finally stopped altogether, Jamie laying on his back and Lapis on top of him. Two stunned people, running into eachother unexpectedly.

In a yelp, Lapis jumped off of Jamie, right back on her feet as Jamie was left stunned more than hurt from the tackle. Fortunately, the ponies quickly went over to him, some guarding him from Lapis and some helping him back up.

"Hold it you, you keep away from him if you're gonna crash him like that!" insisted Rainbow. Friend or not, she was ready to fight. Lapis though didn't care for it.

"This. Is between. US." Lapis raised her hands up, and the snow around them turned to water which grabbed any and all ponies in her sights, throwing them aside so it was only her and Jamie. Jamie got up to his feet, alarmed.

"Lapis, calm down please. Y-You still upset about our last encounter? Don't worry, my heart is already shattered -" Lapis kept her gaze lowered a bit and halted Jamie's talking when she gripped his shoulders. And what did she say next?

"... You started this … NOW FIX IT!"

"...…. C-Can you be more specific, please?" Jamie asked meekly. Lapis went from holding him by the shoulders to holding him by the collar, freaking him out even more.

"Ever since earlier today, since you were dragged to me by those colored clumps of dirt -"

"Uncalled for!" called Rarity.

"- My head has been in a constant cycle of pain. Pounding, banging, over and over again, it's driving me mad! And each time it only involved you. Images are constantly appearing in my head each and every time, I don't even recall doing any of it! CLEARLY you did something to me, and you WILL make this stop. NOW!" Lapis explained, her anger driven by said headache, which kept growing from just looking at Jamie.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, I would never hurt you!" insisted Jamie. Lapis heard that last part echo in her head, and a strong migraine hit made her not only release Jamie, but drop the ponies as well.

"Oh no, Lapis you okay?" gasped Fluttershy, as Lapis had to step back and try to regather herself.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop -" Lapis kept repeating this to herself the more she kept feeling that pounding in her head. It was enough to make the water Gem start to lose her footing, but despite being pinned down just moments earlier, Fluttershy got herself behind Lapis to help keep her balanced, holding her behind her arms.

"Hang on, maybe I can calm her down," Starlight said, trotting over to her, her horn glowing. Lapis's head was soon wrapped in a soothing aura. It took a while, but eventually Lapis did slowly start to calm down as her headache began to fade away slowly. It was still there by the time Starlight Glimmer stopped, but it was far more manageable this time, leaving Lapis breathing heavily, eyes wide open.

"Lapis Lazuli …?" Jamie hated to see his angel in pain, but Lapis quickly turned around, NOT looking at him and NOT triggering anymore of her headache.

"Whatever you did, just go ahead and fix it. Make it quick," Lapis simply said, keeping her eyes aimed away from Jamie.

"B-But I don't know what I did … Not that I won't try, I'd hate to see you like this."

"I don't care what you want, just fix this so I can move on with my existence. I don't want to keep seeing you in my head any longer," Lapis demanded, getting impatient. As far as she was concerned, Jamie was just stalling time. Jamie could feel his heart shrivel in his chest on such cold words, but the more they thought about it, the more the idea was starting to give them a hypothesis to what was really going on.

"Wait. Lapis, what visions keep appearing?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know," Lapis remarked, "But they keep either involving you or some Harmony -" Lapis stopped when the headache began to come back, only this time the other ponies were quicker to react this time, and some soothing magic kept her from stumbling off her feet again.

"Ok, Lapis, don't freak out again," insisted Starlight.

"It's NOT my fault," Lapis insisted. After calming her down, Starlight began to work out her own hypothesis.

"Hey, Lapis? I'm not an expert on how the mind works, but I think your mind's trying to tell you something," Starlight pointed out.

"You mean something's trying to remind her?" Fluttershy wondered.

"Maybe. I mean, it's a little bit coincidental that the trigger words are either "Jamie" or "Harmony"," Starlight said. The unicorn covered her mouth quick, but Lapis suddenly felt a headache again.

"What are you trying to do?" Lapis groaned. The group began to see where Starlight was coming from.

"Alright, Lapis Lazuli, just one question before we attempt anything. Have you tried um … letting them happen?" Rarity asked. Lapis couldn't believe what they just said.

"You mean you DON'T KNOW how to fix this?"

"No, not at all, but maybe this might be a good thing," Rarity said. Lapis wasn't buying it for a second, but everyone else could see exactly what she was talking about.

"No, I'm not that stupid to let it happen," Lapis simply answered.

Shortly after that, Lapis simply stood there, back turned, as the group of ponies and one Human started talking about what to do here. She didn't want to hear anything else, so while she stood there she covered her ears to block any trigger words out. She did NOT need yet another painful migraine today if she could help it. Still, eventually she felt someone tap her shoulder, letting her take her hands of her ears.

"Can you turn around? Just for a second please? We want you to look at something," asked Fluttershy.

"... Fine," Lapis said.

Then she turned around, but she kept her eyes shut.

"Uh … eyes open?" Rainbow asked.

"Grrr, fine. … One … two … three."

Now her eyes were open, she saw the ultimate trigger. Jamie standing there, but she also saw the hologram of the Harmony Gems standing right with him! She recognized some of the Gems like Bismuth, Fulgurite, or Flint, but Starlight made sure to include a few more Gems in such as Pearl, Amethyst, and even Garnet and a younger Steven.

The sight immediately made Lapis jump back, holding her head as the pounding started to come back.

"No, Lapis, just breathe and relax," insisted Rarity, "everything will be okay. We wouldn't do this just to hurt you, I swear it's going to help."

"How long are you GOING TO TOY WITH ME?!" Lapis yelled, her water wings out and ready to attack them all. This alone made everyone start to move back, and they all thought she was going to either fly away or charge right at them. They didn't want to go this far, but Starlight had to make it quick.

"Sorry, Lapis," Starlight breathed, before she focused her magic on something else, and conjured up the one thing that changed Lapis's life more than anything else. The VERY FIRST thing.

A small. Handheld. Mirror.

"S-Starlight! Put that away!" gasped Rarity in shock.

"Too much?" Out of all the things she could've conjured up, this was by far the last thing they needed right now. Lapis saw her reflection in the mirror, seeing how angry, and in pain she was in, and Lapis actually grabbed it. Holding it, and staring at her own reflection. Did she really look like that? So anger-filled, and pain-driven?

"Eh, Lapis? You with us, buddy?" asked Rainbow Dash. But Lapis didn't say anything, just looking to the mirror more, the silence filling the air. The water wings even fell onto the snow-covered ground, not even retracting in her gemstone.

"...…. This ……. this mirror …" Lapis gently placed her hand onto the surface, feeling the smooth cold surface of her own reflection. Her migraine, which was what got her here in the first place, almost seemed to stop immediately as she just looked into the mirror.

…

Something began happening.

Lapis only blinked once, and suddenly she was somewhere else completely. Canterlot was nowhere, the ponies and Jamie weren't anywhere either. All she saw now was herself, her body in pure blue, and the once small mirror now growing to a human-sized fullbody mirror. Looking into the mirror, Lapis saw someone standing there. She could say it was herself, but there was something different with her. Could be the outfit he was wearing, could be the brighter color of his skin, could just be his smile.
Either way, Lapis felt compelled to come closer. The figure reached out to her, hand extended in friendship and to say "I'm you're friend".

All Lapis had to do then, was step through the mirror.

(Steven Universe - Isn't it Love? parody)

Lapis found herself in a whole new world. Somewhere comfortable, warm, and inviting. An open beach in the summertime. She recognized this beach since she emerged, but this felt different. As if she always knew this part of the world. Seagulls flew along the warm breeze overhead as the cool waters of the sea brushed up against her feet. Guiding her along the beach was a child, smiling and pulling her along to show her around the place. He looked like Steven, but younger than when she last saw him. For some reason, Lapis didn't feel like wanting to run away, and allowed him to bring her along towards a town.

Suddenly hot, I'm …
Suddenly cool, I'm ...

She was soon brought right into town. Beach City. For the most part, it looked relatively the same as it always had been, people going around and about their day, many a familiar face, but each window on each building seemed to act like a television screen, showing a scene playing out from what Lapis could confirm to be part of her life. Some good, some bad, but they all were there for her to observe all the same. She didn't feel any pain when seeing these things, feeling again that she must've known all of these the whole time ...

Suddenly a genius yet
Suddenly a fool, I'm ...

Lapis continued on through town, going down the sidewalk with this child, whoever it was. Still, seeing the screens playing began to feel almost nostalgic in some cases. All of the years she spent on this planet, here and in Equus and even on Homeworld were playing out more as she went along. At first the screens didn't show too much, mainly Lapis joining the "Crystal Gems" and joining them in their adventures from there, even including her overcoming her fear of mirrors at one point. Yet, when she and this "Steven" got towards the residential area of Beach City, something was happening.

Suddenly back to where I feel...
Stranger than fiction, unreal

Lapis only looked away briefly before she felt her hand being released, making her slow down to check out the screens for a short while. The screens continued showing some more scenes involving her life on the planet, but eventually numerous screens started to show her interactions with the very Human she threatened just minutes ago. Namely, how happy she was to be with him throughout the years, the first screen showing their first meeting when he mailed a package to the Beach House, and their small chat by the mailbox.

And turning away, she suddenly found him standing in front of her, looking just as surprised as she was. But not in the same way as before, but more like a curiosity than a fear-filled surprise.

But I'm suddenly back
I'm a walking contradiction!

Instead of following the Steven she was instead following this other Human around the place, finding it enjoyable and comforting as the whole world seemed to shift and time flowed by. The seasons came and went, the warm air turning cold as snow began to fall, which turned into rain by the time spring would come back, but Lapis didn't really mind all that much. She was too focused on the Human to really notice anyway, following him along as they both enjoyed eachother's company. Their walk slowly started turning into a dance.

Doesn't this have a name?
La-da-da-da-da
Couldn't this have a name?
Shouldn't this have a name?

Eventually, standing over in a field of grass looking over Beach City. Funny enough, they both stopped up on Brooding Hill, looking into eachother's eyes. All those screens, all those memories were coming back to her. And now, when Jamie brought out his hand, Lapis happily accepted.

And isn't it, isn't it, isn't it love?
Could it be, could it be, could it be love?
Should it be, should it be, should it be love?
Should it be
Could it be
Isn't it love?

…….

"Oooohhhh … what happened? I felt like I went all over the galaxy and back."

Lapis opened her eyes. Back in Canterlot, back on Hearth's Warming Eve, and back with Jamie and the ponies. She blinked a few times, no longer feeling her head hurting and actually feeling much better. As for the others, when they saw her blue scarf and gold star, they knew that could only mean one thing. Jamie was the first to speak, overjoyed.

"Lapis! I've been waiting all day!" Jamie exclaimed, rushing over and hugging her tight.

"J-Jamie, you're back from your trip! Did I forget to see you, I'm so sorry," Lapis asked.

"Oh forget the trip, Lapis I thought I lost you forever! My sweet angel," Jamie was close to actually crying he was so happy. Lapis, despite her confusion just couldn't help herself and giggled a bit as she returned the gesture.

"We got Lapis back! Oh, wait until Steven hears about this," Rarity said in glee.

"Yeah, he's gonna flip," agreed Rainbow Dash. THIS news surprised Lapis lazuli even more than everything else.

"Wait, Steven's back too?! Where's he at?" Lapis exclaimed, not seeing him around at first. Last thing she remembered with him was him being gone, in part thanks to her and Amethyst's panicking. Who knows how he was doing by now?

"I uh … don't know, but we last heard he's spending time here for Hearth's Warming. Come on, let's go find out where he went," said Fluttershy. It shouldn't be too hard, since Hearth's Warming was celebrated here more than anywhere else, plus most of his friends were here already anyway. The only regret now was that Jamie didn't have his bouquet to present to her.

At least, that's what he thought until he heard something get placed down nearby. Jamie glanced to said direction, and low and behold, a small bouquet of flowers were seen sitting on a nearby table, a note simply saying "Happy Holidays. She'll love these."
Why question good fortune?

"Before we go, I got something to show you," Jamie said. Lapis stopped, and Jamie turned back briefly. It may not be the flowers he had originally, but he showed the flowers of gold in their bouquet all the same, showing it to Lapis Lazuli. Why waste the chance to finally make up for earlier? Even if they weren't his.

"Um. For you," Jamie said. Lapis held the bouquet in her hands for a brief moment or two, Jamie waiting for what response Lapis had to say. Lapis looked to the flowers for a bit, but then smiled to Jamie.

"Oh, Jamie, they look beautiful. Thanks," Lapis said with a smile, before giving Jamie a kiss on the cheek. Jamie flustered up, and smiled wide. The ponies smiled when seeing this happen.

Before they could continue, Pinkie Pie finally ran back to them, skidding to a halt.

"Hey girls! So what'd I miss?"

~~~~~~

So, time ticked on for a while more, pony, human, and gem alike enjoying the festivities however it seemed to be. Steven's group had plenty of time to handle whatever fun there was to be had, be it either enjoying the gingerbread, playing some snowball fights, decorate some trees, or just relaxing and catching snowflakes. They had a lot of fun with it, but despite all of this, there was one particular detail during this whole celebration Steven noticed, and it involved White Diamond and Spinel.
No matter what activity they all did, those two would NOT try any of it together. Spinel wouldn't even talk to White Diamond half the time, and the rest of it she kept close to Steven's side despite Steven telling her otherwise. Both Gems acted like it was no big deal, either White just brushing it off or Spinel finding some excuse to not do so. Regardless, they were seeing that the two just weren't up to anything together. The closest they ever got was when Spinel caught White Diamond's snowflake with some stretching of her tongue. No talking, but literally that was closest they got.
This continued on as they began to head near the theater for the Hearth's Warming play.

"So what's this about?" Spinel asked.

"It's for the Hearth's Warming Eve Play," explained Steven, "They put on this show every year. It shows how Hearth's Warming began, what it's about, and everything."

"You mean like your pony friend did earlier today?" White Diamond asked. Connie and Steven actually had to think about it.

"Ehh … actually, it's kinda close, but more historical," Connie said.

"A display over the history of ponykind? That ... actually sounds like it's not a waste of time," White Diamond said with a smile.

"Good enough compliment," Steven said with a wink and smile, "So let's see what seats -"

"STEEEEEVEEEEN!"

Yet another interruption thanks to the pink mare, but this time Steven was more prepared and as Pinkie Pie galloped right for him, he braced himself and caught Pinkie in a hug just before Pinkie could just topple him over.

"Gotcha, Pinkie!"

"Wow, you've been getting better at that. I nearly got ya that time," Pinkie complimented.

"Oh, you're back. Did you come to sing another song, because we're already going to see the display inside," White Diamond asked, pointing to the Theater. Pinkie shook her head.

"Sounds super fun, but nope. Steven Universe. Guess who I saw today?~" Pinkie said.

"Hmm … a snowman?" Steven chuckled. Pinkie got off of Steven.

"Ooooo, you're good. But nope, I mean a somebody, not a something. She's ready to meet ya too, and yes, she knows who you are now."

"She?" Connie asked.

"Okay, ready?" asked Fluttershy.

And then the rest of them came over. Steven and company saw Starlight's group in toe, along with Jamie, but the moment he saw Lapis Lazuli in her newest form, Steven Universe immediately realized what Pinkie meant. As did Spinel.

"Uh oh," Spinel said, quickly jumping behind Steven to hide herself just in case Lapis would jump at her. There was a … bit of an awkward moment between Steven and Lapis Lazuli, both sides unsure how to approach eachother, both involving the same incident just before Steven left.

"Hey, listen I - … I wanna say - …" Timed a little too well, they kept responding to eachother.

"... You go first," Steven said, allowing Lapis to speak.

And boy did she. At first it started out small, but as the vivid memories of her last encounter with Steven went, alongside Amethyst. With her regained memory, that in particular went right through her head among other memories. Lapis looked calm, taking a long deep breath … before hugging Steven, tears shooting out like faucet streams. Lapis's tears showed her mood completely, though Spinel had to get an umbrella out of her own hand to not get drenched in her tears.

"Steven, I'm really really really REALLY SORRY FOR EVERYTHING! I should've stayed there and helped you, but I completely panicked like a piece of dirt and left you all alone! I never wanted you to think we hated you, or wanted you to leave home for good, I swear on my own gemstone! I wanted to go back out and find you, but everyone kept telling me to let you come back on your own, even if it's all my fault for making you think we all hate you! Please forgive me, Steven -

"Lapis, Lapis! It's all chill now, everything's okay. It's not even your fault anyway," Steven said, trying to now calm Lapis down. "I was the one who actually messed up back there, and thought running away was actually a good idea. But I'm never going to do that again, I'm staying here with my friends. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course," Lapis replied with a smile. Steven and Lapis shared another hug there, but as Lapis did that, she took one look behind Steven, and took one look at Spinel. …

"Everything's chill, I'm not a bad guy anymore, don't hurt me please," Spinel quickly informed before Lapis could get any ideas.

"In a minute," Lapis answered … whatever that meant for Spinel. However, it was White Diamond who actually had a nerve to intervene, walking over to Steven and Lapis, White joined by Discord.

"So … we're still here. And I think it's starting soon?" White pointed out.

"Oh yeah, the play! Hey Lapis, you wanna join us?" Steven offered.

"Are you kidding?" Lapis joked.

Nothing like a play to help enjoy the holiday some more. Now that both groups were present together, they all went over towards the theater, wasting no more time. The only one though that was halted by something was Pinkie Pie. She was all smiles to see everyone happy, as usual, but ever so briefly she suddenly started feeling something start to come up. It started as a small tingle, but quickly started shifting into a HUGE spasm freak-out. Her whole body basically freaked out for a good ten seconds or so, until she finally relaxed after flopping onto the ground.

"Woooooo, THAT'S a doozy! … Wonder what the big doozy is today? ……. Oh well," Pinkie shrugged, and she just went on to join the others inside. She'll probably find out later anyway.

As probably expected, the place was already pretty packed with numerous ponies taking their seats. Even if this place was designed for ponies, there still was a lot of room for the Humans and Gems to comfortably fit, and comfortably have a good view of the stage at the end of the large room. Even if she shrunk down a lot since her powers were taken, White Diamond still felt like the tall one out of the crowd (not to mention the light she glowed made her a lightbulb).

"Uh, maybe I should just stand over here, Steven. Wouldn't my aura bother any...pony?" White Diamond inquired, unsure how good that will end up.

"It's okay, White, let's just find you a good seat and let's enjoy the show," Steven suggested. Spinel took action.

"THIS looks comfy, Steven, let's try WAY over here!" Spinel suddenly said, before taking Steven and pulling him down to the further row closer to the theater stage. Leaving White Diamond sitting alone with Discord. Again.

"Spinel," Steven said.

"Don't cha want a front row seat? Besides, White can see over everybody, it ain't bugging anyone. Come on, it's about to start," Spinel said, hopping right to her seat.

"That's not the point," Steven said, but before he could tell her, the lights started to dim. Steven looked back to White Diamond, just standing there by herself. She smiled, acting as if this wasn't making her feel left out, but it just felt … wrong.

"Never seen one of these before. Hey, Steven, want some? I got plenty and I don't have to eat," Spinel offered.

"Uh I'm good, thanks," Steven sighed. He'll have to tell her later after the show.

If only he knew what was coming next.
With the crowd comfy and ready to listen, the display then pulled the curtains aside so everyone could see the stage. Nothing really looked like it was up on stage just yet, just an empty stage with a large piano, with the spotlight looking around as it would usually do when finding the main character for a show. Jamie, Lapis, Steven, Connie, and Spinel followed the light for a bit until they eventually found the main sign. The sign was a billboard, held out by a small hand and simply reading two words, bold and easy to read.

(【Gumi English】Candle Queen【Original Song Collaboration】)

Only for a smaller sign to pop up from below it, again easy to read.

(Parody)

"This … doesn't sound like Hearth's Warming. Or Harmony Day. Or any holiday for that matter," Steven realized, slightly confused on what the signs said. Unless they were talking about Christmas Candles, it didn't sound much like the holiday at all.
But then, as the signs were pulled away, the first pony started walking out. Well, not pony, but rather an all too familiar looking Mule. Regardless of the crowd, Bray trotted out onto stage, holding a fancy three-burning candle stand in his mouth, the Donkey dressed up in a red and white tuxedo, his tail raised like a flag and his ears folded back as he trotted towards the piano. It was as fancy as a Donkey could be.

"Oh no," Lapis thought.

"That's Bray. That is Bray in a tuxedo," Spinel pointed out, already feeling a bit troubled. Steven already figured that out, but he was more confused than scared. Sure, if HE was here, that meant someone else was somewhere, but why was he up performing on stage in a tux?
Bray got right over to the piano, placing the candle down beside the piano stand, and having a seat. It all looked like a standard set up for a professional pianist to set up things, and Bray got his hooves up and ready.

And the second he started playing the piano, the singer started coming in from Stage Left.

Budgerite; Ever since she had emerged
she always knew how to get her way
Just act a little bit WILD
and someone'll surely come to play

Out came Budgerite, though like Bray she had a new outfit. She had a sort of tuxedo herself, only hers was striped with green, white, and red like a Christmas present. She even had the present bow in her hair. Budgerite had a microphone by her head too, so her voice was good and loud through the speakers set up. As Budgerite kept singing, something started to appear behind the backstage curtain. It was a silhouette for something, but they couldn't tell who or what it was just yet.

Budgerite; It's a truth she took to heart
but humility, and patience didn't come to age
She's made to play this part
A Diamond's always center stage!~

The second she said DIAMOND, they all knew what was gonna come next. And as Bray pushed more on the keys for louder notes, the lights in the back lit up, revealing the pink outlines of the figures' hair and outfit for all to see. The colors though were more vibrant, as if she was glowing. Like a Candle Queen.

"We're doing this again. J-Just keep it together, it's just a play Mr. Universe," Steven thought gravely. What'd he expect at this point? White Diamond too meanwhile was mentally freaking out seeing THIS show up on stage, but Discord was smart enough not to poke an active grenade during a show. At least not without his magic.

Well, at least the song was catchy, so they both could focus more on that rather than the diamond in the background, as Budgerite started to get more into dancing to the jazzy tune of Bray's piano.

Budgerite; Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder
Relishing in untestable power
Glowing bright in a black and white scene
the one and only; Candle Queen!

Lighting flames that burn higher and brighter
wearing a burning crown of fire
Setting aspark, an extravagant scene
the one and only; Candle Queen!~

Onto verse two. But before that, Bray had a bit of fun playing his piano to the jazzy song, even getting off his own seat to "dance" on the piano, all four hooves keeping tune to the song too. As this happened, two more figures came in from both sides of the stage:
Stubby from the left, who came in doing a sort of jittery tap dance, his paws almost blurry he went so quickly. He wasn't in a tuxedo like the other two, but he still looked fancy with a candle hat tied to his head, legitimate flame burning on top of it.
Sumu from the right, who with some work with her vines made herself a small extra body that looked a bit like that of a pony doll. The body she had was doing well, as she came out in a Broadway dance of sorts, with her "dressed" up as one of those little people wearing green clothes.

As Stubby and Sumu joined in with Budgerite near the center stage, the figure in the back almost seemed to move on its own, facing the crowd briefly as her eyes glowed like, as they've said, candle lights. Good work on the Dazzlings to actually making this look legitimate, even if they weren't the ones singing on stage.

Speaking of, onto verse two, as the backdrop disappeared with the lights turned off.

Budgerite; Addicted to adrenaline
and always looking for attention
but to be so genuine
when she's suddenly met with -

Sumu+Budgerite; APREHENSION.

The scene behind turned from a single frame of a Diamond, into two Diamonds (take a guess on who they are). They were represented this time as Adagio for one Diamond, and Aria for another, seemingly working on a silent argument in the background as flames danced around them thanks to the light worked by both Sumu's extra vines and Sonata's handiwork

Budgerite; The fighting's just begun
And she'll do anything to keep ahead

An extra detail to this display then had Budgerite hopping up and thanks to some fancy footwork and timing by the Dazzlings' part, made it look like she was walking on top of their heads, hopping from one head to another.

Like using people as ladder steps
And sweeping egg shells under the bed.

Budgerite hopped down to the ground after that, landing on top of the piano and as Bray and Stubby kept the tune to the song in their little jig, Budgerite actually joined in and made the piano their little dancing stage. Sumu provided playing of the piano as the other three got on top of the piano for their singing trio.

Budgerite + Bray + Stubby; Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder
challenging her untestable power
glowing red in a black and white scene
the one and only: Candle Queen!

Stroking the flames that burn higher and higher
Flaunting a broken crown of fire
letting ablaze her extravagant scheme
the one and only; Candle Queen!~

After that verse, the lights themselves suddenly dimmed down into a more somber blue, and instead of Budgerite singing her song, it was Sumu's turn, as the others provided backup vocals for her, swaying their heads in tune to the song.

Sumu; ah, but there's hope for you still (Aaaaahhhh)
Before it all comes unfurled (Aaaaahhhh)
Ah, you just need to - (Aaahhh)

All 4; CHILL

Sumu: It's not the end of the world (Aaaaahhhh)

The chorus quieted down at this point, as the lights focused primarily on the figure in the back, who now didn't look like she was in a particular display, but just standing there and facing the crowd. Budgerite, Bray, Stubby, or Sumu couldn't be seen, but the vines started to reach into the figure in the back. A bit freaky, but still effective.

Budgerite; She couldn't help but be this way
She lost her true self long ago
Now all of her friends had been pushed away
Because a caricature is all they know

And suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the figure actually pulled the curtains aside and stepped out onto stage. A marionette of the Candle Queen, not a single sign of any strings on her as she waltzed out onto the stage to the song, her hair and clothing glowing bright for all to see her as if she were on fire herself. Her dancing wasn't so elegant though, as it did look like someone was just messing with her strings, "jumping" up and down in a mockery of a ballerina dance.

Time to wrap up this play.

Budgerite; Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder
Everyone rushing to disavow her
All alone in a black and white scene
The only and only: Candle Queen!

Hurt by the flames that scorch higher and higher
Clutching her broken crown of fire
All alone in her final scene
The only and only; Candle Queen!

What a pity.

All 4; The Candle Queen!~

The music continued to blast and ring around the entire area some more, as it seemed the whole stage started to light up on fire. As Budgerite, Sumu, and Bray danced off stage, Stubby lit up the marionette with the fire on his candle head, setting the Candle Queen legitimately on fire before bolting away. The Candle Queen burned, reaching out for someone above her head, only to find no one to help her, the marionette disappearing in the flames after a short while.
The crowd of ponies applauded the job well done, despite what they saw hardly had much to do with Hearth's Warming … at all.

"Don't worry, Ms. Maheswaran, I'll applaud for you," Pearl said, rapidly clapping her hands.

"Can't I just catch a break?" Steven wondered, knowing WHY they'd go this far. He was there, wasn't he?

"Oh boy. Maybe we should've gone decorating first," Connie admitted, but Steven quickly recovered.

"Nope, nope I'm fine, it's just a play about the Candle Queen that's all. I-It was actually pretty catchy, so yeah let's just get going, I think they're gonna start making Gingerbread houses," Steven insisted. Good thing there was a five-minute break, otherwise it'll be even more awkward than it was, as Steven made a go for it and out of the theatre. The others watched him go off.

"What's wrong with him?" Spinel asked.

Snowfall Stars PT2

"Woooooo, THAT'S a doozy! … Wonder what the big doozy is today? ……. Oh well"

Outside of Canterlot, despite the holiday and winter's joy, time didn't stop for Tempest and Nichrome's patrols to start closing the gap between themselves and Canterlot itself. The broken Unicorn and metallic alien continued through the forest just before the mountains themselves. Tempest Shadow especially kept her visual around the area, the forest itself noting to be somewhat familiar.
In their patrol, the two captains started closing in on a seemingly open area of the forest. It wasn't a clearing exactly, more like a borderline cutting through the underbrush. With all the snow covering everything it was a bit hard to tell the difference between ground and -

*CRACK* "AAHH! Save me, save me!" shouted Nichrome. Tempest looped back, and pulled Nichrome out of the crack in the river. Tempest turned back and without hesitation grabbed hold of Nichrome, pulling him out of what could've been a waterslide to hypothermia.

"You okay?"

"Yes I'm okay. I'm telling you, the sooner we take over the better. What kind of creatures are they, building a trap like this?" Nichrome growled, before shaking off the cold cold water, Tempest getting wet from Nichrome's shaking, but she did go and check the hole in the frozen river.

"This isn't a trap, Nichrome, but this is a good sign."

"What is? My near demise?" Nichrome questioned.

"We just have to travel upriver now, and it should lead us directly to Canterlot. This is the same river I woke up next to after Storm's Canterlot invasion," Tempest figured. Nichrome looked down through that hole again, seeing the river flowing underneath it.

"This isn't a trap. Sure it's not," he murmured.

The patrols began to make their way across the river, being careful not to smash it open any further. But before they could continue on further …

*roar*

"Now what?" Nichrome griped.

"Take cover!" Tempest ordered. Much of the army did as instructed, and raced off out of the clearing of the river to find some cover within the forest around it. Some stuck near trees while others hid in the bushes, which Tempest and Nichrome took the latter option and dove into some foliage.

They were just in time. The giant shadow that followed didn't stop as it flew by. A low thunder of a wing beat echoed by them as the shadow moved by, everyone watching to make sure whatever went by wasn't turning around. Nichrome was left shaky on seeing it as they soon started to move back out of their hiding place.

"It's clear now."

"For a minute there … what was that thing?"

"I would call it a Dragon. But something's off with it … and it's heading where we're going. It might be going to Canterlot," Tempest confirmed, cautious on the conclusion herself, considering what they're even doing there.

"THAT THING going to a Pony castle for Hearth's Warming Eve? Right, and my best friend's a Diamond. Which they're not, since they've locked me up for hundreds of years," Nichrome said. Tempest didn't bother to correct him on it, simply giving him a stern look.

"Let's warn Grogar anyway," Tempest simply replied, before she took the lead again. Orders were orders, even with a threat already on its way to Canterlot ...

~~~~~~

So after leaving the theater, Connie and Spinel eventually caught up with Steven and continued on through Canterlot for a while more. However, since the play about the Candle Queen, Steven was left kinda stuck with the stuff he just watched. It might not effect him as much as it would've before, but it still hung over his head like a cloud. They didn't immediately jump at him about it though, as Steven was keeping himself busy with handling Spinel and White Diamond (which still wasn't working), not to mention handling the festivities before Hearth's Warming Eve. At least now he had Lapis and Jamie to help him out somewhat.
Their next activity turned into a crafting challenge in making a delicious gingerbread house, everyone working on their own piece, while some were working together. As Connie, Lapis and Jamie were working on one of the Gingerbread houses, Steven was handling one of his own design. Or at least he tried to, but he was distracted.

"Am I doing it right, Steven?" asked White Diamond at a point, trying to be careful with her gingerbread house. Or rather, lack there of.

"Where's your Gingerbread house?" Steven asked.

"I've been trying to make this work, but … the building materials are so unstable," White Diamond said, and to better prove her point, she grabbed one piece of gingerbread, and tried to press it down on what roof she made … only for it to crumble to pieces. Weakened and she's too strong for this.

"I barely touched it that time. Steven, how are you doing it without it crumbling in front of you?" White Diamond asked in dismay.

"Well, you don't force the pieces on. You just place them in, and let the frosting keep the pieces in place themselves," Steven explained, as he began to work out the pieces she had left into making a proper Gingerbread house. White Diamond simply watched Steven work his own kind of magic, not wanting her house to be wrecked again. Nearby though, there was some who started to feel a bit peeved that Steven was helping what she thought was a warlord. So …

*crumble* "Oh no, my house broke up. Steven, can you help me buddy?" Spinel asked. Steven actually ignored her this time.

"Here, I gotcha," Pinkie said, quickly fixing up Spinel's house before Spinel could say otherwise.

"... Yeah … thank you. …" Spinel sighed.
So from there, they continued their work on this crafting, but little by little, the others were starting to sense the awkwardness building up between Spinel, Steven, and White Diamond. It was a bit of an awkward time between Spinel and White Diamond already, given their ill interaction so far, but Steven's addition since the play only seemed to make it worse. Lapis and Connie knew exactly what the problems were here, but they couldn't bring themselves to actually say it.

Finally, one draconequus couldn't stand it.

"OH FINE, if no one else is going to say it," Discord finally said, moving around his working table and going straight over to Steven, White, and Spinel.

"Say what, Discord? There's nothing wrong, is there?" Steven asked.

"Oh sure, nothing's wrong. It's not exactly like you three were making things awkward since -" Discord snapped his talons, but again nothing happened "for the love a - give me that."
Discord then snatched three gram crackers and some frosting, quickly scribbled on "awkward" and slapped it on Steven's forehead, the frosting like glue.

"These gags are just stupid without my magic, I swear. Now the flow's all messed up."

"There's nothing awkward," insisted Spinel, "Really, we're all just new to the whole shindig. I'm happy with my best friend, Steven's happy, even White's happy!"

"Yes, we're all uh … fine," White Diamond simply said, with a smile on her face. Discord wished he didn't have to be THIS BLUNT, but his lack of magic wasn't making this easy.

"I'd normally play around, but since I got no magic I'll just go and make it blunt: Candle Queen looked almost exactly like Pink Diamond! You saw it, I saw it, we all saw it."

NOW it was out. Discord just sat there in a slump as it wasn't as fun to "be forward" with anything. Why couldn't he just morph their gingerbread into a diamond at least to mess with them some more, yet ultimately help them at the same time?

"Well this is no fun," Discord grumbled.

"It's okay Discord, you said what needed to be said," admitted Lapis. No that didn't help.

"NOPE, that wasn't her, it was just a play! Right guys?" Steven said. Unfortunately, everyone else was already getting the same idea well before Discord even mentioned anything.

"Okay, she did look like her. A-A lot. … the play was accurate to her too," White Diamond admitted, flustering up all over again. Steven though didn't want to hear it.

"Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, it doesn't matter. It's all done, everything about her is over, we're all moving on from the past, and we're gonna have fun this Hearth's Warming Eve," Steven declared, all the while working on the gingerbread house of his to keep his mind busy.

"Eh, I think I'm the only one outta the loop here, what's his beef with Pink?" Spinel asked. She wasn't directly talking to Steven, just anyone who'd listen, but Steven reacted anyway.

"I don't have a beef with anyone!" Steven insisted, though a little more harshly than he wanted it to. "Sorry, I just don't want to think about that right now. I don't want a holiday where we go through anymore drama or adventures - I want to relax and enjoy myself this Hearth's Warming Eve. No fight, no bad guys, no sad crying, just a fun, and jolly holiday. Now can one of you pass me the gumdrops?"

"Oh, sure, here ya go," Pinkie said, passing Steven the gumdrops WITH sprinkles to boot so Steven had something extra for his gingerbread house. The others around him started to get back to their own work on their gingerbread houses from there.

…

With everyone busy with their work from there, it felt like the perfect time for Grogar's army to make their move. Grogar, alongside his four-team lackees AND the Dazzlings took position over a road down. Just close enough to see them, but far enough away to not be detected.

"Look at them building those houses like it's no one's business. Dazzlings? You know what to do," Grogar instructed.

"A deal's a deal. Let's give Steven our little surprise," Adagio said.

"We didn't make a surprise, we're just bringing him over here," said Sonata. Normally Adagio or Aria would put her in place, but Grogar got them covered with one single glare.

"shutting up."

"Thank you. Now you three go. Soon as he's here, I'll take it from there," Grogar concluded.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata started off on their way, as everyone else hunkered down and waited. The trio had the easy part, and they got the fun part.

...

"Let's save these questions until after the holidays, huh?" Jamie concluded.

"Yeah. Nothing to think about except for presents, gingerbread, and - ... Dazzlings?" Connie said, after glancing off ahead.

"Dazzlings?" Lapis asked.
Soon, the crowd working on the gingerbread houses just got a little bit bigger, as the Dazzlings caught up with them after the play. Sonata, Aria, and Adagio came over right towards Steven, with Sonata more interested in the Gingerbread House being made. They were still wary of Discord, but the draconequus somehow wasn't raising any alarms yet, him even moving aside, but they got one other problem to handle though …

"Where have they been?" Spinel thought.

"STEVEN!~ Hi buddy!" Sonata beamed, the first to get to him as the other sisters caught up with her. Just the Dazzlings showing up made White Diamond and Spinel back away from him. Then Adagio saw Jamie.

"HE'S here too? Dang it. I better make this quick," Adagio thought. She then brought her attention back to Steven.

"See you're busy working on one of the Gingerbread Houses," said Adagio.

"Hey girls," said Steven, "Did you three have fun going around Canterlot?"

"Eh, it's alright. Not different since the last time we were here. Tacky," Aria remarked, seemingly more interested in checking her nails than the actual place. Adagio cleared her throat, but then the ponies, Jamie, and Lapis took notice of these three, with Pinkie Pie showing up first by jumping into view of Adagio.

"Hello, I've never seen you three before. My name's Pinkie Pie, who're you?" Pinkie introduced.

"Another one?" Aria said, actually stunned that there's more than one Sonata Dusk in the world. In pony form, but still.

"My name is Adagio. This is Aria and Sonata," introduced Adagio, shaking the pink mare's hoof. She needed to make her move fast before anyone could have the time to say something, and with Jamie ALREADY trying to look to Lapis about the trio, it HAD to be now.

"Uh, Steven? On our way back, we've decided to give you a little something. For letting us finally come back home, and everything. But it's a bit too big for all three of us to carry, so -" she started walking closer to him. "- we'd like you to just come here so we can show you."

"You guys didn't have to make a present for me," Steven admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm repaying you back, remember?"

"We know, we know. But you've been such a good guy to us, we thought it was only fair. Isn't that right, girls?" Adagio said. Unfortunately, the two didn't really seem like they were paying attention. Aria simply gave a nod of the head, not saying anything, and Sonata wasn't even paying attention at all, more focused on the houses being made.

"So is that chocolate or cinnamon graham crackers?" Sonata asked White Diamond. Adagio had to improvise fast.

"So anyway, you coming?" Adagio asked. Steven paused to think about it. Looking to the others, he did see some concern over on Lapis's face, presumably after Jamie told her about what the Dazzlings tried to do. Steven still didn't see the harm in it though.

"Alright, let's see what you got for me," Steven decided.

"Buuuut, I'm going too," Spinel said, wrapping her arm around Steven.

"It's okay Spinel," Steven said.

"Yes, and we really only wanted Steven to come along -"

"I'M GOING." Spinel stated.

"... Fine, you're going, whatever. Let's go," Adagio said, whatever can make this go faster. It was just gonna be a little bit more complicated now with another person with them.

"Spinel," Grogar growled. "Steven's mine. The rest of you handle the living toy."

"Y-Yes, my lord," said Stubby.

But today there's one more little twist to this Hearth's Warming that will change everything.

For everyone.

And it all started with Pinkie Pie feeling a familiar tingle in her tail. It started off low, but quickly escalated into her entire body having a fit. It was enough to make her jump off of her own seat, spazzing out like a mad man for a good ten seconds straight until she finally collapsed on the ground.

"... Did she just die?" Aria bluntly asked.

"No she did not. Pinkie, what happened? You okay?" asked Lapis, going over to her. In seconds, Pinkie Pie sprung up to her hooves as if she bounced off a spring.

"BIG DOOZY ALERT!" Pinkie yelped.

"Big … Doozy?"

"Yeah, you know a big doozy, something very crazy that nobody's expecting but will happen any second now," Pinkie explained, weirdly casual about it.

"What?! Where?!" asked Starlight.

*ROAR*

Here we go.

"MOVE PINKIE!" shouted Rainbow, bolting in and pushing Pinkie Pie out of the way just mere moments before something HUGE landed right where Pinkie Pie was standing. The impact was like a meteor landing, kicking up snow into a huge cloud, knocking over all the tables and gingerbread houses into the actual houses nearby. Unwittingly this gave everyone a barricade as well, as most of them looked to see what exactly landed.
As the snow cloud cleared, it revealed a vary large creature had come into Canterlot today. A long slim tail wiping away the snow off the ground as it turned around to face them, its vulture-shaped muzzle looking almost sharp like an actual beak, and its eyes darkened in a red crimson. Dagger-like spikes jutted out from its neck down to its shoulders, and its skin-wrapped wings spread open wide enough to cover much of the small street. Emerald-glistened scales covered its entire body, with a light yellow layer running along its belly, up its neck and down its tail. All signs of this being a Dragon, but its front limbs were missing completely.

"There it is," Pinkie commented, pointing to the two-legged Dragon.

"WHERE'D THAT COME FROM?!" everyone else thought.

The Dragon straightened up, shaking off some of the snow cloud so it could see a little better, and took a moment to check out its crowd. A mixture of ponies, Gems, and humans amongst the crowd today, looking around the rest of Canterlot and seeing numerous other ponies, among other things.
As for Grogar's group, they … couldn't believe what just happened. A DRAGON. Right in Canterlot?! They all tried to keep out of sight as the Dragon surveyed the area.

"A d-d-d-d-d-dragon?! What do we do?" asked Bray, scared as a mouse before a cat.

"We about that's what, now GET MOVING," Grogar quietly instructed. They didn't need to be told that twice, and they all quickly made a mad dash to get out of Canterlot as quickly as possible. No matter how close he was for getting Steven, it wasn't worth getting attacked by a DRAGON.
Lucky for Grogar, the Dragon didn't seem to notice straight away, keeping its eyes over to the main group out in the open.

"Alright, where is she, may I ask?" the Dragon asked, lowering its head towards the closest ones amongst the crowd.

"She? She who, all she's are here," Sonata stuttered. The Dragon snorted.

"Celestia, that's who. She hiding from me now?"

Oh boy, not this again. It'd been a long time since they had to get THAT word out to the world, and it wasn't any fun. But if this Dragon wasn't aware of what was going on, it was probably best that they bring it up to speed.

"Celestia?" said Lapis, "Um … she's not exactly here anymore. She ……. died," Lapis informed, feeling a bit humbled and awkward about the news. The Dragon lowered its head right down to Lapis's level, a rumble so low it could've come from Canterlot's caverns.

"Is that the best you can do?" the Dragon remarked, unimpressed.

"No, for real, she is dead," insisted Lapis, more forward this time. The Dragon though wasn't buying it.

"Very funny. The one time Celestia doesn't give me food for the winter, and she happened to be dead. Coward," the Dragon concluded, licking his muzzle as he eyed the crowd. Everyone could probably sense one Alicorn get triggered from who knows where. They all weren't stupid though, and immediately got themselves armed up as best they could.

"Back off scaly, no one's on the menu!" Rainbow Dash warned, getting right in the Dragon's face and actually bucking the beast's muzzle. This made the Dragon's face shake slightly, stunning the beast briefly. The Dragon shook his head.

"Bad enough Celestia's late. Now you want me to starve?!" the Dragon roared.

"What, no, that's not it!" Steven insisted.

"Though that wouldn't be bad if you did," White Diamond managed to say. No that didn't help.

"That's not realistic. If I weren't on a Gem-free diet, I'd eat you," the Dragon said. THAT made White Diamond immediately clam up, stepping back in wide steps until her back was to the wall. He began to aim his sights towards the humans of the group, but this immediately got everyone up in arms, Lapis and Spinel the first to jump in the Dragon's way.

"We're NOT letting you eat our friends, ESPECIALLY on Hearth's Warming Eve," Lapis stated firmly. She just got Steven back, and she will NOT lose him again.

"Got that right! Besides, they taste gross anyway, you eat them you'd be sick for a week," added Spinel, trying to give a good excuse to have this beast try anything else. The Dragon wasn't too fazed.

"I don't care if they're radioactive! I've eaten worse," the Dragon said. WHAT could be worse than that?! They were not going to let this Dragon come closer though.

"OK, does age matter? He may look like he's a teen, but he's really thousands of years old!" Spinel said, pointing to the gemstone he had on him. The Dragon had about enough of this.

"I'm BORED with these games! I'll eat them NOW."

The Dragon made its assault, and despite being so huge it moved surprisingly fast, lunging forward with its mouth wide open. Starlight quickly shot a magic blast right at the beast, but while it did move his head away, the Dragon swung back from the side, grabbing Jamie, Connie, AND Steven in one swift bite! Pulling the Humans out of the crowd, he simply raised its head, and …

*gulp*

"Ooohh no, you did NOT JUST DO THAT! GET OVER HERE!!!"

Spinel was NOT taking that sitting down. Almost immediately, she leaped right at the Dragon's head, and with as much strength as she could muster, pried his jaws open.

"STEVEN, hold tight, I'm saving you!" Spinel shouted down the Dragon's throat. Annoyed, the beast just clamped his jaws shut right down on Spinel. This didn't last long, and the Dragon felt his jaws forced open again, THIS time Spinel using her legs like a car jack.
The next thing she did was stretch out her arm, and shot it right down into the Dragon's mouth, right down his throat! The Dragon couldn't move, feeling Spinel's spaghetti arm look around for Steven and his friends.

"Ok, ok, where're you? Where is he, where is he? OH, wait!" Spinel worked her arm like a fishing pole, and after a few quick pulls and heaves, she got Connie, Jamie, AND Steven held tight in her hand. All three looked steaming, and covered in saliva, not even counting how freaked out all three looked after nearly being eaten alive.

"GOT EM!" Spinel called, showing everyone her catch, holding them outside of the Dragon's mouth before giving them to the others, who … didn't know HOW to react to this.
The Dragon opened its mouth a little bit, and clamped down on Spinel's legs again, THIS TIME swinging Spinel around like a rag doll, before throwing her into the nearest building.

"Guys! You three uh … okay?" Starlight asked.

"I feel violated," muttered Jamie, not moving an inch. Lapis used her water to clean all three of them of the Dragon's saliva, but the green beast wasn't done with them yet, after coughing a little bit from Spinel's "specialty method", charging up for a good Dragon firebreath. Lapis stood defiant, her water wings blocking the fire, and making a huge cloud of steam that covered the whole area. The Dragon though brought its foot down into the steam anyway, and in the stomp felt something under his claw. The Dragon blew the steam away, and take a wild guess on which human it had under its claw?

"STEVEN!" exclaimed Connie. Blindly she tried to force the animal off of him, Steven knocked unconscious from the sheer impact of the stomp.

"I'll just take this and get on my way, thank you," the Dragon said, not even sounding threatening and just wanted to go. With Steven unconscious, The Dragon curled his claw around him, and with a few flaps of his wings started to take off on them!

"Get back here with him!" called Rainbow. She, Fluttershy, Lapis, and even Starlight took flight after the Dragon, the green beast trying to swat them away with his tail as he tried flying away. The flying team kept trying to dodge the tail, and were getting closer to reaching Steven, but the Dragon made sure to keep them further back by a few backwards Dragon fire blasts. One blast in particular got dangerously close to Fluttershy, almost singeing her wing feathers. Discord jumped into action, racing out and catching her as she fell down to the ground.

"STOP!!"
Lapis, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash were determined, but when Spinel regained herself and saw what was happening, she went faster than any of them, springing off one rooftop after another to try and reach the Dragon with her best friend. She sprung from one roof to another, jumping higher and higher each time the Dragon flew farther up. Spinel was so close in her final leap, so close to reaching Steven.

And the Dragon launched her back with the force of a single wingbeat.

"Steven …" Spinel muttered, as she was rocketing back down to the ground. Spinel slammed into Lapis and Rainbow on the way down, in a way cushioning her fall but that made all of them land back onto the grounds of Canterlot.

"We're okay!" said Lapis.

"Physically or emotionally? Because … I think Spinel's ..." Fluttershy didn't need to finish. They all could see Spinel's heartbreak in her eyes.

Her best friend was gone …

…….

"A dragon! A D-D-D-DRAGON! Of all the times for that monster to show up, it just HAD to be now!" Grogar thought as he kept running with his lackees in toe.

"But what about the attack? Tempest? Nichrome? The army?" asked Budgerite as they were running.

"Call it off, or let them deal with it!" Grogar snapped, "That dra - dra - dra - UGH, I WILL NOT stay here with it flying around."

*roar*

A roar that chilled his old bones. He turned his gaze to the sky, just to see the same Dragon started flying overhead. He didn't had much time to see that Steven was in one of his talons, but he really didn't care as with the rest of his group, all of them running as fast as they could to avoid being caught by the creature. So it didn't take the Dragon much time to see them running out of Canterlot.

"They sure look appetizing. One measly morsel won't be good for a Hearth's Warming dinner. … Let's add one more to it and call it a day," the Dragon decided.

"He sees us!" said a horrified Budgerite.

"Then GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Grogar demanded, even pushing them aside so he can gain a lead. One hit of Bray, and the donkey rolled into Budgerite and Stubby, causing a three-way pile up. They ALL thought they were going to be caught for the Dragon's next meal. All three of them hunkered down in horror.

"Happy Hearth's Warming everyone, it's our last!" exclaimed Budgerite.

But the Dragon flew right by them. He knew which one was his meal, and the scrawny subordinates weren't gonna make the cut. He wanted something to sink his teeth into, and for Grogar, HE was it.

"You serious?!" Grogar yelled, looking back and seeing what happened. But he didn't stop though, and kept going as fast as he could, panic taking over what he should think to do. He tried some vague attempts to fight the beast, but the Dragon's hardy scales blocked off many of his Gem-destabilizing lightning strikes. All the Dragon had to do was open a talon, and snatch the Ram right off of the ground like an eagle.
Grogar thrashed and bit into the Dragon, but it was no good. Just like that, the Dragon had taken Grogar away.

Bray, Budgerite, and Stubby just screamed, and ran off in a panic.

~~~~~~

As for the rest of the Harmony Gems, with no idea of where the Dragon actually went to after taking Steven, they went straight to Canterlot Castle. The group got itself right to the throne room in short time, catching up to not only the rest of the Harmony Gems, but the princesses as well. The whole throne room already was looking festive for Hearth's Warming Eve thanks to their help, but now was no longer the time for it, especially after they all explained everything to them.

"So you mean to say that a Dragon kidnapped Steven to eat him? And in broad daylight with NO GUARDS alerted?" asked Starswirl.

"It wasn't exactly like he was sneaking around," Starlight said, "He kept saying something about Celestia "being late" for something, and next thing we knew he's flying off with Steven in his claw."

"What did he mean by that anyway? Did he and Celestia had a deal before? Because it sounded like it was going on for a long time," Lapis added, trying to figure that out. Starswirl, Cadance, and Twilight looked to one another for a moment.

"I don't recall Celestia ever mentioning this to anypony, not in the years since I've returned," Starswirl said, stroking his beard.

"I don't remember her saying anything either. This Dragon must just be lying, Celestia wouldn't make a deal like THIS for any reason!" Twilight insisted. The idea that Celestia would ever dare make a deal with a Pony-eating DRAGON of all things, it … it just sounded WRONG!

"Does it matter WHY he's doing it, Steven's still stuck with that overgrown lizard," said Fulgurite. "Just point us where he went to!"

"Fulgurite's right, we can't just wait here. Do any of you have any idea where he could've gone? Anything at all?" Connie agreed. The royals though didn't seem to have any answer. At least, not at first. Eventually though, Luna got up and moved over towards the waiting crowd.

"Did any of you get a good look at this Dragon? What did it look like?" Luna asked.

"What's THAT got to do with anything?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It means a lot more than you think, now please? What did this Dragon look like?" Luna insisted.
It took them a bit before Lapis Lazuli answered.

"Okay. He was very tall, I guess average size for a Dragon, with green scaled along his body except for his stomach. And, it's funny, he only had two legs and a pair of wings," Lapis explained.

"Oh. … oh, I was afraid of this," Luna said gravely, catching their attention.

"Afraid of what?" asked White Diamond.
On that mention was when Luna had her worries confirmed. There was only one green Dragon with two legs that she knew, and if this "Dragon" mentioned Celestia already … well, that was more than enough. Luna stood up and took a breath.

"What visited Canterlot wasn't a Dragon, persay, but a Wyvern," Luna began, using her magic to show a projection of a Wyvern in flight, "Wyverns are far rarer than Dragons, but they are far more dangerous. And this particular Wyvern had been residing near the Mountains of Canterlot for hundreds of moons now. At least that's what Celestia told me after I came back."

"Wait a minute, this isn't another "Pink Diamond" story, is it?" asked Emerald. The princesses looked a little confused.

"I'm sorry?" asked Luna.

"He means a story about what we think is a perfect and great person, but just tells us they're not so great as we thought they were," explained Starlight. Twilight did NOT want this to be that kind of story herself, but unfortunately, the look on Luna's face seemed to suggest otherwise.

"It can be like that. Celestia tried to remove the Wyvern away from Canterlot, but she couldn't. It was just too stubborn to leave, even for her. So, she could only make a deal with it: if she could provide food for the Wyvern during winter, then it will not try to attack Canterlot."

"It doesn't sound like things turned out well for the Wyvern this year, huh?" concluded Fluttershy.

"Forget the Wyvern, what about Steven?" said White Diamond urgently, "He's going to get eaten if we don't find him in time."

"Well then, he's gonna have a worse day, because Steven's coming home tonight," Bismuth promised, fist clenched. "Luna, where's the Wyvern at?"

"Why bother?"

Shocking and stupid to ask. Everyone in the throne room turned to Spinel, the only one NOT immediately willing to just go out and find Steven, and instead was just sitting over by one of the castle windows, huddled up as if she was on a perch. Even if she didn't knew Steven as long as everyone else … she took it the worst.

"Spinel, don't start talking like that. We'll get him back, I swear," encouraged Connie.

"How do you know? He's probably next in line for that Wyvern's dinner menu by now," Spinel murmured in grief.

White Diamond plucked up some courage. And actually spoke to Spinel.

"Now, Spinel, Steven can survive something like this. He has escaped my Space Station twice, so if he can manage that -"

*BAM!*
Spinel couldn't stand hearing anything from her, and gave the Diamond a solid punch right to the face!

"SHUT IT! This is all your fault anyway!" Spinel shouted, finger aimed directly at White Diamond in anger and blame.

"My fault?! How, I didn't know what a Wyvern even is, let alone -"

"LIAR!" Spinel shouted, clocking the Diamond in the face again, sending the Diamond off her feet. Spinel edged her fingers into claws, teeth sharpened, and she tried to reach her but the others weren't going to have it and quickly got in her way before she could do anything else. Namely Sapphire being the first brave soul to do so as Spinel stretched herself to a more threatening size.

"Spinel, stop! You're making a mistake!" Sapphire said.

"Oh, I'm the bad guy now huh? PLEASE, She probably planned this the whole time! Letting Steven actually like her like some average chum, and then call in some random Dragon outta nowhere, and then PRESTO, problem gone! Why wouldn't she do that?! Did you see her track record, huh? THIS IS NOTHING FOR HER TO DO!"

"And do you think killing her will bring Steven back Spinel?!" Sapphire shouted.

… Spinel suddenly stopped altogether. What would be the point in attacking White Diamond? Steven would still be stuck somewhere with the Wyvern either way. Her look of killer anger suddenly shifted into a sorrow one for a brief moment, eyes wide as tears began to come down her already tear-stained face. For a good ten seconds, time seemed to have stopped, but eventually Spinel's limbs retracted back to their normal size, no longer sharped or edged, as her gaze moved down to the floor.
She REALLY wanted to … but what's the point?

(Steven Universe the Movie - Who we Are parody)

Spinel; Here we are, back together …
Here we are, back together, and it's wrong.
Just a second ago, we were singing our song. …
But now. He's gone.
Because of her …
Happily ever after, there we were …

Spinel went back to her window and huddled back down again for some more self-loathing. For the time it was really all she was thinking to do, with no idea where Steven is or if he was still alive or not. For a bit, none of them were actually talking. But one Gem did eventually speak with a soft smile.

Bismuth.

Bismuth; When has it ever been easy?
Hasn't it always been hard to be us?

Spinel didn't seem to notice at first, but she did start hearing Bismuth walk over to her. The Gem, tears in her eyes, looked up to the blacksmith of the Harmony Gems, her cheeks moist from the tears still.

Bismuth; When you go against the grain
There's always somebody around you can't trust.

Spinel didn't know if she meant who she was thinking, Spinel glancing over to White Diamond for a short moment. Bismuth then helped Spinel off of the perch of her, a gentle yet strong hand bringing her to her feet.

Bismuth; That's why we got to have eachother
why we'll figure this out, we must!

Bismuth looked out to the group around them, Spinel feeling how much confidence Bismuth had in her.

Bismuth; Because we're
The Harmony Gems!
And we never give,
We never give up on our friends

Bismuth went over to Sapphire and Lapis, a arm around their shoulders as all three of them smiled. Spinel had some idea about what Bismuth was saying, though she seemed a little bit unsure still, even if they tried so hard for Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli.

Bismuth; As long as one of us is standing to brandish the star
We'll find a way, to save the day, that's who we are!

Bismuth got in a action pose by the end of that line, joined in by Connie, Pinkie, Discord, and Fulgurite, all in their own action poses for the moment. Still, Spinel simply walked by them, down in the dumps and all.

Spinel; Here we are, back together …
Here we are back together, and it's wrong!
Look at them, they're not even singing along

Spinel presented some of the others as an example, but her grief was still there, as she stopped at the center of the room, dropping to her knees.

Spinel; If I could just stop, right there we'd be …
Totally fine
Totally us
Totally ME!

Now it was Connie's turn to cheer her up, going beside her and helping her back up.

Connie; Even if it takes a thousand years to get him back, we will
You may not know him as long, but we do.

Connie and Spinel went over closer to the group, the singing soon joined by Lapis Lazuli, who flew over towards the two, she and Connie moving towards the group as Spinel just stood there watching and listening.

Lapis; Believe us, Spinel we've known him longer
We've seen him get through us and come back stronger

Connie + Lapis; That's why we believe in him
And we believe in YOU!

Bismuth; Because we're
The Harmony Gems!
And we never give up
no, we never give up on our friends!
As long as one of us is standing to brandish the star!

Connie and Lapis moved back over towards Spinel. All this inspirational talk, it was actually starting to bring Spinel back out of depression, a smile beginning to form on her face with stars in her eyes.

Connie; We'll find a way

Lapis; To save the day

Bismuth; THAT'S WHO WE ARE!

With a wink from Bismuth, Spinel was finally convinced. Inspiration has been achieved. Spinel took a breath and clenched her fists.

"You're right, we can't stop now. Hey Luna, where'd you say this thing lives?" Spinel asked, now more than willing to get going, same as everyone else.

"Celestia was the only one to actually see it," explained Luna, "But she always said it was living in a mountainside cave a few peaks north of Canterlot, just pass the nearest pine forest. You should be able to find the cave from there."

"A few mountain peaks? That could take forever," said Emerald.

"Then we better get cracking," said Spinel, ready to go.

"Now you're getting it," said Bismuth.

Spinel+Bismuth+Lapis+Connie; We'll find a way
To save the day
That's who we are!

Now time to work out a plan. Shouldn't be too hard. With most of the group going off to handle just that, there was only one who didn't feel like she was going to be much help anymore. Only Connie, the one to bring her there, actually saw her start to walk away.

"White?" Connie asked, going over to her.

"No. You all go save Steven. I'll just be out of the way …" White Diamond decided.

"Look, if this is about what Spinel said, she didn't mean it. She's just scared about Steven," Connie said, walking to her side.

"Connie, we both know she's not. You and Steven probably mean well, but … I shouldn't have come."

Connie only had one thing to say.

"No. This is exactly why we brought you."

~~~~~~

Back in the Beach House, and Flint had just finished up another addition to the Unfamiliar Familiar book series. It really was the only thing left for him to do while everyone else was off doing who knows what, but the least Spinel gave him some security with the Dazzlings and all that. It was quiet, and content for the Gem admittedly. He was getting into the next book, about twenty or so pages in, when he heard the familiar sound of the Warp Pad going off, two Gems now standing there.

"Hello, Flint," Sapphire said, once she and Jade got off the Warp Pad.

"Oh, hey there Sapphire, Jade. How's the world coming along?" Flint asked, though he was so invested in his book that he didn't exactly look their way more than a few seconds before getting back to his page.

"It's going along just fine, Flint," Jade replied, as Sapphire went over to the kitchen, "Everyone's over in Canterlot, celebrating the holidays. They've just finished watching the Hearth's Warming play actually."

"Oh. Well that's good. Glad they're having a good time over there," Flint said, going back to his book. Jade looked alongside him, seeing some of the books were already completed, Flint on the third book in Unfamiliar Familiar.

"You've been getting into reading?"

"Steven's idea," Flint said, flipping the page "You know, for being only words on a page, it's actually not too bad. These Familiars apparently have this "spiritual connection" with their owners, it's pretty interesting."

"Interesting. Well, nice that you're relaxing too," Jade said, walking over to join Sapphire in the kitchen as Flint got himself readjusted, laying on his side as he continued reading. Sapphire and Jade were glad for it, but as the two were looking around the kitchen, the two smaller Gems noticed a little detail with the kitchen they didn't exactly plan for. Which was odd, since Sapphire swore her future vision guaranteed it.

"Dishes were supposed to be in here," Sapphire mentioned. But the sink was practically empty, not even any stains of dough. Flint glanced up to them.

"Oh, if you're looking for those dishes, they're in the cabinet up there. I took care of them while you guys were gone, since Steven and Spinel kinda left in a hurry with company," Flint explained. Sapphire and Jade looked to one another and went to check the cabinets. Sure enough, there were all the dishes, cleaned and almost glistening in the light they were done so well.

"... Oh. … Well. Thank you."

"Something wrong?" Flint asked.

"No. We'll just um … wash the floor."

"Already took care of that," Flint said, pointing down to the floor. Sapphire and Jade looked down and, ever so faintly, they saw their own reflection on the clean wood.

"Okay. … Maybe we can -"

"I alphabetized Steven's books, cleaned the bathroom for the heck of it, I even had some time left over to wash Pink Diamond's gemstone. It's drying off on Steven's bed up there," Flint informed, flipping through a few pages.

Flint looked over to them, seeing their … somewhat stunned looks.

"What? You're on holiday, and I just figured you didn't want to work when you would come back home. So I did it for you guys," Flint summed up.

"Yes, we can see that," Jade said, though admittedly the two were stumped. They literally had no reason now to stay with Flint. Sapphire could only come up with one thing after some quick thinking.

"I'm gonna go wash up," Sapphire said.

"Here, let me help you with that," Jade added, hesitantly. THIS they knew Flint didn't do already, yet weird anyway. Flint watched them go to the bathroom, but kept much of his focus on his book as Jade and Sapphire went inside. But as he was chilling out, his ears picked up not only the running water, but some quiet talk going on in the bathroom. It was a bit faint, so he couldn't catch what they were saying exactly.
As Sapphire and Jade were talking, Flint sat up and looked over to the gemstone on Steven's bed for just a second, before going back to his book.

"Did you see this will happen, Sapphire?" Jade asked while she and Sapphire were in the bathroom.

"... I did. But it was so improbable, I didn't think on it. He literally cleaned the whole entire house. … The one time I didn't want that to happen," Sapphire said, troubled ironically despite the calm expression. Sapphire actually did take off her gloves to wash her hands in the sink, a little vigorously.

"... What do you think, Jade?"

"What do I think?" Jade asked. She could see why Sapphire would ask, given Jade knew Flint longer than anyone else on the team, so she took a moment to think as Sapphire went and dried off her hands. Even with hot water on her hands, they still turned to ice after a quick wipe down.

"I think that we should at least try to stay here with him. If he asks us directly though, we have to tell him."

"He's supposed to have the day off," stated Sapphire.

"I know, and I'd rather not have him get involved in another adventure. Again. But either we tell him and then he goes, or he will become nervous, and go anyway. Unless you see a Future Vision that says otherwise? …"

Sapphire paused and focused her future vision as best she could do. As Garnet this would be easier, but as a Sapphire the paths were a bit more linear.
She checked a Future Vision which they just tell him up front: Flint would just go without question, even if they tried to stop him.
She checked a Future Vision which they try to not tell him: Flint would grow curious and go anyway, like Jade said.
She even checked a Future Vision which they attempt to make up a story: … Flint would eventually go and check their story.
She tried to think of any scenario, but the results were a bit short ...

"Dang it," Sapphire huffed.

"Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. … but he's not goin. He needs this," Sapphire concluded. She could only hope then that this won't end up in a Fire Mammoth incident all over again.

Sapphire and Jade walked back outside of the bathroom, still seeing Flint going through some more pages of the book he got. They didn't know if he overheard what they said or not, but he didn't look ready to jump at them for it so they took it in stride, as Sapphire got her white gloves back on.

"Washed up?" Flint asked.

"Yes, we're both clean now," Sapphire replied. Jade and Sapphire started going to the kitchen to try and do something when Flint spoke up again.

"Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing by uh … staying home?" Flint asked.

"Nnnope," Sapphire simply answered.

After seeing Sapphire's ice powers start to frost up the faucet by mistake, Flint folded the corner of his page and closed the book.

"Okay what're you up to?"

Uh oh.

"Up to something? Do we look like we're up to something?" Jade asked, as she attempted to go into the cabinet to find a snack to bring back. It was something to do, but being distracted she grabbed a bag of cookie cutters instead. Flint pondered anyway.

"Hmm. Well no, you two don't look like you're up to something. But whenever you guys don't look like you're up to anything. You're up to something," Flint concluded.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. We can handle it, you focus on being relaxed," Sapphire answered. Good enough answer to anything at this point, as Jade fixed her mistake and got the bag of Chaaaps instead. Flint did start looking suspicious towards them on hearing that: Something was going on, but Sapphire and Jade weren't telling him anything about it. Sapphire and Jade moved over to the Warp Pad again, keeping some very small talk so Flint couldn't hear them.

"That should do it. let's get back to Steven."

Unfortunately …

"STEVEN! Sapphire, Jade, what happened to him?!" Flint asked, now up on his feet. How could he hear them when they were so quiet was anyone's guess, but Sapphire and Jade turned back to him.

"Flint, don't freak out," Sapphire advised.

"Where is he?" Flint demanded. The ONE TIME he stayed behind and something bad happens. Sapphire and Jade weren't going to keep playing the fool to someone like Flint, so the two turned around.

"Steven got taken by a Wyvern," Sapphire bluntly answered.

"He was WHAT?!"

"A Wyvern took him away from Canterlot. It's a very large Dragon but with -"

"I know what a Wyvern is, Unfamiliar Familiar had one in book two chapter five," Flint cut in, "But what're you two doing here if he's off with that thing? Shouldn't you all be trying to find him, or better yet, rescue him?"

"Everyone's already working on it, Flint, they're tracking him now. Sapphire and I agreed to watch over the Dazzlings," Jade replied. Flint though was fuming, and actually summoned his pistol.

"Of all the times for this to happen, now I got to -" suddenly Flint stopped. He was close to just jumping on the Warp Pad and just go off after Steven for some Dragon slaying, but some thoughts clicked in his head that made him stop. Did he want to go and do this himself, absolutely, but his eyes then looked to the two Gems who placed him in this house in the first place. He didn't forget how much he worried Sapphire with the Fire Mammoth thing, and Jade always did try her best to help him out already. …

"Wait. … Wait, no. No. Nnoooo."

"No?" Jade asked.

"You guys want me to not worry. So I'm not going to," Flint concluded, as he simply walked back to the couch and sat back down. Sapphire was actually taken aback by this response.

"You're okay with this? You're not going to go off after him, or check on our story, or suspiciously see if we're lying or not?" Sapphire asked. Flint paused, but then shook his head.

"Not today. I need to trust in you all a bit more, and if you say you got this, then you got this. It's my day off, and I'm taking it. Besides, someone's got to keep an eye on Pink Diamond while you're gone," Flint explained, glancing over to where Pink Diamond's gemstone was resting. Sapphire and Jade paused themselves, but eventually smiled to eachother, and then to Flint.

"Thanks for understanding Flint," Jade said, "We'll be as quick as we can."

"I know you will, you will," Flint reassured. Sapphire and Jade felt reassured themselves that Flint won't run off, but looking back, despite him going back to his book they both can tell that Flint still felt somewhat nervous. Jade nodded to Sapphire, and Sapphire walked back over to Flint.

"Flint?"

"Hmm?" Flint asked. Sapphire looked him face to face, and she went ahead and gave him a kiss on the gemstone. Even if she wasn't Garnet, she still had the slight ability to share her visions with others, and Flint soon saw the end result of the Future Vision Sapphire seen. The most probable one, and one that was looking the happiest too. Flint gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sapphire. What would I do without you?"

"Freak out, I would think. See you tonight for the presents, Flint," Sapphire said, going to join Jade back on the Warp Pad. Flint simply waved goodbye, and when the two Gems left on the Warp Pad, Flint stretched and sighed.

"I'm sooo glad you're back Sapphire. You all got this," Flint concluded.

…

~~~~~~

…

"Lovely morning …"

Steven felt a bit cold, but that didn't stop him from coming back around from his knockout. The ground was no longer covered in snow, but instead just cold rock. Light wasn't all that much except for the entrance to the shallow cave, a slight blinding light of clouds and white snow falling down making up for it. It took him a bit to work it out, but he did see Grogar again. Grogar was just there. Sitting there right by the exit, seemingly waiting for something.

"... YOOOOUUUU!" Exclaimed Steven. Steven immediately rushed for the only exit, just for Grogar to lift up one of his back hooves, place it on his stomach, and shove Steven right back into the cave.

"About time you woke up. Though I'd hate to admit it," Grogar said, confirming that Grogar wasn't just a mistake of the eyes. Steven stood up.

"Where are we?" Steven asked, looking around for a bit.

"In a cave. What does it look like? You wanna leave, go ahead and try," Grogar huffed. It sure was a bit forward for Grogar to say, and at first Steven kept thinking this was just another one of Grogar's tricks. So, rather than just bolt off to make it back to Canterlot, he instead just walked to the edge of the cave.
And one look was all Steven needed to find that this cave was at least five miles up the mountain! Steep cliffs lined the edge, and one step, and he'd be in the hospital by the time he'd get to the bottom. Some stray stones were knocked off the cave entrance and disappeared into the snowy cover below.

"Well, aren't you gonna jump?"

"Ok, I wanna get out of here, but I'm not THAT desperate," Steven made clear, just for Grogar to shove him back into the cave again.

"Good. It wouldn't be satisfying anyway," Grogar simply said. Steven sat back up, but this felt a bit out of place. Grogar kicking him wasn't anything new, but the ram did not look like he was enjoying himself.

"So what happens now? Doesn't look like either of us can get down from here," Steven inquired. Grogar snorted.

"I can go on my way at anytime. But this is the best shot I got right now, and I will NOT let you slip away, or let your "friends" come up here and grab you. So here I stay, and here you stay," Grogar said, as he took a stone off of the ground and began to chew on it. He had to sharpen his teeth for what he was planning to do with him. But before Grogar could continue, his jaws suddenly clamped shut when they both heard a distant roar from outside. Steven stood up.

"What's that sound?" Steven wondered, and to Grogar's annoyance he actually tried to go out and look.

"Get back in here," Grogar ordered, shoving Steven back again. This time he moved inward into the cave, keeping his hoof over Steven's mouth as a shadow moved by the cave entrance. Once the shadow left, Grogar moved off of Steven, who now sprung to his feet.

"Okay Grogar, I know this is a trick of some kind, but who're you tricking? Me? My friends? Whatever THAT was?"

"I don't like this anymore than you do, believe in me," Grogar growled, as he moved back to the front of the cave, sitting back down. "I would've loved to have you back at my army and torment you some more there while everyone else is invading Canterlot, but looks like THAT didn't happen. Now I'm stuck here with some hybrid runt inside, and that … that … Tartarus-spawn flying outside."

And another distant rumble of the roar only signified what the Ram was talking about. Steven still wasn't sure if he should believe Grogar or not, but after Grogar said that, a slight smile formed along his muzzle.

"But you know … maybe this can work after all."

"What will work? Grogar, what're you planning to do with me?" Steven asked. Grogar snickered, which was NEVER a good sign for Steven who already felt uneasy.

"Kill you, of course. But not just yet. It is Hearth's Warming Eve, after all. So why not have myself a personal dinner by nightfall? It would be more festive that way."

"D-Dinner? I won't let you -" Steven said, but as he tried to summon his shield, he got his harshest reminder. His shield was NOT coming up at all by this point, only a very slight flicker like a lightbulb before disappearing. As Steven felt a shiver run through him, Grogar felt more confident in Steven's capture without his magic to back him up.

"Get comfortable, lad, because you're not going anywhere," Grogar made perfectly clear. He snickered a bit as he got himself comfy.

...

Unfortunately, waiting was all Steven could do.

So as the minutes ticked by, they waited. Grogar just sat there by the cave's edge, occasionally making some toy out of a rock, or even gnawing on one to sharpen his teeth. The only time he would move away from his spot was a little bit further into the cave whenever that shadow would go by, whatever it was, and then just walk right back and sit down again.
As for Steven … it was torture. A creature that can, and will, tear his head off was just sitting there and WAITING to kill him, not even giving him any chance to leave, and all Steven could do was pace around, MAYBE kick some rocks to let the clock tick by. It was frustrating … and scary. All at the same time.

And one stray rock Steven kicked, knocked into Grogar's head.

"Keep it down in there. I might make it less painful if you do," Grogar said, rubbing where the rock struck him. Steven didn't want to hear it.

"Well excuse me if I'm a little frustrated. Today was supposed to be a great day, Hearth's Warming celebration and everything. But instead of spending it with my friends, I'm stuck up here in some mountain cave."

"So sad, you gonna have me crying any moment now," Grogar said, rolling his eyes. He took another bite from one of the rocks, crumbling it in his muzzle before spitting it out as pebbles.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Lad my life's full of pain, this is nothing to me," Grogar said, "I can crush skulls with these chompers. Though, something tells me you'd figure that out by tonight."

Grogar proceeded to put the whole rock in his mouth and, like a nutcracker, clamped his jaws shut to crumble the whole thing into little pieces. Steven felt himself flinch a bit, imagining if that rock was actually someone's head for a second, namely his head.
All the lone time stuck there with Grogar had left Steven thinking. Contemplating even …

He took a breath.

"You do know there're other ways, don't you Grogar?" Steven asked. Grogar growled.

"This again? You tried that speech on me a dozen times, and NONE of them worked," Grogar huffed, kicking some of the rocks towards Steven to keep him quiet. He did not drag him up here just to be lectured again.

"Well, not if you don't let me. You don't have to be a tyrannical ruler all your life, you can try for something better. Something that maybe doesn't always involve fighting, or torturing, or -"

"If I did anything else, I'd be DEAD. Torture hardens the heart, Steven. Without it, what would I be today?" Grogar cut in.

"Happy? Like everyone back in Little Homeworld?" Steven answered, with slight firmness in his tone. Grogar snarled at that answer, his teeth barred as his front hooves dug into the ground. But as he would love to just attack him, he kept himself recoiled. He can pummel him later.

"Shameless, lad. You don't know what you're even talking about. Go talk to your mindless robots," Grogar huffed, actually laying down for a little bit. Steven was starting to get more annoyed with him.

"You know, half of those Gems at Little Homeworld were corrupted thanks to you and fought by your side while you ruled Homeworld. They're lost, confused, and still a little bit messed up, but they're getting the help they need!"

"Good for them. Who cares?" Grogar huffed.

"I DO. And I always will, and if I didn't care, you'd be dead right now! I would've let you fall in that Injector goo back last time you were at Beach City, and left it at that."

Grogar was getting more upset, now standing up to turn to the Human.
"And you think just because you did something I never asked for, I'm gonna bend my horns for you? I've been wondering about that mistake, but that's why you saved me, isn't it? Because you thought I'd just fall at your feet like some miserable lamb!"

MISTAKE? Steven was reaching his boiling point, a loud groan escaping him.

"I only did that because I felt sorry for you! But you know what, I don't even know why anymore, because ALL OF THIS is your own fault! You were willing to destroy the entire Earth just so you can win a fight. Which you lost! TO ME! Nobody on Earth, Equus, or anywhere is making you do any of this! Are you just going to keep living like this until someone can give you a chance for something better?! Because I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU ONE!"

Grogar had enough, and roared at Steven, making him move back into the cave. The ram's eyes started to glow an ominous red as he closed in on him, moving him to the back of the cave.

"You don't have ANY POWER to control what I do! You will NOT manipulate me into your world view! I know very well how life works, and I will NOT take some blind advice from some WORN OUT! STUPID! USELESS BAG OF MEAT! Without your powers, or strength to back you up, you might as well be blowing smoke. You're a waste of my time."

Steven couldn't believe what Grogar just said, and actually moved so HE was at the cave exit, and not Grogar. That was something he always had been wondering about since this whole thing started. In fact, it was enough to make Steven push Grogar back, which would normally be suicide.

"Clearly I mean something to you! If I'm no big whoop, then WHY are you keeping me here?!" Steven exclaimed, Grogar actually wondering where Steven was going with this, "You said it yourself: without my powers I'm not even a threat to you. I'm not strong, I can use my weapons, I clearly can't talk you out of it - I'm useless! So why are you still focusing so much on me right now when there's SO MANY people better than me? Why not just kill me and get it over with?! Look, there's a cliff right there, and I can't float, all you got to do is ram me off the cliff and BAM! No more Steven Universe, no more problem. What is it about me that's making you think I HAVE TO DIE?"

"ENOUGH!" Grogar roared, finally having enough. He clamped his jaws down onto Steve's leg, and started thrashing and banging him around on the ground over and over again before tossing him to the side of the cave wall. And Steven was still alive, even after another thrashing from the ram himself.

"Keep that bull mouth shut, STEVEN UNIVERSE. You're right, there is something about you that needs my attention, but to the lava pits am I going to tell you what that is!"

"Why should it matter anymore? If you're gonna kill me anyway," Steven questioned, getting onto his knees and rubbing his head from the thrashing. Grogar could feel himself tremble. He wanted to wait for nightfall, but this was O SO HARD TO DO. Finally he jumped over Steven, and spun around to face him, blocking his only exit again but this time ready to fight him.

"You wanna fight THAT badly?!" Grogar snarled.

Steven knew that talking him out of a fight wouldn't ever work, so instead he got in a fighting stance, ready for the ram to come at him. Grogar dug his hooves on the ground, his jaws opening wide, and -

Suddenly the ground started to shake.

"QUIET!"

All that yelling Grogar and Steven were doing finally alerted the Tartarus-spawn outside. The ram and the human looked to the front of the cave, but instead of seeing clouds and snow, all they could see was the large glowing eye of the draconic monster, looking right at them both! All that anger Grogar had just moments ago was suddenly replaced by an almost primal fear, as he spun around to see the danger.

"I'm hungry for ram and whatever that is. DON'T TAKE THAT FROM ME!"

The Dragon moved its head back, and shot its jaws into the cave, attempted to snatch any of them from the prison cell they left themselves in, but they were just far back enough to avoid the jaws. Grogar tried to find more room behind him, but was left with nothing. While those jaws could reach him, its long tongue had no problem, and gave both of them a VERY SLOPPY LICKING.

"Gross." Steven muttered. And in this VERY RARE moment, Grogar had to legitimately agree.

"You have to come out sometime. I want my Hearth's Warming dinner TONIGHT."

"Get away from me!" Grogar demanded, but he couldn't bring himself to fight it. As for the Dragon, it simply responded to the ram's demands with a loud huff, smoke bellowing from its nostrils and filling up the whole cave with a thick cloud of ash. That made both Steven and Grogar cough like mad, and the large jaws were pulled out of the cave, only for them to see its glowing eye again, before it moved away. Steven turned to the ram, but it looked like the ram didn't realize it just yet, stuck with his back to the wall and simply staring ahead some more as if frozen in place.

"His dinner. … Wait. That's right: Grogar's scared of Dragons. That means … Grogar's trapped in here too," Steven thought in realization. Steven snapped Grogar out of it by clapping in front of his face, though he had to pull back as Grogar lunged forward to bite whatever was in front of him. Grogar shook his head to wake himself up, realizing himself what happened. He took one look at Steven before turning away.

"What're you looking at?" Grogar snarled. Steven nodded his head only once.

"Tell you what. I'll stop trying to make you change your ways. I'll even help you escape this Dragon, but you're gonna have to call off your attack. Deal?"
Grogar was about to respond, but the distant roar outside made him stutter. On one hoof, he'll get out of this alive, but on the other hoof …

"Go drop dead."

"Oh, okay, you'd rather sit here and wait for that Dragon to eat you? Fine, I'll just go then," Steven decided firmly, actually ready to go and do just that. He didn't get far though, and Grogar pulled him back.

"I never said you're leaving this cave!"

"Seriously stop with the murder stuff for a minute! We got bigger problems right now," Steven shouted. Here they were trapped on a mountain by a Dragon and he STILL was only thinking about Steven's death?! Grogar had about enough, and forced Steven onto the ground, his head hanging over the edge of the cliff, Grogar's hoof pushing him down.

"Just pipe down! All I see before me is a pathetic Human who's trying his best NOT to get killed. You ARE going to see the Red Diamond tonight, and nothing YOU say's going to change that. Got that?"

Something forced itself out.

"I don't care how desperate you are, you're not making me see her again!"

"Wha - ... Again? What do you mean "again"?!"

"THAT DOES IT!"

The Wyvern wasn't far away at all. In fact, seeing them stick out just far enough from the cave made the beast dive right down from the sky, skimming down the side of the mountain with jaws wide open. Seeing such a huge creature like that forced Grogar to move back, Steven having mere seconds to straighten himself. The Wyvern was so close he could feel its scales rub against his back.

"I'm trying to have a afternoon nap in my den," the Wyvern snarled, "But if you two are going to constantly shout and scream the whole time … then I'll just have to have my dinner early."

"Oh no," gulped Steven. Grogar immediately made a desperate move, and shoved Steven towards the Wyvern.

"Eat him, he's far more ripe than me!" Grogar demanded. Instead, to Grogar's horror, the Wyvern grabbed Steven … and dropped him away.

"I don't typically have dessert … before the main course."

"Of course you wouldn't." Grogar gulped.

"Run." Steven bluntly stated.

The Wyvern inhaled for a fire breath, and Grogar, no longer caring who did what, made a mad dash to get out of the cave. He and Steven both only needed a brief moment to get the heck outta there, fire spewing into the cave moments after the two jumped out. Steven barely got his footing on a ledge by the cliff, but Grogar, being the Ram he was, made descending the mountainside look easy as he bolted down as quick as he would on flat ground.

Steven could only glance down his way before he had to jump down again to avoid a fire blast from the Wyvern.
Steven and Grogar, both seemingly out for themselves at this point, kept a rush down the steep mountainside. Grogar had no problem with his hooves digging into the rock and snow with each bound of motion. Steven though was struggling to keep up in running down the hill, the Wyvern roaring good and loud before he took flight to dive after them. His jump though dislodged some rocks off the cliffside, basically causing an avalanche right behind them of stone and rock!

"Heads up!" Steven shouted. Grogar was gonna shout back, but he quickly saw what he meant as the rocks began to fall. Grogar dodged them fine, his bounding leaps to avoid boulders almost making it look like he was flying. Steven tried dodging himself, but there was one particular rock that landed in front of him that Steven actually fell onto the flat top. It took him a second or two to see what happened, and next thing he knew, he was sledding down the mountain.

"Not what I had in mind, but this'll work," Steven concluded, using the rock like a surfboard as he gained some more speed. Good thing too, because the Wyvern was catching up fast, and the rocky snowboard was just the thing to keep Steven agile enough to didge both bite, claw grab, and fire blast. Plus it helped him go down the slopes faster and safer than down on foot. Seeing Grogar running though, and slowing down compared to Steven's snowboard, Steven already knew what he was gonna do.

Despite what he said a minute ago.

"Grogar, quick! Jump on!"

"If you think I'm going to -"

"WILL YOU JUST JUMP?!" Steven shouted. Grogar looked back, and saw the Wyvern closing in fast. Freaking out, the ram made his move.

"Make room!" Grogar shouted, jumping up and landing on Steven's snowboard. He even pushed on the ground with Steven just to go faster away from the Wyvern. The beast wasn't gonna make this any easier though, his wings kicking up more stones to cut them off with, and the Wyvern even tossing some fire balls in for good measure.
How strange fate was making these two work together. Steven kept the rock steady, moving side to side as rocks flew passed, and Grogar actually turned around and blasted away any that were moving too fast to dodge. Call it coincidence of fate, or just dumb luck, but they were trying to keep eachother alive during their ride down.

"Wow, thanks," Steven said, actually surprised on the extra mile.

"Don't get chummy on me, just drive," Grogar ordered before blasting away another rock to pebbles.

The Wyvern folded his wings in now, closing in the gap even more. Grogar and Steven were getting worried again, but that was the least of their problems, as Steven looked on ahead of them. The steep cliff was ending, and there's no way around it.

"I guess we're doing this," Steven gulped. Like they had any choice.

And right over the cliff they went, rocketing high up into the sky! The Wyvern missed Grogar and Steven by inches before crashing onto the edge of the cliff. As for Grogar and Steven, the two of them were screaming high above the ground, disappearing from the Wyvern's line of sight passed the pine trees. He only knew they landed from the explosion of snow not too far away.

As for Steven and Grogar … well, their crash site looked more like a snow pile, the rock they were riding on now a bunch of pebbles scattered amongst the trees, the main rock actually knocking a tree over. Steven for one popped his head out of the snow bank, whereas Grogar just blew it off of him in an explosion.

"Looks like we gave the Dragon the slip. Sorry about the landing …"

"You saved me again. … What's with you anyway?" Grogar groaned, shaking off what snow remained on his fur. Grogar probably won't ever really understand the point, but Steven just sighed, laying on top of the heap of snow.

"Oh nevermind. I'm just gonna chill here for a minute."

"If that's a joke -"

And they both heard something else rise above the snow. But rather than the Wyvern again, the sound this time seemed more like a familiar voice calling Steven's name. Steven straightened up right away, but for Grogar, he just groaned. THIS, combined with the Dragon nearby?

"Oh Forget this!" Grogar decided, using his magic FINALLY to cut open a portal out of there into the nearest tree (much to Steven's dismay) "I've had enough for today, you stay and get eaten."
And Grogar, frustrated by yet ANOTHER confusing life save, went right on through out of there, leaving Steven standing there again by himself. Steven, in spite of this, didn't have that much time to actually think about it, as the shadow of the Wyvern loomed overhead. Steven looked up and saw the huge creature landing down almost on top of him.

"Ok, Steven. He's not gonna leave you alone. Time to fight," Steven told himself. Despite not having any powers, or any actual means to defend himself against the Wyvern, the least he could do was try. Fists clenched, and in a battle stance, he stood to face the Wyvern.

"You're kidding, aren't you?" the Wyvern remarked.

Steven didn't answer, ready for whoever were to make the first move. It seemed way too easy, but the Wyvern readied for a quick bite. One bite and the Wyvern will have his snack before his main course meal of ram. Steven took a step back, the Wyvern opening his jaws good and wide …

"YAAAAHHH!"

The Cavalry is here! The Wyvern felt like a meteor slammed him square on his head, as Bismuth was drop from high in the sky, both hammer arms slamming down right on top of the head, and slamming him into the ground in a single swing.

"Bismuth! You made it!" exclaimed Steven. Bismuth jumped off of the Wyvern after that, going right to Steven.

"We're all here, Steven. You holding up?"

"Yeah, sort of," Steven replied.

"What hit me?" murmured the Wyvern, shaking his head, only to see another figure standing right next to Steven. Bismuth stood brave against the Wyvern.

"Call it a heap of Harmony Gem," Bismuth said smugly. The Wyvern snarled, and rather than answer Bismuth, the Wyvern charged up and blasted directly at her a huge breath of fire. Steven only hid behind Bismuth, covering his head as flames shot out from all sides of him. Bismuth hardly even felt it, just standing there smiling as the flames eventually stopped. A fire that would've turned any pony to bones and Bismuth treated it like a warm breeze, even with fire still burning on her shoulder, which she just brushed off.

"Not bad. Got another one?" Bismuth remarked. The Wyvern was stunned.

"Joke's on you! Bismuth can't melt!" Steven shouted.

"You little - why won't you let me eat? I'm in no mood to fly away this winter," the Wyvern snarled.

"You better start flying then, because we're NOT going to watch our friend get eaten, and you know why? Because we're the Harmony Gems! And if there's one thing we NEVER do, is leave our friends behind," Bismuth explained, hand resting on Steven's head. The Wyvern wasn't amused.

"You think you can beat me by giving me some speech?"

"Nah, I'm just keeping you busy while the ambush starts," Bismuth said.

Seconds later, another portal opened up right behind the Wyvern's heads. This portal didn't appear like a portal key though, but instead a pink circular portal that could only belong to one animal. One pink Lion coming through in a mighty roar, with Connie riding on his back with an ice sword in hand!
The Wyvern turned around, but didn't react in time to counter the feline's claws gripping its neck, making the Wyvern rear back, trying to shake the Lion off of him. Connie leaped off of Lion, and with the extra boost, swung the ice sword on the Wyvern's laws. The sword, rather than slice into him, actually started spreading ice around the beast's jaws, giving the animal a ice muzzle. Connie meanwhile fell downward for a good ten feet before she was caught by Twilight and Fluttershy.

The Wyvern shook his head, not able to breathe any fire with the ice on its mouth. Lion jumped off of the animal, landing towards Steven and Bismuth. Lion's turn came up in the form of a mighty roar. With its wings spread, the forces of the roar made the Wyvern stumble back, landing belly up.

"Rope squad, you're up!" called Bismuth.

"On it, Bis! Let's go guys," said Rainbow Dash. She, joined by Spinel, Fulgurite, Starlight, and Applejack, raced on out to the open. Starlight got the magic rope summoned up in short order, and while the Wyvern tried to regain himself the squad started wrapping him up. Fulgurite and Rainbow Dash handled the wings as Starlight and Applejack focused on the legs on a hog tie. Spinel got the special job in wrapping rope around the Wyvern's mouth, even adding a Hearth's Warming bow when she was done because why the heck not.

"Teach you to eat my friend," Spinel remarked, before jumping off of the Wyvern's head. Well, now the beast was stuck, and breaking the rope wasn't gonna be so easy since it was magically enhanced by Starlight.

"That oughta hold him for a while. Let's high-tail it before he gets loose," said Applejack.

"Sure. Thanks for coming back for me," Steven said.

"Of course we'll come back for ya, we won't leave you for that Wyvern. Let's get going, champ," said Bismuth. Honestly he couldn't agree more. Enchanted rope or not, the Wyvern wouldn't keep itself in those binds for very long, and they needed to get moving.

"Okay, let's go home," Steven said. The Wyvern struggled some more, as he could only watch his meal running off on him. It was gonna take a bit too long for him to get himself out of those binds, and before the Wyvern knew it they were gone. Eventually, the Wyvern settled down in defeat.

"I'll just go find some fish somewhere …" the Wyvern thought.

This was NOT worth it.

~~~~~~

Well that was some adventure, but Hearth's Warming was not done just yet.

For the rest of the afternoon, moving in towards sunset, Hearth's Warming Eve went on without anymore trouble. Steven, for one, just relaxed throughout most of the afternoon yet still found himself enjoying the holiday despite the setback by the Wyvern. He only wished he could've got something through to Grogar during his time with him, but as Grogar kept telling him, it wasn't going to happen the way Steven was doing it. He should at least be glad he was home in one piece. With friends.
By the time Celestia's sun was resting over the horizon, the celebration itself was calming down somewhat with much of the Harmony Gems (and Dazzlings by extension) together over in the castle. The active celebrations were fun and all, but Steven decided to just have some more casual time this holiday in the castle, some time with his friends with piano music playing in the background, he and Spinel heading over to one of the dinner tables for their Hearth's Warming Mint Candy Cake.

"Behold our tasty creation," announced Spinel once Steven placed the cake down for the others to enjoy.

"Wow, Steven, Spinel. It looks amazing," said Lapis with a smile, and indeed it did. A light green frosting cover over a pink cake, with dollops of pink and white icing lining the edges along with peppermint candies of green and red stripes.

"Ooooo, it smells so minty fresh," said Pinkie.

"Thanks Pinkie. Who wants a slice?" Steven offered, cake cutter in hand.

The answer was pretty easy to work out, as practically everyone at least wanted to try a slice of the cake. One after the others, slices of the cake were passed down from one another, though Steven made sure there was enough for everyone there. The first to take a bite, naturally, was Pinkie Pie herself, who was quick to gulp it down. Her eyes sparkled, but for a brief moment her fur became blue, as she breathed out cold air and even snowflakes before turning back to pink.

"WHOA! That is some strong mint. … I LLLOVE IT!" Pinkie said in glee.

"Sweet, it's actually Pinkie Pie approved," joked Spinel, seeing Pinkie as the veteran of sweets. If SHE loved it, what was to doubt? Steven sat down over by Connie with his slice, though Spinel got her own seat right next to Steven (as it had been all day long). At first they just enjoyed the cake, no longer having any awkwardness like there was back during the Gingerbread houses. But as they all were enjoying the Hearth's Warming cake, there was still one more problem they needed to handle.
And she was sitting over by herself a few tables away. Steven and Connie could see White Diamond herself just sitting over there, not feeling wanted by at least one of the group, actually trying this whole "eating" thing out with what looked like some small gumdrops.

"Ready?" Connie asked.

"I think so," Steven replied.

Connie then got up for a moment, with some excuse of getting a drink as she walked away, leaving Steven and Spinel there to finish up their cake. They didn't start right away, Spinel not noticing what was actually happening as she ate her cake until -

*ahem*

Steven knew what it was, standing up himself but Spinel was left a bit startled when Connie stood there with White Diamond next to her. White Diamond didn't know what to say. Spinel didn't know what to say. And Steven and Connie didn't need to say anything, simply standing back and letting them try to talk. All that did though was make them both turn away from eachother. They need a better approach than this if neither were gonna talk directly.

Then they remember the piano.

With a nod of the head, they both got the same idea, and went over to the pony playing. For a moment, the music stopped altogether when Connie tapped his shoulder, whispering what she and Steven had in mind. All the pony did was get up, and moved aside, as Connie sat down and readied herself.

White Diamond and Spinel simply watched, as Steven began to sing.

Steven; Why don't you talk to eachother?
Why don't you talk to eachother, just give it a try
Why don't you talk about what happened?
I know you're trying to avoid it, but I don't know why

Steven's voice was perfectly in tune to Connie's music, both of them in synch to one another in their song. White Diamond and Spinel, humbled, knew exactly who Steven was talking to in this song. It was almost magical, the way he was singing to them both. The two though still were too hesitant to say anything to eachother, but the song continued anyway.

Steven; You might not believe it …
You might not believe it, but
You got a lot in common
You really do …

Slowly, White and Spinel started to feel their emotions start to come up, as they looked to eachother again. Something along the lines of sorrow. Regret maybe, given everything that happened between them so far today. All day avoiding eachother as best they could, one from shyness the other out of anger … but all the same, what good was that even doing? They both gave a sigh.

Steven; You both love me, and
I love both of you

That line did it. Their emotions began to swell up, and Spinel started to cry. What kind of person was she to keep denying White like this? White Diamond tried not to cry herself, but her face was still filled with just as much grief. It wasn't Steven that was talking to them anymore, but someone that was probably just as close, if not closer to them than Steven ever was. The soft voice of a Diamond long since gone …

White Diamond spoke.

"Listen, if I were you, I'd hate me too," White finally said, "After everything I did to you, how could you not hate me? I probably deserve so much worse than this. … I'm sorry you had to be around me."

"That wasn't the problem," Spinel finally admitted, "I might've gotten over all of that, eventually, but something in me just … snapped. When you said you were gonna leave everything behind again. I didn't want to be alone again … like Pink did."

"Like Pink did. ... Oh, Spinel, I-I'm sorry. I really am. And she didn't only leave you behind …" White said. Spinel sniffed a little, wiping some tears again, but then she smiled a little bit.

"Well, you know ol' pink …"

"She always did what she wanted," the two Gems said.

Steven; I know you both needed
I know you both needed

It was a small talk, but for the first time all day they were finally beginning to see where eachother were. One Gem a jester made to sit in the Garden, the other a ruler of an entire race. Both of which were left behind for their own faults by the same Gem. After that short bit, Spinel and White looked to one another again … and it was Spinel who brought out her hand.

Steven; Someone who knows
what you're going through …

The song became their guide, as both Diamond and Spinel gem started a slow dance together. Both Gems holding hands and keeping in tune to eachother. The dance itself was slow, but Spinel and White Diamond were enjoying it bit by bit. It was sweet in a way.

Steven; You might not believe it
You might not believe it but
You got a lot in common
You really do …

Their slow dance turned into a duet of movement, Spinel and White Diamond in a gentle dance. White Diamond even spun Spinel during their dance, a gentle twirl like a ballerina under White's hand, and Spinel too did the same for White Diamond afterwards. Everyone seeing this were just smiling, seeing them finally starting to make a connection.

And at the end of their dance, the two Gems just smiled.

Steven; You both love me and
I love both of you …

You both love me and
I love both …
Of you.

Happy Hearth's Warming.

Author's Note

Not the Christmas Special you were expecting, eh? Sorry the fight with the Wyvern was so short. Time constraints can be a pain, and I wanted this out before Christmas Day. Well hope the Dazzlings' return, and some development between Spinel and White Diamond make up for it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ^^

Rose Bud

Steven Universe had been keeping himself busy for the last five days. Walking down the beach, one keeping one box balanced while the other was marching along with another box in hand, Steven and Twilight headed right from the Gem Temple, heading off towards town, each box itself filled with a number of items for tonight's big event that was good ol' New Years Eve. Twilight's box had a few good fireworks in them, all rockets aiming high in the air, and Steven had a lot of utensils in his box. Pans, bells, chimes, whatever can make some sort of racket when either shook or hit. It's a celebration they've done a few times now, more so than Hearth's Warming, so they didn't need to really explain what they have to do. Well, except for a few new Gems that is.
The beach they settled down in was right next to town, plenty of other residents of Beach City also out in the chill night air, minutes away from midnight and settling down on a towel for both the sand and snow.

"Hey Twilight, bring those right over here. THIS New Years' going to be the best," called Trixie, who for this year was in charge of the New Years fireworks. The Alicorn dropped the fireworks off by the blue show Unicorn, who was joined by Starlight Glimmer in setting up the rockets for the show coming up.

"I think we got enough fireworks set up now," said Starlight, checking out some of the rockets in question before setting them up right along the shore.

"Are you kidding?" said Trixie, "The motto is to go big, or go home. And I'M going right for the top for this New Years. So I'm going for big ben," Trixie said in confidence, made more apparent as she levitated a VERY big rocket right out of the box, the rocket itself as big as a pot. Starlight Glimmer stepped back seeing that.

"Let's not and say we did, Trixie," insisted Starlight, quickly putting that big ben away before Trixie could explode the sky.

"Your loss," Trixie shrugged. They got more than a ton of Fireworks all set up anyway.

As Starlight and Trixie were doing that for the event, not too far away, Steven and Twilight were giving their own "equipment" to the others sitting and waiting for the clock to countdown. Pans, pot with wooden spoons, some bells, whatever it may be, Steven made sure there was enough to pass around and to work with.

"So what do we do with these things?" Spinel asked, holding what looked like one of those Buddhist bells in hand.

"Part of the tradition. We gotta make lots of noise for the new year, and what better way than this?" explained Steven, holding a pan himself and knocking on it, already hearing the sound the pan made on each small hit.

"Give it a whack, Spinny. New Years isn't gonna wake itself up," encouraged Pinkie, who herself was covered in bells. All she needed to do was shake, and she had more chiming than Hearth's Warming bells. Spinel glanced to the bell she was holding and, with the spoon she had with her, gave the bell one good hit.
The lingering *ding* gave Spinel shivers.

"Whooooooa," she shuttered. "Deep ring."

"You want something else?" offered Rarity.

"Nope, nope, I'm good. It sounds neat," Spinel said, giving the bell another little tap just to hear the soothing sound of the bell. Steven sat down over by Greg with a set of pans, Lapis who had a bell, and White Diamond who decided to join them as well, holding a set of pans too. Like Spinel, she wasn't sure how this really worked, but the process seemed simple enough: just make some noise when new years comes.

"Now this is more like it," Steven said, relaxing with a sigh as he looked up to the clear starry night. As there's no sudden surprises before the fireworks could go off, he could safely say that this holiday wasn't going to be interrupted by anyone trying to kill him, or otherwise.

"So guys? What's the new years resolution this time?" asked Lapis Lazuli.

"Resolution?" asked White.

"It's something you promise to do for the new year," said Sapphire.

"That's it? Well that one should be simple for me: My resolution is to be a better leader, and to not torment or torture anyone again," White Diamond said. A bit disturbing, but they didn't question it given what she was trying to do.

"MY resolution I think is to try and get some of my hair back," Greg said jokingly, some of the others chuckling with him. A far simpler goal for the new year than White Diamond's goal.

"How about you, Steven? You have a New Years resolution?" asked Fluttershy to Steven. Steven looked over to them for a moment, and then got to thinking. Honestly, he didn't have to think very long.

"Me? Well, actually there's a lot of things: Little Homeworld getting built, making sure everyone's happy and back to normal … I think my New Years resolution is basically doing what I'm trying to do: help everyone have a better future," Steven concluded, seeing some of the stars sparkle up above them, as if the stars were agreeing too.

"Good life goal," said Sapphire.

"Just try not to forget yourself in that better future, eh?" remarked Rainbow Dash, giving Steven a nudge and a smile.

"Don't worry I won't," Steven chuckled. They all could use a better future at this point, and if there was a way they can make that happen, then that's what they're gonna do.
After that everyone was settling down for the upcoming fireworks display. It felt pretty much perfect on paper, but little by little, Steven looked around the beach for a bit. He knew well that not everyone was there to celebrate with him for one reason or another (most of which because they probably don't remember what that even is). He could see a number of the residence: the Frymans together and looking a bit more happy with Ronaldo's accomplishments as a teacher, both the Millers and the Barrigas together with Sadie and Lars side-by-side, the Maheswarans not too far away all bundled up with some hot chocolate. The distant sound of the countdown from ten started to ring out, though something felt out of place for Steven as he saw all of this. As if something … wasn't there.

"... Wish everyone could be here," Steven though, though he wouldn't say it out loud. After all, he was the only one that didn't have his entire family with him. Connie, Lars, Sadie, Peedee, they all had everyone with them for this. But not him. Not quite. …

"3 … 2 … 1 …"

And then the fireworks went off. Sparkled by Trixie and Starlight, the sky was soon filled with bright colors and explosions as one firework after another blasted off into the sky. Shortly after this everyone started to get their instruments out and started making their noise, though Steven, wrapped up in the thought, didn't do it right away.

"Happy New Year, Steven. … How's my volume?" White asked, though she was barely touching her instrument of choice, as Pinkie Pie cart-wheeled nearby the ring her bells.

"Don't be shy, White, give it a good hit. Good and loud," insisted Emerald, demonstrating as he was ringing some cow bells around him. White looked to the pans she was holding briefly and -

*DING*

It wouldn't surprise anybody if Homeworld heard THAT.

"How's that?" White asked.

"You got the memo," murmured Spinel, the only one giving her a thumbs up, but NOT the only one stunned along the stretch of coastline.

~~~~~~

"See you in the morning, dad, we'll celebrate more then," Steven said once the main night event was over.
It was fun to keep ringing objects and hang out with friends, but there always was the time when it had to stop. She for Steven, it couldn't have come sooner. You know, given it was the middle of the night, and he needed some sleep for the Little Homeworld stuff anyway. The Beach House, for the midnight hours, was very quiet and content with the trio of Harmony Gem pets sleeping within it. Lion and Nora got themselves a comfy spot on Steven's couch, with Nora on the armrest as Lion basically took up the rest. Steven yawned and got himself right over to bed, faithful dog Blue sleeping by the foot of the bed as always. The only Gem with him was Spinel, but she was still full of energy compared to Steven.

"So, Steven, what're we gonna do now? It's the new year," said Spinel, wondering what other traditions they're gonna try. Steven though was too tired to notice.

"Let's catch that up in the morning. I need some sleep," Steven yawned.

"Already?" Spinel asked. Steven would go through his night routine, but he was too tired to really care about that. So instead, he got off his winter clothes, took his shoes off, and just flopped right down onto bed.

"Humans don't have Gem energy, so I need to get my hours worth before the sun comes back up," Steven said.

It didn't take long for him to get himself under the covers, and go right off to sleep. … Or at least he would've, but a few moments later he began to get a weird feeling over him. He tried to keep comfy, but it just wouldn't go away. All he could do was open his eyes, and there was Spinel kneeling by his bed.

"Spinel. What're you doing?" Steven asked, though he could suspect an answer already as Spinel tried to think of something.

"Oh, uh, what I'm doing? I mean, that's a VERY GOOD question, my buddy, you see uh ..."

Spinel couldn't think of anything.

"Can I watch you sleep? It makes me feel better," she bluntly asked.

Steven paused. After a good ten seconds of silence, he got himself under the covers again.

"No thank you, Spinel. I'm a young adult, I can sleep by myself," Steven informed, ready to go back to bed.

"Oh. Uh ... okie dokie, you just do that, and I'll be over here," Spinel said, embarrassed as she took one LONG step from Steven's bedroom to the kitchen, having herself a seat, holding her hands together and just waiting from afar. Well at least she asked to watch him sleep, unlike Pearl who just did so on a whim.

"Alright. Goodnight, Spinel," Steven yawned, going back to sleep.

"Night, Steven," Spinel simply replied. She wasn't gonna try and go to sleep herself though, at least not yet. For the first ten minutes or so, Spinel just sat there and waited for Steven to wake up again, one leg resting on the other as she played with her fingers, kinda like if she was waiting for an appointment. The animals weren't bothered by her, and at least here Spinel can see Steven so he wasn't gone somewhere. Still, she kept seeing him stir once or twice to get comfortable.

"How can I help him sleep? ... Hmmmmm ..." Spinel started to wander a bit with her vision, and soon spotted the O so familiar painting hung up on the wall above the door. Rose Quartz. Spinel might have never met Rose Quartz outside of White Diamond informing her about the rebel, but the best friend looked between that and the boy in bed.

The painting was moved over to the back of the room, turned around to face the wall than towards the bedroom.

"There you go, now no one's looking down on him while he's sleeping," Spinel told herself, wiping her hands on a job well done before sitting back down.
In a way, it kinda worked because Steven stopped stirring shortly after that was moved. Job well done as far as Spinel was concerned. She was so preoccupied, and Steven was so sound asleep, that neither were noticing the Pink Diamond gemstone starting to stir as well, a very faint glow growing from within as it was resting in its towel nest in the bathroom after another cleanup.

…….

The night itself went on slowly and with no trouble, despite it being cut in half, but eventually the morning sun for a brand new year. It had to start at some point. For Steven DeMayo Diamond Universe, the new year began with a ring from his alarm clock.

"So soon?" he mumbled, worn out from the night before. His hand reached out and tried to find the alarm clock. But lucky for him, his best friend Spinel clicked the clock before he could reach it.

"Morning, Mr. Universe," said Spinel, "How'd ya sleep?"
Steven took a moment to wake himself up, sitting up and stretching his arms a bit, a good yawn escaping his open mouth. Spinel simply stood there as Steven got to his feet.

"Actually, I slept great. I only wish I got the rest of those eight hours," Steven said, rubbing his eye.

"Uh, you can just hop back in bed and get the rest of them if ya want," offered Spinel.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'll just make up for it tonight," Steven replied, getting himself more awake. As much as that would work, he had other things to do. But as he got himself downstairs, he then asked the question.

"So, how'd you sleep?" Steven asked. Spinel ... kinda clammed up. Steven knew exactly what this meant.

"You did watch me through the whole night, huh?" Steven correctly guessed. Spinel quickly recovered.

"Y-Yes, but in my defense, I was in your kitchen, NOT right next to your bed," Spinel said matter-of-factly, even sitting back on the same seat she parked herself for the whole night. Steven took a breath. If Spinel wasn't a Gem, this could've ended rather badly.

"I'm just worried, okay? I mean you were just kidnapped by some Dragon last week," Spinel admitted.

"I know, and I get that, but I can take care of myself too Spinel. You watch yourself, I'll watch myself, and we'll both be okay," Steven explained. Spinel rubbed the back of her head, but her eyes then glanced over to the open space over on the wall, which Steven did eventually notice when he looked.

"Spinel. ... The painting?" Steven asked.

"I moved it. You were still trying to sleep, and I saw her kinda looming over you, so she's over there," Spinel explained, pointing over to where the painting was of Steven's mother. Or at least, the "old version" of his mother.

"Did I goof again?"

"No, it's fine. Come to think of it, I've been meaning to move this portrait of my mom ever since I got back home, but I never got the time to do it," Steven explained, he and Spinel walking over to the portrait as Steven picked it up, "I didn't know if I wanted her hanging over us after everything, you know?"
Spinel felt like she was in the clear now, sigh of relief.

"What is the deal with her and you anyway?" Spinel asked. Steven placed the portrait back down where it was, still turned away and facing the wall rather than them.

"It's … complicated. But don't worry about it, I'm moving on from that," Steven said again, though not as angry as before.

"Traumatic?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. But no, not exactly."
Steven didn't feel up for going into detail about it though, so he left it at that as he went over to the bathroom. Spinel was still curious about it but she decided to not push it further. What kind of best friend would keep prying in like that anyway? Besides, they got an entire day of New Years to get to.

"Let me just get into a good shower, and then we'll go to Little Homeworld and see how they're doing," Steven said. Spinel had to play the waiting game again, and Steven opened the bathroom door …

…

Steven looked ready to faint.
Before Spinel could ask, Steven backed up as someone else was standing right at the door of the bathroom, patiently waiting for the door to open apparently. Not a member of the Crystal or Harmony Gems, nor the Elements of Harmony, but she indeed was a Gem of some sort. She stood fairly tall compared to Steven and Spinel, a Human-like skin tone with even lighter pink hair that was both poofed like cotton candy with a few curls in it. She wore a Homeworld-esque two-piece outfit, colorations mimicking a darker tone of pink. And the worst part … she looked EXACTLY like the same girl on that portrait.

A ROSE QUARTZ.

"... HOW'D YOU GET IN HERE?!" Spinel shrieked, shocked as well but less on the person. The Rose Quartz stepped out of the bathroom, looking around the Beach House for a bit. She spoke not a word, mostly exploring a bit like a young child would. Blue, Nora, and Lion were taking it in more stride than Steven and Spinel were though they were a bit surprised seeing someone just appear out of nowhere all the same.

"Steven, who's the new girl? I didn't see anyone come in all night! … Steven?" Spinel's quiet words weren't going through as Steven was just stuck staring at the Rose Quartz, his eyes wide like a dead fish. He didn't know WHAT to think, say, or do. Out of all the surprises he had been struck with already, this one topped em all. Steven didn't come back around until Spinel waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of it.

"I-I don't know how, who're you?" Steven immediately asked, looking directly to the Rose Quartz on the question. The Gem turned back to them as she was checking the fridge.

"Rose Quartz. … I think. Is that what I am?" the quartz wondered, the name kinda just coming to her without thinking of it first. She took a minute to check herself, observing her body and seeing if her cut's curves matched that of a Rose Quartz. Something just told her she was correct about it, but as she was doing this, Steven and Spinel then saw the gemstone cut she had on her stomach. Typically a Rose Quartz would have a more circular gemstone. SHE however had an upside-down Diamond gemstone.

"Pink Diamond," Steven hushly said. Immediately, Spinel went to the bathroom to check, and sure enough when looking in there, she did not see any gemstone anywhere. Not even a shard of one.

"Oh boy," Spinel gulped, Steven looking into the bathroom and seeing the missing gemstone himself. The two looked back towards Pink Diamond, who still was seeing her new form a bit. Steven and Spinel stood close, and actually pulled him in the bathroom for a moment, closing the door.

"THAT'S Pink outside right? Why does she look like a Rose Quartz? Rejuvenators don't do that," Spinel asked.

"About that … that's not Pink Diamond," Steven finally admitted.

"... say wha?"

"We've been building up to it, but … well, she's right here," Steven explained, pulling up his shirt and showing Spinel his gemstone, "But let me be clear, I'm not her, I just have her gem. I'm her son, and I got her powers but that's as far as it goes. That's kinda why I didn't remember you when you first showed up."
Spinel stared at Pink Diamond's true gemstone before her, but then another question came to mind.

"Wait wait wait … if THAT'S Pink Diamond. … THEN WHO THE HECK DID I CHOP UP?!" Spinel gasped. She did NOT mean to yell, but she just couldn't help it. Pink Diamond standing over nearby was startled as well as Steven.

"You know how White was with experimenting, right? She found these shards down on Earth, and she thought they belonged to my mom, so she tried to "rebuild" her. It turns out those were Rose Quartz shards. I guess your rejuvenator finally brought that up," Steven explained.

"So … you're still freaking out over a Rose Quartz … because …"

"She disguised herself as one during the Gem war. And for the longest time she never told ANYONE about it. … Except for Pearl, which she made keep quiet," Steven said. Spinel paused. At least with White Diamond's lie, she could understand WHY Pink Diamond couldn't go back to get her. But now she began to feel a pain in her upside-down heart.

"She forgot about me anyway …"

"Huh?"

"N-Nothin. So, you want me to say hello, or you, Mr. Universe?" Spinel asked, feeling a little uneasy. This was the same gem who she did poof after all, Pink Diamond or not, but the Gem of course didn't remember that. Steven took a deep breath.

"It's not her, everything's fine. … I'll go first," Steven decided.

Time to tackle the bull by the horns. Steven and Spinel both walked out of the bathroom, and walked over to Pink Diamond, standing at attention as Steven tried to put on a smile for the new arrival.

"Hiiiiii," Steven said, hand raised. "I'm Steven Universe."

"Steven … Universe …"

"Y-Yes, that's me. And this is Spinel," Steven introduced, Spinel waving hello to Pink Diamond. Pink Diamond brought her hand out, and soon they got to shaking hands. Not even five minutes and Steven was already struggling to not just bolt away.

"Nice to … meet … you?" Spinel said, smiling awkwardly. Should this be a first-time meeting or nah? The new Quartz smiled sweetly.

"Nice to meet you too," she said warmly. Now, NORMALLY the warm aura would calm anyone down, but Steven and Spinel found it just a tad too familiar. Steven cleared his throat.

"Ok, ok. So, uh, welcome back to Earth," Steven said, treating her like a new Gem entirely. Pink Diamond looked around.

"Earth. That's where we are? … What's this place like?"

"W-Well it's very big, lots of places to go to, lots of life too," Steven explained.

"What kind of life?" Pink asked, starting to become interested in the idea of life. Could be some of her old traits coming out or just from the quartz aspects, but Steven tried answering anyway.

"There's a lot of it. Um, there's fish, birds, plants. People," Steven said, for a brief moment not feeling too uncomfortable since he had his mind thinking about something else.

"What's that?"

"What's what? Fish? Plants?" Spinel asked.

"People," Pink replied. Going right to the top it seemed. Spinel and Steven glanced to one another before one of them answered.

"Okay, well people are uh … people? I'm one of the people, a-a Human," Steven said.

"Human? What're they like?" Pink Diamond asked, actually getting intrigued even more. Steven tried not to get too caught up in it, but some things had to give. And Spinel quickly got an idea.

"HEEYY you know what'll be fun? GOING TO LITTLE HOMEWORLD, they gots a school run by this Ronaldo guy, so you can ask all your questions and concerns to whoever the heck's in charge there, great? great!" Spinel said, trying (and failing) to be as cool and chill as possible.

"A … a school? What's a school?" Pink Diamond asked.

"We'll show you! Come on, let's go. Just step onto the Warp Pad, and we'll both show you what that is, isn't that right Spinel?" Steven said (calmer than Spinel), showing Pink Diamond the Warp Pad.

"Right-o, Steve-o, lead the way," Spinel replied, joining Steven on the Warp Pad. Pink Diamond joined them on the Warp Pad as well. Steven and Spinel shared a smile, but they both were just shell-shocked if anything. Different reasons, but same reaction, as the Warp Pad went off.

~~~~~~

"And that, students, is the telltale signs of you're ever talking to a Sneople. Any questions?" Ronaldo asked his "class" as he got his pointer to the chalkboard.

For being put there on a whim, Ronaldo had been doing fairly well in teaching the uncorrupted Gems a thing or two about his findings, especially in the studies on Sneople, as Pink Diamond was figuring out as she sat and listened to him. Pink Diamond was joined by several other Gems amongst the lot, a Citrine eventually raising her hand.

"Do Sneople know their weaknesses? Maybe they can change their tactics," the Citrine asked. Ronaldo, in the moment, slapped the chalkboard (which startled the class somewhat).

"We're talking about a global species here, OF COURSE they're gonna know. Which is why we need to keep one step ahead of them and anything else that comes our way!" Ronaldo said.

"YEAH!" said a few quartz soldiers. Well at least some of them were on board with him. As Ronaldo continued his methods of teaching to the populace, Pink Diamond kept an ear open and simply watched in content. Off not too far away, Steven and Spinel still kept a watch on things as they sat among the crowd. At least from this far away they both can chill out as Pink Diamond was busy. They could actually see she was enthralled by Ronaldo's confident teaching, learning about the Sneople among other things.

"You enjoying yourself?" Steven asked after a bit.

"This is so informative. Thanks for bringing me here," Pink Diamond said, having that warm smile again that gave the two a bit of a uncomfortable vibe.

"Sure, no problem. Glad it helps," Steven replied with a similar smile, as Spinel gave the Rose Quartz a thumbs up. But honestly, the feeling was still mutual when it comes to the awkwardness, and Spinel and Steven needed to figure out what to do next.

"You reeeeaaallly sure we can't just leave her here?" Spinel whispered.

"What? No, that'll be terrible!" Steven whispered back, "Besides, why would YOU think that of all people?"

"But I can't stand it, Steven," Spinel whispered back again. The two only stopped when Pink Diamond looked back over to the two, who simply looked ahead to Ronaldo instead.

"Let's just try to let her have a good time," Steven said.

"Yeah. Fine," Spinel replied. How could she think to do that, who would know. But for now, both Steven and Spinel would just have to bare it, for Pink Diamond's sake and their own. During Ronaldo's teachings, they got themselves another visitor just coming in after driving up in his van. If they were gonna start introducing Pink Diamond around they got a good test run.
After parking off nearby the new Forge, out came Greg.

"Hey schtu-ball, you here? You said you were gonna come by town today, and Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense is getting a bit antsy over -"

One look. Greg only needed one look at who Steven and Spinel were with to stop cold in his tracks.

"H-Hehehehe. Family reunion," Spinel said, though she felt the same awkwardness all the same. Pink Diamond looked over her shoulder and took a look to Greg herself. And what did Greg say after seeing her?

"I can feel the rest of my hair falling out," Greg muttered. That didn't make anything better, but before Greg could go, Steven stood up.

"Wait, dad. You … wanna hang out with us?"

"NOPE!" Greg said, before going right back to his van. So much for the roadie's help. After Greg started to drive away, Steven was left stunned but not enough to say this was that huge of a surprise. … He didn't have to ditch them though.

"That was our test drive," Spinel said meekly. "And we still gotta tell everyone else the scoop."

"Yeah. …" Steven simply said. But then Pink Diamond went over to them both.

"Excuse me, Steven? Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned. Steven took a deep breath.

"Let's go out to town!"

…….

That was exactly what they did after Ronaldo's class. When Pink Diamond was freed from his class, Spinel and Steven brought her away from there and towards Beach City. There were more Humans there, giving Pink Diamond more interaction with them over Little Homeworld, although they still saw a few Gems going about there as well, alongside Ponies. Steven and Spinel kept themselves ahead, talking to Pink Diamond about the town, though Pink didn't really look like she was listening.

"Ok, we got a few options today: we can try the Arcade, or maybe we can get a bite to eat? You know, if you want to learn how to eat," Steven said. But the more they walked, the more Pink Diamond started to feel that they were being watched. Pink Diamond looked around her and kept seeing some glances their way, mostly by the older locals to town. Not as much as what happened with Greg before, but it still was something she was beginning to notice overtime. Pink Diamond wasn't the only one.

"Everyone's starring a little bit," Spinel informed to Steven.

"Just go along with it, everything fine. All we gotta do is make sure -" Steven said.

"We lost her, where'd she go?"

"Wha?"
Not anymore. Steven and Spinel turned around, and it turned out Pink Diamond was actually not behind them. Steven and Spinel tried to figure out where she went off to, looking into the Arcade themselves. Active play time for the Arcade, with many of the games up and running and some of the locals checking out how things worked.

"What's this place?" Spinel asked, getting a little bit too caught up in the colors and lights. Guess they were gonna check out the Arcade after all, because they found Pink Diamond walking around inside, checking everything out.

"Guess it's the Arcade. Come on, Spinel," Steven said, he and Spinel going inside the Arcade. It didn't take them that much time to catch up to Pink Diamond, looking around at all the lights and colors with a sense of bewilderment. They both could tell she was amazed in a way.

"It feels so … lively in here. Is it like this all the time?" Pink Diamond asked.

"Eh, it's actually its slow time. It gets more lively during summer," Steven explained, speaking from experience himself. Pink Diamond could only imagine how lively it would be then, but for now she started wandering around some more, going over towards some of the arcade cabinets. She eventually stopped over by a purple-colored cabinet.

"This one doesn't look very lively," Pink Diamond pointed out.

"Maybe it's just not plugged in that's all. Let me ask Mr. Smiley, he can hook it up for you to try," Steven suggested. He was just about to go and check on Mr. Smiley, but before he could do that he glanced back to the arcade cabinet and caught a glimpse of something about said cabinet. Namely the screen. Though, even if he didn't see that, Spinel glanced behind the cabinet and found something else odd about the cabinet.

"Hey, didn't you say these games have something called a cord to them? I don't see it," Spinel said. Steven and Pink Diamond checked, and sure enough there wasn't a cord to be seen. It wasn't as if the cord was cut away, or removed by the owner, but more rather it never had one to begin with. Steven got suspicious.

"Hang on a second. I think I know who this is," Steven said, stepping back.

"You mean "what" it is?" Spinel asked. Steven didn't answer, and instead went over towards a neighboring gaming cabinet. He looked to the cabinet and despite the game screen, he saw his reflection off of the glass. As for the purple one, he check the screen and he saw nothing. No reflection.

Steven gasped. And the cabinet gasped too!

Amethyst returned to her default shape shortly after this, startling Pink Diamond and Spinel as the small Quartz sat there on the floor, blank faced and staring.

"Amethyst! Oh my gosh, so much happened I forgot about you. I-I'm so sorry," Steven immediately said in worry. However …

"I-I'm so sorry," Amethyst repeated, matching Steven's tone and worry to a tee. Amethyst was still a living parrot, and as far as she knew now, there wasn't exactly anything to be sorry about. Pink Diamond looked down to her.

"She's so small … hello there, little Amethyst," Pink Diamond said. Amethyst felt Pink Diamond's hand gently land on her head, as if she was a small dog. Steven and Spinel took a step or two away, but honestly Steven was actually thinking A LOT about this, especially since Amethyst was staring directly at her.

"Why isn't she saying anything? Amethyst knew Rose Quartz longer than I ever could, shouldn't this make her remember something from the past?" Steven thought, both startled yet confused at to Amethyst's lack of response. By all rights this should've at least triggered SOMETHING in the Gem's head. But as the seconds ticked by, Amethyst seemed oblivious. Blank-faced. Curious maybe, but that was about it.

"... She's so small …"

Amethyst started to shapeshift.

"Oh please no," Spinel and Steven thought. But unfortunately, Amethyst was soon on her feet, her form growing bigger, bulkier, and her hair stretching out behind her. After completing the shapeshifting, well …

"Hello there, little Amethyst," said Rose Quartz 2.0. Pink Diamond actually found this almost funny.

"That's adorable. Did you see that?" Pink Diamond asked.
As if dealing with one Rose Quartz wasn't hard enough, now they got TWO?! If they didn't look ready to faint before, their traumatized eyes sure looked it now. Pink Diamond was actually smiling a little bit. Now Pink Diamond knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what.

"What's wrong, Steven?" Pink Diamond (and Amethyst) asked. Steven clammed up, eyes darting back and forth over and over again. He had to quickly regather himself, despite two Rose Quartzes side-by-side with him.

"NO, I'm all good, really!" Steven insisted, "I know, why don't you twwwooo play that for a bit?"
Saving grace, Steven found a two-player Arcade game off not too far away. Meat Beat Mania. The two Rose Quartz look-alikes walked over to the two-player competitive game, the game already started up with the signature happy pig on screen, ready for the players to kickstart the game. Pink Diamond curiously picked up one of the mallets, Amethyst doing the exact same thing.

"All you gotta do is time your swings to the beat, and match the pig on the screen. The more you get right the more points you get and the more tickets you earn," Steven explained. He even gave the curtesy of getting them tokens so they can play the game. Just a minute later, and the game itself started right up for them. Pink Diamond held both mallets in hand (which were hams) and Amethyst copied her and used chicken legs for the P2 controllers.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Spinel and I will be checking out the rest of the Arcade if you need anything," Steven said. The game soon began, and following what Steven said, Pink Diamond went into the game. Since it was 2 players, the concept was who can last the longest, so Amethyst was gonna give Pink Diamond a tough time with her copycat technique. Steven and Spinel meanwhile walked off a good bit until they were just outside of the Arcade.

"This is getting super weird," Spinel finally admitted.

"Spinel. … Of course it's super weird," Steven said, "But we can't keep going like this. Pink Diamond just got back, the least we can do is try to tolerate her."

"But looking like that?" Spinel asked. Steven looked back to Pink Diamond, hearing what she meant. Steven gulped.

"I know, but she had nothing to do with you or me. If anything she only looks like her, but here we are trying to ditch her standing outside the Arcade for that reason?"

"Hold it, I'm weirded out because she practically is Pink Diamond in a Rose Quartz body. If White wanted to remake Pink, give her a reward because she did a REALLY good job," Spinel admitted, getting a shiver in her own body. Steven placed a hand on Spinel's shoulder.

"Ok, look, you can just stay here if you like, but I'm going back in there and make sure she has a good time," Steven decided. He only took a step or two before Spinel grabbed his arm.

"I didn't say I wanted to leave," Spinel said, sounding surprisingly sincere in what she just said.

"You don't really have to do that if you don't want to Spinel," Steven admitted.

"Even if it's super weird, I want to stay with you. I'm not gonna let you be freaked out alone," Spinel promised.

"Spinel I'm not -"

"Steven!"

Well that was fast. After their game, Pink Diamond walked out of the Arcade, and the two had won A LOT of tickets! By a lot, the ball was big enough to cover Nora if Pink Diamond wanted to. Spinel was left mouth agape, hands on the side of her head in sheer surprise. How'd they get so much so fast?!

"You were right," said Pink Diamond with a smile, "we followed just like you said, and look at how many tickets we earned."

"Yeah? That great, really great," Steven said, not expecting this to happen by a long shot. He even glanced behind her and was seeing quite a few people checking out the score they made. They must've gotten pretty high on the leaderboards for getting this many tickets in just one shot.

"Glad you're having fun. Why don't you s-stick around for lunch?" Steven offered.

"Huh?" said Spinel.

"If it's just as enjoyable of an experience as this, then I'd be happy to," Pink Diamond decided. She didn't knew what "dinner" was, but heck with it she was having fun, why stop now? Her choice of words though didn't sit well for Steven's stomach, echoing from someone that used to live here.

Again.

…….

"Here's you go, guys. Enjoy," said Kiki once she brought the order of cheese pizza for Pink Diamond, Spinel, and Steven to have. Fish Stew Pizza didn't have that much customers lately, outside of the Harmony Gem group. Besides the three, they also got Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Pinkie, and Fluttershy.

"So this is the "pizza" you were talking about? Do they only come in this yellow stuff," Pink Diamond said, looking at the clean cuts of the pizza in front of her.

"Nah, you can put whatever you want on top of them, and make it delicious however you like," Pinkie Pie explained, as she took a slice of pizza and actually sprinkled some … well, sprinkles on it. A weird choice of pizza topping, yet still proved her point. Pink Diamond picked up a slice of pizza herself, but she had a bit of trouble keeping the slice together as she only held it by the crust, the rest dangling downward and making it a little hard to eat properly.

"Hold it like this," Steven said, showing Pink Diamond how to hold her slice with both hands before he took a bite of his pizza. Pink Diamond followed his lead, and took a bite of it herself. She also took an extra step and copied him swallowing it. The Gem's eyes sparkled.

"Oh my stars," she gasped, "It's … amazing. And you do this all the time?"

"Well I've been doing it for at least sixteen years, and I kinda have to to live, so yeah," Steven replied, taking another bite of the cheese pizza. Pink Diamond saw Pinkie and Spinel enjoying their meal, and even Fluttershy having at least one slice of it, but Lapis and Sapphire were just sitting there, keeping quiet. Their plates were empty, not even touching the pizza in front of them.
Pink Diamond got two slices, one for each plate, and placed it in front of them both.

"Don't you want to try this stuff? It's pretty amazing," Pink Diamond offered.

"Uh, We're good here. But thanks anyway Ro - oooooooossse." Lapis suddenly found her mistake, struggling just to say the word with Sapphire sitting right there. Sapphire though didn't show that much expression on her face except for a strained line for a mouth.

"Are you feeling okay?" Pink Diamond asked, a little troubled.

"We're totally fine," Sapphire stated, not changing expression apart from a small smile.

*slip* *SLAM*

Passing by to clean up one of the empty tables, Kiki accidentally got some air time when her foot made contact with a patch of ice on the floor, connecting from the same chair Sapphire was sitting on. Kiki was alright, if not a bit dazed from the fall as she rubbed her head.

"Oh my, you alright Kiki?" asked Fluttershy, helping Kiki up to her feet and off of the ice.

"Yeah, I'm good," Kiki replied, rubbing her head still. As for Sapphire …

"I'm going to the bathroom," Sapphire said, getting off her chair and going to the bathroom in question to try and figure things out. The ice along the floor started to melt away as she left, albeit a little slow in doing so. One player out of the game. Pink Diamond didn't say anything on it, having another bite of her pizza slice.

"You forgot your pizza. Um … I'm just gonna wrap it for you later. Anybody got a bag?" Spinel said.

"I'll go get a carry out box," Kiki said, before walking to the back in order to fetch one, watching the ice this time so she wouldn't flip over her head. Pink Diamond wasn't sure what to say now that wouldn't drive someone away. Fluttershy decided to talk.

"How're you enjoying Beach City?" Fluttershy asked kindly. Pink Diamond decided to go off that subject instead.

"It's nice. Steven and Spinel were so kind, they showed me around Little Homeworld," said Pink Diamond, though she tried not to put them on the spot too much and be a little careful with her words. Steven and Spinel just went on eating their pizza, biting their slices at the same time.

"Yeah, we had fun," said Steven humbly, Spinel keeping her mouth shut with pizza being shoved in there. Pink Diamond started to feel a pattern going on here, not exactly willing to point it out just yet.

"Am I eating this right?" Pink Diamond asked.

"Yeah, you're doing fine. You know, maybe I should check on Sapphire, see how she's doing," Steven said, standing up. Pink Diamond felt humbled again.

"Let me come with you," Pink Diamond said.

"T-That's okay. You just wait here and enjoy your pizza, I'll be right back," Steven said, walking right to the bathroom. Spinel didn't need an invitation to go and join him, both heading right to the bathroom door of Fishstew Pizza. Steven readied to open the door … it now somehow stuck.

"What? She locked the door?!" Steven thought, trying his best to open it. It didn't really feel like Sapphire locked it, but more like something was keeping it stuck in place. Whatever it was, he couldn't open it himself no matter how hard he tried to open it.

"I'm gonna go help them," Lapis decided, walking over to lend a hand with it. Pink Diamond didn't really answer that time, looking down to the pizza in front of her with two ponies for company.

"So what games did ya play today?" Pinkie asked.

While the ponies were with Pink Diamond, Lapis, Spinel, and Steven finally managed to get the bathroom door to open up for them, taking all three of them to force it open. Looking into Fishstew Pizza's bathroom, it was very clear that Sapphire's ice was covering everything, all of them sliding a bit on the ice as they tried to keep their balance. The sink, the floor, some bit of the wall, even the mirror had a bit of ice on it as Sapphire just stood there quiet, looking more visibly stressed.

"How're you doing in here?" Steven asked, he and the other two Gems finding some balance as Sapphire gave a shiver.

"I'm sorry for stressing outside. I couldn't help it," Sapphire admitted.

"It's weird and all, believe me, but she's going to be miserable if we keep this up. She's already looking let down," Steven insisted.

"I know it's wrong, but … I'm overwhelmed," Sapphire stated.

"Come on guys, you can do this. You didn't freak out when I came to Earth … as much," Spinel said.

"Well that's different, Spinel," said Lapis Lazuli, "You might've known her, but she is like her, both Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz. She was made in her image and everything."

"I thought I'd be more ready for this," Sapphire said.

"Alright, you two can wait here until she leaves," Steven decided. Sapphire, stressed, could only agree to that detail. But as Steven opened the door and went back out, turned out Steven found his company standing right in front of him, Steven bumping into Pink Diamond by mistake. It was enough to make him gasp, wondering how long she was actually standing there.

"Everything's all good!" Steven immediately said, smile and all. But Pink Diamond wasn't feeling too up for it anymore.

"Maybe I should go. I don't want to worn out my welcome," Pink Diamond said, ready to just walk out. Steven immediately took action, jumping in her way before she could just go off on them.

"Wait, wait, no don't do that, we're all having fun!" Steven insisted.

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. In fact, y-you should … stay over!"

"For the night?" Pink Diamond asked, surprised a little bit. Steven felt like he was digging into a hole, his lips clamped shut at first, straining and almost trying to hold back what he was about to say.

"ssssssSSSLUMBER PARTY!"

"Oh Steven," Sapphire thought.

There was no doubt about it. Steven was forcing himself to do this. And with this whole thing going on, no one saw Amethyst looking in from the front window. Mimicking what they've done, and hearing everything they said.

~~~~~~

What a long afternoon. Nightfall couldn't really come faster for Steven and Spinel, now spending the rest of the day hanging out in the Beach House instead of just wandering around the city. They tried keeping themselves busy throughout the time (having snacks, playing board games, watching a movie or two) and so far it seemed like they were doing … decent.
Pink Diamond didn't call em out, at least.

"Everybody comfortable?" asked Steven. He himself was laying in bed as usual, Pink Diamond taking the couch for some sleep as Spinel happily stayed right next to Steven in the bed (in a sleeping bag). Nora, Blue, and Lion too were amongst the group, Lion sleeping on the main floor as Blue found his typical comfy spot and Nora finding a sleeping spot on the table.

"I'm comfy over here, Steven," said Spinel, snuggling up in her own sleeping bag. "Yep. Super cozy."

"And you?" Steven asked, looking down over to Pink Diamond. Pink didn't answer at first, just laying there.

"Yes, I'm good," Pink Diamond replied.

"Good. I'm also very comfortable. Goodnight everyone," Steven said. Everyone else said goodnight to Steven in their own way, Spinel the only one actually speaking as the others just made an animal noise. Pink Diamond though didn't respond, but she followed their lead and just closed her eyes. For Steven, he didn't waste much time in getting to sleep, no longer as uncomfortable given no one was going to sit by and watch him the whole night this time. That didn't technically mean that he was fast asleep straight away, opening his eyes briefly and glancing over to where he knew Pink Diamond would be.

"Can't sleep?" Spinel asked bluntly. Steven jumped when he saw Spinel was awake too, but he quickly recovered and laid back down, this time facing her.

"I don't know. I want to help her out and get her memories back, but … ugh, how can I do that?" Steven admitted, quietly so Pink Diamond couldn't hear him. Seeing her as her usual self was one thing, but this form was a matter he was failing to keep with. The whole day basically proved that.

"We ... could give her to the Diamonds?" Spinel quietly suggested, "They know pinkie better than we do, maybe they can do somethin?"

A good thought, but Steven sighed.

"They only know half of her life. Besides, White already said she can't do that even if she wanted to," Steven said. Spinel grew wide-eyed on mention of White.

"Oh. Right," Spinel murmured, her mouth covered by the sleeping bag she was curling up in.

"Maybe tomorrow will be better. Goodnight Spinel," Steven said.

"G'night Steven," Spinel murmured, closing her eyes and starting to drift off into dreamland again. Steven glanced back one more time to Pink Diamond's direction before he began to drift off to sleep himself.

"Help everyone have a better future," he thought.

…

She couldn't stay asleep. A good hour into the night of trying to stay asleep and Pink Diamond just gave up on it. Everyone else was just fine though, as sleeping soundly as she turned and stared up at the ceiling. Everything around her was quiet, nothing but the sound of the wind outside with no one but her awake to disturb that. All day she had been seeing Steven and Spinel acting troubled whenever with her for anything: Little Homeworld, Beach City Arcade, Fishstew Pizza, and now back here again. That vibe still hung over her, and Steven and Spinel were probably still uncomfortable about everything that happened today.
The Gem sat up on the couch, and got up to her knees to look over to the Human and Gem up in bed. Steven and Spinel weren't awake, Steven fast asleep under his covers while Spinel was curled up like a caterpillar in its cocoon. As Pink Diamond watched them she replayed the events out in her head, namely every time she tried figuring out what was wrong only to be met with denial or something else. It wasn't much at first, but now …

"I can take a hint," she sighed to herself. With that now in the air, Pink Diamond swung herself around quietly, and stood up. She made sure each of her steps weren't making too much noise so the animals wouldn't wake up, the Gem just managing to make it to the door. She only paused when her hand held the door handle, just to look back to Steven and Spinel one more time.

She took a breath. And walked outside.

Outside, the cold winter wind was already biting at her skin, Pink Diamond looking up towards the night sky this time as she rested on the edge of the porch. She simply stood there for a bit, her gaze looking down to the floor and the snow. The snow was less inviting and more bitter now. She picked up a bit of the snow in her hand, blowing it so it went off into the wind. So now what? …

*meow*

Pink felt something rub against her leg, and looking down as it turned out, Nora was awake and keeping Pink Diamond company. Animals always had sharper senses than people do. Nora only got a few rubs before Pink Diamond started walking away, making the cat fall into the snow. After getting back on her paws, Nora saw Pink was already walking down the hill towards the beach, and Pink Diamond only stopped again when she heard Nora meowing at her feet again.

"You don't have to follow me. I can take a hint already," Pink Diamond said. Nora looked up to Pink Diamond, tilting her head and ear twitching.

"Look, I understand. They don't want me here. They do not like me," Pink Diamond said, starting to walk away again down the beach. Nora meanwhile stood there for a short bit, but eventually Pink Diamond heard Nora start making her way back towards the Beach House, the very faint sound of the creaking door moving.

"I'm sorry you have to be around me," Pink Diamond said gravely.

She went off walking again, thinking that was that, but this time it took less time for her to pause as she felt a cold nose touch her back, making her yelp and turn around. This time it was Lion who was standing there, a "smiling" cat Nora poking out from Lion's mane, and further behind Blue trying to bring something over to them.

"I told you, you don't have to be with me. No one else does," Pink Diamond said, "... I don't even know why."

Lion gave a grunt towards her, getting Pink Diamond's attention again. By this point, Blue caught up with them all, the object he had dragging in the snow with him. It wasn't too damaged from the tug along, which was what Blue was hoping for, as he placed it over by Pink Diamond. A quick little bark later, and he went over and sat by Lion.
Pink Diamond paused, but soon she picked up what Blue brought her.

Rose Quartz's portrait painting.

"Hmm … who's this?" Pink wondered. Seeing the picture alone wasn't gonna be enough for her, nothing triggering anything, so Lion simply did a more brutish approach and began pushing Pink Diamond towards the water's edge. Even in the dim light of the night, the reflection in the water was still visible in the soft waves at their feet. It was the first time today she actually saw her own reflection more clearly.

"What? What is it you're trying to say?" Pink Diamond asked Lion. However, Lion of course didn't answer through words.

"You want to tell me something, what is it? Just say it," Pink Diamond insisted. Lion didn't answer anyway.

"... You can talk, can you?" Either way, Lion didn't have to talk as he got the portrait again and placed it nearby Pink Diamond, giving the confused Gem a side-by-side comparison between herself and the painting.

For a minute or two, the animals just sat aside from there and allowed Pink Diamond to work it out at her own pace, the mother Gem looking at her face, her hands checking her hair curls, the typical works. Little by little, she was slowly beginning to see the connections: same skin, same hair, same face, same … almost everything. The only actual difference that Pink Diamond could see was her clothes and the gemstone shape. The pets wondered if this was getting through to her yet, the pink Gem not exactly saying anything.

"She looks a lot like me. … A whole lot like me," Pink Diamond said, "But what does this got to do with -"

*roar*
Nearby, Lion laid down onto the ground, looking right to Pink Diamond. Blue and Nora sat off aside, giving Pink Diamond and Lion a clear path. Lion didn't talk, but he did gesture her to get onto his back.

"Oh? … Um … ok," Pink Diamond said. She was a bit unsure of this at first, though mostly it was because she was practically as big as Lion (being a Quartz and all), but Lion didn't seem to mind even when Pink Diamond sat down on top of his back. Heavy? Naturally. Weird? Possibly. Lion took a minute before he lifted Pink Diamond off of the ground, as Nora hopped on as well. For the first time all day, it was Pink Diamond's turn to now look uncomfortable, small awkward frown on her face. As for Blue, Lion moved Pink Diamond's hand to the dog, and the Gem hound went ahead of the group, sniffing the snow under him.

Blue then barked, and pointed.

Then Lion began to run.

"AAHHH!"

Pink Diamond immediately fell forward and held onto the cat tight as Lion raced down through the snowy beach, Blue actually keeping ahead as if guiding Lion to wherever the heck they were going. Blue kept the lead ahead of Lion in the run, but Pink was too scared to notice as they kept running along the beach, eyes tightly shut and gripping onto the large feline.
Lion himself didn't stop running until they started passing into town again, stopping on a dime. The sudden stop made Pink Diamond fall forward again, this time flipping off of the cat and onto the ground.

"I hope you had a good reason for scaring the stars out of -"

Someone was still there. Soon as Pink Diamond looked, she saw she was back in the same pizza shop she was at earlier that day, but this time there was only one person left there. She was sitting by the door, holding a plate and some leftover pizza she managed to grab. The pizza itself looked cold, and somewhat smeared on both the plate and on her face.

"It's you. The little Amethyst," Pink Diamond realized. Nora, Lion, and Blue moved over towards Amethyst, the small gem not really seeing them until Blue nudged her side, wagging his tail and overall just happy to see her. Nora and Lion settled down near her, somehow knowing that the Gem was pretty cold sitting out in the winter. But then Amethyst's eyes moved over towards Pink Diamond.

"The little Amethyst," Amethyst repeated, same tone and everything despite having her mouth covered in cheese. Pink Diamond, no longer so giddy like last time in the arcade, now found her repetitive speech a bit confusing.

"How cute. But, shouldn't you be at Little Homeworld? It's a little bit cold out here," Pink Diamond asked.

"It's a little bit cold out here," Amethyst repeated.

"Yes it is. So why are you still outside?" Pink Diamond asked, a little concerned. Unfortunately, Amethyst shape-shifted into Pink Diamond right then and there.

"Why are you still outside?" Amethyst asked, again mimicking the Gem in front of her. Pink Diamond didn't really buy it though, and was being more serious about things.

"No, no, why are you still outside?" Pink Diamond asked.

"No, no, why are you still outside?" Amethyst repeated.

"Nevermind me, I'm asking you," Pink insisted, not sure if she should be worried or annoyed.

"Nevermind me, I'm asking you," Amethyst repeated again, with the exact same level of worry/annoyance in her voice. Pink Diamond readied to respond again, but she couldn't say anything. Amethyst probably would just copycat her again, so maybe just talking to her wasn't gonna cut it for her. Not as easily, anyway. Pink Diamond then looked at the pizza slice again.

"You … hungry?"

"Hungry?" Amethyst repeated. This time though she tried to actually eat the pizza, but she couldn't seem to make it work as well as she wanted it to. In a sense of Deja Vu, the pizza slice was only held by the crust, the rest dangling down. If Pink Diamond couldn't get her inside, she could at least help her eat the pizza. So, she sat down in front of her.

"Here, try it like this," Pink Diamond said. She sliced the pizza in half so they both could try it. Pink Diamond then held the pizza the same way Steven taught her: one hand on the edge and one holding the crust, as she proceeded to take a bite out of her piece. Be it either by actually learning or just mimicking in general, Amethyst did exactly how Pink Diamond showed her. She took her bite, but while she mimicked the chewing Pink Diamond did, she didn't exactly swallow it, only letting it slide right back out onto the plate.
Gross.

Pink was confused, but suddenly remembered the extra detail she forgot to present.

"Huh. Oh wait, watch this now," Pink Diamond said. She went and took a bite, but this time she lifted her head back to show the swallow motion in her throat. Amethyst bit into her pizza, this time copying the first gulping motion she saw.

It might've taken her all day, and the pizza was plenty cold by that point, but at last she finally, properly, learnt the taste of pizza. It was still enough to give Amethyst sparkling starry eyes. Amethyst didn't know what to say, except doing it over and over again until the pizza was gone inside her, but biting her fingers at the very end. A typical rookie mistake in eating. Amethyst yelped, covering her mouth as she looked to her hurt hand and Pink Diamond reached towards Amethyst's hand.

"You're hurt! Here, don't cry, let me try and help you," Pink Diamond said.

What she did next she herself didn't realize she did. In the heat of the moment, Pink Diamond leaned down, and gave Amethyst a kiss on her hand. It was sudden. Unexpected. And somehow working its magic. It wasn't until after that the motherly Gem quickly realized what she just done and backed away.

"Uh, sorry, I don't know what came over me," Pink Diamond quickly said, but Amethyst didn't resist it.

In fact, Amethyst just sat there. Staring right down to where Pink Diamond kissed her. There wasn't a bite mark on her hand anymore, not even any cut or anything as if she never bit into her hand at all. The only thing Amethyst was seeing, initially, was the small sparkles left behind by, hovering around her hand like small fireflies, and just as sparkly.

"Amethyst?" Pink Diamond asked, moving in closer. Amethyst, still starry eyed, moved her gaze upward from her hand to the face of a Rose Quartz. Pink Diamond wasn't sure if she made matters better or worse for the small Amethyst.

".... R …. rrrr … Rose?"

Then she began to glow.

~~~~~~

Next morning. One day after the first day of the new year, and Steven and Spinel hadn't been interrupted the whole night. The time of day was actually pretty early for them to get up, at least an hour before the initial alarm could actually activate on them to wake em up, but it wasn't a messed up alarm clock that woke em up.
It'd been a long night, but as they slept, Nora hopped up onto the bed and started rubbing herself against them. Steven being a human actually needed his sleep, so Nora (under Lion's "instruction") went and rubbed Spinel instead. Spinel mumbled a little bit, trying to stay asleep, but the feel of a cat's fur on her face was just too much for her to stay quiet, groggily waking up.

"H-Huh wha? Kitty, it's too early," Spinel whimpered, ready to go back to sleep. Nora was a determined cat though, and she started using her tail to "hit" Spinel in the face. But it didn't work really well, and eventually Spinel just went back to sleep. Nora looked down from Steven's bed to Blue and Lion, who were both sitting in the main room, waiting for either of them to wake up.
Lion HAD to intervene though when Nora opened her mouth and ready to bite one of them awake. There're much easier and less hurtful ways to wake people up.

Like a good ol' roar.

"GAAHH!" exclaimed Steven and Spinel, after Lion's guttural roar shocked them awake and off the bed. Not one of his better ideas, but heck it works. Steven was the only one who stood up, as Spinel just sat up, both ears ringing.

"Lion!" Steven snapped, "I taught you NOT to do that."

Lion ignored that remark, and jumped down to the main level of the room.

"What's wrong with the big cat?" Spinel whined.

"He probably just wants out. Hang on Lion, I got -"
Steven immediately stopped altogether on the stairs when he glanced towards the couch. He expected Pink Diamond to be sleeping there, probably fast asleep. But now … nothing. Not even the sheets she was using as a blanket were left there on the couch.

"... Pink? … Pink!" Steven said, trying to see where she was. But there wasn't a response from the Diamond anywhere. He looked all over the main room but there was no sign of her anywhere. He even bolted to check the bathroom for some unknown reason, but nothing there either. No signs, or indications on where she might've gone off to. As he kept doing this, Spinel sorta dragged herself over to the edge of the bedroom, crawling like an inchworm.

"What's going on?" Spinel yawned. Steven raced out of the bathroom.

"Pink's gone!" Steven exclaimed.

"W-What?!" Spinel yelped, falling over the edge and flopping onto the couch. Well that proved to Spinel Pink Diamond wasn't on the couch, and as she sat up Steven discovered something that ultimately confirmed her whereabouts. Looking off into the Warp Pad area of the Beach House, Steven not only didn't find Pink Diamond, but the portrait was also missing.

"Oh no," Steven gulped.

"Don't tell me she found the painting," Spinel said worriedly. Steven didn't answer right away, making Spinel stretch her neck until her head rested on Steven's shoulder so she could see the missing painting as well. Well this wasn't good at all.

"Come on, we gotta go. To the Warp Pad," Steven said, being the first to hop right up onto the Warp Pad. Where else would Pink Diamond go? Steven hopped right onto it, trying to activate it, but like everything else he once found easy the Warp Pad wasn't just click-starting for him. All that he got was a flickering light on the floor.

"I can't even use the Warp Pad now? That's the second easiest thing I do!" Steven shouted in disbelief. But this misfortune may be a lucky break, because it gave Lion time to get their attention with another roar, him laying on the floor same as last night to Pink Diamond. Steven knew what that meant, and he went right over towards the big cat.

"Good boy. Let's go Spinel, we gotta find her," Steven said, getting onto Lion's back.

"I'll be with you in a second, just gotta get out of this nap sack!" Spinel said, now hopping around as she tried getting herself free of the comfy sleeping bag. She squirmed and shook around, eventually falling onto her back. They didn't had time for any of this, and Spinel knew it so she had to take some more drastic measures: AKA springing right out from the face hole of the sleeping bag, and landing right behind Steven on Lion's back.

"LET'S GO!"

With a mighty roar (after Spinel opened the door of course), Lion charged right out of the house, with a mighty leap off the porch and towards the snow-covered sand below. Blue and Nora sat this one out, watching the two caretakers race off on their mount.

Pretty soon, Lion reached Beach City on the request of his riders, hardly even remotely slowing down his run by the time his paws touched concrete. They had a lot of the town to go look through first, but it was impossible to really say where Pink Diamond could've gone to since last night, especially with the Warp Pad technology. Steven and Spinel didn't care how chilly the morning was, more focused on figuring out where Pink Diamond had ran off to than anything else, and making sure to call her every spot they went to.
Their first stop in their search was along the boardwalk, stopping by the eateries of Fishstew Pizza, Citywalk Fries, and other such places. It was way too early for any of these places to be open, not even the lights in the businesses being on or anything. The only exception in this case was Peedee Fryman getting his food truck opened up for the day, but that was about it.
Next stop after a few minutes was out of Beach City and into Ponyville, getting into town with an easy Lion portal roar. Like Earth's Beach City, it was far too early for many ponies to be up and awake to do anything fancy, even for the clouds to move. The sun didn't actually go above the horizon until they were done going through the whole town.
Their third stop was in Little Homeworld, this time taking the Warp Pad rather than Lion portal. The Gem settlement here was a little more active, a few Gems still up and about making some slight changes and renovations to the place as best they could. Good news, they even found Peridot off not too far away, studying some of the material.

No Pink Diamond anywhere.

In their search, they started heading out to the countryside just outside of Little Homeworld, Lion's running now into a walk as Spinel and Steven kept trying to find her, as Spinel was holding something else they picked up on their travels.

"Pink Diamond! We got some pizza for you, so come and get it!" called Steven, Spinel holding up a slice herself so anyone could see. Again though, Pink Diamond didn't show up at all, not even to the savory scent of cheese and sauce.

"Worth a try," Steven sighed, "Dang it, this is all my fault. Why did I have to feel so awkward around her? Of course she would think we don't like her after all of that."

"It's not like you're the only one," said Spinel gravely. ""Hey Steven, let's just ditch her at the Arcade! Steven, let's leave her with the Diamonds so they can fix her!" What kind of friend keeps ditching her friends anyway? Stupid *bonk* Stupid *bonk* Stupid -"

"Spinel, stop it!" Steven said, making Spinel quit hitting her own head out of anger. "Ok, we both messed up, we just need to fix it. Where could she be? …"

Lion suddenly stopped after walking around. One, to give his paws a minute to relax as he just stood there, and two for the fact he heard something going on just ahead of them.
Their walking through the countryside brought them from Little Homeworld, and now towards the Barn House. At this point there was plenty of light for the morning, but even so there still was plenty more activity going on here than many of the places they've been to so far. They didn't see all the Off-Colors there for the moment, but they did see a Gem sitting just outside. They finally found her after a whole morning of searching.

"There she is. Onward, Lion!" Spinel said, pointing ahead. Lion felt like they went on long enough though, and instead sat down, making Steven and Spinel slide off of his back. Spinel personally made sure she held the pizza box so no slices slid out. The stumble though caught the attention of Pink Diamond, her turning around to see both Steven and Spinel not too far away, Lion sitting aside. She didn't know if the cat was planning for this or not at this point, but either way Pink Diamond still felt a bit beside herself in this situation. As both Human and Gem got themselves moving towards her, Pink Diamond was looking ready to walk away when Steven spoke.

"Wait! Please, please don't leave like this!" Steven pleaded. It was just enough pleading to make Pink Diamond stop moving, but she didn't turn around just yet, looking down to her own feet.

"W-We're really, really, REALLY sorry," began Steven, "It's not like we don't like you or don't want you here. It's just that... you look so much like her; like my Mom."

"Your … mom. … The Rose Quartz."

"Yeah, her, that same girl on that portrait I failed at hiding," Spinel said, "UGH, it's stupid but you don't just look like you, you act like you, you're … her, I guess. We didn't want to say anything, but it was just so … weird."

"And it still is," Steven admitted, "I thought I was ready to move on and not have her hanging over me anymore, but I can barely be in a room with you because I still feel all twisted up about her. I've been pretending that I'm fine because it's not your fault, but... I'm not fine..."

"...…. I've been pretending too."

Everyone looked over to Pink Diamond.

"To be fine. All day yesterday I've seen everyone feel awkward, or uncomfortable, or just … didn't want to be around me. I didn't want to say it because I thought it'll just make it worse, but it was still there. You too. I can tell neither of you wanted anything to do with me anymore, and you still don't. I'm sorry you had to put up with me."

"No no no, it's not your fault we feel so weird about it," Spinel insisted, "It's not like you're meaning to do that! But please, if you're gonna leave, don't leave hating us for this."

"I don't hate any of you. I don't expect you two to understand though, and I don't blame you for hating me either …"

"Are you kidding? Of course I understand. If ANYONE knows what you're going through, it's me," Steven realized, a strained breath got out of his mouth as he brought his hands to his face. On all this revelation though, Steven slowly began to realize something else too, looking to the Rose Quartz with a different kind of view.

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do. … You know, all yesterday I've been seeing you as just my mom, but we're really more like siblings."

"Siblings? What's that?" Spinel asked.

"Well we're both created by mom, which means we'll always be related to her. So in a way, we'll always be related to eachother. Does that make sense?"

"I think so. … Do you still want me around?" Pink Diamond asked once more. This time though there was no more hiding, and Steven and Spinel answered her on the level.

"Well. I admit that it's gonna take a bit to get used to, but I don't see any big reason to not let you stay here. No pressure," Steven admitted. Pink Diamond could tell he wasn't pulling her leg this time, and she just smiled.

"Thanks."

"Alright, group hug, come here!" Spinel said, stretching her arms out and wrapping them around both Steven and Pink Diamond. She really couldn't help it, it was just too good to pass up. The hug itself kept there for a bit longer until Spinel decided they got enough of a hug for the morning.

"So what's going on out here, Rose?" asked a voice.

It was a bit out of nowhere, but still familiar to the three Gems standing just outside, strolling out from the barn itself on hearing the racket. They saw the same Gem Steven was familiar with, same height as usual, and long lavender hair going down her back. However, there was something a bit different with her: She wore a dark mauve jacket with white buttons and shoulder epaulets, lighter mauve leggings, small black boots, and a mauve and black hat with a small white star in the middle. A completely old, and different outfit from her typical punkish-kinda look.

"Amethyst?!" asked Steven.

Author's Note

Happy New Year, everypony, welcome to the brand new decade ^^ and ya know, i didn't even plan it to be timed like this, but hey it works out anyway x3
And of course we end it on a cliffhanger. DID Amethyst get her memories all back or no? Find out next time!

Late Bloomer

A Gemstone. Red-orange and somewhat rectangular, with facets around the edge. On common ground, this kind of gemstone wouldn't technically be that special, but today this gemstone in particular marked something especially wonderful for everyone involved, as this gemstone inside it's bubble was placed down in the center inner room of the Little Homeworld tower. This gemstone wasn't alone in the venture, being observed by the Harmony Gems themselves, making sure it was everyone who still remembered this time. For those that made it, they weren't missing this important moment.

"Feast your eyes, team. The last Corrupted Gem on the entire planet. Who'd of guessed it?" said Bismuth.

"I still can't believe this is the last one," Steven said, looking to the gemstone.

"It only took 567 gemstones to get here. Unless we're counting this one, then it's 568," Pinkie Pie said smiling, standing nearby with some party favors for the special occasion. Yes, this included a ready party cannon.

"568? That's gotta be a LOOOOOT a work," said Spinel, surprised by that number.

"It took thousands of years just to find them all. And now, we're finally finishing that up. … I just wanna take a moment and say this is the second best day of my life," Sapphire said with a smile.

"And what's your first best day?" Spinel asked. Sapphire simply showed Spinel her wedding ring.

"Let's just say it changed my life," Sapphire simply replied.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's get her unbubbled and healed already!" said a excited Fulgurite. There was always a special feeling when an entire project, big or small, was reaching it's end. And now, seeing this final gemstone as they unbubbled her, that feeling was washing over her. It felt good, really.

"Shall we?" Jade asked.

"We shall," sighed Flint.

Nephrite had to come up for this, and after getting this new gemstone unbubbled Jade and Flint got the fusion up and ready to go in little to no time at all. It was a fairly easy process to handle by this point, given how many they had to heal, and with how little went wrong, Nephrite was more confident in taking on the next corrupted Gem.
As for the gemstone, like many others before it, as soon as it found room to start forming that's exactly what it began to do. The light started to form around the gemstone, the shape itself a bit hard to contemplate. An animal-like form started to come up, vaguely resembling a large cat or lion. Nephrite didn't give the creature much time to actually gather itself together, and they brought their hands out onto the gemstone, and began working their magic. One hand on its head to keep it focused, one on its gemstone to calm down its soul. It took a short minute, but eventually a human-like shape began to take place.

"Happy welcome back day," Steven simply said.

The welcome though had to wait. The reformation went through fairly easily, but upon completion, the healed Gem now collapsed onto the ground, laying on her back. So much time as a corrupted Gem must've really taken a lot out of her.
The Gem herself looked very tall, a head taller than Garnet would've been if she was there. Her whole body had a light orange complexion to the skin, and her hair now appearing like a large curly afro, pale yellow in color, accompanied by a sleek unibrow of brown. The outfit she had on, unlike most of the Gems they've un-corrupted, looked far more authority-based with a orange-red jumpsuit, thigh-high white boots with Jaffa-colored soles, and white elbow-length gloves.

"Huh. Let's give her a minute to wake up," suggested Steven.

"All that time as a corrupted Gem must've been so hard on her," Fluttershy said, sitting down over next to the unconscious Gem.

"A few thousand years of it would tire anyone out," said Rarity, "All the same, let's try and give her some space, let her wake up at her own pace."

"So does that mean no party cannon welcome party?" Pinkie asked, who at the point was standing on top of her party cannon.

"Let's save that for later, Pinkie" Steven said.

"And I was so ready for the party cannon return too," Pinkie sighed, bummed out that her cannon didn't spray anyone with confetti and streamers. She even got the fuse lit and everything, but she had to douse the fuse with a lick of her hoof and a grab of the fuse, small *ssss* going for a quick ten seconds.

"She does look pretty out. Hey guys, think you can find a pillow?" Steven asked.

The ponies, and Steven only now saw the look on the Gems' faces. Shock was probably the most evident reaction on most of them, the only exception being that of Flint. ALL of them were locked onto the Gem laying on the ground, not sure exactly what to say.

"Eh … y'all alright? You're all kinda quiet," Applejack asked.

"No. Way," said a very shocked Diopside.

"It … it can't be her, can it?" gasped Lapis.

"It has to be her, who else would it be?" added Bismuth.

"Who? Who is she? Was she a Crystal Gem or something?" Twilight asked, wing pointing over to the Gem on the ground. It was a bit hard to tell which side this Gem was supposed to be initially. Not a star for the Crystal Gems anywhere, but not exactly a diamond symbol on her either. Lapis Lazuli was the one who decided to talk.

"Steven? Girls? What you got there? She's no ordinary cut of Gem," explained Bismuth, "Her name is Hessonite.The Hessonite."

"Hessonite?" Steven asked, confused a little.

"I've heard stories about her while working with the Homeworld crew," explained Bismuth, "Hessonite is, in Earth terms, the Lion of lions: made to be the finest Gem Admiral of the Diamond military. I just can't believe she's actually here."

"Stories nothing, I've actually worked with the cut!" Emerald said, "You think an angry Jasper's scary, just try and survive a time with her. I kid you not, she stopped an entire fleet of Crystal Gems all by herself, and she didn't even get touched ONCE."

"What in the stars are you talking about?" Flint questioned.

"You never heard of Hessonite Flint?" Emerald asked, not believing his own ears.

"Don't forget, I spent most of my existence inside White Diamond's station, and what time I was out I left and spent in Equestria's Frozen North. So no, I don't know who she is."

"Practically all of Homeworld at least knows of her, how could you not have heard of her before?" questioned Fulgurite.

"Then why haven't we heard of her before?" asked Applejack.

*groan*

Before anyone could answer AJ's question, they all began to hear Hessonite begin to come around. Flint, despite not knowing her to a full extent, did get himself armed up just in case if there would be a fight. It wouldn't be the first time a healed Gem would just lash out on the spot, so he came prepared for it. As for the others, the other Gems kept some distance over by the door whereas the ponies and Steven simply watched her come around, although some were a bit close to her.

"Let's try again. *ahem* Happy Welcome Back Day," Steven said, this time having a better response than before. Hessonite needed a moment or two before she finally began to open her eyes, which began to reveal something else unique about this Gem: her eyes were different colors. Her right eye was pure white like snow, her left eye Vermillion red.

"Steven, come over here," Sapphire warned. Steven wasn't sure why, but he did so anyway as the ponies checked in on Hessonite.

"Good morning," said Twilight. Hessonite didn't utter a word for the first moment or two, her eyes looking around at who or what was around her. She saw the ponies and didn't do anything at first, but then her eyes began to drift over towards the Gems, her red eye seeing the star symbol off of Steven's shirt …….

"...…. Quiet, ain't she?" remarked Applejack.

As soon as she said that, Hessonite suddenly sprung to life on them! Without warning, she suddenly started spinning like a corkscrew, kicking away all the ponies that crowded her in seconds before flipping over onto her feet. Hessonite was ready for a fight one way or another.

"WHOA, hold on!" Flint shouted, trying to calm her down, but Hessonite just needed to see the pistol in his hand to jump at him. He couldn't even comprehend what happened next: Hessonite knocked the pistol out of Flint's hand and sent it flying into the air spinning, and while it did that she got behind the fighting Gem and kicked him right off his feet, only to do a side kick to send Flint spinning in the air before he landed on his back. Hessonite then stood on top of him, and caught the pistol in the air, aiming it directly at everyone else.

"Scatter!" Everyone scrambled out of the way of Hessonite's shots, though only Bismuth turned her hands into shields and blocked off much of the pistol's shots.

"Hold on a minute Hess, calm down!" shouted Bismuth.

"Nice try, but you really think you can keep me locked up without a fight?" Hessonite questioned, before firing away again. Hessonite didn't give them a chance to say anything, as she changed targets and started firing away at whatever Gem was in the room. The ONLY moment she stopped was when the pistol actually started to lose power.

"Overheated. Fine, I don't need a simple shooter to deal with this," Hessonite said, throwing the pistol aside, and was just about to charge -

"HOLD IT!!!"

FINALLY, Hessonite hit the breaks in her assault when Rainbow Dash and Applejack got in her way, stopping almost on a dime when the two showed themselves.

"COOL YOUR JETS A MINUTE!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "There's no war anymore! Nobody's enemy-labeled here, it's. Chill."
Thank the stars SOMEONE said something to Hessonite at this point, otherwise the trigger-happy admiral would've been all over everyone. The news though did make Hessonite pause for the first time in minutes.

"... Excuse me?"

"We're NOT in the war anymore, that's been and done for, hay, thousands of years now. So if you can just calm down and NOT try to kill everyone, we'll catch you up on what you missed," Applejack explained. Hessonite did not look like she was trusting any of them though, keeping a strong guard up although standing at attention.

"Heh. Me to listen to an organic. As if," Hessonite remarked.

"OKAY, how about you listen to me then?" Emerald said, quickly getting in between them before it could spiral down any further. Hessonite needed only one look at Emerald to feel almost appalled.

"Emerald! Is that really you? My stars, what did those Crystal Gems do to you?" Hessonite questioned, though she sounded more disgusted than worried for him.

Emerald groaned, "K, look we're NOT in the war anymore, it's been done, EVERYONE'S happy with eachother now! So can you just calm down and hear us out PLEASE?"

Hessonite quieted down for a minute or so, taking in what he just said. So many different Gems, some of which were defective, not to mention all of the Organics stuck with them too. But then her eyes began to drift over towards Steven Universe. He may appear Human, but there was something else about him that made her feel … uncomfortable. Steven for one didn't realize his shirt had gone up when he dove aside, revealing the gemstone underneath, and just seeing THAT made her step back a bit.

"Then where even are we? And what in the stars is that?" Hessonite demanded, pointing directly at Steven. Steven got up, realizing his gemstone was shown before he tucked his shirt back down.

"That used to be a loaded question, but now I can say with full confidence that I'm Steven Universe," Steven explained, "And you're in Little Homeworld."

"Little Homeworld? I swear, if Homeworld is destroyed while I was gone, so help me -" Hessonite paused when she felt her hair, which as she remembered wasn't as prominent as it was before. Her hands examined the afro she had on.

"Eh, here let me catch you up a bit. You've probably been corrupted by the Diamond Attack here on Earth but we healed you and brought you back," explained Steven. Hessonite scoffed at the very idea. Why would the Diamond Authority EVER do something so cruel to her? That doubt was written all over her face in a sort of sneer.

"Don't think she believes us," said Spinel. But upon seeing Spinel, Hessonite grew a bit judgeful again but rather than point her out, she instead went on moving again. Her speed almost rivaled Fulgurite, only taking one lunge to get outside of the tower and out into the open, landing five feet from the door.
Little Homeworld was NOT ready for her appearance, not by a long shot, and in some weird way Hessonite wasn't ready to see the place either. It looked pretty far into construction, but it still had a ways to go before it could fully be done. The settlement was just Homeworld enough for Hessonite to think this actually was a colony of some sort, but seeing other species going about within the settlement, including some Human and Pony visitors to Little Homeworld for some extra aid. Hessonite looked back and forth, all around her at what kind of world she woke up into.

It didn't feel right.

"This place is infested," exclaimed Hessonite, "How can this be considered a Gem colony with all of these organics walking around the place? Who's in charge here anyway?!"

"Not even five minutes and already the big questions," sighed Fulgurite, hand to forehead as everyone else walked outside of the tower. Steven went forward.

"Hmm … actually, I don't think anyone's "in charge" of Little Homeworld. Everyone's free to be whatever they want here. No one has to be what they're made to do, they can be whatever they like," Steven explained. Hessonite looked to all of the Harmony Gems and scolded.

"No wonder this place is such a mess," Hessonite scolded, "Letting all these humans and those four-legged vermin mess around with everything's leaving a bad smell all over the place."

"Hey!" snapped Twilight.

"Excuse me? You take that back right now," Rarity exclaimed, not believing what she had just heard. Hessonite simply ignored her, and looked over to the Warp Pad.

"Emerald, Diopside, you two come with me, you're only embarrassing yourselves here. … And GET OUT OF THAT FORM, Emerald. Any real Emerald would be caught dead being seen like that," Hessonite instructed, ready to go back to the actual Homeworld.

"Why you gotta make it personal?" Emerald mumbled. And surprisingly, Diopside and Emerald were actually going to do that before Steven jumped in the way.

"Steven, no!" yelped Jade, but it didn't do much.

"Wait a minute, you can't just take them away! They can decide if they want to go with you," Steven retorted.

"Don't talk back to nobility, you insulant pebble! As soon as I talk to whatever Diamond's in charge of this planet, this colony will be back in shape in no time WITHOUT all the organics running around. Where is she anyway?"

"He's the one you just called an insulant pebble, jerk!" Spinel shouted, "LOOK!"
And almost unprompted, Spinel pulled up Steven's shirt and showed Hessonite the same gemstone Hessonite saw earlier. While still grossed out, Hessonite didn't seem convinced.

"What does this prove? I can see it has a gemstone … disgusting," Hessonite said, blocking the view with her hand as she turned her head away.

"You know any Humans that have gemstones? HE'S royalty, right Steve-O? Go on, show her!" Spinel insisted. She wasn't gonna stand by and watch Hessonite insult her bestie right in front of her. Steven though had to make it clear for Spinel, leaning closer to her as she released his shirt.

"Spinel, I can't. Rejuvenated, remember?" Steven whispered. Spinel immediately clammed up after hearing that.

"... oh yeah."

"I don't have time for any of this. Diopside, Emerald, let's get out of here," Hessonite instructed. Hessonite started to go onto the Warp Pad, but Diopside and Emerald didn't move at first, a bit reluctant. Hessonite took a breath, and then she gave them a glare that would give the Diamonds shivers.

"You coming, or do you need an invitation?"

"N-No, we're coming. We'll be right back," Diopside said, reluctantly joining her on the Warp Pad alongside Emerald. Diopside stood at attention right beside her, diamond insignia and everything. Emerald didn't need to do the insignia, but he still had to stand next to her at attention in spite of everything.

"Guys wait -"

"They'll be back. Watch," Sapphire said suddenly, holding Steven's arm. Hessonite got the Warp Pad working and soon she, Emerald and Diopside teleported away in a quick warpstream, leaving Earth behind them ...

...

Seconds later, they came right on back. Covered in confetti and streamers.

"So THAT'S where my second party bomb went to!" Pinkie exclaimed in realization. Hessonite looked simply stunned, spitting out some bits of confetti before she pulled out a streamer from her hair.

"Hessonite, listen. Before you get mad, please hear us out before you decide to destroy the world okay? We'll explain everything and catch you up on what you missed," Steven promised. Hessonite still needed a moment to actually get herself together from the potential destruction that was Pinkie's surprise party bomb.

"...…. Fine. But if I don't like what I hear -"

"You'll kill me, I know, let's just go," Steven sighed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't used to it by this point.

"What? I was going to say have you reported. I'm not a barbarian," Hessonite corrected, embarrassing Steven a little.

"Debatable," Spinel whispered.

~~~~~~

"And that's the whole story. Thoughts?"

Avoiding another fight at last, the entire group sat down with Hessonite and basically explained everything to her. The details to some of the events were filled in by Lapis Lazuli and Pinkie Pie, and they made sure that Hessonite got the full story on the state of the planet, and why the Diamond Authority wasn't after them anymore. They kept their chat inside the Little Homeworld tower too instead of outside in the open (mainly Hessonite's idea since she looked stupid with all that stuff on her).

Hessonite took a long breath, hands through her hair.

"Let me get this right. The entire Gem War has been over, and the Diamond Authority. The entire authority. Now tolerate you for saving Homeworld …"

"You got it," said Spinel.

"And NOW, even after all of that, the Diamonds decided to make this an independent colony under your name?"

"Eh, it's not under my "name" exactly, and it started off as just somewhere for the healed Gems to live, but in the end, we're trying to make this a colony for anyone and everyone, where you don't have to follow the Diamond rules anymore. You can just be yourself, or even live on Earth if you'd like," Steven explained. Hessonite still wasn't sure how real any of this stuff was, but there wasn't any indication they were lying either. After all, Emerald and Diopside were believing it all and as far as she knew, they were on her side.

"How long was I gone again? …"

"Well you've been missing since the very end of the Gem War, so I'd say … 5,005 years? 5,006?" Lapis figured. The exact date she couldn't get since she never actually saw Hessonite go missing herself. Still the number was enough to make Hessonite nearly collapse, resting on the side of the nearest wall for support.

"Oh boy," sighed Applejack. "Thinkin this is too much for her on the first day."

"Maybe, but I can't say I blame her. It's a lot of change that's happened after thousands of years, and she's been left behind through all of it," Bismuth replied, speaking as a Gem from a similar situation. Of course she adapted quicker than Hessonite did.

"Hey, Hessonite. We know it's a lot to take in, and if you need a minute alone to work it all out we'll let you do that," Steven offered, hand on her back. Hessonite didn't say anything at first, taking in much of what he actually was saying this colony was about and what she had missed. There was no war. The Diamonds weren't against the Crystal Gems. But one part kept sticking out in her mind, namely about the colony.
With that particular thought building up in her head on what it actually meant, she stood back up and turned back to them … tossing her cape in a dramatic fashion.

"Alright. If that's how this colony is supposed to function, then worry not, I will be glad to follows your rules. All of this "independence" and stuff," Hessonite said, a bit confident in what she said.

"... Um … okay? Great! We'll show you how things work when we -"

"No need," Hessonite insisted. "I think I understand exactly what your policy is."

"You do?" questioned Twilight.

Hessonite, confidence regained, walked right back out of the Little Homeworld tower. She may seem like she got it down and was willing to try it, but as she began walking over towards the Warp Pad, something started to feel a little uneasy. What was going through this reformed Gem's mind?
Well they all were about to find out, as Hessonite brought out her hand, her thumb and pointer finger brought together. Emerald and Diopside knew instinctively what this meant, and Emerald immediately covered his ears.

"You guys might wanna cover your ears," Diopside warned, quickly covering her own.

"Why?" asked Spinel.

Then came Hessonite's whistle. A whistle she would use back in the war to call in her entire army at once, and now she was using that same velocity right in Little Homeworld. Any and ALL Gems within the radius of the entire colony stopped dead in their tracks with a jolt, their ears filled with the piercing sound of Hessonite's call. ALL of the Gems, once corrupted or just visiting Little Homeworld, knew exactly what kind of call that belonged to, giving Hessonite their attention. The Harmony Gems were lucky not to lose their hearing, especially with what Hessonite said next.

"Now that I have your attention, your "Steven Universe" has told me that there is no one placed in charge of this colony. That Earth is a so-called "independent planet". Well, since all of you might still be confused, I'll save you the trouble and be in charge of this colony from now on," Hessonite announced.

"WHAT?!" immediately this rang alarms to the Harmony Gems and they immediately started heading right for her. Hessonite though quickly planned the assault and "teleported" out of the way, just to knock them all down in one single motion.

"The hay?! You literally just said you're gonna follow our rules!" Applejack shouted, dazed but ready to fight anyway. Hessonite smirked.

"Aren't I?"

"You're not! This is an independent colony, we just told you that, you can't just proclaim yourself as the leader like this," Steven insisted. Hessonite wasn't too intimidated.

"I heard what you all said. And didn't you also say something about Gems being free to do whatever they want?" Hessonite questioned.

"What about it?" asked Fulgurite.

"So, that means I should be free to do what I want. Which means, I want to be in charge of this Gem colony. Is that gonna be a problem?"

They cannot believe what they just heard.

"Ok, let me rephrase: you're free to do whatever you want … so long as it's not destroying planets or world domination," Steven corrected. Hessonite seemingly suspected this kind of talk, and just laughed.

"That's NOT what you all said a second ago. Besides, you said it yourself, there's no diamond in charge of this planet. So, who's going to stop me from leading this colony? You wouldn't want to break your own rules by fighting my freedom, do you?" Hessonite said, true that her plan would work to get this colony on track. The Harmony Gems actually started to notice some confusion among the crowd nearby, wondering what they were gonna do now.

"Huddle up?" Spinel asked.

"Huddle up," said Steven. Hessonite brought her attention over back to the crowd as the Harmony Gems went right back together nearby the Little Homeworld Tower.

"Can you believe that? We just saved her life from thousands of years of corruption, and she thanks us by taking over Little Homeworld?" Fulgurite started.

"Actually yeah, I can totally believe that," admitted Diopside.

"Well what're we gonna do?" asked Steven. "She's right, we can't just make her leave."

"Why not? Steven, it's clear she's NOT going to cooperate with Era 3 like us. Did you not hear her call us vermin?" Rarity said with spite.

"Hessonite said it: we're making Little Homeworld so everyone can be free to do what they want, and now we want to kick her out for the same reason? How're we gonna help keep track of Little Homeworld if we can't stay on the track?" Steven explained.

"Steven, as long as you know you're right, it's okay to bend the rules a bit. Besides, we're talking about Hessonite here," insisted Lapis. There're was some of the group of course who were willing to at least try.

"I tried to destroy the planet but you let me stay, she's just taking over Little Homeworld, so why not try to let Hessonite stay?" Spinel reminded.

"You're just a silly Gem make to be played with. Eh, no offense," said Emerald, "You're not gonna turn over a Gem admiral that easily."

"This isn't about turning over anybody, it's just about making sure she doesn't cause trouble. Heck, maybe she'll actually make Little Homeworld better," Steven insisted.

"How hard did ya get hit, boy?" Emerald remarked.

"Watch it," warned Spinel.

"Hmm, well it's not like we're gonna be good models by breaking our own rules. The least we can do is keep an eye on her and see what happens," Twilight concluded.

"Okay, we'll try it. But can we agree to actually try and stop her if it gets too bad?" Lapis asked.

"Oh, sure we can," Steven said.
Though deep down, Steven was hoping they wouldn't have to come to that, but who knew aside from Sapphire what could be in the future? With that decision all made, the Harmony Gems went back towards Hessonite, who while she did move, didn't go too far as she was still addressing the Gems at attention. Hessonite turned to face the Harmony Gems.

"Ok, we talked it out, and we're going to give you a chance at leading Little Homeworld," Lapis revealed.

"Are you now? Well, if you all want me, then I'll gladly accept -"

"BUT," cut in Spinel, "We're gonna watch you and see how you do."

"I beg your pardon?" Hessonite questioned, no longer as cheerful about it.

"Just for a day or two, Hessonite, we're not gonna jump at you right away. I know we said you can do whatever you want, but we got our limits too, so keep that in mind while you keep charge," Bismuth explained. Hessonite wasn't impressed all that much, despite the fact they were letting her do this at all.

"That's not something you need to worry about," Hessonite "reassured", "I've always dealt with armies in the thousands, so I'm more than capable of dealing with one small colony."

"True facts right there," Diopside said.

"Not exactly what we meant, but good to know you're familiar with this," Steven said. Now typically a headstrong leader would leave it at that, but Hessonite felt a little bit playful so she decided to humor them a little bit, even if she already knew the answer.

"Well what did you mean? Is there something else about me that you wanted to keep in check?" Hessonite asked with a smirk.

"It's not like there's something else wrong about you, it's like uh … like uh -"

"Like an entrance exam!" said Pinkie Pie.

Why didn't they think of that earlier?

"... Like an entrance exam!" Steven said, actually liking the idea even better, "If you pass then you get to lead Little Homeworld. If you don't then you gotta stop taking over."
Hessonite simply looked down to Steven for a moment or two, still remembering the big story they explained to her. They didn't forget to tell her about Steven's mother and where her gemstone had ended up - it was one of the core details they had to explain to everyone - but soon Hessonite extended her hand to Steven.

"I'm sure I'll pass, but you are half-Diamond, so I'll half-listen. If you want to test me, then I'll take your little test. Then you'll just see how a colony is supposed to be handled."

Call it cocky of her, but at least Hessonite was somewhat agreeing to their terms without twisting it around this time. Steven shook her hand.

"And thus begins the longest day in history," Emerald sighed.

~~~~~~

And indeed did it start. Hessonite began her work on Little Homeworld in no time at all, placing some of her own rules and regulations in place as some of the Harmony Gems stuck around to watch her do her work. The main ones keeping an eye on her at first were Steven, Spinel, and Pinkie Pie, though they all had their rotations as the rest had their own work to do. Flint and Jade had more free time now at long last, with all Corrupted Gems to their knowledge healed so Nephrite could take a break. Despite that though, the ones that stuck with Hessonite the most outside of the prementioned trio were Diopside and Emerald, only because Hessonite instructed them both to. Hessonite's subordinates followed her close behind on her instruction, Emerald just floating on his hexagon as Diopside walked alongside Hessonite like a Pearl would to her master.
Emerald also had to make some changes to his attire: now in a standard green Homeworld outfit. Hessonite did allow him to keep his normal teeth and hairstyle.

"So now that we got our agreement settled, would one of you tell me why you're allowing all of these … "organics" to walk around here?" Hessonite asked while they were walking through.

"They've been coming around here for years," said Diopside, "their kind helped save Homeworld too kind of."

"Kind of," repeated Hessonite. Emerald and Diopside were on thin ice with this Gem, both knowing first hand just how dangerous Hess actually was, and how much Hessonite herself knew it.

"Well ok, not kind of, definitely -"

"Now Emerald, don't change your story, you're only going to embarrass yourself again. Still, I'll allow your slip up this time," Hessonite said, slight pompous in her tone.

"... Gee thanks. How generous of you," Emerald said, not really having much fun at all. So far the walk through Little Homeworld didn't seem like anything exciting, but as they continued on, Hessonite began to notice one particular organic starting to come by the place today. Though it wasn't exactly the organic herself that got Hessonite a bit curious.

"Is that who it looks like?" Hessonite questioned.

*BAM!* "WHY YOU -" *CRASH*

"Not again," Diopside groaned. As if now wasn't the worst time for another Quartz fight to break out in Little Homeworld. Emerald, Diopside, and Hessonite soon began seeing the combatants off further down the road. Hessonite will look into her own matter later, but for now, she decided to go and investigate all the racket.
Sure enough, the three Gems soon found themselves at least three different Quartzes in the middle of another skirmish, with Jasper being the one to start it off again. It looked like the fight just got started since there wasn't as much damage around Little Homeworld this time.

"Is that all you GOT?!" Jasper laughed, bringing forward another punch to an oncoming Amethyst, sending her careening off a bit. Hessonite saw this and simply smiled.

"Uh oh. Emerald? She's got that smile again," Diopside gulped.

"Hang on, I got this -"

Hessonite already started walking right to the middle of the fighting ring, cracking her knuckles and getting her shoulders loose. Emerald and Diopside weren't sure if they should be worried about Hessonite or the Quartzes, but they soon got that answer when one of the fighting Amethysts actually saw Hessonite start to come over towards them.

"And who said you all can make a arena out of this side-street?" Hessonite asked.

"Y-Your clarity!" the Quartzes exclaimed, almost immediately giving Hessonite the respected diamond insignias that she was more comfortable with. Well, all but Jasper, that is. Hessonite felt pretty good about the response, but signaled out Jasper, who herself was just standing there in confusion more than anything.

"And who are you?" Jasper spat, annoyed that the fight was cut so short. Hessonite paused on the question.

"Who am I? Is that supposed to be a joke, Jasper, because I'll let you know it's not a very good one," Hessonite explained, some added flare by tossing her cape again, to no effect on the quartz. In fact, all Jasper did was huff.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care, now mind your own business before I smash you along with them," Jasper warned. Hessonite wasn't buying the joke at all, if this was one, but instead of just snapping at her Hessonite decided to once again play along. Jasper was ready to go back and rumble, but Hessonite practically bolted in front of her, now standing in her way.

"Here we go," thought Diopside and Emerald.

"So you think you can smash me huh? I think we got ourselves a bit of a problem," Hessonite said.

"Yeah, you don't know when to stay outta the way," growled Jasper.

"And your problem, my Jasper, is that you don't know that you've already lost," Hessonite said. THAT remark got Jasper's non-existent blood boiling.

"Really?! I can crush you with both hands tied!" Jasper bellowed. Hessonite was actually smirking to the brute of a Gem by this point. Seemed like something she'd want to see, and Hessonite brought her hands out to show what she was going to do, before bringing one hand to her gemstone as it began to glow. She picked this item up, and she was going to save it for later but for the sake of performance she brought it out anyway: a bit of wire rope. Which Hessonite proceeded to bring around behind her back, and with some signaling from a nearby Amethyst, had both her own hands tied behind her back.

"Very funny, I'm talking about my -" *WHACK*

Two seconds, and Jasper was already on the ground again in a single kick!

"I'm sorry Jasper honey, I didn't catch that," Hessonite said. Jasper wasted no more time and jumped back to try and get Hessonite, but Hessonite was blinding quick, each punch given by the angry orange quartz hitting nothing but the air. It didn't even look like Hessonite was running, but only moving in a Fulgurite-speeded blur from point to point, Jasper getting herself one kick after another. Hessonite herself didn't look like she was having any trouble, but as she kept jumping around Jasper, and kept giving her kicks, she actually was starting to get slightly bored, even after Jasper started to roll at her full speed.
When the rolling started was when the actual damage began, Jasper reckless bowling into things left and right to try and get Hessonite only to miss each and every time. At one point, during a dodge of yet another charge from Jasper's rolling, Hessonite jumped up, spread her legs, and in a scissors hit, both her feet whacked both sides of Jasper's head. It was strong enough to crack the visors on the helmet, as Hessonite landed on top of Jasper's aching head.

"Submit?!" Hessonite asked sternly.

"You hardly hit me now GET OFF MY HEAD!" Jasper demanded. Jasper tried reaching her in some quick swings, but Hessonite was almost sprinting in place on top of Jasper's head. Eventually this stomping went so fast, Hessonite was practically a jackhammer, drilling Jasper's head into the hard cold ground. Only then did Hessonite step off of Jasper's head as if she was a stepping stone, the dazed Jasper pulling her head out of the dirt, shaking off some stones and snow.

"Now that you know your place again, Jasper, I don't want to see anymore hijinks from ANY of you. I don't want my colony to be turned into a miserable crater because some of you can't keep it to themselves. Am I understood?"

"Yes, mam," said the worried Quartzes.

"Who're YOU to give me orders? I only take orders from MY superior," Jasper said as she got to her feet. Hessonite shook her head in disappointment.

"Yes, and I am! Don't tell me that I've been gone so long that even you forgot," Hessonite scolded.

"Your NOT my superior, HE IS!" Jasper made clear, pointing directly at Emerald … who slowly moved behind Diopside. Now Hessonite was getting annoyed with Jasper.

"Honestly Jasper, this joke is starting to get old. You don't belong to him, you belong to me!!" Hessonite stated crossly. Jasper and Hessonite stared eachother down, looking ready to fight yet again, but staring Hessonite square in the face started to give Jasper her headache again. One from the slamming she took no doubt.

"I KNOW who my superior is, you idiot, and he's standing right there -"

"AND," cut in Hessonite, "I'm his superior. So that means that all troops that he has under his command are ultimately mine. So …" and she took a step forward towards Jasper, eye to eye with the orange fighter to say the last piece, "You belong to me."
That again came with that horrifying diamond-shivering glare directly at Jasper's face. Jasper barred her sharp teeth like some threatening tiger, but that wasn't gonna be enough to get Hessonite away from her.

"G-Get away from me! You're giving me a headache," Jasper finally said, pushing Hessonite back before she started storming away. She couldn't stand it any further and she'd rather go and destroy something than say Hessonite was in charge of her.

"Wait, which headache? Headache as in pounding your head headache, or headache as in seeing things headache?" Emerald asked, flying by her to get an answer.

"Oh, get outta my way!" Jasper growled, actually slapping him away from her before she stormed off on her way. Emerald fell right down at Hessonite's feet as he, Diopside, and the remaining Gems just watched Jasper walk out of sight, the orange Gem looking ready to shatter the next thing in her way.

"Tell Jasper that she doesn't have to keep playing her game next time I see her. Now one of you untie the wire for me, will you?" Hessonite asked, turning to Diopside and Emerald and showing her tied hands from under her cape.

"Should we uh …?" Diopside whispered.

"I don't think it matters," Emerald replied.

After all of that played out, Steven, Pinkie, and Spinel got some bit of their points handled just from that performance alone. In case you're wondering, the three were watching off from a nearby rooftop, Spinel's eyes like binoculars (and being held the same way) as keen eye Pinkie wrote it down on some conveniently available papers in a notebook.

…….

*RAAAWWWRRR!*

With free time on their hands, and no more corrupted Gems to actually heal, some of the Harmony Gems got themselves over to the Sky Arena for some well-deserved fun practice. The training was not as forceful or dangerous as Jasper's training, so this was more in good fun, even if that meant Connie doing some practice with Jade's pre-made Chinese Dragon made of holograms. Connie kept her sword at the ready as the Dragon loomed overhead, shining off of the light of the winter sun. Much of the training was speedy lunges and a few swipes of the claws, which Connie was handling fairly easily herself. Connie had some extra audience in this little session (outside of Pearl) with Flint, Rarity, Starlight, Fluttershy, and even her own mother present to observe.

"Okay, almost got it," Connie told herself, "Just gotta aim high."
The emerald Dragon swirled around in the air some more like a cyclone before diving down for Connie one final time, roar echoing from its mouth. Connie got into her fighting stance, sword gripped hard in both hands. She took a deep breath, and then all she had to do was give one strong forward slice, landing right on the Dragon's head.
The emerald Dragon yelped, and suddenly its whole body went completely stiff like a stick, before poofing away to basically nothing.

"Well done, Connie, that was simply marvelous!" Rarity called, her joining the others in a round of applause.

"Excellent, my Ms. Maheswaran!" added Pearl. Connie took a moment to wipe away at the sweat from her forehead. Even in the winter chill she got herself some sweat from the training of hers. The first to reach her though was Priyanka, relieved to see that Connie made it through all of that alright.

"Oh my goodness, you're alright. You are, are you? That Dragon wasn't too rough, was it?" Priyanka asked.

"I'm just fine, mom, just a little tired. Thanks again for being my sparring partner Jade," Connie said, looking to Jade who needed a bit to relax herself.

"That's good … now can you please put on your coat now, before you catch a cold?" Priyanka asked, holding Connie's coat for her. Moms will be moms, and since Connie was finished fighting for now, Connie just smiled and took the coat.

"Alright mom," Connie simply said, putting on her green hoodie. The hoodie was fine and all, but Pearl also had a few things with her to keep her master warm, namely a few scarfs at her convenience, one of which Connie actually ended up being wrapped around her neck.

"Allow me to keep you nice and cozy, Ms. Maheswaran. … Better make it two," Pearl concluded, feeling a cold breeze go by her for a moment. Connie pushed the second scarf back so Pearl could stop, pulling the first scarf away from her mouth.

"I'm fine with just a coat, Pearl, really. You wear it," Connie insisted.

"As you command," Pearl simply said with a smile, wrapping the scarf around her own neck. Not the results they were hoping for.

"It's still not bringing anything back yet?" Fluttershy asked after a bit, as Connie took a seat back with the rest.

"I swear I thought this would do something. Pearl and I trained here almost every week. Maybe we need something deeper than that," Connie said in dismay. She was about to open a water canister when Pearl then summoned up what looked like a juice box.

"A refreshment?" Pearl offered.

"No thanks, Pearl, my mom already made me some warm tea," Connie said, showing the container in hand before she started drinking. Pearl paused and saw Priyanka for a brief moment. The smile didn't change, but Connie and her keen eyes started to notice a hint of … well, of something. It was a little hard to tell what it was, but Pearl just stood aside, holding her juice in hand briefly before she just placed it down.

"Alright. It'll be right here if you ever need it," Pearl said.

"Did she look jealous just now?" Connie thought. She wasn't sure if the others noticed it or not, but she did see that her mom was happier that Connie took her drink over Pearl's drink.
However, as they were still trying to figure out how to handle this situation, the Sky Arena wasn't left alone to them for much longer, as someone began to appear over by the entranceway to the Sky Arena.

"So I wasn't mistaken after all," said a familiar yet not-so-friendly voice.

Coming down the stairs towards them, Hessonite had found her way over to the arena, not only wanting to check out some nostalgia, but apparently curious over who was there as well. At least there was some Gems there for some "decent" company, outside of all the Humans and Ponies.

"You," Rarity hissed. Hessonite walked right on down, Diopside and Emerald moving over to the others.

"What's she doing here?" Rarity questioned.

"She wanted to take a trip down memory lane and see some of the old sites," said Diopside.

"She's not giving you too much trouble is she?" Jade asked worriedly.

"No, but Jasper's ticked off now. That's all I gotta say about that," Emerald replied. They'd rather not go into details about it. Meanwhile, Hessonite took a good look around the whole arena, or rather what was left of it. But for the majority of her attention, that was given over towards Connie and Pearl.

"Ah. The Renegade Pearl. I knew you looked somewhat familiar," Hessonite correctly presumed. Pearl stayed quiet, with her memory wiped and all she wasn't reacting too shocked about the sudden realization.

"You knew Pearl too?" Diopside asked.

"I think we're missing something here, who even is she?" Starlight asked.

"She's the Hessonite we told you about, the final corrupted Gem we healed just this morning … the one who proclaimed herself leader of Little Homeworld," reminded Flint. As for Connie and Pearl, Hessonite stepped over towards them, giving them both a look over.

"Is this what it looks like? A Pearl being owned by … a human?" Hessonite questioned. Connie was about to correct her about it, but Pearl was already talking to Hessonite.

"I've been assigned to my Ms. Maheswaran for a few weeks now, and even as a Human she's such a generous and perfect owner."

This just made Hessonite shake her head with a grin.

"OOHH And here I thought Jasper was the one playing games. You've isolated yourself here for so long, you'll literally follow the first thing that takes you in. Even if it meant following under that barker," Hessonite stated. Surprisingly, Priyanka actually took a step towards her.

"That "barker" happens to be my daughter," Priyanka said. Hessonite wasn't too impressed with Priyanka's "brave" stance against her.

"Did you come here just to mock us, or is there something you actually want here? Because if not, then maybe go somewhere else," suggested Starlight Glimmer, not too keen on her organic mockery either. She heard more than enough of them while working under White, she didn't want more of it from this new Gem.
Hessonite didn't answer in the form of a word, but instead she reached for the gemstone on her chest. Emerald and Diopside weren't sure if she was going for the wire rope again, but this time the object that came out was something almost all Gems had on them - her Gem weapon. Her summoned weapon turned out to be a pink-bladed sword resembling a wider-bladed French rapier, with a teal edge similar to Rose's Sword but with a slender blade and golden hand-guard.

"I wanted to relive the nostalgia for a while before getting back to work," Hessonite said, her sword aimed to the light at the ready, "The only thing I need now is a partner. I promise I won't be that hard on any of you …"

"A partner?" asked Diopside.

"OKAY, I'll do it," Flint immediately said. If anyone was going to fight Hessonite, might as well be him, but the others didn't forget how quickly he got knocked down on the first meeting. He got out his weapon of choice, which was both of his fighting pistols loaded and at the ready. Hessonite found this amusing, but the others were concerned.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you sure you wanna do this Flint? We just say her clobber Jasper without her hands, and she already beat your butt back on Little Homeworld," said Emerald, going by his head on a hexagon.

"She's not the same as other Garnets, Flint. You have no idea what she's capable of," Diopside added, holding him by the arm so he wouldn't go.

"It'll be okay, it's just a training session. You all might want to keep your distance," Flint advised.

What started off as Connie's training to try and regain Pearl's memories now turned into a duel match between Hessonite and Pearl. With everyone off watching afar from the stands, Flint and Hessonite stood facing eachother, ten feet of distance between eachother out near the center of the arena. A swordsman verses a marksman, round two. And this time Flint was more mentally prepared.

"Nice of you to join me again, though I should warn you: I am a bit of a legend you know. I always win," Hessonite warned.

"I never heard of you once. And NO, that's not a joke."

"Hmm? In that case, Looks like I'll be introducing myself."

And then the training began, Hessonite charging forward first. Being already lightning quick, Hessonite actually had to slow down in order to keep a more decent speed. Still, Flint had just seconds to retaliate and he rolled to the side to dodge the oncoming charge, the sword missing him and striking some debris. The clean slice cut it in two before she took that same stone, knocked it into the air, and kicked it right to Flint. Flint got himself on his feet, and just managed to shoot the rock into pebbles in one blast, followed by a second blast from the dust cloud. The blast from his pistol actually caught Hessonite off guard, and she jumped out of the way as the shot launched off into the sky to who knows where.
Now that Flint was more focused, the fight itself lasted much longer than before and both sides were actually pretty even with eachother, with Flint handling the distant projectiles with occasional close combat while Hessonite was constantly trying to close the gap while dodging the pistol shots as they nearly grazed her, bouncing off the ground or hitting air. The crowd watching can say the same for Hessonite's sword as well. Flint adjusted his pistol at one point for a more powerful shot, but Hessonite just dodged the explosive hit.

"My, this Gem knows his stuff. He's actually keeping me on my toes. Time to show him what I can really do," Hessonite thought during a dodge.

"Hessonite's stronger than I thought. I need to adjust myself, or I'm going to lose this," thought Flint, adjusting the settings on his pistol. Hessonite landed right on her feet in a flip, and propelled herself directly for Flint, getting the first full hit out of the fight.

And Flint responded to this with a desperate headbutt, his gemstone right between her eyes!
That strike was enough to halt Hessonite briefly, though Hessonite being more surprised Flint basically did a Gem suicide move so quickly, and so suddenly. Flint's gemstone was still in tact from the blunt force, and gave him enough time to fully adjust his pistols and start firing again, this time the shots being rapid fire. Hessonite leaped into the air, dodging some of the shots and using her sword to deflect a few others before landing on her feet again. Flint's friends were starting to get more into the fight, Diopside and Jade especially beginning to cheer for him to win.

Hessonite rushed forward again, though this time Flint's pistils collided in an X to hold back Hessonite's sword, leaving the two looking right at eachother.

"You're actually starting to impress me, Flint," Hessonite said, "You're the first good fight I've had all day. Maybe I can make you one of my generals when I'm finished."

"Thanks, but I've had enough of the war life. I've lived through that a bit too much," Flint replied, before he stepped aside to let the sword slice downward to the ground. Hessonite attempted a sideswipe of her sword, but again Flint dodged it in a duck to the ground. But he made one little mistake … getting back up.

*WHACK!*

"W-What?! I just dodged that!" Flint thought as he felt the blunt end of that same sword motion strike the back of his head. It actually cut a slight bit of his hair as he was knocked head over heels, wheeling at least three times before finding his footing again.

"Flint! Incoming!" Diopside called, getting Flint to look upward just to see Hessonite fly down towards him. It was the headstart he needed to get moving again and get him rushing forward, and turning around in a skid.
But now came the move that changed the fight, but not how they think: Flint aimed his pistol right at her and then released a powerful shot directly at her. Hessonite used her sword and sliced the blast in two, and while one half flew off and struck a pillar, the other shot flew upward. Right for the crowd!

"Look out!" Starlight shouted.

*BOOM!*

It just had to be an explosive shot of all things, Flint suddenly stopping when he realized what just happened, and seeing who it actually hit. Hessonite took her chance though, and rushed him, knocking him onto his feet and as before, standing on him and pinning him down. Hessonite felt good with her victory, but Flint wasn't caring about that fight now as he looked back to everyone up in the seats.

Starlight Glimmer's forcefield spell saved A LOT of damage, the dust clearing and revealing the unicorn's spell active and saving everyone from the explosion. Well, almost everyone. Pearl was standing in front of everyone. Just standing.

"Pearl?"

"Oh, don't worry. I feel fine," Pearl said with a smile as she turned around to them all. Her smile innocent.

And her gemstone looking almost shattered!

"Holy - STOP THE FIGHT, WE GOT A NEAR-SHATTERED GEM HERE!"

"What?" Hessonite said. In saying that, Flint clocked her under her jaw with an uppercut kick, before jumping up to his feet and running right back towards the crowd, all of them now worried over Pearl's very cracked gemstone.

"Oh no, everyone okay?" Flint asked urgently.

"We are, but Pearl took the hit from your pistol shot. It's a direct hit too," said Jade, Pearl turning to him, making him step back in surprise. Hessonite was gonna remark about it, but she too saw the Pearl standing there with her Gem almost in shards.

"What level did you put your weapon on?" Hessonite asked, impressed and disturbed by the damage in one hit.

"Does it even matter?! Come on, let's get her to a fountain before her gemstone crumbles away," Flint quickly instructed.

"No need. As long as my Ms. Maheswaran's safe and sound, I'm happy to be just the way I am," Pearl said, disturbingly innocent.

"You won't be anything for long, not with that crack!" Emerald shouted, trying to make Pearl move. But once again, Hessonite took action again, trying to reach her, only for Flint to grab her by the arm.

"Don't you take another step to her," Flint warned. "You're not taking her with you."

"Oh stars, Of course not! I would never show any Gem in this state. Besides, she wouldn't last long enough in some fountain at her condition anyway."

"Oh, and you got a better idea?" asked Rarity. Hessonite actually went over to the highly damaged Pearl, and held her close, one arm wrapped around her in spite of everyone's main feelings towards her.

"Naturally. None of you need to freak out, I'll schedule an appointment for her at The Reef, and I'll return your Pearl functional and in one piece as soon as I'm able to," Hessonite explained, not AS boastful this time and actually being serious about the treatment.

"Wait, what even is -" before Connie could finish, Hessonite held Pearl tight, and in a bolt, disappeared from sight in a yellowish blur. Wherever The Reef was, or even is, Hessonite and Pearl were already gone going right for it.

"I'm very sorry for this," Flint finally said.

…

Pinkie, Steven, and Spinel wished they could've done something for this. Spinel saw the entire thing go down through a submarine telescope outta her eye, peeking passed the remaining arena wall. Once everything was done, she retracted her eye, looking over to Pinkie and Steven, both of them just sitting there. Steven felt a bit uneasy the most, given he couldn't actually heal Pearl anymore until he would get his own powers back, and without knowing where this "Reef" is, how was he supposed to follow either? All they did do was write down more on Hessonite's performance, noting how quickly she was to help Pearl out.

…….

Now on her own, and after her short trip to The Reef, Hessonite had at least a few more spots to make before she would go on back to Little Homeworld, as she finished her travel on the Warp Pad to her final destination. For any colony to actually be successful after all, they need a proper Kindergarten to function. What better one to check then, than the Prime Kindergarten itself. Too bad the Kindergarten itself in recent years hasn't shown too much for itself other than stray rocks and tons of holes. Nothing as impressive anymore.

Hessonite began to go on exploring what remained of the Prime Kindergarten from there. Rather than bolt her way around she just went for a more casual walk, not finding too much activity within the place outside of the typical stuff. Some worn out Gem Injectors, some which were still smashed and broken on the ground, holes of numerous quartz soldiers now just sitting there abandoned.

"Just look at this place. How's any colony going to function with a Kindergarten like this?" Hessonite wondered, "Those kindergarteners didn't know what they were doing, wasting all the materials here at once. There HAS to be something left to revive this Kindergarten."

Hessonite eventually started to notice some of the holes nearby, one small one in particular in line to the ground floor.

"What do we have here?" Hessonite pondered. Hessonite kneeled down to the level of the hole, seeing the interior of it in comparison to the much larger ones up above it.

"Not very deep. The poor thing must've came out too late. Ah well, I'll just need to -"

"Hey buddy!" a voice suddenly shouted, a hand grabbing Hessonite by the shoulder. Naturally Hessonite was ready to fight a battle again as any war admiral would, but seeing who it actually was made Hessonite lower her guard slightly.

"Get outta my hole," said Amethyst. No, her so-called "general" attire didn't change, so in some way Amethyst didn't know who this was (not that it would matter given how she spent all her life on Earth). Hessonite stood up straight, turning to face her.

"Oh. So this is your hole?" questioned Hess.

"Yep, that's right. I used to live here, but now I just come by time to time and visit, see how the Fam's doing."

"The … fam?" Hessonite asked quizzically. Amethyst then saw a larger rock off nearby, a fairly big one at that.

"HEY, how're you doing? Aww, did you get taller? Hang on, I got a visitor. …" she turned to Hessonite. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"Watch your tone, you little pebble!" Hessonite scolded, "Do you even know who -"
Hessonite suddenly paused. She wasn't blind, and had been seeing the patterns between the Gems she was meeting before.

"No, Hessonite. Try this again. … Do you really know who I am, or don't you? And if not, how much do you remember of the Gem War?" Hessonite questioned after calming down.

"Gem what-now? That isn't ringing any bells," Amethyst said, kinda lost in what Hessonite was saying. Now she could understand Pearl and Jasper probably pulling a fast one on her, but Hessonite never met this Gem before, and with no knowledge about the war itself, that only confirmed it.

"Ok. You got a better excuse at least," Hessonite concluded, "So one other question … how long have you been alone?"

"I haven't been alone, I got the fam right here. I've just been busy with the other Gems back home, doing adventures, fighting baddies, that kind of stuff," Amethyst explained. "It's just gotten quiet lately that's all, so I got some free time to check in."

So, a long time Hessonite concluded. It couldn't be over 5,000 years ago since she never heard of the Gem War before, but still a decent time for a Gem to be alone on some weird planet like this.

"In any case, I'm here to check the functions of the Kindergarten. But it seems painfully obvious this hasn't been on working order for thousands of years," Hessonite said.

"Oh yeah, Rose told me about that," Amethyst said, scratching her head, "Well I haven't seen anything "working" here for years, so I don't know what you're expecting to find here."

"You came out, didn't you? Stunted, but you came out, so SOMETHING has to work here. Where's the control room again?" Hessonite wondered. But Amethyst was still on the word "stunted".

"Hold up, what do you mean stunted? K, I'm short, but what's wrong with that huh?" Amethyst asked.

Here we go again.

"You haven't noticed it yet? Every other hole in your wall is much bigger than you are, twice as big. And I can tell you haven't been put in as deep, so odds are that made your growth a bit stunted. In other words, you didn't come out like you should."

"Like I should?" Amethyst questioned. Hessonite presented herself as an example.

"Look at me: I'm a tall Gem. Clean skin, proper appearance modifiers, smooth - … well, somewhat smooth hair. I'm the example of a perfectly made Garnet."

"You're a Garnet too? I thought only my Garnet lived here," Amethyst pondered, actually surprised. Hessonite chuckled.

"Trust me, there's plenty more where I came from. But as for you, the only thing that came out wrong is your size … and maybe your choice of clothes. That means you're not as efficient as Homeworld would like. … For stars, tell me you at least know what Homeworld is."

"Duh, Earth," Amethyst asked. Hessonite sighed, hand to her face. She's farther gone than Hessonite thought.

"You must be an Era 3 Amethyst if you don't even know that much," Hessonite concluded, but she decided to change her tune and smiled to the Amethyst. Stunted or not, she's still a soldier of some sort.

"But you're in luck, my dear Amethyst. I'm in a good mood, so I'll help you take a step in the right direction," Hessonite promised.

"I think I know where my direction is, so why don't you just do what you gotta do," Amethyst suggested, comfortable a little bit for what she was right now. Hessonite paused a bit, looking around the area a bit, and then remembered a little something she saw earlier. It wasn't just the Kindergarten she visited after all.

"It's not everyday I get to find an Amethyst the right size to fit into a patrol Tank, but if you're not interested I understand. Maybe I'll find another stout Amethyst next door in that Beta Kindergarten," Hessonite figured. She turned around and began to walk over towards the Warp Pad when -

"Hold up there, chief. … A TANK?"

"Interested now are we? Typically they're fit for Peridots to operate, but looking at you, hmm …" Hessonite walked back over to Amethyst, looking her over up and down. "You know, looks like your stunted growth actually works. You look just the right size to fit inside one and operate it!"

"Really?! But you just said I didn't come out right."

"And for a standard Amethyst, you are. But a Amethyst patrolling inside a Tank I'm sure makes up for it. And perhaps I might have one on retainer … if you'd like. You should feel honored you know, I don't ask this to just anyone," Hessonite said.
Amethyst paused and had to think on this for a little bit. She just imagined it: her, a top general for the Crystal Gem army holding the flag of the rebellion, standing on top of her very own top-of-the-line battle tank. Hessonite was right about one thing - she wouldn't ask this to just anyone, and what chance would she get again?

"...…. Do I really get to ride in one?"

"Just ride in one? I'll let you even shoot it."

"SHOOT IT?! Er wait, wait, I still got the others to talk to," Amethyst realized. Hessonite didn't mind it.

"Right, your Rose. How's this: you go back and tell your Rose Quartz your plans, and I'll have your tank ready and functional within the "Strawberry Battlefield". As you all keep calling it."

"DEAL!" Amethyst beamed. She then turned to the same rock she was talking to. "Sorry to cut this short, I gotta go. I'll come back later."

The two only had the exit of the Warp Pad to do, so Amethyst raced passed Hessonite after her goodbyes, and quickly went right on her way to tell "Rose Quartz" the good news. Hessonite simply watched the happy Amethyst go off on her own way. She knew she'll meet with her later.

…

One more bit of notes for Steven, Spinel, and Pinkie to accomplish, as the trio watched it all go down this time from one of the higher-up holes on the Prime Kindergarten. Good thing for Portal Keys. Another thing to note about Hessonite's behavior.

~~~~~~

"So it looks like she does have a soft spot for low-ranking Gems, but not so much for high-ranking Gems or to things that are not Gems," Steven concluded to everyone else.
Hessonite hadn't returned just yet, so with all the information they've gathered about her, Spinel, Pinkie, and Steven got their information sent to everyone else available, alongside them sharing what Hessonite did throughout the day. The only other one around for the time being was Padparadscha relaxing over by the Warp Pad as Ruby kept her guarding pace. It wasn't natural, but Padparadscha felt safe to be on her own for a while.

"Great deduction, sherlock hooves, but what're we gonna do with her? I DO NOT wanna relive the days as Hessonite's pawn," Emerald said, really needing an answer for this.

"I thought you said you were a General, Emerald," Flint pointed out.

"Admirals out-rank Generals, and Hessonite's stuck in charge so it doesn't even matter anyway."

"And she's very strong too. I hope Pearl's gonna be okay with her," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, by the way, what is "The Reef"? She mentioned something about taking Pearl there to make an appointment," Rarity inquired. Lapis and Sapphire actually perked up hearing that mention.

"She's going there? Is that place even operating anymore?"

"I assume you know what that is," Rarity stated.

"I only went there once when Blue Diamond wanted her Pearl to be modified. It's somewhere where Pearls used to be sent to when they're damaged or if their owners just want them modified. But that was centuries ago," Lapis explained, pondering to herself somewhat about the location herself.

"Didn't y'all already have that Melanite girl handling them already?" Applejack asked.

"No, she just makes and distributes them. I don't think she ever did fix any cracked Pearls," Lapis said, though she had to think a little about it. They hadn't checked in on Melanite's practices for a while, but that was not important right now.

"Know where Hess is now?" Bismuth asked.

"She said something about a Tank and some strawberries, so … beats me," Spinel shrugged.

"That's the Strawberry Battlefield! A BIIIG place with floating islands, lots of sharp stuff and ubers upon ubers of strawberries," Pinkie Pie explained to her.

"Huh. Mmkay," Spinel said.

"Well we got to do something about her, and we have to do it soon," said Diopside, "I don't want to stop being me because she's controlling everything."

"Why don't we just drive her out and be done with it? I know it's against the rules, but they're not gonna be a thing if this keeps up," Fulgurite pointed out, ready to just get this over and done.

"After how she acted today, I wouldn't mind that," Rarity said.

"Everyone please, don't jump to conclusions," Sapphire said at a point. "She just returned, and is misguided. You all heard Steven, she does have a soft spot. It's just not a big spot."

"Eh too, Sapphire? You saw her make herself as Little Homeworld's leader on the spot, and twisting our own rules around! Come on, just a quick fight to prove we can take her on!"

"Can we avoid fighting her?!" Steven exclaimed. "Listen, I don't like her behavior anymore than you do, but we need to just show her how things work here a bit more. I mean, she did take her time away to help Pearl out, and they're war enemies!"

"She also played nice with Amethyst too, and she yelled at her face! Doesn't that count for something?" Spinel added.

"That's all fun and good, but how're we going to show that to Hessonite? Take it from me, she's not a Gem to just switch her worldview just like that," asked Emerald, snapping his fingers.

"Halt!"

Off nearby, a reminder of yet another problem just showed herself when Ruby stood in defiance against a passing cat Nora. Nora wasn't even acting vicious, she was just walking by and checking out Little Homeworld for a bit. One of their many targets they got to handle by this point.

"Ruby, calm down, she's not hurting anybody," said Fluttershy, looking to Nora.

"I can't allow such a threatening creature to come near my Sapphire," Ruby said. Nora meowed, which made Ruby flinch and block her way some more.

"She's not threatening, you just need to show her some kindness. Come here, Nora, come here," Fluttershy said. Nora looked over to Ruby one more time before she walked over to Fluttershy, rubbing against her hooves as Fluttershy gently stroked her fur.

"See? She's a sweetheart," Fluttershy said.

"Threat neutralized," Ruby simply said, going back to her post. Not the best response, but at least Ruby didn't beat up Nora.

"What're we gonna do with her?" asked Twilight. There was some thinking, but one Gem finally decided to try her luck. She was the best shot they had yet.

"Let me try to talk to her," Sapphire finally said. Deciding that, she began to move away from the others, and went right over towards the patrolling Ruby with Padparadscha. Padparadscha of course needed a moment or so to realize Sapphire was coming, but Ruby already caught sight of the approaching Gem, jumping up to attention and standing in Sapphire's way, hand raised.

"Halt! - Oh wait. It's you," Ruby said, lowering her guard from her cop stance.

"Hello Ruby. Padparadscha," Sapphire said, hand raised.

"Sapphire's here," Padparadscha then said smiling. Strangely though, with Padparadscha there, Ruby tried not to get too over her head when seeing Sapphire standing there, standing at attention and aside as if Sapphire was going to just pass her to see Padparadscha. Not even started and Sapphire saw better how different this was.

"You don't have to do that Ruby. Actually, I want to talk to you," Sapphire said.

"Huh? Me?" Ruby asked, only to quickly return to her stance when she realized she was off a bit, "E-Er, you'll have to consort with my Sapphire about that."

"No Ruby. You. Please," Sapphire said. Ruby then felt her hand being grabbed, and felt a fluster come up on her already red face. Ruby looked to Padparadscha for some answer on what to do, but Padparadscha didn't give her much of anything.

"U-Uh … Sapphire?"

"Ruby. Look at me, and tell me. Do you remember me?" Sapphire asked, as she moved the hair out of the way of her eye with her free hand, as Ruby found herself gazing into it slightly. One eye of pure wisdom, and something else that Ruby wasn't too sure about. What was this feeling? Whatever it was, it was making her steam up.

"Y-Yeah? We met in that pony settlement. You were standing by my Sapphire -"

"No, before that. Ruby, I know there's something still in there, you got to remember something about me," Sapphire said, holding Ruby's hand a little tighter.

"M-My Sapphire, should I do something?" Ruby asked nervously. She wasn't made to fight a Sapphire after all. Padparadscha did finally respond.

"Oh my! She's going to try and help you remember your past," Padparadscha gasped.

"R-Remember what? My life is to protect you, my Sapphire, what else is there to know?" Ruby asked, confused. Sapphire loosened her grip, taken aback on the response. How could her face NOT trigger at least a headache to the Ruby's memory, especially with how prominent she was throughout her life? Sapphire tried to think, but then glanced down to her own hand, getting an idea.

"Our wedding rings! Ruby, we both got married remember? We both even have our rings for that moment," Sapphire said, smiling as she showed Ruby her own wedding ring. If there was ANYTHING that would trigger something from recent events, it would be that of their Gem Wedding.

"We do?"

"Yes! Ruby, here look -"

Ruby didn't have hers. That was enough to make Sapphire pause. Ruby looked down to her hand too, the same one that would've held her own wedding ring as well. However, it was this moment that something actually started to click. Kind of.

"You're … not wearing it."

"Oh yeah, I remember that now," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head, "I keep getting headaches every time I keep seeing it on my touch stub, or think about it, so I threw it away. I feel so much better now, but I still don't know why that kept happening to me. Oh well, It's not important now."

……. Threw it away. Ruby threw their wedding ring away? Sapphire could feel the ice cover her feet almost immediately, as if lightning struck her right on the head it was so quick. All that showed on her face though was a look of … well, her hair was over her eye again, so kinda hard to tell at first. It wasn't happiness that's for sure.

"... Say that again, Ruby. …"

"I … threw it away?" Ruby repeated, confused.

"Oh … that's uh … what I thought you said. Thanks for clearing it up for me, Ruby," Sapphire said. Sapphire knew it wasn't entirely Ruby's fault. She kept telling herself that Ruby didn't know any better, but the very idea. The very image of Ruby just taking off the wedding ring, and tossing it like trash, it was enough to crumble Sapphire's own gemstone.
She felt a tear come down her face.

"Umm … S-Sapphire?"

"Tell me you're lying!" Sapphire suddenly shouted, holding Ruby by the shoulders, her eye streaming with tears. Ruby now freaked out, and suddenly pushed Sapphire away from her, even getting into a fighting stance in case Sapphire would jump at her again.

"My Sapphire, permission to defend against sapphire? Wait. That doesn't sound right," Ruby said, though she too felt weirded out about the whole thing.

"O-Oh my gosh, I predict you will attack Sapphire!"

"So is that a yes or -"

"No. No. I'll go. It's not your fault Ruby, I … bye," Sapphire said, getting back to her feet. Now was not a good time anymore as Sapphire hoped, so as Ruby kept her guard up, Sapphire was forced to walk away from her love. Or rather, used to be her love. Not another word shared between the blue or red Gem, and it wasn't until Sapphire was back with the rest of the Harmony Gems did Ruby actually calm down. And only NOW -

"Why'd you push her, Ruby?!" Padparadscha gasped.

"I-I'm sorry my Sapphire, I won't do that again," Ruby quickly said, diamond insignia to the rare Gem.

Back with Sapphire, everyone else simply watched her walk back, already telling that the ordeal did not go as well as they hoped it would. This was gonna be more complicated than they thought, and Sapphire simply stood there for a moment or two. Her face was deadpan emotionless, but the tear was still there.

"S-She threw away her wedding ring. … Oh guys. H-How am I gonna get her back?" Sapphire asked.

"Come here, Sapphire. Let it out," Lapis said, kneeling down and opening her arms. Sapphire immediately went into Lapis's arms, and started crying up a waterfall, trying not to scream like Padparadscha would in her whimpers and wails, a fine stream of tears going down Lapis's back and onto the ground. Seeing this all made everyone feel a bit of disbelief, though Spinel felt more uneasy than the others about it, rubbing her arm.

"So seeing Sapphire isn't enough? But how, they've been together forever, they've been through everything, that should've done something," wondered Steven in disbelief. Far as everyone knew they couldn't go any deeper in her memory than THAT. Sapphire kept crying and crying, and for a change of pace she cried some more. …

"Is it all out, Sapphire?" asked Flint.
Sapphire started to quiet down, sniffing and whimpering for a little bit before she took a long breath.

"Yeah … it's out now."

"Ok, ok," Twilight then said, walking out and beginning to pace, "So now we got Amethyst going around in a Tank, we got Ruby who threw away Sapphire's ring, we got Pearl who's off at the Reef, and we got Jasper trying to destroy everything just for the heck of it. There's got to be an easier way to do this."

"Not to mention a Hessonite who's running the place like it's no one's business and something we really should start handling," Rarity suggested.

"NOBODY'S starting anything now," Bismuth said, "Look, we got multiple Gems we got to keep track of, let's split up and keep an eye on them so they won't cause any trouble. K?"

"Great idea! I think I should watch over the big cheese puff since I'm the only one she'll actually listen to," Emerald suggested.

"YOU wanting to work? Someone pinch me, this is a first," joked Fulgurite. Emerald shrugged, and actually pinched Fulgurite in the arm anyway.

"Alright you and Fulgurite can go and do that. I'll take on Amethyst. Someone's gotta hit the breaks on that tank if she tries to let loose with it," Bismuth said, cracking her knuckles.

"I'll join you for that too, if I may. … Please," Flint said. He looked calm, but inside he was almost begging for SOMETHING to do given his vacation.

"ONLY if you don't try anymore suicidal missions," Bismuth said. Flint felt a little embarrassed about it, but decided not to push it any further than that.

"Deal," Flint said, "So we got Jasper and Amethyst, Steven what about you?"

"Hmm … Actually, I think I'd want to go for Pearl. I'll phone Connie too before I go."

"I'll come too. I haven't seen the Reef in thousands of years anyway, it'll be nice to see how it's doing after so long," Lapis Lazuli said, hand on Steven's shoulder. Nice to have some good company for the trip to a new Gem location. Next answer came over from Sapphire, after calming herself down from the initial shock, though she still had to wipe away a tear or two first.

"All good, sugarcube?"

"Yeah. And I think I'll keep with Ruby. If there's anyone that should get her memory back, it'll be her. I don't want to lose her again."

"That will NOT happen, don't you worry. Applejack and I will help you out with her too," Twilight promised, putting a gentle wing around Sapphire for comfort. Now there was only one more who didn't say much of anything about the whole thing, or what she wanted to do. She looked simply guilty, if anything.

"Spinel, why don't you come with us to the Reef? I know you're worried -"

"EH actually, I'm gonna sit this one out," Spinel admitted, "I think I've done enough for ya already, so you go and uh, be you."

"Spinel?" Steven asked. Before anymore questions could be asked, Spinel turned her legs to springs, and jumped right on out of sight, going off to who knows where. Either way, Spinel didn't want to be there. Steven did indeed try to reach her, but he was just a little too slow to do much of anything.

"We'll talk to her, Steven. You focus on what you have to do," promised Sapphire, already knowing what her problem would be with Spinel.

"Thanks Sapphire," Steven replied before he turned back to the others. "Now, All we have left is Hessonite. Who wants to watch her?"

"I don't think we have to worry about her for a while, Steve-o. If I find her messing with anyone, I'll show her we mean Bismuth," Bismuth said with a wink. They never said the rules applied outside of Little Homeworld. Steven nodded and then brought his hand out.

"For us," Steven said.

"For us," said Lapis, joining him in bringing her hand out.

"For us," said Fulgurite, joined by Emerald in bringing their hands out.

"For us," said Bismuth, her joined by Flint.

"For us," said Twilight, joined by Sapphire and Applejack.

"Alright, everyone's got what they gotta do, and we will get our friends back no matter what. Let's get to it," Steven said.

"Right!" replied everyone else.

Everyone began to split from there: Bismuth and Flint off to find Amethyst and her renegade Tank, Emerald flying off with Fulgurite holding onto his hexagon to find Jasper, and Steven and Lapis going towards the nearest Warp Pad for Pearl. This left Twilight, Applejack, and Sapphire there for Ruby and for Spinel. They've held this off plenty, so now it's time to tackle this bull by the horns.

Memory game on.

Author's Note

I wanted to include this Hessonite Garnet for a LONG while now, since the beginning of the season. I'm happy Hessonite's in the game at last.
So with one big problem finally finished, So now begins the next arc for the season as everyone's FINALLY tackling the whole amnesia trouble head on. … about time they did :derpytongue2:

Next couple of chapters are gonna be interesting, let me tell you. :raritywink:

Tongue-Tied

"Uhhh … Cherry Gem …"

Spinel nibbled on another small, cold-looking Cherry as she just sat there, far away from everyone else. With Steven gone off to The Reef, and other Gems doing other things, Spinel couldn't really think of anyone to actually go off and see. Not that she would want to though, after seeing just how heart-broken Sapphire was for practically losing her true love. The love she had for thousands of years, no less. Spinel dropped the Cherry stem nearby her, which it turned out she already at least twenty of them, as Spinel simply left herself to her own thoughts.
And what thoughts they were left with. Spinel knew she did bad when she rejuvenated practically all of the OG Gems and all, but the true extent of just how bad it actually was slowly began to dawn to her. She didn't just go ahead and erase some Gem memories, but she single-handedly ended something she herself was, in a way, made for. Maybe even more. Just seeing the misery and shock on Sapphire's face when Ruby told her the news said it all. The Gem felt her hands grip her knees more so as she huddled there by the edge of Brooding Hill.

"I'm so stupid …" Spinel muttered to herself. Though stupid might not be harsh enough of a word, but before she could think up of any better words to describe herself, she began to hear something starting to approach from behind. Probably someone who wanted to hit her or something.

"Spinel."

Sapphire. Spinel glanced behind her and saw the very same Gem she just saw crying her eyes out earlier. She appeared to be all by herself as well, so it was only her and Spinel for now.

"Oh, hey. How ya doin?" Spinel asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Sapphire said, walking over closer to her.

"Why? …" Spinel murmured. Sapphire stopped moving towards her at that point, though her hand was still out towards her. At first there simply was silence between them both, but eventually Sapphire once again broke it.

"You can tell us anything wrong if it means anything to you. We all saw how you looked before we all split up. And we both have an idea what it is … if you want to tell me," Sapphire explained, though she tried choosing her words carefully. Spinel may be on their side, but Sapphire still knew how unpredictable the Gem was, at least to some degree. More silence hung around in the air for a bit, but little by little, Sapphire began to hear what sounded like small whimpering.

She then turned around.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY IT?!" Spinel suddenly shouted, throwing herself at Sapphire's feet (almost literally), her hands grabbing Sapphire's dress as the rest of her laid on the ground. "I'M SORRY! This is all my fault! Look what I did to you and that Ruby, you two were probably the closest people ever, and I just cut you two apart! Why'd I even come here at all? … All I did was make things worse."

Now normally Sapphire would try to deny it. Grogar was the one who did that blow on her and Ruby, not Spinel. But little by little, she began to think about this.

"Spinel. … I'm not going to deny what you've done," Sapphire began, gently lifting Spinel's chin so Spinel can look up to her, "But I've already forgiven you."

"Y-You have? …"

"I wouldn't let you stay here otherwise," Sapphire pointed out, "To be honest, I was more worried about what Grogar would do over what you did."

"... Hmm … Even after I slaughtered you and your buddies, you still want me around eh? … Thank you for forgiving me." Spinel felt more tears coming out, but now was the moment Sapphire stepped back, letting Spinel let her go.

"Not so fast," Sapphire stated. "I know you're sorry, but that's not enough to just say it."

"W-Wha? … B-But why not? I said I am sorry, I-it's not like I'm lying or anything! Look at me, I'm groveling -"

"Spinel, easy, that isn't what I mean," Sapphire said, making Spinel clam up again. Sapphire helped Spinel get back onto her feet again, the crying Gem still unsure of what exactly to do.

"I know you're sorry. But it isn't enough to say you're wrong, you got to correct what you did wrong," Sapphire explained. Spinel felt beside herself with such an answer. On one hand, yes she was happy Sapphire forgiven her, but that didn't mean it was complete forgiveness. She turned her gaze away, rubbing her arm.

"No offense, Sapphire but … didn't I do enough to you guys?" Spinel asked meekly, looking away from Sapphire. Sapphire smiled.

"You want to make it right, don't you Spinel. Now how do we make this right?" Sapphire asked, letting Spinel try and figure this out by herself. It wouldn't be a teaching mechanism if she told her every single bit of information up front.

She started counting her fingers.

"Hmmmmm … Steven and Lapis went to that Reef place for Pearl. Fulgurite and Emerald went after Cheese Puff - whoever that is. Bismuth and Flint went to find a Tank, and Twilight and Applejack are going with Ruby. …"

Spinel suddenly got a lightbulb idea.

"Sapphire? Remember when you asked me how to make this right?"

"... Yes?" Sapphire said. She could only smile at what Spinel said next.

"PLEASE let me help you! I don't want to mope around up here anymore, if I can help just say it," Spinel said, almost pleading. Sapphire got her in the right direction, and simply nodded but spoke anyway.

"So, still don't think you've done enough for us?" Sapphire joked.

"I don't know. I don't know, but I know I still got a lot to do," Spinel concluded. She started to feel a bit more motivated now, and her mission was now clear as she stood tall up on the top of Brooding Hill. The breeze was at her back, and now confident brought her fist into the air.

"Just watch me. This is for you, bro!" Spinel said, good, proud, and ready to go.

Sapphire found herself chuckling.

"Bro, Spinel?" Sapphire chuckled.

Oops. Spinel just realized what she said. She turned back to Sapphire, her face now as red as a tomato.

"Hehehehe d-did it say that out loud? … Can you uh … not tell Steven I said that?"

"Sure Spinel. Though it's actually kinda cute," Sapphire said with a smile. Steven may have helped out a lot before one way or another, but hearing someone call him "bro" just seemed so sweet. Spinel gave a sigh of relief as Sapphire walked back over to her.

"Now then. We already got an idea how to help Ruby. but, can you do one thing for me?" Sapphire asked.

"Are you kidding? Anything," Spinel replied. Sapphire joined her on top of the hill.

"Excellent. … Operation: Star Love is a go," Sapphire announced. Spinel could easily imagine a good "Steven Universe" style title card right now, and her eyes sparkled.

"Ooooooo!"

…….

Now for Ruby.
With Spinel on board to function the operation, they still needed the secondary main character to even get this whole thing started. However, ever since her last tiff with Sapphire, confronting her up on the spot about her wasn't going to be that simple and both the Earth Pony and Alicorn knew it. Sapphire did her part, Twilight and Applejack at the least found Ruby off nearby the barn house on guard with Padparadscha not too far away. Both ponies took their own outpost on the road up towards the barn (this isn't a spy mission), just far enough away to not be noticed just yet. They got their approach to think about.

"So how do you want to do this? We need to get her and Sapphire back together somehow," Twilight asked.

"How about you and I just explain to her Sapphire wants to see her again," Applejack said, "We both know they're married, so we can be honest with them."

"... Any other suggestions?" Twilight asked, wings around her chest. The Earth Pony paused.

"Twilight, you're not planning to lie to Ruby are ya?" Applejack inquired. Lying was probably the last thing they should do right now, but Twilight quickly corrected herself (kinda).

"No! … maybe. I don't know, this is not just me this time: Sapphire said she wanted to make it natural, so if we just tell her up front, of course it's gonna be awkward," Twilight explained, starting to walk towards the barn with the Earth Pony alongside. AJ though wasn't sure about it.

"I get where you're comin from, but how do we tell her then? Looks like she's got her priority down," Applejack pointed out, namely referring to her guarding Padparadscha from things. It hadn't been too long since they split up, but word from the grape vine (AKA Pinkie Pie because of course) told them Ruby's guard had really been amped up. This became especially apparent when Ruby stood in between Padparadscha and a patch of snow that fell off the roof. They knew it couldn't hurt them if it wanted to, but Ruby wasn't taking chances and jumped at the "attacker", body slamming it.

"Ok, maybe we'll ease the truth in a little bit. After Ruby calms down," Twilight decided.

"Deal. Now you wanna talk to her first, or me?" AJ then asked.

"No, it's fine, I'll talk first," Twilight replied.
Their mission is to get Ruby and Sapphire to the same place, so with the main idea in mind the two ponies walked over into view of the guard and "her Sapphire". The second Ruby saw them, she jumped up on her guard.

"Halt!" Ruby shouted.

"Calm down, Sugarcube, it's just us," Applejack said. Ruby kept her guard up to form, a hand spread out to block Padparadscha and keep her behind her for her protection.

"Here comes Twilight. How're you girls doing?" Padparadscha asked kindly, in a way helping Ruby calm down too. Padparadscha wouldn't be so friendly to them if they were a threat to her at all. Applejack stepped back and allowed Twilight to talk to Ruby first.

"So Ruby … how are you?" Twilight began. A decent start to any conversation. Ruby remembered Twilight and Applejack over back at Little Homeworld, so she was slightly on edge with these two.

"Fine?" Ruby said, suspicious a little bit.

"Oh, that's good. We were on our way here, and both saw you uh, attack that snow," Twilight pointed out, hoof aimed towards the now flattened lump of snow on the ground.

"It almost landed on my Sapphire," insisted Ruby.

"You know it's not a threat," Twilight pointed out. Ruby looked back at the snow pile again.

"Not anymore. I keep saying it, and I will keep saying it: my sworn duty and life purpose is to protect my Sapphire with my life -" *SPLAT*
Soon as Ruby had finished, another clump of snow fell down, this time landing on Ruby's head. Ruby yelped, flailing her arms and legs until she fell onto her back, head covered in snow.

"I predict you will be hit by a bunch of snow," Padparadscha said, though she actually found it a little bit funny. Not malicious but still funny to see. Ruby shook off of the hit and jumped to her feet in case there was another quick attack, but alas that was all the snow that fell down from the roof today. It was a bit of a stretch, but both ponies got some idea over what to do next.

"I don't think the snow's going to hurt her, Ruby. Here, have you ever considered taking a break? For like, oh, five and a half hours?" Twilight asked. A bit forward. Ruby sprung up to her feet.

"Nope, not me! I'm not going anywhere," Ruby insisted, "I got my life purpose to do! … I kept ditching it already …"
Well what now? Applejack and Twilight looked to eachother before talking again.

"Don't worry about her, she'll be okay by the time you get back. Why don't you take a break and come along to Ponyville? We got somethin to show you anyway, and I got a feeling you're gonna get a kick out of it," Applejack offered. Ruby looked more defiant by that offer, given it involved her Sapphire this time.

"I'm not going anywhere with you unless my Sapphire says so! … right?" Ruby asked. Well they need to figure something out soon, but after a pause, Padparadscha actually figured something out.

"Thank you Ruby, you're very nice. Super nice. In fact, so nice, I'll even let you go and see what they have for you," Padparadscha answered after a little bit.

"Oh. Ok. I'm goin," Ruby concluded, actually flustering from such compliments. Ruby can't deny her own Sapphire all that much anywho. So, as Ruby began to go off on her way towards the nearest Warp Pad, Applejack and Twilight both began to trail her somewhat after thanking Padparadscha for the help. At least they would've, and they probably should, but it only took them a few more steps before Applejack suddenly felt something on her head, making the mare stop.
Twilight and Applejack looked off a bit, seeing Ruby far enough away before the alicorn took off AJ's hat … revealing a walkie talkie. Old classic, but it works. Twilight levitated the device off of AJ's head, getting it working.

"How's the mission going on your end?" asked Pinkie through the walkie talkie.

"She's on her way to Ponyville now, we just got her moving," Twilight explained.

"Alright, will do. Count on party pony Pinkie," Pinkie said, before disconnecting the call. Applejack got the walkie talkie back under her hat.

"Ok, sounds like they're game. Now how do we get Ruby and Sapphire together? She won't leave Padparadscha," Twilight wondered worriedly.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Fer now, let's get em back to Ponyville. She's getting kinda far," Applejack decided, trotting on ahead to catch up to Padparadscha and Ruby. Twilight glanced back over to the barn for a brief moment before she too began to walk on her way to catch up to the rest. The Alicorn had a feeling this might not be as easy as expected.

"Let's get Garnet back," Twilight concluded.

*rustle*

Only one hoofstep was enough to make the Alicorn stop herself. A bit faint but still audible even when there was no wind to make any vegetation shutter and shake. Twilight turned back just fast enough to catch where that noise was coming from. It was small, and it moved kinda quickly, but Twilight just managed to make out the faint glimpse of a vine skimming through the snow, just pass the corner of the barn.
It was just enough to have Twilight trot over that way instead of following the others.

"What's that?" Twilight thought as she passed the barn corner. Upon stepping out to see, she saw something was trying to get away, hidden just underneath the snow cover for a short bit until the very cold of the snow started to make the thing shiver somewhat. Plants not adapted to the cold always had problems with snow, and Twilight soon saw the vine shiver itself exposed.

"A vine? What kind of vine is this? Wait … It's moving?!"

She tried moving in closer, but the vine suddenly had another trick up its sleeves. Twilight reared back, looking to see something suddenly open up on the vine, before something suddenly sprayed right in her face! Twilight could only yelped and stumble back as the vine bolted away from sight, hardly leaving any trail for anyone to follow her. The spray slightly blinded Twilight for a bit, though it did disappear after a few short seconds, letting Twilight see the world again. For a little bit the Alicorn sat there coughing a bit, much of the spray getting into her mouth from the vine's strike. After seemingly clearing her throat, which took a few coughs and hits to the chest, Twilight stood back up and opened her mouth to say … something …

……. Nothing came up. The only thing that did come up was a worn out wheeze, like that of a squeaky toy used just a bit too much.

"That's odd," Twilight thought. Twilight tried saying something again, but once again nothing much came up. Not even a tone of voice, just a strained wheezing. She tried to simply say a few words, but her voice box was so strained she was lucky to even say the word "hey" without sounding like she was being strangled.

"Oh my Celestia, I can't say a thing now! What kind of plant even is that, what did it do to me?! I … I can't talk!"
Twilight then screamed. Even THAT sounded like a worn out squeaky toy. Twilight clamped her mouth shut, though it probably wouldn't matter anyway - it was a Fluttershy scream.

"I can't even scream?" Twilight thought, "I better find a way to fix this, pronto. I can't help anypony if I can't even talk."
With that horrifying thought going through her head, Twilight Sparkle quickly took flight to go find the others. Someone HAD to know how to fix this whatever it was, otherwise Equestria will have to live with a mute princess.

~~~~~~

"And we are DONE!" finally concluded a rather tired Spike. Once everything was completely finished, the remaining members of the Mane Six paused to check their work they've been working on.

"Sooo, opinions girls. You think this is a wee bit too much?" Rarity asked.

Entirely debatable. Since Operation: Star Love was spoken out to many of the ponies, they all went busily at work making the setting as good as Sapphire described to them. The place in Ponyville they've all decided on was Ponyville Café, in part due to it willingly going along with their plan, but also the fact not many ponies would visit there during winter anyway. Of course the Mane Six also decorated the Café a little bit, even adding a frontal arch of beautiful blue and red flowers, and a fence lining the Café boundary in a loop to make it look more authentic and not placed there for the sake of a stage setup. One of the tables also was set up rather fancily, a table covering lace made from some of Rarity's spare cloth, and a small candle as well.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Pinkie Pie, as the others walked around to make sure everything looked alright as it should be.

"I do hope they arrive soon. The owner only promised me an hour or two to make this a success, and I tried even my best persuasion," Rarity said, checking the pace on the table.

"In other words: you flirted with the guy," said Rainbow.

"NO! … Well, not as much," Rarity admitted.

"It looks like we got everything here," said Spike, as he checked their checklist left for them by Twilight, "Table lace, red and blue flowers. The only thing we need now is -"

"We're here, y'all!"

Half of the party had arrived. The rest building things up turned over towards the entrance of the Café, seeing Applejack joined by Ruby. Ruby still kept her guard up.

"Applejack, Ruby! You both made it," Fluttershy said.

"Yep, and all went pretty good," Applejack replied. As Applejack began heading over to the others, Ruby took a moment to look around the place a bit. Given how she'd been following Padparadscha around, she had gone into Equestria a few times already. Though it was the first time she had actually stopped and looked around the Café, seeing much of what they've decorated and what it had already. The flowers especially were a bit of a nice touch.

"Did Sapphire get here yet? I don't see her," Applejack asked in a hushed voice.

"No, she didn't show up. Maybe she's trying to work things out with Spinel some more," Fluttershy wondered.

"Speaking of missing persons, where's Twilight? Isn't she with you?" Rarity then asked. Applejack looked around again through the Café, but the Alicorn didn't look like she was anywhere there either.

"I thought she already got here, didn't she show up?" Applejack asked.

*click*
Before any of them could answer the farm pony, another portal started to open up right by the arch entrance. In fact, it actually was apart of the arch entrance, a magical door opening up and new arriving figures coming in on the scene. Immediately Ruby jumped into action and made herself the barrier protecting the table just in case it was something that'll tear them to pieces.
Instead, Ruby was greeted with an angel: Sapphire had a little bit of a wardrobe change. The outfit mirrored her groom outfit almost exactly, Spinel slipping her hand in and adjusting Sapphire's bowtie for her. While Ruby was kinda caught up in how she looked, the events replaying earlier suddenly flashed through her head.

"Eep!" Ruby yelped, suddenly trying to ignore Sapphire standing there. Was she mad at her for attacking still, or no?

"My, Sapphire. You look so handsome," said Fluttershy, "Is that the same tuxedo for your wedding?"

"I thought it'll be appropriate," Sapphire replied. But her concerns were more focused on Ruby. Sapphire would be lying too if she said she wasn't a bit nervous about this, again considering what happened between the two just earlier. It was kinda hard to say though who was more awkward, Ruby or Sapphire.

"Feeling nervous, aren't ya?" asked Applejack.

"A little," Sapphire admitted, already feeling some ice start to appear on her shoes. But she knew she had to tackle this bull by the horns somehow, so she walked over towards Ruby. Ruby tried acting like she had a guarding duty to attend to, which really was just her walking back and forth by the table. It all just felt confusing to her: she was programed to protect higher class Gems like Sapphire, but at the same time this wasn't her Sapphire. That and she did kinda attack her anyway, so there's that.

"H-Halt, you're uh … too close to my Sapphire'sssssss seat!" Ruby made "clear". Sapphire could already tell she was making it up on the spot. She couldn't waste time in saying what she needed to say.

"Ruby, wait. I'm sorry about what happened between us earlier, I shouldn't have gotten that upset. I got too caught up in those rings. I was wrong," Sapphire said. Some closure never hurt anyone. Ruby paused on hearing all of this, flustering again.

"Eeehhh … I-it's okay. … B-But that's not important. I'm a Ruby Guard, my feelings aren't as important as protecting my Sapphire," Ruby said, trying to sound professional.

"Ruby, of course your feelings are important, and they always have. Which is why I wanted to make it up to you by bringing you here for the day. No pressure," Sapphire explained.

"Huh? But those ponies -" Ruby actually got smart for a second, looking over to Applejack who, while smiling, had a look that told Ruby this was the original idea all along.

"You are the surprise!" Ruby realized. Now it was Sapphire's turn to blush. Ruby didn't know what to say about this just yet, but the guard knew her place, and if a high-class Gem wanted to see her this much …

"... Umm … M-My Sapphire did say I can stay here for the next five hours. So ……. What do you … wanna do?"
Ruby was really flustering up at this point, her face much redder than normal and even steam coming out of her head. If there was one good thing Ruby could say about this so far is that she didn't completely mess up. Sapphire forgave her, to say the least.

"Let's just take the time to get to know eachother, starting here," Sapphire decided.

"O-Ok, lead the way. Your clarity," Ruby said, bringing out the diamond insignia for her. Padparadscha seemingly didn't tell her this wasn't as big of a thing anymore. Sapphire gently placed a hand on Ruby's hands, slowly bringing them down.

"No Ruby, it's okay. You don't have to be so formal here. Just call me Sapphire," Sapphire said. Ruby blushed again, but dropped the insignia.

"Sorry, sorry yo -... Sapphire," Ruby said, this time correcting herself.

The meeting was going well so far, and Ruby and Sapphire actually had a seat. The ponies, Spike and Spinel off nearby were feeling pretty good with the whole thing. Operation: Star Love was going off at a good start. But even with this going off smoothly, there still was no exact sign of Twilight Sparkle anywhere. Wouldn't she at least come by and check by now?

"Where are ya Twilight?" Applejack wondered.

"Maybe something princess-y came up again on her," Spinel shrugged.

"Couldn't have, Twilight even told us she cleared her schedule for today just to help us out. There couldn't be something else coming up on her," Rarity explained.
Unfortunately, that answer came up on them in the form of Spike burping up a letter of flames. It was a bit quick and quiet, so it didn't interrupt Sapphire and Ruby off nearby but the group did end up getting a scroll coming right from Canterlot itself.

"Eww," Spinel said.

"Boy, it's been forever since that happened," Spike remarked, thumping his chest in case there was more. The scroll itself was one done by Twilight herself, as this one had a specialized symbol along the ribbon used to wrapped up the paper.

"It's from Twilight?" realized Rarity, as she went on to unravel the message. And what did this message say?

Girls, sorry this just came up, but I need help! I know what I said about clearing my schedule to help Ruby and Sapphire, but there was this one thing I forgot to do: Yakyakistan is coming to Canterlot and are finally opening their borders for the first time in hundreds of moons, and Luna and Cadance said I HAVE to be there. I can't stay with Sapphire, but I also need help in making Equestria feel comfortable to the Yaks, so PLEASE come by for the introduction if you girls can. Operation: Star Love is still a go, it's just temporarily on hold for now.

signed: Twilight Sparkle

"The yaks? OH YEAH, I knew something was gonna be crazy today," Pinkie realized.

"I thought they weren't coming until next week. They're coming by today?" Fluttershy asked again worriedly as she too checked the letter. Sure enough it was there in black and white.

"Waitwaitwait, what about Ruby and Sapphire?" Spinel asked, them checking on the two Gems as they were talking off nearby. The two looked alright for the most part, though they could see something must be happening to Ruby as she tried to ignore the flowers around them.

"Looks like we got to go. Spinel, can you keep an eye on them for us?"

"You're leaving?! But the plan," Spinel said, freaking out. This was NOT what Sapphire had in mind at all, and Spinel was on edge as it is with the whole plan in general.

"We'll be back here in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Just make sure they have a good time til we do, ok?" Applejack explained. The task seemed simple enough for Spinel to do, but she was more than hoping they would help her out so she wouldn't screw any of this up. Plus what would these Yaks do? That wasn't gonna be her priority for now though, so she gave them a salute.

"I'll hold down the fort here, everything's gonna be fine," Spinel promised them.

"Thanks, Let's go make some new friends," Pinkie Pie said, her and the others starting off back towards Canterlot, using a Key Portal for a quick access back to the castle. It was only Spinel standing there now, and all she could do is hope things go smoothly as she was hoping for.

The two looked happy so far.

~~~~~~

Canterlot Castle was filling up quite a bit now. Who would've guessed Yakyakistan would just show up on the same day they tried getting Ruby and Sapphire together? The throne room made sure everything looked as good as it could for the newcoming Yaks to arrive on the scene, the throne room cleaned up and the royal guard at attendance over alongside the main runway. Cadance, Luna, and Twilight were over by the thrones themselves, though as Cadance and Luna were sitting and waiting for their arrival, Twilight was stuck going back and forth in a cold sweat. She would've taken more time to study up on Yaks if she knew they would come a week early! Twilight didn't utter a word (not that she could), but her face said it all already.

"Twilight tell all those butterflies in your tummy to beat it! Making friends is always fun," Pinkie Pie promised. The Alicorn didn't seem like she was doing all that well though, still sweating and constantly checking the door for the second the representatives would arrive.

"I'm sure they're just as nervous as you are," Fluttershy added in, but again it seemed Twilight wasn't answering them much either.

"Anypony else wondering why she's not talking? Twilight, you can hear us can't you?" Rainbow Dash asked, more blunt about the problem herself as she flew over by the worried Alicorn. Twilight gulped and she tried talking, but nothing really came up so she quickly recovered and just nodded her head quickly. Bad enough she was mute, this Yakyakistan visit was only making things even harder for her.

"Ok, Twilight, just survive the day and everything's gonna be fine!" Twilight thought, "Yep, completely fine! It's not like the Yaks hadn't been in contact with anypony for hundreds of moons, and the fact they live so far up north nopony has even BEEN THERE so we don't know what they like! ……. I'm doomed."

"Uh, Twilight?" Spike asked, poking her in her wing. It was enough to make Twilight jump and spin around to see Spike standing there. She tried saying something, but this time she clamped her mouth shut before she could try any attempts. Instead she shook her head and tried to keep a cool smile.

"Geesh. We know you're nervous, but don't you think you've dealt with worse before? What's the worse a bunch of Yaks can do?" Spike asked.

Famous last words.

"Presenting before her majesties!" started one of the guards by the door, "The representatives of Yakyakistan and his majesty himself: Prince Rutherford!"

With a gulp, Twilight jumped right into place by Cadance and Luna, who by the way also saw Twilight worried behavior. Though this wasn't anything new for her, so they all kept their focus towards the front door, which itself swung wide open and (funny enough) another rug appear and rolled right up towards the thrones themselves, covering up the rug already there.
Then the Yaks came in. The Yaks themselves were plenty large, easily as tall as Celestia would be by they themselves are as big as Ponyville hay wagons, and most likely weighed twice as much. They all could easily tell they were strong beasts of burden just from a simple glance their way, big enough to cover up one of the ponies just by laying on them if they'd want to. They all were thick with fur that almost dragged on the ground, large "manes" along their necks and so much hair it covered up most of their faces except for their muzzles. Not to say these Yaks weren't primal, as they all were clothed up in their own traditional attire: rings and bulbs of pale gold along their legs, beards, and horns, large Viking hats on their heads with a warrior wolf's tail poking out the top of them, and drapes of saddle blankets along their large backs.
Probably the most "regal" of the Yaks was Prince Rutherford himself: his fur a fine ginger color, his neckbeard so big it was made into a ponytail by a large gold ring, a small set of cowbell earrings, numerous large rings along his horns, including a very small one at the tip of his left horn, and blue and gold saddle blanket along his own back.

"Ponies! Greetings, ponies!" Rutherford bellowed, his voice loud and showing a bit of his own power.

"Prince Rutherford. May I be the first to welcome you and your Yaks to Equestria. It is a great pleasure to finally see your country open your borders to us," Luna said, the first to speak to the prince himself. Rutherford didn't seem to react at first, at least in expression.

"Me honored. Yaks hope for good friendship between ponies and yaks. FRIENDS FOR THOUSAND MOONS!" Rutherford bellowed. His own voice was enough to rattle her eardrums, and blow her mane back, but at the least Rutherford was in good behavior for now. Twilight only hoped the big Yak wasn't gonna ask her for anything, as she sat a bit farther back.

"We are all honored to have you here, Prince Rutherford," said Cadance. I'd imagine you all are pretty hungry from such a long trip?"

They heard one of the Yaks' stomach started to rumble and growl for their answer.

"Yaks could use hearty meal," Prince Rutherford said, also feeling pretty hungry himself. A good answer for them to hear, as Luna gave a signal for one of Canterlot's high chefs to come in, bringing what easily looked like one delicious banquet. The meals in question the Equestrians made absolutely sure were something traditional for the Yaks to enjoy: a green pumpkin, some spiced roots and tubers, even a slice durian for something extra. The Yaks, while hungry, took a bit to see what the princesses of Equestria had made for them.

"We thought you'd say that, so our royal chefs took their time to prepare this banquet for you. It's not as authentic as we'd like it, but we tried our best to have it similar to Yakyakistan's cuisine," explained Luna. The prince of the Yaks went over to see just what the ponies had created for them, a few sniffs here and some close looks there, seeing how well they've done in duplicating Yakyakistan food. Rutherford kept his inspection going for a little more before looking to the ponies.

"When things not perfect, Yaks get mad. Yaks always mad when things not perfect," Rutherford "warned", though it didn't sound like it. Twilight sure felt under pressure though, gulping as she backed up a little bit.

"Twilight, calm down. You're freaking out more than usual," Spike quietly said. And he'd seen her freak out much more before than anyone else.

"Well, just remember, we tried our best to make it authentic, but … we're not Yaks," admitted Cadance, trying to be friendly about it. Rutherford will be the judge of that. The first part of the banquet Rutherford tested out was the green pumpkin. He first gave it a few sniffs, and then he went ahead and gave it a good bite. He took a few chews, and then a swallow, letting the taste sink in …

"... This no taste like Yak food …" Rutherford said.

…

"But Yaks like pony try at Yak food. Yaks eat!"

Twilight gave a huge sigh of relief as the Yaks went in and enjoyed themselves on the banquet. That could've gone downhill VERY fast, but at least it was going well so far. Good thing Rutherford was distracted with eating too, because by this point the ponies began to go over towards the troubled and silent Twilight.

"Hang in there, Twilight, we know you're nervous about impressing the Yaks. We got everything under control, because we got you to make sure everything's under schedule," Cadance said. Twilight admittedly did feel better since this was all gonna be in a schedule instead of just willy-nilly, and Cadance even levitated a list she had by her throne for Twilight to look over. Twilight didn't need to talk this time, and instead hugged her sister-in-law for the list.

"Oh, it's not that much," Cadance said.

She could only hope that the rest of this visit was gonna go just as smoothly. Though, that was just about to be tested, as Rutherford finished eating.

"Did you enjoy your meal, prince?" Luna asked.

"Food is good, yes. Yaks want to see Ponyville now. Ponyville exciting Yaks hear," Rutherford decided, the other two Yaks agreeing with a nod of the head. And just like that Twilight felt her worry rise again, especially with what they said next.

"Sure thing, sir Rutherford," said Applejack, "We'll show y'all around Ponyville if ya want. It's gonna be dandy."

Oh clod.

~~~~~~

So both sides got busy: Spinel tried her absolute best to make sure Ruby and Sapphire had a good time as the others tended to the Yaks' stay. Prince Rutherford and his followers followed the ponies right on into the middle of town, the group of ponies having themselves an easy access portal key to use. Ponyville itself went along with these new Yak newcomers like they've done with many of the recent newbies over the years, giving them a friendly hello once and a while and continuing their day. The Yaks meanwhile just followed the pony guides they got going for them, listening to Pinkie Pie going on about Ponyville same way as she did with Spinel.

"And that's the entire history of the Ponyville Flower Shop. Now what history do you want to hear next? Sugarcube Corner? Town Hall? The Town Square Fountain?" Pinkie Pie offered.

"Pinkie Pie, I think we all heard enough history for today," said Rainbow Dash, "You've already talked about everything else."

"I did? Huh, didn't notice," Pinkie realized.

"Pink Pony smart and chatty. Yak historian will like Pink Pony talk," Rutherford figured.

"Oh, you charmer," Pinkie said.

"Good job on the history Pinkie, though I was expecting that more from Twilight," said Applejack.

"I know, but Twilight's been so quiet lately, I thought I'd fill in for her," Pinkie replied with a big grin.
The Alicorn in question had kept herself ahead of much of the group as a silent guide for the Yaks to go through Ponyville. With the subject brought up again, the others were stuck thinking about it.

"You know, she has been rather quiet come to think of it. I haven't heard her utter a word since we left Canterlot," Rarity realized.

"Yeah. Actually she hasn't said a word since we left Earth either," Applejack added. Rutherford heard all of this himself, looking to the smallest princess of Equestria, and despite appearances actually got his own thinking cap on. So …

"Purple Pony!" Rutherford shouted. Twilight jolted around to face Rutherford, who by that point was standing right behind her. Again, she couldn't talk.

"Purple Pony quiet since Yaks got here. This mean Ponies no want Yaks?!" Rutherford asked, his tone demanding an answer. Twilight immediately panicked and shook her head quickly, hopefully being enough to satisfy Rutherford for now. Rutherford snorted, a scent of thick hay and pumpkin not hitting Twilight's face.

"No meaning you do, or you don't?" asked Spike. Oh goodie. Twilight tried to put on her best face, but there was no mistaking her worry with these Yaks, and her lack of a voice.

"NOOOOOOOO … Come on, Twilight, you got to try!" Twilight thought.

… The whole group heard worn out squeaky toy noises for a good twenty seconds before Twilight gave up.

"Good impression, Twilight. It almost sounded like you didn't even try," Pinkie complimented. Twilight would find that silly if it wasn't true, but how was Twilight going to respond to this? She had to answer them SOMEHOW without making them worry about her again, not to mention still showing the Yaks a good time during their visit.

"Pony answer Yak!" Rutherford insisted. Twilight tried to think fast, looking over the list she had on her given by Cadance. Maybe that list would give her something to do for this, but as she skimmed through the list, she suddenly had that "eureka" look on her face. And she went right over to Pinkie Pie, levitating the list to her face.

"Huh? … OOOO, you want us to do this, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, pointing to the spot Twilight was bringing attention to. Twilight quickly nodded her head, feeling a little more reassured in Pinkie's abilities than to her own. Who better to plan a celebration than the party pony herself? Pinkie though took a look to Twilight on understanding that, seeing deep into Twilight's eyes to figure out what Twilight's deal was. It almost looked like Pinkie might actually figure the mare out …….

"Okie dokie lokie! We'll make this the best Yak visit ever," Pinkie Pie promised, taking the list and going back over to the Yaks. Twilight was so lucky to have such supportive friends, otherwise she probably wouldn't make it out of this alive. Unfortunately, the Yaks themselves started to notice something else as they checked around the place. Namely, the Ponyville Café.
And the Gems were still there. Sapphire, Ruby, and Spinel were still in position, and it seemed their get together was going pretty well. Even if Spinel by now was acting more like a waiter by this point (she even had one of those throw towels on her arm and everything).

"You need anything else over there?" Spinel asked (again).

"We're all good, Spinel, really," Sapphire insisted.

"Okay, gotcha," Spinel simply said. That pattern had been happening at least five times now since the Mane Six had left her alone. The Yaks found this interesting, and Rutherford walked over to the flowers decorating the area.

"Greetings, not Ponies!" bellowed Rutherford, the bellow almost making Spinel trip over her own feet. The bellow also startled Ruby and Sapphire, though Ruby had the more immediate reaction as she jumped to her feet in an instinctive protection gesture.

"... HI!" Spinel simply said.

"Ok, guess we're doing this - Rutherford, this is Spinel, Sapphire, and Ruby," introduced Rainbow Dash. Rutherford looked over the three of them some more, but seemed interested in them quite a bit actually.

"How do you do?" Sapphire said. Rutherford moved right over towards Sapphire, but Ruby kinda had to keep herself in between the Yak and the Gem. She may not be her Sapphire but her "instincts" to protect Sapphires was too deeply engraved. Rutherford's focus though was in Sapphire, even bringing his hoof up to move some hair out of his eyes so he could see her a bit better.

"Yaks hear not Pony strong! Fierce! Almost Fierce like Yaks," said Rutherford. So even Yakyakistan had heard of the Gems before.

"Well you're not wrong," Spinel admitted, given what she witnessed already from them. Still she leaned over towards Sapphire.

"Psst, you're the future seer, did ya see this coming up?" Spinel quietly asked, as the Yaks were seeing the flowers along the fences and arch.

"I saw it as a possibility … but now you'd want to move five steps to your right," Sapphire said/warned.

A few sniffs of the flowers later …

"Ahh … AHH … AAAACHOOOO!!!"

WHELP, there goes the décor. Rutherford's sneeze single-hoofedly blew off ALL the flowers, covering Sapphire, Ruby, and Spinel in a heap of the stuff. Red flowers, blue flowers, and plenty of fencing all now cobbled in a pile. The tables were knocked over too from the blast.

"No! It took me forever to find those flowers!" Exclaimed Rarity (which probably isn't true). But that was the least of their worries.

"... FLOWERS BOTHER NOSE! YAKS DESTROY!"

"What?!" Spinel exclaimed. Rutherford suddenly charged right then and there, starting by hooking his horn into the arch and swinging it right out of the ground, slamming it into the dirt before trampling it under his hooves in rage. The other two Yaks joined in and found their own flowers to smash and trample. Spinel had to quickly yank Sapphire and Ruby out of the way before they could get trampled themselves.

"What the hay?! They didn't get THIS mad at the castle, what gives?!" Rainbow asked, just to get hit by a tossed-aside piece of wood, knocking her onto the ground.

"Hang on a second, stop! You don't have to -" Applejack tried to calm the Yaks down, but in their stomping and trampling, AJ got herself a buck to the face, sending her AND her hat, careening off a ways.

"Take cover!" yelped Spinel. The others off nearby had to play a sort of dodging game, jumping or reflecting away either a bunch of flowers, stray fencing, or a table or two. The whole group could only find some sort of safety about twenty feet away from the Yak prince. And just how long did this rampage last?

… Thirty seconds.

"... Did you … get everything out of your system now?" Fluttershy asked meekly, once the noise all stopped. Rutherford huffed, having some flowers in his muzzle before he chewed them up for a snack.

"Yaks good now," Rutherford replied after spitting out the flowers.

"I KNOW, how about you go and sleep? It's on the list, and we've got some hay beds made for you if you have back in Yakyakistan," Pinkie said, thinking fast on her hooves before they could try and destroy anything else.

"Pony make nice offer. Yaks see, but if things not perfect …" Rutherford didn't need to finish, as his hoof stomped on some flowers again. Not that he needed to remind them again after THAT display. Thank the sky above for Pinkie Pie. Pinkie and the Yaks started off on their own way from the destruction site, leaving behind a group of very stunned people.

"... So that's a thing that happened. Why?" Spinel murmured. Twilight could feel her entire body shiver on what kind of damage these Yaks can cause now, her hooves trembling.

"Don't be like that, they're just different. … Very. Different," Rarity said, levitating up some of the flowers she tried hard to even get.

"I think they broke my record for most stuff broken in under a minute," Rainbow Dash said.

"Are you ok?" asked Ruby, checking in on Sapphire more than herself.

"Yes, I'm alright. I guess we got more to handle with today than I predicted. We must be in the buttercup timeline," Sapphire figured, thinking on it a little bit. The operation must've got her distracted from other plans for today.

"So you know what'll happen now, don't ya?" Applejack asked.

Sapphire rechecked the possible scenarios, but before she could actually get an answer in, one toy Gem was already working out the gears in her head. There was only one thing to do in a situation like this, and she was smart enough to know the ponies will be a bit busy during the Yaks' stay.

"I'll help with the Yaks!"

The whole group looked over to Spinel.

"You wanna help us, Spinel?" asked Applejack. Spinel nodded.

"Sure. I mean, what kind of friend won't help her friends deal with a Yak prince? I'll make em have a good time. Can I, Twilight?" Spinel promised, giving them a wink and a thumbs up. Twilight nodded eagerly, giving Spinel the greenlight to help them out a bit more.

"I thought you wanted to do the operation- I-I mean, the date," inquired Rarity. Spinel suddenly felt spooked, and began to wonder.

What would Steven do?

"Holy, you're right, dang it. Ok, think … I know! Walkie talkie please," Spinel said. She can't ditch her responsibility, but she needed to help them with this Yak problem too. The walkie talkie was given to her by Fluttershy, but rather than keep it, she gave the device over to Spike.

"Just give me a jingle if you need anything. I'll be right back here, no sweat, no problem. I promise I'll make this work," Spinel made clear, though the last part was slightly pleady even if she didn't mean to. They probably could use the extra hand with Rutherford.

"In other words, we're splitting up," concluded Applejack.

"If you all are okay with it. Some of you stay with Sapphire, some follow the Yaks, I'll be wherever you need me," Spinel promised. Now Sapphire was starting to wonder just what kind of future they were in for with this scenario.

"That sounds fare to me," said Rarity after some thinking, "Twilight, would you mind staying with Sapphire? No offense dear but you looked very … troubled with them."

"More than usual," added Spike.

Twilight could only nod yes. At least with Sapphire she wasn't required to speak. Spike went to Twilight's side.

"... You can say yes, Twilight …" Spike insisted. Twilight didn't and just nodded her head again.

"THIS NOT YAK WAGON!"

"Uh oh, we better go. We'll catch you later," Rainbow Dash said, before flying off to see what else the Yaks were complaining about. The other Ponies mainly did the same, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Spinel to handle the date with Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire though took a look over towards Spinel, who herself was just waving goodbye to them with her own smile. She had her own ideas to what might happen next, but she'll just have to wait and see.

"I saw this as a possibility. I didn't realize it's the path we were taking," Sapphire thought.

…….

And in such thoughts, they weren't alone. Twilight's vine had already given her information off to the enemy, who by this point was taking their position over by some cover in the form of barrels. They knew what they had to do.

"Wow. I can't believe that worked. I thought sneezing from sprinkled pepper was just a dumb myth," said an admittedly surprised Budgerite as she tossed the pepper shaker into the nearest garbage can (for the record, they sprinkled it on before the ponies got it).

"See, I told you. Let's keep going," Bray replied.

"You take Sapphire, I take Rutherford?"

"Deal."

~~~~~~

"Now I understand y'all are noble warriors, and don't care much for the "finer things", so my family will be honored if you rest in our barn for your visit," said Applejack.

First stop for the Yaks now was Sweet Apple Acres (after nearly smashing apart the wagon in Ponyville). All that energy smashing things did leave the Yaks needing some sleep, the ponies figured, and what better spot to do that than the barn? Applejack's family made sure the barn looked spick and span to appease the Yaks, Big Macintosh being the one to move the beds of hay in place for the three to relax in.
Rutherford checked the beds themselves, though not as much as before back in Ponyville.

"This perfect," Rutherford said.

"Great! You can chill out here all afternoon, because you're gonna need all your energy for my welcome party later!" said Pinkie Pie with a beaming smile.

"That wasn't too hard," Applejack whispered.

And what a jinx that was: after following them to the barn, Budgerite had taken her position up along the barn rooftop, finding a hole in the roof just big enough for her to peek inside and see what was happening. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were glad Rutherford approved of their efforts, and for a moment they felt like they dodged another bullet with these big brutes as they all got settled on the hay beds. You know, until Budgerite decided to sprinkle down some pepper from the roof hole, right down in front of Rutherford ...

"WAIT," Rutherford suddenly said. His tongue tasted some of the hay. A hint of pepper.

"THIS NOT YAK HAY!"

"E-Er, we didn't have yak hay, but we thought it'll be good enough for you to sleep on?" Pinkie said worriedly, as she and Applejack backed away slowly towards the door. As for Rutherford, this was NOT good enough for him at all.

"Not perfect! YAKS DESTROY BED!" Rutherford roared, stomping down and trampling the hay beds right then and there, the other two Yaks joining him and destroying their own beds. All Pinkie Pie and Applejack could do was quickly bolt out of there as the Yaks made an absolute mess of the entire barn, throwing out wood pieces, stray buckets, and whatever else they could get their hooves on. Not even a few minutes in the barn, and already these brutes were making a wreckage outta everything.

"Pinkie Pie, what do we do?" Applejack asked worriedly, just avoiding getting hit by a flying milk pail. But this was just the first thing, they got a LOT more listed on Twilight's to-do list to handle, and there's plenty of time they can do to make up for this mishap.

…….

They weren't the only ones with a monkey wrench in their plans today. As they still were trying to handle the Yaks, the secondary team kept pace with Sapphire and Ruby as they were going about their day, at the ready to be sure they have a good time. So far though, the two didn't have too much trouble, as Sapphire and Ruby were going out to have a picnic by the snow-covered fields. Who cares what month it is? Spinel, Twilight, and Spike were keeping an eye on them from afar, but made sure not to directly intervene. Spike and Twilight were alright and keeping watch, but Spinel just couldn't keep herself still.

"You going to keep making laps, Spinel? Sapphire and Ruby aren't going anywhere," asked Spike, trying to help Spinel relax a little bit.

"I know, I know I know I know, just waiting to see if they need anything. They didn't say anything so far," Spinel said, playing with her fingers as to distract herself. How can she make amends if they aren't letting her do anything to help?

"It's not like they have to call you at this very second. Just chill out," Spike advised.
Her opportunity though would have to come up soon, because eventually Twilight gave Spike a good tap on the head so he could see what she was seeing. Sapphire and Ruby seemed they were having fun, but that wasn't what Twilight was seeing when she was looking beyond them. There was something, or someone, moving around through the snow. Stalking the two from a distance. Twilight didn't say who it was, but Spinel and Spike saw the movement too.

"Uh oh. Something's coming up on them," Spinel gulped. But what it exactly was they couldn't tell. Sapphire and Ruby didn't really seem to notice though, and in fact Sapphire actually had something for Ruby, holding it in her hand: a pretty little buttercup, colored a shining violet. Ruby's eyes sparkled in surprise seeing that thing.

"Is that for me? You didn't have to," Ruby said. Sapphire answered Ruby by helping her put the flower in her hair.

"I know. I wanted to though," Sapphire simply answered with a smile. Ruby felt a smile show up on her own face.

"Is it going to attack them?" Spinel asked, looking to the pile of snow.

"I dunno, I can't even tell what that is," Spike said. "Got any ideas, Twilight? … Twilight?"

Twilight didn't answer, her horn glowing a little bit just in case. Just a quick cast of magic should do the job, but the thing was in a position where she couldn't aim properly. Twilight tried her best, but she didn't want to zap at Sapphire OR Ruby. The snow clump loomed closer, and closer, until it looked right behind them.

"LOOK OUT!"

Spinel acted faster than her mind did, and next thing they all knew, Spinel sprung out from nearby, lunging at whatever it was. Her tackle ended up making a cloud of snow poof out, Twilight and Spike unable to see what was happening.
Soon after that cleared, there was two Snowmen, and an upside-down Spinel. Sapphire and Ruby shook off the surprise snow, just to look and see Spinel with nothing to show for her goof.

"Hi, I'm just checking in on you. We all good? Good," Spinel said, thumbs up while upside-down before falling onto her back.

"I told you we're alright Spinel," Sapphire restated, as Ruby shook off the snow that got stuck on her. Sapphire helped her out though she had more snow stuck in her hair.

"Right. Checking," Spinel simply said again, though she was flustering up when she realized that, potentially, she did that for no reason. She didn't see what she got, nor was it around for her to see. Sapphire didn't look too mad though, but then again most of her looks were more monotone than most as far as Spinel was seeing.
However, as Sapphire looked to Ruby and her snow-covered head, it started to remind her of a little something.

"Oh Ruby, you look like an ice cream cone," Sapphire chuckled. Ruby looked up to her head. Ruby, embarassed, quickly got the snow off of her head. No guard would be good looking like ice cream.

"S-Sorry. Uh, I-I think we should go somewhere safer mam. For your protection," Ruby said, trying to sound tough like a actual Ruby guard should. Sapphire stood up.

"Okay Ruby. If you don't like it here, we can always try somewhere else. There's a lot more to see than just a field," Sapphire decided, gently holding Ruby's hand. Ruby felt much better after that, smiling her cute smile. However, she quickly shook it off and got her insignia back on again.

"R-right. Let's go," Ruby said more professionally.
Spinel breathed a sigh of relief seeing this not become a disaster like the Yaks did to the barn, but before she could continue on about this, she then keenly heard the sound of the walkie talkie going off by Spike and Twilight. Spinel got herself back over there, and got it to play.

"What's going on?"

"Hi Spinel, you mind coming over here? I got the Yaks a surprise I think you'll love to help me out with," said Pinkie Pie over the walkie talkie.

Spinel had somewhere new to go now.

…

"She nearly got me, she nearly got me, she nearly got me," Bray stuttered to himself repeatedly, his heart still pounding like crazy as the donkey SOMEHOW found a hiding spot further away from the commotion.

…….

"Greetings all Yaks! And now we bring you an entertainment," Spinel announced.

Lucky for her the next stop wasn't too far away. In fact, it was practically in the same field. Rutherford and his Yaks had basically a similar idea to that of Sapphire and Ruby to have a picnic out in the snow fields, joined this time by Fluttershy for Pinkie Pie's idea with Spinel's help. The pink mare and Gem stood by a curtain strung up from the nearby tree.

"Presenting … animals: Yakyakistan style!" announced Pinkie and Spinel.

Spinel was given the honors of pulling the curtains away from one side as Pinkie Pie pulled the curtains from the other side. Soon after that was handled, the animals in question all started to come out from behind the tree. Actually it was mostly Applejack's smaller barn animals and a few of Fluttershy's animal friends (including Angel Bunny), all wearing large custom Yak horns. Spinel made sure to get the farm animals here since she already had to help mend the barn with Applejack just minutes earlier, and Pinkie Pie got the horns made and made sure they got animals that weren't in hibernation at the time.

"Animals cute," Rutherford stated, the statement agreed on by the other Yaks

"Thank goodness," sighed Fluttershy. All three could only hope that this wasn't going to end badly again like it did back at Sweet Apple Acres. Unfortunately, as with the barn, one half-bird Gem had something else to say about that. This time the hybrid took her position up in the same tree, high enough out of the way so they wouldn't detect her up front. She didn't have any pepper with her this time, but she didn't need something so complicated this time.

All she did was drop a stone onto one of the animals' heads before bolting away. The animal (which was a beaver) stumbled a bit and fell onto the ground.

"Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth!" Fluttershy gasped. The beaver was okay, shaking off the stone as he started shouting up to the tree at whatever that was, but there was something else the Yaks saw that they were NOT going to take lying down: the Beaver's horns fell off.

"HEY! Actors lie! These no Yakyakistan animals! YAKS SMASH!" Rutherford bellowed.

"NOT THE ANIMALS!" gulped Spinel. Fluttershy was quick enough to fly in and get all of the animals out of the way before Rutherford could smash them, and while he did miss the animals he got his head caught in the blanket they were using, shaking his head and tearing it to pieces. The other two Yaks just joined in with Rutherford in stomping everything around them, the only thing they weren't going for being the tree itself. Spinel, Pinkie, and Fluttershy got up there as quick as they could, none of their party hurt by the rampaging Yaks.

"Okay nobody panic, we haven't failed yet! … maybe," gulped Spinel.

…….

Spinel had to make tracks right to Sugarcube Corner after that venture to catch up with Ruby and Sapphire. It was a mad dash, just as the lovebirds gotten themselves right inside, Spike still outside by the time Spinel managed to make it back to them. She practically almost barreled inside Sugarcube Corner.

"I'm back, what'd I miss?" Spinel asked up front to Spike.

"We just got to Sugarcube Corner, and Sapphire just order a few cupcakes," Spike explained, catching her up to speed.

"Cupcakes? Oh, that's good. Nothing bad can happen from a few cupcakes," Spinel decided. She actually baked a few herself, so no reason to be worried. She and Spike looked over to Sapphire and Ruby, just receiving theirs from one Velvet Sugar, and boy do they look pretty good: one sparkling blue like the ocean, the other a vibrant red like fresh apples off of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Oh! They're colored just like us," Ruby said, "... Did you mean to do that?"

"not at all," Sapphire joked, "I couldn't ever predict that such a phenomenon could happen. It must mean something!"

Part of Ruby's mind kept saying to take her words seriously, and one part kept telling her it was just all in good fun. Since it looked so silly, Ruby actually chuckled. Sapphire smiled seeing this reaction over the professional one. As Sapphir4e, Ruby, and by extension Velvet Sugar were distracted with something, one sneaky looking figure started to peep over the counter and at the cupcakes. Only Spinel saw a sneaky looking tail quickly appear, add a little something to the Cupcakes, and bolt out of sight.

"Huh? Did you see that just now?" Spinel asked.

"See what?" Spike asked. That's a no then. And neither did Sapphire and Ruby as they got a hold of the cupcakes. Spinel tried to keep herself back but the more she looked at them, and the closer the cupcakes got to their mouths …

"Gimme!" Spinel suddenly said. Before Sapphire or Ruby could take a bite of either cupcake, Spinel had no other choice but to take them away … and gulp them down whole.

"Hey, that was mine!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Yep, those're definitely gooood cupcakes," Spinel said, licking her lips as she patted her stomach, "So good you two should orders a fresh set of cupcakes for the road!"

"If you wanted some you just need to ask, Spinel. … Spinel?" Sapphire asked.

*POP!*

"... What … the? …" Spike's only statement.

That summed up everyone's thoughts as what happened to Spinel. Whatever was spiked into those cupcakes immediately effected the Gem, suddenly inflating her into a round ball! Potent stuff whatever it was, and Spinel couldn't move, rocking back and forth on her round form.

"Oi," Spinel groaned, kinda dizzy herself.

"Ehh … you ok?"

"I feel like I'm gonna explode," Spinel mumbled, her body rolling so head settled on the ground. Sapphire looked back to the counter, not seeing Velvet Sugar at the counter. Instead, the blue Gem walked just behind the counter and noticed something left behind at the crime scene, and some rather larger footprints leading out the nearest back exit (too big for a pony). Sapphire soon saw the cause of the inflation in the form of some bottled-up frosting left on the ground. The tube had what looked like a cloud on it.

"Looks like someone's toying with us," Sapphire concluded, showing everyone the tube briefly before she placed it on the counter.

"Does that happen to say how long this lasts?" Spinel asked, poking her round body.

"It says "half an hour". But since you ate two, you'll be like this for an hour," concluded Sapphire.

Wonderful. Well, at least Ruby and Sapphire didn't turn into balloons. Just after that was revealed though, Spike began hearing the walkie talkie going off once again. Spinel had to roll over to Spike in order to get close enough, holding the walkie talkie.

"Spinel, honey?" asked Rarity over on the other end, "When do you think you'll be coming back?"

"I'm … kinda, maybe stuck. Why, what's up?"

"Well I know you're awfully busy with Sapphire and Ruby, but I think the situation's getting a bit uh … sketchy," Rarity warned. Spinel then heard what sounded like gnawing, and a loud spit, just to then hear …

"This not Yak fabric. YAKS DESTROY!"

"Nononono, please not my mannequins!" Rarity pleaded, as Spinel started hearing the sounds of numerous objects breaking and smashing.

"I-I'll be right there!" Spinel said worriedly.

~~~~~~

The rest of the day basically continued on like this: Spinel having to go back and forth between both parties to try and keep up with everything: either she had to help the ponies make things right for the Yaks, or she had to intervene in some rough way in Sapphire and Ruby's date so things didn't go south. Unfortunately for her and for Pinkie Pie (given she was in charge of the Yaks basically) the end results seem to always end up the same.
For the Yaks side of the party, Rutherford always seemed to end up smashing or destroying something that ticked him off, no matter how hard they tried to make it look authentic to Yakyakistan stuff. Pinkie kept trying idea after idea: baked goods, clothing (according to Rarity), she even tried SNOW of all things, but alas it was always a wreck after everything.
As for Ruby and Sapphire, the trouble with those two was mostly on Spinel's head. With Twilight for some reason not with them anymore, Spinel was put under a bit more pressure to make sure Bray didn't actually hurt any of them, or messed them up. At least they were somewhat aware of what Spinel was trying to do, but her methods were still rather rough all the same.

Either way, Pinkie and Spinel were STRESSIN.
The very first moment they were given a break, Spinel and Pinkie both met up away from both parties and by the most comfortable spot they could think of: Pinkie Pie's room. Only Gummy the gator didn't look stressed out, staring off into space as he usually does.

"This day's turning into a DISASTER!" Spinel said, pulling hard on her ponytails as she paced around back and forth, "Operation Star Love is struggling just to stay active here, and I don't even know if it's working! And clearly SOMEBODY's trying to split them up because I'm the only one apparently seeing it!"

"You call THAT bad? What am I gonna do?!" said Pinkie, who was laying on her bed upside down, "I got a lot of awesome stuff planned for the Yakyakistan welcome party, but they're GONNA HATE IT! I don't know if Ponyvilla can take anymore smashing or breaking, or destroying!"

Both girls felt weak, Spinel down on her knees as Pinkie sorta slid off her bed and onto the floor, as Gummy tried to flick his tongue out at a fly outside.

"This. Sucks," Spinel said.

"With a capital SSSSSSS," Pinkie agreed. She turn spun herself back up onto her hooves as it was her turn to start pacing back and forth.

"I never could've imagine it would be THIS hard to make Yaks happy, but they're just too sensitive. Even Fluttershy made them mad! FLUTTERSHY!"

"And who gets THAT ticked off over snow? SNOW! Isn't that universal or something, why does it matter where it's from?!" Spinel added, almost ready to tear her hair out. Even she wasn't that trigger-happy. Spinel went over to Gummy and actually saw the three Yaks in question being walked around town by Spike, who by the by was leading them to their party in question. Much to their dismay.

"This is really confusing: How am I gonna help make Rutherford happy, and keep Ruby and Sapphire happy, AND make sure they're both alright and not getting hurt while I'm gone?! … Do you know an answer? I could REALLY use one. I don't want to mess this up," Spinel asked Gummy.

Gummy just stared at Spinel for a second or two, before his tongue stuck out and licked Spinel's face. Not any words, and to her not much help. While Spinel didn't think this was any help and ready to huddle on the floor and cry, Pinkie's ears actually perked up as she went to her pet alligator.

"Come again?" Pinkie asked. Gummy turned to her, and basically did the same thing to Pinkie's face as he did to Spinel's face. THIS TIME Pinkie had a struck of genius hit her face, the reaction being a loud gasp.

"Gummy. You're a genius," Pinkie said, giving her favorite alligator a kiss on the head before she pulled outta her mane her Portal Key.

"Wait, where're you going?" Spinel asked.

"If we can't make Ponyville feel like Yakyakistan, then I'm just gonna have to go RIGHT to Yakyakistan and bring something back! Spinny, you hold down the fort until the party starts," Pinkie concluded, holding her key as if it were a sword, standing on her bed. Spinel suddenly started to panic, and she grabbed Pinkie by the hooves, laying on the ground.

"Pinkie wait, don't leave me alone with these two!" Spinel pleaded.

"You have my promise as a party planner I'll be back in time for the big show."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie promised, full gesture and all. GOLLY did it feel good to give that gesture again, and what a good time for it too. In an actually impressive throw of the hoof, the Portal Key got right into the door, opening up the portal good as new. The pink mare needed one thing, just one thing to help the Yaks have a good time, and she was willing to go to the source to get it. Pinkie jumped right through the portal, but soon she popped her head back to the room.

"Don't worry, Spinel, Gummy's got you covered. Bye," Pinkie said, before closing the door and, as such, the portal too.

"...…. Tell me your secrets, Gummy," Spinel said, leaning in close to the reptile. All Gummy gave her was yet another lick to the face.

She's on her own now. So what was a troubled Gem with two responsibilities to do?

…….

"They keep smashing things back in Ponyville? Are you sure?" asked Luna. Spinel was just too freaked out to think, so she went right to the higher ups themselves (Twilight was still missing for some reason). Unfortunately it was only Luna in this visit, but it was better than nothing. She also brought Gummy with her too, in case these ponies could translate for her what the reptile was trying to tell her.

"I don't know what to do, and Ponyville's gonna crumble if this keeps up. You never got them mad, PLEASE tell me what magic spell you zapped them with while they were here," Spinel said, hoping for a good answer. Luna looked a bit puzzled.

"Magic spell? I didn't use any magic spells on Rutherford, why would I do that?" Luna questioned, the guards questioning that decision too. Spinel wasn't sure if she heard that right.

"But HOW is Canterlot still standin?!" Spinel exclaimed, not seeing ANY SIGN of destruction in the throne room or anywhere in Canterlot for that matter on her way here. Clearly she did something to keep it that way, but what? The Alicorn got up and started walking over towards her.

"Calm yourself, Spinel. Now what is it you and your friends tried before?" Luna asked.

"Oh man, where do I begin? Well Applejack tried showing them some Yakyakistan beds at her barn, they never got over that. Then we tried to show them a Yakyakistan animal show, and they tried making pancakes outta them. We even tried showing them Yakyakistan SNOW and all they did was trample it all! What's the difference anyway?! What're we doing wrong?"

Surprisingly fast, Luna gave her an answer.

"Now who said everything HAD to be Yakyakistan to show them a good time?"

"Huh?"

"I can agree we did present them a Yakyakistan-style banquet on their arrival, but that was because Yaks have different diets than ponies do, and it'll probably not be very good to keep to normal food we ponies usually eat. We never planned that extending to everything else during their stay."

"But what about their comfort? What about making them feel at home in Equestria?" Spinel questioned, still worried a bit. Luna sat down, a wing around Spinel to help calm her down.

"I believe you just answered your own question, Spinel," Luna said. Spinel didn't entirely get it.

"I did? All I said was how can we make them feel at home … why're you so quiet?" Spinel pointed out. Luna nodded, but didn't say anything to her. Spinel had to work it out for herself, and indeed Spinel began to wonder just what she herself meant by that.

"...…. OOOOHHHHH! I see what you mean there."

"Home is somewhere where you feel welcome," explained Luna, "That doesn't always have to mean that it has to be from your old home in order to make you feel welcome. And anyway, we already explained to the Yaks that we couldn't replicate their culture exactly like it was in Yakyakistan. They understand how difficult that can be, especially for a country who hasn't ever truly been there themselves."

"Yeah, something I wish we knew a few hours ago," Spinel admitted, feeling stupid all over again. Luna walked over to the window, which itself looked out to Ponyville. But then at mention of "we" something else crossed her mind.

"By the way, have you seen Twilight? She kinda ditched us," Spinel asked.

"Sorry not to inform you, Spinel. Since Rutherford is visiting us in Equestria, Cadance had agreed to visit Yakyakistan as well for her own informal visit. I had Twilight go with her as her representative, just as Rutherford has with his pair of Yaks," Luna explained. Something, again, they wished they knew sooner.

"You might want to tell Pinkie that, because she just teleported there too," Spinel informed.

"I'm more than sure Cadance will inform Pinkie Pie by the time she gets there," Luna reassured. It'd be ridiculous if Pinkie Pie wasn't informed while Cadance and Twilight were there. All the same, Spinel started to feel slightly better about the situation.

Doesn't mean she didn't need to make it work though.

~~~~~~

"Here we are! Hope you're all ready to have a good time, because your frowns are going to turn upside down!" announced Spinel.

Desperation called for desperate measures. Instead of spending her time going back and forth between the two, she got both sides of the party to the exact same place at the same time. In this case, it was Ponyville's outdoor theater, with a piano set up for some entertainment, and some decorations in the form of some lights along some fencing. Best she could do on short notice.

"Hold your frown face!" ordered Rutherford, making a more forceful frown on his face.

"You shouldn't have brought us all here," Sapphire said, as Ruby felt a bit uneasy with the large Yaks again. Spinel though was more than insistent.

"No, nono it's FINE, I-it's all good! Now we allcan have a super time together, and NOBODY'S gonna get messed with. It-it's brilliant, it's genius, it's spectacular. JUST LIKE how this party's gonna be!" Spinel said, finishing her statement with a good thumbs up and a BIG smile. Though, her eyes said she was more desperate than anything else, and it actually looked kinda scary.

"Why do I suddenly feel so uneasy?" Ruby asked.

"Because she's pushing herself, Ruby," Sapphire replied. Of course Spinel didn't catch it, and wanted to get this show up on the road.

"Alrighty, who's music fans here?" Spinel then asked, waiting for them to answer her.

"This Yak music?" Rutherford questioned suspiciously. He had seen more than enough "Yakyakistan" in Ponyville for one day, but Spinel's answer surprised everyone.

"Nope, this "Quintet" music. Hit it, Ponytones!"

Spinel then grabbed the nearest rope and pulled the curtains aside. The Ponytones looked ready themselves, Octavia, Toe Tapper, Torch Song, and Big Mac were ready to go, their voices prepared for the performance. This seemed different from their attempts earlier, so the Yaks weren't ready to just turn tail and leave. Same thing for Sapphire and Ruby. Big Macintosh did warn them about their "destructive" behavior, so they all were hoping this wouldn't be a bad time for everyone. Again.
Though the Yaks were a bit questionable since there wasn't any instruments on stage to use.

That was, until they started to sing. Their top hit song began to bring out to the crowd, starting off with Big Mac as it usually does, with Toe Tapper, Torch Song, and Octavia joining in on their accord. Everyone was surprised on the upbeat music, because even without instruments carrying any of them, their voices were enough to give them all an awesome song. Rutherford couldn't believe his own ears.

Trot outside and you see the sunshine (see the sunshine!)
Something's in the air today (Oh, ah-ah, today!)
Sky is clear and you're feelin' so fine (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everything's gonna be A-Okay (Everything's, oh-OoooooKay!)

"Music beautiful! So much soul!" said Rutherford, actually tearing up along with his fellow Yaks. It takes a LOT of talent to make music work without instruments, and the Ponytones were killing it as they continued singing. Spinel couldn't be happier, even dancing to the music herself with a sway of her hips. Of course she did see that Sapphire and Ruby weren't dancing just yet, so she jumped over to them, silently inviting them to dance to the song by basically dancing next to them both.

"D-Do you … do you want to dance?" Ruby asked Sapphire. Sapphire though actually started to shiver as her future vision saw something going on.

"What's wrong?" Spinel meekly asked. Sapphire looked to the Ponytones once more as they neared completion of their song for Yakyakistan.

"Spinel. What happens next, just remember it's not your fault," Sapphire said.

"Wait, what're you - oh no."

And then the song ended. The Yaks were so overjoyed with the musical performance, they were actually applauding the Ponytones for their effort.

"Thank you very much," said Octavia, "When Spinel told us to entertain you, we were more than honored to -"

Trot outside and you see the sunshine (see the sunshine!)
Something's in the air today (Oh, ah-ah, today!)
*zzt*
in the air today (Oh, ah-ah, today!)

Ok, that was NOT them. The Ponytones, confused, looked around the stage for whatever was singing their song they just finished. Eventually, the source of the noise came up just behind the back curtains, and they all then saw what decided their fate: a recorder. A very loud recorder, playing the song it just heard.
Rutherford saw this too, and you could probably guess what happened next.

"PONIES LIE! Ponies no sing soul music! It all rigged! RAAAHHH!"

The Ponytones had to scatter as Rutherford body slammed the stage AND the recorder, smashing it and the floor to pieces. THIS was the straw that broke the camel's back: he can take the food, the fabric, maybe even the snow he'll let slide, but when they're messing with his choice of MUSIC, that's when they crossed a line. His frustration though was all his own this time, tearing apart the floor of the outdoor stage until there wasn't much left except for wood tossed every which way.

"Rigged?! I'll have you know we weren't even aware of that recorder!" retorted a very insulted Octavia.

"LIE!" Rutherford roared. He tried charging them again like a bull in a pit, this time his horns hooking the fences and lights and tearing them out of the ground. This time his rampage did catch someone, as a huge bit of fencing actually struck Ruby, knocking her head over heels until she slammed into the stage herself.

"Ruby!" gasped Sapphire, rushing to her aid. Rutherford's hair was tossed back at this point and everyone saw the sheer anger in Rutherford's eyes, targeting the one responsible for setting this all up. Spinel was more than shell-shocked at what just happened.

"Waitwaitwait, l-let me explain -"

"NO MORE WAIT!" Rutherford roared in Spinel's face, "Yaks no friends with liars! Yaks take train, go home, return with more Yaks! WE DECLARE WAR!!!"

Lightning struck.

WAR. These Yaks were going to declare WAR over this visit?! Rutherford turned around, his yak tail slapping Spinel's face as he turned and began to walk away. Spinel needed a moment to comprehend all of that, staring blank-faced at first with wide eyes. Slowly, her expression began to frown, and tears began to slide down her cheeks.

Then came the wailing.

"THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" she cried through soaked eyes, "I just wanted to make this day super extra special for all of ya, but I can't even do THAT RIGHT! All I do is mess things up and ruin people's lives! AND NO EVEN MY STUPID DANCING HELPED!"
She yanked on her hair like mad in her tears, this time actually tearing some bit of her ponytails out of her own head before she collapsed on the ground, fist slamming the ground as she tried hiding her face in the other arm and in the snow.

"I tried my best! I tried my best!" she wept. It was hard to make this out as a lie, and Rutherford did stop and looked back to her for a moment or two. Suddenly though, Spinel was up on her feet again and, still crying, turned around and ran away. She couldn't risk making things even worse than she already did, even if she couldn't possibly make it worse at this point.

Only Ruby saw someone else leave for a brief second. And it wasn't Spinel she saw there running off …

~~~~~~

Find Spinel. That was the new mission they had to try and handle before anything else now. The ponies dropped Operation Star Love and even the Yaks' party in order to try and figure out where Spinel went. Sapphire stayed over by the Ponyville fountain (one of the few spots not wrecked yet), left pacing back and forth herself much like Twilight would in such a situation. Eventually, the other ponies did finally return to her.

"Did you find her?" Sapphire asked.

"Angel and I searched the forest, but …" Fluttershy simply shook her head for her answer. So no where in the forest.

"Aerial recon turned up nothin either," Rainbow Dash said.

"I looked all over Sweet Apple Acres, and both my barn and your barn top to bottom. No Spinel," Applejack said, hat to her chest, "... But I did find an old pair of Granny Smith's dentures under the house so … not a complete loss."

"Tried the entire castle back in Canterlot, but that's got nothing too so … yeah," Spike shrugged.

"I tried my search back in Beach City, but no sign of her. She simply vanished!" said Rarity.

"I should've known this would happen. Spinel tried so hard to please everyone," Sapphire said gravely.

"But who said she had to please everybody? It's not like she had to handle both the Yaks and Ruby," asked Spike. Sapphire took a breath.

"I … I did. I told her that it's not enough to just apologize, and she had to fix the mistakes she made. I didn't think she would take it this far … even after seeing the future. I shouldn't have told her about the operation," Sapphire confessed. She tried to keep Spinel from worrying too much about herself and Ruby, but guess that wasn't enough. Heck, it probably made this result happen.

"Uh, sorry for changing the subject and all, but you might wanna check on Ruby Sapphire," said Applejack.

"Why, what's wrong?" Sapphire asked.

"I dunno, but since Spinel ran off she's been getting headaches after headaches," Applerjack explained, "We got her layin down in bed, but she's not looking too good."

As if things weren't bad enough. Sapphire wasn't sure who to feel worse for anymore, everything that could go wrong happening all at once. They could only hope Rutherford could be handled before he could leave on the train.

"What have I done? …"

"Hang on a second, Sapphire, it's nobody's fault. Things just became a bit … disorganized that's all," Rarity said.

"I know but, I don't know what's worse. The fact we started a war with Yakyakistan, or the fact we now lost Spinel. …"

*flick*
Hardly a sound, just a flick of the tongue, but just enough for everyone to then see a little helper come over to them. Brave little gator, that Gummy, who somehow got himself some tiny winter boots, a snow hat, and scarf as he made his way through the snow. It was weird seeing Gummy walking around in winter, but the alligator had something for them, which at the point was stuck inside his mouth in the form of a note.
Weird, and kinda gross, and still Rarity levitated the letter out (after wiping it clean) and read it out.

"I've heard the bad news, and I know how to handle the Yaks now. Hold tight, and I'll meet you all at the new party. Love Pinkie Pie. PS: Ruby's in my room. She says hello and wants to see you too."

"Great that Pinkie Pie's back," said Rainbow Dash, "She's got that Rutherford."

"If Pinkie says she's got this, then she's got this. Now, what about Ruby and Spinel?" Rarity asked.

"I didn't think Ruby'll be moving around so soon," Applejack remarked.

Ruby looked like she was in so much pain all at once. Sapphire's answer was made with a heavy heart.

"I'll go see her."

"You sure y'all wanna do that now? I'm not kidding, she didn't look good at all when I brought her back to the barn," Applejack asked, as Sapphire began to walk on her way to Sugarcube Corner.

"Then how'd she get to Sugarcube Corner?" Spike asked.

"... Huh. You made your point."

…….

It was a bit quiet when they reached Sugarcube Corner again, the place more empty since they were last there. Instead of them just hanging out over in the main lobby, the group went off upstairs towards Pinkie's room, leaving the main lobby alone for Velvet Sugar and the Cakes to handle basic cleanup from Spinel's involvement earlier that day (rolling around knocked over a few things). The walk seemed long, but they soon got to standing right in front of Pinkie's door before Sapphire even knew it.

"Ready, Sapphire?" Fluttershy asked, a comfort hoof placing on Sapphire's shoulder. All Sapphire did was simply nod, before the group of Ponies opened up the door, Fluttershy opening it up first and taking the lead inside.

"Girls? Is everything okay in here?"

No answer. Though, Ruby was still there, laying down in Pinkie Pie's very comfy bed. Everyone quietly walked in, not wanting to wake her up, the red Gem quiet and taking a nap too. Applejack still saw a small cloth over Ruby's forehead, something she could've sworn she left with her at the barn and not here. Still, none of them looked like any of their movements were disturbing the Gem.
Sapphire naturally got closest to her sweetheart, having a seat right next to the bed. She only wished this actually was her sweetheart, memory and all, but she couldn't force that to happen. She reached closer to Ruby, but her eye then glanced to the ring still on her finger. The symbol of their marriage that, while she always will have, Ruby's was who-knows-where. Not on her, she knew that much.

"For having that bad of a headache, she's not looking too bad anymore," Applejack admitted.

"I wonder how she got all the way here," Fluttershy pondered. Applejack was not a pony who was good at lying, nevermind wanting to lie, so she wouldn't fib on where Ruby used to be to her knowledge if she could help it.

"W-What do I even say when she wakes up?" Sapphire asked.

"What do you mean? Can't your future vision help you out with that?" Spike asked.

"Maybe but Ruby's so … spontaneous. So sweet, and wonderful, I-It could be anything -"

*yawn*

Ruby was starting to wake up. Sapphire was slightly startled by this, getting to her feet as everyone else looked to her. Ruby didn't even look like she was weak or anything, just waking up from a simple nap even by the looks of it. After her yawn, Ruby stretched a little bit, and opened her eyes. Funny thing too, Ruby looked slightly different from earlier.

"Oh. Hi guys. You got Gummy's letter," Ruby said.

"Yeah we did," said Fluttershy, "How're you feeling, Ruby? Are you okay?"

Ruby smiled and nodded, "I'm pretty good, thanks."

"You sure? Last I saw you, you looked ready to pass out at any second," Applejack said. Ruby just nodded again with her signature sweet smile.

"Yeah, but I calmed down now," said Ruby, "By the way, where's Gummy?"

"Oh, he's right here," Fluttershy said, showing Ruby the pet Alligator. They got him out of his winter clothes, Fluttershy placing him down over by Ruby. Gummy didn't do much as he laid on the bed, but Ruby did give Gummy a pat on the head. All this behavior Ruby was showing, while nice to see, got Sapphire thinking about something. A Ruby guard wouldn't just act kind to organics on the spot unless told by Padparadscha. She had a theory, but before she could start looking into it, Ruby then looked to her.

"Hi. … Are you okay?" Ruby asked, seeing Sapphire stressed out. Sapphire took a breath.

"I'm fine. Ruby, I'm sorry things today didn't work out as well as I hoped. I wanted to help you but … mostly I just wanted to be with you again. …"

"I get it," Ruby said.

"Wait. You do?"

"Yeah," Ruby explained, starting to think more about what happened earlier with her headache. "I mean, all day long, you've been trying to give me a good time. I don't know why someone like you would be so happy with someone like me, but … you look like you were. And you know something else?"

"What's that?"

Ruby then held Sapphire's hand.

"Today was a bit of a mess but … it's also the last day we're ever gonna be apart. No matter what, we'll make sure everything works out. What do you say?"

Everything stopped.

"... Ruby?"

"I'm back. Sapphy," Ruby said.

"Ruby!"
Sapphire could feel tears coming up, this time tears of joy, as she and Ruby hugged eachother tight. The best couple in all the worlds is finally back together. The other ponies were expecting them to fuse right then and there, but Sapphire and Ruby wanted to savor this moment a little bit more.

"So beautiful," Rarity whimpered, feeling some tears come up.

"Let's give em some space," Applejack suggested. They all agreed on that no doubt about it. So, seeing Sapphire and Ruby smiling, the group was just about ready to go off on their way out of the room, but the two Gems weren't going to give them the chance to actually let em do that, as a bright light began to form up on them. The two were just so happy, they weren't wasting anymore time.

"Or not," said Spike.

"Garnet!" exclaimed everyone else. Garnet was finally back together, feeling better than ever to finally be whole and be alive again.

"I've been waiting for you this whole time," Garnet said, Sapphire still talking to Ruby as she was basically hugging herself for a bit. Ruby and Sapphire were so glad to be back together again, though Garnet still felt one hand lacking a little bit, only one ring left on her finger out of the two.

"HOO-WE! we got the leader back!" Applejack said.

"Welcome back, Garnet! You have no idea how much we've missed you," Rarity said. Garnet smiled on the gestures the ponies were making, adjusting her visors.

"Alright, alright, we all can see me later. We still have some things to do. But first ... Spike?"

"Way ahead of you," Spike said. Such good news wasn't going to go unnoticed, and somehow Spike already got himself something to write with and something to write on. Garnet, already knowing where this was going, just went over and opened up the window nearby just as Spike finished writing up his own letter. All Spike needed to do was send it on its way with a good ol' dragon breath. The green flames flickered only for a few moments, before flying off outside to its destination.

"I'm going to assume that's for Twilight," Rarity asked.

"She'd wanna know. Now we just need to find Spinel."

"But where do we look? She could be anywhere by now, and none of us found her yet," Fluttershy asked. Garnet, now calmer and with a more focused mind on her visions, started to see out into the options before her. It took Garnet a little bit of time, until she finally got an option.

"I think I got a good idea where she is."

~~~~~~

It always was amazing how quickly ponies can make a celebration happen. Also a good thing Rutherford was caught by the train station before he could leave, otherwise he'd miss the actual party planned for him and his Yaks.
And for once, Rutherford actually wasn't mad at the effort this time. At least he wasn't smashing anything this time, enjoying the party as Pinkie Pie promised. Many ponies and even a few Gems were joining in on the party, some of which were getting to know the Yaks. Rutherford even got himself a few balloons, one Yak having a big pink hat he won in one of the party games as another Yak got himself some goggles and a pinwheel. Who says Yaks can't enjoy simple prizes? The Yaks also were joined by Luna and Cadance in their fun, the two princesses seemingly glad to see things turning up well. Sure they may not technically need any actual Yakyakistan stuff to keep the Yaks happy (they knew that now) but Pinkie still got the curtesy of having at least ONE thing from Yakyakistan to here.

A Yak player, playing a huge bag-pipe like instrument called a Yovidaphone. Surprisingly soothing music for the party, and the ponies were enjoying it as much as the Yaks.

"Well, Pinkie Pie, looks like you made it through. This is great, even for you," complimented Cadance to a much happier Pinkie Pie.

"What can I say? I'm good at what I do," Pinkie said, almost sounding a little smug. Even if most of her earlier attempts didn't go over well. Still, it was great seeing that all of it paid off in the end, seeing Rutherford enjoying himself and all.

If only that was true to everyone in the party though. Many ponies and the Yaks were still having their fun, sure, but Spinel herself was still left acing as she was simply sitting aside and away from everyone else. She did promise to at least show up to the party at the least. She couldn't bring herself to actually do something though, worried that any involvement on her part will just backfire on top of her again. This didn't go unnoticed for too long.

"Aren't you going to join in?" asked Cadance at one point.

"Nope," Spinel simply said.

"Come on, Spinel, turn that frown upside down! It's a party," encouraged Pinkie Pie, even giving Spinel a cupcake and a big smile. Spinel simply looked over to the mare, pushing the cupcake away.

"Nah. I'm probably gonna make someone choke on it or something."

"... Ok. Don't you want to at least talk to Rutherford? He's having a pretty good time over there," offered Cadance.

"No thanks to me," Spinel sighed, "Here I am trying to be Ms. goodie two-shoes, and I can't even fix my own screw ups. What kind of friend can't even please a Yak? I'm nothing but a screw up …"
Despite pushing the cupcake away, Spinel took it back and basically gulped it down. Comfort food always seemed to help a little bit. Pinkie Pie then began to sense a little something start to come over.

"Not everything." said Pinkie Pie, in a sing-along tone.

"Yes, everything[," Spinel said, similar sing-along tone but not as cheery.

"I wouldn't say that, Spinel," said a new voice. Spinel herself was so bummed out she didn't even realize who that voice belonged to. She even looked to her.

"Oh, hey Garnet."

Three seconds later ...

"GARNET?!"

Spinel's eyes almost popped out of her head she was so shocked, spinning a complete 180 and seeing Garnet in her glory standing right behind her.

"You're here?! B-But you, I-I thought - … you're back to normal, right?" Spinel asked, not thinking of what else to say. Garnet shouldn't even be a thing now as far as she knew, and she had no clue how Garnet was going to react to her now.

"We're both back now. So why don't you come and celebrate with us? There's room for one more with your name on it," Garnet offered. It was a bit quick, and while nice Spinel didn't feel up for it right away.

"You're … not still mad at me? For … well, basically everything that happened today?" Spinel asked meekly.

"No, Spinel. In fact, I'm proud of what you've done today. I just wished I didn't put so much pressure on you," Garnet said.

NOW Spinel couldn't believe it.
"Waitwaitwait. PROUD of me? For what, I didn't do anything special. I didn't get you back together, obviously, I made the Yaks mad. I couldn't fix anything."

"But you took an effort in trying to fix your mistakes, and a lot of effort too. We saw you all day, and how much work you put in trying to not just please the Yaks, but Ruby and Sapphire too. That sounds better than not doing anything at all, if you ask me," Garnet explained.

"I uhh … I guess so. But that doesn't cover up the "war with the Yaks" thing, does it?" she said, rubbing the back of her head in dismay over that. All Garnet simply needed to do was show Spinel to the Yaks off nearby.

"They sure don't look like they're ready to go to war," Garnet said. They even saw the other ponies seeing the Yaks too, Rutherford enjoying the company.

"Maybe they're messing with me …"

"Why don't we go and find out," Cadance decided. That would be the easiest way to see for sure, something Spinel herself hadn't actually done yet. Spinel was still a bit hesitant over seeing Rutherford, especially since he was the one who declared war in the first place, right in her face no less. Rutherford soon saw them coming over to him.

"Hello not Ponies!" Rutherford said.

"Hello, prince," said Garnet. Rutherford took a look to Garnet for a moment or two.

"Do Yaks know not Pony somewhere?"

"You might have," Garnet said with a smile, showing the gemstones in her hands. Whether or not Rutherford understood wasn't too important right now, and they got other things to talk about. So, Pinkie and Spinel went over to his side.

"Prince Rutherford? Just wanna start off by sayin sorry for screwing up a lot of things today," Spinel started, "We just wanted to make this place feel like your home. Though, you probably already know that by now."

"But -" added Pinkie, "we shouldn't have tried making Ponyville feel like your home. We should try making you feel at home in Equestria. That means showing you how much we love it here, so you'll love it too."

Rutherford took a minute and looked around Ponyville. Seeing all of the ponies and Gems having a good time all around them. The other stuff they've done was hardly a thing compared to this party. They didn't have to go all out like this, even including the Yakyakistan player. It was enough to give him some tears.

"Pink Pony and friends try hard to make Yaks feel at home. … Yaks happy. No declare war."

BEST NEWS ALL DAY. Spinel was sure happy about that at least, though this did kinda made Luna look a little bit troubled.

"War...?"

"Long story," Spinel simply replied. Good answer.

"Yaks and Ponies friends …"

"For a thousand moons?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"FOR A THOUSAND MOONS!" announced Rutherford.

Their victory was achieved at last: not only in befriending the Yaks, but also they got their favorite perma-Fusion back. Just wait until everyone else would see her. This got everyone cheering for the announcement and for a better future with Yakyakistan. Rutherford looked over to Garnet and he actually had something for her.

"Gift of Yaks' friendship," Rutherford said, as he lifted his hoof up, and actually pulled off the small ring around his horn, and gave it to Garnet. A golden ring that glistened in the light. Garnet was taken aback, but she did take the gift anyway. All it took was one slip on her open ring finger, and she was a match set again.

"Thank you, your majesty," Garnet said. Rutherford then looked to Spinel and Pinkie.

"Pink People understand Yaks now," Rutherford said after the announcement.

"Thanks a lot!" Spinel said. She was about to go in and give the Yak a hug, but considering everything else that happened earlier today it was enough to keep her back. Pinkie though did give the Yak a hug, but she did stop quick.

Not to worry though: Rutherford gave em both a big Yak hug.

"Ow! Too tight, too tight!" yelped Pinkie and Spinel, feeling the strength of those same hooves holding them both tight. It was a slight punishment that neither of them minded.

Rutherford was their friend.

Author's Note

FINALLY! You know, this chapter was originally supposed to be VERY different from this final draft (original concept was gonna involve a dinner date in Beach City and that's it XP) but then I kept doubting myself if I'm writing the characters right or not, tried making things work and ... well, ended up like this :twilightblush: ... you know, i really need to learn to just write it out and have fun. Maybe I'll get these done faster and enjoy it as much as you guys are with these XP.

Anyway, here's the first side to this multi-side "Memory Arc", following buddy Spinel dealing with amnesia Ruby and the prince of Yaks himself.

With my Tanks

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT DIDN'T WORK?!" Grogar roared.
The Ram's roars and bellows rattled even the bravest of followers just moments after Bray and Budgerite had returned to him at base. Of course the two would give them news about Garnet returning AND the Yaks becoming potential allies to Equestria, and of course Grogar was NOT pleased with any of it. Bray and Budgerite kept at least a few feet of distance between themselves and the tyrannical killer Ram, shaken right down to their very core.

"I don't know what happened," Budgerite stuttered, "We did what ya said, but SOMEHOW they still got their way! Maybe they knew what we were up to?"

"Or maybe you two didn't try hard enough," Grogar accused, "All you two had to do is ruin the day for them all. THAT'S IT. And you IDIOTS can't even do that right?"

"W-We did, we did, my lord," Bray said, hunkered down like a submissive dog, even crawling like a worm towards him, "We poisoned their cupcakes, we left a record player backstage, I nearly got caught doing -"

"SHUT UP!" Grogar demanded, whacking the mule square across the face.

"I didn't ask for excuses, I asked for results. And THIS is all you got for me?"

"We've … do our best," Bray gulped, still dizzy from the hit until after shaking his head. Not a good enough answer for the Ram apparently, as the king took another step forward, his large hoof nearly stepping on top of the donkey and Gem duo.

"Then your best isn't good enough. Is it?"

"... No," Budgerite and Bray muttered.

"So you two will go back there, won't you."

"Yes sir. …"

"And you will do better."

"Yes sir. …"
Bray and Budgerite had their orders, and Grogar just turned away from them, letting them live for yet another day. With the rest of his higher captains and commanders not too far away, managing to hear the whole ordeal off nearby by Grogar, this got them into thinking a bit about it themselves. And unfortunately for Grogar, there was a bit of questioning between Nichrome, Tempest, and one of the higher-ranking bear guards.

"You know, why're we even bothering so much with these Gems in the first place?" the bear guard wondered, "I mean, we had Tambalon already at their Homeworld, we didn't have to leave."

"That's a good question," agreed Tempest after pondering somewhat on the subject, "And some of these Gems, enemies or not, actually seemed somewhat decent."

"Those decent Gems are responsible for the death of my brother, Tempest!" Nichrome retorted. "Remember that before you run your furry mouth."

"And I'm a captain too, Captain Nichrome," retorted back Tempest, "So remember that before you run yours!"
Before either Nichrome or Tempest could go into another fight, the bear commander spoke up again.

"It's not even about them. We all know why we're here: it's Grogar," the bear pointed out.

"What of him?" Nichrome hissed. The bear would answer the captain, but he didn't have much time to, and speak of the devil decided to come over and see what was up.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Grogar questioned, his voice in a guttural rumble almost. Nichrome spun around fast to see Grogar standing just behind him. Nichrome took a few steps away from him, but Grogar won't let him have his space, making him fall onto his back.

"S-Sir, n-n-n-no never I wouldn't dare!"

"I'm not blind, Nichrome. I heard you. You got concerns, now's the time to tell me. NOW," Grogar ordered. Nichrome's eyes darted around for someone's help, but they weren't going to do anything. Nichrome, both scared of Grogar and mad about what Tempest said, took a breath before talking to him.

"Tempest has doubts about your authority sir, she just started questioning why we're even after - aaack" Grogar pressed his hoof down on Nichrome's neck, squishing it like goo somewhat, "alright, alright! … I said it."

"Why?" Grogar demanded.

"Because … because …"

"Well?"

Nichrome went for broke, "They're responsible for the death of my brother, sir! They've been given good luck, and it's only a matter of time before they succeed. And you haven't done anything to help!"

That last part didn't even mean to come out, but Nichrome didn't stop it from doing so. EVERYONE was thinking it, Nichrome just said it. As for Grogar, he could feel his teeth grind in his jaws, but strangely he didn't decide to cut off Nichrome's head. He already lost one captain after all, he couldn't afford to lose another one right now. He stepped off of Nichrome and turned away, and all that came out was ...

"Out of here," Grogar growled, his voice low and almost trembling.

"Sir?"

"NOW! OR I'LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

That roar was enough to make Nichrome turn tail and make a run away from him. He can afford to just stay away from him for a while longer if it meant surviving. Everyone else in attendance, while unnerved, stayed where they were. None of them would dare come over to him at the state he was in, but Tempest Shadow actually had the bravery to take a few steps towards him where nobody else would.

"All this shouting and running," Tempest said, "It'd be better to actually talk about this instead of letting it brew."

Grogar would jump her for insubordination, but he was already left so confused as it is without thinking of how to kill Tempest right now. Grogar dug his hooves into the dirt at what he was going to say.

"I had him, Tempest. He. Was. Right. There. But that d - … that dra - ..."

"We know, we saw the Dragon coming towards Canterlot before we arrived. We tried to find you and warn you, but seems we were too late to-"

(Sweeney Todd - Epiphany (2012) parody)

Grogar; I HAD HIM!
His throat was bare beneath my hoof …

"There, there Grogar, don't fret," Tempest tried to say, but Grogar wasn't having any of that, jumping at the broken Unicorn, his muzzle inches from her own. Every bellow almost seemed to make the very sky turn red in Grogar's symphony.

Grogar; NO, I HAD HIM!
His throat was there, and now he'll never come again!

Tempest; Easy now. Grogar hush.
We keep telling you -

Grogar; WHEN?!

Tempest; - What's your rush?

Grogar; Why did I wait?!
YOU told me to wait
Now he'll never come AGAIN!

Grogar's anger was through the roof at this point, the ram hardly even able to keep himself still as he began to pace back and forth on the ice cold ground. His horns were glowing an ominous red, seeps of it swirling around his curved horns as he did this, a fair warning to the rest of his army to give him some space. Tempest Shadow was only slightly unnerved herself, but took a step back anyway.

Grogar; There's a void in the world, like a great big vat
And it's filled with the people who're filled with CRAP
and the vermin of the realm inhabit that …
But not for long~

Now he started using his magic, shooting recklessly around him at random spots on the ground, making his army jump back again as the red magic created silhouettes of different figures. Some were Gems, some were Ponies, but either way he made them all look weak or just defeated in general. An image he could've gotten if not for that Dragon showing up out of nowhere.

Grogar; We allll deserve to die
Tell you why, misses Shadow, tell you why

At this point, he can't even stand in one place without readjusting his stance, one hoof moving after another as he turned left to right at his pre-made prisoners.

Grogar; Because in all of the entire race
misses Tempest, there're two kinds of men and only two!

To demonstrate, Grogar suddenly got hold of both Bray and Budgerite with his magic, both of them powerless to break away no matter how much they tried to do. Bray was placed right next to him, sitting at attention with his long ears standing up like a scared rabbit. Grogar placed a hoof on Bray's head.

Grogar; There's ones who stay put in their proper place
and the one with their hooves in the other one's face

Budgerite was levitated to slam into Bray from there, sending both Bray and Budgerite off a ways into a heap. Grogar didn't care though, it was for the sake of the song.

Grogar; Look at me, misses Tempest, look at you!
No we ALLL DESERVE TO DIE ...

The donkey and half Gem were moved out of the way by Sumu, trying to keep them from being used as more pawns for Grogar's anger-filled game. The anger Grogar had started to suddenly quiet down as he himself took a seat in the center of the prisoner ring.

Grogar; And I'll never
see Tambalon
No I'll never
brace my world again …

… Grogar jerked his head to the army, from the somber look and suddenly having a crazed smile on his muzzle. This now was a sign everyone had to leave, but Grogar wasn't going to give any of them the chance today.

Grogar; All right!
You sir, how about a game?!
Come and visit your good friend, Grogar!

The first victim of Grogar's game was Stubby, who he bit in the tail and yanked right out of the crowd, tossing him to the center of the prisoner ring before Grogar stomped on his tail so he wouldn't get away. The next one he did this too was Trotter, throwing the pig on top of Stubby.

Grogar; You sir! Too, sir?
Welcome to the grave!

As Trotter and Stubby got back onto their feet, Grogar started circling them.

Grogar; I will have vengeance! ...
I will have salvation! …

Tempest Shadow, seeing this only ending badly, took the wise move and slipped out of the crowd before Grogar could notice she was gone. She wasn't going to be apart of this game of his, no matter what the case may be. Good timing too, because Grogar got his anger revved up again, the wicked smile returning to his muzzle as he eyed Bray and Budgerite again, tossing them with Trotter and Stubby. But that wasn't all he did, as he gazed his sights on the prisoners around him, hooves at the ready as they glowed, ready to smash.

Grogar; Who, sir? (shatters "Garnet")
You sir? (shatters "Amethyst")
No one's next in line! COME ON (shatters "Lapis") COME ON! (shatters "Peridot")
Grogar's waiting! (shatters "Fluttershy") I want you bleeders.
You, sir! (shatters "Twilight")
Anybody! (shatters "Rainbow Dash")
Gentlecolts now don't be shy! (shatters "Jasper")

One after the other, the prisoners were slaughtered left and right, exploding into glass-like red shards left all over the ground before disappearing into a puff of air. This kept up one after the other as he continued his chorus.

Grogar; Not one man, no, nor ten men ...
Nor a hundred can assuage me! ...
I will have you!!

After what felt like a genocide of magical duplicates, it was down to only Steven left, the duplicate down on his knees at Grogar's mercy. O if only this were real life, as Grogar moved closer to him. He was so close to that too, if not for that dreaded Dragon.

Grogar; I will get him back even as he gloats.
In the meantime I'll practice on less honorable throats.

One stomp and Steven was shattered into a million pieces right in front of him. Millions of small red pieces flying in the air. Wouldn't it be glorious if it were the real deal?

Grogar; And my kingdom lies in ashes ...
And I'll never see my world again. ...

Grogar's horns began to glow once again, turning from a eerie red into a very bright yellow, charging up with electricity.

Grogar; But the work waits!
I'm alive at last!
And I'm full of joy!

His song finally ended with a giant blast aimed right into the sky above him. The lighting shooting out of Grogar's horns branched out in all directions like branches off a dead tree, skewering the sky as if it too was one of Grogar's targets. Everyone around him didn't want to get struck by any of this lightning, moving back a bit as one of the strikes struck down where "Steven" once was standing. The lightning itself lasted a good twenty seconds straight until Grogar finally calmed down, having a seat and a groan escaping his muzzle.

"You know … that's the first time I sang anything. … Not bad," Grogar commented, after getting it all out.

"Did you get everything out of your system, sir?" Tempest asked.

"For now," Grogar said, though not sounding as angry as he was just moments ago. "... There's still one thing that bothers me about that kid."

Tempest then got an idea. "Can I suggest something then?"

"Depends on what it is, Tempest."

"Then why don't you go and find out. We'll show them all one by one just what power you have with you, my lord. We'll go after each team, take them down one by one. Now, I can't guarantee it'll work out as well, but if it does, you'll have everything you'll ever need by the end of the week."
Grogar was silent for a minute or two.

"... If this does work. Then you'll have your horn by the end of the week. How's that, captain?" Grogar said, his smirk actually appearing on his face on the idea. The strongest motivation Tempest ever had for even being in this army of monsters and beings, and now Tempest could possibly get that goal at last.

"T-Thank you, sir."

"Now don't thank me yet, you still have that plan of yours to do," Grogar stated before turning to the rest of his army, "You all heard her, troops! Vacation's over, it's time to get back to work! Tempest Shadow's gonna be in charge of the plans, so you all lend your ear to her while I'm gone! CLEAR?!"
There was an applause coming from everyone soon after that. For a moment, Tempest actually was surprised at what power Grogar just gave her: the potential power of her horn AND the current power of an entire army behind her. Grogar, after making that announcement, turned and began to go off on his way. He had his own plans to do, and wasn't gonna waste anytime in doing them same as Tempest wasn't wasting anytime in hers.

Only Nichrome really wasn't happy about any of it, keeping behind the crowd so Grogar wouldn't see his scowl. It'd be suicide to try and defy her now though, especially with Grogar already nearly killing him, so all he could do was slink away. He had to do SOMETHING to win Grogar's graces, but what?

~~~~~~

With a flash from the Warp Pad, and Flint and Bismuth got themselves to their destination of choice. The Strawberry Battlefield was their best shot in finding Amethyst given what information they got, thanks to Steven's handiwork in notes, so naturally these two would check there first for their purple renegade. The battlefield itself still looked like it wasn't used much since Jasper set up training there though.

"Amethyst! Hessonite!" Flint called. But there wasn't much sign of either of them anywhere they could see. No Tank, no Gems, just fields of strawberries and stray weaponry.

"Nothing here. Bismuth, how're you managing? … Bismuth?" Flint was met with some silence as Bismuth was looking around the Strawberry Battlefield herself. For trying to find Amethyst and a Tank, Bismuth actually looked pretty content as she looked around the whole field with a smile on her face. A bit of satisfaction, maybe.

"Bismuth, did you see them or not?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Flint, wasn't listening. Eh no, nothing over here," Bismuth replied. The blacksmith then started going down a nearby hillside into the fields of fruit and metal, Flint following along not too far behind, still trying to find some sign of Amethyst or Hessonite somewhere in the Battlegrounds. Bismuth eventually spoke again as they stopped over by a left-behind shield.

"You know, there's something satisfying about seeing all this," Bismuth said at one point.

"Satisfying?"

"Sure. Look around you: we are both standing on the same ground the Crystal Gems fought their final true battle against Homeworld in the Gem War! Flint, this is history right here, you don't even know."

"Bismuth, we're trying to find Amethyst, not sight-see," Flint reminded.

"I know, but doesn't mean we can't look around some -" Bismuth paused when she looked away from the shield, "No way. That's NOT still here!"

"What, the tank?" Flint asked.

"NO, check this out!" Bismuth said, going over to a rather deeply-covered weapon amongst the lot, this one specifically having a rather dull-looking, yet prominently blue handle. One easy pull from the bushes, and soon Bismuth was holding a Halberd in hand, holding it with pride and standing it on end. It even had the same markings engraved on it, the blade dirty but still sharpen.

"It's a spear," Flint remarked.

"Not just any spear, this is a Pluto tundra Halberd M5! HA! Snowflake's gonna tumble her rocks when she sees this. She used to go ALL OUT with this thing," Bismuth said, very glad to see the weapon still in one piece and, surprisingly, still usable as she did a few practice swings with it.

"Very nice, but can we focus please?" Flint insisted. Bismuth jabbed the sharp end of the halberd into the ground and leaned on it, looking to Flint with a smug look.

"I thought one rock said he's gonna be more loose from now on," Bismuth said.

"I am, really, but not now. And why're you so excited anyway, you've been here tons of times before," Flint pointed out.

"And there's still something I didn't see yet. THIS is thousands of years of my work all over this field, each one used by each Gem showing they mean Bismuth! It's literally memory lane to me."

"OH right, you made all the weapons here," Flint remembered.

"You bet your facet they are! My stars, I just wished I could've seen their best work out in the field," Bismuth said, wondering just how great her handiwork did in their prime. Flint though seemed a little bit puzzled with that comment. In fact, much of Bismuth's talk seemed only a little bit confusing given what they do know now with … well, you-know-who, with you-know-what.

"Uh, Bismuth -"

*rumble*

The ground rumbled ever so softly, and a bit slow at first but as the object grew closer and closer, it started to shake and shutter more and more violently, Bismuth and Flint lucky to stay standing it shook so much. As for what was actually making the Earth shake under their feet, they only needed to look out to the horizon, pass at least a mile or two down the Strawberry Battlefield to see something moving around. Like a large outcrop or hill moving on its own, and no it wasn't one of the floating islands dragging along the ground.

"We found her," Flint answered.
BOY did they find her. Hessonite wasn't joking about giving Amethyst something to use, but the "Tank" she had in mind was beyond was any of them were expecting. Hessonite did tell them a Tank, but the tank that she meant, for one thing, was absolutely massive! It was more akin to a moving base than any normal tank, easily the size of the Beach City Water Tower. The exterior of the vehicle made the sunlight bounce off its crystalline shell. HUGE wheels grinded the ground below the large vehicle, squashing numerous Strawberries and a few of the remaining weapons along the ground (much to Bismuth's dismay).

"HEY! That's our victory you're running over!" Bismuth shouted angrily, but the giant Tank didn't stop. Seeing this, Bismuth immediately acted on it and got right in front of the battle-ready vehicle, getting her strength together and gripping the Tank tight.

"STOP MOVING!" Bismuth groaned, her feet digging into the dirt and her hands digging into the Crystal Tank. Bismuth's strength was just enough to keep the Crystal Tank from moving forward, its wheels still digging into the ground but not moving anywhere any further. Flint knew she was strong, but this was impressive even for her. The Crystal Tank's silver wheels did finally stop moving, giving Bismuth a chance to breathe. The two then heard a hatch open up on the very top of the tank (which by the way was very small in comparison to the tank).

"Alright who's ruining my good time out here?!" shouted a voice from the very top of the Crystal Tank. Bismuth stepped away from the front of said tank as she and Flint looked to the very top just to see someone hop out to look down to them.

"We are, Amethyst!" called Flint, "What're you doing?"

"And why're you dressed up like that? Getting into the old days?" added Bismuth. Amethyst slid down the side of the crystalline Tank, landing down in front of Bismuth and Flint.

"What's wrong with the look? I look cool," Amethyst said, tipping her hat, "Looking like a legit general with this."

"Right. And, uh, the tank?"

"OOHH yeah, check it out!" Amethyst said, jumping up on one of the giant Tank's wheels to better show it to them. Just standing on the wheel made Amethyst easily seem like she was standing on some house roof it was so tall.

"Hessonite gave me my own battle tank!" Amethyst revealed (as if it wasn't obvious already), "Just look at this babe!! A full-sized Stonecruizer 2000 Crystal Tank. I didn't even know that's a thing now!"

"Yes, we can see that," Flint said, "It's what you're doing with that thing that's concerning me."

"I'm giving her a little test drive," Amethyst said, patting the side of the giant tank of hers. "You think I'm just gonna ditch this thing after getting it? OH, you two gotta check this out!"

Eager to show off her new favorite toy, Amethyst hopped up to the top hatch and wasting no time in going right inside of it. After closing up the hatch, Flint and Bismuth saw the giant tank start to come to life again after a few short seconds, but instead of actually moving, the front of the vehicle started to extend near the front, opening up what appeared to be a tank barrel.
It took even less time for the Crystal Tank to fire, sending a huge blast of energy out of its gun, zooming passed Bismuth and Flint and finding its target on a nearby floating island. The island EXPLODED in a huge mess of rock and vines, whatever magical energy keeping it up being blasted completely as the rest of it landed down hard onto the ground.

That could've been them.

After that she showed off another extra trick to this tank: a projection screen emitting from the top of the Tank, showing Amethyst sitting comfortably inside of her rig.

"Awesome right?" called Amethyst. They needed to shake off the shock before they could answer.

"Watch where you're shooting, Amethyst! You'll shatter the whole battlefield," Bismuth said. Hard enough seeing her crush everything with that thing, she didn't need to see it get blasted too. Amethyst could see where she shot, but she didn't seem that worried about it.

"I just shot an island, big B, no biggie. It's not like I never did this before."

"But you never did this before," Flint said.

"Nah man, I got this. Hess talked me through the ropes. Besides, who's gonna cry over a few shots?" Amethyst questioned, leaning back and kicking her legs up on the dash of the control room.

"Do you even know where you are right now? What you're wrecking is the site of the biggest victory the Crystal Gems ever got, and you're going around like it's no big deal! I know how fun it is to have a new weapon believe me, but Amethyst, you got to watch it," Bismuth explained. Amethyst paused briefly, looking as if she was legitimately surprised by this information, but this quickly dropped.

"Come on, it's not THAT bad. I'm planning on moving out of here anyway, so you don't have to see your "battlefield" blown up completely."

Moving out? Now Flint was starting to get concerned.

"Wait, where're you going after this?" Flint asked.

"I'm gonna show the rest of the gang this thing back home. Just think: Amethyst the Battle-ready blaster! It's got a good ring to it -"

"You can't!" Flint suddenly shouted, "You do that and you're going to run over everything. That's not a toy you're using!"

"Geesh, tell me something I don't know. If you don't wanna watch me, that's your business. I'm gonna keep up my test driving," Amethyst said, before cutting the projection screen short. Flint could feel a cold shiver run through his body on the idea of that Tank plowing through Little Homeworld, and before any of them could stop her, the Crystal Tank was already beginning to move forward again.

"NOOO!" Bismuth shouted, but this time it was a little too late to save the weaponry in front of her, as the Crystal Tank plowed through and on its way to who knows where. All that Bismuth saw now was a bunch of crushed metal. Not even the shield looked good to use, bent up and crumbled thanks to the Crystal Tank's wheels.

"I spent days on every single one of these. How can she just DO THAT?!" Bismuth exclaimed, tightening her grip on a broken piece of an axe.

"Forget about the weapons, Bismuth, we got bigger problems," Flint said, seeing the Crystal Tank going off further out of sight. "Come on, we gotta talk some sense into her."

"I'll give her sense alright," Bismuth managed to say, getting up and being forced to abandon the wrecked material to join Flint in running after Amethyst. Despite being a Tank and being so huge, it actually was moving at a decent speed. Flint and Bismuth had to keep running just to make sure they were with the Crystal Tank, and whether or not Amethyst knew they were doing this she wasn't stopping. Occasionally she would blast the Crystal Tank's weaponry, leaving other islands as a bunch of rubble as more were grinded up in the wheels, not to mention a LOT of strawberries being crushed as well.

"If she wasn't already Rejuvenated, I'd give her a LOT more talk after this," Bismuth said, though she was still getting upset with Amethyst for acting so careless.

"Do you know how to get in there?"

"The same way Amethyst got in there - right at the top."

"Of course it is. Come on, let's go!"
Running alongside the whole vehicle, Flint was the first one to try and get to the top of the giant Crystal Tank, jumping up onto the top of one of the Tank's grinding wheels. With all the strawberry juice though, Flint found himself more trying to balance on top of the moving wheel rather than climbing, slipping on the red liquid seconds after getting on. Bismuth played it smart and just climbed up from the sides instead of using the wheels for leverage, her pickaxe hands digging into the sides of it. Flint tried to get his footing, and he would've fallen under the wheels if Bismuth didn't grab him and pulled him up first.
A good save. Bismuth threw him upward to a more flattened area of the giant Tank, giving them a moment to regather themselves.

"We know you can hear us in that moving boulder, Amethyst! Get outta that thing, or we'll show ya how much we mean business!" Bismuth shouted. Flint actually looked surprised.

"She didn't say "Bismuth" that time," he breathed. You KNOW she ain't playing nice if she wasn't cracking jokes now. Amethyst though wasn't gonna take kindly to these two messing with her fun.

"You ain't my boss! I'm my own boss!" Amethyst shouted, presumably through some speakers from inside the Crystal Tank. The barrel of the Crystal Tank's largest gun suddenly started to spin around, the barrel striking Bismuth square in the stomach. The Blacksmith was alright, but the hit swung her right off of the Crystal Tank, sending her into a strawberry patch. Bismuth shook off the strawberry juice from her hair, bringing out both hands as axe blades. But while Bismuth flew off of the Crystal Tank, as Amethyst checked where she went …

"That'll show ya. … Wait. Wasn't there two of them?" Amethyst wondered.

Then the hatch suddenly opened up on it's own! Amethyst found herself freaking out after seeing that, even moreso when she felt something grab her by the hair and pull her out of the Crystal Tank like a scene from some ghost film. Amethyst yelped, holding onto her head and suddenly she got her whip out and started to just go to town on whatever got a hold of her. This of course made the Tank stop moving.

"BRING IT, INVISIBO! BRING IT!" Amethyst shouted, kicking and punching.

"Stop flailing, Amethyst," said Flint. Amazing how quick a camo cloak can be active, and now that he got hold of Amethyst he felt at least the Crystal Tank was under some form of control. The Crystal Tank may have stopped moving, and Amethyst stopped, but this didn't last too long …

*BAM!*
It only took a maximum of three seconds for what occurred next. One moment Flint was standing on top of the Crystal Tank with Amethyst in hand, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, his head in a Strawberry, and something standing on top of him. Flint looked right upward, straight up the end of a particular French Rapier. And the Gem that got this whole thing started in the first place was, once again, standing on top of him.

"Flint," said Hessonite.

"Hessonite," Flint managed to say before Hessonite got off of him. Bismuth only now got back to her own feet and readied to get back into the game, but Hessonite was already aware of her, throwing her Rapier like a spear and stopping Bismuth at her feet.

"You the one that gave Amethyst that boulder?" Bismuth asked up front.

"Boulder?" Hessonite questioned, "THAT, my dear, is the state-of-the-art Stonecruizer 2000 Crystal Tank. I thought you of all Gems would know that."
Before this conversation could continue, they began to hear a bit of coughing off nearby, as Amethyst pulled herself out of the ground too, spitting out some dirt and cold leaves, not to mention some strawberry seeds. The lunge was quick, but not as calculative as Hessonite would like as the Gem Admiral helped Amethyst to her feet.

"Where'd you even get that? We didn't recall you using the Warp," Flint questioned.

"A Gem has her ways. Now what I want to know is why you're jumping in on Amethyst's trial run? If you all wanted a turn with it, all you had to do is ask," Hessonite questioned.

"Yeah, what's with you?" Amethyst asked, shaking off some gunk from her hair.

"Look I get you wanna have fun, but look at what you're doing!" Bismuth said, as she pulled out a destroyed spear from the bottom of the Tank's wheel "LOOK at all these weapons you just wrecked! You think these come cheap?"

"So touchy," Hessonite remarked, "These weapons hadn't been used in thousands of years. They're just laying around, growing all … rusty!"

"So what if they are, that means you get to just crumble them up? They still got some fight in them!" growled Bismuth. Bismuth even grabbed a large battle axe nearby, showing it off to Hessonite. It still looked somewhat old, but that was just fine to Bismuth.

"HA! Now tell me any axe that's still looking sharp after thousands of years! I bet I can still cut up a good warship with this baby," Bismuth said confidently, swinging it around a bit, and even managing to get a clean cut on some bushes, leaving a very fine (albeit angled) cut.

… Only for Hessonite to slice it to pieces. She barely broke a sweat, her Rapier hardly even remotely dirty, as the Battle Axe now laid in heaps on the ground.

"HEY!!!"

"It's just an axe, Bismuth, what's the big deal?" Amethyst said, angry still over what they were trying to do. Hessonite gave Amethyst a pat on the head.

"Let's not blame her too much, Amethyst. She probably made these weapons herself, and is just a bit ticked that no one likes her work anymore."

"You're right: I did make all these weapons! Each and every one, and I KNOW they're still as good now as they were back fighting YOU!" Bismuth made clear. It was hard to tell if this was pride talking out of Bismuth or legit anger at how little they care about the war anymore, but regardless Hessonite and Amethyst were just getting bugged if anything.

"They could use some extra work then."

NOW she did it.

"What did you say?" Bismuth questioned, looking ready to explode at this point. Hessonite found it amusing that Bismuth thought she could best her in a fight, tossing her cape back with a smirk.

"And work on some polishing too. These weapons won't suit any Quartz at all in this state."

"You're asking for it!" Bismuth had enough of this. Wrecking a historical landmark of the Gem War, wrecking her weapons, and now mocking her right in her face - it was more than she could take! However, a fight was going to have to wait, and Amethyst finally got herself in between.

"ALRIGHT ALREADY!" Amethyst shouted, "If you're gonna go all psycho about it, I'll stop wrecking the place! Will that make you people happy?"

"Not until I hear an apology," Bismuth said, glaring at Hessonite. Hessonite cleared her throat and ...

"I'm sorry."

… Well that was quick.

"O-Oh. W-Well good! Just quit wrecking the history in this place, ok?" Bismuth huffed, really blind-sided by the very quick apology.

"We'll find a new training area tomorrow. This place is overgrown anyway with all of these … "strawberries". They're leaving stains all over Amethyst's priceless Tank," Hessonite remarked, making sure she wasn't standing in some of the juices left behind by the fruit. That was probably the best Bismuth was going to get with her, so for the sake of it she didn't push it more than she had to.

"Well ain't that a problem," Bismuth commented. After that was calmed down though, Flint had one more question to ask her.

"Hessonite, one more thing. Amethyst mentioned something about "showing off" her Crystal Tank to Little Homeworld. We can't have that Tank that close to the public."

Hessonite was starting to get a bit huffy herself.

"I can't do this, I can't do that. What can I do?" Hessonite questioned.

"You can train with the Crystal Tank, just not anywhere where it can hurt anyone," Flint concluded. Hessonite thought that the Strawberry Battlefield seemed appropriate, but apparently that wasn't gonna be happening thanks to Bismuth. That didn't mean there wasn't a loop hole in Flint's proposal, to which Hessonite easily found after a quick thought or two.

"Very well, if you're so insistent about it. On one condition."

"OH NO, We're not falling for that, you're already ticking me off!" Bismuth made perfectly clear. Hessonite ignored that and just went on her talk anyway.

"We're in the middle of our trial run here. If you don't mind, the least you can possibly do is let her finish her run here. Have some decency," Hessonite said.

"Why you -"

"Deal. Go on Amethyst," Flint cut in. Bismuth froze when she heard that. Seemed Flint had his own idea here, and Hessonite would rather take his word over Bismuth's. Once that was taken care of, Amethyst looked back up to the giant Tank.

"Sweetness. You rock, Hess!" Amethyst said.

"Oh! Oh, think nothing of it," Hessonite said "modestly", as the geeked Amethyst went straight back up and back into her tank for some more fun for the day. She had one day, might as well make the best of it. Hessonite went off on her way, disappearing before Bismuth could get her. Bismuth and Flint both heard the Crystal Tank start to move again.

"Why're you letting them go? I COULD'VE STOPPED THEM!" Bismuth shouted.

"Hey, easy! We're here to make sure she doesn't cause trouble, so that's what -"

"YOU'RE doin!" Bismuth cut in, "I will NOT watch her go around and just walk all over this place like it's some sandbox!"

"Don't do this, Bismuth, you're in over your head!" Flint said, starting to worry. But Bismuth was not going to take this sitting down, her hammers ready to fight.

"Oh I'm doin it. Now you either help me, or get outta my way, I'm saving what Battlefield's left -" Bismuth was cut short when Flint swung his leg out and actually made the blacksmith trip over her feet, her slamming onto the ground before she could even take a step.

"BISMUTH, it's just some tools, it's just a field!" Flint insisted.

"WHAT?! You're talking like that too? This is a historical battleground for the Crystal Gems -"

"No it's not! It's just a field of Strawberries that HAPPEN to mark the end of a war that didn't need to happen, remember?!" Flint reminded. Bismuth tried to think of a rebuttal, but wasn't that dense to see that Flint had his own priorities in place too. HIS worry was about who, not what. Bismuth eventually got back to her feet, wiping off some of the snow off of her chest.

"If you don't wanna help, then fine, but I'm going to get what I can before she turn it all into granite," Bismuth decided, going on her way to catch up with the Crystal Tank. All Flint could do was stand there, honestly feeling a bit uneasy himself and not just about Amethyst's giant Tank. After all, he thought the Gem War was all behind them now …

~~~~~~

Throughout the rest of the day, it was mainly a waiting game for Flint as he waited for Bismuth and Amethyst to be finished. Bismuth kept herself busy throughout the day, but rather than fight off Amethyst's advances she was keeping her focus on getting all of the weapons out of the Crystal Tank's way, salvaging whatever was left and keeping it in a nearby pile, which itself by day's end was easily the height of a car. Well, counting the smaller weapons only that is. Hessonite and Amethyst kept themselves busy too, namely Amethyst testing out the tank on whatever she pleased as Hessonite gave her some pointers time and again along with some targets for her to practice on.
By the time sunset came around was when Bismuth took a break from following the Crystal Tank around, not as mad as earlier mainly just because of what she managed to get out of the tank's way.

"There. That's uh one, two, three - thirty seven pieces saved. Not bad for one day," Bismuth said, though it was mostly to herself. Flint simply gave a *hmm* to her, staring off out in the field of the winter strawberry patches. Bismuth took a moment to relax herself, though there was a bit of a quiet moment between Flint and Bismuth. He couldn't see any sign of where Amethyst was at this point, but with all the time going by with him doing so little whatever damage she had done was … done.

"How's the view? You've been staring out all day," Bismuth asked, breaking the ice.

"It's fine …" Flint replied. Silence hung in the air again. Bismuth knew why, looking back to the weapon pile she'd been working on all day. Time to be the bigger Gem.

"Hey. Sorry you had to see that earlier. Things kinda got away from me," Bismuth said. Flint somehow knew it would get to this point.

"Don't worry about it, really. It's over, it happened, no one got hurt. It's fine," Flint replied, again making it short. Again silence in the air. Well Bismuth said what she needed to say, at least for the moment, so she started walking away again.

"Right … I'm just going to get some more weapons then," Bismuth said. Flint stayed quiet, hearing the blacksmith continue off to get some more things. It wasn't very long until Flint found himself alone again.

Then his eyes went over to the weapon pile. At first the pile didn't bother him, but the more he looked at it, the more he began to feel curious. Not like he had anything better to do, plus Bismuth got quite the collection gathered up anyway so odds were something was bound to intrigue Flint.
After Bismuth was completely gone, he went over towards the pile. Hands behind his back, he began to scope out what was in the pile like someone would check a statue or piece of art: casual, but observant all the same. A dozen shields, some swords of varying types, a spear or two, and other assortment of weapons salvaged and saved from the looming titan of a Tank. He looked it from the front, along the sides, and checked out the back, basically going around in a circle at least once to get the full extent of the pile. He seen them all before …

All but one.

"What's this?" Flint wondered. One of these weapons did not look like a medieval device like the swords, spears and such he was checking out. It stuck out just enough to show it was different, but hidden just enough in there that it took some investigating. It took a few tugs to get the device out of the pile, it turning out to be something a bit more modern than he expected. It was twice as long as his typical Gem pistol he would use, appearing like a crossbow in a way.
Flint took his time with this piece of work, holding it and examining the details on it. It had the standard details for a Crossbow, a shade of seagreen along the main body of the Crossbow, with the actual bow almost looking like just a "attachment" to the device, sort of like how Bismuth made attachments to Garnet's gauntlet gloves or Pearl's Spear to make a trident.

"Is it the bow itself that's the attachment?" Flint wondered. For the heck if it, he started posing with the weapon, as if ready to fire it, really trying to get the feel of it. It took a few try-out poses to get the handle on it, Flint just about ready to actually shoot the thing and see how well it can work.

"See you found one of my crossbows."

Flint jumped hearing Bismuth's voice again, the blacksmith strolling back with another shield of hers, though luckily it wasn't enough to make Flint drop the Crossbow.

"It's actually pretty interesting. White had a few of these too when training us, but I never got the chance to use one. It looks surprisingly new too," Flint remarked, eyeing down the crossbow for a bit, as if focusing on a target. Bismuth smirked.

"Yeah, I try to keep up with the later stuff at the time," Bismuth explained, Flint giving her the crossbow back as she held it for a minute, "... You know, I still remembered when she first tried it."

"She? Who's she?"

"We had this Citrine on our side, and she wanted so bad for something that more like Earth, something authentic you know. So I got a few stones together, some metals, and next thing I knew, Citrine's shooting arrows all across the field. Heh. She was so psyched she was to first tried this, you have no idea."
Flint took a second to thought about how she would act. Probably all starry eyed like Steven used to do, but who could really say other than Bismuth how she actually reacted. Bismuth looked over to the weapon pile again, this time with a soft smile. Flint then spotted something else from the pile, pulling it out to show Bismuth.

"What story is behind this shield?" Flint then asked. Bismuth then saw a rather impressive looking shield that, while matching the shape of Pink Diamond's rounded out shield, had its own kind of markings along the rimming and was a more dullish blue. Plus there was a bit of an odd shape to it, as if it was dented or something.

"Oh yeah! You're not holding just a shield there. Here, let's see if it still works," Bismuth said. Flint, curious in his usual way, gave it to Bismuth to see what it can do. Bismuth held the so-called shield in her hand for a bit, rallying her arm up, and then tossed it like a frisbee as hard as she could. Flint expected it to just fly off in the distance, but then after a bit, it actually began to turn somewhat, and soon, it began to fly right on back and right into Bismuth's hands.

"HAHA! What do ya know! It still flies back," Bismuth said with a grin.

"So it's not a shield then," Flint concluded.

"Eh, it's a mix of both: you can expand it to block of blasts -" she held a part of it and stretched it out to make the signature round shape. "- or you can keep it angled and fly it at anything you want. Man, ol' Crazy Lace always had trouble with this babe."
Bismuth chuckled on the memory. A bit hard to forget how many times Crazy Lace (whoever that was) would throw it out, just for it to whiplash back and knock someone on her side as much as the enemy side. It actually was kinda funny, even if it was problematic. Flint was pretty impressed with it himself, though Bismuth did give off a sigh, remembering how little Hessonite appreciated this stuff and, to an extent, what Flint said earlier.

"That's actually pretty nice. Both a weapon and a protection - that two for one. And you made it yourself?"

"It took me dozens of tries to make it work. No one even asked for this, I just wanted to make something special that none of my homeworld Bis's did. I've been meaning to show em this, see what they think," Bismuth explained, shaping the device back into a shield. Eventually though, as Bismuth looked out to the field once more, her smile began to slowly seep away back to a sort of small frown.

"... You know, you're not all wrong."

"How so?" Flint questioned.

"About this place. I get it: since Rose wasn't rose, it makes what this place means kind of different. I know Rose isn't who she said she was, and that the "victory" here isn't what I thought, but … it still means a lot to me, you know? There's so much here, so many stories, memories. Even if it started out as just some lie by Pink Diamond, it's still something. … Guess I'm the only one who still thinks it's something worth remembering," Bismuth explained. Flint looked out to the field one more time, thinking about what Bismuth just said before he turned to her himself.

"Well I admit I probably won't ever understand what it's like to be here while you were around. But I can see how much it means to you though. Sorry I didn't get that sooner," Flint said.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. Well, in a way that makes sense that is," Bismuth said. Flint smiled to her, both sides glad things calmed down a bit now. One thought did go through Flint's head though.

"Uh, hey. I know this is a bit off topic, but -"

"Amethyst? Come on. We knew you were gonna ask about that," Bismuth said knowingly. Flint cleared his throat, finding himself clamming up. But Bismuth went and answered for him anyway, in a better mood.

"She's off down in the valley over there. She said she was gonna take a power nap in her powerful Tank before heading out tomorrow," Bismuth explained, pointing out in the same direction. Even with the dim light of the setting sun he could still make out the small shine coming off of the Crystal Tank from the Warp Pad where they were.

"She's sleeping in the Tank?" Flint asked. "I know Hessonite gave it to her and all, but I didn't think she'd be that attached to it."

"You should've seen how she how she looked when I enhanced her whip," Bismuth said. It might not be the craziest reaction, but Amethyst still had that impressed look in her eyes all the same. Bismuth could still just recall how much fun that was about. Flint sighed, and actually sat down on the edge of the Warp Pad, his eyes looking up towards the sky. This eventually got him laying down.

There was a lot here to be had …

…

"AUGH, dang it, I forgot."

Bismuth turned over to him, Flint standing up and standing on the Warp Pad.

"What's your rubble now?" Bismuth asked.

"I was supposed to meet up with Jade back at Little Homeworld, she's probably wondering where the heck I am. Checking in on the quartzes, you know how it is," Flint remembered, though he wished he didn't have to especially at this point in time. Bismuth got up too.

"Hold on, you never said you had other things to do. What about Amethyst?"

"What can I say, I'm sorry. Can you just handle her while I'm gone? Make sure she doesn't do anything destructive. You know how to handle her better than I could do," Flint asked. Bismuth wasn't sure what to say about this. WAY off in the distance, both Bismuth and Flint began to hear a very distant *boom* coming from the direction of the Crystal Tank. Either she was done with her power nap or just set it off by mistake. Either way the shot got another island off in the distance.

"Alright, you go. I'd better go check that," Bismuth decided.

"Yeah, you do that," Flint replied.

Getting off of the Warp Pad, Bismuth allowed Flint off on his way and sure enough, the hybrid Gem got the Warp Pad beaming him away back to Little Homeworld. At least they could say they got what they needed to say out beforehand, otherwise it probably wouldn't end so well. With Flint gone, Bismuth started off on her way back towards the Crystal Tank. It was gonna be a long night she could probably tell.
Tonight though, there was a few more reasons why it was gonna be a more difficult night, and that reason began to slither out into the open once the coast was made clear. He had to wait until Bismuth was more than far enough away, peering out from just behind the Warp Pad's o so small shadow and wall.

Out came Nichrome. The alien was lucky he wasn't caught by either Gems for how long he was there, but with them both gone he could finally move. He took a few stretches of his legs and body, getting some kinks out from compacting himself down for so long. He too heard the very distant noise of the Crystal Tank.

"A Crystal Tank? Ohohohoho, Grogar will HAVE to honor me when I make this work," Nichrome thought deviously.

He's going home with a Crystal Tank, one way or another.

~~~~~~

At least Hessonite seemed happy about this.

Standing off nearby during the late hours of the evening, just minutes away from moonrise, Hessonite took her time to keep an eye on Amethyst and the Crystal Tank. Call it staying vigilant, or just seeing how good of an idea she thought of, either way Hessonite wasn't heading back so soon even if it would mean leaving "her" Colony unattended for the night. She did know Amethyst was probably passed out inside the thing, seeing how the Crystal Tank hadn't moved in easily an hour and a half by now.

"You should give yourself some credit, Hessonite," Hess told herself, "Who else but you would think that an overcooked Amethyst would be this good at proper Tank controls? And she's having so much fun too in there, blasting away at everything. The other Diamonds would be impressed with you, no doubt about it."

As she stood there, she started to look around the battlefield herself. Aside from the tracks left by the Tank, it really did look untouched for the most part. At least as untouched as a field of strawberries would look like. Despite Bismuth's constant work in making sure all the weapons weren't destroyed, some were still left scattered here and there.

"What does that Bismuth see in all of this anyway? The Gem War's been over, and based around a lie. So what's there to even get from here anymore?" Hessonite questioned, walking over towards a fairly small dagger hidden amongst a bush. Hessonite held it, even tossed it in her hand, though she didn't look all too impressed with it. Especially with her specialized sword she already had as a Gem weapon.

"Look at this poor thing. Small, thin, beyond ancient. Why would they have weapons made for them when they have their own Gem weapons already -"
Hessonite suddenly stopped herself when a feeling started to come over her. Someone was nearby, and coming in but who it was remained to be said as Hessonite turned around to try and locate who was there. Not much sight at first, but Hessonite could take a pretty good guess. After figuring out her target, she actually kept her body turned away, adjusting her steps until she felt just right … before throwing her sword backwards, and in the air.

Bismuth jumped out in the open when the sword nearly got her behind her chunk of rock.

"Some advice: don't sneak up on a War Admiral," Hessonite simply said, though she did sound a bit smug with that statement as Bismuth got herself together again.

"Can't be sneaking if you weren't - be careful with that!" Bismuth said, seeing Hessonite holding the dagger in hand, and Bismuth actually managing to take it from her. Hessonite stepped back, feeling invaded after she did that.

"My, I wasn't planning to destroy it," Hessonite huffed.

"This means a lot to me, so I'm keeping it with me. This is one of the first daggers I've made in the Gem War, made up of the strongest stuff there is."

"So I noticed," Hessonite remarked, mainly on how old it looked. Even if a few thousand years didn't look that long to the typical Gem, weapons don't age as well obviously. But while Bismuth was here, she might as well ask.

"You know, I've been watching you scurry around and get your toys all day long. What is it you actually see in these old relics?" Hessonite asked, being legitimate this time as it was bugging her for hours now. That didn't mean it wasn't insulting.

"You can call it whatever you'd like, but these "old relics" got their stories with them, and I'm NOT letting it just get thrown away. Besides, you stab anything with this it's gonna melt it," Bismuth explained.

"And Homeworld has destabilizers that can disintegrate forms and even alter them. What's your point?" Hessonite inquired, not too impressed by the statement. Bismuth groaned.

"Does it always have to come down to how efficient it is to you?"

"Of course it does, otherwise why have them. I may have used them during the Gem War once or twice, but THIS era doesn't need them anymore. There's a Crystal Tank RIGHT THERE," Hessonite explained, bringing Bismuth's attention towards the huge Tank that could probably crumble the dagger into dust if it wanted to.

"You know something, I thought that too. But you can bet your Facet that there's more to it than that -" Bismuth then got "the hand" from Hessonite.

"Please don't start again, I've had my fill over your five other talks today. Why don't you think about this will you: the past has passed, and only is there the future. … So stop freaking out over these rusted bits."

"Well I know one too: people who don't learn from history are just gonna repeat it," Bismuth retorted, hearing this once before from a particular book-enthused Alicorn. Hessonite rolled her eyes.

"Sounds ridiculous. EVERYTHING eventually gets replaced by something new and better -"

"Including you?" Bismuth remarked. Hessonite felt the sting this time and spun around fast to face Bismuth with an angry look.

"OH, how dare you!" Hessonite snapped. Bismuth started to feel a bit cheeky with Hess now, actually finding a kink in her otherwise impenetrable armor.

"HA! NOW who's touchy?" said Bismuth. Hessonite quickly corrected herself.

"There's a difference between a perfectly cut Garnet AND some rusted out tool! Then again how would you know the difference?"

NOW Bismuth got angry.

"You really gonna start with me? Because I will if you wanna start!"

Arguing as they were, this unfortunately to them gave one sneaky little shadow a good time to make his move.
Having followed her since earlier back at the Warp Pad, Nichrome began to silently slink and "slither" along the floor of the battlefield. With both of the toughest Gems there distracted more with eachother. He even flattened his body so he looked more like a snake, and snuck around just as well as one as he slipped along the foliage and the occasional weaponry towards the colossal Crystal Tank before him. He just managed to get himself to the giant wheel of the Crystal Tank when -

"HEY, can you two bicker somewhere else?!" called a voice from the very top of the Crystal Tank, Nichrome quickly got out of sight as Bismuth and Hessonite looked up to Amethyst, who by now was getting annoyed with their yelling.

"Amethyst? Mind coming down for a moment?" Hessonite asked.

"Do I have to?" Amethyst groaned.

"True Amethyst's don't question orders," Hessonite made clear.

"FINE," Amethyst said. So, with the order given to her, Amethyst got herself out of the Crystal Tank to see what was up. Amethyst slid down the side of the Crystal Tank, and landed over nearby Hessonite and Bismuth. Nichrome couldn't believe the set up, but he wasn't gonna let this pass up.

"What's up?"

"Would you mind telling this Bismuth what you know about the "Gem War"?" Hessonite said.

"Hold on, what's this got to do with anything?" Bismuth questioned, though still somewhat ticked. Amethyst though just went and said it anyway.

"I mean, what do I know? It's not like I've ever seen it," Amethyst said, not caring much at all about it now. Bismuth knew Amethyst wasn't a Gem know about it regardless of her memory, but it still felt off hearing just how little it mattered to her.

"So should it matter to you what happens to this place then?" Hessonite then asked. Amethyst sighed roughly.

"I SAID I'm leaving here tomorrow, so you can keep your strawberries," Amethyst said, unamused. Not the best answer Amethyst could give.

"I can't believe you! The Amethyst I know wouldn't act like such a clod about this!"

"HEY, it's not MY fault I've never been there," Amethyst retorted, "and didn't you hear me? I SAID I'm leaving tomorrow! Sidenote: the heck do you mean by "the Amethyst you know"? I've never seen you before you messed with my Tank this morning!"

Bismuth actually forgot Amethyst didn't have her memory.

"Oh man, I forgot. Amethyst, you got to remember something about this place. Didn't pink - er, "Rose" tell you what this place is about?"

"No," Amethyst bluntly answered. How long did it take for Rose to tell her about the war? Then again, Pink Diamond never told her about what she really was, and got her bubbled in Lion's mane for it anyway.

"Man, this is worse than I thought. Think, something gotta make her click, but what?" Bismuth thought, trying to figure something out. But before she could figure out what, Hessonite spoke up again with sword in hand.

"There you go. Obviously even one of the Crystal Gems aren't spazzing out, so why don't you just head on back home?" Hessonite suggested, feeling that she won yet another argument. Suddenly something clicked.

"That's it. Hey Amethyst, you have a weapon I can see for a sec," Bismuth said.

"Huh? Eh, sure?" Amethyst asked. Well, a true Amethyst didn't disobey orders, so reluctantly she showed Bismuth her whip. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the whip didn't have those spiked balls on it as it had before. This did throw Bismuth for a loop on what to do next, but the blacksmith had her own little plan B. Actions speak louder than words, as one knows, and Bismuth took action and gave the whip a look over.

"Wow, look at this. Not many Amethysts get a weapon as good as this," Bismuth said.

"... Uh … thank you?" Amethyst asked, confused. Hessonite just observed off nearby, to see where this will go. Bismuth then started looking around the battlefield for a short bit. She only wished she was back at her Forge, this would be easier, but she couldn't drag Amethyst away from Hessonite to make this work. So, she investigated the nearby weapons, and started doing … something.

"Ok, you saw it, can I have it back?" Amethyst asked, hand extended and ready to have her whip back. Bismuth gave it back to her, but the whip had something different about it.

"There you are. Now you can REALLY do some damage," Bismuth said.

It wasn't spiked balls as before, but it was the best Bismuth could do on short notice. Amethyst saw the tips of her whip did indeed get enhanced some what, this time though Bismuth had to make a sacrifice out of a few blades to tie the ends onto the whip. …

"Okay first you yell at me, then you question me, now you're giving me something - what's the game?"

It didn't work. Well it was worth a shot.

Too bad they didn't have time for anything else …

*rumble*

Bismuth, Hessonite, and Amethyst turned back over towards the giant Crystal Tank, the ominous rumbling and movement of the device making them all wonder what was going on. No one was inside the Crystal Tank, right? Everyone was outside it, it shouldn't be moving by itself! Right in front of them, the Crystal Tank began to activate its guns, turning the largest one directly at the Gems that dwarfed it ever so.

"SCATTER!" Bismuth shouted. This time there was no argument, and all three jumped out of the way, just before the Crystal Tank fired point blank at the ground, exploding a huge chunk of the earth in a blast of strawberry bushes, rock, snow and roots all over the place. The shot had so much force it even made the Tank itself jolt back!

"Since when did it have an auto-pilot?!" Amethyst asked.

"It shouldn't! Who has the nerve to take control of my tank?!" Hessonite demanded, sword drawn and at the ready for whatever assailant was inside that thing. They all got their answer soon enough, as a projection screen showed exactly what alien from Grogar's Army managed to take control, him giggling devilishly.

"YOU!" Bismuth snarled, her hammers at the ready now.

"Isn't this so sweet of you to show me one of your toys," Nichrome mocked with a snickering grin, "I might not be keen on gem tech, but I do have to say, this is really nice."

"Get out of there, you'll wreck something!" Hessonite demanded. All that did was make Nichrome laugh.

"And go back to my king with nothing? Besides, wasn't that exactly what your stout Amethyst was doing with it all day? Unless you want to O, I don't know, SURRENDER TO ME! then I'll let your battlefield free," Nichrome pointed out, Amethyst growling a little for having her Tank swiped away from her.

"Why don't you crawl out of there and say that to my hammer? You'll get just as lucky that way," Bismuth said, her hammers slamming together. Nichrome didn't bother to even open the hatch.

"OH, you all think you're in charge? Which one of us is in the control room?" Nichrome said smugly.

"You don't even know how to use it!" Hessonite said, illy impressed.

"Oh no?"
With a few more sinister laughs, the projection screen disappeared, and the Crystal Tank began to grow active again on them. The main Gun turned again, charging up for another blast. They could actually the laughing Nichrome was making inside the Crystal Tank just before he just went all psycho Tank mode. The turret holding the main gun suddenly started spinning fast, the main gun now spinning 360s, shooting rapid fire blasts everywhere and anywhere it aimed! Accuracy wasn't all that good, but the power in each blast was enough to make Bismuth, Amethyst, and Hessonite move back, debris and earth flying everywhere around them! One of the Tank's blasts was aimed directly at them!

"Holy - get behind me!" Bismuth said, scrambling to get her hands into a large shield. The blast struck her in a direct hit, Bismuth being skidded back easily thirty feet in just one blast in the explosion. STARS did that hurt her hands, Bismuth shaking both hands loose to get the stinging out of them. The shock of the blast wrecked some more of the area around her, lucky to still be standing with the other two safe behind her.

"HA! You call that a serve?! That barely filled me up," Bismuth mocked.

Bad move.

"You want the main course, eh? WELL HERE IT IS!" Nichrome said through the speakers, before charging up the Crystal Tank again, this time adjusting the power from a full frontal hit to a rapid-fire barrage. Bismuth got out the shield again, but while these weren't as strong as the initial blast, they still had their hit on her. She could only hold it up for so long before a blast finally forced Amethyst and Bismuth off of their feet, only Hessonite being fast enough to jump aside.

"That's it, I'm getting my tank back!" Amethyst said, pulling out her Gem whip and making a sudden attack on the Crystal Tank.

"Amethyst, hold up!" Bismuth called. Amethyst jumped up and got her whip aimed for the hull of the Tank, going to town as much as she could. She might as well just spit at the thing, because her whips (even with the attachments Bismuth gave her) were doing jack. She did try a more thoughtful move and just managed to wrap her whip around the main gun of the Crystal Tank, pulling as hard as she could.

Nichrome got the main turret to spin again, sending Amethyst spinning like crazy in the air until she lost her grip on her whip, Amethyst crash-landing down onto the ground further away, Bismuth catching her mid air to break her fall, and landing hard onto the ground herself.

"You ok?" Bismuth asked, sitting up.

"I'm alive," Amethyst said, though she was face first in the ground.

"Not for long!" Nichrome announced, one more blast for the road.

… Now it was Hessonite's turn. She moved just fast enough to get in between the shot and the two Gems, and her sword in a single swing, sliced the shot in two! It was almost slow motion when that happened, the blast from the Crystal Tank being split in one clean cut, both sides slamming into the countryside further away. The smoke clearing revealed Hessonite standing there, her cape whipping in the wind for a bit before settling down onto her back. All Hessonite did was give her opponent a smirk and a knowing look.

"AWESOME, CHIEF!" Amethyst beamed, amazed. Even Bismuth was a bit impressed with it, her sword not even remotely damaged from a shot like that.
But that wasn't going to be left alone for too long, and Nichrome quickly made another shot at them, this time Hessonite bolting to the other two and moving them out of the way, another part of the land exploding where they were just standing onto a crater. Once the smoke cleared this time, Nichrome found no one out in the open, unaware that the three Gems took cover over by a chunk of ground.

"Before this goes further, I'm just going to assume this isn't the first time you two met," Hessonite questioned, namely to Bismuth not Amethyst.

"He's messed with my friends before, and NOT in a good way. He thought poisoning my friend was gonna be a laugh," Bismuth explained, vaguely hearing Amethyst try to attack the Crystal Tank again, just to get launched back. Patience in this part of Amethyst's memory was not well-thought out apparently.

"Grrr, first he steals my tank. NOW he's making fun of me!" Hessonite growled. If there's one thing she did NOT like is being shown up, especially by some random alien!

"If he gets out of here with that thing, he's gonna destroy everything. We gotta get him out of there before he gets bored with us," Bismuth concluded. They saw Amethyst try one more time to get Nichrome to stop, pulling downward instead of to the side. The Crystal Tank's main gun swung upward this time, pulling Amethyst off of the ground just to swing back down, clocking the purple Gem before sending her crashing to the floor.

"Seriously, let me have my tank back! This isn't fun anymore," Amethyst demanded.

"Really Amethyst? I didn't mean to "overcook" my performance. Or are you just "short-tempered" my defective friend," Nichrome "joked", laughing.

"I]Shut up, you're not even clever!" Amethyst said, angry about the comment about her status as a defect. She got out two whips and tried once again, but this time the Crystal Tank didn't even give her a chance and started moving forward towards her, a stray whip getting caught in the grinding wheels. No that didn't stop the Crystal Tank, only making it "swallow" up her whip into its gears, the Crystal Tank almost on top of her!

"Is a truce out of the question?" Hessonite asked.

"Looks like I have no choice," Bismuth replied.

...

"BACK UP, NICK!" Bismuth shouted, slamming a set of spike hands directly into the grinding wheel, so much force it immediately made the wheel stop turning. The Crystal Tank still kept trying to move forward, but it found itself turning on a dime instead, Bismuth using all her strength just to keep the wheel from turning. Nichrome tried to add on more power, putting speed to maximum, but Bismuth still was not budging.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Nichrome hollered.

"Amethyst, move!" Bismuth said to Amethyst. The purple Gem shook off the surprise, and had no real option but to try and run out of the way. While she got out of the way of one wheel, the second wheel still spun in its circle, and Amethyst had to dive out of the way of that just before it could crush her underneath it too.

"There you are. this should keep you out of trouble over here, Amethyst," Hessonite instructed, more casual than she should be about the situation. Amethyst brushed herself off.

"Don't leave me out, man! I can still tank that Tank," Amethyst insisted.

"Don't worry. I never leave unfinished business behind," Hessonite said, drawing out her sword in full.

Before Amethyst could say anything else, Hessonite went off towards the Crystal Tank in a good bounding motion. A good time to join in on the struggle too, because Bismuth just released the wheel and rolled out of the way before Nichrome could crush her underneath the Crystal Tank's weight. Nichrome needed to back up to aim the main gun at Bismuth, but Hessonite was already at the fight by the time he actually got to it, Hessonite jumping off of Bismuth's head before landing on her own Tank. Nichrome tried to aim the tank to shoot Hessonite, but her blinding speed was too much for the alien to actually make a connection.

"Got a problem, Nick?" Bismuth mocked, as she started to take the opportunity to climb up as well. Nichrome inside the Tank was struggling to find out where either of them are, but the only one he could see was Amethyst, running to catch up to them.

"You two may be out of the way, but who's going to protect the defect?" Nichrome remarked, before charging up the actual main gun again. Amethyst stopped seeing it aiming at her.

"Don't you even!" Hessonite shouted, jumping up and whacking the side of the main gun with both legs at once. The momentum was powerful enough to make the main turret spin slightly, shooting off into the distance and exploding part of the Battlefield again. This was a full blast, making the Crystal Tank actually lean slightly before landing back on all its wheels. Bismuth then got an idea. It was a gamble, but it'll be the fastest way to get Nichrome out of the behemoth.

"Not a bad idea, Hess," Bismuth said, before getting the idea of hers working. But she didn't need to be on the actual Crystal Tank to make this work, and actually jumped off to get some distance. Hessonite looked over to see this going on, but wasn't sure what the Blacksmith was up to. Until she got talking.

"HEY NICHROME! If you're looking for a target, why not start with me?! I'll stand still for ya, I promise!" Bismuth called, good and loud for Nichrome to hear her. However, he didn't fire at first, instead deciding to talk and mock.

"HA! What idiot do you take me for? I'm not gullible like you," Nichrome questioned.

"Alright don't sweat it, if you can't shoot me that's cool! I'm no expert on using a Tank, but you're sucking at it anyway! A pebble can dodge you, buddy!"

"WHAT?! YOU COCKY LITTLE -" Nichrome, not taking that sitting down, started to move the main gun to aim directly at Bismuth. Bismuth didn't move, didn't run, but just stood there and allowed Nichrome to aim it directly at her.

"What is that boulder doing?!" Hessonite thought. Amethyst wasn't sure what was going on either, but they all were seeing that the main gun was slowly charging up. The hue began to brighten more and more with the energy charging inside of the darkened black interior of the gun. FULL MAXIMUM POWER. Bismuth was not going to survive this blast at blank range. As for Bismuth, she only had one thing left to do. Standing there, she got out a hammer arm …

And hammered the main gun into the ground.

Then it fired.

*BOOM*

Mistakes were made, and Nichrome made the biggest one. The force of that blast annihilated the ground it was shoved into, chunks the size of cars flying miles into the sky or just disintegrated altogether. So much force was put in that shot, so much sheer power, the Crystal Tank itself couldn't even take it, being forced back. The momentum leaned the Crystal Tank towards its side, a wall of crystalline machine leaning one way, and THIS TIME there was no recovery. Gravity forced the titanic Crystal Tank completely over, the Earth shuttering as tons on tons of machine collapsed onto the fields below it. Dust shot out like an explosion, any and all plant matter crushed in mere seconds, all Gems with a brain forced to run out of the way otherwise be crushed.
Their reward for such a crazy plan: a tipped over Tank. It was NOT going to get up on its own, and Nichrome's run was more than done now.

Speaking of which …

"ooohhhhh …" groaning from the spin, Nichrome FINALLY managed to get the hatch open (somehow), and pulled himself out of the control room with a few pulls of his own body. So much for bringing that Tank back to Grogar, NO WAY was he going to get it flipped back over now. It took him seconds to see that he lost.
And seconds later to realize he was stuck in the open with no power anymore.

"That was fun. Guess it's our turn, right?" asked Bismuth. Right behind him. Nichrome immediately tried to run for it, but Hessonite wasn't going to give this alien any chances, and even after going for twenty feet, Nichrome skidded to a stop with Hessonite in his way. Nichrome tried bolting different ways, but Hessonite's speed kept her in front of him no matter which direction he tried to bolt. Nichrome only got an opening near the next hill, only to run into Amethyst who already had her whip out.

"Hey.~"

"AAHH!" Nichrome yelped, tumbling back down the same hill.

"It's over, Nichrome. And you lose," Bismuth said.

"Waitwaitwait, I-I was just following orders," Nichrome said, "It's Tempest Shadow you should be upset with, not me! SHE came up with the idea! You wouldn't get mad at someone just following orders, would you?"

The two were NOT buying into that.

"... Yeah I would," Bismuth said, getting out her hammer hand, and her other hand grabbing hold of him. Nichrome tried breaking free, but Bismuth wasn't letting this rat get away from her. Her grip was tight and strong, making Nichrome gag a little bit.

"Wait. WAIT!" Nichrome managed to say.

"For what?! For you to try and shatter us again?" Bismuth demanded. Nichrome tried to think of something to say, but then his eyes looked to the Gem nearby. It's worth a shot.

"Look around you," Nichrome managed to say, "You lost your battlefield, you lost your tank, AND you still don't have your Amethyst back. Think all that's gonna be fixed when I'm dead, huh?" Nichrome questioned. Bismuth felt this start to sting her, and suddenly "killing him" didn't sound as good as she thought it would.

"Him too?" Amethyst thought.

"Just get out of here," Bismuth groaned, before dropping him. That didn't mean she was done with him though, still holding him by the head.

"Oh dear," Nichrome gulped. That was all he had time to think before Bismuth raised her hammer arm, and clocked him like a swinging mallet. Nichrome could only scream after being struck, flying far off and out of sight, blasting off to who knows where. One could probably hear that *bling* in the sky when he completely disappeared.

What was worse: Nichrome was absolutely right.

"That takes care of that. A bit … sloppy, but it works," Hessonite said.

"Did I almost hear a compliment in there? I'll take it," Bismuth said casually. Making light of the situation, but Bismuth honestly felt rather terrible with everything. Nichrome was beaten, and none of them got shattered or whatever, though that can't be the same thing said for … everything else. The Crystal Tank was out of commission, and the Strawberry Battlefield was A MESS! Craters left open everywhere, debris all over the place, it hardly looked like a true "strawberry field" anymore. Each crater had some hint of black smoke coming up from them thanks to the heat.

"Well … there goes the final battle of the Gem War," Bismuth sighed gravely.

"You Ok, Bismuth?" Amethyst asked curiously. Bismuth looked down to Amethyst, not seeing as much concern as it was curious. She did look angry just a moment ago, and suddenly she looked worn out. Seeing Amethyst like this though proved Nichrome's point that her true friend wasn't completely back yet. If only the original Crystal Gems were back in strength, this would make things a lot easier. But since when has it ever?

"I think I'm good for tonight. I'm just gonna go," Bismuth said. However, one Gem Admiral though got in Bismuth's way, arms crossed as if expecting something out of her.

"Bismuth? Aren't you forgetting something? Namely behind you?" Hessonite questioned, pointing behind Bismuth towards the capsized Crystal Tank, which by now was steaming a little bit itself from the power it had unleashed onto the field. The Crystal Tank was not going to be going anywhere on its own, and Hessonite and Amethyst weren't just going to leave it there as apart of the field if any of them could help it.

"Can I help with this?" Amethyst asked.

"Oh, uh yeah sure. Come here for a sec," Bismuth simply answered.

This was gonna take a bit.

~~~~~~

Bismuth left Amethyst and Hessonite alone for the rest of the night, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with any of them, at least for the night. What could she saw she accomplished for the day anyway? Well one thing she clearly didn't do was more than evident all around her in the many holes and tracks left by the Crystal Tank.

"What a disaster of a day," Bismuth groaned, "We don't have Amethyst, and the battlefield's wrecked. Good job, Bismuth, you got nothing out of it … I blew it."

Bismuth could only blame herself, but then her eyes looked to the Warp Pad.

"... And my weapons are gone! Where'd they go?" Bismuth gasped. Her entire pile, the same pile she worked on all day, and there was absolutely nothing there. No shields, no swords, not even any daggers or spiked balls! Nichrome couldn't have stolen it all, she was just fighting him, Hessonite wouldn't do it, she didn't think any of them were any good. For a moment she was freaking out, but given everything else today … well, what would be the point anymore? Bismuth just gave a sigh.

"Forget it. It's not like anyone cares anyway," Bismuth concluded. No one seemed to worry much about it anymore, so why should she? With that thought in mind, and literally NOTHING to show for her effort today, she just got back on the Warp Pad and went right off back towards home.

Maybe some time in her new Forge would get her mind off of things …
Bismuth still looked a bit down when she got from the Strawberry Battlefield back to Little Homeworld. The winter night didn't show that many workers for the moment, leaving it somewhat quiet. No Gems working on building Little Homeworld, no visiting Humans or Ponies, just her and the snow. That's what it seemed like. But then Bismuth opened her eyes and looked over to the Forge in Little Homeworld.
All of the weapons were outside, right next to it. At least, some of them were. Naturally, Bismuth started to wonder what was going on, walking off the Warp Pad and towards the pile of Battlefield weapons, many of which she pointed out right away as being weapons she talked about earlier that day.

"Guess Flint brought them back here," Bismuth figured. Something was up, but she didn't know the full extent of what happened until after she walked inside the Forge. Looking in with no lights basically left it completely dark, so nothing fancy yet. Bismuth simply flicked the light switch - it really just released some lava - before taking a few steps into the Forge.

Then she started noticing something.

Yesterday, the new Forge was somewhat empty inside with only the main essentials in her materials, Anvil, and some areas of lava flow. Nothing too much beyond that outside of a few fancy patterns on the floor. But as the lava flowing began to fill in the lines along the wall and eventually the small waterfall over in the back of the Forge, the orange light of the heated lava started to reveal something a little more for the blacksmith.
Along the walls, swords and shields began to reveal themselves hung up along the walls, each one of them cleaned up of rust and dirt and looking both authentic, and new at the same time. In the back where the lava paths met for the waterfall, Bismuth saw a display of two swords and a Gem War flag spread along the back just above the lava in all their glory. The whole Forge was decorated in the same weapons fought in the Gem War!

"What the?"

"Surprise!"

Coming in from the entrance of the Forge came in the ones responsible, coming in from the winter cold into the warmth of the Forge. Tonight's workers turned out to be much of the Mane Six coming in to see her, along with a number of Gems as well. Including one fusion.

"You like your surprise, Bis?" asked a happy Pinkie Pie.

"Guys, hey!" said Bismuth, "And Garnet, you're back too! … You are, are you?"

"We're back to stay," Garnet said with a smile, showing both rings on her fingers. "Now how do you like the surprise?"
Bismuth took a moment more to see everything around her.

"I … don't know what to say. You all did this for me?"

"Sure we did," said Rarity, "We heard how you wanted to keep the history of the Strawberry Battlefield alive, so we all decided to help and bring some of it back here."

"We all pitched in too," Spinel said, "I helped put up some of the heavier stuff with Garnet over here."

"We helped clean some of them up too, so they look nice," added Fluttershy.

"Huh. Thanks guys."

"Don't thank us," said Garnet, "If you wanna thank anyone, thank the person who thought up the idea."

Well it got interesting now. Bismuth looked around to the ground, trying to figure out who that exactly would be.

"Nope," said Rainbow Dash.

"Wish I did," said Spinel.

"Not me," said Pinkie.

"You're getting warmer," said Rarity.

The answer was standing over by the door, leaning against the doorframe. Bismuth had at least some idea, but this was still a bit of a surprise as she saw Flint look to her.

"So this is your idea, Flint?"

"Well, I know you really liked what all of these weapons mean, and they do mean a lot to you. Especially after hearing all those stories, so … I thought why not bring some of it back here in your Forge? What better place for a weapon to be than with the Gem who made it, right?" Flint explained modestly. Bismuth was quiet again, but then after a bit she started to smile.

"And, uh, one more question. It's nothing to do with Amethyst."

"What's up, Flint?" Bismuth asked. Flint walked over to her.

"I did suggest this other idea, but I didn't want to start it without asking first. You said something about history being important right? So I also thought of maybe making a museum in town? I mean, all of these weapons have some sort of story to them, and I did hear how something like that kinda, you know, tells their stories. We found a building down the road, but I just wanted to ask if that's okay with you first."

Bismuth couldn't help herself.

"Alright Come here you," Bismuth said, getting an arm around Flint and hugging him, playfully fluffing his hair as her own means of saying thank you. Flint found himself smiling too.

"So that's a yes?" Flint then asked.

"Of course!"

Author's Note

So here we got Bismuth and Flint's side in this Memory Arc. Been a while since we've seen the Strawberry Battlefield again, so why not go there and see what's up with it? ^^

In case if anyone's wondering, the full name is a reference to an actual WWii Tank that looked like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreuzer_P._1000_Ratte

Scary what we humans can make, isn't it?

The Reef

"But I'm telling you, I saw them! I swear I did, really REALLY I did!"

"Will you stop saying that, there's NO "cool rock things" there, you probably just saw some coral again."

"But I didn't! ... A-Again. ... I promise you, it's not coral shaped like a thing this time, they're living rocks shaped like living things."

"Silverstream, you're just making sharks out of minnows again. Why don't you go and clear your head for a while, huh?"

.......

With those thoughts going through her head Silverstream went and did just that, through the very clear and calm waters of the nightfall. She was a fairly young creature, not exactly a pony but she did have quite a bit of equine in her anatomy: a pony head mainly. The rest of her however was anything but pony, or at least land pony. For one thing, this creature was seemingly only half pony, with the lower half of her body being that of a fish (no cutie Mark included). Her body was light in magenta smooth skin rather than any fur, and instead of a mane she had a dorsal fin though it did style up to look like a mane, colored a light blue along with her long tail fin. This was a prime Seapony swimming along the water tonight, and on this night she had a target in mind. Evidence and/or proof that she wasn't lying to her friends off back home.
Swimming along, occasionally breaching the water like any dolphin would, she began to reach an area further away from where she was earlier. Nothing much close to her home, but it did hold a bit of flair to the sea where she was coming from.

A building. A clamshell-shaped building just sitting out in the middle of the ocean. Nothing they had made that was for sure, but nothing the Seaponies honestly had to bother themselves with. Silverstream knew this place at least somewhat though, and without hesitation she swam out of the water into the bridge nearby. Where the bridge went to, she didn't care really, and instead she focused on checked the building a little bit, as best a Seapony could.

"Hello?! Rock things! You back yet?!" Silverstream called, good and loud. She even knocked on the front door, which itself also looked like a giant clamshell.

Nothing.

"Mane. What a bummer ..." Silverstream sighed. What was she gonna do now? Go back home with nothing to show again? It was disappointing: the first visitors to this spot in stars knows how long, and no one's believing Silverstream in any of it, nor was there anyone even there to talk to. Silverstream acted like she was gonna go, whistling a little bit and sliding off a bit ... only to bolt back again as if the door will just open up to show them.

"Come on, that didn't work either? Fine," Silverstream said in disappointment. Nothing again. The Seapony went slowly to the edge of the bridge, sitting along the rim and looking out to the ocean. She thought about what to even do, but as she kept thinking there was something way high in the air that caught her attention.

It looked like a star. An especially shiny one.

"Oh, mr. distant beckoning star. I wish I wish I WISH one of those super cool rock things would come back. Maybe then I can show my friends they actually exist," said Silverstream, her frontal fins together in a sort of childish plea to the blinking, flickering star high above her head. As if responding to her wish, the star way off into the distance began to slowly grow brighter and brighter … and closer … and closer …

"... And I wish the star DOESN'T HIT ME! AAHH!" Silverstream bolted up to her feet and quickly bolted away from the edge towards some seaside rocks as this "beckoning star" started to hone in very close to her and the giant clamshell. The Seapony covered her head with her front fins, ready to hear the explosion of this oncoming star … but that kind of noise wasn't going to happen. Instead, Silverstream took a few seconds to lift a fin off her ear, and instead of hearing an explosion, she heard instead the sound of energy. The blue light she saw in the sky was suddenly connected right inside the clamshell.

So she did the sensible thing and jumped out of her hiding place, sliding right on over to those large shell doors. She may be very small compared to the giant doors, but a Seapony was not a species that gave up on anything. At least THIS seapony wasn't, so as the light kept going in there, Silverstream coiled her tailfin, curling her body like a spring, and actually managed to rocket herself upward to a "window frame" on the door. She just managed to grab it by her front fins before pulling herself up. All she had to do once she got a steady place is wipe away the dust off the window and look on inside.

What luck! Silverstream could see four figures start to manifest on that round circle in the middle, one of them looking somewhat multi-colored. A bit of pink, some tan and a dark brown head. Two of them were darker in color, but one looked taller than the other (and unlike everyone else, fell on its back instead of her feet) The other one looked mostly blue, but with a hint of white along the chest and back. The blue one specifically made Silverstream's eye widen, her muzzle agape in a loud gasp, as she saw what was on her back.

"Here we are." the blue figure said, once they fully came to.

"So this is the Reef, Lapis? Is this where Pearls go to get fixed?" Steven inquired again, taking a few steps off of the Warp Pad as he checked the place out. Lapis joined him shortly afterwards.

"For a while yeah," Lapis explained, "but it's also a luxury boutique for Pearls at the time."

"Luxury boutique. Wait, I thought Pearls didn't get much respect on Homeworld. That sounds like a good deal to me," said Connie.

"If you call getting Refurbished or repaired a luxury," Lapis said. Connie immediately saw what she meant like that, no longer so surprised about it.

"Oh. That kind of boutique."

"Well, that's not the big problem. Right now we need to find out where Pearl is in this place. Got any ideas, Lapis? You've been here before," Steven asked, looking over to the only one of them who was actually familiar with the place. Lapis tried to think as she looked around, hand to her chin.

"Hang on, give me a second. Even my memory here's a little rustic," Lapis said, as she began walking on ahead of them. Steven followed Lapis from there just as Connie and Priyanka stepped off the Warp Pad themselves. Connie wanted to follow, but Priyanka still had her hand on Connie's hand.

"Don't worry, Connie. I'll be right here, holding your hand," Priyanka said, one hand holding Connie's hand while the other rested on top of it.

"I don't think anything's coming to attack us, mom," Connie insisted, moving her hand away, "I'll be fine."

"Everyone, over here," Lapis suddenly said. Connie went right on over on hearing the call, Priyanka vaguely reaching out to try and get her daughter but not really grabbing anything. All Priyanka did was take a breath before she walking over towards the other three ahead of her to see what was up.
As for what they found, they stood over by what looked to be some sort of small hand structure, the original diamond symbol engraved into the palm.

"What's this about?" Priyanka asked. Lapis took a breath.

"If we're going to find Pearl, then this is the way to do it. Blue Diamond mentioned something about this before, so let's see if it still works. Ready?" Lapis asked. Connie, Steven, and Priyanka were as ready as they'll ever be, though they did take a step or two away from Lapis Lazuli just to be safe.

It only took a single touch of Lapis's hand on the palm in order to get things going again. At first it was only the hand that began to glow, but soon more and more soft light began to turn on all around them, lighting up the inside of the Reef in a soft glow just enough so they all could see properly. Everyone look around, seeing lines of circle lights along the floor reaching to each one of the clamshell-shaped doors, almost like a sort of lighted guide towards each room the Reef had to offer them.
Speaking of guides, lights weren't the only thing that turned on.

Greetings, Lapis Lazuli.

"Who said that?" Priyanka asked, almost on the spot as she kept close to her daughter. The voice didn't sound intimidating at all, but she wasn't taking chances.

I am Shell, your guide to The Reef. answered the seemingly disembodied voice. No one else was with them, although that didn't mean they weren't still looking for something. Lucky for Priyanka Lapis helped fill her in.

"It's an AI," Lapis simply answered, before looking up and explaining to Shell "Hey Shell. Me and my friends are here looking for a Pearl that might've been dropped off here?"

Understood. said Shell, A Pearl was indeed dropped off here earlier today, on request from her Hessonite for repair.

"Repair, yes! Just what we wanted to hear," said Steven, "You know where she might be?"

Yes, Pink Diamond. Follow the illuminated path to the Care Center. Shell said, illuminating the circle lights in question just a little bit brighter than the others towards the care center door. Hearing "Pink Diamond" though did give Steven a bit of an uneasy feeling.

"Um, no, I'm Steven Universe," Steven corrected.

My apologies for the confusion, Steven Universe.

"It's okay," Steven said. That was handled surprisingly quick, and good thing too, because he did not want to keep being confused like that anymore. Connie though went over towards Steven's side.

"How'd she know what gem you are?" Connie whispered.

"I don't know, but that's not important," Steven said, walking along the path right over to the door, unaware at first that Shell was already opening the door for him as he turned back to the others briefly, "Let's just go in, find Pearl, and then get back home. She could be anywhere in here, so we should split up, and check every bit of this -"

"Steven," Lapis cut in. Steven stopped talking, but all Lapis had to do was point behind him. Steven turned around on seeing that, and sure enough the room behind him opened up, and one more person was standing literally right behind him.

"... Oh. There you are," Steven bluntly said. ALL the time they could've spent searching the Reef was just tossed aside, the Gem in question standing right there at attention as typical Pearls tend to do, hands together and that same smile on her face as when they last saw her.

"Hello everyone," said Pearl, hand raised, "Greetings especially, my Ms. Maheswaran."

"Pearl, you don't have to call me that. Just call me Connie," Connie insisted.

"As you wish my - … Connie," Pearl said. But names was the last thing they had to worry about, because as she stood there smiling to them, they all could see plain as day that her gemstone was NOT fixed. In fact, it almost looked worse than when they saw her at the arena, Pearl's body beginning to flicker again like a bad hologram. Everyone felt a shiver run through them.

"Your gemstone's still broken. I don't get it, it should've been fixed by now," Lapis said. Before any of them could respond, their gazes went up as Shell spoke again.

While I am capable of mending any physical damage to a Pearl, this one kept refusing to enter the Care Center without the company of her owner. Shell explained, Pearl seemingly unfazed by her own injury despite the damage. Just another reminder of how much amnesia Pearl had been stuck with over Rejuvenating.

"Well good thing you had me come," said Connie, walking over towards Pearl and holding her hand (after it stopped glitching that is), "Let's go get you fixed up before it gets worse."

"I feel perfectly fine," insisted Pearl, "You don't have to go this far for something so trivial."

"Trivial? It's not trivial!" Connie retorted, "Come on. Soon, we can all put this and the past behind us."

With Connie leading the way, bringing Pearl with her, everyone else started to follow them on into the hallway in question. They might have found her, but they couldn't risk bringing her out of the place, and if they can get her fixed here then it should be good to stick around. Besides, the main mission was already done so there wasn't a point in rushing back home just yet.
As they began to go in, Silverstream was still watching the whole thing unfold in front of her. In fact, she had to close her own gaping muzzle with her fins, but still she was far too psyched.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! I gotta tell cuz about this. She'll laugh!" Silverstream figured, before leaping off of her own balcony and right into the water below. Seaquestria will be so psyched when they hear this, she just knew it.

~~~~~~

Please feel free to take your time looking through the latest accessories and appearance modifiers as we make our way to the Care Center

The first room of the Reef they visited and already they were starting to feel somewhat impressed with it all. The hallway leading up to the Care Center itself looked surprisingly maintained for being abandoned for thousands of years, hardly even any dust gathering up anywhere on the floor, or wall, or ceiling, which by the way looked very regal and elegant like some of the rooms in the Diamond Palace. As with much of the Reef, the hallway made them all feel pretty small, but it still was stylized.
It also seemed to help the idea that there were quite a few displays set up all around them for them all to observe and take in as they walked along towards the other door. Many items and even a few holograms were set up in such a way, it almost was like going through a clothes shop or something. The different holograms had different pearls styled in all sorts of outfits, hairstyles, and other accessories like a mannequin would, as other displays ranging from containers of blush to keepsakes like fans or ribbons were presented alongside these. Some were on shelves, some on flat floating platforms, one was even on what looked like white coral.

"It's amazing. It's just like how I remembered it," Lapis said as they walked on.

"Getting a rush of nostalgia?" Steven asked at a point.

"I guess I am. Even after thousands of years, and it still hasn't changed at all. Actually … it looks pretty clean," Lapis noted. She kneeled down and even rubbed her hand on the floor surface. Thousands of years would easily grim up even the cleanest surface, but this one still looked so clean it was like it never was abandoned at all. Her reflection in the smooth surface was as clear as looking into a pond. As Lapis was pondering on this, Pearl was actually looking around at the modifiers herself, seeing just what kind of additions she could probably do in order to better please Connie.

"I don't see anything wrong here. Wonder why it got abandoned?" Steven wondered, scratching his head. Typically something like this would be abandoned for a number of reasons: not efficient enough, the colony not being good, things like that but they couldn't see a reason why this boutique would just not be functional anymore.

"Oh my, look at these darling fans," Pearl said at a point, finding a good amount of stylized fans on display for her to see.

"Pearl, careful!" Connie insisted, trying not to have Pearl's gemstone get hurt anymore than it has. Pearl got one of the fans off of the display to test it out, going into a more elegant sort of dance with the fans at her use. Even if being cracked up and all, her steps were just as fluent and smooth as ever, elegance flowing through each movement with the fans. She ended this display with a ballerina's balance on one foot, a fan in each hand opened and spread out alongside her

… Only for her to glitch, and fall to the floor. The sound of the fall caught the attention of everyone else.

"Pearl!" gasped Lapis, she and Steven helping Pearl get back up onto her feet. A bit shaky, but lucky for them the gemstone wasn't damaged any further than it was already.

"What're you doing?" Connie asked. Pearl felt more embarrassed if anything.

"I-I'm sorry, my Maheswaran, something just kinda came over me. U-Uh, feel free to punish me how you see fit," Pearl said.

"What, no I - … Pearl, let's just keep going. We can check this stuff out after getting you repaired," Connie said, taking Pearl by her hand and bringing her along towards the other end of the hall, a more brisk pace this time in case Pearl tried anything again. They didn't need her to shatter herself for the sake of making Connie happy. However, unknowing to most of them, Pearl actually was … smirking. To Priyanka. It was a smirk that said "she likes me more than you".

"Did she mean to do that?" Priyanka thought, not getting the full picture.

But they didn't have time to work out that, they got a Pearl to mend. So without anymore hesitation, they went right on to the back door, which itself easily opened up thanks to Shell, and showing them to the … surprisingly empty room.

Welcome to the Care Center. We have everything here to update or repair any Pearl.
Just the information they want to hear. The room itself was widely-spaced, everything looking as clean and as well-maintained exactly as Lapis last time saw it. The only main thing in the room was a cyan blue platform at the center of it. Not exactly a Warp Pad, but a platform nonetheless.

"It looks so nice in here," Lapis commented.

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Steven, as Connie brought Pearl right over towards the platform before anything else, Priyanka walking alongside her. Lapis turned to Steven, having a sort of perplexed look about the whole "staying clean" thing.

"Well sure, that's good, but this place wasn't operating for thousands of years. How can it still look so well-kept if there's no one here?" Lapis questioned.

"Self-cleansing? That's a thing AI can usually do, Shell can do it too right?" Steven figured. It wasn't that much to think about compared to, well, everything else. Lapis Lazuli though was still a little skeptical about it. Shell could do a lot of things, but there was some things it couldn't manage without at least one staff member to handle.

"Um … no. No, Shell can't do that," Lapis said. Steven felt a little uneasy again.
Looking over, Pearl was now standing on the platform at the center of the room. Connie and Priyanka stepped back as Pearl simply stood there and waited for Shell to handle her repairs on her.

Scanning in Progress. Shell stated. Upon mention, Pearl looked down to her feet, seeing a small light blue ring beginning to rise up from the floor. Pearl, smiling and closing her eyes, waited for the ring to go up over her completely. She felt a kind of energy going through her as the ring moved upward towards her head. Much of Pearl's body remained unaltered by the process, but then it began to reach the ever-so-fragile Gemstone.

"oOoOoOoO~" Pearl muttered.
Almost like magic, and in a way it sure felt like it, Pearl's gemstone began to heal itself on its own. Pearl couldn't help but shiver a little bit as she felt the crack in said stone begin to disappear. Once the ring went up completely, and it disappearing itself, all of the injuries she had from the Sky Arena were completely gone.

Scan complete. Your Pearl is now fully repaired.

"Wait. That's it? That's all it takes?" Steven asked, legitimately surprised that was all it took to heal what easily was a fatal wound. Sure enough though, Pearl turned around and went right back over to Connie's side. No crack, no scratch, it even looked like it was polished up a little bit.

Yes. I understand how busy you must be, so I offer the most time-efficient methods of repair and replenish.

"Oh. Uh, well, thank you Shell, Pearl looks great," Connie said. Pearl sure felt a lot better now, though she wouldn't admit she wasn't feeling well before for her owner's sake.

Happy to be of service. We hope you enjoy the rest of your visit.

…

So with that all said and taken care of (surprisingly), the group of five began to go off on their way now, walking out of the Care Center and down the same hallway. Pearl took some time to check out the displays as Connie promised, but all of this still felt a little bit … quick.

"You know, this went a lot easier than I expected. I honestly thought there was gonna be at least one fight during this visit," Steven admitted in their walk back towards the Warp Pad.

"I know, me too," added Connie, "But hey, we got Pearl healed, and we can all go home now."

"W-Well, there's nothing wrong with getting an easy mission to do, give you kids a break," Priyanka said, trying to be respectful but at the same time she was very relieved this was all that happened. As they kept walking on towards their exit though, Lapis glanced over to Pearl, and basically got the group to stop with a simple tap on each shoulder. They simply saw her over by the fans again, checking them out and wondering as before what'll look best with Connie's liking.

"Looks like one of us isn't ready to go," Steven said smiling, as he walked back over to Pearl.

"You really want one of those, Pearl?" Steven inquired. Pearl looked over to them.

"If it suits the desires of my Ms. Maheswaran. That would be ridiculous if it's just about me, I doesn't matter what I want." … she said as she glanced back at some very fancy-looking striped fans. Even when left erased of mind, the signs were just way too easy to see. Priyanka actually took a moment to see at least one of them, the one she got looking like a rainbow-colored shell.

"Hmm … these actually don't look that bad. Tell me, are these hand-crafted, or are these one of those "made across the sea" shipping fans?" Priyanka asked. She opened it up and checked it out, though Pearl seemed to get on her case about it.

"OH, hand-crafted. But my maheswaran's right, let's not waste anytime with these keep-sakes. After all, no need to be overly-attached," Pearl said. However, during this, she tried taking the fan away from Priyanka, and while she tried not to show it, she was actually using a bit more force, using both hands and kinda pulling a little roughly. In other words, she wasn't liking Priyanka holding a fan she wanted. As this was going on though, one keen-memory Gem took a good look at that fan.

"Wait a second," Lapis said. Stepped towards them, suddenly taking the fan away, she too looked it over a bit more closely. "... Pearl, you had this just before we got you healed. You were showing it off to Connie, right?"

"Correct," said Pearl matter-of-factly.

"But you dropped this on the ground after you glitched again. … Shell? Did you put this back on display?" Lapis inquired, holding up the fan as if to show Shell which fan it was. The AI, responding to her words, brought down what looked like a small diamond-shaped attachment right out of the wall. It was only about the size of their head (which compared to Shell was tiny), and then proceeded to scan the fan that Lapis was holding through a small blue ring.

I'm afraid I did not.

Just the answer Lapis was worried about, as she placed the fan back.

"None of us did it. … Someone else is in here."

*knock**knock*

They were about to find out who. Almost like Steven and Connie jinxed it, the whole group heard a very faint tapping coming from … well, somewhere, they weren't sure yet. They looked around, defenses up with Connie and Lapis just in case they would get into another fight. And the sound was coming from behind the next door.

"Who's there? Come out!" said Connie.

"I reallyreallyreally WANT TO, but can one of you open the door?! It's SUPER heavy for some reason," said a voice, a few grunts as if whoever it was was actually wanting to open the door for them.

Unauthorized figures aren't allowed within the Care Center without proper authorial permission. Shell said.

"Don't open that door," Priyanka said, not buying it. She may not have dealt with as much as the others, but she knew enough not to just jump to conclusions.

"Okay, before we open the door, are you here to mess around with anyone, or anything in here?" Steven asked, getting the obvious danger out of the way first.

"WHAAT? PFFT, no way! But, I really wanna see you guys before you take off on me! Swearsies!"

"Hmm … no evil villain ever really says "swearsies" like that. ……. Everyone, step back. Shell, you can let her in. You got my authorial permission to," Steven instructed.

Very well.

Steven took a breath, and while everyone else was taking a step or two back, still armed and ready, Steven took his focus right over to the door. Shell went on and opened it up with ease, but maybe they should've been a little more prepared for what was about to come up next. Honestly, the other figure could NOT help herself.
For a moment, Steven was on his feet seeing something standing right behind the door, looking very excited. And the next moment, he was suddenly on the floor, with that same figure now on top of him and hugging him tightly.

"OH MY GOSH, It's really you! I've been waiting all day, and now I'm here seeing you! This is so exciting - HI! I'm Silverstream! … Eh, who're you?" Silverstream asked.

"U-Uhh … Steven Universe?"

Silverstream got off of him, a huge gasp coming out of the Seapony's muzzle.

"I can't believe it, I'm actually talking to one of the legends! EEEE! I've heard so many stories about you guys, you have no idea! Ok, maybe you have some idea, you have so many of em, anyway - *GASP* YOU'RE CONTROLLING WATER?!"

Silverstream bolted right over towards Lapis Lazuli, seeing that she still had her water fists up and ready for a fight. In fact, Silverstream actually leaped right into the water herself, swimming about in it like a fish in a bowl before popping her head out.

"And it's fresh too, I almost forgot fresh and water was even a thing! So you can control all water? That's so AMAZING!"

"W-Well, it's not that special. But uh, thanks," Lapis said, trying to calm things down a little bit though feeling sheepish. But no way was Silverstream going to relax when she was accompanying the legends.

"The legends? Is it really them?"

This time the voice didn't come from Silverstream, but instead from another source Silverstream managed to actually take and bring back. This was another Seapony like Silverstream, but she did look somewhat different. She was a bit taller than Silverstream, more streamline too, with her scales matching a more pale yellow. The fins on this Seapony were bright cyan blue along her "mane", tail, and frontal limbs, with a set of reddish "wing fins". This seapony did have a little accessory to her: it looked like a flower, but made out of red sponges, and a neckpiece with a round clean pearl resting on it. Her cyan eyes looked to them with amazement, but not as quick to jump at them as Silverstream was. Speaking of, the second Silverstream saw her, she leaped out of the water arm, and went right over to her.

"Can you believe it, Skystar?! The very same ones just like in the story are standing right here!" Silverstream said, geeking out like a fangirl. Skystar, while slightly more subdued than Silverstream, still grew excited when she saw them, sliding up to Priyanka first. It would've been Connie if Priyanka didn't keep Connie behind her.

"They are! I-I don't believe it, it's really you. You look exactly like her," said Skystar, amazed herself by the people she was seeing.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on? Connie, can you explain?" Priyanka asked her daughter. Unfortunately she wasn't any better than her mom was.

"I have no idea what they're talking about, I swear," Connie said. Silverstream slid down to Connie's level, despite Priyanka's defenses.

"HAHA, you're such a joker, of course you know what we're talking about," Silverstream said, thinking it was just them joking around. Priyanka looked down to Connie, who still was left a bit blank-faced about the whole situation. Pearl helped give them some distance between the Seaponies though, standing in Silverstream's way.

"I would like to humbly ask you to keep your distance from my Ms. Maheswaran - er … I-I mean, my "Connie"," Pearl said, catching herself in the name sake. Instead, Silverstream's eyes looked right up to Pearl's, well Pearl, pulling herself up onto Pearl's arms so her eye level matched the gemstone. Skystar saw the gemstone too.

"You even got a Pearl elite guard with you! This is super incredible, she looks soooo shiny too, it is just like a star. It was you who got em here isn't it?" Silverstream said. At least when they said it like that, it did not sound malicious at all.

"Wait a minute. Legends? Stories? It's not that we don't like those things, but we seriously don't know what you're talking about," Steven said.

"You sure you don't have the teeniest idea?" Silverstream asked, her front fins very close together. Unfortunately for Skystar and Silverstream, all they got was just a bunch of no's.

"We never even seen Seaponies before. I think Starlight Glimmer mentioned them once or twice, but that's about it," Lapis said, rubbing the back of her head. Skystar and Silverstream took this news relatively easy though, even Skystar giving Lapis a playful nudge.

"OH, I get it, you're just being polite. Don't worry, mom's gonna be so happy when she sees you're here," Skystar promised. Silverstream looked shocked.

"My starfish, that's right! Seaquestria's doesn't know you're here, gonna be so psyched when they see you've come back! Come on, let's go," Silverstream beamed, already taking Priyanka by the hand and trying to get themselves moving. Priyanka though have had enough and yanked her hand away.

"Wait, go where?!" Priyanka asked.

"To Seaquestria, of course! It's just a quick dive down and -"

"Wait, NO! No, no, no we're not," Priyanka made perfectly clear, "I'm not going to let you just take my daughter off to some random place that fast."

"Daughter?" wondered Skystar, before leaning towards Silverstream and whispering, "I didn't know she had kids."

"Maybe she settled down? Even legends can get tired after all those victories, so obviously she's taking it easy," Silverstream figured. No that didn't help anything. Lucky for everyone else though, there was a moment when they could catch their breath, Priyanka talking first after calming things down.

"Listen you two, I think you got us confused with someone else. It's nice that you're so happy to see us, but whoever you're talking about, we're not them. Sorry," Steven reassured. Skystar and Silverstream paused and looked to one another before both Seaponies gave them all a bit of a closer look. The first thing they caught was Skystar seeing Lapis's special gemstone on her back.

"But you have to be them, you even got the same gemstone," Skystar said, her front fin feeling the smooth surface of Lapis's stone, which by the way did give Lapis a bit of a shiver.

"Yeah, you got the elite guard, you got the look, you got the right attitude," Silverstream added.

"I'm sorry but we're just about to go home. We only came here to get Pearl fixed, so maybe another time," Priyanka said. She tried going, but the Seaponies weren't ready to let em just walk away yet.

"waitwaitwaitwait, you can't leave yet! You just got here. You're very busy, but just one visit, please? At least to show auntie you're actually real? It'll take a few minutes, in and out, and you can go right back doing what amazing legendary stuff you do, I promise!" Silverstream asked, almost pleading for her to change her mind. Priyanka … really didn't know what to do. She wasn't gonna trust these random creatures right off the bat, especially with her daughter in danger far as she knew, but these two … well, "dangerous" didn't really fit them, plus no one would dare challenge their "legends" whatever that may be.

"Can you two at least explain what "legend" you keep talking about? Just to know what we're dealing with here?" Steven asked.

"Oh, alright if you insist. It is such a good story," Skystar said. It was a little weird re-telling a legend to the same legend, but heck they probably were gonna tell them once they'd get back home anyway. Why wait? The group walked back into the main lobby of the Reef, Skystar and Silverstream sliding along the floor as if it were ice until they reached over to one of the shell doors. They weren't in the water, but Skystar's special tricks still seemed to work out of the water, as her rounded head fin started glowing again Silverstream clapped like a giddy little kid as Skystar worked her magic, allowing lights and drawings of the "legend" to begin anew.
First one Skystar summoned up on the shell wall was a mountain peeking out of the sea, two sets of creatures accompanying the cliffside.

"Many many MANY moons ago," began Skystar the storyteller, "There were two different races that lived right around here: one that lived deep underwater called the Seaponies - that's us - and the high-flying ones called the Hippogriffs - that's them."

Skystar worked some more of her magic again, "wiping away" the first image and then starting to show them another image involving the story, in which they showed the Seaponies fleeing the water from a familiar-looking Leviathan from the sea, but something else began to slow to the Hippogriffs up above the waters that they didn't recognize.

"One day, two beasts suddenly showed up out of nowhere: a mean and ugly Leviathan, and a giant and scary Ziz bird! We were stuck on both sides, the Seaponies were done for! … But then -"

Then came the frame that convinced everyone why they were so eager to see them. A string of light came down from the sky, for so it appeared (similar to the Warpstream, notably) and then appeared a group of figures, one of which was holding a sword up high above for both Leviathan and Ziz to see.

"Is that … me?" Priyanka asked.

"Of course it's you!" beamed Silverstream, "Look how epic you look!"

"Coming down from the sky, a group of otherworldly warriors showed up, and they fought off the giant bird! Well, they all did something during it, some of you helped the Hippogriffs and Seaponies get out, and some of you stood up against the giants, but still it's super cool."
As Skystar explained, the picture almost seemed to shift around a bit, showing "Priyanka" apparently not only fighting both the Ziz and the Leviathan, but also defeating the bird in a few swings! The Ziz bird simply laid on the ground in defeat as Leviathan was forced to flee, leaving only the warriors left.

"The Ziz and the Leviathan gave up and ran away, and both the Seaponies and the Hippogriffs never saw them again! … Of course there's this big celebration afterwards, but that goes without saying," Skystar explained.

"So … wait … you really think I … did that?" Priyanka asked, pointing to the picture of seemingly herself before it slowly disappeared on them.

"DUH! Haven't you been listening? You were - er you are INCREDABLE!" said Silverstream. Priyanka still wasn't sure what was going on, or HOW this was even possible. She personally never been into Equus before, nevermind doing anything like this.

"Umm … guys?" All Priyanka got from the others was a shrug from Connie, who herself was just as perplexed as everyone else.

"So anyway, now that we're all caught up, please can you come back with us? Pretty pretty pretty please? You have no idea how big this is gonna be for everyone back home, seriously they're gonna FREAK!" Silverstream asked, Skystar basically agreeing. They all paused and went over what they just saw through their heads.

"Steven, Lapis, … You're all more experienced about this kind of stuff than me. What do you think?" Priyanka asked, looking to Steven and Lapis in particular. Lapis and Steven looked back over to Skystar and Silverstream, both looking VERY giddy, hoping they can give them a good answer.

"They don't look too bad, for one thing. And Seaquestria does sound like a nice place to visit. I don't think even Twilight's ever been there before though, but it doesn't sound too bad," Lapis figured, wondering just what kind of place this Seaquestria was.

"That, and if we're this big in Seaquestria, I doubt they would try and attack one of their living legends. But what about you? You're the one wanting to keep Connie safe and all," Steven inquired. Priyanka looked back to the seaponies again and considered her options. She was a doctor for a hospital after all. With one Gem who can literally control water, and a Gem who was acting so hard to keep Connie safe already. And besides that, Skystar and Silverstream didn't look all that deadly either. How much damage can a Seapony do anyway?

"I got an idea: how about we go with them, and if anything goes wrong, we can just leave? No more arguments this time, and we leave right away. I promise," Connie said, being the one that worried Priyanka more so than anyone else. Priyanka took a deep breath.

"... Oh, okay. But only for a little while."

"YES!" the Seaponies beamed. And before any of them knew what was going on, Silverstream got Priyanka by the arm and was already trying to get her moving along towards the outside door (which by the way wasn't locked up and easily able to open up after a few strong pushes).

"This is gonna be awesome! Let's go," said Silverstream.

"Hold on a minute, we're not - wait don't you even -"
*splash*

"MOM!" gasped Connie.
For seaponies, they sure moved fast. By the time the rest of the group got outside, Silverstream already dove down into the water with Priyanka! Connie raced out to where she last saw them, trying to find her mom somewhere around the water. Being so late in the night though didn't make it any easier for any of them to see, frantically looking around. All they did find were some air bubbles left on the surface, which quickly began to disappear on them …

*GASP*
Until Priyanka burst out of the water that is. She was cold, wet, and coughed a bit trying to catch her breath, as Silverstream got back up to the surface.

"Are you trying to drown me?!" Priyanka shouted.

"No no no, I'm trying to take you to Seaquestria," Silverstream said. Skystar dove into the water herself, appearing again over by her fellow Seapony.

"Silverstream, only we can breathe underwater, remember? They're surface dwellers," Skystar reminded.

"Oooohhhh, oh yeah I forgot. Hold on, I'll be right back," Silverstream said, quickly diving down into the water again. It'd been a LONG TIME since they had to resort to this, but that didn't mean they forgotten how to handle something like such. At first nothing seemed to happen much on the surface of the water, but eventually bubbles began to form up again. This time though the bubbles were much bigger than before, bubbling up wildly like someone blowing air through a hose underwater. Eventually, one bubble got so big that it was just the right size for Priyanka's head, which Silverstream came back up, and helped put on her.

"Ta da! Your own personal air bubble. Sorry, I just got so excited, it slipped my mind. Anyway, here's a bubble for everyone," Silverstream said. Primitive, but it works. Silverstream got out of the water with more head-sized bubbles, passing them around to the others. Steven and Connie smiled, thanking Silverstream before putting theirs on them. She was going to give them to Pearl and Lapis, but Lapis actually popped hers before she could have the chance to.

"It's okay, we don't breathe anyway. But thanks," Lapis said.

"Oh, well in that case, GERONIMO!" Silverstream turned and dove right on into the water. Skystar swam over to Priyanka's side, her being the one to help Priyanka out swimming this time. Steven and Connie looked to eachother, just smiling and shrugging before they jumped in themselves, followed by Pearl and Lapis. Priyanka was pulled along by Skystar, as Steven and Connie were moved along thanks to Lapis's help, Silverstream keeping just ahead of them like an eager dog to show them to way.

"Don't worry about a thing. Trust me, you won't regret this," promised Skystar.

~~~~~~

From the Reef, the group continued onward, diving deeper and deeper following the Seaponies on their way to this "Seaquestria" of theirs. It didn't take them very long until the sea around them turned from the darkened blue to almost pitch black, but lucky for them Skystar still kept some light using her mane fin like a lantern, lighting the way for them as she and Silverstream continued on swimming. They kept good speed, as well as Humans and Gems could swim, but the two Seaponies at least made sure that they didn't go too far ahead, but also kept the group going all the same. The group did see a few fish on their way, but none of them were dangerous to them and kept their distance. It was a little hard for Silverstream to keep herself still though, given who they found and FINALLY showing the others back home what it was she got.

"This is so exciting. How do you think they'll react? You think they'll gasp first, then cheer, or do you think they'll just immediately cheer?" Silverstream wondered.

"How far away is Seaquestria anyway? We're getting pretty deep," asked Steven, looking up to the now distant surface.

"It is Seaquestria," said Skystar, "If it were close to the surface it would be, what? Beachquestria? Not-so-Seaquestria or something?"
Clearly Skystar followed some bit of Pinkie Pie logic.

"You sure you want to keep going, sweetie? There's nothing wrong with turning back," Priyanka suggested, but Connie wasn't too scared at all.

"Mom, I'm fine really. Think of it this way: if Grogar's looking for us, he won't find us way down here," Connie said.

That name immediately made Skystar and Silverstream stop cold, looking very spooked. Did they hear them right? Silverstream turned back, swimming right up to Connie and looked her eye to eye.

"Did you say Grogar? as in "King Grogar"?" Silverstream asked, almost shuttering. They didn't need to ask them if they knew who Grogar was or not just by their expression alone, so they just went and started talking anyway.

"Yeah you got it. Grogar's been causing A LOT of trouble for us over these couple of months. He keeps trying to destroy our home, destroying basically everything we believe in, and recently even willing to destroy the whole planet just to beat me. It's been a rough time," Steven explained.

Silverstream and Skystar kept a bit quiet at first (for the first time in a while) … before Skystar started smiling and even swam in a quick circle.

"I'm SO GLAD we saved you guys! Now I'm totally taking you to my mom!" Skystar beamed, before grabbing Steven and Connie and swimming a little quicker. Silverstream got Priyanka, Lapis, and Pearl swimming a bit quicker too with a few more pushes.
They hardly had that much time to talk now, Skystar and Silverstream moving them all along towards the lower levels of the sea floor. Pretty good they were given those air bubbles, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get back to the surface in time at this point, leading them down towards some sort of deepsea cavern, the rocks that form the tunnel flattened and smoothed out almost as if they were made of ice or glass.

"Does your mom know you're doing this?" Steven asked.

"Of course not, silly, it's a surprise. Come on, we're almost there," said Skystar, swimming just a little bit ahead of them to keep the lead.

A faint light ahead of them showed them their way …

And then they saw it.

"Whoooa … this is … amazing."

Lapis's words summed up exactly what everyone else was thinking the moment they reached the end of the tunnel into the sea light. The light itself didn't come from the moon, but rather the glowing bioluminescence that was the corals, the sponges, even the jellyfish that swam around freely like delicate little bubbles. Despite being so deep underwater, it had such a tropical and warm feel to everything, the bottom covered in all sorts of Reef flora and coral that colored Seaquestria in a barrage of all sorts of colors. The rocks along the borders lined in such a way it looked like a dome, completely sealing off Seaquestria from the rest of the world up above.
Amongst the natural features of this underground kingdom, there was also the Seapony architecture: a COLOSSAL upside-down tower right at the center of it all, glowing a warm light of soft lavender to the otherwise complete darkness. The whole building was glass-smooth, lined with numerous sets of soft blue lights, and coiled along roots to the celling's rocky surface. The homes of the Seaponies all were similar in structure, appearing much like Chinese lanterns, the same soft glow of lavender, with some mixing red and blue, adding to the world of Seaquestria.

Silverstream and Skystar couldn't wait to get moving. As everyone was checking everything out, the two Seaponies moved them along from the entrance, right to the very middle itself. The biggest building in Seaquestria, and Skystar and Silverstream wasted no time in swimming right on into it from below going up. Skystar looked down to them and waved them to come right on up.
They were treated to yet another beautiful sight just seconds after they caught up with the two Seaponies, witnessing to what they could only describe as the Seapony Throne Room. The room itself looked like it's own pocket habitat: corals, seagrass, anemones, sea sponges, any many more were seen throughout the entire room, leading up to the throne that looked to be shaped into a giant clam shell, colored a deep dark violet with a glowing rim. The windows along it were lined, not with curtains, but with tentacles of glowing jellyfish (non-stinging of course), with a white giant one right above the throne like a chandelier.
And of course with any kingdom comes their ruler, who was sitting on the throne herself. She looked a decent age, adult clearly but looked very young and regal as rulers of Equestria usually tend to be. Her smooth skin was a pale pink, actually similar to a one Pink Diamond, with her fins mixing in a light blue and a dark purplish-red for the mane and tail fins. Along just under the neck was a pale blue rim to match her front fins. Just in front of her mane was a golden "crown" of sorts, with three longer glowing fins similar to the one Skystar had.

Speaking of which, while Skystar and Silverstream were just overly excited to show this Seapony what they got, the ruler was … actually sleeping. Or at least chillaxing on the throne, one fin like a headrest for her. Must be pretty boring here. Well, no time like the present, and Skystar and Silverstream almost immediately swam right up to her.

"Mother! Look what we found~" said Skystar. Her mom though didn't really seem all too eager at first, and in fact brought one fin to her head.

"Is it another shell? Because I'm telling you, if it's another shell I -"
Then she saw who they brought. And almost straight away, a loud gasp from her filled the room, though this one didn't sound like a "fangirl" gasp. In fact …

"Princess Skystar! What have you done?! You KNOW surface dwellers are forbidden here. GUARDS!"

Uh oh. And unlike Equestrian's Canterlot Guard, who would at least surround the threat, Seaquestria's royal navy (making up from four stallion Seaponies in armor) wasted no time in not only surrounding the group of outsiders, but aiming their spears right at them on the spot! One extra order and they were either going to prison, or getting kabob'd.

"Nonononono, auntie PLEASE! It is sooo not like that," insisted a spooked Silverstream, "King Grogar's trying to take their home too!"

"That's not our problem to contend with, Silverstream, and besides how do you know we can even trust them?" the queen retorted, staring daggers down at the group.

"Mom, look at them! they're the angels who fought off the Ziz and Leviathan, we swear! They look exactly like them, and Silverstream saw them coming down right from the sky in a beam of blue light," insisted Skystar. The queen paused for a little bit, and then looked down to the group.

"Is this all true?" the queen asked.

"Well mostly. We did come in through the Warp Pad, and we did fight Grogar before a few times. We're NOT here to hurt you, Skystar and Silverstream wanted us to come and visit," Steven explained. Skystar and Silverstream nodded to confirm it was all true. The queen thought about it for a little bit more.

"Hmmm … alright. Guards back up, but keep those weapons up," the queen instructed. The royal guards did as instructed, and gave the group some space, letting them calm down a little bit.

"Thanks. Sorry for startling you like this, we're just as new to this as you are," Steven said, "So, you're the Queen of Seaquestria, I assume?"

"It's an honor, your majesty," said Lapis, bowing in the queen's presence. Thought they could use some good will after the worry moments ago. Steven suddenly realized what she was doing and did the same bow to her. The queen smiled.

"Well, nice to know you got some manors. And you are ...?" the Queen asked.

"I'm Lapis. Lapis Lazuli. And this is Steven Universe -"

"No, no, I didn't mean your names," cut in the queen, "I'm talking about your race. There's a lot of different things around here, but none of them look like any of you."

"Oh. Well, I'm a Human. Well, a Human Gem hybrid. She's a pure Gem, and over there's Humans and Gems," Steven explained. the Queen looked them over for a short bit, swimming around them to get the full picture.

"Sounds like they got more going on up there if they got talking gemstones now. … NO, that doesn't mean we're going up there," the queen said, though the second sentence was directed more to Skystar and Silverstream, which on hearing that made them bummed out.

"But MOM, there's so much up there -"

"- Along with King Grogar, and you know that," the queen retorted, getting her daughter to be quiet.

"So you know who Grogar is too?" Connie asked.

"Well of course I know, I'm the Queen, I know everything," the queen said, even throwing in some "sass" in there with a wave of her front fin. The queen may know him, but unlike some other Seaponies, she wasn't so willing to say anything about it.

"Ooooo, I feel another story coming on!"

"Don't you DARE tell them!" the queen ordered. Unfortunately for her, Skystar and Silverstream were too caught up to listen this time and swam over to one of the walls, and just like before, Skystar began making light pictures along the wall.

"Once upon a time - like, a while ago and as you know - there were Hippogriffs on Mount Aris and Seaponies living underwater," began Skystar, showing them the similar picture as before. The queen though just grew frustrated again, a fin to her face.

"Did I not say don't tell them? But HEY! I'm just the Queen, don't mind me," the queen remarked.

"FINE, I can't tell you … but if I could tell you, I would say that horned beast did show up to takeover the mountain," Skystar said, another picture appearing on another wall to show the tyrannical Ram in question. Not only did this prove it was indeed the same Grogar, but seeing that face again did give at least Steven and Connie an uncomfortable chill. How much damage did Grogar leave behind trying to take over Mount Aris?

"Seriously?" groaned the Queen, but that didn't stop her niece and daughter from continuing the story, Skystar creating more pictures of the story as she did so.

"So, to keep everybody safe, our brave and majestic leader, Queen Novo, hid them deep underwater, where he can never go!" explained Skystar, showing one picture of the queen and another one of the underwater kingdom. The second picture they all got, but the one with Novo threw them for a loop.

"Isn't your queen a Seapony? Why's it showing a "Hippogriff"?" asked Lapis. Skystar giggled.

"WE ARE - well, WE WERE THE HIPPOGRIFFS! Ta-da!" announced Skystar. Only for her to swim right up to them and whisper, "But I totally did not tell you that."

So much for keeping it a secret.

"Whelp, I guess the Pearl's out of the oyster now," shrugged the queen, "I am Queen Novo."

"Wait a minute. So you're saying that when Grogar showed up, you all just … abandoned your city and fled?" Steven asked.

"We didn't flee, we swam! You know, in order to flee," said Skystar, which basically meant the same thing just with some extra detail. Considering what Grogar has done to Homeworld though, how surprised can they say they actually were to hear them abandon everything? That didn't make it any better though.

"Have any of you ever thought of getting your home back?" asked Lapis.

"We're NOT gonna risk losing what we have up there, and since he's been attacking you too, he's clearly still around so we're not going anywhere," Novo made clear.

"But what about your home? Don't any of you want it back?" Connie insisted. Novo shook her head.

"We had two kingdoms, and now we have one. You want him taking THIS kingdom away too?" Novo questioned, swimming closer to them.

"NO, of course not but -"

"Then we're not gonna show that beast where Seaquestria is," but in Novo, "If Grogar finds out that the Hippogriffs are still alive, and down here, what do you think he'll do?"

"He'll … try to attack you," assumed Priyanka.

"Exactly, and you all fought him before so you somewhat know what he's capable of. I'm sorry about what he's been doing to you, I really am, but my duty is to protect my subjects, and if that means staying down here, then THAT is how it's gonna be," Novo concluded. She swam back over to her throne, having a seat again as before.

"But you can't just stay down here forever," said Steven, "Think about how much you're missing up there. Equestria is friends with other worlds now, you can be apart of it if you want."

"You can at least try to get your other kingdom back," added Lapis.

"We're staying, and we are one hundred percent okay with that," Novo concluded. Novo wasn't gonna take that chance no matter what the reward was. Now they weren't sure how much they could blame her for it, especially since she was actually just a little bit stubborn about it. It's no wonder the ponies hardly ever mentioned the Seaponies down here. But then, out of nowhere …

"Hang on … if you're all the Hippogriffs, then what happened to you? How'd you get down here?" Connie then asked.

"OOO, can we show them? We haven't had guests in like, FOREVER!" said Silverstream. A lot of "Can we?" came out of Skystar and Silverstream's mouths, Novo taking a moment to try and think about if this was such a good idea. They would have to go back eventually, but Novo could at least see that they weren't malicious, and even if they were, the method might prove a bit useful in the situation.

"Well, I suppose I better make sure it still works …"

And what was it she had in mind? The answer came up shortly after Queen Novo swam passed the chandelier Jellyfish above her head, which made it suddenly "activate". It glowed a little brighter, and something started to gently come out from said jellyfish, Novo holding out her fins as the object gently landed ever so softly into her clutches.
Novo made sure to be extra careful with it, as it is very delicate even when floating underwater. The object looked like a magical orb, magic itself swirling around from within it like a never-ending cyclone, it giving off a pinkish hue.

"What're you doing with that?" Priyanka asked suspiciously. Novo simply showed them what it can do, and with just a gentle tap of her fin, the essence of magic started to flow out of the orb. Directly towards everyone else. Immediately, Priyanka stood in the way of the oncoming magic (before Pearl could, anyway), closing her eyes tight expecting something bad to happen to them. She should've taken her daughter home when she could, otherwise they wouldn't be dealing with this.

… But nothing happened. Nothing painful anyway.

"Okie dokie, all done," Skystar said.

That's it? Priyanka turned back to the others, and saw they were … kinda surprised to say the least, especially with Connie. Priyanka didn't get it at first, more concerned about Connie than with herself for the moment.

"Don't worry about me sweetie, what about you? Did that magic do anything to you?" Priyanka asked.

"Forget me, what happened to you?!" Connie exclaimed.

"Connie, Connie, I feel just - … f-fine?"

Then she saw her hand. Easy sign that something had changed on her body, as her five fingers each now had webbing in between them, kinda like the webbed feet of a duck or frog. And that wasn't the only thing that changed on her as she began to check her own body out some more. Her skin now had a sort of purplish look, smooth like the skin of a dolphin, her hair turned into a large "mane fin" like the other Seaponies with the same color as her hair she had before, even her ears were now replaced by small fins, and while she didn't have a fish tail, her feet did end up looking like a pair of scuba diver flippers now. Sidenote: she no longer had her bubble helmet, but it seemed she could still breathe.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" Exclaimed Priyanka, freaking out.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoa, before you panic, just wanna let you know this isn't forever, and we can change you back at anytime," Skystar quickly said, to calm Priyanka down a little bit as best she could. Priyanka though was still in a state of shock given her transformation.

"I can't go back like this! The hospital's gonna think I'm diseased if any of my co-workers catch me like this. I look like a … a … a Frog!" Priyanka demanded.

"What's a Frog?" whispered Silverstream to Skystar.

"I think she means a frogfish?" shrugged Skystar. It hardly mattered which frog she meant though, Priyanka wasn't gonna stay like this, and she actually tried reaching for the Pearl Novo was using, only for the guards to get in her way.

"Don't you even try it, this pearl's very delicate," warned Novo, holding it away.

"Can't you change me back then?"

"I could do that, but if the angels are going to stay here, then I think it's good you can breathe underwater instead of staying with that air bubble. Plus I can change you right back to normal when you get back up there, like nothing even happened."

"You're absolutely sure," Priyanka said.

"Come on, a Queen wouldn't dare lie to any of her subjects, or any of the legends," Novo explained casually, "Speaking of which, I better get the rest of you."

"No, wait -" Priyanka didn't have time to stop her though, and Queen Novo activated her Pearl again, this time the magic going over to everyone else. Still trying to get used to her flippers though Priyanka couldn't get to them in time and the magic effected everyone else. Gems and Humans started to transform under the magic of the Pearl, turning them all into a similar form like that of Priyanka: flippers, fins and all. Pearl tried to block it off away from her master, but that didn't work this time as it effected Connie too. Soon everyone had their own set of flippers, fin ears, and mane fins to boot each one in their own color: Pearl colored a pale peach, Lapis a vibrant blue, Connie matching her mom in a brownish color, and Steven's color coming close to Queen Novo. Lapis Lazuli was the only one having some extra fins to replace her water wings with.

"Connie?!" gasped Pearl.

"Oh my gosh, Connie! Y-You okay, you're not hurt are you?"

"No. I … I feel great!" Connie realized, floating around a little bit and getting used to her new flippers. It sure felt weird sure, but after a little bit she began to get used to it alongside everyone else. Pretty soon, Steven and Connie were swimming around the throne room, finding it much easier and much quicker, laughing the whole time. Pearl and Priyanka were at first concerned, but seeing Connie having a good time did at least calm them down a little bit.

"If you think this is a great idea, I'm fine too," said Pearl, swimming over to join them. Priyanka still wasn't too sure, but seeing her daughter having such a good time, well, why should she just bother her now?

"Ok, everything's fine … everything's good," Priyanka told herself, relaxing as best she could do. After all of this was done, another guest came in from nearby, in the form of some butler octopus.

"Yeah, Jamal?" Novo asked. The octopus spoke, though his words came out only as some muffled bubbling sounds. Novo understood him though, and actually perked up.

"Ooo! Time for my seaweed wrap," Novo said, before getting off of her throne. Before she could fully leave though, she paused and looked back over to the others off nearby. "Anyone care to join me? If this is a casual visit, you got to try this out."

"... Actually, that doesn't sound that bad. Connie, I'm going to be gone for a bit, so PLEASE don't swim off anywhere … at least outside of Seaquestria," Priyanka said.

"We won't, mom," called Connie.

"And that goes for you two too, Skystar, Silverstream," added in Novo firmly.

"Promise!" called Skystar. They were glad Priyanka was at least trying to enjoy herself now, and with a few kicks of her legs, Priyanka was swimming alongside Novo as the two swam off to get their seaweed wrap time done. The two shared glances before they both followed the octopus butler out of the throne room. Silverstream and Skystar swam up to the others again.

"What're we waiting for?! Let's go go go, there's SO MUCH you still get to see! We can go craft some seashell necklaces, seashell bracelets, seashell trash bins, OH, or we can go and play with the bubblefish!" Silverstream beamed, ready to show them the rest of the town. However, while they were psyched about the whole turning into merfolk thing, the idea that Novo still wouldn't try to get her other kingdom back did linger in their head a little bit.

"Actually … you two know anything else about Mount Aris?" asked Steven.

~~~~~~

Priyanka and Novo hardly took that much time to reach their spa treatment. Just a short swim from the throne room later, and both got their appointment in and relaxing on a Spa Table. It was a stressful time for Priyanka, so feeling the Seaweed Wrapping on her back felt so nice, and accompanied by a massage surely helped her too. Same can be said for Queen Novo with her seaweed wrap massage, cool and smooth kelp along her back, and some wrapped around her eyes.

"Aww yeah, that's the stuff. I'm telling you, there's nothing better," Novo sighed, resting herself down easy on the table as an squid massager got to work on her back. Priyanka basically got the same treatment and while it did feel weird at first (these were squid giving her a massage) but little by little she felt at ease with herself.

"This is actually pretty nice. I haven't had a massage in forever," Priyanka sighed. As the squid was working out the kinks in her back, the octopus butler actually swam over to her and offered her a drink as a compliment. It looked like a shake or a smoothie with a bit of seagrass along the side.

"Oh. Uh, no thanks I'm good," Priyanka said. The octopus understood her and offered the same drink, which Novo accepted and took a sip of it.

"Seriously though, you didn't have to do all this just because we're here," Priyanka said, thinking this was because of the whole "angel legend" thing. Novo chuckled.

"Oh that thing, don't worry about it I knew you weren't the angels the second I saw you. Besides, this is a regular session anyway. It's just as good though, let me tell you," Novo said with a wave of her fin.

"You knew the whole time?" Priyanka asked, lifting up some of the kelp from her face to see Novo.

"Yep, but A: You don't look like you want to cause any trouble, and B: I wanted to play along with my daughter and niece for a bit. They really liked ya," Novo explained, just before the squid got a knot out of Novo's back fins, which especially felt good. Priyanka wasn't sure about that one, but she relaxed on the table anyway.

"I can see that. But thanks for letting me come along. I needed this …" Priyanka said.

"Don't we all? By the way, Skystar said something about Grogar going after you too," Novo said. Priyanka looked over to Novo.

"It's not me, it's my daughter. Just a few weeks ago he's tried to take her away and get married to her. Married!" Priyanka felt a cold shiver run down her back on remembering it, not to mention everything that happened afterwards with Steven running away, and Connie's recovery and all that. Priyanka calmed down again.

"As if I don't get enough stress already. I already run back and forth between doctor's offices, handling patients, filling in when someone can't show up, and at the same time I'm worried sick about what Connie's doing."
Even Priyanka wasn't sure why she was talking so openly about it, but it at least felt good to talk to someone about it, even if it was the Queen of Seaquestria that she basically just met. Novo took off the face kelp and looked over to the worried mother.

"Honey, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I got an entire kingdom to look after, and my daughters are always off doing something I don't like. I keep telling them "stay in Seaquestria and watch themselves" and what do they do? They come back home with an Electric Eel! And who needs that?" Novo explained. The octopus butler actually felt uneasy remembering that particular time, but the message was still there.

"You got an adventurous daughter too, huh?" Priyanka said.

"You have NO IDEA," Novo replied, taking a sip from her drink before finishing it up, giving the empty glass to her butler, "Sometimes I just wanna keep a Pilot Fish on her, and be done with it."
Priyanka sure knew how that feels. Ever since Connie had met Steven, nevermind getting involved with Equestria and all, Priyanka was always stuck wondering just what kind of things her daughter was getting herself into.

"... Have you ever wondered how much you're trying to … let them handle? On their own?"

"What do you mean?" Novo asked.

"I mean, I'm trying to support my daughter's interests. Be it her fighting these monsters, or going to other worlds, or studying to go to college even though she's a few years behind to even apply. But the more trouble she keeps getting into …" Priyanka didn't need to finish her sentence for Queen Novo to get where she's coming from. It's something all parents go through after all.

"I get you, how much freedom you should give your kids? Well I'll say this much, as long as they KNOW you're in charge of them, then everything will be okay. They still live under your kingdom, then you got the final word in what they do," Novo said, speaking more as a queen though than as a mother. Priyanka wondered a little bit on the rather forward answer.

"That sounds surprisingly simple," Priyanka said.

"Hey, it works for me, it can work for you too," Novo advised. Grant it, that didn't stop Skystar from bringing them into her kingdom in the first place, so Priyanka wasn't sure if that alone was "full proof".

"So … treat her like she's still a kid, is that what you're saying?"

"Well that's who she is, honey, and unless she's ready to move out on her own - why by the way is still your call - then that's still gonna be a fact in her life she's gotta go with," Novo explained. Eventually at this point the massaging stopped for a bit, telling them both that it was all done, and allowing them both to sit up.

"Well, I don't know about that. She's always been a pretty strong girl, and I've seen her training and -"

"You are worried about her, aren't you?" asked Novo.

"What? Of course I am, I'm her mother," insisted Priyanka.

"Then that's all the reason you need. We're moms, we're supposed to take care of our children until we decide they're ready. Speaking of which, they better not be wandering off again," Novo wondered. It would be a time for them to do so, but they weren't too sure where they would go.

"I know my daughter wouldn't lie to me and just leave Seaquestria without me," Priyanka said, confident in at least that.

Speak of the devil …

"Queen Novo! Your highness!"
Just as the queen and the human-turned-merfolk were started to swim up and ready to go, one of the known Seapony mercenaries came rushing into the spa room. He looked like a stallion of Seaponies, purple scales with light blue fins as well as a set of golden armor around him too. It was a bit of a rushed barging in though, enough to make Priyanka bolt up a good ten feet (and hitting her head).

"And who're you?" Priyanka asked, rubbing her head as she slowly drifted back down.

"I am General Seaspray, apart of her majesty Queen Novo's Navy. My apologies for rushing in unannounced like this, your highness," said Seaspray, bowing before the queen.

"That's fine, I was just about done in here anyway," shrugged the queen, "What's got you rushing in here?"

Seaspray cleared his throat. "Some of my patrols has gotten sight of Skystar and Silverstream leaving Seaquestria borders, alongside those new "guests" that arrived earlier, your majesty. I arrived here to inform you as soon as possible."

"They WHAT?!" Novo exclaimed, obviously not happy with this. "Seriously I just told them - UGH, and why didn't your troops stop them?"

"Forgive me, your majesty, we tried to take them back home but one of the guests insisted they'd guide them on their way. By the time we got back to them they were already gone," Seaspray reported. Novo should've put them in prison when she could, now this was going on. the queen got her fin to her forehead, more concerned about her kids than who to blame here (not at the moment anyway).

"Did they at least say where they were going?" Novo questioned. Seaspray hesitated, but the general of the Seapony navy answered her majesty anyway.

"They mentioned something about going over to … Mount Aris. P-Possibly."

"What do you mean possibly, of course they're going there! Get your patrols back together and head over there before something else does!" ordered Novo.

"Yes, your majesty," Seaspray said. After that order, he swam right on out to inform his navy about the news, as quick as his fins can carry him. Now he was gone though, the queen turned to Priyanka.

"Still think she wouldn't lie to you now?" Novo asked.

"I can't believe this, she wouldn't lie to me! What do we do?"

"We? YOU are staying here until I get back," Novo instructed, and before Priyanka can say anything otherwise, Novo swam out and just left her there.

So now what?

~~~~~~

"Up and up, everybody, we're here!" announced Skystar the second they got to the surface.
The swim this time took much less time than the swim from the Reef, about half an hour less. It looked very dark when they breached the surface, more than it probably should for just being nighttime. All the same, Skystar still kept the light they needed to see where they were. One thing they did figure out: they can breathe on land and in water.

"We are?" Lapis questioned, looking around to see, basically nothing. Well okay, it looked like an underground cavern of sorts, with the deep pool they came in from, and actually a few "realistic" horse statues that flowed their manes with water, but that's about it.

"Well not there here, almost there, Mount Aris is just ahead this way see?" said Skystar, pointing off towards a nearby tunnel. Silverstream and Skystar moved a bit slower on the rough rocky terrain of the cave than them sliding around inside the Reef, so at this point they weren't bolting ahead of them. The Merfolk had their legs to help walk about the land, but it still was a little bit slow since they got flippers for feet now.

"And just around the bend and … welcome to Mount Aris! TA-DA!"

Welcome might not be the right word, once the group finally got themselves outside. The first thing they saw, immediately, was just how desolate everything looked. All that time abandoned by the Hippogriffs had taken a major toll on the village (or what remained of it). Buildings that once would house a whole flock of Hippogriffs not were worn down and wrecked, tree branches, moss patches, and vines wrapping around what part of each building actually stayed in tact. Many trees around the village now stood bare of most, if not all of their leaves, leaving many of them dead and like wooden skeletons. Even the rocks felt worn out and dry, not being walked on in so long, and a fine fog covered much of the mountain. The most activity they could see from the entrance was dirt and rocks (the non-living kind, not Gems).

Steven especially looked unnerved by the sight.

"You okay, Steven?" asked Lapis.

"Sorry. I-It's just baggage," Steven admitted. Let's just say Spinel probably would be too freaked out to continue if she were here. The group took the time to look around the village, seeing how much of nature and time had taken over. Connie even spotted a long kettle just sitting off on a table, a spider's web still on it as if it never moved at all.

"What did Grogar do to this place? He's turned this whole place into a ghost town," Steven wondered looking around.

"We as Hippogriffs left in a big hurry, so we didn't have time to pack up and go. But who can blame us since Grogar drove us outta here," said Skystar. Connie only needed to touch the one kettle for it to crumble up, spiders coming out of it to find another safe spot, making Connie step back.

"How long were you all gone?" asked Connie, turning to Silverstream specifically. The Seapony thought it over.

"Weeeeellll I dunno. A REALLY long time," Silverstream shrugged, though hearing something scurry off nearby did give her a little jump. It was really just a rat running by, but the fog made everything look just a little bit more ominous, one way or another. Lapis flew over towards one of the buildings, seeing just how wrapped up the vines were on the building again.

"This place is worse than I thought," Lapis said to herself, gently touching the vine a little bit. Even the vines felt old and dry, even if they were around the ocean.

"How long were you gone?" asked Steven.

"I … forgot. It's been SO LONG since we -" Silverstream was cut short when they all heard something moving around nearby, knocking over some loose stuff before scurrying away. It really was just a rat, but none of them saw it and Silverstream moved back closer to the others.

"This place is so … spooky at night," murmured Silverstream, shivering a little bit.

"Yeah … b-but let's not let that scare us," Connie said, though she had to admit she was starting to get a little worried too. In fact, most of them were thanks to how everything looked with the fog and all. Strange thing this fog though, Lapis began to note the particular smell of it …

"So, we got you here … what's the big surprise? What do you want to do here?" Skystar asked, anticipating the answer. Steven and company kept from telling them what was up for the swim here.

"Just because you were chased out of here once, doesn't mean you can't come back again. Let's try and rebuild Mount Aris, it might be enough to prove Queen Novo she can have both of her kingdoms back," Steven concluded, which was something he and the others had come to conclude already.

"I don't know about that. My mom doesn't like putting any seapony in danger, especially by Grogar," said Skystar.

"Grogar's not even here. Besides, it doesn't look like he even wanted Mount Aris anyway. Does this look like a kingdom ruled by Grogar to you?" Connie pointed out. It all looked scary, but she did have a point there. As if on cue, they heard some wood fall off of one of the houses, but that was all.

"Hmm … nope. Not really," Skystar said.

What was asked next was eerily timed.

"B-But what if he's still here?" Silverstream asked, shuttering a little bit on the idea.

"He'd have to be pretty desperate. Even if he's here, we'll send him on his way," Lapis promised as she flew down towards them. Silverstream would be all giddy, but she suddenly began to curl up into a ball on the ground, her eyes growing wide looking somewhere beyond everyone else.

"You're not going to do anything!"

Queen Novo! And the queen was not happy at all, as she got herself coming in from the cave. Novo wasn't alone too, following her was the numerous guards Seaspray assigned to follow her here, just in case something else would go wrong or if the guests would try to jump in on them. One of the guards was holding something else, though they couldn't make it out just yet.

"M-Mom! You're done with your spa already?" asked a worried Skystar, given her share of dagger looks from her mom.

"Princess Skystar, I can't believe you! I literally just told you to not leave Seaquestria, and not only did you just swim off, you come to Mount Aris? What were you thinking, bringing them here of all places?" Novo demanded. Skystar moved back a bit. Immediately they can see this wasn't gonna end well for Skystar at the rate this was going.

"Nownownow, mom, I can explain -"

"You'll have A LOT of time to explain while you're being grounded in the palace, young lady!"

"G-GROUNDED?!" gasped Skystar, overly-dramatic about it but still scared.

"Your majesty, wait, it's not her fault!" said Connie, coming in to her aid, "We're the ones that asked her to take us here."

"You? Oh I should've known - this is what I get for letting surface dwellers stay in my kingdom. GUARD!"
Then the guard placed the object in Novo's fins, turning out to be the pearl she used in the first place. One tap of the pearl and, instead of gifting the transformation, it quickly took away the Merfolk traits of all the Humans and Gems present before they could do much. All the fins were removed, their hair returned, and basically Connie and Steven were Human again, and Lapis and Pearl were pure Gems again.

"Serves you right. It hasn't even been twenty minutes, and already you're encouraging my daughter's rebelling," Novo then said.

"We're not encouraging her, we're just trying to help!" Steven insisted. Novo, already stressed again, wasn't having any of it as she pushed Skystar behind her.

"Help with what? This? Did I not say we're okay with one kingdom?" Novo said.

"You're okay with one kingdom, but that doesn't mean everyone else is. At least we're trying to get your other kingdom back, and when we fix it up, you all can come back. Don't you want to come back to Mount Aris too?" Connie insisted. Queen Novo felt a sting on being singled out.

"Of course I would, but I also don't want my subjects stuck at the mercy of that tyrant ram! I will NOT take that chance with him when even you're shaking too," Novo suddenly said, that last part almost seeming to trigger the girl, more so than it should.

"It doesn't matter, we're gonna fix it! Everything will be fine, and we can forget he even was here. We won't even have to think of him again!" Connie insisted.

"Connie?" Steven asked.

"You know what, my mind's made up. Skystar, Silverstream, we're going home NOW, and you better get back to your chores too, princess."

"Chores, what chores?" Skystar asked.

"The chores I'll put you on when we get back home, now let's go," Novo firmly stated. Skystar felt hurt, and slowly started following the queen of the Seaponies anyway. The group of Seaponies began to go.

"Is everything okay, my Connie?" Pearl asked.

"Yep, but this isn't about me! Give me a second," Connie quickly insisted, before she tried to go over to Queen Novo, only for the guards to get in her way again.

"Let em come, I at least need to change them back before I banish them," Novo said.

"BANISH? Why?! They're the angels!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"Firstly: no they're not. Secondly: they brought you both out here. This is why we don't bring strangers into our home!" she then turned to the prisoners, "And you, You don't deserve to be one of us. You think you can bring them both out here without the queen knowing?"

"Wait a minute, this is getting extreme," Steven said hesitantly, "We're not here to hurt anyone, we made that crystal clear!"

"I made up my mind, so here's what's going down: you're gonna come back, I'm going to change your mother back to normal, and ALL of you are going out of my kingdom and NEVER coming back! Am I crystal clear?" Novo questioned.

…

She was the only one who had her back turned from the exit, unaware of something … glowing. Something being torn open. Only Steven's group realized what this actually was, and the guards on edge although they weren't sure what it was at first. The only sound that emitted from it was the sound of sharp fabric tearing.

"Novo? Get out of sight, NOW," Lapis said urgently.

"Ohoho, so now you're being snotty with me?" Novo questioned.

"No, I literally mean it, hide before -"

*CRUSH*
A hoof slamming the rocky earth got everyone's attention, and now, there's no hiding from him. From the opening created out of nowhere, the cloven hoof crumbled the rock underneath it. In the dim night light, the eerie glow of red suddenly started filling up the area, a set of almost demonic eyes piercing the black. What began as eyes turned into a head, the set of almost-perfect Ram horns now shown for all to see as they glowed an ominous green. Only when his body was fully through did the portal he create close up behind him, the only light now coming off of himself in his horns and his eyes.

Grogar had arrived.

"There you are," Grogar rumbled.

"The king of monsters. Protect the queen!" called one of the guards, all guards on deck aiming their weapons directly at the threat as he pulled his way through the portal into Equestria, onto Mount Aris, and in sight of his target. He'd announce himself and all, but he was NOT in the mood for any games anymore. His horns began glowing a brighter green again, taking more effort because of his cracked horn but still working either way.

"Look out!" shouted Steven, almost blindly he rushed to try and get to them, but Grogar got to them first and blasted away a bomb that turned the whole area into a blinding mess! Guards were flown well out of the village, and the entire area was blinded by covering dust and dirt for a good half a minute. Grogar waited for the dust to clear … only to find they've all gone. He felt himself snarl.

"Alright, Steven!" He shouted, "You couldn't have ran off that fast, I know you're here, and you got nowhere to go this time! Get out here now or I'll turn this whole mountain into a crater!"

Unknowing to him (kind of) the whole group did find some shelter just out of sight behind one of the rotten trees, just out of sight and out of danger for the moment. The blast alone was making them all unnerved, with Silverstream and Skystar huddled up and cowering. They did get Queen Novo out of harm's way, her with them too.

"Oh no, oh no, he's back! What do we do?" asked Silverstream.

"Keep your voice down, he can't know where we are," Connie instructed. Novo did hear Steven's name in that statement, along with the following one from Grogar.

"I know you can hear me, kid. You've lead me on long enough with your pathetic game, so you better be smart and SHOW UP!"

"What did you do to him?" Novo quietly asked.

"A lot. Ok, look, Novo, get Skystar and Silverstream out of here, we'll take care of him I promise, we won't tell him anything about you," instructed Steven.

"What about you? Aren't you scared of him?" asked Skystar. Before any of them could answer, they felt the ground tremble dangerously close to the tree as Grogar began to hear voices close by. The Ram even sniffed the ground for some sort of scent. But then he got an idea.

"I know you're here somewhere, lad. And you will come out, one way or another," Grogar decided.

Before summoning another green bomb, and exploding the nearest tree! The ground cracked, the cliffs trembled, and they all saw smoke and tree parts blast by them. Skystar and Silverstream tried not to scream but huddled for cover again, but this terrifying situation was making Connie freak out a bit too, holding her head down and trembling just as much. Lapis and her water wings kept some large debris from landing on any of them. Silverstream peeked out to try and see what was happening, but that only made her even more terrified.

"There isn't anymore Hippogriffs or Seaponies. They must all be captured," murmured Silverstream in a panic.

"Don't talk like that, Silverstream, it's going to be okay," Lapis said, just for them all to hear another explosion.

"N-No it won't! He's back, and I'm never gonna see another sunset or fly through a cloud bank or play with bubblefish! He's gonna take away everything I love! We're gonna be trapped with him forever!" Silverstream wailed.

A little too loud. Grogar heard it just enough, flicking his ear and turning his head to the tree he stood closest to. Giving a rumbling chuckle, he turned completely to face the tree. Then his horns started to glow, but he didn't fire right away.

"I got you now. I'm counting to three, so you come out. … One. …"

They could hear the spell start to conjure up. Looking around him, Steven could see so many of them getting extremely scared. Should they bolt for it or should they wait it out for his bluff? The Seaponies couldn't get out fast enough, two of them were too scared to move. He could also see that, despite what she said before going with him on this trip, Connie was terrified ...

"Two. …"

"DON'T! I'm coming out."

"Steven, don't go," Connie said, holding him, "we'll make a run for it, to the archway, and we can make it to the beach!"

"Wait here. I won't be long," Steven said. "He came all this way just for me."

Despite the others not wanting him to, Steven got up and walked around the tree. Grogar kept a good eye on him, as he even raised his hands up as if he was being called by a cop. His muzzle turned up into a grin, his horns losing the ominous green glow, but that didn't mean he was satisfied at all.

"Rats." Grogar groaned. That the bomb he was charging up wasn't done, it still floating over his head before he tossed it outside of the mountain. The distant explosion made everything glow bright very briefly (and freaking them out for a second). A second more and mount Aris would've been nothing after that.

Steven gulped nervously, but didn't leave.

"You don't know how lucky you are, Steven."

"I don't know, I can get a good idea," Steven shrugged, making light of the situation as best he can, only to turn serious again after shaking off the shock, "So what do you want? Did you come to finish what you started?"

"As much as I'd love to, no. I want to have a word with you, and I want answers. NOW!" Grogar demanded. Unfortunately it was a bit too vague to actually pinpoint what it was that he wanted, but Steven got a decent idea on what it could be. … maybe.

"This again? Grogar, I'm not going to stop helping people, not even you -"

"That isn't what I meant!" Grogar snapped, silencing the boy before he could run his mouth on him. He began to march towards him, keeping Steven's back to the wall of the tree, his horns keeping him there good and firm.

"What is it then?" Steven asked.

"You know WELL what it is. You left me with an enigma back in that cave in the mountain, and you're not going anywhere until you tell me right now," Grogar warned. Steven felt himself tremble somewhat, getting the full idea what he was talking about, but should he say anything about it?

"What is he talking about?" wondered Lapis.

"I-I don't know what you mean," Steven managed to say. Ticked off, Grogar grabbed him by the arm and threw him away from the tree.

"You won't say it, I'll say it fine! Red Diamond. How'd you meet her?!"

Now it was out, the question Steven REALLY was hoping he didn't ever have to answer. Grogar's question hung in the air for a minute or so. How was Steven supposed to answer him? But the question did remind the poor kid of his experience with the Red giant Gem. Steven probably waited too long to answer him, because Grogar was charging at him again. Just enough of an action to make Lapis come out and give the ram a power-filled water punch, just enough to make the Ram tumble aside and away from him. Suddenly Grogar was talking to two figures.

"Where did you hear that name?" Lapis asked, slow and firm about it.

"You know who she is?" Steven asked.

"Oh not you too, that ain't important. What I do know is that NOTHING sees her and lives to tell about it like that kid standing there," Grogar made clear, his hoof pointing directly at Steven. Steven got back up onto his feet.

"N-No. No he can't have. Only my diamond ever seen her before. If he did see her, how's he still here?" Lapis asked.

"That's what I WANT TO KNOW!" Grogar bellowed, his voice alone almost enough to crumble up a wall or two. He stomped forward, anger filling up his own strength as just a stomp cracked the old ground underneath him. That made them humbled, but then Grogar's ears heard whimpering off nearby the same tree. There were very scared creatures close by.

"Don't you dare," Steven warned.

He dared. Instead of charging for them again, he rammed into the tree, strong enough to uprooted it immediately and making it fall over. Connie and the Seaponies only could scramble out of the way before the tree could fall on top of them, cracking and crumbling in a wooden heap. They weren't hurt, but now they were exposed, with Grogar jumping onto the tree to see who he unearthed. Silverstream and Skystar were horrified, but Novo tried to keep a leveled-head.

"If you think I'm letting you anywhere near my children -"

"NOT NOW!" Grogar bellowed, his horns activating their magic again. The ram leaped forward, and with a magically-enhanced hoof, whacked all three Seaponies aside and out of the way. He saw his target in the open, and he went right for Connie, only to be met by the battle-ready Pearl.

"I'll protect you, my Connie!" Pearl said. Connie ran away from him, but that didn't last too long before she got herself shot in the leg by a fast lightning strike, making her fall forward close to Lapis and Steven. As for Pearl, while she did try to defend her master, Grogar's magic was already super-charging him from the fleet-footed attacker. Pearl could only get a few kicks on him before he managed to electrocute her too, poofing her after a few seconds.

"I gotcha Pearl," Lapis said, rushing in and snatching up the downed Gem before Grogar could kick the gemstone to the wall to shatter it. His focus turned to Connie again.

"Connie!" Steven gasped.

"S-Steven!" Connie managed to say. Grogar moved right for her, licking his teeth as his hooves scraped the ground. Steven couldn't handle it. The mindless violence on the Seaponies was bad enough, and this made it too terrible all over again.

"STOP IT! I'm sick of seeing you hurting everyone!"

"Talk then! Or would you rather watch your love's head roll on the floor," Grogar warned, his hoof hovering over her head.

Steven broke.

"AAHHH! I don't know what to tell you, okay?! I don't even know what happened: I ended up in Pink Diamond's garden, decided to stay, and when I fell asleep, there she was! I don't know what I did to make her show up to me, or why she even did show up, or apparently why she let me go! Oh wait, I do know: SHE WANTED ME TO KILL YOU!"

Dead silence.

"... She … wanted you to kill me?" Grogar questioned, actually legitimately curious. Steven was still fuming though, groaning again.

"Okay, she said to "stop you", because she doesn't like you using her name so you can take over the world, but that means that I have to kill you - for real this time. But I never wanted to! I don't wanna talk about it, I don't even want to think about it! I've literally been working on EVERYTHING else because I wanted to take a break from you, but you just keep making things worse. WHY WON'T YOU JUST ... STOP?!"

"Steven …" Connie murmured.

This time the dead silence hung around them a lot longer. The concept felt so … strange. Lapis and Connie didn't want to believe it, but Steven's anger was also accompanied by tears coming down his face. The Seaponies, not sure of what they were talking about, kept dead silent themselves wondering where this was gonna go next. All this talk about death and violence made them feel so uneasy anyway. As for Grogar …

Take a wild guess.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHHAHH!"

"Of course," Steven thought gravely. Grogar was laughing at him. AGAIN. And this time the laughing was so much, the Ram even fell onto his back, holding his stomach as he guffawed at such a idea.

"AHAHAHAhhohohoooo, ok ok, so let me get these ducks in a row here," Grogar managed to say through his laughter, wheezing first before talking again, "Red. Diamond. The Gem being of DEATH, decided that you! The most innocent little meatball this side of the planet. She wants you to try and take me out?! HA that's so ironic, I love it! It's no wonder you're not dead yet lad: Even death herself wants you bloody!"
Grogar fell into another fit of laughing. The irony was just THAT hilarious to him, it was … disturbing, to say the least. And Grogar wasn't done yet, because after gathering himself again, he stood up on his back legs and looked straight up to the night sky, as if he were talking to Luna on the moon.

"HEY RED DIAMOND! I know you can hear me from up there! It sounds like you should get yourself a new Pearl, because THIS ONE'S gone soft on you! You let him live just so he can bugger off and play with his rocks, OOOHHH that's a good trick! Why don't you replace that kid there and come down here yourself if you want me dead so bad! I'm already been dead, so COME AND GET IT! I'M RIGHT HERE and I'm tired of waiting!"

"H-He's … already dead ……." gulped Lapis. An undead zombie ram? As if dealing with a tyrannical king wasn't horror enough. Grogar waited for Red Diamond to just come down ans whisk him away, but nothing happened.

"I'm sorry for not telling you. It looks like I'm still making excuses again," Steven said gravely towards Connie. Connie herself suddenly began to think about what was going on with not only him, but herself.

"Is that what I've been doing?! I'm supposed to be over this," Connie said, her voice shaky almost.

"But you were hurt! badly hurt!" Steven said, kneeling down to her level and holding her by the shoulders. Connie's emotions started to take over her as tears started coming down from her too. Connie couldn't keep this up.

"I was badly hurt. He tortured me for days, he tortured both of us. How did you stop hurting?" Connie asked, ready to break down.

Steven hugged her tight.

"I didn't. …"

…

A light started to form from those two. They were fusing. For the first time in weeks, the two were fusing again! Great news for some, but Grogar was not having any of it, already running at them.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Grogar yelled, and shockingly jumped right into it himself! Like jumping into a pool of water, his body turned pure glowing white on slamming into it, and now Steven, Connie, and Grogar found themselves trying to form something that neither of them planned for, and neither of them wanted. The mass turned into an orb that warped, squished and stretched as it tried to figure out a form for it to take out of three different species.

"Steven! Connie!" Lapis gasped, flying up towards the orb. She tried to find which part was Grogar and which one wasn't but the mass itself was too muffled to make anything out. Try as she might, a form was already beginning to take a stronger shape. Novo nearby made sure to keep her children well away from the danger.

Something else finally appeared that night. Something that shouldn't even exist. After the transformation was complete, it wasn't Stevonnie that was standing there, but some form of a Centaur.
The bottom half (for a Centaur) looked relatively normal with the lower half of the Ram that blindly fused with it, but it was its upper half that showed its true mutation. The front lower hooves were now human feet, colored the same as the very back hooves. Grogar's fur lined the whole body until it reached the botton humanized torso where Grogar's head would be, morphing from fur to fabric of their clothing. Moving up from the stomach, the chest was split in two: two heads, with a single arm on each side along with one ear, and one horn - one full, one broken. The eyes on it looked almost incomplete: different sized eyes and irises, three eyes on each face, as crazed looking as Discord itself, with some thickened eyebrows lining the center eye for each head.

What did they just do?

"W-What is that?" Silverstream yelped.

The fusion could not talk, collapsing onto the ground almost immediately as it tried to comprehend what was happening, and what they became. The horns on their heads flashed in a reddish hue this time, something a little different from before.

"Steven! Connie! Can you hear me?!" Lapis called, trying to bring them around, but there was something going on inside those heads of theirs. The fusion wasn't listening though, their minds fighting eachother almost, the arms wrapping around and holding both sides of itself tight as the ram half almost seemed to spazz out, bucking and kicking erratically. As this was going on though, the fusion showed off one unintentional ability: a thick red mist started to emit from the horns. A LOT of it.

"Hold on, I'm splitting you up!" Lapis called, not sure if they could hear her or not in there.

"Lapis, get back down here!" called Silverstream. She tried to reach her, but Novo was not having any of it and kept both her and Skystar back down to earth and away from the threat. Lapis flew up over above the fusion, her water wings turning into hands again to try and get Steven and Connie out of this accidental disaster. The fusion did, despite its hysteria, see Lapis fly overhead, but didn't do anything at first. One part wanted to attack her, the other two were struggling to keep itself down. Something kept going through their heads however. Something that the red mist was starting to shape around them, and around everyone else.
All of their eyes glowed red, before an explosion of red mist covered the entire village! Lapis was blown back to the ground, and the Seaponies took cover wherever they could but they got engulfed in the fog anyway.

"Guys!" shouted Lapis, covering her face from the thick mist.

But this red mist was giving them more than any of then could expect next.

Far more.

"Novo! Everyone - … okay? …"

…….

EVERYTHING was different. Lapis, the Seaponies, and the Fusion were still there somewhat, but they were nowhere near Mount Aris anymore. All the old trees, shrubs, even the ground itself had completely changed from a mountainous isolated village, into a entirely burning one. Numerous cottages were covered in red, as if they all were on fire, crumbling into burnt wood. They kept seeing silhouettes of what at first looked like Ponies rushing by, running for their lives to get out of the destroyed town, all of which disappeared after running enough of a distance away, fading away into the night. Looking closer though, while some were hard to tell, there were indeed curved horns on some of them. These weren't Ponies, these were Rams. Rams that were running for their lives as quick as their hooves could carry them. Novo thought they were gonna run them over, and she got her and her children out of the way, but only one of the Goats actually ran through them, fazing passed them.

"What's going on?!" Novo demanded.

"I don't know!" Lapis replied.

The red mist filled them in: as everyone was running, a GIGANTIC red figure began to appear in the background of this burning town, towering over all that it saw. A Dragon. A large, horrifying Dragon. At first it was just standing there in an opening of the village, but quickly it started to blast fire down on everything it ever so wanted to. Building that it didn't burn it wrecked with either a claw swipe or a whack of its mighty tail, destroying everything and everyone in its path.

"Rams. A Dragon? … Wait, could it be -"

*RAAHHH!* roared the "Dragon", its giant tail swinging right down to them!

"Heads up!" shouted Lapis, before bolting and saving the royal family as the Dragon's tail slammed the ground right by them. After landing, then they found where this was all coming from: the Fusion. And the fusion was still huddled up on the ground. Whether it meant to or not, it was showing them something but what?

"Lapis, what's it doin? Is it showing you memories? Playing a game? If this is a game, I don't wanna play!" Skystar asked.

Lapis suddenly got it. She looked to the fusion again.

"It's memory. ... It's showing us its memory!" Lapis realized.

"Great work, honey, now how do we get it to stop?"

*BAAA!* *BAAA!*

Before any of them could even figure that out, the bleating over all the chaos was just loud enough to catch their attention, including the fusion causing this illusion. The fusion looked on towards one of the paths eerily facing the Dragon, and found one more detailed red-colored Ram running out into the open. A terrified small little goat, hardly even getting into his own horns yet, with an eerily familiar looking bell around the collar of his neck. Lapis and her otherworldly memory knew exactly where that bell belonged to, seeing that exact same bell on the Fusion right next to her.
THIS was Grogar's memory.

Even the Fusion stopped panicking when it saw this, though both its arms still gripped tightly around itself, be it out of shock or just worry. Baaing and bleating, this younger Grogar tried his best to get away along with everyone else, but unlike the other goats he stumbled on the ground, and almost got himself trampled from the others running away. One of the rams even stomped on him, not even going back for him! This made Grogar wail, and the Dragon heard him loud and clear. Its eyes glowing not red, but a powerful green to pierce the fiery flames. Grogar struggled to get up, terrified of the monster that was looming just over him, jaws open wide with a guttural roar overtaking any other sound.

"Get away from my son!" shouted an unknown voice, ramming into the Dragon's head. Grogar's father had arrived, along with another one presumably his mom. The mother appeared just like a goat, though it was harder to make the father out. With the Dragon stunned, Grogar found his footing.

"Peshtihorn's burning. Hurry, save him Fawn!" said the father, ready to fight the Dragon himself.

"Grogar, this way," said Fawn, trying to move him along.

"No! Dad!" Grogar pleaded. Fawn had to get Grogar to move, and picked him up with her mouth before galloping off to get some distance between them and the beast. His father stood there against the monster, but that scene started to fade out before a ominous glow engulfed him. It focused on Grogar and Fawn now, Fawn looking like she was crying somewhat. The Dragon was far from done though, and it was soon after them again. They still got ahead of it for a good while, eventually stopping once they found cover. They couldn't fight it off by themselves.

"Grogar, go to Equestria," Fawn said, "Look for the Alicorns, they're the only ones who can help us."

"But what about you?!" Grogar asked, the two huddling down fast as a fiery explosion happened not too far away.

"Run Grogar! The Dragon's coming down on us! I'll be fine, I promise."

"B-But … Okay. I promise."

"Good lad. I love you," Fawn said.

"I love you too," Grogar replied. They hardly had time for a good bye hug before Grogar reluctantly had to run for it, leaving Fawn behind as much as he didn't want to. He only ran off for a good ten yards before he looked back to see his mother still standing there …
And the Dragon's foot stomping right down! Grogar wanted to stop to save her, but his body wouldn't stop him running away from the demon of a Dragon towering over him like a mountain. Running to get help turned into running for his life instead, the beast looming in closer and closer no matter how fast Grogar ran. His father and mother were gone.
Grogar ran and ran and ran, until he felt like he made it passed a mile or two from Peshtihorn, only stopping on a lone hill in the path. And what did he see when looking back?

His whole town being burned to cinders. The Dragon Lord was really enjoying herself so it seemed, and one more fiery blast engulfed the entire village in a mighty explosion. Grogar froze, and could only watch as his whole home burned. Time seemed to have stopped. And all Grogar could do … was cry.

…….

"GAH!"

Finally the Fusion turned white once again, and after all the red mist had cleared, the fusion split itself apart by the horns. Steven, Connie, and Grogar fell out of the air before landing on the ground roughly. Connie and Steven looked alright physically, but being pulled by the horns to split apart meant that Grogar's horns … well, they weren't there. nothing but stubs now, and the horns were nowhere in sight. The ram, shaky still from memory lane, did slowly find his footing again and shook himself back to focus. Light-headed yeah, and plenty weak from the straining, but then his focus turned to the crowd behind him.

"What're you all looking at?" Grogar growled.

None of them uttered a single word. Just … staring at him. None of that could've been planned by Grogar to come out. The Ram glanced up to find his horns missing which, actually, did make him step back a bit and he tried to find where those horns went to.

"You lost everything. … Your home, your family, that's - ... awful," said Steven. Grogar stopped. So they did see that. ALL OF THEM. Being weakened though, he didn't just charge in blindly again. Instead, he turned his gaze away. He was gonna kill him anyway, this was just adding to the pile.

"Don't cry for me, you idiot. I'm trying to kill you, and you're supposed to kill me remember? Besides, loss and suffering hardens the heart. Without it, what would I be today?" Grogar asked.

"...…. Happy?" asked Skystar. Grogar growled, immediately trying to zap them off of the whole island, but with his horns gone all that happened was an explosion right in his face, making him fall back onto the ground again, though this time the attack knocked him out cold. He wasn't getting back up tonight. To make sure though, Lapis went over to him and gave him a few pokes, not getting any reaction but still feeling him breathing as she placed a hand on him.

"He's out cold. Whatever happened really sucked the strength out of him," sighed Lapis.

"He's not going to be that big of a problem now. But what do we do with him? Are we going to leave him like … this?" asked Connie, pointing to the worn out goat. That honestly was a bit of a rough question. If they let him go and he wakes up, naturally he'd try to find a way back to his army somehow, or at the least try to regain his horns so maybe just leaving him wasn't the best idea. Then again, Grogar suffered MORE than enough, and just making him suffer more, well … what would that make them? … There was one idea though that started creeping into Steven's mind. Despite his "promise" to Grogar back in the mountain.

"Hey Lapis? Connie? Can I talk to you for a second?" Steven asked.

"Um, sure. Be right back," Lapis said.

Steven, Connie, and Lapis moved aside, and the three began talking to themselves for a short bit, but about what they weren't sure just yet. Novo, personally, was a bit beside herself on things, especially since in her eyes they just defeated their biggest problem and reason they went into hiding in the first place. There was some quiet talk, a few surprised "sounds" here and there, but those weren't too severe. Eventually the three came back, deciding exactly what to do. First thing though, Connie went back to Novo, holding Pearl in hand, as Steven and Lapis walked over side by side.

"Novo? You mind taking Connie back to get her mom before you banish us?" Steven asked.

"Banish you? You just got rid if the king of monsters for us!" Queen Novo said, "The same one who caused all our problems in the first place, so I think that makes up for you wanting to come here in the first place."

"Oh. Well thank you. Can I still go get her though?" Connie asked.

"Sure, but what about you two? And him?" Novo asked.

"We'll just be taking him with us," Lapis revealed, using her water to lift the unconscious Grogar off of the ground. "We got our own plan with him, and if this works it's gonna help everybody. Meet us back at the Reef?"

"Totally. And … thanks," Connie said. It still was gonna hurt her a little bit, but at least she wasn't in this alone anymore.

"You too," Steven simply replied.

"... Am I still grounded for this?" Skystar asked Novo.

"Well … maybe," Novo replied.

Steven and Connie shared a quick hug before the two groups split ways. Mount Aris was basically above Seaquestria, so finding their way back for Lapis wasn't gonna be that hard at all. With Grogar wrapped in his water veil, and Steven holding onto Lapis's arms, Steven and Lapis flew right off and away from Mount Aris, as Connie followed the Seaponies back towards the entrance to Seaquestria. With Pearl with her, even if Lapis and Steven were to go back, she would still manage to return home anyway. They still got some work to do with Steven and Red Diamond, but for now, Grogars tyranny was at the least far more manageable now than it would be.

Hopefully the others were willing to follow their idea for Grogar.

Author's Note

I'm not gonna lie, there was A LOT of re-writes with this chapter because i honestly didn't know where i wanted it to go for a good while (I wrote 5,000 words for the ending, and like an idiot i deleted it because I thought it wouldn't work ... then realized it could work, but lost my muse to write it out again, so that was slow to get to XP). Let's just say the previous ending of this would involve a return of an older fusion, and ending on a completely different path. Add it to the Alternate timelines :3

Also expecting some confusion/disturbing feels with what goes on at the end, so try me :ajsmug:

Anyway, enjoy the chapter of the Seaponies ^^

Child's Play

Harmony Gems.

P.S.: NO, this doesn't mean I'm giving their magic back. That is no longer under my decision, and never will be. DON'T TEST ME.

.......

Colony Production Study no.71-3

The current colonial development on the 'Independent' colony Earth has been steadily continuing its process over Earth's so-called "Winter Season". Some surprise additions to Little Homeworld had been in the works for quite some time due to suggestion by the local Flint representative. Personally, the idea of this "museum" is an unnecessary addition to the colony, as it seems to serve no functional purpose other than to ... "Preserve the Past' ... like we can make use of THAT. I'll continue the follow-up reports by the end of the week. Peridot 2F5L Cut-5XG out.

Another day and another personal report made out to who-knows-where. At least the other rejuvenated Gems had something to do with themselves with the Harmony Gems, but Peridot was mostly left to her own devices, and stuck on her own wandering around Little Homeworld to try and work things out for herself. At least she had her modified Limb Enhancers for her to make her reports on ... well, reports as in to write them down on a piece of paper for her a bit easier.
The green Gem was currently taking her time in Little Homeworld, having a seat by one of the loading crates as some of the worker Gems were still trying to make up for lost time. Watching the ruthless Quartzes working on the buildings reminded Peridot how glad she was NOT no be involved in their work.

They might beat her up probably.

"What mindless drones. All they know is to take something, and move it around. I bet they don't even know how a Limb Enhancer works. Heh, what clods," Peridot thought, a smirk forming on her face. The mindset of her rejuvenated self kept putting her above the quartzes, even if most of them were much bigger and stronger than her, especially when one of them was walking around with a large crate of supplies with relative ease, only to slam it down right next to her co-workers.

"Do they not care how fragile that stuff is?" Peridot wondered, cringing at the possible wrecked tools inside the crate.

"I don't know. They look like they're having fun.'

Peridot jumped up and suddenly drew out her arm "weaponry' in the form of a fist at the sudden voice. Turning around fast, all she saw though was Star Quartz standing there.

"Hello, mom. Are you doing okay?" asked Star. Peridot calmed down, standing up at attention.

"Who do you think you are, sneaking up on me?!" Peridot demanded angrily. Star Quartz tilted her head as she usually did with such questions.

"I'm Star Quartz. Is everything ... okay?" Star asked. Peridot rolled her eyes, and decided that focusing on her data logs would be a much better thing to do than to deal with this Ghost Gem. Even if her limb enhancers were made up of many of Steven's appliances, some upgrades were given to them and Peridot managed to seemingly make a touch screen out of the local 'iPod' screens. Peridot began walking away, working out some of the data she had been working with for the last week or so, jut to find Star following her, hands behind her back.

"... Are you gonna keep following me?" Peridot questioned, unamused by Star that much.

"Well maybe. I want to give you something," Star said.

"Which is ... what?"
The answer came with a simple move of her hands, bringing both hands around from behind her back to show the technician something. Turned out Star was actually holding something in those hands of hers, and when Peridot looked she saw what looked like a flower. In particular, a one metal flower from one Prime Kindergarten. Star stood there for a little bit more, just holding the flower in her hands and making sure Peridot was seeing it.

"A piece of local flora?" Peridot correctly wondered.

"It's a flower. The others said you saw one of these at the Prime Kindergarten, so ... here you go," Star answered, offering the flower to her. Unfortunately for the Star Quartz Gem, Peridot didn't exactly make the connection, and all she did was push the flower away.

"I've made enough studies on the flora on this planet, thank you."

"But don't you like it?" Star asked.

"If i wanted this "flower' I'd investigate myself, but I'm NOT investigating gray appearance modifiers on the local flora life so ... no thanks,' Peridot explained, before the green Gem began to walk away. She would go and comment on the whole "mom" and "you saw this" thing, but she was too pre-occupied with her own technology to really care about it. All she did do was leave Star Quartz standing there with the flower in her hands. She looked down to the flower, then to the Gem, then back to the flower again.

"Mom ...?" Star Quartz held the flower closer to her, closing her eyes. It all was just so ... weird to her. Sad, but weird.

"That didn't work either?"

It was only a minute or two, but Diopside and Jade did catch up to Star Quartz at this point, just after Peridot wandered far enough away. With everyone else gone and away doing who-knows-what, this left the trio of Gems with basically watching over Little Homeworld.

"Dang it, I swore that would've done something: it's her Cutie Mark," said Diopside, pointing to her own cheek. Star sat down nearby where Peridot was sitting, the other two Gems nearby her.

"Don't worry, Star. We'll figure out how to get Peridot back," Jade promised her.

"... What even happened to her? She used to be so ... different from now. I thought she knew what a flower is," Star said.

"Star, she's been rejuvenated remember? She doesn't remember anything except for the basics, which means boring studying, mechanics, and ... staring at her arm all day," Diopside said, the three looking to her just to find her doing just that while holding a piece of local metal. It was something for her to study on. Even after weeks, and Star still felt like it was too big of a switch.

"Anyone hear from everyone else yet?" Diopside asked. Star Quartz paused for a minute.

"Hmm ... Bismuth and Flint went to the Strawberry Battlefield, Lapis and Steven went to the Reef, Twilight and her friends went to Ponyville for a bit, and Fulgurite and Emerald went to check on Jasper." Star explained.

"Thanks, Star," Diopside simply said, though that wasn't what she meant. Regardless, it reminded the three how busy everyone else was compared to them. Before their conversation could continue, the three suddenly began to hear a commotion: Peridot got too curious with her study and was checking the toolbox the Quartzes were working with.

"Hey! Get out of that, that's ours," a Jasper shouted.

"You got dozens of these," Peridot simply said, walking away with what looked to be a large metal saw. Only to have one of the quartzes snatch it away from her.

"How about you be a good Peridot and take your studies AWAY from my work zone," suggested a angry Amethyst. Peridot was getting annoyed herself, and just tried to get something else to study, only for a Carnelian to swipe that away.

"Stop that!"

"I said "take your studies away from my work zone"."

"Don't you all have something heavy to be ... MOVING. AROUND?!" Peridot asked, irritated as ever.

"Oh geez, not again. Guys, wait don't -"
Diopside was just about to go in and try to stop this face off, but before she or Jade could jump, Star Quartz was suddenly missing from her seating spot. The two looked around and sure enough, Star was suddenly standing right between the Amethyst and Peridot, a hand on each of their shoulders.

"The heck? What're you - ... doing? ..." the angry Amethyst started to feel a lot more relaxed all of a sudden, no longer so ticked off and angry at Peridot for her work, and Peridot meanwhile looked almost zoned out, gently placing the tool back down onto the ground. Star kept her hands on them for a little bit more until she was sure they both had calmed down.

"Feeling better?"

"Whooooa. I don't know what you did, but that was ... wow that's ... something," the Amethyst only heard rumors of Star Quartz's powers to calm down, but she didn't imagine that a hundred years of spa treatment can slam someone all at once. Peridot was so "relaxed" she actually fell down onto her butt, dazed somewhat.

"But are you feeling better?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah I'm all good. You take whatever," the Amethyst said, walking away and letting Peridot do her thing with whatever she wanted to study.

"You okay, mom?" Star Quartz asked. Peridot was still dazed a little before she snapped back to reality.

"What the heck did you do to me?" Peridot simply asked. She wasn't even upset about it, she was just dumbfounded if anything. Peridot slowly got back to her feet, hand by her head, as Star Quartz just answered her.

"I just didn't want to see you two fighting. I guess my powers activated again to help me," Star Quartz answered. None of them ever really bothered to explain that ability. That wasn't important though, as Peridot got back to her full senses again, actually starting to put that into question. This was a Quartz right?

"Huh ... Quartzes aren't known to control emotions of Gems ... Does this ability activate willingly, or is it more naturally occurring?" Peridot inquired, studying the gemstone on this quartz Gem some more. Peridot made sure she was eye-level with the gemstone on her.

"I don't know. It just happens," Star Quartz shrugged, not too fazed by this invasion of privacy. Peridot, for the first time in a long time, was actually starting to become intrigued by the Gem. She had seen her for a while, sure, but her abilities never really struck her until now. Too bad (for her anyway) that Jade and Diopside went over and pulled Star aside.

"Is everything alright? What'd you do?"

"I just helped them calm down," Star replied.

"Thanks a lot, but we're supposed to do it the "Talking" way, not the "Making" way," Diopside reminded.

"Oh! ... Sorry," Star said. Peridot was probably the only one confused.

"The what way?"

"Oh it's just something we've been talking about, don't worry about it P-dot," Diopside said. She'll probably remember when they get her memory back anyway.

"It's Peridot," Peridot simply answered. The lack of enthusiasm in her voice was just painful. Peridot will have to work this out later, but for now she'll have to go and work out some tool studies. She gave the three one more glance before walking away from them all. After walking off a bit more, she decided to pull out her iPhone data log again.

Science study: Star Quartz Emotion Project.
Case Study: 01
Just today, I have discovered that one of the local Gem residence of the Gem colony Little Homeworld has apparently inherited abilities beyond what is current known in the Quartz database. With the solo exception of the Rose Quartz subspecies, Quartzes had never been known of any psychological or emotional abilities. Well, until now. Current study in production.

"Are you talking about me?" asked Star Quartz, making Peridot jump.

"Peridot, out!" Peridot quickly said, closing her data log quickly before it could get interrupted again. In fact, she quickly made a brisk walk away before they could bother her. They knew a Peridot in study might not be the best thing to get involved with anyway. ... Especially for Star Quartz.

"... Do you want to study me?" Star bluntly asked. Might as well offer it up front. Peridot ... wasn't sure how to react to that.

"....... Yes? ... wait, you'll let me?" Peridot asked confused. Star Quartz smiled, and nodded to her innocently. Not only was this Gem having an ability unheard of in Quartzes, but willing to let Peridot study this further too? Talk about an opportunity.

"W-Well, great! If you can follow me, we can begin some tests to see just how this ability operates."

"I'll follow you, mom."
Peridot didn't want to ruin her chances here, so she didn't point anything out. Diopside and Jade looked to one another briefly before looking on to Peridot, Peridot and Star beginning to walk away. Diopside quickly grabbed Star Quartz before she could go any further.

"Eh, Star Quartz? Doesn't that sound a little bit concerning to you?" Diopside inquired. Star though didn't really understand the troubles in being someone's subject.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. I get to spend more time with my mom, and she actually wants me around her. That's good isn't it?" Star asked.

"No, of course not. But being a subject and being a daughter are ... kinda different. Just be a little careful, okay?" Diopside said, Jade nodding in agreement. Star Quartz wasn't too sure what they were talking about, but for their experience on Earth, Star should at least listen to their advice.

"I'll be careful," Star answered.

"Thank you, Star Quartz," Jade replied. With that said, Star simply began walking on her way where Peridot had gone off to. Diopside and Jade both knew Star Quartz enough that she would listen to them, but all the same she was still a very young Gem.

"So ... should we do something about this? I don't want Star to be Peridot's umm ... guinea pig," Diopside asked, a little bit worried over their young friend.

"We shouldn't get involved in it, but just to be safe we'll see what happens," Jade answered.

~~~~~~

"Should we get involved now?" Diopside asked.

As Jade and Diopside watched from the entrance, Peridot didn't waste anytime with what she had in mind, and went straight into the sci-fi zone: Star Quartz went with Peridot to the town hall of Little Homeworld, the ghost Gem sitting comfortably as she looked all wired up from head to toe. Peridot had Star Quartz in multiple wires, several along her head near her gemstone, a few along her arms and sides as well, and all of em were attached to some sort of monitor Peridot managed to whip up together in her spare time, working kinda like a heart monitor.

"Readings look ... normal," Peridot said, looking to the rather mundane results so far, nothing too extreme going on at all. Star Quartz looked to the monitor herself.

"You don't sound happy about that," Star Quartz said.

"How am I gonna get any results if nothing happens? I didn't spend ten minutes checking each wire length just to get nothing outta it," Peridot said, her tone a little irritated by no results. She then began to think somewhat on how to proceed, her subject jut sitting there kicking her feet like a bored kid.

"Star? Allow me to ask you an scientific question: You're absolutely sure that this ability isn't activated by anything in your radius? Any sort of physical presence that can activate this ability?" Peridot inquired, ready to include any special information in her notes.

"I've ... never thought about it. They just kinda happen," Star shrugged.

"Literally impossible: To every action there's a reaction. Your powers can't just "kinda happen"," Peridot made clear, working off of science logic more than anything.

"Why not?"

"Leave me to solve the questions," Peridot instructed. Star Quartz kept quiet from there as Peridot got back to the monitor again. Peridot tapped the top of it to be sure it was still working, but it sure looked to be in working order. Still nothing to show though.

"Still inactive. ... Come on, you stupid -" Peridot started banging on the device, only for it to start to short-circuit and zap at her limb enhancer. Not her official arm, but it still hurt her. Star Quartz was startled seeing Peridot suddenly bolt away, holding her hand.

"Mom! You okay?" gasped Star Quartz, rushing towards her despite all the wires on her body. Peridot checked her limb enhancer, moving the fingers to be sure they worked properly.

"Go sit down," instructed Peridot, "And put back on your wires, some of them got loose when you got up."

"Oh. Okay," Star replied. She took a seat and started to re-work the wires on her so they were back on her good and tight. Peridot checked the monitor after that display, only to find that basically nothing happened. The monitor was still showing the basic signs of a normal level.

"STILL nothing? Any normal Gem would've gotten something!"

"Sorry, am I doing it wrong?"

"You're doing fine, just let me think," Peridot said, trying to figure out what to do now. Any ability would've at least become shown on the monitor, but this wasn't the case for Star Quartz here. Star Quartz watched Peridot stressing out some more, starting to worry about her mother a bit. Was she doing something wrong or not?

Her eyes moved towards the monitor.

"Mother?"

"Okay, stop calling me that. What even IS this "mom" any -"
Peridot took a look over to the monitor when turning around to her, and her eyes caught sight of the monitor screen. It was shown quiet for a while now, but when she was starting to worry about her, the results were beginning to become more erratic. They were catching something STRONG coming from her, and Peridot was quick to notice the activity. The line on the screen started to zoom up and down fast.

"The readings are going crazy! Hold on, I think we found something," Peridot said, quickly trying to get this written down before it could go away. Unfortunately for her ...

"According to the readings, they present what appears to be a release in aura around the physical body - Wait! Nonononono, don't go away on me now," Peridot pleaded. But alas, whatever power that was being read on the screen no longer were active anymore, and the readings were back to normal.

"Did you get it?"

"Subject, you have to do that again! Whatever you did, do it again, i need the end results," Peridot said. So close to getting a full understanding of it, and it just suddenly dropped like that, it riled her up so much!

"But I didn't do anything. I just looked at you, and then it started happening. ... Is it you, maybe?" Star said. Peridot paused and looked back to the monitor again. She had one hypothesis, but she needed more data for that to work ...

"Hmm ... maybe this ability's a response to more physical activity. ... Hold still," Peridot instructed.

"STOP!"

Probably a very good call Diopside wasn't gonna let Peridot go any further, rushing in fast and getting in between the two before this experiment could even start. Anything physical with a science-nutty Peridot was not suiting well for anyone.

"What did I tell you about interfering?!" Peridot snapped.

"Forget interfering, I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends," insisted Diopside, arms out spread so the techy wouldn't go in any further towards Star Quartz.

"hurt her? What're you talking about, I didn't say anything like that! I'm merely using physical contact to test her natural response in her ability," Peridot explained matter-of-factly.

"That's the same thing!" Diopside yelled.

"No it's not, now stop being a bickering clod!"

As Diopside and Peridot continued their own form of fighting, Jade walked over towards Star Quartz, who still was sitting casually as they were arguing right in front of her. She can already tell that the two weren't going to stop anytime soon.

"Excuse me? ... Can I "the making way" with them now?" Star asked Jade.

"Let's just give them time to talk it out. Sooner or later they'll come to their conclusion," Jade reassured. How long will that be though? It was kinda difficult to say, considering it was Peridot they were talking about. Rjuvenated or no, the quick to anger ratio was still as evident as ever.
Still, with Peridot and Diopside trying to figure out the fate of the Star Quartz, the two sitting aside were slowly beginning to notice there was something else going on outside. And that something was beginning to close in on the main tower, far above the ground ...

"Look, if I wanted an assistant for my test runs, I'd say so, all you're doing is making this harder than it needs to be. I just want to know how this worked. Is that too much to ask?!"

"Peridot, come on, can't you test a different way that isn't anything physical? Or at least not painful?" Diopside pointed out.

"... Not ... physical. You do know that there needs to be at least one per case study, correct?" Peridot questioned. That didn't really make anyone feel any better.

"Peridot -"

*whoosh*
The interior of the main tower started to turn into an indoor wind storm, as the wind from outside began to gust and blow into Peridot's personal testing chamber! This basically caught everyone off guard, covering up with whatever they could from this sudden wind blast. The monitor was swept up in the wind, crashing into the back wall as the Gems hunkered down to let this wind pass them by. The only one not doing that was (guess who?) Star Quartz, who was just ... sitting there casually, her hair being blown like mad behind her.

And just as quickly as it began, the wind just stopped. It died down from a swirling blast into a very soft breeze at the absolute least, and eventually it stopped altogether.

"What. The. ...?" Diopside groaned, as Peridot peeled herself off of the back wall. Star felt all of her wires gone now, scattered across the ground. As the winds died down and everyone was getting back to their feet, someone else from just outside of the main tower began to make her way inside. Her large shadow was cast inside the tower, and they all began to feel a sudden shivering bitter cold began to touch their skins.
An uninvited guest from beyond their own world. One would think it was princess Luna, but they knew she wasn't gonna be visiting their world for another week or two.

The Spirit. The Spirit of the World Yet To Come.

"What in the world? I-It's you!" gasped Jade.

"Hello," waved Star. The Spirit relaxed her large wings, calling off the cold winds she had brought forth with her presence for a little bit, giving everyone else a usual stern expression. However, this one wasn't as much authority as it usually was, probably from the last time the Harmony Gems last spoke with her.

"Salutations. ... Don't tell me. THIS is all you have here today," the Spirit correctly confirmed after seeing only three of the twenty plus Harmony Gems.

"U-Umm ... yes?" Diopside replied. The Spirit, not in the mood for these games, could only gave a rough sigh.

"Every time I come forward, everyone else steps aside and out of sight," groaned the Spirit, shaking her head in disapproval. What a track record she kept putting for them. She turned her gaze back to the trio after a good roll of the eyes.

"Well, thank you Harmony Gems. For once again picking a precarious time to handle your own practices against my wishes, for it is now that the Spirit Council has reached their decision regarding your ... "Suggestion" regarding Discord and White Diamond," the Spirit revealed, though she did not sound too thrilled about it, mainly because of just how many of the group had basically fled the scene. Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz felt that this was either a trick or just some twisted luck because WHY would they show up now of all times?! Rejuvenated Gems one way and everyone else gone on the other, they literally had no one right now!

"Now? As in "Right now" now?" Diopside asked.

"Yes. Now. Unless you all changed your mind and WANT the sentence to be carried out," the Spirit said.
As she was talking, the Spirit glanced away from the three knowing Gems, and saw Peridot off nearby, looking ... pretty much like her mind paused. The green Gem's eyes stared up and down the Spirit, taking in all sorts of mental notes of every single detail of this giant Alicorn-like deity.

"What ... what even are you? This material's changing solidity on its own," Peridot said in amazement, watching how the Spirit's fullbody hoodie and how it faded from fabric into pure air. Peridot tried to take what fabric she could, but the Spirit forcefully yanked it away.

"Don't even think about it," the Spirit chillingly warned. It was a tone enough to make any unruly Gem obey her command, and Peridot only hunkered down in an *eep*, keeping her distance away from the Alicorn lookalike.

"It's nice that you all considered, but ... I-I'm afraid we can't right now," Jade said, humbled as ever as the titan spirit looked down onto her.

"And why ever not?" the Spirit questioned. Jade took a deep breath and plucked up her courage.

"Because everyone's gone. Half of our team has been rejuvenated, and the other half's trying their absolute best to watch over them until they're all better. I-I'm sorry, Spirit, but the answer is "Not now"," Jade answered. She tried her best to make this answer work with no disrespect to the Spirit.

"... You do realize ... that this isn't entirely a request. ... You all made time out of us, and we're not going to put that to waste because of your inconvenience. NOW COME."

Not even a word in edge wise.

The Spirit's horn began to glow bright white, the lines of white magic spiraling around her horn before she started to summon something out of pure thin air. The horn didn't cut into anything, or exactly destroyed anything, but all it seemed to do was conjure up a circular portal going off to who-knows-where. It was more formal and simple then the Portal Key nonsense they've used before, plus the Spirit had more control over where this portal went to. All the Spirit had to do then was signal the Gems involved to follow her on her way.

"I guess we're doing this today. ... Come on everyone. We'll have finish this later," said Jade. A good answer. The only one not good with this answer was Peridot, seeing Star Quartz starting to go with them.

"Wait, you can't leave, you're my test subject! Test subjects can't just waltz away with their own plans! I NEED YOUR DATA!" Peridot pleaded. The Spirit raised one of her large wings and blasted a freezing touch of wind to the loud green Gem.

"You are not in control here. They all demanded this time, and they will come with me back. whether you need them or not."

"But my data! My studies!"

"That is NOT my concern."

"... Can I at least have some fabric? For scientific purposes," Peridot asked, pointing to the fazing fabric of her clothing. The Spirit didn't even bother to answer her at first, but made a sudden magical zap at her when she saw her try and grab some of it off of her anyway. NOBODY is touching her fabric and is getting away with it.

"No. No you can not. Now, off we go then," the Spirit re-stated.

"I'll be right back here, mother. I just promise them I'd help them too. Maybe when I get back, we can do that wiring again," Star Quartz promised, sounding sincere about being her test subject ... for some weird reason. It was probably the best they were going to get out of it though, so the best they could do was leave it at that. It was off to the Spirit Council.

Whether they wanted to or not.

~~~~~~

Leaving Little Homeworld (and Earth for that matter) for the sake of the Spirit's insistence, it hardly was under a minute before they got from Earth ground to the realm of the gods, following behind the Spirit's step. With Peridot's potential involvement now out of the way, all of their focus was primarily on what the Spirit Council had in mind for their Draconequus and the Diamond specifically. At least this time they weren't sneaking around or having to lie to any of the locals.
Speaking of the local area, the Realm of the Gods was a bit vacant for their arrival, at least compared to their last visit. Not as many spirits going around, not many cranes or herons giving out their messages or whatever it is, much of the walk was just them and the Spirit walking along their way to the Spirit Council ... wherever they are. Sure they did see a very few passenger cranes flying along their way through the sky, but that was about it. Through the whole walk, the Spirit made sure to keep well ahead of the Gems behind her, head held high like some regal queen, and only occasionally glancing back at them just to be sure they were indeed following her. Jade would look up to the Spirit, only to look ahead quickly when the Spirit would look back to them.

"Soooo ... Where is everybody?" asked Diopside, looking around at the area some more.

"At the Spirit Council," answered the Spirit, "After all, this is the first time a mere mortal has ever enforced any of us into their bidding. It's become quite the word."

"Enforcing, who's enforcing? We just wanted to get White and Discord's magic back!"

"Exactly," the Spirit simply answered. Diopside grew quiet again, though not really in the best mood either.

"What's wrong with trying to help a few friends?" Diopside thought. Trailing behind them a bit in their walk, Star was taking her time in looking around this large, and highly unexplored realm. Comparatively speaking off of what the others keep talking to her about, this world was probably the least understood, and Star Quartz was taking her time in looking around and taking in what information she could gather. Her eyes were just about to observe and investigate some of the scrolls in a nearby pot when the Spirit spotted her again.

"Keep out of there, if you please," the Spirit demanded, wings spread so Star could see her.

"Why?"

"I don't need to explain why, just do as you are told," the Spirit warned. This was no time to play anymore games. Star Quartz looked over to the scrolls one more time, but not wanting to get in trouble she decided to just leave it there. She can probably check them out later.

"Now she's enforcing?!" quietly exclaimed Diopside.

"Just stay calm, everything will be okay. Let's just ... tolerate her," Jade advised, though truth be told she wasn't sitting well with the Spirit either. Must be more akin to the whole "god" mentality. It also didn't help that the Spirit kept her magic on and at the ready just in case.
From their the walk was mostly undisturbed and non-sidetracked, the group continuing to move along through this realm of theirs for a while longer. Still, given the time it took to get to the council, there still was a bit of small talk.

"Should I even inquire where the rest of your group has gone off to?" the Spirit asked. Well second verse, same as the first, as Star began to explain.

"Bismuth and Flint went to the Strawberry Battlefield, Lapis and Steven went to the Reef, Twilight and her friends went to Ponyville for a bit, and Fulgurite and Emerald went to check on Jasper. Everybody else got umm ... re-juvin-ated. ... Did I say that right?"

"You got it, Star," said Jade.

"Hmm ... how convenient," the Spirit huffed.

"Convenient?"

"That you all will pull a endeavor such as this knowing that this council meeting was going to happen. Almost as if you're all expecting us to just hand it all over to you without any bother."

"I wouldn't think so. Everyone was just busy since Grogar showed up. We're afraid he'll invade with those two too weak to fight him."

The Spirit simply needed to hear that name before she felt even more disappointment in them all. scoffed, "Out of all the threats your group seemingly has conquered, and you're all worried over this one? Grogar doesn't exist, for he's just a fabricated legend about another Gusty the Great, who defeated him by simply swiping away that ridiculous bell of his thousands of years long before Equestria was even thought of."
Now THIS was interesting, but a bit off-putting as to how casually the Spirit shared this information. hen again, Grogar probably didn't matter to the Spirit anymore than anything else was at this point. The most she actually cared about their world was with the Everstorm, and that passed by them months ago already without too much trouble (aside from a few obvious things).

"Are we talking about the same Grogar? Because this one's really different from what you just said," Diopside asked, confused.

"Not questioning my judgement are you? But tell me: what is the Grogar you know of like?" The Spirit questioned. Everyone else had their opinion on the tyrannical ram, in one form or another, most of which basically wanted him to die already. As for Star though, she had her own idea in mind. Well kind of.

"Grogar? He likes calling himself the king of Tambalon, and he has this big army of all sorts of things. He took over Homeworld for a few weeks and turned everyone into monsters or treated them very badly ... but ... I think he's just scared of everyone too. He doesn't like showing it, but he's scared. Not happy. ... At least that's what Sumu told me."

The Spirit suddenly halted, Star accidentally bumping into her. The Spirit, for the first time in their walk, turned around to face them completely, not simply a turn of the head this time.

"....... And who's this ... Sumu?" the Spirit questioned suspiciously.

"Oh, she's my friend," explained Star, "She's very smart, and she likes telling stories she hears from all the plants around her. She used to be called the Plunder Vines, but Grogar gave her her own name after he dug her up and brought her to Homeworld."

"Discord Plunder Vines had been left unattended, and are sentient now?!" bellowed the appalled Spirit, her voice making them all shutter a bit, including Star Quartz.

"Discord? ... Oh yeah, she's his daughter! I almost forgot," Star said. Well not exactly true, but the Spirit quickly regathered herself from the shock of this apparently big piece of news.

"I'll have a talk with him later. The Spirit Council will hear of this, no doubt," the Spirit concluded, before turning around and starting to continue on her way there. Star nodded and followed her too, but Diopside and Jade were ... kinda blown back too.

"When did this start happening?!" Diopside asked.

"When did what start happening?"

"You and Sumu. Yes you told us about who she is, but we never knew you and her were close friends, not to mention Sumu being Discord's daughter and all!" Jade said.

"Yeah, Sumu and I've been friends for a few years now. Is that bad?" Star asked, a little confused as to how making friends was a bad thing.

"No, it's not bad making friends, but ... why didn't you say anything?"

"Nobody asked me," Star simply shrugged. A bit of a blunt answer coming from Star Quartz, but hey they only asked about what she could do, and nothing more than that so ... technically they didn't ask about Star's relationship with Sumu anyway.

"We better remember that when we get back," Diopside said.

.......

From there, the Gems and the Spirit kept a better pace and didn't have any distractions this time as they made their way to the Spirit Council. The idea of Discord's Plunder Vines being friends with Star Quartz, not to mention this extra information regarding Grogar from the Spirit still lingered on in the Gems' heads for a good while. This "Gusty the Great" was never mentioned by anyone before, nor Grogar himself being a mere legend in Equestrian folklore. Whether it was true or not though would have to wait for now, they had to keep themselves focused on the Spirit Council and their decision on White Diamond and Discord. Homeworld needed their leader at full strength and Discord's chaos magic could help them out a lot now with Grogar's army.

The closer they got to the right location the more commotion started to stir up, a low sound of numerous voices growing stronger and stronger as the group started heading towards a magnificent building. A tall tower seemingly made up of golden material, jutting out of the clouds underneath like a pure spire. They saw a few birds encircling the building too, some trying to get inside while others simply flew around it in simple soaring. Was this the same building Discord and White Diamond went to?
Diopside, Jade, and Star all stopped briefly when they got closer to the front door, which the Spirit didn't hesitate to march right on up to and beginning to push it open. The noise from inside the Spirit Council building boomed out good and loud, almost overwhelming the three small Gems right at the front door. They saw a number of the higher spirits already present there, including Your Great Honor already seating up at the very back, towering for all to see him.

"Are we in ... another court session?" Diopside gulped nervously.

"Everything's going to be fine, Diopside. Just stay calm," Jade said.

"I can keep you all calm. If you want," offered Star Quartz.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home safely," said Diopside, though she still was worried that most (if not all) of their friends couldn't take their time to come here today. The only thing they could do right now was follow the Spirit inside, walking up towards the center of the spirit-crowded room, as the Spirit herself found her position right in front of them all.

"Your Great Honor. I have brought before you: the demand! ... Or rather, what was available," the Spirit said, sounding as if she was spitting venom by the end of her introduction.

"BE SEATED, PROSECUTIONER," bellowed Your Great Honor, his voice so forceful it made the Gems shake on the ground as if an Earthquake went off. Not only did the demand have the Spirit move to her respected spot, but this also silenced the large crowd and jury of this council. All voices silent before Your Great Honor. Speaking of, Your Great Honor raised up his mighty head, that alone enough for Diopside to fall backwards just from watching him raise up.

"DEMAND! YOU ALL HAD COME FORWARD BEFORE THE SPIRITS IN DEMAND FOR DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND'S RETURN TO POWER. STEP FORWARD, YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!"

Too bad the Diamonds weren't here. But they had to pick someone to do it. For Diopside, not having any idea how to do this, she nudged Jade and gestured her to move forward. Jade at least spent more time with Flint and had some idea on how this sort of thing worked, but that didn't mean it was gonna be easy. Especially against the largest tortoise of all time.

"Our representatives couldn't make it, so I will speak for them!" called Jade. She had to muster up all her courage just to stand there.

"DO AS YOU WISH! YOU ALL CLAIM THAT DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND NEED THIS POWER! WHAT IS YOUR REASONING?!" Your Great Honor bellowed. Jade needed to keep herself together, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't getting any chills from Your Great Honor's words. They did try to explain it once, though Jade knew this was for all of the council to hear, not just him. Jade took a breath.

"White Diamond need her power to ... maintain her position over the Diamond Authority!" said Jade, "Without it, the whole Gem empire wouldn't be able to operate properly! I understand the reasoning behind the court's actions, but she's learnt from her mistakes. She won't try to abuse her power any more."
As for Your Great Honor, he turned to the Spirit.

"PROSECUTION, PLEASE RISE BEFORE THE COURT!" Your Great Honor demanded. The Spirit nodded, knowing what she was there to do and knowing what to say as she moved out before everybody.

"Your Great Honor, the Diamond Authority, as we've all observed, is no longer as essential for Gem kind, for they've extinguished their roles entirely as of last autumn. Giving back their powers for such a reason would be a waste at best for something no longer needed."

"N-No, that isn't true, the Diamond Authority is still the highest power of Gemkind. They've just been ... less enforcing," Jade admitted, which would basically sum up the whole positioning with the Diamond Authority as of now. Jade unfortunately wasn't allowed to speak just yet, and all she got was a stern look from the Spirit, being ignored completely.

"If it were as important as they claim, it would've all crumbled by now. But as we've all seen, it's still thriving. Why lend White Diamond power over those who can thrive well without her? Along with that, can we really assume that White Diamond wouldn't attempt to abuse any of these powers? The risks are too high," the Spirit continued. The others of the council spoke with one another quietly, working out these details themselves.

"Did she just say she's better of dead?" Diopside thought, not believing her ears. Not even ten minutes on and the Spirit Council was already drilling them. Still, Your Great Honor was being "fair", and he turned back to the Gems in question.

"WHAT IS YOUR CASE FOR DISCORD THEN?!" bellowed Your Great Honor. They got the main case handled with White Diamond, now onto the Draconequus. Unfortunately, the trio of Gems were not too familiar with Discord as opposed to White Diamond. They HAD to say something though ...

"Umm ... well, you see ... Discord is uh ..."

"HURRY UP!" bellowed Your Great Honor. This anger-filled bellow made all three Gems fall onto their knees from the sheer force of the roar. Jade was just terrified over this colossal spirit, as he probably would want it.

"Hey, hey give her a moment," insisted Diopside, still rattled over the yelling.

"H-He's a ... Draconequus. And they've always been known for their use of ... chaos magic. It's ... like taking away a fish's ability to swim. He won't survive."

... None of them were remotely moved. It didn't help that Jade didn't have the confidence in that either.

"PROSECUTION?"

"Discord, while weakened now, is easily shown to be alive and healthy. Taking away his chaotic abilities is not, nor ever been shown to be proven hazardous to his kind's health. That, and may I remind the jury that it was HIS involvement that has caused the Everstorm to pass early in the first place? And just moments after we released him from his first quarantine, he immediately defies our laws and reveals our presence to those who should not!"

"What's THAT got to do with anything?!" Diopside shouted suddenly. Your Great Honor immediately reacted to the sudden voice.

"SILENCE!!" bellow Your Great Honor, "I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD SPEAK! PROSECUTION, CONTINUE."

"Thank you. And to answer your informal question, this proves that a being as unpredictable and as rebellious as Discord cannot be trusted with powers beyond even his own understanding. Allowing such a monstrous animal to roam as freely as he had with a power that could destroy the very fabric of time as we -"

"GET TO THE POINT, SPIRIT!"

"... We can not allow that," the Spirit summed up. After a minute of the silence, the Spirit started to quietly move back to her seat, watched over by the colossal tortoise before Your Great Honor looked back to the other Gems.

"HAVE EITHER OF YOU ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?"

They would if they knew what to say. But they couldn't come up with anything. With no other words to say, Your Great Honor began to speak again.

"IN CONCLUSION, THE SENTENCE WILL NOT BE LIFTED FOR DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND! THEY ARE MENACES TO SOCIETY, AND THEIR PUNISHMENTS ARE TO BE CARRIED OUT! THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT IT! DISMISSED!" Your Great Honor raised his mighty foot, and slammed down into the "ground", enough power to shutter an entire city. This was enough of a signal for everything around to start to leave the Spirit Council.

"Already? Wait, we haven't even said anything about -" Diopside was cut short when they felt magic start to come over them by the Spirit.

"Your Great Honor has spoken, and YOU are tiresome. Now let's go," the Spirit cut in, starting to drag the Gems away to leave the Spirit Council building. They struggled to get themselves free, but they weren't getting out of the magical aura from the Spirit. While every other spirit flew off on their way, Your Great Honor started to bury himself out of the room, the whole world shaking a bit in his subterranean exit. the Spirit dragged the Gems right on out of the door, which slammed tightly shut behind them. There was no word for discussion here, and everyone heard him loud and clear. The Gems weren't freed from the aura until after the door was shut tight.

"There. Satisfied now?" The Spirit inquired.

"Well. NO! No, we hardly even got to do anything: all you did was proved us wrong and that's it, that's all! You didn't even tell him about Grogar or Sumu!"

"Who said anything about telling the council during the session?"

"You did!"

"You are wrong. What more is there to say? ... Now. You all are going to go back home. You're going to tell your friends what happened today. And we'll never do this again. For your own good."

If any of the others were around, the Spirit would be given a LOT more talk and fight, but it seemed that Diopside and Jade weren't sure how to do this now. Maybe an actual fight would break out if they were backed up, but that wasn't gonna happen either. Diopside and Jade looked back to the giant door again, knowing that Your Great Honor was right inside there. They hardly had much time for it though, the magical aura gripping them again. The Spirit herself got the portal opened again, and without giving it a second thought, tossed the Gems right inside.

They were back on Little Homeworld ground just moments later. Unsuccessful.

"Maybe it'll be better when everyone else gets back," sighed Diopside. The others were much better at this anyway. But there was just one more problem ...

"....... Star? ... where'd she go?"

~~~~~~

This situation turned from bad to worse.

For one moment, Star Quartz was with Diopside and Jade within the Spirit Council building. And the next ... well, she didn't know exactly. Aside from herself, which was glowing a fine white, everywhere else was just too dark to see beyond a good five feet or so. Star Quartz looked around what she could manage to see, only to find just empty space and a very flat floor, almost artificial despite everywhere else looking like natural cloud cover. Sound was hardly any too, the only main sound Star was hearing being a strong wind from somewhere outside, telling her that the room she was in wasn't as thick as it appeared. Also it told her she was in a room at all.

"Hello?!" Star called. Her voice had a very slight echo to it, like in an empty room more than any cave. She started walking around, her footsteps sounding like they were walking on hollow metal.

"Diopside! ... Jade! ... Spirit! ... Where am I? It's so dark in here," Star asked, not hearing anyone anywhere to help her out in this situation. The light around her body though was helping her out a little bit more when it came to the darkness, Star Quartz seeing more and more of the large room around her.
Her footsteps were quiet, moving along throughout the area like the ghost she appeared as, seeing if there was a way out of this place. The more she kept moving, the more she started to wonder just what kind of place this is. Quiet, alone, and having no idea where she was going. She only briefly stopped when she looked down to her feet.

"So this is what clouds are made of. ... Mom'll wanna know this," Star Quartz said, hand on the floor and feeling the surface of the ground. She always thought clouds were made of much lighter things. She was inside a cloud though, so this should be what they were made of. She eventually stood back up and started walking again, reminding herself to tell her mom about it once she gets back. If she could figure out how, that is.

The more she moved through the area, the more she began to feel uneasy. It didn't feel welcoming in the slightest, more akin to a very old abandoned hospital building. Perhaps just as well, these walls were showing Star Quartz something else that she probably could've gone better off without knowing. As she walked, the walls tightened from a large empty room, into more of a empty hallway. A hallway with rustic walls, as if it hadn't been used for some time. The hallway seemed to go on forever, Star Quartz's light unable to show what was on the other end of it as she tried her luck and kept on going. It would've been easier if Peridot were here with her flashlight Gemstone able to light the way for her.

"... Hmm. Mom can do it. ... Maybe I can?" Star wondered. It'll be worth a shot, but the question is how. She closed her eyes.

"Here I go."
The method was silent, but she tried putting a lot of focus into her gemstone to try and mirror that same sort of flashlight light. A few short grunts got out of her mouth as she kept trying, the light around her body trying to get into her gemstone for a more focused one. Flashlights worked better than glowsticks anyway. Her gemstone flickered like a weak lightbulb, until eventually she just stopped doing it.

"It's not working. I wish I knew where everyone is ..."

*rattle*

Normally Star Quartz wouldn't be as jumpy, but given her current situation, she really couldn't help but turn around fast at the strange rattling noise. It sounded a bit distant, and similar to that of moving chains. It was only briefly though as the noise stopped shortly after she turned around.

"Sumu? Is that you?" Star called.

*rattle* went the chains again. Only one way to find out what was there: Star Quartz began to move quietly down the hall some more. The chain rattling was, while quieter, more abundant as she continued going along. Should there even be chains inside of a cloud? Well if it were Sumu that would make more sense but there were some places even Sumu couldn't go. Unless she someone grew wings. Meanwhile the hallway turned into a more multi-pathed one, as the hallway opened to more room underneath the realm above. The rattling grew louder and closer.

"Who's there?"
She found it.

Or rather, found him.

Her natural light helped her see somewhat what was in the room next to her, the entrance opening up into a large dome like shape, like a Colosseum set up in a way. The thing that caught Star Quartz's attention first though was the creature located inside, strapped to the floor with thick heavy chains to keep him still. What bites the most was that the creature was, in essence, their closest friend here in the realm:
Quetzalcoatl!

"Are you okay?" Star asked. Quetzalcoatl, needed a minute to find where Star Quartz was, the winged serpent curled up with his wings unable to flap enough to fly away. He still can move his head fairly well and managed to find Star Quartz standing by the decently-sized door.

"Star Quartz. ... One of the Harmony Gems, if I'm not mistaken. Nice to see you in person. ... Are the others with you?"

"No, it's just me. Everyone else is ... I don't exactly know. Do you know where I am?" Star asked. Q sighed and rested his head.

"The Catacombs," Q sighed, "Those who defy the laws of this realm are sent here to reflect and stop causing trouble. I'm sorry you had to be put down here as well, dear."
Quetzalcoatl hunkered back down, Star Quartz hearing the chains rattle slightly as he moved again. That would explain the noise she was hearing. Star simply sat down by the edge of Q's exhibit.

"Was I? I just remember falling in here after the Spirit Council talked to us," Star Quartz said. Quetzalcoatl looked back up to her again.

"Falling in here. You mean you went here by accident?"

Star simply nodded.

"Hmm ... a part of me wishes you didn't. This isn't the best place for any being to find themselves in," Q explained. Star Quartz looked around the holding area for a bit, to see what she could see.

"It doesn't look too bad," Star said. Quetzalcoatl shook his head.

"I suppose. Still, it's temporary punishment until the Spirit Council works out what to do," Quetzalcoatl said.

"Is that why you're all chained up?" Star asked, bringing attention to the chains wrapped around him. Quetzalcoatl looked to the chains on his wings.

"It's no less than what I deserve. After all, I did directly involve myself with the mortals, something we're not supposed to ever do. ... That, and my defendant for Discord and White Diamond not too long ago didn't end so well either," Q explained. Star Quartz began to recap a few of these, remembering what the others had told her about. The biggest ones that came to mind aside from the trial was his involvement with Steven Universe.

"... You were just trying to help."

"It's the law of us Spirits here of the Spirit Council to not directly involve ourselves with mortal affairs. ... In other words, I should've never met him. Now all I can do is wait until Your Great Honor decides what to do with me."

"That doesn't sound very fair. Why don't you try getting away?" Star asked.

"Defying Your Great Honor's words? Not a very good idea, thank you. Besides, it wouldn't be possible even if I wanted to," Q replied, moving the chains that wrapped his wings. He was lucky the Spirit Council didn't remove them from him altogether. Still, Star Quartz only needed one look at the wings before she hopped down into the place with him, going right up to the chains themselves. She kneeled down, feeling the surface of these chains. These felt cold to the touch, but didn't exactly have the same texture as your typical steel chain.

"You don't look very comfortable in these," said Star Quartz.

She was trying to break them. It started off with a few tugs on the chain to find where they connected, which was at the wall, and once she worked that out she simply tried to pull them free. She pulled and pulled and pulled some more for a change of pace, but the chains weren't going to budge from any Gem strength. All that pulling and tugging though was making a lot of noise ...

As she kept trying to figure things out, the dim light around her suddenly started to turn a dark red.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"

Your Great Honor! The thundering voice made Star spin around fast, falling over in mere seconds as the sheer power of his voice knocked her right off her own feet. All she could see of the giant tortoise in this room were his draconic eyes glowing in the darkness. The rest of him she couldn't even make out from where she was.

"Hello," Star said.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?" the giant tortoise repeatedly demanded.

"I didn't really "get in" here. I sorta fell in," Star Quartz answered, pointing up towards what ceiling there was, if there even was. The giant tortoise looked up to the ceiling briefly, recalling his own rough leave from the Spirit Council. However, looking up did give him a kink in his neck so he stopped quick. Still, he had a pest to control in this chamber.

"THEN GET OUT! YOU DON'T BELONG IN HERE! ESPECIALLY WITH THE PRISONERS!" Your Great Honor bellowed.

"Prisoners? He doesn't sound like one though."

"DON'T QUESTION MY AUTHORITY! HE DEFIED OUR LAWS AND IS SEVERELY PUNISHED! NOW GET OUT UNLESS YOU WANT TO SHARE HIS FATE!" A warning that would make anyone run off.

"Do you know how to do that? I'm not sure," Star said, hardly understanding how she even got here in the first place. Your Great Honor snorted, the breath feeling like gusts from the strongest dragon wings. Q simply coiled back a bit from the titan.

"THE SAME WAY YOU GOT HERE," Your Great Honor bellowed.

Seemed simple enough. After all, she didn't see a ceiling, and clouds were able to be flown through so maybe that was what it only took. Star shrugged and gave it a try. Like a spring, she hunkered down, and sprung straight up into the air with all her strength ... only to hit the ceiling and fall to the floor.

"NOT IN HERE!"

"But you said -"

"IN THE SAME ROOM YOU STARTED IN! AND NO YOU WILL NOT LET HIM FREE!" corrected Your Great Honor. He didn't think he'd have to explain it in detail to anyone. Amazing though he answered Star Quartz's next question.

"He didn't do anything wrong, he just wanted to help. That can't be bad enough to be put in jail for," Star pointed out. Your Great Honor was fuming.

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY DECISIONS? HE DEFIED THE LAW IN INTERFERING WITH YOU MORTALS!"

Star Quartz was confused again after something else came up in her mind, something mentioned earlier during the meeting at the Spirit Council.
"The Spirit of the World Yet To Come did that too, and you're not punishing her."

"THAT WASN'T THE SAME AS TO WHAT Q HAS DONE. SHE MERELY MADE A WARNING, HE DELIBERATELY THREW HIMSELF INTO DANGER FOR THE MORTALS SAKE. HE SHOWED HIMSELF IN FULL WHEN THE SPIRIT DID NOT! NAME ONE TIME WHEN SHE DID SO!"

"The Everstorm," Star immediately answered. It was common fact by now, but Your Great Honor was starting to have enough of this girl.

"YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?!"

"I just answered your question, why're you so upset?" Star inquired.

"I DEMAND SATISFACTION! I WILL NOT BE INSULTED!"

"Insulted, for what? Did I do something?" Star asked. She may be legitimate about these questions, but Your Great Honor only saw this as petty insults towards him. She should know what she was saying wasn't a good idea, not to mention trying to get Q free didn't suit well with him either. The tortoise made a choice.

"FIRST YOU INSULT ME, NOW YOU TREAT ME LIKE A FOOL?! A CHALLENGE AT SUNSET IS IN ORDER. THAT WILL SHOW YOU YOUR PLACE, MERE MORTAL!" Your Great Honor demanded. Q couldn't bare to look, turning away and closing his eyes tightly as Your Great Honor moved back and raised his gigantic foot. Any sort of light was blocked off completely thanks to his foot, only Star's own light remaining in the pitch black holding cell. All Star Quartz could do was just stand there and take the hit. She looked up to the ceiling, but as Your Great Honor started to bring his foot down, she began to see a kind of bright light emitting from the bottom of it.

One stomp, and she was gone.

...

Right back to Little Homeworld where they started. Star Quartz picked herself up off of the ground from the strong stomp, brushing off the dust from her dress. She replayed what just happened through her head.

"I made a mistake."

~~~~~~

Now what're they gonna do? Star Quartz still didn't know what she did wrong, but apparently they all now had a impossible fight to look forward to by Your Great Honor himself. The hours ticked on by towards the given time of the fight, and it was leaving them all trying to think on how to avoid this. So many of their fighters were gone, their negotiators weren't round either to talk their way outta this like pros, all Diopside, Jade and Star Quartz had was basically eachother. Well, that and a few supporters, but in the grand scheme of things how was that supposed to help them?

"How did we end up in this mess?" Diopside wondered, pacing back and forth as Jade sat aside, "We never wanted a fight, and Your Great Honor just challenges us out of nowhere? We hardly even got our team together and we're supposed to fight him?!"

"Perhaps he doesn't want to fight. Maybe he's just trying to frighten us away," Jade wondered, trying to think of a reason why a challenge would have to be done with beings so much smaller than him.

"I mean ... maybe? I dunno, Star how serious did he sound when saying that?" Diopside asked.

All Star Quartz did was shrug. With how much he spoke so far, it was hard to tell if he even had a "just kidding" voice over the voice they kept hearing.

"He sounded pretty serious to me," Star Quartz said.

"Man. Not even the Diamond Authority stood up to him, how're we supposed to fight him? He's a literal mountain," Diopside wondered. Unfortunately the trio just weren't sure what to do.

"I'm so sorry about this," Star said gravely.

"No, Star, don't blame yourself. We don't even know what made him so insulted in the first place," Jade said, placing a hand on Star Quartz's shoulder. Star felt differently about it though.

"But I made him mad. I don't know why, but I still made him mad anyway ... I don't even like fighting anyone," Star said, her eyes looking to the ground. Star already told the two what had happened while she was in the Catacombs, so it was hard to deny that she somehow did make him angry at her. Even if the Gem didn't know what she was even doing.

"Hold the phone. ... Now give the phone to me."

A familiar voice, and lucky for them this one wanted to help them out rather than give them a hard time. After hearing their conversation, Diopside, Star and Jade turned and began to see their Harmony Gem leader Garnet walking towards them. If there was anyone who could help them get out of this mess it would be her.

"GARNET! You're back!" exclaimed Jade.

"And you're back together!" added Diopside.

"Hello, Garnet," said Star with her hand raised.

"Nice to see you all again. It's been too long since I've checked everything out. Speaking of which ..." Garnet said, adjusting her shades as she would do. Just coming back and seemed she was already starting to get back into the game. It was Diopside who, after gathering herself, decided to explain things to her.

"Yeah, we got a problem. I don't know how it happened, or why it happened but we ... we kinda ... sorta ... maybe started a fight with a god," Diopside said. She waited for some sort of response from Garnet, but it seemed that this cool Gem already got an idea about it.

"So you three got called by the Spirit, and talked to Your Great Honor just for him to say no. And by the sound of it, you three got him wanting to get even with you."

"... Pretty much."

"I'm so sorry Garnet," Star repeated. "This is all my fault. If I'd done something different ..."

"It wouldn't matter. There's no timeline when you three didn't have to fight him," Garnet admitted. They weren't sure if she was trying to help them or not, but it did sound more like fate than mistakes here. ... It didn't make em feel any better though.

"Do you at least know how this'll end?" Diopside asked. Garnet paused and thought about it for a little before answering them.

"... It'll be like the Lion and the thorn."

Huh?

"Lion and the - what? ... I don't get it," Jade admitted.

"You'll have time afterwards to look that up before you'll have to go. But in any case, you three will have to face him before anything else could happen."

"Garnet wait, can you come along? They were pretty mad when they heard everyone else was gone," Diopside asked. Garnet checked ahead.

"I could ... but you three have a better chance than I ever could," Garnet replied. Did she mean that? It caught the three off-guard really, given how much more Garnet had done compared to either of them. A nice gesture.

"You think so?"

"I know you will," Garnet said. The fusion then kneeled down a bit so she was more level with Diopside. Garnet had something extra for this Gem. Bringing her lips up, right then and there, she gave Diopside a kiss on the forehead. It was brief, it was quick, but the effects from this power immediately made Diopside get shivers, her Gem eye almost freaking out as it readjusted itself to the visions she was seeing fly by her.

"W-Whoooa. That just gave me chills," Diopside said, holding herself a bit as Garnet straightened up.

"Be home in time for the get-together tomorrow morning. They'll want to hear your story when you get back," Garnet said, before turning around and beginning to walk away. Sometimes a small gesture would be enough to help anyone out. Diopside still rubbed her Gem eye to get her focus back again.

"Diopside? What happened?" Star asked.

"... We better get going," Diopside replied.

Then a portal opened up nearby.

~~~~~~

"WHERE'RE THEY?! THEY SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW!"

Your Great Honor's voice echoed across his realm as the Spirits all gathered around the area. As if the locals weren't surprised enough a mere mortal was making them make decisions, now there was an actual fight to be had! It was big BIG news, and none of the free Spirits were missing this opportunity to see it happen. The area this time looked like a large arena, cleared out to make room for Your Great Honor to stand in, as numerous spirits were gathered around the large area as if it were the same Colosseum design.
Typically an arena would be filled with chatter and roar for the fight to start, but in this battle arena the audience was eerily quiet, apart from a very few known voices. Could be as to not anger Your Great Honor, or maybe it was just to keep their voices for the actual fight, but it was very quiet either way.

"I knew these Harmony Gems were rebellious, Your Great Honor, but even this seemed so careless of them to challenge you," the Spirit said, finding the whole idea completely stupid on the Harmony Gems' part. Even they should know better than that but alas they proved her wrong again.

"THEY SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TREATING ME LIKE A FOOL," Your Great Honor said. Whether or not that was true, it really didn't matter anymore. The fight was called, and they were going to come in and fight him whether they wanted it or not.

Speak of the devil: three Gems began to move in from the entrance to the arena. Jade, Diopside and Star Quartz walked in together, looking around at the crowd around them.

"It's very quiet for a Colosseum," said Star.

"It is isn't it? ... Are you sure you're up for this, Diopside?" Jade asked. Diopside looked to Your Great Honor again, the giant tortoise waiting for the word to start the battle he started. They didn't deserve any of this, they knew that.

"Well ... I don't want to, but Garnet said she trusts us to do this. And I've yet to hear Garnet lie to us about anything, so we'll have to try," Diopside concluded.

"You did see into the future. Maybe we should try it," Star said.

"GET OUT HERE!!" Your Great Honor roared. No more time to discussion anymore. Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz had no choice. Diopside was the only one who knew what was to come, so she had to try and keep herself together. She looked back to her friends one more time, before all three of them walked out to face him.

"Your Great Honor?! If you want to change your mind, we can do that anytime you want to. We didn't mean to make you mad," Star called.

Your Great Honor was not moved.

"YOU ARRIVED IN OUR REALM FOR WHITE DIAMOND AND DISCORD'S POWER. IN YOUR STAY YOU TALKED DOWN TO ME, REFUSING TO TAKE MY COMMAND, AND WORST OF ALL: YOU TALK TO ME LIKE A LOWER BEING! I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF YOU BUT I WILL NOT TAKE THIS INSULT TO THE SPIRIT COUNCIL. I WILL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE GODS FOR THIS!!"

"I guess we're doing this," Diopside said meekly.

What first strike could any of the three even do here? That honor was to Your Great Honor, the first strike in the form of his colossal footstep forward, making all three of them bolt and scatter away from him to avoid a move that would kill on the spot. None of them wanted to get crushed by a mountain. All they got was Garnet's main warning to hold them together, but they weren't sure how to handle it.

"Ok ok ok, what did Garnet say? Something about a thorn, and a Lion? Come on think what did she mean by that?" Diopside wondered, only to bolt aside when Your Great Honor tried to attack her again.

"HOLD STILL!" the giant tortoise demanded. But of course none of them listened and could only jump one way to another. The very few attacks they did manage (Diopside's acid or Jade's projectiles) couldn't even be considered painful to the giant. Not a single scratch left anywhere on him. All Your Great Honor did was scoff at their hits, and started using his head like a club.

"YOUR ATTACKS ARE NOTHING TO ME!" Your Great Honor roared. Jade upped the steaks, and brought out summoning one of her Dragon projectiles to keep Your Great Honor's focus distracted. The green Chinese dragon flew right in the tortoise's face, claws slashing and teeth biting, but still not leaving anything other than annoyance.
Here though was the curving point: Your Great Honor swung his neck along the ground, scraping it all the while, and aiming to crush them underneath him! Jade and Star Quartz jumped one way, and Diopside jumped high in the sky the other way.

Something caught her eye ...

"Is that what I think it is?" Diopside thought. Skidding to a stop after landing from her jump, she covered her normal eye so her Gem eye could get to work. Star Quartz and Jade's Dragon kept Your Great Honor busy just long enough for her Gem eye to adjust and get a much closer look at his neck. The object of interest in question seemed to be located right on the back of his neck, just where the shell and skin meet. It was very small (comparatively speaking), most of it stuck in the tortoise's scales with only the smaller end of it exposed.

"Jade, Star Quartz!" Diopside called, waving them over back to her. The two Gems rushed away just in time, avoiding another killer stomp from Your Great Honor in doing so, and soon all three were back together.

"What is it, Diopside? What did you see?" Jade asked.

"I can't make it out, but there's something stuck in the back of his neck," Diopside said, pointing to the area where that stub still jutted out. Compared to the titan of a tortoise, the stub was about the size of a large splinter, but that didn't mean that the colossal tortoise didn't feel it there. He tried to look back, but lifting up his head made his shell push down on that stub, making him groan and winch in discomfort.

"Poor thing, it must've hurt a lot. We should pull it out for him," Star suggested.

"I don't think he wants us anywhere near him," Diopside said.

"The others would."

Your Great Honor got himself turned around now, and the Gems had to gain some distance again before the giant tortoise could stomp on them and send them back home. The clouds wavered and shook again, and all three were scattered around a bit. None of them could even lay a dent on the giant tortoise, and they weren't there to defeat anyone either. Plus the other Gems would do that for him.

"Okay. Jade, you're gonna have to get it out, it's too small for Star and me to grab it."

"Alright, but I need to get up there first," Jade replied.

Not much of a problem for Star Quartz to handle. Your Great Honor got himself turned around to them again, but when he tried stomping this time, the group split in two: Diopside did the distracting for them this time as Jade and Star took their focus on the back of Your Great Honor's neck. Star Quartz only needed a jump or two to reach the part Diopside was talking about, and now that they were closer they got a much better look at the object.
The object specifically looked like the handle to a weapon of some kind, but the weapon was in too deep to make out what the weapon really was. Regardless, Diopside was right about how deep it was in Your Great Honor's neck, as Star Quartz wasn't able to grab hold to it properly when she tried to get it.

"Nothing."

"Here, I'm smaller," Jade said.
Diopside down below kept Your Great Honor busy as best she could, rushing right and left to keep the giant tortoise on his toes as Jade and Star got to work. Jade's smaller hands got a firm grip on the weapon, and she tried her hardest to pull the object out. It didn't help that they were being swung around in gravity too as Your Great Honor kept moving around.

"How're you two doing over there?!" Diopside called.

"It's stuck in tight. Star, I need help!" Jade said. Star Quartz grabbed Jade and pulled hard as she could. With their combined strength, the object started to move.

"AAAHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE?! GET OFF!!" Your Great Honor bellowed, feeling a sharp sting from just behind him. The Gems didn't listen though, and even Diopside managed to make a few Gem jumps off the ground and up to where the two were. In anger, Your Great Honor began shaking violently, trying to force them off of him.

"It's too deep in, I can't get it loose," said Jade.

"Hang on, I think I got an idea," Diopside said. The handle was pulled out a bit more, so the other Gems could get a hold of it too. Jade released it briefly, and Diopside got a firm grip on it but that wasn't the only thing she was doing: seeping it a lot from her Gem eye, she got some strong acid to come out to the edges of Your Great Honor's scales, right where the weapon met. Of course this stung the giant beast, but this actually was making the weapon loosen its grip on him.

"Almost! Got it!" groaned Diopside.

"GET OFF ME, YOU NUISANCES!" demanded Your Great Honor. Jade took to action, and while Diopside's acid loosened the weapon's grip, Jade's healing abilities started to ease the pain away from this procedure of theirs, healing up what burning wounds Diopside's acid was leaving on him. Then, all of a sudden ...

*pop*

"THAT'S GOT IT!" Jade shouted. And just in time, one more violent wing finally forcing all three of the Gems right off of his back, the weapon being flung in the air. Jade just managed to grab a hold of it on the way down, and Star got hold of her just before they all landed on the ground.

Your Great Honor raised his giant foot one more time ...

Time seemed to have stopped. All of the Spirits held their breath, staring, waiting for Your Great Honor's weight to finish off the three unworthy Gems underneath him. All it would take was one single slam of his foot and they'd be gone for good. Some of the Spirit Council were betting on it, actually. But as the giant tortoise stayed still, his eyes went down to the giant sword that Jade was holding. Diopside and Jade moved back a few steps but Star simply stayed put, either not aware or not scared of Your Great Honor's deathly foot looming just above them. The only sounds they heard were distant gusts of wind.

... He stepped back.

"Anyone would move out of my way by now. And what is that?" Your Great Honor asked, his voice shockingly "quiet" compared to the booming bellows he'd normally make.

"It's some sword, we don't know. It was stuck in your neck, so we ... got it out for you?" Diopside said, lifting up the sword so Your Great Honor could see it better. He lowered his head, his gigantic eye on level with the weapon he was seeing.

"The sword ... you pulled it out. ..."

"Yeah, we did. Do you feel better now?" asked Star.

Your Great Honor tested it himself. He filled his lungs with a deep breath, and lifted his head up good and high, much higher than he would with that sword in his neck. That annoying and irritable sting he would feel every time he'd like his head up was now gone. His low bellowing of relief proved how much better he felt, especially when some sore muscles cracked to help him relax.

"My neck pain. It's ... IT'S GONE!" He bellowed, the voice carrying over the entire Spirit Council. "... Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome, Your Great Honor, sir," said Jade, smiling. Even if he was an angry tortoise towards them, it still felt good to help him out.

"But I've treated you all so badly. Why did you help me?" Your Great Honor questioned. Star smiled.

"Well we saw you were hurting, it was the natural thing to do. Besides, every creature deserves kindness. Once in a while," Star said. Fluttershy would be proud of her if she saw this. As for Your Great Honor, he took a moment to relish in his freedom of that dreaded sword, getting more kinks out of his sore neck and taking time to see the rest of the Spirit Council around him. All of them waiting to see what Your Great Honor would do next.

"ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER. JUST SAY THE WORD, AND I'LL RETURN THE FAVOR," Your Great Honor said.

"Huh. Sensitive guy, isn't he?" Diopside quietly noted. The Spirit Council couldn't believe their ears, but the three Gems were pleased hearing this news. But the question was what to do now? Should they ask up front for White Diamond and Discord's magic back, or have Quetzalcoatl be freed? The trio spoke quietly with eachother for a little bit before Diopside came back out holding something.

A small coin.

"Heads or Tails, here it goes," said Diopside.

The coin was flipped.

And landed right on tails.

"Your Great Honor! I know we originally came to get White Diamond and Discord's magic back, but since that's not forever, we'd like to ask something else: We'd like to ask that you all free Quetzalcoatl and forgive him for breaking your law of trying to help us!" Diopside concluded.

"GRANTED." Your Great Honor decided.

"WHAT?!" The Spirit couldn't stand it, and despite his wishes flew right in from the crowd, straight over towards Your Great Honor. "B-But his sentence! His punishment! Your Great Honor, the law states that -"

"I AM THE LAW!! AND I HAVE SPOKEN!" Your Great Honor bellowed, his voice forcing the Spirit back and away from the arena. The Spirit in spite of all her power had to simply agree with his decision, no matter what she might think. At least Discord and White Diamond were still gonna be out of commission for a while longer.

"Yes ... you have spoken. ... We'll let Quetzalcoatl free," the Spirit decided, flying off to the Catacombs to do just that. No one in their right mind would deter Your Great Honor (again). After that decision was rightfully made, Your Great Honor did one extra favor for them, and with a more "gentler" stomp onto the ground, opened up a portal for them.

"Thank you very much, Your Great Honor. Let's go home," Jade said. She and Diopside were about to head in, but before they could go off, Star Quartz had one more thing to do: she placed the sword down onto the ground.

"Here you go. The sword isn't ours, so you can have it back if you want."

"MUCH APPRECIATED," Your Great Honor said. They'll handle that weapon before long. So with a smile, Star Quartz started off following the others, and the three went right back to their own world.

Author's Note

Well they didn't get White Diamond and Discord's magic back just yet, but it's a step in the right direction. Now we covered what happened to all of the team throughout the Team's split ^^

Time to get the team back together now ^^

There Goes a Thought

It's amazing just how much work can be done in a single day, as the Harmony Gems were all starting to get themselves back together from their respected missions from the day prior. Little Homeworld sure had been busy too, in part thanks to some more projects being worked on within the settlement. In this case, after some good clearing up from Bismuth, a brand new building was being put in the works nearby the Little Homeworld town square. It was still in its early stages, hardly much of a foundation being put in place as of yet, but they still got themselves a decent start when it came to laying down the foundation and setting up the support beams. A nearby sign, written in both English for the Humans and Ponies, and the Gem written language of "Gemglyph", revealed exactly what building this was, and what it was all about.

The Gem War Museum. That was the building's decided name and operation was running smoothly. At the moment though it had kinda slowed down, but that was because there was only two Gems working on it for now. Take a wild guess who was put under the extra work for their punishment? ...

"Okay, one ... two ... three!" Fulgurite pulled yet another large beam right out of the pile she was given. This wouldn't be so bad if she had some help, though this time she had to do it by herself, forcing her to just drag it behind her until it was in the position it needed to be. A quick wrapping of her hair, a small cut, and some electricity later and it was welded in place. Even for a Gem, Fulgurite was getting tired of this work.

"Okay, that's twenty beams. Am I good yet?" Fulgurite called to her manager. This case, the manager turned out to be Jasper herself, back in the game with Cutie Mark and all.

"Not even close. I'm expecting fifty of these set up by this afternoon, now keep going," instructed Jasper. If Fulgurite didn't know any better, Jasper might as well still be rejuvenated from her rough behavior with her. Punishments were punishments, and Harmony Gem honor demands she accept that ... even if it meant almost making her bald for how much hair she had to keep using.
As the two were doing that, everybody else was over nearby, catching up with eachother over what they've done while they were gone on their mission.

"So why do they have to do it alone again? I mean, I can give em a hand if they want it. I'm not doing anything else, so ..." Spinel said, just trying to be helpful and make up for things.

"Don't worry about it, they can handle it. They just don't want to," Jasper replied.

"But I thought you were all friends here, ain't ya?" Spinel inquired, a little bit taken aback they would punish eachother like this.

"Of course we are. It's just sometimes friends need to remind eachother that we don't try MAKING A CONTEST OUT OF THEM!"

"I said I was sorry, geesh!" Emerald shouted from not too far away, the green Gem trying his best to balance some extra beams and planks so they wouldn't completely crumble on them. Emerald probably had more to blame than Fulgurite, but as they were partners in their good cop, bad cop game, partners share the blame.
Speaking of partners, Flint and Bismuth were keeping themselves busy too, and they were getting themselves some weapons to put on display for the Gem War Museum, courtesy of the leftover weapons gathered from the Strawberry Battlefield.

"Make room in that building, because we got a full stack right here for all of ya," Bismuth announced, showing them all a pile of weapons easily the size of a small car. The pile itself mostly made up of at least three shields, a pair of daggers, and a impressive looking Axe. Dropping the pile down made Spinel jump back a little bit.

"Don't remember seeing these in the pile. Where'd you get these things?" Spinel asked, holding a spiked shield, which resembled one particular Koopa King.

"I had a few extras laying around at my old forge, so I figured why not show em off a little?" Bismuth replied, liking how amazed Spinel looked while she was holding the shield in question. Surprisingly too, Flint was really enjoying himself as he checked a written list he was holding.

"Oooo, looks like someone's very chipper today," Spinel said.

"Honestly, yeah I am: Garnet and Jasper got their memories back, we're getting new foundations for the Gem War Museum, and all the while nothing bad's happened here while this was going on. I say this is all working out quite well," Flint explained, looking through the list he had created for himself. Many of these involved the tasks given to everyone during their split, most of which were all marked off as finished or complete.

"I just wished it worked well-er though. I did almost mess up things real bad with Yakyakistan," Spinel said, rubbing her arm a bit.

"Eh, don't beat yourself up over it, Spinel. It still came together didn't it, and besides, Ruby tells me you're the one that actually got her remembering everything. So, we couldn't have done it without ya," Bismuth said, fluffing Spinel's hair. It was hard not to be sad with such a motivational Gem like Bismuth to support her, and the pink Gem could only smile.

"Thanks a bunch. You always know just what to say," Spinel said, giving Bismuth a hug. Bismuth laughed and scooped her up into her arms.

"C'mere you," Bismuth chuckled.

"Alright, settle down everyone," said a smiling Garnet.

"Oh come on, you're the two always keeping busy," Bismuth said smirking. Dejavu? Maybe, but heck it was still a joke and Garnet gave Bismuth a good push as Bismuth laughed.

"Room for one more!" Pinkie beamed, not able to contain herself as she hopped right up to join in the fun with Spinel and Bismuth. They could never dodge Pinkie's hugs, not that they minded it.

"Alright everypony, we got plenty of time to celebrate when we get this place built," Applejack said. "How much did y'all say is left before we finally get done?"

Diopside decided to give that answer, having hanged out with the green Gem alongside Jade and Star Quartz throughout much of the day yesterday.

"Well, after Peridot's studies, at the rate we're going it should all be done by ... a month? You know, if we're counting the Gem War Museum over there," Diopside answered, pointing to the building in question, which at this point Emerald and Fulgurite just managed to fix up a secondary floor for the building.

"Well the only thing we're all missing now is Steven's side, then we'll all be back together again," said Rarity, wondering when they'll come back, her eyes looking on to the sky.

"Oh, right, Steven and Lapis hadn't come back from their trip. You don't think they're having more trouble with Pearl, do you?" inquired Jade.

"Nah, Steven said Connie went with em, so if she's still rejuvenated she'll probably keep serving her master head to toe," said Rainbow Dash. She may not know as much about Gems as the other Gems do, but there still was a point there that the servant Gem wouldn't attack them on her own accord.

"Ehh ... you think you can kinda check ahead for him, G? See when he'll come back?" Spinel asked.

"I think I can do that for you. Let me see," Garnet said. Mentioning that Gem/Human hybrid though did start to make Garnet think a little bit. The least she could do was check ahead, see what would come up in their future. She saw a few different visions go by her when she was checking ahead for them, seeing mostly good results as shown by her smiling face. Many of the visions showed her that Steven will come back, no problem. They weren't too worried about it so far.
... Until Garnet suddenly shivered.

"He wouldn't."

"Huh? What? Wouldn't what? Garnet, don't leave me hanging here," Spinel said worriedly. If anything bad were to happen to Steven, she could never forgive herself. Garnet calmed down quickly though.

"He'll come back, none of my visions say he won't come back. I saw one with Steven bringing back Grogar with him."

Silence for the first few seconds, and soon Spinel was laughing.

"NO WAY that'll happen! You must be getting rusty, G, there's no way in the universe he's going to bring Grogar right back here, no way no how," Spinel made perfectly clear, thinking it was just some crazy and weird joke again.

"I highly doubt Steven will be bringing him back to us, Garnet. Not that I doubt you at all, don't get me wrong but, it's too dangerous, even if he apparently ... forgave him for what he did," added Rarity.

"That ram will mess up everything to the ground the second he rears his ugly mug around here," added Pinkie.

"Not if we tear his ugly mug first," Jasper promised, fists at the ready. Grogar was not a ram any of them want to just suddenly waltz into Little Homeworld, and it didn't help they already knew where they were at all times thanks to Sumu.

"Guys, guys! We don't even know if he did that or not, let's just wait and see -"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Diopside was cut short on the spot the moment that scream was heard. Lucky for them it wasn't within Little Homeworld, but it still sounded not too far away from the settlement. The Gems inside Little Homeworld just heard it over what work they were finishing up.

"The Off-Colors. Let's go, Harmony Gems," Garnet said.

"Wait's over," said Applejack.

"Wait for us, we'll be right there," Fulgurite called. Unfortunately for her and Emerald, Jasper turned to them.

"Not you two. You just keep working on the building until we get back!"

"... Fine."

Fate was ready to deal it's trick card.

.......

The Barn was on edge by the time the Harmony Gems arrived there. Not too many people were there aside from the Off-Colors themselves, but rather than keeping inside the barn, everyone was standing outside with the barn doors tightly shut. The Harmony Gems saw Fluorite, Rhodonite, Tiger's Eye, Padparadscha and the Rutile Twins all standing a good twenty feet away from the barn house, alongside a very startled looking White Diamond and Discord. Whatever was going on clearly was inside their home, and none of them wanted anything to do with it.
The Harmony Gems were quick to arrive down towards the group standing outside.

"Off-Colors!" called Garnet, just as the Harmony Gems got close to them.

"Garnet! Oh, you Harmony Gems came so quickly," said a shuttering White Diamond.

"Let's not worry about that right now, what's the problem? We heard that horrifying screaming coming from Little Homeworld," asked Rarity. White Diamond found herself flustering, and it didn't help that loudmouth Tiger's Eye filled them in on what's happening.

"You'd scream like White too if you saw what's in the barn right now," Tiger's Eye said. THAT only made White Diamond more embarrassed.

"That was not me! ... N-Not completely," White said. The Harmony Gems looked over to the snow-covered barn. Not seeing too many signs of anything going into the barn, but seeing a lot of signs of the Gems exiting the barn. Flint went over to investigate himself, taking notes of the tracks as Diopside was looking them more closely with her Gem eye.

"They all are just the Off-Colors, White Diamond, and Discord. Nothing else came out," Flint concluded. That only meant then, that the source of this freakout was still inside the barn. Right behind those doors. They could hear something walking around in there, along with some murmuring voices but there wasn't anything they could go off of.

"Get ready," Garnet simply said. Everyone was armed and ready to either fight em off or run off on them (guess who wanted to do that?). Diopside and Flint moved out of the way to let Garnet pass, but despite her word Spinel did end up coming up right behind the fusion, peeking out from behind her back to see what was in the barn first. Garnet didn't mind her there though, and all the fusion did was smile to her. Any little sister would be scared for their big brother. With her gaze towards the barn, Garnet began reaching for the door.

But just before she could actually open it, the door started to open itself. Garnet was mentally ready, but she kept her weapons put away though, getting a sort of mixed vibe as the door was being slid open. It only got a little bit open before the one responsible stepped out of the barn for them all to see, him being sure the barn door closed up behind him, and strangely quick too.

"Steven!" exclaimed Spinel. What a sight for sore eyes, and Steven looked in good shape to everyone else. Spinel made the first move and immediately reached out, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him with a big smile.

"Good to see you too, Spinel," Steven said, giving Spinel a pat on the head. It's not that they weren't glad to see Steven back, but they still were left perplexed to their second group standing next to them.

"You all freaked out over him?" Bismuth questioned.

"It's not him that scared us," said right Rutile.

"Steven's not the scary one," added right Rutile.

Nice they cleared that up, but that begged the question on what. Garnet still had the future vision and the warning to everyone else, but why would Steven do that of all things?

"Oh! Garnet, you're back together again. I guess Ruby got her memories back now?"

"That right, but let's chat later. We heard someone screaming over here, and we want to know if everything's okay," Garnet explained. Suddenly Steven began to look a little bit unsure, keeping his stance right by the doorframe of the barn.

"Oh, that? Yeah, me and Lapis are working on it in the barn right now, but we're not ready for everybody, so maybe you can wait out here for no particular reason, for ten - fifteen minutes?" Steven asked, as he was trying to get himself back into the barn doors but also making sure that they couldn't see into the barn. Spinel tried checking it out herself, but Steven kept trying not to let her do that despite her stretching herself to try and take a little peek behind him.

"Steven," said Flint.

"Not yet!" Steven summed up. He had to get things ready. Finally getting the strength to push Spinel back, and quickly getting back into the barn before any of them could see just yet. Spinel fell onto her back from the push, but instead of just jumping right in after her big bro, she looked right up towards Garnet instead who ... "looked" a bit troubled. Could it be ...
Only one way to find out.

She opened the barn doors.

"Steven, what is going on in -"

Then they all saw him. The Barn was cleared out from the center in order to keep their new "guest" laying comfortably on a bed of hay, Lapis Lazuli standing not that far away from him as with Steven Universe. He was still unconscious, not reacting to them opening the door, or the sound of faint gasps from any of the Harmony Gems. The very same tyrannical Tambalon king that has been causing them so much trouble and damage, and there he was laying right inside of their barn house.

"STEVEN, LAPIS, GET BACK!" Garnet demanded, almost immediately drawing out her weapons. Spinel freaked out, and caught both Gems and pulled them away from the ram as well.

"How'd he even get in here?!" Flint asked.

"Does it matter? Come on you rocks, let's send him flying off this planet!" Bismuth said, axe hands armed and ready to fight as the others got out their Gem weapons. Lapis and Steven had to act fast, and before any of them could even charge forward to Grogar, the two made basically a suicide move and got in their way.

"Guys stop! We're the ones that brought him here," Steven made perfectly clear, good and loud so they all can hear what he said. As the two Gems probably expected, everyone else, both Pony and Gem alike, were absolutely shocked to hear that coming out of him.

"Hold on a second now, YOU brought Grogar back to the barn?! Steven, what in tarnation are you thinking bringing him here?" Applejack asked in disbelief. Lapis and Steven kept themselves in between the others and Grogar just in case they would try anything anyway.

"We were saving this until later when we're ready, but since you're all here now: Gems? Ponies? ... We're gonna be teaching him. And we're gonna give him someone to love him," Lapis revealed.

"WHAT?! Are you two crazy?!" exclaimed Rhodonite, "Do you two remember who you're talking about?"

"The fusion is right! He's the one that infiltrated Homeworld, he took down the entire Diamond Authority!" White Diamond said.

"Not to mention he kept trying to manipulate you into being a much darker form of yourself with that whole Garnet shattering affair," added Flint.

"And what about when he almost blew up the entire planet with that giant injector?!" Spinel put in. That part was partially her fault, but still. The other two have to pick it back up before things could get out of hand.

"Listen to me! I know none of you like him, but you know, have any of you considered his side of the story? We actually saw what happened to him, and we finally know what to do with him now that does NOT involve destroying everything we have," Steven explained.

"Steven what's the big mystery? He's a crazy, old goat hybrid who's bent on taking over the world - OUR worlds," Rainbow questioned. Steven and Lapis nodded to eachother before continuing.

"WHO lost everything!" shouted Steven, "Look, Grogar may not be a good guy, but that's because he lost pretty much everything when he was just a kid: his home, his family, he grew up with nothing and no one to help him. He didn't even tell us this, we both found that out ourselves!"

"Steven, Lapis, get away from him. He's evil, and dangerous. He's a time bomb," Garnet instructed. But Steven and Lapis didn't move. In fact, they were more appalled that they were denying it so much. They basically summed up Grogar's past for them and they still aren't gonna give him any mind? Grant it they didn't see what they saw, but still that should've caused something.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, just look at yourselves! And how different is this really? Starlight, Jasper, Spinel, White Diamond, you all were no better than he was before, and we still tried making things right with you, and look how it turned out!" Lapis explained.

"Lapis is right. Besides, we're the Harmony Gems. Shouldn't he be trying to follow our example instead of you following his?" Steven added.
For a minute or two the entire team was quiet, looking over to the ram laying down inside. They all could see that, evil or not, this ram is far weaker than he used to be since both of his horns were now missing. Steven knew exactly what he was talking about, and they found no reason why he would lie about any of this to them. The very idea though sat a bit uneasily though - having them teach someone who was basically a murderer, but ... just how different was that to them befriending White Diamond? Or heck, even Spinel for that matter with her attempt to destroy the planet over revenge on Pink Diamond?

"....... Are you really sure about this?" asked Flint at last.

"We're more than sure. Just give us some time when he wakes up."

"You mean if he wakes up? I'm gonna be blunt here, he looks pretty dead to me," Tiger's Eye pointed out.

"NO he's not dead, he just knocked himself out cold. But anyway, what do you say? Wanna help us out here?" Steven asked.

The first one to speak was Spinel.

"... If you think this is a swell idea, Steven. Then I'm with ya," Spinel decided. Steven helped her out after all and she was essentially working for the guy, so who can say he couldn't help Grogar a little bit?
Little by little, Steven and Lapis were seeing more and more support coming from the Harmony Gems. But as they were getting their help to make Grogar better, they actually had a bit more resistance in others.

"Sorry Steven, but no. I know you believe in the guy, but I'm not trusting him," Jasper made perfectly clear. Normally Steven would try to convince her some more, but seeing how there was quite a lot of them behind her over him, Steven had to understand he wasn't gonna completely get the same support.

"It's okay, we can handle it if you don't want to. Just promise me you all won't try to kill him next time you see him," Steven said.

"As long as he's with you," said Jasper.

Fair enough.

"But can we at least have our barn back?" asked Tiger's Eye. "We kinda like it."

"Better leave him there," advised Garnet. "You can stay at the temple until Grogar leaves."

Steven decided not to ask. At the least he had some help in getting this accomplished. As the others began to go, the team Steven got in the end were Lapis, Spinel, Star Quartz and Padparadscha. Everyone else at least promised not to hurt the ram, so that should count for something. The remaining team looked back to Grogar in the barn.

"... So how long is he gonna be sleeping?" Spinel asked.

... Huh. ...

~~~~~~

Grogar must've really knocked himself out hard back on Mount Aris, because even after the entire day of catching up with everyone else and getting things caught up to speed, Grogar himself was still left unconscious and unmoving inside of the Off-Colors barn. Steven's group occasionally kept watch over him as they were doing their own things, be it working up with Little Homeworld, checking in with Equestria, or just basically hanging out with the rest of the Harmony Gems to let time go by. Many of the Harmony Gems, Gem, Human, and Pony alike were still not convinced that this was exactly a good idea. Grogar was more hostile, murderous, and overall evil than the other villains they've tangoed with before, even including the especially dangerous ones like pre-White Diamond.
As the day continued on, even through the following night, Padparadscha, Star, Lapis, Spinel, and Steven took turns in when to watch over Grogar. This wouldn't be that big a problem, but the tyrannical Ram would probably either run off on them, or would go off to attack the barn. Either flip of the coin, someone will have to be present the moment he does wake up. Just as well, they took some ... safety measures too. At request by basically the entire town.

As Grogar was about to discover.

...

"....... hmmm ....... hmm? ..."

"Okay. I'm ready."

Grogar's consciousness was a bit slow, but after hours since his initial fight on Mount Aris, the king of Tambalon was finally, albeit slowly, starting to come back around. His head felt ironically heavy, and his eyes just weren't seeing straight. The hornless zombie ram had a lot of trouble figuring out where his hooves were, his front hooves shaky while his back hooves needed time to actually wake up. A couple more groans escaped his muzzle, gritting his teeth as he was basically trying to force himself to get up. His fur was covered in straws from the hay bed, which he quickly shook off of him, also in part to wake himself up and figure out where he was.

"I predict Grogar will be waking up!" said a surprised voice.

Grogar (already awake) heard that eerily familiar voice loud and clear, ear flicked up and towards the barn door. His eyesight was still a little blurry, but after a bit more focus, he slowly started to realize just who was with him and where he was. He was no where near Mount Aris OR his army, but in the barn house. And those people outside the barn door waiting for him were NOT apart of his army.

"Steven."

"Good morning, Grogar. Good sleep?" said Steven, feeling a little awkward.

Grogar immediately charged at them, not even wasting any time in his staggering gallop. Steven and company moved back a bit, ready for an attack even though they already got their safety measures all set up. Grogar quickly found that out after rushing out about two feet from the barn door, suddenly ramming into what looked like a forcefield. And no, it didn't come from Steven's shield.

"Grogar watch it, you'll knock yourself out again," Lapis warned. Grogar was thrown onto his back from the forcefield. It wasn't until after that hit did Grogar re-check his surroundings.

"Where am I? ... What is this?" Grogar asked.

"Easy, Grogar, let's just relax. You're at the barn, and ... that's a forcefield. So you wouldn't kill us on the spot before you hear us out," Steven explained. Grogar looked around, bringing his front hoof to the forcefield, feeling its thin yet powerful surface. Without his magic to be worked properly, he was basically stuck.

"Now you're acting smart to try and lock me away. First good idea you've had ever. So, what's your plan for me now eh? Mount me on the wall? Turn me into a skin rug or something?"

"You're very morbid, you know that?" Spinel questioned. Grogar simply looked to her and smiled slyly.

"... You have no idea."

"Grogar cut it out! We're NOT doing that okay? That's just terrible," said Steven, taken aback how quickly this ram was suggesting these ideas to them. Grogar no longer looked impressed.

"I take back my compliment then. Then again, you can't kill what's already dead anyway. So why have me here?" Grogar huffed, turning away.

"This is EXACTLY why you're here," revealed Lapis. Grogar paused and looked back to them as they continued to explain.

"Grogar, clearly you've been living a pretty bad life: you lost everything when you were a kid, and for the longest time no one will help you out. And now, you don't even care about life anymore, or life in general. ... And before you deny it, we saw your past before, and I've got that idea ever since our fight at the injector."

"Yeah? So what're you getting at?" Grogar questioned. Steven took a deep breath, hand to chest inhale and hand extended in exhale.

"What I'm getting at," said Steven, "and what we're all getting at, is that we wanna help you out with that. We're all learning, loving life, and growing together, and YOU can be apart of that."

...

"... Grogar I'm serious."

"I know you're serious," Grogar said. He didn't even sound threatening that time, he was just blunt at this point, if not a tiny bit annoyed. Steven tried killing him, ACTUALLY killed him, thrown him for a loop by letting him go, and suddenly this?

"Come on, just give it a chance. It's not like you have anything better to do," said Spinel, only to be nudged by Lapis so she could watch her tone. Grogar huffed.

"No Lazuli, let the toy talk. She's got more common sense than the rest of you," Grogar remarked.

"They all look like they know what they're doing," said Star Quartz. "Do you guys?"

"No, we know. That's why we're keeping you under lock and key while we're out today," Steven said. Grogar knew he was in a forcefield, but he didn't see what they had on them that could keep him anymore restrained than he was.

That was, until he took a better look at his hooves. He didn't notice it at first, but looking at his legs more closely, he actually began to see what looked like a leg cuff on him. On each of his legs to be exact. They were transparent, and made entirely of water, and when Grogar tried to scrape it off with his other hoof, it only went right through it. Chains and handcuffs unable to even be moved.

"We're just gonna keep those on you until we know you're safe to go. We want to help, but we don't want to get killed, so don't try anything funny, or you'll find out just how we got this far," Lapis warned. Lapis wasn't thinking of anything too malicious in that statement, but Grogar's morbid mind was already envisioning some torture chain tactic if he did try to attack them. With no horn, no actual magic to use, and with his main weapons chained down ... he actually did feel grounded.

"Hey, so, why don't we explore the many things that you can do that don't involve destroying worlds?" suggested Spinel. Grogar was no fool, he knew some of them thought this wasn't such a good idea (Spinel didn't anyway), but as he wasn't a fool ...

"... I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because I feel sorry for you."

"I'll take that as a "yes". Let's go," said Steven. Grogar was just about to question how they were gonna do that, since the whole forcefield kept him stuck inside, but turned out Star Quartz already got the answer as she literally reached in, held Grogar by the hoof, and pulled him out ... just like that. So Grogar could break out himself, but the others can walk him out when they wanted to.

Best he didn't ask.

"So, Lapis? Steven. ... Where're we goin?" Spinel asked.

"You'll see," Lapis replied. Guess she was taking them to the first stop.

~~~~~~

So their first task in this small walk-about of theirs took them away from the barn house. In fact, they took him away from much of typical civilization, and taking a more scenic nature walk. Given it was winter however, there wasn't much in terms of "life" to speak of back in Beach City's local woods, or anywhere nearby outside of white snow along leafless trees. If they were gonna go into life-mode, they needed something more fitting of the word.
Somewhere warmer perhaps. Somewhere tropical, and full of life. Not easiest to find for winter, but Lapis Lazuli had a place in mind that would be just the ticket they were looking for. All they gotta do was do a good Warp Pad jump to get there.

"Here we are," announced Lapis Lazuli. "The Blue Star Moon."
No better place to go for a winter vacation than a tropical alien planet. This all appeared to be a sort of blue planet, with a LOT of flora mirroring a bluish hue to almost everything. Everything by the Warp Pad looked like it came right out of the jungle, many local trees branching out with their leaves drooping down like a horses mane. There wasn't much of a path along into this alien jungle. Bushes coated the ground with their own blossoming flowers blooming for this planet's version of the spring season. The distant calls of alien creatures echoed all over the place, though not the same sounds as those on the O so distant Jungle Moon. Still just as full of life nonetheless. Sure, the whole planet might not be blue like Lapis Lazuli, but the trees, bushes, even the bits of grass had a slight tint of it in there.
Many of the Gems were excited to be there, looking around to see much of the new life on this planet.

"Wow! What a lovely planet," Padparadscha said at last.

Steven took a deep breath and a good sigh with a smile on his face.

"Look at the trees. Smell the fresh air. ... Getting any life-altering tingling sensations yet?" Steven asked.

"I know I am," Spinel said, taking time to smell one of the flowers, only for it to suddenly come to life and scurry away from her. As for Grogar, the Ram stepped off the Warp Pad and took his time to look around the place.

"... It's just. A forest," Grogar simply said, his hoof freely kicking away some of the leaves near his legs. "Tell me again how THIS is supposed to make me like you more?"

"I understand you don't see the beauty of this, but you will," said Lapis as she gently held a leaf in her hand instead. "I know it sounds unlikely, but there was a time when I couldn't see it either. I never used to notice creatures like this. Before Earth, I used to terraform planets without thinking twice."

"I thought you were Blue Diamond's messenger. You terraform too?" Spinel asked.

Before she could continue, one of the aliens actually decided to come out and see what was happening. The little fella was about the size of a cat, round like a ball with several openings along its body that make it look like a four-legged closed flower. It was a bit skittish at first seeing them there, but not enough to make it bolt away at first. Lapis went over to it, sitting down next to the animal.

"That was before Blue Diamond took me in as her personal messenger. After that, taking time to be in nature and getting creative, especially after being on Earth, I learned to appreciate organic life. It's something so strange, yet so special," Lapis explained. The alien started to back away a little bit from Lapis, but a gentle hand on its head made it calm down, purring like a kitten and settling down onto her lap. As it did, it actually began to open up, the petal-like sides opening and revealing even more of itself as the flower that it is.

"Can I see? Hey, little guy," Steven said. The alien looked to him, but again all it took was a gentle touch for the little fella to start liking Steven too. In fact, it began to walk around on him, up his arm and around his shoulders until he got to cradling the little type. Spinel really wanted to join too, reaching out a hand, but the alien didn't wait this time and happily greeted Spinel too, hopping up onto her head as she chuckled.

"Wow, it took you only five seconds to make a new friend. You're getting rusty," Lapis joked. It was pretty peaceful ...

Until Grogar roared and drove the animal away. He almost bit into the animal to make sure it left em alone, but he ended up biting into dirt instead.

"WHY did you do that?!" exclaimed Steven, angry. Grogar spat out the dirt.

"Two reasons, lad. One: you get absolutely nothing out of befriending a living flower. Second: it should know better than to trust complete strangers out in the wild. ..." he turned to the alien flower, "Especially those from another planet that can eat them alive!"

They didn't know if it understood English, but that warning made the alien flower scurry away back into the bushes and out of sight. To make sure any other lifeforms doesn't try anything with them, Grogar took two ground-shaking stomps forward, and roared good and loud, his voice echoing all over the forest and scaring the daylights out of numerous local animals. Spinel quickly shut him up by wrapping her noodle around around his mouth like a muzzle.

"Let's try something else," suggested Steven.

.......

Leaving the alien planet, they took their approach over towards something more close to home. The great outdoors didn't seem to do anything for Grogar, so this probably could at least put him in a more familiar spot. Rather than an alien world, they were back down in the Pony world, back in Ponyville to be precise. One of the few spots so far that Grogar hadn't tried to show himself yet, so the residence weren't freaking out on seeing him right away.
Wouldn't you know it too: as they were heading on into town, they could already see that a particular Pink Pony was already in celebration, party set up and everything. Jasper seemed to be the main girl in question for this celebration, as she was sitting off nearby as other ponies were joining in on the fun. She even got DJ-PON3's DJing going on too.

"Pinkie Pie!" called Spinel, waving to the pony.

"Spinny! Steven, everybody!" Pinkie beamed from the crowd of dancers. She bounced her way through the crowd in her typical Pinkie fashion, hopping between ponies again and again until she got herself right in front of them. Grogar didn't really faze her though.

"Welcome to the party guys! The "Jasper memory blitz!" party!" Pinkie introduced, taking out a party blower and blowing it good and loud. Grogar growled but he had to keep himself down. He was under lock and key still, and he'll probably get killed if he tried anything else.

"Pinkie, I told you I didn't need a party for this," Jasper remarked, but not minding too much as she walked over to see them.

"Of course I do, and you get yours early! I already celebrated Garnet, and I got one planned for Amethyst, for Pearl, and for Peridot, and even for Hessonite when we get back to her," Pinkie revealed, pulling a list out of her own pink mane to show exactly what she was talking about. It showed Garnet and Jasper crossed off and the other ones mentioned still in the running for a return party.

Jasper and Grogar looked to eachother for a moment.

"... Hey," Jasper simply said. Grogar didn't even have the decency to give her a response. Before the awkwardness could continue, the others quickly began to pick it back up, getting Grogar's attention.

"Any life-changing sensations now? It's not as blue, so maybe all of these colors will make it ... easier?" Spinel said.

"There's only two colors I like: the colors of rock, grass, and red."

Steven spoke up next.

"A-Ahem. Looks like you still have a lot of energy to get out. Maybe, you'd like something more physical, like dance."

"Dance? I'm a tyrant ram, not a circus bear," scoffed Grogar.

"No, you're not a circus bear, but you do have a lot of energy -" Lapis paused and began hearing the music, "... No. Way. This is my favorite song!"

"MINE TOO! Turn up the beat, time to get down!" Spinel beamed.

Spinel and Lapis were the first to go out towards the party for some dancing fun, joined in suit by Pinkie and Steven. They hadn't forgotten their teachings to Grogar, so they kept themselves over just close enough for Grogar to observe and take in. The dancing they were doing was full of energy, though it wasn't anything too specific when it comes to dance moves, the dancers just letting the music take them away and their bodies flowing with the tune. Not too bad, but Grogar was NOT gonna move an inch for their sake.
Star Quartz and Padparadscha even eventually joined in on the dancing, Padparadscha going into the crowd with the rest of her friends as Star just stayed put with her arms swaying.

Grogar looked disgusted. Having a look written on his face that said "the heck are you doing".

"Come and join us, Grogar, you'll feel great," invited Lapis. Grogar really was in no mood to waste his energy in some fancy dance moves, but then he began to realize a little something with this dancing. Lapis Lazuli wasn't paying attention to him.

So ...

*ZAP*

The music suddenly stopped, and everyone at the party immediately saw part of a wrecked speaker right by DJ-PON3. There stood Grogar standing right next to them, his stubs sparking ever so slightly.

"Grogar, stop it! You're killing our tunes!" Pinkie shouted, rushing over to him.

"That'd be the idea. PONY," Grogar warned, getting right in Pinkie Pie's face to make her back away from him. So music wasn't helping him either.

"Steven, he's not joining our dancing," said a worried Padparadscha.

"G-Grogar? Grogar, w-where's your sense of humor? It's a party," said Pinkie.

"Oh no, I haven't lost my sense of HUMOR!" Grogar suddenly bucked back, and gave one of DJ-PON3's speaker a roundhouse kick. Lapis took control of his water chains and cuffs, but the power in his kick was still enough to send the speaker into the air. DJ-PON3 ducked down to avoid getting hit, the large speaker landing onto the ground right next to the party table, collapsing it and crushing one particular party balloon animal.

"Brian! NO!" shouted a pony from the crowd.

This is gonna be harder than they thought.

.......

"So you want us to talk to him now?" asked Starlight.

They had to leave Grogar for a moment to not only handle clean-up duty by the party, but Steven's teaching group had also got themselves a few more teachers, namely Trixie and Starlight. Only Spinel, and Padparadscha fetched the two though as the rest stuck around near Grogar just in case he would try and lash out again.

"That be the plan," said Spinel, "Steven and Lapis thought that leading by example would make it go a little easier, so ... here you are."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Grogar can turn around. With Starlight's help it'll take a little longer, but it's nothing we can't handle," promised Trixie. Some things never change apparently, but that wasn't the bigger issue here so they decided not to point that out. Not like they had time do that anyway.

"RAH!"

Grogar was rampaging around again. Annoyed a bit by their earlier attempt still, he was letting out some of that anger not on Steven, but on what looked like some leftover crates. Normally this would still be a bad thing, but not only were these crates not being used for anything, but the rest of Steven's team were still watching him, at the ready in case he'd bolt for it. In part of this brawl, he was also getting some flowers off of cottage windows, garbage cans, and other things he could get his hooves near.

"He's still letting off steam?" Spinel asked.

"No, he just got bored. So we got him some wood instead of letting him get the workers," said Steven, not too happy about it but better than the alternative of letting Grogar pummel some ponies. Starlight and Trixie already knew what they were trying to do, and they already got their disbelief out of the way before they even got there so all they have to do now was try and talk to him.

"OKAY, let's see if we can calm him down."

"I uhh ... okay I guess. How do you wanna do this? You can probably blast him with magic, and then my natural charisma will -" Trixie was dragged behind Starlight before she could finish up what her idea was. The two Unicorns needed to get this ball rolling, so they needed a starting point. And that got started when Starlight spoke first.

"Hey, Grogar," Starlight began. Grogar turned to Starlight and Trixie, a large chunk of wood in his mouth before he crunched it up into small splinters. Trixie looked more than ready to run for it just from seeing that, and while Starlight was a bit humbled she kept her composure.

"Well well well, if it isn't my little Unicorn from the first time I came into Canterlot," Grogar correctly said. "I got enough teaching going on without your flanks around here."

"Uh, no we're not, not really. ... So ... not a fan of wood, huh?" Starlight began, pointing out the wood left in Grogar's wake. Grogar spat out some splinters like darts near the ponies' hooves, just enough to make Trixie jump up on top of Starlight's back.

"No, but they're a safety hazard. This, those flowers, and everything else you Ponies have in this town. Enemies could hide in them, or use them as weapons ... I don't even know why they're here," Grogar said, just to grab some flowers and tear them out by the roots.

"Because they're pretty?" Starlight said.

"Being pretty doesn't keep you from getting killed, does it? Steven, why'd you bring these mules again?" Grogar said. Starlight had to role with it, although being called a mule did not suit well for any pony.

"Oh, yeah yeah, we totally get you! But maybe you can express yourself by not destroying them?" Starlight suggested. Grogar wasn't having any of that, and he stomped his hoof down into the remains of the crate, giving them a good snarl. He already knew them, and he fought Starlight once already, why should he listen to her again.

"Okay, okay, so maybe this isn't going to fix everything right away. Maybe it never will, but trust me, it's gonna help you navigate your new way of feeling," said Lapis.

"I don't have a "new way of feeling", what I have right now is a migraine from knowing that the second I break these free you'll probably strangle me to death. ... Oh wait, that's right, you already killed me, so good luck with that!"

"Huh. You do sound a lot like Starlight used to be," suddenly cut in Star Quartz. Grogar was just quiet for a little bit ... okay, a long bit.

"I really doubt that."

"But she's right! Er, maybe. Hey, you probably know who Twilight Sparkle is right? The most well-liked, studious, do-goodiest pony in Equestria?" Trixie asked.

"You're gonna make me hurl - what about her?" Grogar questioned, not interested in where this was even going.

"Oh, of course you'd hate her. I used to. She made me unsure about my place in the world, which led me to act out against her: even using an evil Alicorn amulet and trying to enslave her whole town. ... Er, which, by the way, that amulet's shattered now, so not gonna be able to use it ever again," Trixie explained. Good save, otherwise Grogar would've bolted off to find it again.

"And," added Starlight, "I used to be a dictator who ran a village with an iron hoof, taking away their cutie marks, making sure everypony's "equal" and all that. So, not too far off from what you do in Tambalon."

"Huh ... small world," Grogar admitted. That was the first time Grogar actually agreed with someone outside of his own army, so for the group that was a sure-fire plus. However ...

"Yeah, we know where you're coming from. But now, Trixie has come to terms with being second-best, and I no longer control ponies against their will. And our lives are so much better for it," concluded Starlight.

All of a sudden, Grogar looked disappointed.

"Wow, so you both gave up on life for one fancy critic. Stay away from me, or I'll do to you what I did to these crates!" Grogar warned again, shoving both Ponies away from him so they both could back off.

Another moment dashed.

.......

This sort of pattern kept going throughout the day. As much as Steven and his group tried to show Grogar a better life, or at the least open his eyes to one, Grogar's own view of life kept forcing it's way through them, basically not getting anywhere better with the old goat. They went all over both Ponyville, Little Homeworld, even a little bit through Beach City, letting the Harmony Gems work out some of their own kind of work time into helping Grogar out. Too bad many of them weren't working:
One such example was when they tried bringing him out to express his feelings through "song", joining their local rock band (Jamie and the Cool Kids) in catching them at one of their concerts in town. All that did was give Grogar a headache.
Another point they tried to actually channel his strength in a few of the sparring matches set up by the quartzes. A risky one, but more controlled since the ram was far weaker than originally. Let's just say they had to reel him in when he got too carried away with the fighting, only frustrating Grogar even more.
Other examples like this kept happening, but they still had a few shots left ...

And their next one was more crafty. Literally. And involved most of the Harmony Gems this time.

"WHY can't you idiots accept the fact that this will not work? Cruel and unusual punishments aren't your cup of tea," Grogar questioned as he was being dragged along to the next stop.

"For the last time, this is not a punishment, this is life lessons! Lessons that tell you how great life is," repeated Spinel for the tenth time already. Grogar snorted.

"That shows what you all know. STOP treating me like I'm the idiot here: I know how friendship works, and I know that apparently life's easier with it."

"But you don't appreciate it, and that's what we're trying to help you understand," reminded Steven. Grogar was starting to reach his limit with all this preaching, his teeth grinding in his jaws.

"We're here," announced Star.

And where did they end up this time? ... nearby the barn again. This time though the barn had a lot more activity going on than it had before, thanks to the Harmony Gems involved in the area. They did a LOT of work on the place, so they decided to take it a bit easy (sorta) and do some craftsmanship. It was a fun contest since they wanted to have some fun today, different Gems and Ponies doing different things for their sculptures. Even Peridot got in on the act, taking a few of the materials and trying to make something out of it in research. In fact, there was actually quite a crowd there that Grogar noticed.

"Okay, now Grogar, if we can just not be aggressive when saying hello, that would be great," Steven said.

... Grogar just roared, scaring daylights out of some of the Harmony Gems. Lapis tightened her cuffs on him again.

"Can't you just humor me?" Steven asked.

"No," Grogar replied. All day with this.
After announcing his presence, the group began heading over towards the rest of the Harmony Gems. They could already tell that some of them were either wary or on guard with him, just in case things go south which a LOT of them were almost betting on by the look on the ram's face.

"You brought him here, Steven?" Bismuth asked.

"Bismuth, please just help us out with this. I think he's finally coming around ... a little," Steven said hopefully.

"You never give up, do you?" Bismuth chuckled. That was one trait she liked about Steven: if there was something on his mind this big, he was stuck with it no matter what the case may be.

"Is that Peridot?" asked Spinel, pointing to the green Gem.

"Oh yeah, she saw we were doing this, and wanted to try it. She keeps saying it's for "research", but I think she just wants to play along," Bismuth concluded.

"I can hear you, and I guarantee you this activity's strictly research-focused. Now don't interrupt me when I'm this close to completing this," Peridot made perfectly clear. But they just needed to see one look at her eyes to tell them she was having fun with building things.

"So what "life lesson" is attached to this?" Grogar questioned.

"It's just another way to express yourself: through art. Art can speak so much about how you're feeling, how you're reacting. Here, watch this."
Lapis Lazuli went on and began to join in on this art creation. There were a lot to be shown, and all of them took a bit to create but Lapis's sculptures always seem to be made a lot quicker. With what little water there was on the ground, Lapis Lazuli presented her own sculpture using the snow to create a new kind of shape. The shape itself was as white as the snow, though the exact shape was a little bit questionable to any casual viewer: a sharpened sword-like tip with a rounded ring along the blade attached to what looked like a board and maybe a broomstick skewered in between.

"So you're free to shape the entire world however you like ... and you choose to make junk," Grogar concluded.

"This is far from junk, this is "Meep Morp". Subjective, and debatable, but Meep Morp nonetheless," explained Steven. It was a new term they were trying out for some of the creation stuff (partially because Gems don't seem to like to use the word art that much).

"... So junk."

"I-It doesn't have to be exactly this, it can be anything you want," Lapis said. She manipulated the snow again shortly after this, but instead of some random statue she got it into a more casual shape, and more recognizable shape. Despite it being winter, she made a summer lounge chair nearby. Spinel took the chance to get onto it, sitting down easy as Lapis also gave her snow "sunglasses", and even a small snow table with a snow cocktail drink, her happy to drink some of it ... just to suddenly look a little blue, spitting out the snow.

"So life-like, I forgot," Spinel simply said. Grogar rolled his eyes on this display, and he ended up swatting the bottom of Lapis's sculpture, turning that into a pile of snow. He tried keeping it a little tame to play along with them, but this was his breaking point.

"Yeah you forgot. Since when did you all stop being fighters?" Grogar demanded.

"We didn't stop fighting, we just wanna be friends," insisted Star Quartz.

"And the price for that is treason! Did you all forget who you're talking to?" accused Grogar.

"I think so: you're a crazy, old goat hybrid who's bent on taking over the world. ... Did I say that right, Rainbow Dash?"

"Why'd you say that?!" the others thought.

Then ...

"Oh yeah? I'm also THE KING! And I demand to be treated as such!"
Then came the roar. This one was especially forceful, but it was the lightning that scattered from his horns that did the most damage. Lightning shot every which way, bouncing off the ground and almost hitting many of the Harmony Gems off nearby. Many of them were quick to try and dodge them, but there was one Gem who couldn't move fast enough and she got caught in the lightning blast! It wasn't enough to poof her, but Peridot got a nasty electrocution, making her limb enhancers start to fizzle and spark slightly by the time she was done.

"Mom!" gasped Star, rushing to her aid. But the most lethal damage came when the lighting bolt struck one of the heavier sculptures. It was only two stray bolt of lightning, but it was just enough to make this towering sculpture start to sway off balance. It started to fall ...

*CRASH*

Right on top of Grogar!

"Grogar!" gasped Steven. He tried to get over towards him, but before he could get closer Garnet held him by the shoulder.

"Steven don't go near him," Garnet warned.

"Garnet stop, he's stuck under -"

Scratch that: just moments before Steven could finish his sentence, Grogar started to move again. One rear back on his hind legs swung off the rubble.

"THAT'S! IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Grogar snapped. If that holler didn't make Steven stop, the earth-cracking stomp on the ground sure did. The ground shook up, enough to make the so-called "art" crumble up and fall to the floor. After another roar, the time bomb had exploded and Grogar charged forward directly towards the entire group, electricity sparking and flying all over the place as he ran with his head down and stubs aimed. Everyone quickly got out of Grogar's way, one ram being enough to turn the entire statue into nothing but complete rubble.

"Whoa whoa, Grogar, take it easy -"

"NO, I will NOT take it easy! I'm fed up with this manipulation game of yours Steven, and I've had it beyond the clouds with you!" Grogar roared, charging at him again, only for Steven to jump out of the way before Grogar rammed into something else, turning that project into complete scrap.

"I'm not manipulating you, I'm just trying to help you!"

"OH FOR WHAT?! Because my past was apparently THAT horrible to you? You said you'd stop trying to change me, you brat!" Grogar roared, jumping at him instead of charging at him, which again resulted in him missing.

"Well I was wrong! I shouldn't stop trying to help you just because you won't let me, the least I could do is point you in the right direction! Help you be happy again!" Steven insisted.

"Point me in your direction you mean. You wanna help me, THEN STAND STILL!" Grogar ordered. He tried once more, but this time his lunge was stopped when a giant fist punched him aside, sending him spiraling into the air before he landed on his hooves, just to find Spinel standing in Grogar's way, teeth gritted and fists clenched.

"Get your dirty hooves away from him!" Spinel snapped.

"Spinel, don't," Steven said, but Grogar already was trying to get them again, only this time the others surrounded him, the Ram getting knocked back by Garnet.

"That's enough, Grogar!" Garnet stated. Grogar tried to zap them again, but that only ended up zapping himself again. Defeating any Gem wasn't so easy anymore. Everyone else was ready to go in at him, but Steven wasn't about to let that happen.

"Stop!"

"Get out of the way, Steven!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but Steven stayed put, standing to protect Grogar from everyone else, much to the confusion of the Ram again.

"No I won't! We all agreed we wouldn't fight, that means him too! Let's try again -"

*CRUNCH*
Right in Steven's shoulder. Grogar's teeth sank in deep, clamping down hard. Everyone froze, the sound of crushing echoing in the air, before Grogar went all out. He swung Steven into the air, and slammed him hard into the ground. Over, and over, and over again.

"STEVEN!" gasped the others. Some of them did try to reach him, but Grogar ended up releasing him after one more slam into the ground, so hard and rough Steven launched up two feet before crashing down right in front of everyone else. The only damage on Grogar was a sore neck from his own thrashing, and maybe a little dizzy, but he was too angry to care about that.

"Steven, you okay?! Say something, bro," Spinel said, trying to get Steven to come around. Steven was shaken up, his shoulder stinging and his arm somewhat numb actually, as if something did actually break, not to mention the bruises on his face, but he was still conscious enough to nod to Spinel. Everyone else made sure Grogar stayed back away from him.

"I know you're doing this "for me" Steven Diamond Quartz Universe, but dang it I didn't ask for your help!" Grogar bellowed.

"What's your problem? Give him a break will ya!" said Fulgurite.

"The only break I'm gonna give him is right in the neck, AND YOURS if you don't get out of my way," Grogar warned, hooves digging into the ground like a bull ready to charge. Bismuth was the first to bring out her weapons, everyone else following suit. Except for Steven that is, who even after that beating slowly got to his feet.

"And as for you, stop trying to fix me. I don't WANT your help! I don't need your help!"

"No. No, I won't stop trying to help. It's too obvious, you need help! Why is it so bad that I want to make things better for you?" Steven asked.

"BECAUSE IT'S WRONG!"

"...…. Wrong?" Star asked, confused.

"Yeah, you heard me. The way this is supposed to work is that I'm the bad guy trying to destroy what you stand for, and you are supposed to try and stop me. NOT sit me down and give me a lecture!" Grogar jumped forward at them, getting Steven and pinning him down on the ground, his hoof on his chest and pushing down hard.

"You've never beaten me, and you know it! Stevonnie, Sunstonnie, That hybrid Fusion at Mount Aris - THEY were the ones that got the credit, NOT YOU! You've never beaten me on your own, and I'm never going to listen to you! NEVER! How many times do I have to tear you apart until you'll get that through your head?!"

"But you - I-I just -"

"QUIET!" Grogar roared, pushing Steven deeper down as Steven tried getting himself up. The others tried to get Grogar off of him, but the Ram was NOT moving. He didn't fight them off, but stood strong like a mountain.

"You can't manipulate me, Steven. Once upon a time I thought you got everything figured out, that you were strong enough to fight me and take command. But looks like I'm wrong: you're nothing but a gutless flip-flopper who can't make up his mind! You can't do ANYTHING on your own! Toughen up, or this world will crush you."
He lifted his hoof off of Steven, only to grab him by the collar in his jaws, and started spinning around. As this also tossed the others off of his back, Grogar didn't release the human until after gaining enough speed, throwing Steven into the sky. Steven just managed to right himself before Grogar launched himself high into the air, meeting Steven about half way. His hoof was ready to finish him right there and then -

BAM! Right in Grogar's face came a fist from Garnet, sending the Ram plummeting down to Earth as Steven was caught up there.

"Sorry about that," Garnet said, though they weren't sure if it was to Steven or to Grogar. The hornless Ram shook his head from the blunt force, it pounding from such a hit. He spat out some rocks and snow from his muzzle before looking to the others again. Instead Grogar just snorted, turning away from them.

"What'd I say? Never beaten me on your own," Grogar simply said. Rather than go in and attack again, Grogar saw himself out and started walking away from all of them. He knew he couldn't just leave the area completely thanks to the cuffs and all, so he just went off towards the Barn instead. Where else could he go? None of them tried going off after him, more focused on Steven than on the Ram. Steven was placed down, the boy still able to at least stand yet he was holding his shoulder from Grogar's bite.

"Now you still okay, Steven?" asked Fulgurite. Steven didn't answer right away, though he did feel a bit uneasy with himself.

"I … I don't even know anymore. Guys? Am I doing the right thing?" Steven asked the others. Garnet gently placed her hand on his good shoulder.

"You're doing just fine, Steven. Grogar's just being foolish," Garnet reassured him. Steven sighed, but one Gem was questioning that choice as she watched Grogar walking away.

"... I don't think so," admitted Star, "He looked very brave to be wanting to fight everyone like that. Even if he's weaker than he used to be. Isn't he?"

That didn't seem to sit very well for some of them, but Garnet made sure to explain it to her (and extension to Steven).

"Listen, Star, just because you're angry doesn't mean it makes you brave. In fact, it just shows how scared you are. Because only a coward gets mad at everyone because he can't accept the fact he might be wrong," Garnet explained. Star paused and looked back again, but now Grogar had disappeared from sight, back inside of the barn and away from the Harmony Gems.

"Or he just doesn't know any better," remarked a slightly ticked off Spinel.

"... That too," said Garnet, "Come on, let's get you patched up Steven. I think there's a fountain calling your name."

"Yeah. ... Okay. …" Steven said.

It was worth a try, anyway.

~~~~~~

...

"You feeling okay now, Steven?"

It took a few hours, nightfall starting to come around again, but Steven was back in his own Beach House again, albeit with a few rather extensive bandages, especially on his shoulder where Grogar sank his teeth in. He got a few more bandages wrapped around him, even though he got much of them healed by Rose's Fountain waters. At least this time the bandages were just to help him, not conceal any secrets like last time.

"Yeah. ... You know something Spinel?"

"What?"

"... Getting tossed around like a ragdoll by Grogar hurts almost exactly as much as I thought it might," Steven concluded. Making light of the situation, obviously. Spinel, in spite of her worry over Steven couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Okay, so not gonna recommend it then. ..." Spinel said. Spinel sat casually over by Steven's bed, as little sisters tend to do when worried about their older siblings.

"... It's getting late, Spinel. You want to go to sleep?"

"Of course not Steven, you almost got squashed," Spinel said, her tone more matter of fact. Steven couldn't blame her for that though. Steven laid down in bed, still sore but somehow not feeling as painful as he should feel. He swore something broke in his arm, it felt hard enough and his powers weren't even active. He looked to his arm especially, the part of his body that took the most direct damage.
His mind started to shift away from his own injuries though when he saw Spinel again. After all, he can easily heal completely thanks to the waters of the Rose Fountain in the morning.

"You guys didn't beat up Grogar again."

"Actually no. No we didn't, we just left him at the barn. ... I don't think he's going to go anywhere," Spinel said. Steven could only sigh in relief. Even with the fight and they were still keeping their word for him. He laid down, and he was just about to go to bed, when both he and Spinel started to hear a commotion in the form of Steven's phone. Spinel didn't move from her spot, but she did stretch her arm downstairs to fetch the phone for him, tossing it over to her friend before Steven answered it through facetime.

"Steven!"

"Connie, hi. You're calling pretty late huh? And yes, I am hurt, but I'll be cured tomorrow," Steven said, getting the obvious bandages out of the way before it could get brought up.

"Really? Oh, thank goodness. Everyone else told me what happened to you today, I kept trying to call you but you weren't answering! It got me kinda freaking out over here," Connie explained.

"You're telling me," remarked Spinel, laying down over by Steven so she could see her too.

"Sorry about that. Is everything okay in your corner of the world?" Steven asked. Connie felt a little uneasy with her answer too, but she knew she had to mention something.

"Right, about that. Listen, I know you don't want to hear this, but we might have another problem."

"Oh no, did Grogar do something?!" gasped Spinel, a hand pulling on her pigtail.

"No, no! ... Well, maybe? It's Twilight Sparkle. Have you heard anything from her since we got back?" Connie asked. Steven and Spinel didn't like where this was going.

"Nnnnoooo?" said Steven.

"Oh geez. Twilight just dropped off a message, and it said she "lost her voice" thanks to that Plunder Vine that kept following you guys around. Sumu, I think her name is? But anyway, Twilight can't talk, and she wants to see if Gem Magic might fix her. Since she got it from our world."

"Wait wait wait ... how can she tell you this if she can't speak?" Spinel asked, legitimately confused.

"... Through ... writing?" Connie answered.

Well that was a stupid question.

"Oh ... okay."

"But the Plunder Vines are an Equestrian thing aren't they? Didn't Twilight find anything in her world?"

...

She's trying to do that, but it's not looking good. She already tried her local physicians in her world, in Ponyville AND in Canterlot, but they keep saying they can't find anything out.

Cut to back in Equestria, late at night in a local doctor's office with a unicorn doctor checking her throat out with a tongue depressor. Twilight couldn't utter much of a word given to her, but the dry wheezing was more than clear as the doctor gave her throat a good check. You'd think being sprayed by the Plunder Vines would've left something in her throat to be seen by these professionals, but after some more looking and checking, the doctor looked to the princess and simply shook his head.
Yet another doctor unable to find out much of anything for her.

...

"Not to mention," continued Connie, "The Plunder Vines don't apparently have any records anywhere. And she checked the Canterlot Library's restricted section at least twenty times. I'm betting she did twenty five times though."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow morning Connie, we'll all meet up and try to figure this out," Steven said. Connie smiled.

"Okay. Goodnight Steven. Goodnight Spinel."

"Night, Connie," both Gems said, as Steven hung up the phone. Steven was more concerned for Twilight but Spinel already was worked up.

"Steven, of course this is Grogar's fault! This's got Grogar's nasty hoofprints all over it," Spinel said.

"Maybe, well most likely, but let's not jump to conclusions yet. Maybe Grogar doesn't even know himself. He only found Sumu, he didn't create her or anything," Steven reminded. Spinel didn't want to trust Grogar in not knowing anything about Sumu, but DANG IT she can't disagree with Steven.

"Can't we punish him anyway? He did almost kill you, AND kept making fun of you ... again ..."

"Well he didn't and that's the important part," Steven said. "But, it is kinda our fault for making him try and learn all this stuff, so he probably just needs more time to himself."

"Alright. We'll try it your way. ... Sweet dreams, bro," Spinel said, sitting down comfortably nearby in the kitchen again. Steven settled down in bed, looking one more time to Spinel. There wasn't anyway he could tell her to stop watching over him throughout the night.

"Goodnight. Sis," Steven said. Spinel felt all warm inside when he called her that. As Steven laid there though, he didn't really fall asleep right away. His mind had too many thoughts in it to drift off to the Dreamscape again.

"Peridot doesn't have her memories. Pearl doesn't have her memories. Amethyst ... kinda does. Why is it so hard to get our "Happily Ever After" back? ..."

Heh. What'd I say? Never beaten me on your own.

Whatever he was going to do, he'd better work it out soon.

.......

Another night, and Grogar was still fuming. Sure it felt great to FINALLY tell Steven off and put him in his place again, but that still didn't mean he was exactly free yet. It didn't get him out of their prisonhold, it didn't get the forcefield down, and worst of all it didn't make them all back off. On the bright side, he was finally left alone. No White Diamond or Discord to bug him, no Lapis or Steven to shove "life lessons" down his throat, not even crickets to chirp the night away. It was just him and the walls of the magically-enhanced barn that kept him down and the collar that tracked him thanks to Peridot. He still wasn't happy, but still it was something.
With the night to himself, all he really could do was start pacing around a bit, waiting for something to happen that could help him get out of this mess. Ramming the field wasn't gonna do anything (he never got the headache away over that), the collar wasn't gonna work either since it'll detonate if he tried anything funny with it.

"I hate life," he groaned. "First he's scared of me, then he tries killing me, now he tries teaching me? What game is he trying to pull on me?"
The ram felt his hooves dig at the ground as he tried to think of some sort of answer, but as with before he came up empty. He thought he had it before with the Red Diamond revelation, but this curveball simply made it like he never solved anything. All he had were his own thoughts. … At first.

*crack* *GRRR*

"Easy, it's just me," said Jasper. "Steven got worried about you, so he told me to give you this."

And almost like a dog, Jasper gave Grogar a bowl of water. Knowing where this water came from though, all Grogar did was shove the bowl back outside.

"Tell him I don't need anything from him," Grogar stated.

"Fine, die of thirst, that'll really help you," Jasper remarked. Grogar groaned, and just ignored the orange Quartz. Why should he take anything from his enemies anyway? … But that didn't mean the water didn't entice him somewhat. It was cold, and he didn't have a drink all day. Jasper was about to take the water bowl out of the field, but then the Gem found Grogar taking the bowl for himself anyway. Least it was on his terms.

"Thanks," Grogar huffed, keeping his gaze away.

"You know, you have a way of saying "thanks" that makes it sound like "drop dead"," Jasper remarked.

"Glad you're taking the hint," Grogar said, as he laid down and helped himself to the water. With such a remark he was expecting her to just walk away and leave him, but with everything that happened today Jasper had more on her mind. And she sat down over by the magic field.

"Not again - what do you want now? Come to say your sorry?" Grogar asked. Unlike the others before him, Jasper had a rather different answer than that, already knowing what that'll do anyway.

"What do I have to be sorry about? Keeping you here in the barn was Steven's idea, not mine," Jasper remarked, as she took a seat over by the field. Jasper even had a metallizer in her hand, casually sipping away. Grogar would jump her if he could, but instead he just kept his gaze away from her.

"Then why're you wasting your time? Aside for following some pathetic worm who can't do anything he's told," Grogar inquired. Jasper stopped drinking briefly.

"I came to admire what that "pathetic worm" has done to you," Jasper said. Grogar had to draw the line at that, getting up on his hooves before whacking the water bowl out of reach. No, it didn't startle Jasper at all.

"What he's done - he can't do a thing to me!" Grogar snapped.

"He can't? And yet here you are: nothing but a wreck with not a horn to speak of," Jasper said. Grogar snarled, and despite knowing the field was there he did try to break through it to keep Jasper quiet, but his hooves couldn't break through it, much to his dismay.

"Watch your tongue, I'm in no mood for anymore of your games," Grogar warned in a low rumble.

"Have you EVER been in the mood?" Jasper questioned. Grogar didn't give her any satisfaction for an answer there, but instead he just started going over back towards the barn doors. At least, for a bit before he tried to turn the game around on the Orange Quartz.

"Why don't you be a quartz and go pummel some boulders around? Then you'll be doing what you're made to do," Grogar remarked.

"We're more than just muscle, you know. … Besides, there's no more boulders. Rupee already crushed most of them in our contest yesterday," Jasper said.

"Oh are you? From what I've heard, Jaspers on this planet were made only to be soldiers. Mindless, stupid, and a little more than murderous. Just like the rest of your toolbox. By the way, they're missing their forklift, so why don't you hobble back into your shed?"

That sounded pretty good to send any quartz off, but Jasper seemed to roll with it.

"You're making this WAY too obvious," Jasper remarked, confusing the ram again, "You're just saying all of that to get rid of me. I've heard you talking to everyone else the exact same way all day, and everyone gave you what you wanted and left you alone. … Not exactly your thing."

"Don't you tell me what my THING is! How the hay did a lump of rock like you figure that out anyway? Jaspers are NOT smart," Grogar questioned, not having any fun anymore. Jasper was NOT the smart one of the group, she was the strong powerhouse.

"You're right. I'm NOT smart like some of my egghead friends. And if it takes a lump of rock like me to figure you out …"
She didn't need to finish her sentence for Grogar to start growling again, though this time he just shoved his face into the dirt.

"Don't you start psycho-analyzing me too. I've had more than my fill already," Grogar huffed.

"Yeah. Again, not your thing," Jasper said.

"And what is my thing, dare I ask?" Grogar remarked.

"Beats me. but I do know it's not just standing there and letting Steven talk you down like that. I know you and him had some sort of "history" these couple of months, but he must've messed you up REAL bad for you to just stay speechless like that."

That just got Grogar to ram the forcefield again, only to get knocked back by both his electric magic (or lack there of) and the forcefield itself. "If you don't know what you're talking about, then maybe you shouldn't talk at all!"
For a moment Jasper's didn't talk. She was thinking a little bit about what to do here, but Grogar really took it as she truly didn't know what she was talking about. Grogar calmed down, getting back up onto his hooves.

"That's what I thought. You know, I'm starting to see why a doll like you isn't back in the army."

"Hey, I chose to leave my army, ok?" Jasper insisted.

"Well congrats on that, Warrior Princess. … So did I," Grogar said. This actually caught Jasper by surprise. He loved war, and he left his army behind?

"... Really?"

"Yes. Why?" Grogar spat.

"Nothing. I'm a War Gem too, and I know how hard that is. Walking away from everything you know," Jasper stated. Grogar didn't even bother correcting her on it, even if he still technically did so. He just groaned good and loud. He turned to just walk back into the barn, actually making it to the door just before Jasper spoke up again.

"Grogar. Look at me."

"Maybe you didn't hear me, doll, but if you don't - … what? …"

Suddenly he wasn't seeing Jasper anymore but … Steven? Well, Steven with a Gem for a nose that is.

"I feel SO SORRY for you," Jasper said, trying to sound like Steven, "so much that I forgive you, even after everything you did to me because I'm such an ANGEL that I don't even know how to hate someone! All I ever want is to make everybody happy and we all can live happily ever after!"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Grogar snapped … though he'd been trying not to laugh himself. Jasper though ended up laughing herself seeing Grogar act so out-of-character here.

"Look at you all riled up," Jasper chuckled, "And you're the one that kept calling Steven "out of character". He must've really got under your skin."

Grogar's hooves scratched the forcefield.

"What is with you lot?! I thought you liked the brat, why're you mocking him?" Grogar demanded. Jasper calmed down from her chuckling after a bit, sitting up and looking to the ram.

"I still like him, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun," Jasper said. Grogar shook his head, trying not to look so perplexed about this random act of "Steven charade". It was too late in the day anyway.

"Great, what, are we gonna start painting our nails now?! … I'm going back to sleep," Grogar said, but not before giving a strong warning kick to the forcefield, leaving a very strong crack in it to remind them that he was no weakling.

"Funny, real funny. For real though. I've been seeing you all day and … we both got a lot in common," Jasper said. Grogar stopped again, barring his teeth at that kind of response. A KING? Compared to a ROCK?!

"THIS again? ... Enlighten me," Grogar growled.

"The others are better at that than me but alright. Let's see … we're both fighters, we came from war, we're both strong. And once upon a time, I acted a lot like ya. Actually you're acting the exact same way I did before I got here," Jasper said, thinking further back. It'd been a long time since she actually had to think that far back in her life, when she was a War veteran praised for her battling over her being, well just her. Still though, Grogar didn't seem to really care much about it, still triggered by pretty much being called a rock.

"But hey. You know what's different between you and me?"

"I still wouldn't look like a fat runt?" Grogar asked. Jasper paused and looked at herself. Rolling her eyes, she changed back into her perfect quartz appearance.

"No. I can't tell if you're telling the truth, but if it is then I can say this: we both may have walked out of army life, but I didn't trade one army for another. I got something more," Jasper explained. Grogar knew she was probably gonna say it anyway, so he didn't really bother to make her stop. Actually, he pushed her along.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"... Friends. Family. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true."

Clever move on Jasper's part, Grogar was just about to say that. The response still made Grogar laugh though, finally finding some material to work with.

"If you're gonna sit there and ask me to "be apart of your family" then you're wasting your time. The answer is "go die in a ditch"," Grogar warned. Jasper actually looked disgusted almost with that idea.

"What? Believe me, I wasn't gonna ask that, but thanks for clearing that up for me. I bet Steven was gonna ask that later on anyway," Jasper remarked. She was NOT willing to have Grogar as apart of the Harmony Gems anyway, especially after how much he pulled back on Homeworld. As for the Ram, he just sat there and thought about how that would go. The Harmony Gems, Steven extending a hand to him ...

"...…. Why would he do something so stupid?" Grogar questioned after some thought.

"I dunno. Why do you think it's so stupid?" Jasper questioned. When she turned back though she suddenly got to her feet, seeing that the Ram was pacing like a caged carnivore, his stubs cracking and sparking.

"I'm trying to kill you all, remember? Your group is the only thing standing in my way from complete domination over not just here, but Equestria as well. The ONLY CHANCE any of you have is to destroy me! Yet you think that keeping me in this box is a good idea?" The yelling at the end was accompanied by a huge barrage of sparks, though these were stinging Grogar more than anything else, making him stop.

"Give me one good reason why I should take that? … What part of that makes any sense to you?" Grogar finally asked. Jasper simply raised an eyebrow, and at first she was questioning it herself. If this Ram was anything like she used to be than no way was he going to surrender so quickly, if ever. It took what felt like forever before Jasper relaxed, and took a moment to scratch her head.

"I have no idea. If it were up to me, you wouldn't even be here right now. But Steven and company still wanna keep you around for whatever reason, so I'm not going to. You're welcome," Jasper admitted. Grogar laid down by the borders of the field, head hitting the forcefield wall.

"You're all crazy, that's what you are. Letting a serial killer live out of pity, and then try to reeducate him. … It's humiliating. What a joke."

"Call it whatever you want. Just don't try destroying the world tonight okay?" Jasper advised. One good bit of news though was that Jasper was actually starting to leave … well, for a moment. Grogar didn't answer. Jasper simply walked off on her way back to the others, and all Grogar could do was just walk on back into the barn and wait until morning.

That ram was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Author's Note

So this is the plan Steven had in mind huh? Too bad Grogar's not gonna be giving him much mind about it, as few could probably guess. Tell you all the truth, this chapter and the previous one were planned ahead in advance, which is why they came out quicker than other chapters before it ... but now it might be slower again so yeah, be patient with me. There's a lot coming along, i promise you all that much.

Gotta give Steven credit for trying though ^^

Gathering Thoughts

Today ... could've gone better.
For both Discord and White Diamond, they weren't expecting to end up as semi-guards and semi-roommates for this Grogar fella in their barn. With the magic barrier up to keep Grogar inside his prison cell, it was a bit too dangerous anyway for either Diamond or Draconequus to just venture on into the barn, so all they could do was just sit outside of said barrier, doing basically nothing aside from who-knows-what. At least the weather's nice enough for some winter sky-watching.

"So I see ... I believe that's an Earth cauliflower," White Diamond said at one point, completely bored out of her own wit.

"Oh please, that's too easy. Try expanding your horizons, let your imagination run as crazy as it wants! It's more entertaining," Discord encouraged.

"That's easy for you to do, Discord. But since you're so well, why don't you go?" White Diamond insisted. Discord had "gone" for about ten times already, but the Draconequus didn't mind it too much and just looked into the sky anyway.

"I see ... a circus bear dancing elegantly on top of a coconut, balancing on an Elephant's trunk, while the Elephant's tail is having tea time with a cute little Angel Bunny rabbit."

"Where do you even see THAT?" White had to question. She couldn't see even half of what Discord was talking about, and if Discord could he would play around with the clouds again to show what he meant ... but he only had his imagination for that.

"You're right that's a bit too crazy. Angel Bunny's not even CLOSE to being cute bunny. You know, I always wondered why Fluttershy would name that rabbit Angel anyway," Discord remarked. Not that it bothered him any, he can easily handle that squirt with a flick of his tail magic or no.

"Well I don't see what is wrong with calling an Earth rabbit "angel". Fluttershy showed me him just yesterday, and he's such a little sweetheart. You know, for an organic," White Diamond said. Discord knew better though.

"Yes, but THAT my dear is because you are practically the leader of an entire race, and I'm sure any rabbit would love a lifetime of carrots and a hint of planet conquering. Trust me, there's no better friend than a friend with benefits," Discord said with a wink. White could kinda see where he was coming from there - gaining something extra alongside friendship would be beneficial.

"So you believe Fluttershy only became friends with you because of your chaos magic?" White asked, though mostly to tease him of anything but still curious. Discord quickly jumped at her for that.

"NO WAY, Flutters would never do me like that. She is my all-time favorite pony in the entire universe and beyond - by the way i need to return some of her pen pal letters," Discord realized.

"Is THAT what you tell yourself, Discord?"

Here we go again. White and Discord turned back towards the barn, their conversation overheard by its current main resident in the form of Grogar himself. The hornless ram walked out from the interior of the barn to see them. Any attack on the barrier he knew wouldn't do good at all, so he had to keep himself down completely this time.

"Oh, not you again," said White Diamond, rolling her eyes, "we weren't even talking about you. Just ignore him, Discord."

"You didn't have to. Discord, do you truly believe that your so-called friend isn't just taking your powers to her advantage?" Grogar questioned. Discord took some snow and shoved it into his ears.

"Oh nonono, I can already tell from a mile where this is going. Been there, done that," Discord quickly said, turning away from the ram. Grogar wasn't ready to just give up though.

"Don't ignore me just because I'm the one who's talking. I know what I'm talking about when I say you're only fooling yourselves."

"I can read you like an open book," Discord said, "you're just acting all chummy with me just so I can take down this barrier and let "his majesty" out. But you're only wasting your time - my pony friends are the only ones who know how to take that down and surprise surprise: I can't break the fabric of reality to pop your personal prison bubble. So there." and Discord ended that with his tongue sticking out, which White Diamond actually found herself chuckling at. Grogar knew he'd catch onto him too, so he had a more thought-provoking tactic in mind, as he sat down by his prison.

"Here I am, trapped in this bubble, but somehow I'm still free. YOU two aren't in a bubble ... but you're not really free at all, are you?" Grogar questioned.

*RING*RING*

Thank the stars for telephones.

"Just a minute Grogar, you can manipulate us in a second, I gotta take this," Discord said. It wasn't even his own phone they kept, but rather Steven's iPhone (he usually kept it with the others whenever guard duty was needed), and with a swift snatch of it from White Diamond's pocket, making her fluster as the Draconequus took the call.

"Hello, your favorite and only Draconequus speaking," Discord said. White Diamond and Grogar kept hearing some words being chatted on the phone, Discord only nodding and giving a "uhuh" time and again. With a simple "be right there" Discord hung up the phone and tossed it to White Diamond.

"Duty calls," concluded Discord.

"You're just leaving? But what am I gonna do?!" White Diamond asked worriedly.

"I dunno, go watch a movie, get some coffee? Grogar's a bad guy but he's locked up, we don't HAVE to watch him. Besides -" Discord smacked his tail on the magical barrier. "- If he can't bust out of this, then I think we're all good."

"You're absolutely sure about that, Discord. It's ... It's Grogar!"

"Have I ever been wrong before?" Discord said with a smirk. Anyone who knew Discord longer than WD would know THAT answer right off the bat. But since she was White - someone who didn't know Discord for more than a couple months - she kinda took it in face value. ... Besides, she didn't want to stay with the ram longer than she had to.

"W-Well ... oh, alright. Let me get my appearance modifiers put on first," White said.

"Just go. Playing monkey must be fun," Grogar huffed.

He was hoping they were leaving soon. He had an appointment to keep. He laid down on the ground for a bit more, watching as Discord and White Diamond basically left him all alone. If there was one thing one shouldn't do, is leave a undead magical ram to himself unattended. He checked one more time over his shoulder to be sure he was alone before he moved back into the barn. Right to the very back of it.

"....... psst ... Sumu, they're gone. Come out here," whispered Grogar.
Only Sumu could keep herself as secretive as she had been from everyone around her. After being given the word, a vine poked itself out of the ground, in between the cracks of the barn. After growing only about a foot, Sumu's face formed at the tip of it and two leaves sprouted to make up her hands and arms.

"I'm here, s-s-s-sir," said Sumu, shivering from the cold even in the barn.

"Did you talk to the captains yet?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah. They're on t-t-t-t-their way now. S-S-S-S-So cold," Sumu managed to sputter out. Grogar smiled for the first time in, well hours (more legitimately this time)

"Well done, lass. This'll teach them NOT to mess with the king like Grogar. You'd better make your first strike a good one, Steven. Tambalon's coming."

.......

"Aaaahhhhh."

With the patient opening her mouth good and wide, Priyanka Maheswaran got to her usual check up, her tongue compressor placed right into her mouth and getting a good look at the back of her throat. It took a bit of handiwork to figure this out, looking intently as the compressor kept the tongue out of the way despite it being a little uncomfortable for her patient. It took a few more seconds before that tongue compressor was moved out of her mouth, spying something that could be the root cause of the problem just along the tongue itself. She tried to talk but all that came out was a gargled mess.

"Okay, this is still a new experience for me, but I think I got just the thing for you. Excuse me for a second," Priyanka said. As her patient say there, seeing her close friends just off outside of the office window, the doctor looking through her medicine cabinet for a little bit before she fished out what looked to be a cylinder of a liquid of some kind. It looked a little familiar to sparkling water, but Priyanka wouldn't keep soft drinks as medicine.

"This water's from the Rose Fountain, so try gargling with this. It should be able to heal your ... condition," Priyanka explained. What did she have to lose? After Priyanka got her a glass, she simply brought it up and got it into her mouth, swishing and gargling it inside her mouth for a bit. Mundane, maybe, yet already she could feel something going on in her mouth. A lack of swelling, a small shimmer in her mouth, and next thing she knew -

"AWW, I can talk again! Thanks doc," said the worker Bismuth. Priyanka was glad it managed to work out, as the Bismuth's other Gem friends came in to see her, happy to see her all better.

"Just remember to not bite your tongue while you're working," advised Priyanka, writing it down onto a nearby clipboard. The Bismuth was pleased with the quick recovery, and the three Gems started off on their way. As soon as they left, Priyanka took the time to check her list of patients over on the wall.
To put it simply, there was a lot. She looked between one list from a few months ago, which strictly had human patients and had quite a bit of them at that, and then compared to the one today, which now included Gems filling it up twice as much. She even had to force in a few names since it overflowed the list at this point! At least dealing with Gem patients wasn't as complicated since they were mainly cracked gemstones.

She was still getting worn out though.

"What an overload. I haven't had this many patients since ... ever," Priyanka sighed, taking a brief moment to take a breather by leaning against the wall. Being a Doctor was always a tough job, overload or regular. Still, as a doctor she had to try and keep up with it so after a breath she checked out the list again.

"Okay, so who's next? ..."

*knock**knock**knock*

Odd. Priyanka looked over to the door, setting the clipboard down for a moment before she could actually see who was up next. Why would any patient just walk up to her door first before anything else? Priyanka walked over to the door, but looking out the window from her office into the hallway she could already see that the patient next wasn't entirely ... human.
Opening the door, and there was her next patient waiting for her: Twilight Sparkle. She only had a few joining her this time, Steven and Connie joining her as promised along with Cadance and Spike. Some support at the least since Luna had more to do in Twilight's stead.

"You do know you have to wait until you're called back here, right?" Priyanka asked.

"We know, but our keys were acting up and we had to use the Portal Keys to get here, and they don't really follow hospital rules," said Spike, shrugging.

It could be worse. Priyanka checked her clipboard and the list one more time. And there was Twilight Sparkle's name right there to be seen.

"Your Portal Keys do know good timing. Twilight, if you may have a seat," Priyanka said, Twilight sitting down on the exam table.

"You're lucky I had a cancellation today, normally patients have to get scheduled in weeks in advance," Priyanka added in. She didn't really need to add how many more patients were added into the list. Twilight still looked a little nervous.

"Don't worry Twilight, my mom's the best doctor in this hospital," Connie reassured.

"And we'll be right here if you need anything. Okay?" Cadance promised. However, Priyanka needed to get a few things out of the way before she could actually do anything, as she was getting out her stethoscope.

"Thank you, Connie, but I'm afraid this isn't gonna be as easy as my usual procedures," Priyanka said.

"How come?" Steven asked. Priyanka had to choose her words carefully here.

"Well ... the main thing is that Twilight ... you're not a Human."

"So?" said Spike.

"So, I'm a Doctor of human patients. I'm not saying I'm not going to try here, but Equestrian or not, she still has the body structure of a horse. ... Even if you do have a horn and wings," Priyanka explained.

"But, you can still see what's wrong with her," said Cadance. Priyanka had to think a little bit again, going into the medicine cabinet to get some doctor gloves again.

"Well I'm gonna try my best. At the least I can see if this condition is anything non-magical or non-Gem related," Priyanka said. This was probably the best answer they were going to get.

"Okay, Twilight, we'll be waiting outside if you need anything. Everything's gonna be A-Okay," said Steven. Twilight just nodded and watched as they began to go out of the office to wait for them outside. Twilight herself saw at least one of them start to pull out a phone, Cadance trying to figure out how it worked. If only it were that simple. She'd gone through the motions with how many doctors already? Ten? Twelve maybe? Either way, she could only hope there were some different results today over what the pony doctors told her over and over again. The only one that stayed around was Spike.

"Spike? I'm going to need you to wait outside too."

"Eh, sorry but ... no. SOMEONE has to talk for Twilight," Spike said.

"Well that's for Twilight's decision not yours. Twilight, is it okay if I discuss your medical records with your friend here?" Priyanka asked. Twilight just didn't say anything. Spike went and sat next to her.

"... Twilight?"

"That's kinda the problem: Twilight can't talk. We tried spells, soup, spells involving soup, even spell soup, but nothing's making her any better," Spike explained. To prove Spike's point, Twilight tried to explain it a bit more herself but all that came out were something more akin to some worn out squeaky toy. They know she could talk, so hearing her sound like this was itself strange. Priyanka needed to question her own ears before she regathered herself.

"Let's get started," Priyanka concluded.

(one hour later)

"You STILL found nothing?" asked Spike to a now tired Priyanka, as she rested her back against the wall and checked what results she could do.

"Nothing's out of the ordinary in terms of functionality. I knew I should've called a vet for this," sighed Priyanka. Nothing was more frustrating than an hour of work with NOTHING to show for it. A bit rude to call a vet on an Equestrian Pony, but still a bit sad to see nothing actually come up after everything. After a long while, the others took a look back inside.

"So how's she doing in here?" asked Cadance.

"Not very good. Priyanka didn't find anything either, just like the ... twelve other doctors," Spike said, trying to think of if he missed anything. Twilight was just sitting there, head hung down in dismay. She had been trying so much to figure this out, but the more this kept happening the more she felt like she'll never make it work. Will she ever get her own voice back? As Twilight was considering how to even live her life without her voice, her sister-in-law went over to her.

"Don't worry. I think I know someone that can point us in the right direction. He should be here any minute," Cadance said. Twilight looked to Cadance with hope, but mostly with confusion. If it was Dr. Horse again, she might as well not even bother because she already tried him just last night. No point in asking another pony doctor to treat her given her track record so far. The others though thought that, at the least, this could give them some more insight if anything at all. Soon as he gets here ...

ANY moment now ...

*THUD*

"Hi Discord," said a sheepish Cadance.
... He's here. The door opened up to find Discord laying on the floor, feeling exhausted. Priyanka wasn't sure how to take this, vaguely remembering all of the chaos magic before, but seeing him look like this just left her more confused if anything at all. Discord was TIRED, literally crawling like a inchworm as he dragged himself into the room. He needed two minutes to even catch his wheezing breath.

"You couldn't even call a cab?" Discord just BARELY managed to say in between his "dying breath". No chaos of magic should ever had to be put under such torture as EXERCISE! Twilight looked like she was gonna die when she saw him show up.

"The barn's not that far away from here," Steven pointed out.

"For anyone who doesn't snap-travel, maybe. OW, I think I got a blister," Discord groaned, taking a minute to sit down and try cracking some of his toes. It's not that Twilight didn't trust him ... well, okay, maybe a little bit, but Twilight got off the exam table and basically tried to go on her way.

"Twilight, I know this isn't exactly what you'd expect, but it can't hurt to just ask him right?" Cadance said. Twilight was only glad that Discord didn't have his chaos magic right now otherwise it probably would hurt to ask him. Twilight, scared mainly, just went right back to the exam table and sat right back down. Maybe this'll go quick.

"Is this okay, mom?" asked Connie. Priyanka really wasn't so sure, never-minding the obvious rule violations this was probably doing. Discord was a lot of things but he was no doctor. Still, the Draconequus got himself all warmed up and looked over to the patient on the exam table.

"Alright, you got me all the way out here, what's the trouble?" Discord asked.

"We were wondering if your um ... special taste in magical knowledge can help Twilight here," explained Cadance. Discord chuckled.

"Let's not be so modest, I know my magic's not a typical cut of bread. And poor princess Twilight is having a bad day?" Discord correctly asked, hopping up next to Twilight as he began to check her out for any signs of sickness. AKA, pulling out her wings and checking em over.

"It's her voice, Discord. She lost it a couple days ago, and no one in Equestria can figure out how to fix it," said Steven, kinda having to roll with the punch at this point. Discord immediately knew where to check for that one.

"Her voice? Well let's just see what we're dealing with here," Discord said. He didn't even hesitate when he made Twilight open her mouth wide open, and peeked right inside himself. Twilight honestly wished she was anywhere else right now, as Discord even tried getting his snout into her mouth, sniffing her breath. THAT point Twilight got her hooves up and pushed Discord away from her, coughing from tasting Draconequus fur.

"Hmm ... crabgrass ... well the answers pretty obvious: she got herself sprayed by some Plunder Vine spores. You breathe that stuff in and it'll keep you quiet as a dormouse," Discord quickly concluded, in a matter-of-fact manor. Too bad they already knew that was a thing, and Twilight wasn't exactly amused by Discord's antics.

"Great, but how do we actually fix it? There IS a way to fix this right Discord?" Spike asked.

"Heck if I know."

... Everyone had that "what did you say?" look on their faces. Well, everyone except Discord of course.

"What? I can't know EVERYTHING."

"YOU created them!" retorted Steven.

"I'm the Spirit of Chaos: Just because I create something doesn't mean I have to understand it. Most creations I make I can just snap away into nothing! ... At least I used to," Discord retorted back, sounding a bit self-righteous. They really had to keep themselves to just slap him on the face.

"Actually it really does. So even YOU don't know if there's anyway to fix this?" Spike said. Discord could see Twilight was looking miserable, so rather than just slap in another joke, he just hopped off the table.

"Now, I never said that," Discord said.

"So there IS a way? What is it?!" asked Cadance.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way," Discord said smugly. It'd been too long since he gave anyone a good mind game. Discord hopped up onto the nearest doctor's wheechair, giving it a quick spin before starting his riddle, the Draconequus clearing his throat.

"To find your voice, comes down to your region of choice. A Scale and hoof is your teaching guide, leading back to -"

"The Kirins!" Connie suddenly realized. Discord immediately clammed up.

"The what?" Priyanka asked. Discord tried to regain himself but the others were already getting sold on the idea.

"The Kirin Empire: Scale and hoof is your teaching guide - that means they might have the answer to Twilight's voice!" Steven said.

Discord slumped in his seat. "Couldn't you all at least pretend to not understand it, just to make me feel smarter than you?"

"Discord, "scale and hoof"? "Region of choice"? It's kind of obvious where you were going with that," Steven said. The Draconequus wasn't sure if he should be proud, sad, or annoyed. But either way, he really needed to get back into the swing of things. He slid onto the floor in defeat.

"I need to get my groove back," Discord grumbled. It just was no fun anymore being normal.

"I think we better go now. Thanks for the help," said Cadance as they began to go on their own way. However Priyanka had to intervene here, mainly for her daughter.

"Wait a minute, young lady, I'm not letting you run off on another adventure again," Priyanka said firmly.

"Can I go home? I'm just going back to watch Pearl, that's all," Connie corrected.

"... Oh. Well, alright, good," Priyanka said.

At least Twilight had a lead now. Better than all the doctor visits she had so far, anyway. Discord just groaned and walked on after them. Maybe he can find something else to make him feel smart today. With this doctor's visit done for Twilight, they would have to come together for the Kirin Empire trip later. Steven had a few more things to handle first ...

~~~~~~

*thud* "Okay, so that's one step handled early. Now what to do about the rest ...?"

From the Hospital to back to the Beach House, Steven Universe was suddenly getting himself a bit more organized since Grogar nearly pummeled him just yesterday. With no one else inside the house for the moment Steven had time to himself thankfully, as he got himself out an open notebook, a ball-point pen, and a mind that at the time was just in a flurry of thoughts. He still had his old list of things to do, but since all of this other stuff kept coming up, he had to do some updating. ... Ok, a lot of updating.
So now, his "Happily Ever After" list looked more like this:

1: Recover Memories (5/9)
2: ~~Make Home 4 Dazzlings~~ FIND Dazzlings
3: Finish building Little Homeworld
4: Discord + White Diamond's magic back
5: Become friends with Hessonite
6: ~~Handle~~ Reform Grogar (hopefully)
7: Handle Grogar's Army
8: Heal injector spot

The list grew a little bit, almost doubling from when this all started. Steven felt a pit in his stomach looking at the list he had and comparing it to the one he used to have. Instead of fixing problems, more just keep coming up on him. All he did was groan a little bit.

"You can do this, Universe. It's not that hard. Just gotta re-work the order that's all," Steven told himself as he pulled out another piece of blank lined paper, writing out the title again and ready to handle this problem again. Using the original as reference next to the notebook, he started off with the bigger problem of recovering memories, though when it came to that list he only had four names: Pink Diamond, Pearl, Amethyst, and Peridot.

"Okay: We got only four left, so obviously they need their missing pieces first. ... wait, Hessonite won't just let them hang out like that would she? ... Alright, befriend Hessonite first, then handle memories, then help finish - wait. Wait, Grogar's army hasn't shown up in a while, so of course they'll be coming in soon. Maybe if we can set up defenses around Little Homeworld? Oh, but Hessonite will make Amethyst do that ... UGH, do-over, gotta try again," frustrated, Steven crumbled up his first list, and tossed it into the nearest trash bin in the kitchen. He got out another piece of paper and tried again.

"Alright, alright ... handle Grogar's Army ... then friends with Hessonite ... ARGH NO, we need everyone if we're gonna take them on. They have to be first! Ok, recover memories, handle army, friend Hessonite - ... no, I forgot Discord and White Diamond's magic. Dang it."
Steven crumbled it up again and tossed it aside.
This pattern kept up at least three more times as Steven tried his hardest to figure out what this perfect checklist would be. This wasn't even counting what other potential problems could pop up at anytime, nor when something would become worse if left alone for too long. Steven got out another paper and was about to try for number six when the sound of the Warp Pad suddenly startled him.

"HEY, look who's back from her Earth Shopping trip!"

Steven quickly got the notes and hid them away as he turned to the Warp Pad to find Spinel standing there. His "little sister" had a few bags she was holding, some hung along her arms while she held two in hand. Steven hardly had time to hide any of his things, so all he did was cover them up with his arm, acting like a casual rest of the elbow.

"Hey there Spinel. Uhh, looks like you got a lot done while you've been out," Steven said, pretending that he wasn't in the middle of working.

"Yep! I got everything you asked me to," Spinel said, pulling the stuff out of the bags and placing them on the counter as she named em off, "I got your dry cleaner stuff, your milk, your flower bouquet, your new shield, and I found this neat lookin' snow globe too."

Steven found himself with his new shield on the floor by his side leaning against the table, the gallon of milk on his left, the dry cleaner on his right, and the snow globe sitting on his head. He got the snow globe off of him before talking again.

"Not bad. You did remember to pay them this time, right?" Steven asked, "You didn't just take what you wanted and walked out on them."

Spinel paused, and looked a little embarrassed. "Eeeehhhh ... Garnet had to give me a reminder. ... Five times. ..."
She was still trying, so that wasn't a problem. What did become a problem though was that while Steven decided to put some of the stuff away, Spinel's curious eyes looked back to the table Steven was working on, and spotted the closed notebook. Caught up in this mess, Steven didn't notice Spinel seeing the thing until -

"What'chu got here Steven?" Spinel asked, just about to open up the notebook. Steven almost dropped the milk he was holding before snatching the notebook away, seconds before Spinel could take a look inside.

"I-It's nothing," Steven quickly said. Spinel was kinda taken aback.

"You ... ok?"

"I'm fine, I just ... I don't want people looking in here yet. It's nothing to worry about anyway," Steven tried to explain, as he sat back down with the notebook. But unfortunately for Steven, Spinel's curiosity was a bit peaked. What was it about this notebook that he wanted to keep hidden away? Spinel started to stretch her neck until her head was behind Steven's shoulder, trying to see it for herself. Steven tried to keep his arms covering the thing as Spinel kept moving around.

"Spinel quit it!" Steven said.

"But let me see. If it's nothing, it wouldn't be a problem," Spinel pointed out, again trying to check it out. This ended up making Steven get up from his seat, holding the notebook away from her.

"I didn't say it was nothing nothing, I said it's nothing to worry about -" Steven just wasn't gonna get his way today, because as he tried backing up he bumped into the shield Spinel brought for him. He ended up stumbling back as the notebook ended up getting out of his hands, and into Spinel's slingshot-launched hand, yoinking it back to her so she can see as Steven sat in the shield. It was a bit too late for Steven to stop her from seeing what the deal was.

"... Happily Ever After?" Spinel asked, "What'chu got going here? Is this one of those diaries or something?"

Steven got back up, a little unsteady since he was standing on a shield but getting up nonetheless.

"It's not a diary! It's my "Happily Ever After" list," Steven revealed, this time getting his notebook back and opening it up for Spinel to see. Spinel saw how much there was on the thing, and the extra details Steven wrote on his latest list.

"Spinel? ... You think you can keep a secret?" Steven asked. Spinel was getting intrigued.

"A secret? ... Um, alright sure," Spinel said. Steven then showed his list in full to her.

"It's just something I've been working on. I mean, we still have so much left to do before we can finally have our "Happily Ever After". There's Grogar's Army, Hessonite, Little Homeworld, not to mention everyone's not even mentally back yet. I'm just trying to work out how to get there without anymore problems," Steven explained, even then trying to work out the details as he was biting the end of his pen, just to spit out the ink he was tasting. Spinel didn't need to be told when this probably all started as she looked over the main list Steven had made so far.

"It looks all good to me."

"It's more on what to do first. We're so close. If only I can do all this right ..." Steven's mind began to wander again, but Spinel's keen hearing caught the "I" in that sentence instead of "we".

"Don't ya mean "If only WE can do all this right"?"

Steven took a deep breath. This was where the secret part really comes in.

"Grogar got to me yesterday, ok?" Steven admitted, for the first time today.

"Well, we all saw he jumped ya, but hey that Rose Fountain worked wonders and look at you now -"

"No, not that. When he said I can't do anything on my own, and I always rely on my friends to do everything for me. He obviously said it just to get to me, but ... I just need to do this myself, okay Spinel? And please don't tell the others about this. I don't want everyone else to get roped into my problem," Steven explained. Steven's eyes looked back to the notebook as he kept trying to work this out, but Spinel just looked to Steven with some more of her child-like confusion.

"You want me to NOT tell em this? But what about that thing you all keep saying? The Truth's always better than -"

"I know, I know. I just feel like this is something I need to do," Steven concluded. Now if only he can work out how. Steven started to sit down and write again with the potential list, as Spinel watched him try to do the work. Spinel waited and waited, watching as Steven kept writing down things, occasionally tossing a crumbled up piece of paper by her towards the trash bin. Steven tossed at least two more by her, hearing her sink one into the trash bin that missed.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," Steven said. Spinel got up immediately.

"Oh, right, of course! I'll ... just be going. See ya later," Spinel said.

"See ya," Steven said. A little to pre-occupied to notice Spinel looked bummed out all over again. But not because she had to go out on her own again, but more because of the secret she had to keep quiet. Can she even do that for Steven, or not?

There was one person that could find that out for her.

.......

Off to Little Homeworld she goes. After a quick jump to there from her Warp Pad, Spinel was off again to the almost completed Little Homeworld city. Strolling on out of the Warp Pad and looking around more. She saw her share of Gems and Ponies and other things going around. With so much of Little Homeworld worked out though, especially since Equestria's side was practically complete, those there were more lax in their line of work. More casual per say.

"Where is she, where is she? It can't be THAT hard to find her around here," Spinel told herself, though a part of her still wished to have some more time to get her words together. Then again, it didn't take more than a minute before she ended up finding her target off along the main road, doing ... something.

"Find your center, your very core. Remember - your body isn't just a projection of light, but also a reflection of your inner soul."

"Aha! There she - ... is?"

Garnet. Though, it wasn't really just finding Garnet that made the jester Gem a little confused, but more over what the fusion was actually doing: she found Garnet standing on her head - literally in her case - staring off ahead as her hands were pressed together.

"Hi, Garnet," said Spinel, standing next to her.

"Hello Spinel," Garnet replied, not looking her way. Spinel had to ask though.

"So ... um ... why're you talking to your cat?" Spinel asked. Garnet wasn't even that far away from her either, just about two to three feet from Nora as the cat was just laying on her back. That didn't deter Garnet at all, and in fact Garnet seemed content with it.

"Practicing for my meditation seminar tomorrow. I've got a big crowd coming, so I want to be ready," Garnet said. Spinel was bummed out again, kicking a stray rock.

"So you're gonna be busy too, huh?"

"Nope. Come join me. It'll be better to practice with someone that talks back," Garnet offered.

"Umm ... okie-dokie."
What other chance would she get? She didn't know how long Garnet was gonna be, so what she can do was at least join her for a minute. Since there was space between Garnet and the wall, Spinel stood over in between them so Spinel could talk to Garnet directly. It felt weird with her right side up, so after some working Spinel got herself upside-down, standing on her own head. She wasn't exactly steady, and didn't have a square head, but she managed thanks to her pigtails keeping her steady. For the heck of it too, Spinel copied Garnet's arm movements, bringing her hands together just like Garnet did.

"Hey Garnet? Mind if I ask for some advice?" Spinel asked, as both she and Garnet then stretched their arms to the side.

"Ask away," Garnet answered. Spinel was about to speak, but remembered she was supposed to keep this secret so she needed to re-work her story. Not too different, but similar just enough to make it work.

"Okay. So, there's this uhh ... friend, that I know. Who also has this other friend she knows who is uh ... pretty popular. Someone she looks up to, and really wants to help."

"Go on," said Garnet.

"So my friend's friend thinks he has to do it by himself, because someone he knows is making him stress out. And I mean, we ALL KNOW how bad stress can be, and he's ... not doing so good. And she's not feeling so good for ... you know ... not doing anything for him. ... So can you help me - ER I mean, her?"
Dang it, so close! Did she just blow a promise to Steven that quickly? ... No? ... No, Garnet didn't look like she reacted any differently from usual. Garnet got to thinking a little bit, still upside-down (Spinel still copying her arm movements best she could). But while Garnet didn't want to say it to keep Spinel from getting all bummed out again, the fusion could easily tell who she was talking about. A bit curious over her "friend", she swung herself around back onto her feet, Spinel doing the same.

"Sounds like whoever talk him into thinking this probably wants him to question himself, and make him REALLY stressed out. Maybe even getting him hurt so whatever he said can stick to him better," Garnet pondered.

"He got hurt REAL BAD," Spinel thought, squirming in her spot a little bit as she thought about it. Garnet got to thinking.

"Have you met your friend's friend, Spinel?"

"Umm ... nnnnoooot really? I only saw him this morning after our shopping spree," Spinel replied, rubbing her arm. Garnet would do what she was gonna do next with her abilities anyway, but decided to play along just a little bit more. She knew who Spinel was talking about, she just needed the kickstarter for step two.

"Well it's hard to say ... unless if you can look into the future," Garnet said. Not the most tactful, but heck the idea still came to Spinel anyway.

"Garnet, your future vision! You can look ahead for Steven - I-I mean uhh, my friend's friend!" Spinel said excitedly, but quickly shooting herself down and added more calmly, "Er wait ... is it okay to use your powers? I wanna help someone I just met."

Garnet smiled. "That's a good enough excuse to use my powers. Let's have a look."

Spinel stood there and waited as Garnet went on to check what the Future could hold for Spinel's "friend's friend". Which future looked most likely, which one looked less, and most of all which one looked the most promising? Garnet could see quite a few options actually, the future really able to go in any direction at this point in time, though there was one in particular that caught her foresight. Now where that would go was still a bit sketchy, it could go good or it could go bad, but to her it seemed good out-weighed it quite a bit if they can do this right.

Plus it looked like a lot of fun. It was enough to make Garnet visibly chuckle.

"Got an idea?" Spinel asked.

"Right. But first, I'm gonna teach you a new game," Garnet said, a smile and a point to Spinel's direction.

"Well, I'm always up for a new game, heh. ... What's we playing?" Spinel asked.

~~~~~~

"Greetings, all my faithful subjects!~ It is so wonderful to see all of you again, It's been far too long. YES, I know my form isn't exactly the same as it used to be, but I can assure you I am still all the Diamond I once was. Era 3 is about acceptance of freedom after all, so if I am to remain as this for all of time, then I'll say this: TAKE IT, or LEAVE IT!"

"Yes, very good, you got me covered in goosebumps," Discord said, applauding White Diamond for her practice performance at the barn house. After her short movie and coffee break (yes she did that), the Draconequus decided to lend the Diamond a helping paw and talon in the form of some confidence.

"Now, think you can try it with a bit more flair? And raise your arms higher, it better flaunts that cape," Discord advised, holding up White Diamond's arms up a bit more.

"Discord, are you sure you know what you're doing?" White asked.

"Oh honey, I was once a tyrannical ruler too ... before I got turned to stone - SO I know what it means to show the world that you mean Business. It's all in the presentation, you know that better than anybody!" Discord explained.

"It's much easier though when all my subjects are much smaller than me. Your Jasper's taller than me now, and that's even including my choice of hair appearance!" White Diamond retorted, her fingers running through her diamond-shaped hair. Discord hardly found it that big of a deal.

"Oh appearances appearances, it's all about the how not the what. If a Pearl can be confident and salty, surely a Diamond like you can! ... White, I said raise your arms," Discord said, bringing her arms up higher again. White yanked her arms away from him, Discord being knocked over.

"Cut that out! I appreciate your help, but I'm a Diamond NOT a mannequin. If you're gonna be rough like that, then do it to an actual human display in one of those modifier shops rather than on me," White Diamond said firmly. Discord was actually pleased. However, White Diamond grew flustered again realizing what she just said.

"THERE YOU GO. Look at all that confidence you just showed! That's exactly what I'm talking about," Discord said and praised.

"I-I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I was merely saying -" White suddenly got her mouth shut when Discord got his talon finger over her lips.

"Discord, I'm not trying to be tyrannical anymore, I'm trying to be better. I just don't want to get laugh off the face of my own planet," White Diamond reminded. Discord began to look huffy.

"Yes, but WHO was put in charge of this, hmm?"

"... You."

"So WHO has to listen to what I say?"

"Oh ... Me," White admitted with a roll of her eyes.

"NO NO, you're flip-flopping again. Start from the top!" Discord instructed, only embarrassing White Diamond even more. Thank the stars her subjects weren't there, otherwise she'd never live this down.
Grogar meanwhile was trying his best not to just laugh at them. To think the greatest Diamond, the ruler of the Diamond Authority and all of Gem kind ... acted like such a timid little kid. Whatever happened to her must've really knocked her down a peg, even more than he could do. It never actually bugged him that White and Discord looked the way they do now. Heck, he preferred it this way - makes it easier to face the Harmony Gems without their strongest bit of ammo. Grogar glanced over their way with a one-eye look.

"Wimp. Sumu you'd better have done your job," Grogar very quietly remarked. He'd LOVE to just get out of there and not listen to these idiots.

"Okay, okay ... now does this look more dignified?" she stands straight up with her arms spread out, flashing the colors off of her cape. "- or this? Be honest with me now," she then got into a more formal pose with her cape wrapped around front and behind her as her hand was over where her heart would be. Well, she said be honest.

"You look like you're just over-thinking it."

"Very funny, now which one?" White asked, not in the mood for his snazzy remarks.

But Discord wasn't planning on giving anymore.

Discord looked behind White Diamond for just a moment, and his expression quickly turned to worry, ears folding back and eyes wide like a scared pup. White didn't get where this was coming from, but when she turned around to see what the deal was, she suddenly got scared too.
It took a short minute before something started to loom just beyond the next hill by the barn. It was a little difficult to make out at first, but as it got closer and closer, they could make out a TON of reinforcements. And a lot of creatures. Coming in like a brewing storm, numerous soldiers were marching in right towards the barn, a wall of muscle and intimidation not hesitating for an instant as they continued their assault forward to the building in front of them. Leading the charge though was Tempest Shadow, the figure they both remembered running into back in Canterlot. Captain Nichrome also followed alongside with his own platoon, with others like Bray and Budgerite following as well.
White and Discord were in no position to fight a threat this big.

"There's the barn. GROGAR, you in there?! We're coming in to get ya!" called Budgerite.

"O-Oh no. The army! What do we do?" whimpered White, getting scared all over again.

"I'll take care of this," Discord said, but he'd be darned if he knew how. NOW Grogar began to stir, raising his head to see the cavalry come for him as he'd hoped. The entire army kept moving in, but they ended up stopping at about five feet from them when they saw exactly who they were dealing with. It was enough to make them actually step back to take this in.

"Is that ... White Diamond?" Nichrome asked ... before he started laughing.

"Be quiet! I'm still above someone like you!" White Diamond demanded shakily. But her being so shaky told em otherwise.

"The great Diamond Authority leader is now flustered by one alien? It isn't easy not having all the power in the world, is it?" Tempest pointed out, letting Nichrome laugh as the remark made White Diamond even more pink in the face. The soldiers behind them started to move in and the Storm Creatures were ready to go in for the ram. Discord though was a bit more forward.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Discord shouted, grabbing the nearest large fence post to use as a weapon ... just for a Storm Creature to grab it and snap it like a twig.

"... Oh dear," Discord gulped.
In one quick swing, Discord was knocked right into the nearest tree. White Diamond spread out her arms to try in vain to keep them away from Grogar, only for Tempest to go in and shove White Diamond aside. Both the Draconequus and Diamond tried getting up, but the Storm Creature closest to them got them both pinned down. Just another reminder to them how much more pathetic the two had become without their power.

"That was easy. Now time for -" Then they all saw Grogar. If White Diamond's appearance didn't make them hesitate, Grogar's appearance sure did. Their king now without any horns, and looking a bit weaker than he'd usually be. Grogar could take the hint.

"Sir?!"

"W-WHA?! My lord, you're - you're -" Bray couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Not a word from any of you. Just get me out of here," Grogar made perfectly clear. Tempest got the signal and the Storm Creatures began to work their strength on the magic barrier. Some of them tried slashing with their claws while others used their spears to try and chip away at the barrier. It was gonna take them some time to get it all handled and squared away, all the while White and Discord both were trying to get themselves free.

"Wait, stop! You mustn't!" pleaded White Diamond. Nichrome, taking this opportunity, brought his tar hooves onto White Diamond's head and pushed her down to keep her quiet.

"I'm not taking any orders from someone like you, so I suggest you keep quiet," warned Nichrome.

"Don't take her lightly Nichrome," warned Tempest, "She's still a Diamond."
Just that alone was enough to quickly anger Nichrome as the alien turned to the hornless Unicorn.

"SHE'S the one responsible for locking me away, and her kind responsible for the death of my brother, Tempest! Remember that before you run your furry mouth."

"And I'm equal to you in this ranking Captain Nichrome! So you remember that before you run yours," Tempest warned firmly.

"Get over here or I'll kill you both!" Grogar snapped. At least one of them was giving White Diamond some respect, even if she was on the enemy side. Nichrome would continue to try and show his authority over her, but he'd have to do it later on, because with all of their combined strength the Storm Creatures were starting to make their progress on the barrier, actually making dents and cracks into it where Grogar couldn't. Then in one more swing -

It all broke.

"NO!" gasped White. She and Discord could only watch as the shards of magic scattered around the ground, disappearing quickly. Grogar felt free as he marched right across the barrier boundary, no longer contained by that Alicorn magic.

"Not bad. Glad to be out of that barn."

"My lord!" said Bray, happily going over to him.

"The important matter is your free now. Welcome back," Tempest said, bowing before the king. The others behind her did the same thing before Grogar, in spite of his condition and lack of magic. White Diamond was ... admittedly surprised. With how ruthless many of his monsters were, she was sure they would've at least laughed or something when they saw the goat without his horns.

"Thanks. I'd reward you, Tempest, but ..."

"I can afford to wait. Besides, you'd probably wouldn't reward me anyway. The results I promised weren't ... the best," Tempest admitted. Grogar had time for that later, and strangely just brushed it off.

"Oh nevermind that, you can give me that report later. For now, we got work to do: and we're going to finish off those Harmony Gems right now."

"Right now? As in a full-scale attack? All of us marching in and stomping all over em kind of thing?" asked Budgerite.

"No less what they deserve for doing THIS to me!" Grogar said, showing the stubs that remained of his horns to Bray and Budgerite.

"HEE-HAW! THEY did that to you?!" Bray exclaimed in shock.

"They did that, they locked me up in that barn like I'm some barnyard animal. No one. NOTHING. Locks me up and humiliates me and gets away with it," Grogar growled, his hooves cutting the ice-hard earth underneath him as sparks of lightning shot from his stubs, some of which accidentally shock some of the soldiers. Tempest moved over to Grogar.

"We'll make our attack as soon as you say so, but we still have two "guards" to worry about?" Tempest said, pointing out both White Diamond and Discord nearby.

"Still think you can read me like a book?" Grogar said. Despite being pinned, Discord actually smirked.

"Well, I can tell you are a bad example of taking criticism," Discord remarked, "But we don't need to go all full-out war yet. So hot-headed too, you really need to check someone on that before you blow a blood vessel."

"What are you - oh you know what forget it. Throw em in the barn and lock them away!" Grogar demanded, not wanting to hear anymore of their chattering. The Storm creature picked them up and with a good swing threw them both right into the barn house, Discord managing to land on his feet despite rolling in as White Diamond just fell splat on the floor. The Storm Creatures got what they had closest at hand, and the main door was blocked up by numerous hay bales. Their only exit was the upper window, but no way were they going to get out of there in time to do much of anything.

"What the heck happened to those two anyway? I KNOW White Diamond was at least twenty thirty feet tall," Budgerite asked, getting the obvious out of the way.

"I don't know, and as long as they're irrelevant, I don't care. Let's go," Grogar ordered. White Diamond and Discord were left behind in the barn, unable to budge the door or move any hay out of the way in time. This was getting serious, and White couldn't do anything to mend any of this, or even warn them.

"Discord, you blabbering idiot! Why'd you even say that? There's no possible way to warn our friends now that we're trapped in here," White Diamond snapped. Discord though didn't look as worried about it now that they were alone again. In fact, all he did was walk along towards the back wall, whistling a tune as he did so.

"Are you even listening?" White questioned.

"You want a quick answering line AND an answer for Twilight's voicebox, yes?" Discord asked. A random question.

"... Yes, but what does that got to do with anything?" White Diamond questioned. Discord brought up his tail, and knocked right onto the wall.

*knock**knock*

Grogar's quick temper made him forget something important to him. And that something poked out of the cracks of the barn, and grew into the same face flower.

"G-G-G-Grogar, where'd you g-g-g-g-go?" asked Sumu.

"All I can say: You're welcome," said a smug Discord.

~~~~~~

Back with Steven Universe, the trash bin was now half-way full thanks to his crumbled-up papers, the boy in question now with his head laying on the table. This was much harder than Steven really had thought, as there always was something in the way of pretty much every plan he came up with, be it potential threats like Grogar's Army or the Spirit Council, or more immediate problems like Hessonite. Either way, it wasn't getting anywhere for him and the more he kept trying, the more it seemed that he can't plan this out all on his own.

"Why's this so hard?" Steven groaned, mentally tired. He checked his latest list which at this point was just all crumbled up, and covered in ink from scratching out one thing, writing over others, and overall just looked like a bad case of chicken scratch. Steven eventually just got up.

"Maybe a drink can help me think," Steven said. He hadn't had that much since he got started on this little project anyway. As he went to the sink for some tap water, he began hearing the Warp Pad go off again nearby, this time being Lapis Lazuli instead of Spinel.

"Hi, Steven, how're things going?" Lapis asked, flying in as Steven got his cup of water.

"Oh, hi Lapis. Yeah, I'm fine," Steven simply said, having his drink before sitting back down. He also made sure to get it on another blank page just in case Lapis got a little bit nosy. Steven sat back down as Lapis sat down across him.

"Someone's been busy. What're you writing about?" Lapis asked.

"Oh, it's uhh ... my grocery list," Steven answered, not taking his eyes off of the work he was doing. Lapis looked over to his so-called "grocery list".

"I thought you had Spinel do that for you this morning," Lapis stated.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I did! She just didn't get everything, so I'm working out what's left," Steven replied quickly, trying to cover up his tracks. Lapis relaxed a bit on the table.

"We can work that out for you, Steven. You already got plenty on your plate to do. Why not take a little break?" Lapis offered. Steven shook his head however.

"It's fine, Lapis, I can handle it on my own."

"You sure you don't want to play just a little bit? You had a better work/fun balance before, you can try and make it work now," Lapis tried convincing.

"That was then. This is now," Steven replied, writing in the notebook. Lapis did had to admire his devotion to his work, but experience already told her what happens when getting too caught up in a task that someone wouldn't notice a detail or two. Lapis tried to think what to do next, but as she did, a particular sign held up just outside of Steven's bedroom window gave her what she needed.

"Get on with it" read the sign.

Let's see if it works.

"Hey, Steven. You know something we hadn't done in a long time?" Lapis inquired.

"What's that?" Steven asked.

And three. Two. One.

"STEVEN TAG!"

What the heck? Steven jumped back, stumbling over his seat as he suddenly found himself looking up as a deep blue Steven standing there. Lapis wasn't gonna take no for an answer today, for some reason Steven can't understand. What else: Lapis's "Steven" appearance looked slightly different. Sure she was as tall as Steven and looked as old as he was, but she didn't have the jacket on her, going instead with the blue scarf. Gotta look original somehow.

"The heck, Lapis?!"

"Come on, for old time's sake. You know how the rules work: you get tagged, you turn into Steven," Lapis said cheekily.

"But I'm already Steven!" retorted Steven.

"No you're not. Not yet," Lapis said with a sly grin.

"What do you mean not - WHOA!"
Steven had to bolt for it. Lapis, wanting him to relax and play, jumped for him to try and tag her fun buddy. Steven dodged just fast enough to avoid the tackle and tag, making sure to grab his notebook before doing so. It was a mad scramble to get away from her, and Steven found salvation in the closest room he could get: inside his own bathroom. He quickly got the door shut behind him and even did the extra mile by putting a towel down.

"Come on Steven, your Beach Summer Fun Buddy wants to play," Lapis encouraged.

"Lapis, I'm too busy. I'm NOT playing," Steven said firmly, sitting down just behind the door and on the towel. Lapis tried to get herself in there, but with the door locked and the towel blocking the main entrance for her water hands, she unfortunately had to relent.

"Okay, Steven you win, sorry to bother you. The offers still open if you change your mind," Lapis said.

Then it grew kinda quiet soon after that. Steven waited and waited for some sort of sound but he couldn't hear anything from Lapis, or anyone else for that matter. Awfully quiet since Lapis just started playing with him in this game of tag. Steven did hear what sounded like a Warp Pad going off again, but really that was about it. Steven pressed his ear against the door for a short bit just to be sure that no one was outside to bother him.

A small peek out the door to be sure. ... Nothing.

"That was close. Okay, back to work -"

"Heeere kitty, kitty, kitty."

Spinel and Garnet were in the room now, but lucky for him it didn't look like they were wanting to play with him. In fact they looked a bit busy with something else themselves, Spinel using her arm like a car jack to lift up the couch, as Garnet was checking around Steven's bedroom in some of the drawers.

"Hey Garnet, Spinel. What're you doing?" Steven asked.

"It's Nora," explained Garnet, "I can't find her all morning."

"Nope, no cats or kittens under here," said Spinel before she rested the couch back down.

"Huh. Weird," Steven simply said. Nora they all thought was comfortable in the Beach House during winter, so for her to just take off on em like this was ... well, it might be normal for Cats, they are a bit secretive like that. Garnet looked under some of Steven's pillows before tossing em aside.

"Anywhere you guys hadn't checked yet?"

"Steven, you should check the cabinets," Garnet said.

"Umm, okay," Steven replied. Steven walked over to the kitchen cabinets, assuming Garnet and Spinel were still checking the other parts of the Beach House for the household normal pet. ... underline assuming.

"This cabinet?"

"Yep," said Garnet. HOLDING HER CAT.

"Huh - AAHH!"

"GOTCHA!"

So close! Steven dove aside fast as, out of nowhere, Lapis Lazuli launched herself out of the cabinet and right for him! Lapis even had her water wings open and flew out fast as she could, but even that wasn't enough to catch her favorite human. Missing him though, she went for the next best thing: Spinel and Garnet. She got them both in her launch, Nora jumping out of the way as the other two Gems were now on the ground.

"What an unforeseen turn of events," said Garnet.

"You know the rules," said Lapis. Garnet sure did. However, when she turned into Steven, her outlook was somewhat similar to him but the look here still had Garnet's visors on. Spinel, laying face down on the ground, peeked over to Lapis and Garnet.

"Ya sure this is gonna help him?" Spinel quietly asked.

"Eeyup. But either way she tagged you. Now YOU have to turn into Steven. It's the rules," Garnet said.

"In that case. Steven power ON!" Well if Garnet believed so, why wouldn't Spinel? It took a quick change of form, but Spinel did end up getting Steven's outlook down right, and now looked like a dark pink goth Steven with her three-marked mascara on her cheeks.

"Not bad for her first try," complimented Lapis.

*creak*

The three wolves turned fast to find their prey was sneaking away.

"SEE YA!" Steven only had time to glance back once before all three of them tried to go for him again, but while Garnet and Lapis tried to keep to Steven's body to get him, Spinel almost immediately started stretching her arm out to try and get him. Even without his Gem powers Steven proved to be tricky to grab as he kept dodging Spinel's arms, jumping one side to avoid her left, and ducking down fast to dodge her right before bolting away to the bedroom. He just got up the stairs and on his bedroom floor when Spinel hopped up and shot out both arms. Steven jumped up to avoid then but -

*stomp* "YOWCH!"

"Sorry Spinel," Steven said, quickly jumping off Spinel's noodle arms. He hardly had time to check her though as he saw the other two honed in. He only had his blanket to hide under.

For a few seconds.

"Hiding under the covers are we?~"

"AAHH!" Steven got his blanket and had to bolt away again, tumbling down the stairs to get some distance. In this crazy game of Steven Tag, he had to get his act together and quick, otherwise he'd be playing this game forever! ... Then he got an idea. It was a gutsy one, but he had to take the chance.

"Step off!" Steven shouted, throwing his blanket good and high above them.

"Sneak attack!" screamed Spinel. The trio got covered by Steven's trusty blanket, leaving them all blinded a second as Steven ran for it. Just after they got the blanket off of them, they all suddenly started to hear the sound of a particular bathroom door open.

"Nowhere to go. Here we come, Steven!" Lapis said. She, Garnet, and Spinel immediately bolted right into the bathroom ... only to find Steven wasn't there.
In a quick shove, the door behind them closed up tight. He couldn't lock the door from outside, so he went for the next best thing and threw his blanket over there instead of some flimsy towel. Was it gonna be enough? He saw the blanket get nudged a little bit, but that was about it.

*phew* "That should keep em busy for a while. Maybe now I can get some work done in peace," Steven told himself, sitting back down and resting his notebook on it. He had to get something handled here, at least a little bit while the others were stuck behind that door. Speaking of doors, before Steven could even get another word in, he started hearing another door open up just beside him. He jumped and readied to run, but this was the beach door that opened up this time, with Flint standing there with a snow shovel.

"Steven calm down, it's just me. Is everything alright in here?" Flint asked.

"Oh good it's you. It's Garnet, Lapis and Spinel, they're playing Steven Tag to mess with me!"

"Steven Tag? Haven't heard that game in a while," Flint remarked. "Here, mind putting this away for me while I get this snow off?"

"Oh, sure I can -" Steven suddenly stopped himself and looked at Flint suspiciously, "Wait a minute ... this isn't another trick is it? And isn't Fulgurite and Emerald supposed to shovel the snow?"

"Trick what trick? It snowed a lot lately, and I thought of clearing it out that's all. Besides, Fulgurite and Emerald are shoveling Little Homeworld already. But I get it if you don't wanna do it. I'll just set it in my room for later," Flint concluded. Everything seemed to sound legit, and for a moment maybe Flint wasn't in on this game. Or even if he was, he'd probably wouldn't want to play anyway. He wasn't that kind of Gem. Unfortunately for Flint, there was another surprise waiting just behind the Temple door.

Two to be exact. One Jasper Steven, and one Bismuth Steven.

"Wrong door," said Bismuth.

"FLINT, LOOK OUT!" Steven shouted. Lapis must've got them both while he was in the bathroom the first time! Flint gasped and acted fast, using the snow shovel as if it were some sort of shield to block off Jasper and Bismuth's attempts to get him. Steven kept his back by the beach door as he watched this battle go down in his own house, Flint holding up fairly well at first.

"You're not getting me that easy," said Flint.

"Come on, Flint, you can't get outta this! Take it like a Harmony Gem!" said Bismuth smugly.

Spinel finally got the blanket moved and the bathroom door opened that is.

"Steven!" shouted Garnet.

"How'd you get out so fast?!" Steven shouted. However, hearing Flint's fight with Jasper and Bismuth made them temporarily switch targets, and Flint's two turned into five. Flint noticed them coming his way, and reacted fairly quickly with his snow shovel, blocking them as well. It almost seemed like Flint was giving them a hard run for their money, and even used that Shovel to scoop them up and throw them all back towards the Gem door. It always was impressive to see a professional fighter.

"You shouldn't have messed with me," Flint said. But then he made one fatal mistake ... turning his back on them.

"Steven, you ok - GAAHH!"

Spinel got him, right in the back. Shock ran through his face as he felt her hand touch him, the hit enough to bring Flint down to his hands and knees. And then, silence.

"... HA! Joke's on you: Flint doesn't play games!" Steven shouted. He HAD to have got them here. ... He told himself that, at least. But there was more surprises in store today, as Flint's body started to change shape.

"The power of Steven Tag COMPELS ME!"

It was no use, Flint couldn't fight it. Taking it like a Harmony Gem, Flint was suddenly now a Steven! He till had some pride in him to see a bit of the light armor on him, but everything else was still all Steven. Who'd of thought Flint would go and join this silly game? The others sure looked pleased seeing him do this, some even lifting him up off the ground.

"Wow. Good for him," Steven said with a smile.

... Then they all looked daggers at Steven.

...

"Enemies approaching ... RUN!" Steven's mind rang out.

"AAAHHHH!"
Run was all Steven could think now. All of his friends succumb to the tagged side, and Steven had to keep ahead of them. Lapis, Garnet, Spinel, Jasper, Bismuth, EVEN FLINT! They all were dead set on him, charging fast and trying their absolute best to catch Steven. Without any of his powers, Steven had to rely on pure luck to get out of their reach. How the heck could any of this happen?! Throughout their run through the house, the Gems were pulling all the stops to try and touch him, to try and get him involved in their game whether he wanted to or not. Steven tried everything with these Gems, but no matter how many dodges he made they wouldn't stop:
Spinel and Lapis tried jumping for him from the kitchen (Lapis jumping out the fridge and Spinel from the faucet sink) when he tried hiding behind the kitchen counter.
Steven couldn't get the Warp Pad started fast enough to avoid Jasper, Bismuth, and Garnet from almost jumping all over him in the back cave section of the house.
Even Flint kept surprising him here and there and everywhere thanks to his camouflage cloak making him appear as if he was always coming out of nowhere.

Steven did find a very brief moment when he used the shield Spinel got him, blocking off many of them from jumping on him as he slid to the back wall. A short moment, but they all knew it wouldn't last forever.

"You can't hide forever, Steven! Come on over to our side," Bismuth encouraged.

"When I'm not so BUSY!" Steven shouted, getting just enough strength to shove them all back, launching them away from him as they kinda got in a pile across the room.

"I gotta get a headstart. I just need -"

Steven found it.

"AAAAHHHH!"

Right out the window?!?! Rushing out from his bedroom, Steven was a bit desperate to get some distance away from them. Maybe they saw him do it, maybe they didn't, but either way he got his headstart at price of landing hard into the snowy sand below. At least he had his shield to break the fall on the way down, and since he was going down a hill he actually got the shield turned into a sled for sliding down into some snow bank nearby. He got his moment to breathe after he got himself out of the snow.

"They can't keep those forms forever. I'll just have to wait here until they give up ... shouldn't be too hard," Steven told himself.

"Steeeven, come out and plaaay~" called Spinel. Steven looked just passed the shield just to find the numerous Stevens rushing out to try and find him. Steven was out of sight for the moment, but he knew it wouldn't take very long. Still he had a moment to actually think about it.

"Why's everyone freaking out today? Okay, let's run it through: You woke up. You had Spinel go shopping -"

"Good hiding. But gotta work on your sound though."

Steven spoke too loud, and Jasper was the first to find him.

"Seriously quit it! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY!" Steven demanded one more time.

"You don't have a choice!" Jasper replied. Steven had to pull the shield down to keep Jasper off of him. He turned and made a beeline down the beach with shield in hand, knowing launching an orange version of himself was exactly what would catch everyone else's attention. He could hear them starting to run after him just after he got a ten foot head start, still giving Steven a lot of head time to figure out where to even go.

"Gotta keep ahead of them. There's gotta be some way to make em stop," Steven said. Before Steven could figure out what -

"You know Captains get the drinks first, you idiot!"

Nichrome.

No way would that be happening right now. But he knew that voice just a little bit too well. And the voices were just beyond the next bend in the path. Sure enough, just as he looked over down the beach, he found that this part of the beach was being invaded by Grogar's Army! Tempest Shadow, Nichrome, Bray, Budgerite, they all were there along with their numerous soldiers following along behind. And guess who was leading the charge right in front of them all.

"Get your drink later, Nichrome, we got some rocks to finish. They're close ..." Tempest said. This was only making Nichrome more angry with her, as this also meant giving his soldiers a break from him.

"You're doing that on purpose aren't you?" Nichrome said.

Steven ... went for broke. Putting the shield down nearby, and with the Gems closing in behind, Steven ran out in a rush, right in front of the army. Steven wasn't running away from them either, but rather running towards them.

"Grogar!" Steven shouted, getting their attention even though they saw him already.

"HA, look at the hero all brave and alone. Happy to see me?" Grogar mocked, ready to fight him.

"YEAH! Don't go anywhere!"

The awkwardness was way too strong. It only got weirder when Steven raced right up to the ram and got behind him, much to everyone's confusion.

"The heck are you doing? This is a BAD THING for you!" asked Bray, obviously confused as he moved back from this crazy kid.

"No this is great! Now that you're here, they'll HAVE to stop playing with me and take me seriously!" Steven said hopefully. Not ANOTHER mind game! Did he not realize what he was doing, or was he really that desperate to get everyone off his back? That was the main question going through the army's mind, but they weren't gonna miss this moment of stupidity.

"Who am I to argue with luck? NAB HIM!" ordered Nichrome. Steven was immediately tackled down by Nichrome's troops, and with no powers to back him up Steven was quickly pinned to the ground by just one large bull. The large bull snorted in Steven's face, keeping him from getting away with its own hooves forcing down him into the snow. And not a moment too soon, because just moments after getting pinned down, they all began hearing more people coming their way.

Starting with Spinel.

"Yooo-hooo! Steven, you can't hide from - G-GROGAR!!!" Spinel shrieked, at the same time as everyone else came over expecting to just find Steven, only to find the army waiting for them. Their sudden game of fun screeched to a halt, but finding them all there (albeit Steven-ized) was just making it all too easy for Grogar.

"Before we kill eachother, what's with the get-up?" Budgerite asked.

"Does it matter? We got them all here. Prepare to surrender!" Grogar warned one more time.

Now in any typical sense they would get out of their Steven forms, get armed up and start the fight with this army of Grogar's. Steven was hoping they would, and they kinda had to now that a legitimate threat was standing right in front of them, not to mention Steven being stuck on the ground.

"Anytime guys! We have to stop and get them out of here before they hurt everyone!" Steven shouted. He would anyway.

They couldn't believe what was about to happen next. ... And it wasn't what Steven would ever expect.

"Guess we gotta update the game," said Garnet.
The idea of "updating the game" was not what they had in mind. Rather than forming back and fighting them, Garnet instead went over Jasper. With a smirk on her own face, Jasper and Garnet held hands and they both only needed a few good seconds of dancing, before the two of them began to glow their o so familiar flash of light. They all already knew exactly what was coming, and as their size grew beyond everyone there, the fusion stood up before all of them. Her hair tossed back behind her, her colors gleaning in the light, she was ready.

"TO THIS."

"Carnelian?!" Steven gasped. What a sight for sure eyes this fusion, and for most of the army she came pretty much out of nowhere. A bit exccessive, but at first Steven was glad they were gonna at least pause the Steven Tag game for the sake of stopping this invasion. However, Steven quickly realized that Carnelian here looked a little bit different here, now having Steven's overall look but with four arms instead.

"You fused - WHOA!"

Almost immediately, as the other players scattered out of sight, Carnelian rushed forward with all of her strength, tossing a bunch of snow into the air in her powerful stomp, scattering away much of the army AND Steven. The game's kicked back on again, and army or no army they were gonna finish it!

"HEY! That's dangerous!" Steven shouted as he ran off up the beach again. Good thing the shield wasn't too far away. He grabbed that quick and got to using it, but instead as an actual shield he got it on the ground, and basically used it kinda like a sled again, but using his foot to push forward faster.

"W-Where'd that titan come from? She nearly squashed us," said Bray, shivering a bit and it wasn't because of the snow. Tempest though got back onto her hooves and checked the fusion before she went off away. She could see the stars on her body.

"That fusion's one of them!"

"I don't care if they ALL fused! AFTER THEM!" Grogar roared. He wasn't gonna let this golden opportunity slip him by, not today and not ever!
The shield sure was doing a good job sliding on the snow though, giving the army behind him (or what didn't get knocked out by Carnelian's stomp) a bit of a rougher time trying to catch up with him. But as they were rushing along, they were just about to run in a much bigger problem. Someone NONE of them would even expect, even more than Carnelian.

And the fusion was standing just by a snow-covered tree, waiting for them.

"Malachite?!" Steven gasped. Malachite. Jasper and Lapis's less-than-normal Fusion, after years had FINALLY come out to play. AND FOR STEVEN TAG! The fusion was such an old sight to see, but while this did surprise a lot of the army, Steven's smile quickly went away when he realized Malachite looked a bit different. A bit more like him. She had the same hair and colors bit the rest was completely "Steven-ified", even the two sets of back legs put closer together so it looked more like Steven's two legs.

Part of Steven felt so proud of Lapis and Jasper. But on the other hand ...

"I'm still not playing!" Steven called, good and loud.
Unfortunately for him, either Malachite didn't hear him or she were too in the zone to care, because Malachite began to start up a whole new move of her own. With a bit of Lapis's water powers and Jasper's strength, Malachite started to gather a ton of snow off the ground, morphing them into giant snow boulders before tossing them at him! Oh boy.
Steven had to think fast on his pre-made sled, thinking like he was on a skateboard as he rushed left to right to dodge these giant snowballs. As for the army behind him though, they weren't having it so easy, and a lot of Tempest's storm creatures were whacked good and hard like a bunch of bowling pins. Two strikes behind him. The army went from chasing to running away, Steven picking up Bray and Budgerite as the two jumped onto his sled for safety.

Didn't take much longer before all three of them crashed into a pile of snow, getting kicked out of the sled before landing into the snow. What remained of the army started to close in on him, as for some reason Malachite had already disappeared by the time she was done. The Donkey and Bird Gem were quick to get to Steven as he was on the ground, but as they all were busy with him, none of them were aware of yet another player in this game.

With everyone else distracted, yet ANOTHER fusion found their position up on the next rooftop of the Beach House. This fusion of course was a bit smaller than the other two, but that didn't mean they were gonna be out of the game. Standing on the rooftop was yet another Steven-ified fusion, this one a grayish blue tinted color though, and while again mostly looking like Steven, but the third crystalline eye suggested otherwise. Flint and Sapphire's fusion had come out to play this Steven Tag game, and they were bringing the big guns.
Or Ruby to be precise. Bringing out their own Gem weapon (it looked like a bazooka) Ruby actually was put inside the weapon from the front like ammunition. With Flint's accuracy put into the fusion, they looked directly towards the target far down below them.

Angelite has joined the game.

"Target. Acquired," Angelite said. They saw Steven's jacket from a mile away, and with the army still trying to get him, they wasted no time.

Ruby shot out immediately from the bazooka.

"YAAAAAHHHH!" coming in like a fireball, Ruby barreled right into the snow-covered beach, again sending another miniature snow cloud up in the air and a few more soldiers launched back. It was not a good showing for Grogar's Army to keep getting pummeled around like this, fusion or not. But the Gems weren't the only one able to play the speed game, for as the snow began to clear ...

"... A snowman? With Steven's jacket? ... NNNNOOOOOOOO!"

Steven weasel'd his way out of there just long enough to finally keep himself out of harm's way. He only managed to hide away from the others by getting behind another snowbank, this one being closer to the cliff side. He felt chilly without his jacket, tired from all the running, and now he just needed a minute to regather himself. But he can confirm one thing ...

"They'll never stop until they make me play," Steven correctly confirmed. Why, who even knows? But with the Gems on one side and the army on the other, he was basically facing this problem by himself. Steven clenched his fists, ready to go but then he realized something when checking back again. He didn't see the Gems (who knows where they were), and most of Grogar's Army had turned tail and ran much to Grogar's anger. However, while he saw Grogar, Tempest, and Bray with the very dazed Budgerite -

"Hold on. One. Two. Three ... someone's miss - MMPH!"

"Ssssshhhush, shush shush shush," said Nichrome, seconds after doing a good sneak attack on the boy and wrapping his tar-like leg around his mouth to keep him quiet. He wasn't gonna let Steven slip away, and after his humiliation back in the Strawberry Battlefield, he's not screwing up again.

"You're not getting away from me like that, Steven. Now be a good boy, and meet your maker," Nichrome warned, obviously referring to Grogar off outside. Although the Gems were still looming somewhere, Nichrome tried forcing Steven to come out of hiding. Steven though was a more tougher fish than he was last time they messed with eachother, and he started to thrash and get all his strength together, trying to force Nichrome off of him. He did end up getting his mouth free so he can breathe.

"Oh no you don't!" Steven managed to say, getting his foot up and using the cliff side wall, gathered just enough strength to push Nichrome off of him, making the alien roll in the snow before he could find his hooves.

"I don't want to fight, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna hold back," Steven warned. Nichrome shook off the hit.

"Tell that to your rejuvenated gemstone. There's no Gem or Pony here, Steven," Nichrome smirked. Steven was wondering if he was being serious or not, but he didn't have to worry about Nichrome for long.

"YAAAHHHHH!" One jumpscare and Nichrome was freaking out. Leave it to Spinel to pop up literally outta nowhere to scare the daylights out of this alien, eyes a fiery pink with her teeth sharpened and buzzing like chainsaw blades (don't ask), and her clown hands turning into sharp icy claws.

"Keep your distance, buddy! ... Now ... TAG!" Spinel turned and tried one more time to get Steven, but -

"SPINEL STOP! Just stop, okay?! For the last time, I DON'T WANT TO PLAY!" Steven shouted. There was only so much Steven could take before his patience would just quit, and that yelling was indeed enough to make Spinel huddle up into a ball, and change her form back to her normal self. Steven needed a second.

"What's going on with you guys? I enjoy a game as much as the next Universe, but now's not the time! Why're you all so willing to play with me today anyway?" Steven continued, growing frustrated with not just Spinel but for everyone else involved. He didn't even get his list planned out, and the world's jumping all over him all at once - literally at some points! Spinel ... well, she dun goofed.

"I ... uhh ..."

"What did you do?" Steven asked, turning around to face the Gem. Spinel sure looked guilty.

"Eeeehhh ... remember earlier today, when you told me all that ... Happily Ever After stuff?" Spinel said meekly, already expecting the worst. Steven could already tell where Spinel was going with this, and didn't even give her a chance to continue.

"You told them, Spinel?!"

"No! I-I mean, I guess, I did chat with Garnet about it but not anything specific. And heck if I know where the others came from, I just talked to Garnet and she showed me this "Steven Tag" game," Spinel explained. Only to gravely add "... she might've gotten the full picture anyway."

"Ooohhh, Spinel of course she'd gotten the full picture - it's Garnet!" Steven retorted, more frustrated with himself rather than her for just blabbering on about the whole "Happily Ever After" list, "This is tough for me, okay? I-I mean, it feels like no matter how much I try something always keeps getting in the way: Hessonite, Grogar, White Diamond, and now this! I just WANT our Happily Ever After to actually happen, is that too much to ask?"
Spinel really was starting to regret even hearing what Steven had to say, let alone talking to anyone else about it. She looked down to the ground in a bit of shame, but she wasn't the only one who actually heard all of this.

"I'm just trying to be more ready. I don't want to disappoint you guys, but ..."

Steven then began to feel something wrap around his waist. Lucky for him though it wasn't another attack, but instead a soft group hug from not only Spinel, but from the others too. Specifically Lapis, Ruby, and Sapphire. They were planning to jump him, but after hearing all of that, that didn't sound very appropriate right now. Besides, they were feeling a little bit guilty too.

"Please try to forgive us, Steven," said Sapphire.

"We didn't mean to make it harder for you," added Lapis.

"Or hurt your feelings," added Ruby.

"We just wanna help you," finished Spinel.

Steven looked down to them all, each Gem hugging him looking up to him with a bit of a sad face.

"We're sorry," the four said sadly. Steven stayed quiet, but he did eventually smile. How could he stay mad at any of them for wanting to help?

"I wanna help you guys too," Steven said, one hand gently resting on Spinel's head. "and, you know ... it was actually pretty nice to spend time with y-"

Before Steven could finish, they started to hear something start to come up from the ground. It looked small under neath the snow, yet Steven and Spinel still jumped when seeing it emerge from the ground. But a quick shake showed not just a lump of snow, but a small plant poking out of the ground. A little late to the party, but Sumu finally got herself to the beach house. She took a few shakes to get the snow off of her, very cold and shaky from being out in the open like this.

"Hi," said Sumu.

"What the? Who're you?" Steven asked.

"I'm the Plunder Vines. We met a long time ago, Steven, and I'm not late am I?" Sumu said.

"Late for what?"

"Well there's a -" Sumu paused when she kept hearing the sounds of the army looming off just outside of Steven's hiding place. She peeked over the mound they were hiding behind just to see Grogar, Sumu, and Tempest there at attention. She, Spinel, and Steven all looked to them, just to see Nichrome reporting to Grogar where Steven was, albeit a bit shaky thanks to Spinel's scare.

"Oh. I guess you already know," Sumu simply said.

"We got to handle him before he takes his anger out on the town," said Bismuth. Which now that she brought it up, was a surprise that they didn't get noticed in town by now. But as he looked one more time to Grogar waiting off outside, Grogar started to talk.

"The Game's up, Steven! We got you completely surrounded, and if you don't come out now and give yourself up, we'll march right over and tear up your town down to the last board!" Grogar warned.

"I just said that," Bismuth thought.

Even with all this, Steven took a glance over back to the Beach House and got an idea.

"Sumu, how fast are you with fetching things?" Steven asked.

"I can move a Alicorn from the Everfree Forest to the Rose Fountain in just a minute. Why?"

...

Minutes ticked by, and Grogar's army was still waiting outside for them. Like some hungry wild dog, Grogar was pacing back and forth over and over again, waiting for his prey to come out of their little hiding place. Nichrome wouldn't go back in there not with that jumpscare waiting for them, and Tempest was more waiting at attention more than anything.

"You'd think he'd come out by now, what's keeping him? He wouldn't let us stomp all over town would he?" Budgerite asked.

"I don't know, anything can happen with this guy. Moping, killing, messing around -"

"Shut up, Bray. He'll come out if he knows what's good for his friends. Just you watch," Grogar warned. Though as he pained to admit it Bray wasn't wrong. Steven had been kinda all over the place lately, so who knows what would happen now? He could only hope that Steven would come out the way he wanted him to, WITHOUT any catch.
The army though didn't have to wait very long before Steven would come out though. What remained of Grogar's current army looked up towards the Beach House after they all heard a bit of a loud stomp from a distance away. There was Steven Universe, standing over in front of the Beach House door rather than that snow bank. In the time they last saw him though he had gone through an outfit change: a thicket snow coat with a hoodie over his head, and a pair of gloves over his hands They knew it was Steven from his face mainly.

"I didn't want to do this ... but you left me no choice. ... I JOIN THE GAME!!!"

Game on.

"GET HIM!" Grogar shouted. The army started rushing for him, but rather than charge in as expected, Steven apparently backed up until he was back inside the Beach House. It took just moments later for them to rush the door, smashing it into pieces as they went right in. Strangely though, Steven was just standing there near the back of the room, face aimed down to the floor. One of the bulls immediately started charging at him, but Steven didn't budge an inch. In fact, he seemed to smirk, as if he wanted the bull to charge at him. The second the bull made contact with Steven ...

The bull got launched back, RIGHT into the rest of them, launching them all outside! "Steven" himself didn't even move an inch, as if being charged by the bull no longer even fazed him as he walked back outside, cracking his neck and his fists.

"How'd he do that?! He's just a skimpy little Diamond," gasped Bray. But then they all looked over to Steven as he lifted his head, a strangely ... satisfying smirk on "his" grin. Tempest took a closer look from where she was, and saw something entirely different, glistening from the forehead.

That wasn't Steven. That's Garnet!

"That's not the Diamond," Tempest realized, sparks shooting out of her horn. Garnet revealed herself in full after jumping off of the front porch, the gloves suddenly expanding and shredding off to reveal her much larger glove gauntlets. She got them aimed and launched them off in rocket gloves, making the remains of Grogar's army scatter away from the explosion, kicking up a huge snowstorm again, just for them to hear -

"Looking for me?" called Steven. Rather than the beach house, Steven was seemingly standing off over by the cliffside, leaning against a rock and waving hello to them, just before going out of sight behind said beach rock. Of course the army started to head over there, this time being Nichrome's platoon with his beasts in toe, quickly surrounding most of the rock.

"Come out with your hands raised, and we'll let you live," Nichrome said.

"Hands raised? Okay, you mean LIKE THIS?" said a completely different voice from behind the rock, just for Steven to take the giant boulder, and raise it right above his head like it was nothing. Nichrome really wished he was somewhere else after seeing that.
Seeing Jasper's gemstone told this this wasn't Steven either. Jasper had been waiting for a strong fight with Grogar, so she didn't waste anytime with chucking the huge boulder at the group like she would a basketball, hitting at least four more bulls at once as Nichrome raced off. It'd be better to be a live coward than a dead warrior anyday.

"Touchdown," Jasper smugly grinned.

Grogar wasn't about to be shown up like this, so he decided to charge in himself right towards Jasper, head down even though he didn't have any horns to use. All Jasper did when she saw this was lower her head, and summon her own Headshield before meeting the Ram head on. Since he didn't have any horns to cushion the blow, Grogar got knocked back farther than he'd like, skidding on the ground. Grant it, the ram was hard enough to leave a crack in the headshield.

"Not bad," Jasper "complimented".

"It's another dirty trick!" Grogar growled.

"And it's a dirty trick to say you ditched your army isn't it?" Jasper remarked. Though to be fair, she knew he would probably lie to her anyway. Grogar snarled at her, but he had bigger fish to fry than the Orange Quartz. Steven was his target of interest, and he was gonna find him -

"Over here!" called Steven again. They looked around a bit more until they found Steven yet again, only this time he seemed to be standing over near the shoreline, his back facing away from them.

"No more games, you're all -"

"Sir, wait!" Tempest cut in, having the guts to stand between him and "Steven".

"Tempest, move!"

"Sir, the first two were Gems in disguise, the first one Garnet, the second one Jasper. If they're doing that, who do you think THAT is?" Tempest explained. Grogar looked back to Steven by the shoreline, realizing quick what she meant. This moment gave Garnet and Jasper enough time to get to eachother, but Bray and Budgerite were still rushing in at the Steven anyway.

"We got him, sir!" called Bray, galloping in like a mad stallion. In a battle cry, he and Budgerite jumped right at Steven, tackling what they thought was him right to the ground ... only to get covered in snow by the snowman Steven.

"WHAT, AGAIN?!" Budgerite snapped, throwing the coat over her head as Bray shook off the snow. They were catching on quick though, and the Gems knew it.

"Dang it, they catch on fast," Jasper remarked.

"Time to up'n the game," Garnet simply said, her fist clenched as she side-whacked the cliff wall.
What happened next went just too fast for some to realize at first. The winter snow had really piled up on these cliffs, and with all the power struck on the wall it was easily enough to shake off a good avalanche. Garnet and Jasper made a bolt for it away from the scene, as the huge pile suddenly slammed down on the beach. Tempest, Bray, and Budgerite were just out of the way, but Grogar found himself just underneath the oncoming heap of snow.

"GROGAR!"
Grogar suddenly felt someone struck his side, making him skid off a ways just before the heaps of snow could collapse on top of him. It was a rather rough tackle away, and by the time he came back around, he saw Tempest stuck about half way in the snow, her front body free but her back legs caught within the trap. The sturdy unicorn did just manage to pull herself out, but the snow's damage made her just too weak to continue the fight.

"Uhh, sir?" muttered Budgerite.

"Don't ask any questions now!" Grogar demanded.

"But which one is he?!"

Grogar, Bray, and Budgerite found themselves in company of a lot of Stevens, each one looking exactly the same as the other as they all stood in a circle around him. The same pink hoodie, the same gloves covering their hands, the same sort of facing so they couldn't see who was who straight away. None of them looked to be the real one but nothing said otherwise either. Seeing all this made Bray panic on the spot.

"IT'S A STEVEN CULT! Don't let them take me!" Bray pleaded, burying his face in the snow as if that would hide him completely. Budgerite gripped onto Grogar as the Ram tried to figure out which one Steven actually was. Grogar wasn't gonna run though, keeping his firm ground against this Steven group.

"A-Any suggestions? Which one is he?" Bray said, his voice muffled in the snow.

"Well that should be more than easy - they all look exactly alike," Budgerite said, freaking out herself.

"Ok pick one, uhh, uhh, uhh YOU! CHARGE!" Bray randomly picked a random Steven and charged right for it, but the second he did he felt like he ran into a brick wall, tumbling back with him seeing stars. Guess she wasn't Steven, whoever that was. Bray tried the one next to that one, this time kicking to avoid a headache. That just gave his hooves a sore instead.

"Some disguises. I KNOW Steven wouldn't be dumb enough to stand here, so you might as well show yourselves," Grogar made clear. Confident in spite of these odds stacked against him. Looking to one another, one of them nodding, they all started to do just that, taking off the hoodie and gloves and changing back to form. The first one to do this was Lapis.

"Grogar, look, if you surrender now we'll treat you as a prisoner of war," said Lapis.

"To Tartarus with that! The day I surrender to you is the day your sun falls out of the sky. Steven's such an idiot keeping me this close to you," Grogar said, his hoof scraping the ground and ready for another charge.

"Steven risked everything to try and help you, and you know it," Lapis stated firmly.

"I never said he didn't help me: NOW I know you all got those fancy Warp Keys and giving me a look around Ponyville and Beach City. Thanks for the information for my new Tambalon," Grogar scoffed.

"You good-for-nothing - let's knock him off this beach," Spinel said.

"Wait!"

Here we go again. He knew a full on fight now would end badly either way, be it for the Ram or the Gems, so Steven finally got himself out of hiding and got to standing at the front, in between the Gems and Grogar. Again.

"Steven, get out of the way -" Jasper would go in, but Garnet didn't let her this time and raised a hand to keep her back. Grogar couldn't believe this.

"You haven't learned anything. I will have my kingdom whether you like it or not," Grogar huffed. This was almost the same scenario as last time, and Steven won himself a trip to the healing fountains for it. The Ram barred his teeth, and opened his jaws to grab Steven and give him another good thrashing. After all, his main target was him and now he was out in the open. Grogar lunged for him.
Suddenly everything stopped. Rather than get bitten again, Steven actually swung around, and using as much strength as he could, he got both hands around his muzzle and he clamped Grogar's mouth shut. The ram stopped altogether, trying to get his mouth free but Steven was surprisingly sturdy even without his powers, and kept his ground.

"Grogar, wait a minute, think about what you're doing," Steven said.

Grogar forced out of his grip, "Oh no don't you start that. I got a kingdom to make."

"Yeah you do, but how're you gonna maintain it if you're taken out? Look, you're wounded, you're alone, and we all know who's going to win here. They flattened your Army, and they weren't even trying to - they were just trying to get me! Do I even need to mention that your army mostly left you too? For real this time."

"I still have some of my troops with me," Grogar stated defiantly. Jasper pointed to them with a bit of disappointment.

"Don't look at them, they're not gonna help you," Jasper spat. Grogar went over the idea in his head some more, looking back to what remained: Bray and Budgerite were huddled over by the slightly roughly-shaped Tempest Shadow. A hybrid Gem and a mule shivering in fear and a scarred Unicorn in no shape to continue. Weakened, alone, and no one helping him just as Steven and company said.

"... Hey. When you're right," Grogar admitted.

"It's true," muttered Bray, as he cracked the sore muscles in his neck. Moral support was the best they're gonna get, and with all the other factors suddenly stacked against him (or at least pointed out to him), well ...

He turned around.

"... I hate myself. Tempest, on my back. Bray, Budgerite, we're leaving."

"Huh? Going, for what?" asked Bray. Grogar didn't answer him, as he got Tempest up onto his back. He'll have to handle her later, but for now, there were too many odds stacked against him to make this fight end any other way. At least here he can walk away from the field rather than get launched away. It was ... weird. But no one went after him as he started to go away on his own accord, what remained of his troops following behind. Except for little Sumu that is, who looked on with the other Gems.

The Gems looked over to Steven.

"I'm sorry guys. I never should've let him have a second chance. He nearly destroyed everything again," Steven said with a sigh. Still, that didn't mean he didn't have any support, as Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I love how you believe in everyone. You stuck to your principles, and I'm proud of you. Everyone can change, but not everyone wants to," Garnet explained.

"Yeah. ... but you gotta admit, that went well. I mean, it could've ended a LOT worse," Steven sighed. The Gems were happy still, all the same.

"Steven. We're so proud of the person you've become," said Garnet, giving her hybrid a thumbs up.

"YEAH! That's part of why we wanted to play Steven Tag with you so bad," said Spinel.

"But if you need to go back to your schedule now, we'll understand," finished Flint.

"Steven Tag? What's that?" Sumu asked, confused a little bit.

...

"Well, it kinda goes ... like THIS!" Suddenly before any of them could realize it, Steven was now on top of Sumu, tackling the plant and basically tagging her. Sumu was surprised, Spinel just laughing.

"TAG! Now you have to turn into me and tag the others."

"Oh, that sounds easy. Like this?" Sumu started to pull out a few more of her vines together, keeping her head where it was supposed to be as the vines started to slowly form up a more human-like shape. Soon, Sumu was suddenly steven-ified, even including the jacket and everything.

"Perfect!"

Sumu smiled, as Steven turned to the others.

"You all better run."

"OH NO, SCATTER!" Spinel yelped, laughing all the while as the others got their distance.

The schedule can wait just a few more hours.

Author's Note

AND finally done with this one. How long has it been since they played a good game of Steven Tag anyway? Even with a army now on the loose it doesn't hurt to unwind every now and then. ... Whether you want to or not apparently X3.

Just One Day

お嬢様、トワイライトさま、大変申し訳ございませんが、今は旅行の時間ではありません。はい、私たちはあなたの病気を知っていて、それを治療しますが、冬の吹雪は今のところ危険すぎます。条件が再び旅行するのが正しいとすぐに、我々はあなたに知らせます。

署名：アキラ卿。

"Why didn't I think about the local weather before asking?" thought a grumbling Twilight as she looked over and translated the Neipponese message. Bad enough she couldn't talk to anyone thanks to the Plunder Vine smoke, but Lord Akira didn't seem to be that much help either. She simply sat there, looking into the mirror she had in her room, as princesses usually tend to have, seeing a pony who has seen far better days: tired baggy eyes, and numerous swirls and strands in her mane.
Yep, she looked simply bad this morning.

All she can give for her opinion was a loud raspberry.

"Okay, this is NOT gonna work. Okay, Twilight. You can do this ..." Twilight thought to herself, trying to relax and not look as tired. She had to get herself together before she could go out there. With a bit of magic she began pulling out her brush and started to work out the knots in her mane. She only got in a few strokes in said mane without any trouble when her eyes started to glance around towards a particular picture sitting just beside the desk.
Twilight's face started to look more concerned, or at the least a bit more longing when she looked to that picture, so much so that she was not aware of the glow emitting from her horn. ...

*poke* "GAHH!"

Now she had to find out how to get porcupine quills out of her mane. Great. As Twilight tried to figure out what the hay to do, she got another message coming in from one of her personal guards knocking on her door ... and he was kinda paused when he saw the princess of friendships looking like the porcupine that was strolling out of the room beside him

"Is now a good time, princess?" the pegasus guard asked. Twilight would typically shake her head, but given the question she went for a different approach: getting a piece of paper from her stack with a ink quill pen, she simply wrote a simple message for the guard to read. She wasn't using her horn for this, but instead the more common tactic of muzzle-writing instead of levitation. And by simple, meaning explaining exactly what the message said and how she's feeling about it.

"Sorry to hear that. ... Or, read that," the guard said. Twilight actually rested her chin on the nearby desk, just staring at herself in the mirror. The pegasus guard kept his post by the door, though he did feel like he should do a little more for her, tapping his hoof on the ground to try and figure out something to do. ... After getting the main duty he had over with first, as he got out his own scroll.

"Lord Akira might have to wait anyway. I got another message for you and the other rulers of Equestria from the Diamond Palace," said the guard.

Twilight sprung her head up and look the guard dead in the face. She didn't need words, her face read "Don't screw with me" all over it.

"We've checked everything, it's NOT from Grogar or anyone with him. You can read it," the guard quickly made clear. Twilight gave a sigh of relief, but she still had to quickly stop herself from using her magic before she could levitate it out of his hooves.

"On second thought, I'll just read it for you," the guard quickly decided. They didn't need a scroll turning into toothpaste or a salamander or something. It'd be better and safer that way. Twilight herself no longer had anywhere to go, so all she did was take a seat and listened in to what the guard himself had to tell her.

~~~~~~

"So that's ... one way to deal with Grogar's army. Should I still check it off though?"

Steven kept walking through Little Homeworld as his mind kept thinking and wrapping around this mental dilemma. Little Homeworld itself was a bit busy at the moment, though that didn't bother him at all, let just walked on by them and kept his mind on if Grogar's Army was actually handled or not. Still, it was one victory he can say happened, as weird as it was.
Steven found himself a comfy spot just on the stoop of the Gem War Museum (they just made one for it), as he worked the gears in his head for this list, nibbling on the eraser end of his pencil.

"Well it's definitely one I'm gonna remember," Steven remarked, "how often can you say you won a battle thanks to a game of Steven Tag?"
The very thought of that idea made Steven laugh, though he'd buy it even if it didn't happen. Not because he wanted Grogar to look humiliated, but more over because it sounded funny. Just wished Grogar could've given him a break.
Speaking of which, that was another thing going through his mind as he looked down his list to "Reform Grogar (hopefully)".

"But how am I gonna help you now? He can't stay in the barn anymore, and no way is he gonna agree on anymore lessons ... what to do, what to do ..."

Before Steven could actually get a proper answer to his dilemma, his thoughts on that were halted when he felt the similar vibration of the phone in his pocket. Setting his list down, he got his phone out just to see a familiar face of his girlfriend right there to see him. One click and sure enough, there came her voice.

"Steven, morning! I finally caught you. How're things going?" Connie said.

"Hey Connie. Yeah everything's fine, and sorry for not picking you up - I've been so wrapped up in my work I keep forgetting. Is Pearl doing okay with you?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. Though I'm now 90% sure she and my mom are in a turf war for my affection right now," Connie replied. Turf war was pushing it though, yet the two were trying their best to have Connie on their good side, or at the least take the role of mother to her. ... It was all stupid anyway.
Steven had to add that to his list later after a quick glance at it.

"I didn't think it was that bad over there."

"No, not bad ... just a little overwhelming sometimes. Here, I'm texting you a photo," Connie said. It took a little minute or two, but soon Steven got a picture of what looked like breakfast in bed: Priyanka made a good meal for her, though he could easily tell Pearl had something to do with it, since there is what looked like a pie made for her.

"Pearl made the pie," Connie then said over speaker phone.

"Pearl made it? ... Wait, that's great: Pearl loves pie! ... Well, at least making the pie," Steven said, a hit of nostalgia rushing him at the idea of Pearl making pie. A simple trait that seemed to pick up for Pearl over the years.

"So does that mean she's getting her memory back?" Connie asked.

"Maybe, it's something. Did she get a headache before she started making pie, or did this just kinda happen?" Steven inquired.

"I'm not really sure. ... Hey Steven -"

"So that's the story," said a voice from not too far away. "We tried to work it out, but now the most hated goat in Equestria'ssss on the loose, and not really a big fan of yours so ... my bad."

"Oh yeah," Steven realized, unfortunately missing what Connie had to say, "I gotta go, Connie, talk to you later."

"Oh. Uh, okay, bye Steven."

He got so caught up he almost forgot the royals were coming by today. Typically it would only be the Diamonds and the Alicorns, but this time the mane six were caught up to speed as Discord and White Diamond (WD in disguise that is) told them the situation they were stuck in now. Steven placed his clipboard of Happily-Ever-After to-dos and don'ts beside him on the porch before getting up.

"So you just let him get away. That's what you're saying," Yellow stated firmly.

"NO of course not! He just simply ... nearly beat us up," White said. It felt so weird being on the receiving end of the blame stick and she wasn't enjoying any of it. At this point they started to notice Steven coming to them.

"Steven, there you are. They were just finished telling us what happened. So they're saying you locked him away, but ... you didn't really?" Cadance said quizzically, and maybe judgey since, you know, who they were talking about.

"Yeah, I tried to do some reeducation, but it kinda backfired. It's gonna be a bit harder to do now that he's out with his army again," Steven admitted, rubbing the back of his head. It's not one of his better ideas apparently if all it did was make Grogar mad at him.

"Kinda backfired? He escaped your prison, Steven, got back to his army, and is off doing who knows what," retorted Yellow.

"Yeah, but he didn't kill me last time we fought, he actually walked away so ... I'd call that improvement," Steven explained back, two thumbs up. Grogar would've easily just went on a rampage on the spot if nothing meant anything for him. If it were up to Yellow Diamond though Grogar would've suffered a lot more.

"....... True. Dumb. But true," said Yellow. Far as she was concerned they were talking about a mad dog.

"You still think there's a way to save him, Steven? After everything he's done: torturing Gems, conquering worlds - ... Wait that's too close to home," pondered White.

"I just need another way to try it. I never gave up on you White, and when I started I barely knew anything about you. You know, outside of all the bad stuff. At the least I no longer hate the guy," Steven pointed out.

"Eehh, I think you should be careful what you say about him, sugarcube. Sounds like to me he wants to be the bad guy, and is gonna keep trying to stay that way," Applejack figured.

"Well ... then I'm gonna keep trying," Steven concluded. Straight-forward enough.

"You always were a good supporter, Steven," Blue said, "I'm just glad no one actually got hurt when he got out. I'd be a shame to find everyone under his tyranny again."

"And guess who's fault it is," Yellow said again.

"Well it's not my fault his army just showed up at the front door, what do you want me to do?" Discord retorted. "Now if I had my magic back, I could've sent his whole army flying in a hot air balloon with gift baskets for all of them."

Yellow simply looked at Discord like he was crazy. Probably not that far from the truth. Still, they got other things to work out, as Blue spoke next.

"We'll all work that out later on. Steven, girls, it's a good thing you're here too, because we got some exciting news for all of you."

"Oh, right you did mention that from the get-go before White and Discord stopped by and told us about everything that happened at the barn. What's up?" Pinkie asked. It'd been a long while since they've actually handled some Diamond business, ever since Tambalon's recovery and all. Blue Diamond actually tried to keep her composure as she cleared her throat first.

"Okay, so Yellow and I have been talking, and we've both decided that you all should come back to Homeworld for a visit. We haven't had a casual meeting in weeks since the festival, and you all could use a personal recess."

"Going to Homeworld? Um, sure if you guys want to -"

"No!"

Everyone looked to a startled White Diamond. She knew what this meant, and she wasn't having it, keeping her stand against Blue ... from behind Steven.

"White, don't get all scared now."

"Yellow, Blue, I'm NOT ready," White insisted, "I know you're gonna have me come back and yes, I know I have to, but I'm not ready right now. I'm gonna be laughed out of my own planet if they see me like this!"

"We promise you, no one's going to judge you any differently from what they have before. You tried helping me get back on my feet before, now we can do the same for you. Trust us, we won't let anything bad happen to you."

"And besides that, the Little Homeworld Gems already are used to seeing you like this, haven't they? None of them appear to be treating you badly since this started," added Luna. White looked back to the other Gems nearby, them either too busy to notice anything going on, or weren't going to risk making an ill comment with both Diamonds standing right there.

"Eh hey, that's nice and all, Blue, but we're still short one princess. And about hmm one ... two ... four Gems," said Rainbow Dash. Blue Diamond didn't forget about the rejuvenation incident.

"Don't worry, I'll have them come by for a visit too. Even if they're rejuvenated they'll show up for a Diamond invitation. We can work on their memories together," Blue Diamond explained. Steven was taken aback by this sudden help, but no way was he complaining about it. Anything to help them come around would be great. Still, his mind got back to his happily-ever-after list just sitting not too far away.

"Sounds good to me," concluded Steven. "Can you just give me a quick second?"

Before anyone could say what or why, Steven walked away and went straight back over towards the list he had with him. ... Or at least, he would've but when he got back to the front steps of the Gem War Museum, it turned out leaving his list behind was not the best idea. In short, it was -

"Here you go, Steven."

... Gone.

Er, not anymore. Garnet looked to be on top of things today, and next thing Steven knew Garnet was giving the list to him, with Spinel riding on her back as if she were a backpack. Steven looked to the list, and it turned out Garnet added ... a lot. Mostly being potential ideas just in case things would go a different direction than anticipated. Many of which were written in blue cursive too.

"Check me out: I'm a backpack," said Spinel, waving to him.

"Nice form, Spinny. Ooo, Ooo, do a saddlebag next!" Pinkie said.

"Thanks Garnet, but you didn't give me much adding room," Steven said.

"It'll be fine. You're about to head off for Homeworld," Garnet correctly assumed.

"You want to come too, Garnet? There's always room for more," Blue Diamond offered. Garnet paused and thought about it for a little bit.

"Ehh, maybe later. I gotta split," Garnet said.
And to everyone's surprise that's just what she did. In a quick flash of light, Garnet started to split up in two. Spinel, no longer having the best mom ever to hold onto started to lose her grip and fell onto her butt. In no time all, Garnet's favorite couple Ruby and Sapphire were standing there. Coincidentally, Sapphire was holding the blue ink'd pen in her hand, with the other holding onto Ruby's hand.

"Sapphire, Ruby, you two didn't have to split just because -"

"It's alright, my Diamond, we were going to split today anyway. I have some friends I want to invite to the meditation course," Sapphire said.

"And ol Ruby's gots a training class to get to!" Ruby added, more confident and giving them a wink.

"You training again, Ruby?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah! ... I just need to find where my student is," Ruby replied. Sapphire kissed Ruby on the cheek.

"I know you'll find her, sweetie," Sapphire said.

"This is all very amusing, but are we gonna be any longer? The planet's smell is getting to me," Yellow Diamond asked. Stuck up of a statement, that one. Curious, Pinkie Pie began sniffing around, going in a circle like a dog before giving her opinion.

"I don't smell anything funny."

"Oh right. You live here," Yellow said. Even when she wasn't directly saying anything to anyone, she sure knew how to cast a judgement on something. Steven though had other ideas as he looked down more of the list of his.

"You know what, why don't you guys go on ahead, I'll catch up later. I still have some things to work out," Steven said. He wanted to go, but not at the expense of making Yellow wait for him.

"Things?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, alright, you do that. Let's go Blue, Homeworld's waiting for us," Yellow concluded, already ready to head back on their way through the Warp Pad. Yellow Diamond wasn't staying on Earth longer than she needed to (the time spent during Grogar's takeover was more than enough time).

"Whenever you're all ready," Blue Diamond stated. They still had a world to look after, one way or another. None of them said they had to bolt off now anyway, so why rush anything?

"You sure you don't want to try and go back to Homeworld, White? ... White? Where's White?" Fluttershy asked. Discord simply nudged her and pointed over to the Warp Pad. Blue and Yellow only needed to turn around on the Warp Pad, giving them enough space between them for the others to see White Diamond standing with them. She didn't say a word, but she simply stood there waiting for the Warp Pad to go off. She didn't need to wait that much longer though, as it only took a few more seconds before it activated and all three Diamonds teleported away.

"Did I get bumped in the head, or did that sound like you all just get invited by the Diamonds?" Spinel asked at last.

"It ain't the first time, sugarcube, it's alright. Just a couple of friends having a good get-together," Applejack explained. Spinel didn't know the true extent of their relationship, but it had to be pretty huge if they were casually invited to the palace.

"Exactly. Oh, I've been hoping to go over and see Homeworld again - I've heard they've really worked the entire planet back together."

"What'chu talkin about?" Spinel asked, scratching her head.

"How long has it been since you've seen Homeworld?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, well I've spent most of my existence in the Garden, then inside that experimental madhouse - eh no offense White, then stuck around here soooo ... since I was made? Give or take?"

"Geesh. Well, Homeworld's gonna look a LOT different, Spinny," Pinkie said with a wink. Spinel had to sit down and wonder just how different Homeworld actually would be like, especially given how the Diamonds were acting nowadays compared to thousands of years ago.
With them thinking about that though, Steven had his own thoughts wrapped around the list and the additions given to it, mainly trying to make heads or tails of it. He didn't have the future vision like Sapphire, so any of this could either definitely happen or never happen. Soon, Steven spotted one part of this list that admittedly threw him for a loop, and it wasn't even that complicated.

Be with Connie.

Not "hang out with Connie", not "check in with Connie", it was just "be with Connie". ... What did that imply?

"Subtle much?" Steven thought. He knew he didn't have that much time to just casually hang around, though why would Sapphire put that in there anyway? At the least it got him thinking about Connie again ...

"Got something on your mind, Steven?" asked Ruby.

"Oh, i-it's nothing. I'm just trying to add "help White's confidence" to the list and Sapphire just added this one in here. A bit forward, right?" Steven said, pointing out "be with Connie" in the list to the others. No point in keeping the list a secret anymore since the Steven Tag game.

"Be with Connie. ... Well that doesn't sound too bad, Steven, what's the matter?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nothing's wrong with it, I just don't have the time for it ... anymore ... since I got started." half way through that sentence Steven started to feel a bit of a sulk in his own decision.

"Hold on a tick: you and Connie hadn't been together since you got back?!" Rarity insisted.

"That's not true: I've been with her at the hospital to check on Twilight, went with her to go to the Reef ... been seeing here at Little Homeworld to - ... huh. Most of the time it's just been business," Steven realized. Most of the time the visits had been over either missions or just news, and even then it was on his end most of the time. This just reminded him too about the phone call he basically hung up Connie on to get back to work.

"Steven DeMayo Diamond Universe, you need to stop what you're doing and fix your relationship right away!" Rarity insisted/demanded.

"Relationship? There's not a relationship between us," Steven insisted. Ruby and Sapphire looked almost hurt when he said that.

"HELLO? You and Connie had been a match since she got you as a baby," Rainbow pointed out.

"Yeah, and you risked so much to save her from that meanie Grogar," added Pinkie Pie.

Steven was now questioning why he even said that, if it was that obvious. Steven sighed, and simply glanced back at the chart he got holding onto.

"Well what am I supposed to do? I like Connie, and I would like to spend more time with her but ... well, look -" he showed the list to everyone again, "- I got to figure all this stuff out before we get even more piled up. By the by, now I need to add "help White Diamond's confidence" to the list, because it's obvious she needs help with that too. ... How can I? ..."

...

*ding*

"STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN - ow! ow ow ow, ouch," Spinel was suddenly so excited, her feet were in a blur, kicking away so much snow the ground underneath her showed. She only stopped when her feet started kicking up rocks, making her hop out of her make-shift hole in the ground. And what did she say next?

"STEVEN! Date her!"

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Steven exclaimed, shocked so much he almost dropped his chart. "A-A date? You're joking."

"Not this time!" said Spinel, "You love her, and she loves ya, you're practically boyfriend and girlfriend - What's stopping you?!"

"You can read this list and find out," Steven said, pointing to the schedule he had on him, which by the way still looked awfully big. Steven had his gaze focused on Spinel, so he didn't realize until too late that someone actually snatched it away from him. He was gonna get mad ...

How could he though, seeing Ruby look SOOOOO crazy excited. Just holding the schedule was enough to make it sizzle and smoke, as starts sparkled in her eyes from sheer amazement. Sapphire took the schedule from Ruby before it could catch fire, but that didn't stop Ruby from getting all riled up anyway.

"Our little Steven on his FIRST REAL DATE! You gotta do it!!" Ruby beamed.

"You too? I-I'm not exactly sure now's a good time to -"

"Don't act like you hadn't thought about it," Ruby cut in, a bit smug almost. Steven blushed.

"I uhh ... yeah, of course I have," Steven admitted. How could he not, at this point? Ruby and Spinel were getting VERY hyped up, to the point they were hopping up and down and basically fangirling about it.

"Steven, this HAS to happen and you know it. You've been boyfriend and girlfriend for months and you still hadn't gone on a actual date with her? No, no, no, this isn't gonna do," said Rarity, more than excited for this all too. Steven glanced over to the list once again, and looked to the only Gem who had a much better understanding of the future than anyone else, even if it was mostly guessing at this point.

"I'd hate to ask Sapphire, but ... what do you think?"

Sapphire held his hands, "Steven. In all my thousands of years living here, if there is one thing that I've learned is that nothing's truly ever set in stone. But I also know that love can accomplish anything, can defy the strongest odds, love can make the impossible possible. ... Do it Steven. Do it. Do it! DO IT!!"

Even Sapphire was fangirling?

"W-Whoa. Sapphire, you really think I should? The schedule ... I-I mean -"

Sapphire; We could think about war,
And could think about fighting.
and the happily-ever-after you've worked so hard to trying.

"Or ..."

Sapphire; We could think about little homeworld, and the world that's all in front of you.
and we could think about the new life they've had
so that they can live happily, we can live happily too!

The others were beginning to join in with her.

Ruby; We could think about joy, we could think about pain

Rarity; We could think about sunshine, we could think about rain

Spinel; There's an awful lot of awful things we could be thinking of

All (except Steven); But for just one day, let's only think about...

They all stopped, some presenting towards Steven and waiting for him to say the magic word. Steven couldn't help it, he knew what they were trying to say. His smile grew wide.

"Love. ... Alright, you've convinced me. Look out Connie, here comes the Universe!"

"As soon as we know where she is!" added Pinkie.

~~~~~~

More was going on in Steven's corner of the world though, even without Steven involved in it. As things were getting started in Little Homeworld, the Beach House was having its own visitors for the day as Connie (with Pearl of course) were walking over towards the Beach House. Connie would have Pearl stay at her house, but it was a losing battle anyway.

"Okay, Pearl, whatever happens here, just know that I'm safe and don't need the protection, okay?" Connie said as they were walking up the steps to the front door. It had been a habit for Pearl to turn from maid to guard in a few seconds flat, so a reminder couldn't hurt to keep her bodyguard instincts in check.

"As you wish, my Connie," Pearl replied with her "typical" smile and stance by the front door. Luckily Connie went to answer it just before Pearl could try to open it for her, or announce her presence.

"Steven, are you home?" Connie asked. She was about to knock on the door to see if he was home, but the beach house had enough windows for her and Pearl to look inside to see what was going on.
Of course, Steven wasn't home but that didn't mean the Beach House was completely empty either. Opening the door (well, Pearl opening the door) for a better view inside, Connie found herself in company of both Star Quartz and Bismuth, both of which were standing over just by the bathroom door.

"After you, my Connie," Pearl said, giving the diamond respect insignia again as Connie walked in, catching the other two Gems' attention.

"Hi, Connie. How're you?"

"Fine I guess. Is Steven home? Or at least in there?" Connie asked, wondering if it was him who was still in the bathroom.

"No, Steven's not here, it's Peridot that won't come out of his bathroom," Bismuth said, again trying to open the door just for it to be locked.

"Peridot's in there?"

"Yeah, that rock's been dragging herself all over the place since her limb enhancers busted. Peridot come out of there, no one's out here to take you out," Bismuth said, knocking on the currently locked up door.

"As if I'm gonna believe YOU, bulky bulldozer," Peridot said from inside the bathroom. And another insult flies in the air from a more-than-angry Peridot. Not to say Bismuth wasn't angry too, but let's just say it was a good thing Star was around to keep the peace.

"She was not this brave five minutes ago," Bismuth commented. Connie went over to the bathroom door.

"Peridot? Everything okay in there?" Connie asked.

"Oh, I dunno. I just lost my ONLY METHOD OF DEFENDING MYSELF! ... But other than that my current state is functional."

"Right. I'm coming in there," Connie decided. Then again though she couldn't really do that, the door locked up tight as she tried the knob, meanwhile Peridot was actually pleading with her not to do that. Bismuth and Star kept some space so Connie could try, but as for Pearl ...

"I'll happily do it for you," Pearl said ... as she stabbed the door with her spear.

"Pearl, don't!" Connie gasped, quickly grabbing the spear and throwing it away from her. "Peridot?! You okay?"
Peridot didn't exactly give any answer to her, and probably not to anyone if they would ask. Connie had the "honor" of looking through the cut Pearl made in the door to be sure, just to find Peridot still inside. Terrified, Huddled up in the bath tub with a plunger armed and ready.

"Is mom okay?"

"She's okay, but let's leave her alone for now," Connie decided. It'd be pointless to talk to her right now if she'd too rattled to listen anyway. Connie had a seat on the couch to give herself a break, though she still looked disappointed that Steven wasn't there to see her. She tried laying her head back, just for Pearl to get a pillow for her just before she could even make contact with the back of the couch.

"Is she still acting like a typical Pearl?" asked a troubled Bismuth.

Connie sighed. "I don't know what to do. You all know her better than I do, but she'll only follow me. But there is some good news."

"What?" Bismuth asked, hoping for some good news right about now. Before Connie could answer her, Pearl ended up bringing out what looked like Priyanka's portable vacuum cleaner, and started to use it on the coffee table. Connie knew they needed to have a little break from this treatment, so ...

"Uh, Pearl? Here, I know what you can do: can you make a pie for us?"

"A pie?" Pearl asked, stopping almost immediately.

"A pie?" questioned Star and Bismuth.

"Your morning pie was pretty good, and I could use another one right now," Connie replied.

"... AAAHHH!" Pearl beamed, a big smile on her face, "Absolutely, my Connie! I'd love to!"

Pearl gleefully went right to the kitchen, even going as far as to hum a little tune to herself as she got out the ingredients needed for the pie crust. It had been a little too long since they saw Pearl THIS happy since her rejuvenation started.

"Wow, look at her all giddy," Bismuth said smiling.

"How's that good again?" Star asked.

"Because Steven said she likes making pie? It's nothing big, but at least it's something she remembers," Connie shrugged. The three could see how much Pearl was enjoying the creation of her next pie, almost like her aura was sparkling or something simply because of pie making. With Pearl busy and Peridot ... occupied, Connie looked back to the other two Gems.

"Anyway, you sure Steven didn't come by yet?" Connie asked.

"I haven't seen him around here since the Steven Tag game we did," Bismuth said. This news just made Connie feel a bit mixed as she slumped on the couch.

"Dang it. He's still too busy. ..."

"Well yeah, he's got his work cut out for him: Little Homeworld, some extra missions too. He's becoming a real regular worker," Bismuth said, sounding slightly impressed with him but the mood changed when she saw the almost disappointed look on Connie's face. Though she didn't notice that until Star Quartz tapped her shoulder and silently pointed it out to her.

"Did you want to see him?" Bismuth asked.

"At least for a little bit. I haven't had any relaxing time with him ever since he came back to town, and since then we've been seeing eachother less and less," Connie explained sadly.

"Didn't you just see him at the hospital? ... Or does that count?" Star asked.

"That was business, it doesn't count. Besides, we only met for a hour or two," Connie said.

"Connie, of course he's gonna be busier. That doesn't mean he's gonna stop seeing you," Bismuth said as she took a seat next to her. Connie wanted to believe her, but lately she wasn't so sure.

"I don't know Bismuth, lately he's always off doing something else. I only caught him this morning and that's just calling him, and even then I think he hung up on me. I told him I'd come over, but looks like he's too busy to stop by for that too. I should be happy for him: he's getting stuff done and he's feeling a lot better but ... we haven't been hanging out as much. ... Maybe we're just drifting apart."

SLAM! Connie's nerves were rattled when Bismuth slammed her fist down on the table. Looking up only rewarded her with a more stern look from Bismuth.

"How long has this been going on?" Bismuth asked.

"... A couple months," Connie simply said. Few weeks, and this girl hadn't said anything about this issue?

"Connie, since when were you the one hiding away, huh? If you think you're drifting apart from your Gem, then you got to do something about it."

"Bismuth, I can't just walk up to him and hang out anymore!" retorted Connie. "I mean, look at him, he's probably going to go off on something else again."

"Yeah, and I see someone that you don't need ANY reason to hang out with. Connie, come on he's your rock!"

"I really shouldn't, he's probably going on more missions now than ever," Connie admitted.

"Then make a mission happen!" Bismuth suggested, "Go up to him, and tell him you want to go on the next mission with him whatever it is."

"I don't know Bismuth," Connie said, feeling a little bit overwhelmed with how much Bismuth tried to get her going.

"Connie. This is Steven we're talking about. How do you think he felt when he first started being friends with you? I mean, Gem magic, healing powers, corrupted monsters, bubble shields? I may not be too familiar with humans as much as some of you, but I do know that would send anyone else off."

"Bismuth, I don't mind that he has any of those things," Connie made clear, wondering if Bismuth was going in that direction. Though, it didn't seem like it was heading that way for what she said next.

"EXACTLY. So you got corrupted once, so did he! That hasn't stopped you two from being friends," Bismuth pointed out. She might've not been an exact witness to Steven's corruption, but if it was anything like Connie's corruption then how big was the difference between the two now? The more she continued thinking about it, the more she started to see what Bismuth was trying to say to her.

Her fists started to clench. "Yeah. Yeah, what am I doing? Look at how much we've gone through together, it doesn't matter what happened before he's still my boyfriend!"

"So what're you gonna do?" Bismuth asked.

"Go hang out with Steven!" Connie said, jumping to her feet.

"And how're you gonna do it?!" asked a determined Bismuth to an equally determined Connie.

"By making that our next mission!" Connie said, fists clenched and up.

"THEN GO DO IT!"

Well there was no more doubt about it, and Connie started off right for the door. The present day waits for absolutely no one, and as far as Connie knew Steven was probably going to go off on another mission anyway if she didn't get moving.
Fate though had different plans, as the second she walked out that door -

... He and his team was standing right there.

"Steven!" "Connie!"

Good start.

The two stopped eachother almost right away when they realized they both wanted to talk at once. They tried to talk at least three times, but kept butting into eachother again. And again. It determined on who will talk next where the future will hold, Sapphire waiting somewhat patiently with the coin casually being flipped in her hand. Each flip for each butting in, Spinel keeping her fingers crossed too for who would say what next. Then came the moment of truth.

"You go first," Steven said. After hearing that, Sapphire stopped flipping her coin for a minute, and watched along with the rest as the scenario played out from there.

"Steven DeMayo Diamond Universe! I want to go out with you!" Connie announced.

... Did she just ask him out?

"O-On the next mission!" Connie quickly corrected, flustered as ever, "I don't care how hard it is, I'm going with you whether you like it or not!"
Connie still felt so flustered right now. She can assert just fine, but the clammed up look on her face made it a bit cute. Steven meanwhile took a step back, unsure if she was saying it just to make sure he didn't have anything else to do, or if she really wanted to go out with him.

"Roll with it, Mr. Universe," Steven thought.

"Umm ... okay, we can do that together. What do you wanna do?" Steven asked, humbled that he missed his chance to ask for a date. How can he do that properly now with the second offer hanging in the air?

"Wait. You don't have a mission to do?" Connie realized.

"No. No, I'm not," Steven said.

The awkwardness was gonna burn this day in flames if they don't pick it back up soon.

"....... so what'chu doing at my house?" Steven asked, trying to break the ice a little.

"What am I doing? Steven I told you over the phone I was gonna come and see you, remember?" Connie questioned. Steven's turn to fluster now, his eyes trying to find something just out of line of sight as his cheeks turned a crimson red.

"I guess no? I wasn't listening at the last part. Sorry," Steven admitted. Connie would be more upset if Steven wasn't such a busy bee already. Connie now had the problem of figuring out what to do for their get-together. The Beach House wasn't gonna be an option with Peridot occupying the bathroom until further notice, and maybe Little Homeworld wasn't the best option given the work load.

"Think we're supposed to say something?" whispered Applejack.

"I don't think so," whispered back Fluttershy.

"Blue Diamond invited me to go to Homeworld. You wanna come with me?" Steven offered.

NOW they're getting somewhere. It was something to do even if it wasn't an actual date together. It'd been too long since either had seen Homeworld anyway. Connie smiled.

"That sounds nice. Let's go," Connie decided, she and Steven starting to go towards the nearest Warp Pad to do just that. It was a win-win: taking an invitation by the Diamonds and having a date on Homeworld at the same time. Now the others have to wonder how well this date was going to go?

~~~~~~

Their reactions upon arrival were just shock and awe by the second they got to the planet.
Good thing for them they got quick warp access, because it'd been a little too long since they've seen Homeworld since their involvement in the Era 3 Festival. Once the sides of the warpstream disappeared, they found themselves in sight of a far better looking Homeworld. No sign of any monsters from Equestria, any aliens patrolling the city, nor any overall sign of Grogar's invasion could be seen anywhere. The Gems sure looked much happier now than they ever were, and the buildings that were wrecked or altered by Grogar were looking much better and more prepared this time. All of this, and they only just arrived, so who's to say what else was there to be seen on Homeworld now?

Out of much of the new crowd, there wasn't one more surprised than Spinel, her eyes sparkling as she stared on mouth agape, especially after a large gemship just moved by them right above their heads.

"Oh my Celestia," said Rarity, "Look at this place. Homeworld looks more divine than ever! I wish I brought something more fitting before coming here."

"Y-Yeah. Everything's so ... new," Spinel gasped in quiet amazement.

"What do you think of the new Homeworld, Spinel? It's a lot to take in at first," Steven asked.

At first Spinel wasn't saying anything, just taking in what she was seeing. She walked ahead a little bit, staring off out into the distance at ... pretty much everything.
Just before she spun around and was suddenly on top of Steven again, wrapping her arms around him as she was basically standing on his chest.

"This ... is ... AMAZING!" Spinel beamed, "Everything's so eye-catchy, so modern, so ... BRIGHT! Can we look around, PLEASE? I wanna see everything."

It wasn't until after she was done talking did Steven fall onto his back. The others couldn't help but chuckle a little as Sapphire helped Spinel off of Steven.

"Don't worry Steven, Connie. I'll show her around Homeworld," Sapphire decided.

"But what about your meditation class?" asked Steven.

"That is anytime. This is now. Spinel, if you'd come with me."

"You'd do that for me?" Spinel asked.

"Sure. Besides, I am a member of the royal court. That means I can give you some ..." And she said the last part with a smirk. "- special privileges."

"SOLD, let's go," Spinel quickly concluded, actually bolting on ahead and getting the tour started early. She was NOT gonna miss this chance given to her by the royal court member. Beforehand though Sapphire turned back to Ruby.

"I'll be showing Spinel around today."

"Don't worry babe, I'll hold down the fort here," Ruby promised with a grin and a wink. Sapphire giggled and gave her lover another kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Ruby. I'll see you all at the palace," Sapphire said. It didn't take long until Sapphire was on her way, but taking her time rather than rushing off after Spinel. Besides, Spinel was still standing about ten feet away, having enough patience to at least stand still for her tour guide.

"Have fun, Spinel," called Steven.

"Bye Steven, have fun on your date!" Spinel called with a wave. AND return of Steven's blushed face. Something told them this was gonna be happening a lot today, even if they basically knew they were on one. ... Still worth blushing over though. Steven though tried not to have that simple comment get to him.

"Okay Steven, you're the one that picked Homeworld, where do you want to go first?" Connie asked.

"Hmm ... that's a good question," Steven realized. Aside from the Diamond Palace and the Supreme Kindergarten, there really wasn't that many places to look around, at least not many places he knew of on Homeworld. But in thinking bout where to go, he got the simple answer.

"Wait. Why pick one? We have all day, let's just take a walk around and see how Homeworld's doing. I promise it'll be a fun time, no bad surprises," Steven promised.

"Were you expecting bad surprises?" Connie asked.

"Well if you look at my track record, it happens a lot," Steven admitted, though it was more of a joke. Connie chuckled with him and looked back to the others nearby.

"So we'll see you all at the palace later, okay?" said Connie.

"Take your time, you lovebirds, that castle ain't going nowhere," said Applejack.

"Not on our watch," added Bismuth.

Can't ask for more than that. They mostly knew where the Diamond Palace was, so everyone else except Steven and Connie started off on their way towards the location (with Pearl having to be dragged away), leaving the dating couple to themselves with an entire city to explore and walk around in.

"Okay, Steven. Let's see what Homeworld has in store for us," Connie said.

.......

Steven and Connie went on and did exactly that. It almost seemed like Homeworld knew that they were on a date together, because each street they would walk down was met with a lot of shine and color. Many a Gem was going about their daily business, but unlike before even prior to the Era 3 Festival, many of them were a lot more casual and enjoying themselves in their daily routines. Some would say hello to Connie and Steven as they went by, others just went along their way with just a smile and wave. Either way how you look at it, Homeworld was looking a lot better the more both hybrids were exploring the city. This became even more apparent when they started heading down one of the more populated streets in the city.
It turned out, the Diamonds were actually getting more accustom to casual time over formality. Sure there were plenty of training spots and areas for upgrades, but they also were seeing such things as a few new Reefs and at least three new Forges built and set up for business.

"Wow. This is simply amazing. The Diamonds are letting everyone be themselves now," Steven stated, smiling at the thought of more freedom on the planet. Looking around in what they basically concluded as the shopping district of Homeworld's Diamond City, the two did end up stopping themselves when something along the displays caught their eye.

A set of "Appearance Modifier Stations" (as they're called) both ran by a different Pearl. Owning a shop was a good step up from being someone's maid or butler anyday, and it seems the Pearls were doing a good job in running the shops whatever it may be.

"Are those Pearls standing up front?" Connie wondered.

"Looks like it," Steven replied. "Wonder what they're all about?"

"AAHH! It's Steven Universe!" gasped a voice.
Speaking of Pearls, it didn't take long until two of these Pearls was standing right in front of them.

She was an orange Pearl, with her gemstone a smoothed out oval shape on her right hand. When it came to appearance, this Pearl sure looked very festive: with a smooth silk-lined skirt reaching down to her knees, with a transparent flair attached to the ends of it in a light cream color. The upper part of her outfit also had a few shoulder transparent flairs. Her hair flowed just down to her shoulders too, lined down in a similar way to one Blue Diamond in style, only without the frontal part. They weren't sure if it was fake or not but there was also a orange buttercup in the Pearl's hair.
As for the other Pearl (and probably the one that screamed), she had a similar color scheme to the other one, only hers was more brighter and yellow than the calmer orange. She had a bit of a special kind of sheer flair, which for her was hanging off the back of her head as if it were part of her otherwise short hairstyle. Her outfit had a more vibrant sparkle, having poofy shoulders and smooth pants with a stripped ribbon (yellow and white) working as her belt.

"Um ... Hi?" Steven said.

"Hello, hello, our conquering heroes. Can you believe it Melo, the hero of Homeworld deciding to stop by our corner of the world. You've been the talk of every Gem here for months," said the yellow fashion Pearl. Not even a few sentences and Steven could already tell where this was going to go with her.

"Hero of Homeworld? I wouldn't say that," Connie said humbly.

"Don't be so modest," said Melo Pearl, "After all, you both were the ones that help free Homeworld. It wouldn't be surprising to get some praise for that."

"Yes, exactly: you two together in the face of that dreaded Grogar. It wasn't enough just to save the planet from the legendary Osicone, you took the challenge and drove that tyrannical creature away for good! If only I could've seen it myself."

Connie ironically looked a bit more uneasy with that statement, and Steven tried not to let it get to him but still tugged at his collar. They both knew just what it is they were talking about.

"Let's change the subject. So the buildings are new," Steven said, saving them both from having to deal with that subject any longer. Both Pearls looked to the respected shops.

"Oh you noticed? The Diamonds wanted a lot of changes and, since they've spent a lot of time on your world, brought some of that creativity here. Doesn't it look splendid?" said Gold Pearl. The two hybrids checked out one of the buildings specifically, seeing how much work was put into the display of it all. Despite the Pearls working in the place, some silhouettes of fashion Pearls were still on display to get an idea on what kind of fashion was in store.

"Yeah, they actually do. Whoever did these sure did a great job," said Connie, especially eyeing a hologram of a dressed Pearl.

"I'm flattered you'd think so. A few weeks doesn't give me much time to make a good design," explained Melo Pearl.

"Wait. You made these?" asked Steven.

"Huh? ... OOHH, that's right, you're not too familiar with Era 3 just yet. I'm the owner of this station," Melo Pearl revealed. Steven and Connie looked impressed with her, and they could probably consider Gold Pearl the owner of the other shop as well.

"You're the owners! Congrats Melo Pearl, Gold Pearl," said Steven.

"Tahitian Gold!" introduced the Golden Pearl, with a LOT of flair and passion, "But you can call me T.C. for short. So, what is it like in the day of the legends?"

"You REALLY sure like praising us," Steven said, again taken aback by the compliments T.C. Pearl was giving the two. At this point Melo Pearl went over to the two.

"T.C., let's not overwhelm them when they just got back. Even heroes need time to unwind from all of the attention," Melo said.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's great you two can even open shop and explore fashion at all. Me and Connie were just passing by to the palace for a get-together," Steven said.

"A invitation hosted by the Diamonds?" gasped Melo Pearl. It was then though that T.C. "reappeared" from right behind Steven, hands on his shoulders.

"Oh, you're so lucky: so many Gems would dream of just going inside the palace," T.C. Pearl gleefully revealed, with a slight hint of jealousy that they were given such high honor. Then again, how could they not be?

"We have known the Diamonds personally for a few years, so that helps too," Connie shrugged. Both Pearls were still in glee for being with these two hybrids, even though Steven and Connie were thinking on trying something else. But the more they checked out the displays, the more an idea started to form up in Steven's head. They were on a date, Steven had to treat his girlfriend with something special.

"Maybe we can see what you got in stock?" Steven inquired.

... T.C. and Melo immediately beamed.

"AAHH! Absolutely! Right this way, Mr. Universe, my designs are just the thing you need," T.C. Pearl beamed, and in her excitement was actually grabbing Steven by the arm and trying to pull him towards her shop. Melo Pearl though got hold of Steven's other arm and made em both stop moving.

"What he needs is entirely up to him. I'll make whatever you like, Mr. Universe, just say the word," Melo Pearl promised, but still keeping a firm grip on Steven's arm. Steven felt a second yank from T.C. Pearl again.

"Honey her work's tacky. Believe me, I'll be the one to make you shine! Besides, Melo, you're stuff's so old. It's been how many weeks since you got new stuff in?" T.C. Pearl remarked.

"That's only because," Melo Pearl said, pulling Steven back, "I don't waste all my tools and materials on one customer. I'm conservative, and willing to follow whatever my clients like."

"Oh please, that's so last year," T.C. Pearl said, pulling Steven yet again.

This went back and forth at least several times, with Steven being caught in the middle as the Pearls tried to get Steven to go into their own station over the other ones. Steven thought that now would be a good time for him to step in and try to fix this problem, but Connie was already on it and got in between both Pearls, pushing them away.

"Pearls, stop it! We'll try both stations!"

"Excuse me?" Melo asked, confused.

"You both wants at least one of us to check out your stations, so I'll check out T.C.'s station, and Steven you can go into Melo's station and we'll both meet up back out here. That sound good?"

"Eh ... yeah. Actually that's perfect," Steven said, feeling his arms being released by both Pearls. They didn't need a competition during this little trip anyway. So with T.C. Pearl beaming and chatting away with Connie one way, Steven followed Melo Pearl over to her station for his makeover.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything for you," Melo Pearl promised with a soft smile.

"Yeah. Lucky me," Steven said.

~~~~~~

Well if they weren't getting any attention before, they sure were now, and it was mostly thanks to Connie. Gems kept looking over their way and watching the two go by, looking less like they were going on a date and more like they were on their way to a wedding. Still, Steven and Connie tried to make the best of it as they went on through Homeworld closer to the palace. The outfits they were wearing surely helped in this regard:
Steven got himself a pink tuxedo from Melo Pearl. A shade of pink in his tuxedo from top to bottom. A white undershirt buttoned up underneath a hot pink over-shirt and pants. White dress shoes with dark pale pink colors lining the toe and heel, and a blue bowtie to tie it all off. Steven also got himself a rather nice-looking hat to boot: a hot pink tophat with a blue ribbon along the inner rim, and Melo Pearl even added a good amount of pink fluff along the top, in a manor one would do with bird feathers in a hat (especially for a big dance or something along those lines).
As for Connie, her outfit was a bit more extravagant than that with a blue theme over Steven's pink. A smooth dress that sparkled in the Homeworld light reaching just to above her feet, with pearl-like sky blue shoes topping them off. Connie definitely had a princess look to it all, or at the least someone of very high-class, or in the case of her with her fan of fake feathers just behind her head ready to go to broadway.

"Oh geez, we're getting a big crowd out here. We'd better find somewhere else to go before we get fan-swarmed," Steven thought, seeing the numerous Gems looking over to them.

"How're you holding up, Connie?" Steven asked.

"I'm fine, really. I just feel like I'm on a runway with all this stuff on me," Connie admitted quietly to Steven. "And you?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm good. We'd better find a not-so-crowded walk though," Steven replied. He didn't want to say it, but he figured much of the attention was on Connie anyway rather than him. Apparently though, this was just overheard by a few specific Gems close by, and they began to move in a little closer to them, just enough to make the two stop.

"We can do something about that. Hop in," offered a glee-filled Ruby soldier. Well, pre-soldier now Homeworld "taxi cab". It had a Equestria-like quality to it with a wagon on hover plates, with a Carnelian pulling it in front. The look of the wagon itself seemed more like a royal caravan seat, lace acting like walls to obscure the view a bit for some privacy, but of course the Ruby in charge would put some special deluxe work in this for high-class Gems.
Another problem seemingly solved before they could even get it started.

"A taxi?"

"We call it "Hover ship". We'll give you a free ride right to the palace," said the Ruby.

"I-It's okay, the palace isn't that far. It's right there," Steven pointed out, and actually pointing to the palace sitting a few blocks away. That didn't matter though to the Ruby in question.

"It's not a heroes' place to walk anywhere. We'd even carry you to the bathroom if you'd like!"

"NOT needed, thanks ... but we'll take the ride to the palace," Steven sighed, shrugging. the Ruby and Carnelian were more than pleased that they would be giving service to these two, but Connie did note a kind of odd tone in Steven's voice near the end of that decision.
Still, it didn't take them less than a minute before they were inside the stylized hover ship and began to ride along towards the palace destination. They'd go around longer if it meant less of a crowd, but the audience they've gotten already said otherwise. Still, seeing the royal wagon of Homeworld's highest go by did get some more heads turning, some even giving their praise to them as if they were watching a parade go by or something. Connie and Steven simply sat there in comfort, but this was a bit of an ... awkward moment. Steven looked around inside the caravan to see what details were in it as Connie glanced outside at their audience outside.

"This isn't too bad," Connie remarked, "But I wonder if the others made it through okay. If we're getting THIS much attention just being here, the others are probably swamped."

"They're probably fine - Rarity's with them," Steven shrugged. They both shared a chuckle, but it was fairly brief as Steven looked out his own side to the crowd watching them go. He probably should've expected this, but all this praise was coming from something he honestly didn't want to keep being reminded of.

"Not used to the royal treatment?" Connie asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah it's ... kinda new," Steven said. He pondered a bit on what to do next, but as he sat there his hand shifted over to the coat pocket again, feeling the small trinket inside.

"And -" *snap* "- we're finished. Oh, don't you look lovely," said Melo Pearl upon finishing Steven's new attire with a tug on the bowtie. A Diamond invitation called for a formal look, and Melo Pearl made sure to go with something that showed the best of Steven's look. It took a few questions for Melo to better understand Steven, but the tuxedo he ended up getting was just the ticket.

"Someone's Looking flashy," Steven said with a smile, tipping his hat.

"It suits you so well, Mr. Universe. Anything I forgot?" Melo Pearl asked, hands together with a smile at Steven's glee.

"Nope, you got it. You made these look so real too," Steven replied, stepping off of the small model platform and looking to the designer Pearl as he ran his fingers through the pink "feathers". His hand did feel something in his pink coat pocket, pulling it out to find that Melo Pearl included something a little extra in the outfit herself. Steven already explained to her what he was doing there in full, so what good way to show Connie some love than a extra shiny badge? They weren't real gemstones used of course, but they look authentic enough to pass on as the real thing.
All Melo Pearl did was shush him and winked to Steven as he put the badge away.

He took a deep breath.

"Hey Con - whoa!" before Steven could actually say anything, the Carnelian pulling the hover ship stopped altogether, a little more abruptly than they expected and almost making them fall forward.

"We're here!"

"Huh? Already?" wondered Connie.
She looked out from the hover ship, and sure enough there they were right at the front door to the Diamond palace. Whatever plan Steven had to do he wasn't going to do now. The Ruby hopped over to the door of this hover ship, getting it cleaned up and looking nice for Connie and Steven, both her and the Carnelian standing at attention and (although not a necessity anymore) held a diamond insignia for them as they both exited the hover ship.

"You don't have to do that, but thanks," Steven said. The two Gems just stood there smiling, but still kept the royal insignia up for Steven and Connie to see.

"Just let them Steven. Come on, the others should be inside by now," said Connie, going ahead a little bit before Steven went to join her. Maybe commotion would be quieter once they get inside the palace anyway. They didn't see anyone else outside of the palace doors, and once the Carnelian and Ruby left and went back to work, it left the two alone again.

"Okay, that's better. Maybe we can catch a break inside," said Connie.

One opening of the door later ...

"WELCOME BACK, UNIVERSE!"

Triggering the most extravagant welcome Steven and Connie had ever seen. The Diamonds all present gave their warm welcome to the fourth official diamond of the royal family, a huge blast of lights of yellow, blue, and white brought out in such a way, it looked like a rainbow rushed out the door. Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and even White Diamond with some encouragement, were standing with arms spread out to welcome the returning heroes.

"Or ... not," Connie added. Steven got his hat back on his head before he helped Connie up onto her feet.

"Hey there, sport, you both took your time," said a smug Rainbow Dash.

"HI STEVEN!" beamed Pinkie and Spinel, both going over to hug him.

"Well this is unexpected. I thought this was gonna be a casual get-together," Steven said as he and Connie walked in.

"It is, but someone wanted it to be a bit more festive for you," Yellow Diamond said.

"Okay, let me see if I can figure out who ..." Steven and Connie looked around a bit inside of the palace walls, seeing it looking more than a little festive, as if it were to celebrate a birthday party. A vital clue ...

"Hmm ... party balloons ... streamers of vibrant colors ... Strawberry cake - it's you two," Steven said.

"Aww, how'd you know?" Pinkie asked.

"Just a hunch," Steven replied chuckling.

"Wow, look at this place," Connie then said as Spinel and Pinkie released Steven. "It looks so much better as a throne room again."

"Oh yes, definitely without Grogar here," remarked Yellow.

"We've made sure the palace looked good as new since we were able to come back," explained Blue, "It does feel ... a bit more empty now. But it's no big deal."
removal of all the harvested Gems from the palace walls would make it feel empty either way.

"We gotcha. So what's the occasion? Or is this party just for the heck of it?" Connie asked.

"Excuse me?" Pinkie said, sounding actually a little stern strangely, "A party WITHOUT a reason? What kind of party do you think this is?! We got the BEST EVER reason beyond any party anywhere anyhow -"

"This is taking too long!" White Diamond said, moving Spinel and Pinkie aside, "Steven, Connie~ this party we made is especially for you!"

"For us?" Steven asked.

"Of course! We haven't had a proper celebration over Grogar's defeat since you returned," White explained, "and they just got done telling me about your current engagement and ... ooooo, It's just too perfect! It's just enough to get me over my hysteria for being here."

"... Huh. That's - that's great! Really great, good for you White Diamond," Steven said, rather taken aback. She looked so freaked out earlier, and it took this little to get her back around?

"I knew you'd appreciate it, Steven. The guests will be showing up soon, so make yourself comfortable," Blue Diamond said, presenting Steven with the throne. Blue even picked Steven and Connie up and placed them down on the throne for them. As if they didn't need anymore special treatment, Blue actually placed them on White's throne instead of Pink's throne.

"Thanks ... for the lift," said Steven.

"You're welcome, Steven."

"Got a good view up there on the big throne?" joked Bismuth.

"Yeah, we're all good up here," Connie called back. They saw a few thumbs up from their pals down there, and indeed they can see pretty much the whole room and beyond on White Diamond's seat. Good time for them too, because now the guests to this celebration were starting to come in. As confident as White Diamond seemed to be, she was still slightly hesitant when they showed up, but kept a good face when the others stood with her.

"White got over her fear fast. ... And the others must've got it done for me," Steven pondered, though unaware he was thinking it aloud until -

"Isn't that a good thing, Steven?" Connie asked.

"E-Eh, did I say that aloud? It's nothing. Besides, at least I can announce -"

Before Steven could even finish his sentence, Spinel was already working on it as she got out her hand, blowing into her now royal trumpet-looking hand to announce to the royal crowd.

"Welcome everybody, and everypony -" she added everypony with a wink. "- to today's welcome home royal ball! And let's everyone give a round of applause to the big shots of the galaxy: Connie Maheswaran AND STEVEN UNIVERSE!"

"GAH!" Steven groaned quietly, turning away in a huff as the crowds applauded them. No one but Connie really seemed to notice.

.......

Well, the party got started, whether Steven wanted it to or what have you. Members of the royal court were in joy to be at the celebration, which itself was hyped up more thanks to party pals Spinel and Pinkie due to their antics. The whole room was having a good time with the celebration, but Steven was just sitting on the white throne watching it all kinda happen without him or his help. Resting his chin in the palm of one hand, and the other hand supporting him on the chair, he didn't feel all up for this.
He could see the royals enjoying themselves, he saw the Harmony Gems enjoying themselves, typically a setting like this would make Steven feel all happy and even a bit giddy, but the look on Steven's face said something more ... mellow. Bored. Not happy really.

"I wonder if all royalty gets bored like this," Steven wondered allowed. "It's not bad everything's fixed, but ..."

Steven's eyes looked back over to the crowds below. He did see a few of his friends look back to him from the groups of people involved in this party, but as far as direct interaction goes, that was about it. At least for the first few minutes.

"You don't look like someone who's the big shot of the galaxy," said Garnet, coming up to him from the crowd to have a seat by him and Connie.

"Garnet? Weren't you unfused?"

"Yeah, but that can wait just a few hours more. Come and join the party. Pinkie and Spinel could use a third playmate."

"Umm ... yeah, no thanks," Steven sighed. "I'm not in a party-mood."
Steven looked back to the celebration for a brief moment before Garnet and Connie got his attention again.

"You okay, Steven? You have been moping since this party started," Connie asked, concerned for her boyfriend. Steven sighed and tried to think of what to really say to either of them. Did he need to lie to them? Of course not.

"I don't know, maybe I just wasn't expecting this quiet date to turn into another big loud thing," Steven said.

"I know neither of you knew, it was a spur-of-the-moment idea. If you wanna feel better, it'll be easier on the dance floor than up here on the throne," Garnet offered. If Garnet was the one to offer something then odds were she had a point to give. Everyone else was having a good time, so why wasn't he in on it?

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea, Steven," encouraged Connie.

"I don't know. I mean, they're all celebrating when I - ... you know what," Steven quietly said. He had to be very quiet with Garnet standing right there especially. Connie actually felt a shiver run through her, but kept her composure just enough.

"D-Don't let that bug you, Steven. Come on, let's dance," Connie encouraged, holding Steven's hand.

What did he got to lose?

"Oh ... okay. You first, my jam bud," Steven said, acting formal as a joke with a tip of the hat. This time he kinda needed Garnet's help in getting off the floating throne of White Diamond's, but that was as much help as he knew he needed. Garnet stood aside as the young couple was heading out towards the dance floor, Ruby and Sapphire both eagerly waiting for their waltz together. How romantic!
Pretty soon, both Steven and Connie were out on the dance floor, having enough space right at the center for the two to dance together. It started off as a simple slow dance but soon began to get a bit more energy as the two got more into the music. At least this time their dancing together didn't feel as forced on Steven's part, his movements less stiff and more fluid with both the music and his partner.

"So, Connie, how're you enjoying Homeworld?" Steven asked.

"I gotta say, this is much better than last time," Connie replied, "Especially now that we're together this time."

"That's so sweet ... and so cheesy."

Connie chuckled. "That doesn't mean it isn't true."

Steven was beginning to feel better a bit, even smiling as they continued to dance ... but not by much. Some of the others were beginning to see their dance together, stopping to observe them for the time being. All and all, it appeared to be a picture perfect moment with addition to the dress and tux they were wearing. Some of them were actually applauding them, encouraging them. The schedule, all the stress ... for the moment, all of that was going away and he only thought of his time with Connie.
For everyone involved in bringing them together today, it only got better once they began to glow.

"Yes," said Garnet with a smile.

"My Connie?" asked Pearl, a little surprised at what was even happening. Spinel was also looking a bit surprised by what was going on, but kept her distance in part thanks to calm and collected Garnet. Steven and Connie began to disappear in the glowing light in a dance spin. The whole room looked over to the two, awaiting to see the star of honor greet them all in their fusion. For a moment, they all were beginning to see a human shape form at the center of the Diamond Palace ...

Until it began to glitch. Happy quickly turned to worry as the human shape started to distort and contract like crazy!

"What's goin on with her?" Applejack asked urgently.

"Steven, Connie, what's wrong?!" called Rarity.

"She's coming apart!" gasped Bismuth. In a sudden blast, the fusion couldn't keep together and Steven and Connie shot out from there away from eachother. Steven was thrown right onto Pink's throne, as Connie was flung to be caught by Pearl nearby, who herself by the looks of it was freaking out herself.

"Master! Master, are you hurt?! Say something, say you're alright," Pearl said frantically. Connie was awake, yes, but her expression was wide-eyed. They took a look over to where Steven was, him having a similar expression on his face, though his was a bit more mixed.

"Steven, what on Earth happened back there?" Rarity had to ask, galloping over to him to check on him. Steven's focus though was more on Connie even with the others coming over to help him back to his feet.

"Steven ...?"

"It's not you Connie, i-it's me," Steven said quickly, "I ... I ... I can't do this right now. I gotta go."

Steven turned around and walked away.

~~~~~~

Just when things were getting good.
Steven didn't have the courage to leave the planet completely, so instead he wandered around the palace until he found himself a balcony looking out onto Homeworld. The only thing he could really do aside from deal with his own thoughts was fiddle with his own pink hat, his fingers running through the feathers on it. It was kinda like stroking a cat, but while it did feel nice it didn't fix the problem. ... Well, the problem that wasn't already fixed by everyone else that is. He probably expected it to happen at this point, but just a few more minutes of silence later, he found himself with some company as Connie managed to find him.

"Steven, there you are," Connie said, feeling a bit winded for trying to run in that dress, and all the extra feathers off of her. Steven didn't turn back to her.

"Hey Connie. Sorry for running off like that."

"No Steven, I'm sorry you had to see that," Connie said, "I thought I got pass that, but -"

"No, no, wait. That's not why I couldn't fuse, it's something else ..." Steven said, before Connie could get the wrong idea. The tone Steven had didn't sound as sweet as before though, sounding almost annoyed about something. Connie, worried about Steven, walked over to him.

"Then ... what is it?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Steven said, looking away from her.

"Steven come on, if something's bothering you, you can tell me," Connie insisted. Steven was quiet again, glancing back to Connie standing right next to him. He really wasn't hiding it very well anyway.

"Fine. ....... I hate it. ... I hate not trying. ..."

"Not. Trying. ... I'm sorry, you lost me," Connie said, a little confused but only a little. Steven huffed and then turned to Connie, showing the irritation on his face.

"Because I don't feel like I deserve any of it anymore. Should I appreciate it, I really should be but lately, everything today was just given to me, and I didn't even need to ask. The dress, the party, setting this whole thing up, even just asking you out, everyone kept doing that for me, and you know what else? I thought at one point "How lucky I am"."
Steven felt a pit in his stomach when he said that final sentence. He should NOT feel selfish, but he was still selfish for thinking that. Connie was slightly getting the idea, but not completely, yet Steven still filled her in on that regard.

"I mean ... Who am I to feel like I lost?" Steven continued. "The Gems and Ponies still love me like I'm their kid. The Diamonds don't remotely dislike me anymore, and stopped trying to kill the planet, heck I can't even complain about all the magic. The only thing I got left is my schedule, and even then it's deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. But no. Everything's getting taken care of, and I don't have to do a single thing. I even have a loving, supportive relationship now, and what did I do for it? Nothing that's what. ... How sad is that?"

Sad? Connie just stared at Steven, letting all of that sink in so she can work out what it meant. In the end, Connie just sighed, not entirely amused by what she concluded.

"That must be rough. Especially considering you're the only person who's got problems right now," Connie said.

"Hehehehehe - Shut up."

"Steven!" exclaimed Connie.

"You don't get what it's like: I'm barely doing anything for it, and even Garnet loves me and I shattered her! How can I get away with that?"

"WE shattered her!" corrected Connie, "You think you got it bad, I was right there with you, and I was just as mad at Grogar as you were. And I'm still not over it! I want to think that I am, I should be, but I'm not!"

Steven stopped himself before going any further. "... I'd better go. Enjoy the party Connie. Sorry."

After that, Steven got up and started to go off on his way. He was just getting worse by the sounds of it, and he shouldn't be around his friends until he would calm down at least. Besides, getting riled up wasn't gonna solve anything. As he kept going though, Connie suddenly realized what she just did.
Connie couldn't leave Steven like this.

"Wait. This is stupid," Connie finally said, walking in Steven's way before he could go any further. "I uhh ... I'm sorry. If I acted like I didn't care about your problems, Steven, it's that I've been going through a bit too. Maybe not as bad as yours but ... it's still something I'm worried about."

"I know. ... I'm sorry too," Steven quietly replied. The two held hands for a little bit, the night sky of Homeworld giving them just a little bit of light, just enough for them to see eachother before they both came in for a hug.

"... I don't know what to do anymore, Connie, I ... feel so powerless."

"You're not the only one feeling powerless," Connie replied, looking Steven in the face. Guess this was also something they can relate to. Still though, after thinking it over well ... the schedule and problems can wait just one more day.
They both stood close, in an embrace with eachother ... before they shared a quick kiss.

"... Oh, wait. Before we do anything, I uhh ... here."
Steven held Connie's hand for a second before pulling out the badge from his coat pocket. Connie paused as she looked to the beautiful trinket from Homeworld.

"Steven. ... Thank you," Connie said with a smile. Steven simply nodded.

"You wanna go back and calm Pearl down before she freaks out?"

"Sure."

Author's Note

Well this chapter went differently than expected, that's for sure. I WAS gonna save Twilight ailment for a later time, but I think that if I don't do it now, at least somewhat, someone's gonna call it out and question it sometime down the road when it's brought up again so ... yeah, better at least relate it now and not later.
Anyway, here's a more relaxing chapter for the two lovebirds to enjoy themselves in. Enjoy ^^

Peaks of Peril

"HIYAA! HWAAH! aaaand WAAHH!"

Ruby was going complete fight mode. With Bismuth's practice dummies all set up, Ruby showed the best punches and kicks on each and every single one of them, full of energy and honestly straight out of some kung fu movie (action shots galore). The dummies themselves weren't damaged but were knocked over easy, one being spin a clear 180 thanks to a well-aimed sideways kick to the head.

"Okay, student, Ruby-sama's shown you how it's done, and hope you've been watching because now it's your turn. Just walk right up to it and let em have it! No holding back, give it your all!" Ruby said confidently to her student.

"....... Do I have to?" groaned Ruby's student. It really took a lot of walking and carrying to drag Peridot out of her bathroom, but she was finally out of her own cave. Even if she looked so tired she was ready to just fall asleep on her seat.

"Sure you do. How else are you gonna kick butt if you won't hit?" Ruby asked.

"In case you haven't noticed ... I'm not a Ruby. I'm a Peridot: I'm a technician who's sole purpose is to operate and maintain the technological advances of Gem kind. ... In other words, I don't "kick butt"," Peridot explained. Ruby went right over to the depressed Peridot, and started pushing her along.

"Not with that attitude. Everyone's got what it takes in them to duke it out. You wanna be confident, you gotta SHOW em confident. Now get out there and show em!" Ruby encouraged.

Even just pushing Peridot, and the green Gem was already splat on the floor.

"Can I go to the bathroom now?" Peridot muttered, her face in the snow. Ruby picked her up and wiped the snow off of her.

"No. It's not hard at all, just give it a good whack," Ruby insisted, giving a punch in the air to show Peridot how to do it. Peridot really didn't feel so up for any of this, looking more like the depressed housewife than a fighter ready to go. She probably wouldn't be able to get away from Ruby though, so she simply looked over to the dummy standing in front of her. ...

*thud* ...

"Oh no it's too strong. I gave it my all. I'll just go and use the bathroom -"

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN TRYING!" Ruby shouted. Her quick anger actually made Peridot jump back and freak out, hair standing on end as she was afraid Ruby was gonna pummel her. Ruby quickly realized her mistake though when she saw Peridot down on the floor, freaking out and covering her head.

"No no no, I'm NOT going to hurt ya, I swear it. Come on, soldier, get up and try again. You got this. Believe in ol' Ruby," Ruby encouraged as she helped Peridot back up to her feet again. The green Gem, now not as sleepy and depressed, went right up to the dummy, her fists up a little meekly. Ruby didn't know if she was scared of the dummy or scared of her.

"Ok, ok, ok ... hmm ..... grrrr ..." Peridot tried looking over the thing some more, trying to find a good spot to strike the dummy. It took her a bit but she did eventually find the spot right at the center. However she had one more thing to work out ...

"*ahem* ... H-hwaaaa? No uhh ... Hieeeeyaww? HIIIya?"

"What're you doing?" Ruby asked, eyebrow raised in confusion.

"You made a set of strange noises when hitting it," Peridot pointed out.

"Forget the noise, that comes later, just focus on the hit," Ruby said, getting into a battle stance for Peridot to follow.

"... Okay ..." Peridot took her focus on the dummy again, copying Ruby's stance so she can get the best out of any of her hits. She looked to the practice dummy standing in front of her, fists clenched and at the ready. She brought her fist around for a wide punch.
But she had her eyes closed, and didn't see where her fist was swinging ... and ended up on the ground again. Or at least she would've ended up on the ground if not for someone to grab her by the collar.

"Well this is interesting. I didn't realize even Peridots were allowed to do hand-to-hand combat. Could use some more work," said a voice. Peridot looked passed her shoulder, and found she was with not Ruby, but the "ruler" of Little Homeworld herself - Hessonite!
It was enough to make Peridot stutter a bit, getting her balance as Hessonite helped the girl up to her own feet, whether she needed it or not.

"Hessonite," stated Ruby. Peridot instinctively did the diamond insignia in Hessonite's presence.

"Y-Your clarity! Sorry to not be at my proper position, someone was keeping me distracted," Peridot quickly informed.

"What?! You were sulking all day in the bathroom!" retorted Ruby.

"Not in front of her, you clod," Peridot quickly whispered through gritted teeth. Hessonite needed only to see the practice dummy nearby to get the full picture. This just made Hessonite laugh.

"Now this is simply adorable: A Peridot learning how to fight from a Ruby. Who would've guessed? If you're looking for a way to defend yourself, all you had to do was ask," Hessonite simply informed, taking a better look over at the practice dummy. Peridot could not believe her ears.

"Wait. you'll teach me how to fight?" Peridot re-stated through sparkling, excited eyes. Hessonite smirked.

"Well ... I don't know about that. My schedule has been so overworked lately," Hessonite said. Ruby knew a mile away that the Gem was trying to milk this moment and wasn't really impressed. Too bad Peridot fell for it and threw herself at her feet.

"PLEASE teach me! Just a few kicks or punches, I promise I won't waste your time!" Peridot pleaded. Hessonite got her right where she wanted her.

"Oh if you insist. Watch carefully," Hessonite instructed. Peridot felt psyched that she was being instructed in person by the almighty Hessonite herself, but Ruby was feeling mixed about this. On one hand she was upset that Hessonite basically took over her training, and on the other hand she was worried that her memories might not come back clearly this way. Hessonite didn't teach her how to fight.

"What's wrong with my teaching?" murmured Ruby.

Hessonite, with her hands casually behind her back, she began to look over the practice dummy up and down. bit of an older model compared to the ones on Homeworld far as she could gather, but at the least it was one she could better work with. Hessonite looked back to Peridot when she figured out what to do.

"The first thing any fighter should know is her enemy," Hessonite began. Just to start off and an uppercut swing on the practice dummy to send it flying into the air. The teacher continued talking as she leaped up towards the dummy.

"Figure out their weakness -" Hessonite gave the dummy a swift upper-kick, sending it into a spin "- make their strength your own -" while in the air, she did a flurry of punches on the dummy, cracking it all over "- and most important of all ... let them know who's in charge."
In one final double-kick, she and the practice dummy rocketed down to the ground below, slamming down hard into the snow. Peridot and Ruby were left covered in tossed-up snow, as Hessonite simply stood on top of the practice dummy (which by this point was crumbled up in a heap). Confident to practice her fighting again, Hessonite looked back to the two nearby with a smile on her face.

"Any questions?" Hessonite asked.

Peridot was too amazed to even say any questions, but Ruby melted the snow off of her before she started talking.

"Just one: why're you taking over my class?! I could've handled it just fine," Ruby said. Hessonite walked over to her, wiping a little bit of snow off of her shoulders.

"You possibly could, but I also know you have a lot of work ahead of you so I'm really doing you a favor by handling her for you. Besides, it's clear she needed more inspiration," Hessonite said pompously.

"I'm very inspiring!" Ruby shouted. Hessonite didn't really look like she bought that, and all that got her was a pat on the head by Hessonite, making her steam up.

"Sure you are, honey. Now more importantly, where're the rest of you? I haven't seem them since the Strawberry Battlefield incident, and I've been waiting for my results of your little "test"," Hessonite inquired, looking around the area a little bit more for any signs of the Harmony Gems. Ruby freaked out.

"Oh shoot! I forgot all about the test!" Ruby thought in panic. She tried to be more confident though, despite this blindside.

"Ha! Like I'm gonna tell you they're at the Ponyville Train Station!"

Well that was just dumb. Ruby immediately slapped both hands over her mouth, but it was just a wee bit too late to stop her talking. Hessonite smiled and once again gave the Ruby a gentle pat on the head, like someone would do to a pet dog or something.

"Thank you, Ruby. Now if you both excuse me -"

"Wait! What about my training?!" yelped Peridot. Hessonite didn't forget, but she did give Peridot a glare to keep her calmed down.

"Don't fret, my little Peridot, we'll hook up and continue once I'm finished with the Harmony Gems. In the meantime -" and she said this part while pushing Ruby back to Peridot, "- since you're so insistent, you're free to watch over eachother until I get back. You two play nice now."

And with that, before anyone else could say anything, Hessonite bolted off and disappeared from sight, leaving Peridot and Ruby in Little Homeworld by themselves again, a little more than dumbfounded.

"... What just happened?" asked Peridot.

"I ... really don't know," Ruby replied.

.......

"Are you sure you wanna go?"

The train station was a bit slower thanks to the colder winter weather, but even so members of the Harmony Gems were gathered there all the same to see bits of their group off. The Portal Keys were fine and all, but it's been too long since they went for a train ride. Connie was taking the lead on this trip, with Pearl, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Star Quartz there to help in whatever they can after some discussion. Twilight for one was waiting nearby the edge of the station, impatiently wanting to find the train.

This also included Connie's parents.

"Sure mom, I'll be fine," said Connie, "I've been in Neippon before, and we're pretty good with the Kirin already."

"The same as you were friends with those seaponies?" Priyanka asked worriedly. She hadn't forgotten, nor will she ever forget the time she ended up with gills on her neck.

"Ehh no, we knew them longer than that," Connie replied. "It's not gonna be another fight, I promise. Besides, I got everything we need right here - Pearl stop it, I can carry those!"
She only got her eyes off her stuff for a minute before catching Pearl trying to store the stuff she brought into her gemstone. She was just about to store Connie's sword away before Connie swiped it out of her grip.

"Don't worry, Mr. and Ms. Maheswaran," said Fluttershy, "Connie is in good hooves with us, and we won't let anything happen to her. Just as soon as that train gets here -"

*CHOOOO**CHOOO*

Oh that signature sound of the train whistle. Good thing it was far away though, otherwise Twilight might've get another shot out of her head. Grant it, she horn did glow ever so slightly, but she quickly had to regather herself before anyone could catch her glowing problem.

"Glowing horn problem later, voice problem now," Twilight thought to herself. One problem at a time. The Alicorn got calmed down just enough to be presentable and ready to get on the train. She did get some looks from her friends, but all she did was give them a quick smile.

"There a problem, Twilight? I know you want your voice back, but you're looking frazzled," asked Bismuth. Twilight quickly shook her head and trotted right over to the door of the train car. She was about to grab her saddle bags and ready to go, only to find the curious white Gem. Twilight wasn't taking any chances and just wanted to get on the train before anyone could ask anything. Too bad she wasn't getting the chance to because someone else bumped into her just as he stepped out of the train.

"... Nice to see you too, princess."

"LORD AKIRA!" exclaimed the ponies. Twilight thought she would lose her control right then and there, quickly backing up and down on the floor. Kinda bowing, kinda not, but not sure how the hay to take this. Akira walked out of the train station briefly to see the rest of the group there, and it was actually Lord Akira who took a bow to them.

"A pleasure to meet the entire group of Harmony Gems in person. Sorry for the short notice," Akira said.

"You don't have to be formal around us," said Steven, "we're all equal here. But nice to see you too."

"But what're you doing here? You wanted to meet up with Twilight on the ride to Neippon I'm assuming," Rarity inquired as Akira stood upright again. That was when the Kirin leader had to start confessing a few things, his hoof rubbing his leg.

"About that ... we're not going back to Neippon," Akira said.

"Excuse me?" asked Star.

"As convenient as that would be, Twilight's cure for her silent throat isn't located back in my homeland. No, for that we need that, we're going to have to go to a more local location. Here. In Equestria. ..."
Akira looked a little embarrassed for not mentioning it sooner, but with his own magic he got out the answer to their possible question in form of a picture he brought with him.

"So then where're we going?" asked Connie. Akira took a breath before showing the picture in full. It was strictly neipponese so none of them could read it out, but the picture itself already told them it wasn't just a village exactly. The picture showed a isolated area out in the scrublands, the most notable part out of the whole thing being a bunch of jagged cliffs clustered together, a few clouds along the rims of it with spots of green within the mountains. Twilight knew what it was right off the bat, but of course she couldn't tell them.

"Here. There is an isolated population of Equestrian Kirin there, cut off from much of the world including my own. The Ponies refer to the place as "The Peaks of Peril"," said Akira.

"Peaks of p-p-p-peril?" gulped Fluttershy.

"Calm down, it's just a name, it doesn't really mean anything," promised Jasper.

"You mean like how Cloudsdale is in the clouds, or Beach City is on the beach, or how the Crystal Empire's made of crystals?" Fluttershy pointed out.

"... Fair point."

Connie could already feel her parents wanting to just take her back home, but Connie was quick to speak before they could have the chance.

"Guys, hold it, it's just a name, ONLY a name! I've dealt with worse than this by a long shot," Connie said.

"Yes, it's only that," agreed Akira, "Now, speaking as a Kirin you understand, the Ponies call it that I believe is because of how ... what's the word I can use that won't be insulting, hmm ..."

"Perilous the place is? It's in the name," Rainbow Dash said.

"Huh. True."

"What do you Kirin call it?" asked Steven. Akira paused.

"Well, Kirin referred to the cliffs as "Kiken'na gake", which in Ponish means "Perilous Cliffs"."

"Well that's much better," remarked Priyanka sternly as Doug kept by his daughter.

"Before we send our daughter to this place, what else can you tell us about the ... Peaks of Peril?" Doug asked. Akira nodded, but just before he could speak anything -

"Yo, we're here!"

"Huh? Amethyst, is that - ... oh no," Steven thought.
There, standing just at the other end of the train station was two more Gems willing to come along for this ride. The first one, Amethyst, was a nicer sight to see but it was who she was with that made the visit more annoying, as she began heading over towards them. They tried their best to make sure Hessonite didn't catch wind of this mission, but looked like she found out anyway.

"What're you doing out here?" demanded Rarity.

"Is it not obvious? I've heard about your little mission to this "Peaks of Peril", and decided to save you all the trouble," Hessonite said.

"But how'd you even figure it out? We made SO SURE not to tell you," questioned Bismuth, who was equally mad at seeing her here. Hessonite took it in stride, though did give Bismuth a side look, yet Amethyst was a bit more forceful.

"Hey lay off, bulky, your Ruby gave us a hand in that," Amethyst said, arms crossed and standing "tall" against the Bismuth.

"Bulky? Amethyst she's not your boss," Bismuth made clear. Amethyst basically rolled her eyes.

"I know, but she's way cooler. She gave me my own TANK, just try to top that!" Amethyst boasted. Hessonite gave Amethyst a tap on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Amethyst. See if you can find me a place inside that vessel, hmm?"

"Got it chief," Amethyst said, going right in to do that herself. Sounded simple enough to do, though the others wished Amethyst would get all of her memory back. It was hard to tell this Amethyst from the last one sometimes, though seeing her serve Hess over some tank ... yeah that was bad.
Before any of them could continue saying for what, they all began hearing the whistle go off for the train again, giving some of em a bit of a jump, along with the signature "AAAALLLL abroad!" from the conductor.

"This should be interesting," Hessonite remarked. All her greatness she didn't know where the place was, so she simply had to get in the train for that one, walking passed the attentive Pearl. Guess she was going no matter what the case was - Hessonite could probably run alongside the train regardless.

"Oh, it's time to go, my Connie. Your adventure awaits you!" Pearl said excitedly, but content enough to be passable as she stood right by the train door for her master to leave.

"In a second Pearl, uhh, go find us a seat. DON'T THREATEN ANYONE," Connie made clear.

"Will do," Pearl responded, going right into the train herself, but not before summoning up a seating pillow for Connie's seat wherever that may be. Connie got herself free.

"Mom, Dad, don't either of you worry about me. I promise you, I will not be in any danger, and keep my best behavior with these Equestrian Kirin. There's no way I will put myself in danger willingly, okay?" Connie promised. Priyanka and Doug looked to one another, and looked over to those going with her. Thinking back to how much else she'd gone through and survived each one, well ...

"Sorry, Connie. We're just worried over you, that's all, but you're a big girl. ... Just promise us to watch yourself, Connie," said Priyanka.

"I will," Connie said.

"Have fun Connie," said Steven, giving his hug to Connie.

"You sure you don't want to come with me, Steven? It's somewhere new," Connie asked one more time, the two holding hands as they were talking.

"New's fun, but you know: slave to the list. ... But we still can meet up later, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Connie replied.

... and Connie snuck in a kiss on the cheek just as the train whistle blew off.

"Goodbye everyone, see you all tonight!" Connie called as she rushed onto the train. Talk about a bold move. Steven was surprised, but he got himself a big smile glowing off his face just before the train started moving on its path to who knows where. He couldn't help himself.

"Tell those Kirin that if they're scared of seeing the world, they shouldn't be because it's much safer and exciting to see now!" called Steven.

"I will! Bye!" Connie called once more, waving to them all from the window of the train. They all gave their waves to the team heading off, and it didn't take them that much longer until they were out of sight along with the train. Steven couldn't help but feel his cheek, but there still was her parents ... standing right there. Funny thing though, while some of em were worried they would start questioning it, the two actually looked alright with that.

"You two are pretty chill with this," said Applejack with a smirk.

"We know, and we also knew Steven and Connie had been together for a few months now. It's much better than ... well, you-know-what," Doug said, clearing his throat a little bit. Good on them for being open and not being strict on Steven and Connie's story.

"Good for that. Alright, Steven, ready to get to it? We still got a lot of catchin up to do," asked AJ. Steven looked over to the rest of the Gems and Ponies involved here, and with Twilight going off to get her voice back with Connie, Steven still had more than plenty to take charge of.

"Yeah. Actually, there is one thing I've really been needing to catch up on," Steven revealed.

And that something had been gone since Hearth's Warming. All three of the girls. ...

~~~~~~

*CHOOO**CHOOOOOO*

The trip on the train ride went on for a bit longer than expected, but eventually the Equestrian train found its destination as Connie's group had hoped. The stop though was literally at the very end of the railroad, no sign of any more tracks as the train only stopped right at a set of buffers just at the end of the station. And by station, meaning just a bit of wooden flooring with a ticket booth ... and that's it.

"Is this what you call a "station"?" questioned Hessonite, disgusted by just how bad it looked.

"Well it's not the most uhh ... well-kept station ... apparently," said Rarity, not exactly enjoying the look of it all either.

"It just hasn't been used in a while ... though ... maybe they know something we don't?" Fluttershy said, getting a little nervous.

"Fluttershy, we've told you at least fourteen times, there's nothing to be scar -"

"AAAAHHHH!!"

The hay?! Most of em jumped in startle, but Hessonite and Connie immediately got out their swords and Amethyst got out her whip, at the ready for an attack.
However, the scream didn't come from some wild animal, or even a standard animal for that matter. Instead, that screech came from what looked like an old pony coming in from the shadows of the nearest tree. He did look very old, a tooth sticking out of the lower jaw in a grumpy scowl, with the outfit of any typical conductor would have for a station of any sort.

"What was that for, man?!" exclaimed Amethyst.

"Eehh, because not often I see anypony come down to ... the end of the line. The FINAL destination! The LAST STOP!" the old pony said, moving closer and closer to em with an ominous tone in his old raspy voice. Lord Akira had to push the pony away before he could freak out anyone else.

"Stop it, baka!" insisted Akira, "It's nothing to be afraid of, I promise."

"We know it, but does he know it?" Amethyst questioned. The old pony was suddenly right in Amethyst's face, almost making her drop her general's hat.

"Oohh you're all headin for them peaks I betcha?! Just follow em trail right to the cave. If you daaarrre!"

"Man, I knew he was gonna say that," Amethyst groaned. "Why don't you just quit acting weird and tell us where this Kirin place is!"

"Silence, Amethyst!" Hessonite demanded.

"... Sorry."

It was still enough to make the old pony laughing.

"Ain't nothing out there but uncharted terrain, monsters and wild beasts out that way! Heh. He HAHAHAHAHA!"
The old pony kept laughing like an absolute mad man as he backed up right into the ticket booth, his big freaky grin the last thing they saw of him before he slammed the door ... only to hear him laugh and see his face again as he closed the blinds to the booth.

"Is he okay?" Star asked, as confused as everyone else really.

"Yeah, we're just gonna ignore that. And umm ... let's go," suggested Amethyst.

They can probably deal with THAT guy later.

.......

Thus began the walk. The trail to the Peaks of Peril alone were a bit hard to work with, hardly maintained and cracked up in so many places they could hardly tell it was even a trail at all. Even then, despite it being winter, the warmer climate made it just that much more difficult with the terrain shifting from dry rocky cliffs to patches of bogs and swamps infested with bugs and biting flies. Each part of the trail didn't let up on any of the group, especially to the Ponies who were probably having the most trouble with all of it. The Gems made it look easy, either hopping over bogs or climbing along rocks like stepping stones, but Akira kept himself ahead of the group for he alone knew the way to the Equestrian Kirin.

"So Akira?" asked Connie as they were climbing up another rocky cliff, "These Equestrian Kirin. What can you tell us about them?"

"For one thing if you're looking for an immediate fight then you'll be disappointed. The Kirin in the village aren't hostile to newcomers," Akira said, only pausing to talk before he made a leap up a cliffside like a mountain goat. Only Amethyst seemed disappointed legitimately, but kept it to herself.

"Thank goodness," sighed Rarity, "And uh, you don't suppose they have a spa would you? It's a battle just climbing up here without a messy mane."

"I haven't really made contact with them for years. If they had done something like that, I'll ask the princess when we get there," Akira replied. The rocks were becoming a bit uneasy, and Connie actually almost fell off the cliffside, just to be grabbed by Pearl. Rather than let her walk she ended up carrying her like a baby.

"The princess?" asked Star. "You mean like Luna and Cadance and Twilight?"

"Not exactly. Princess Rain Shine's a nice Kirin and a good leader, she just mostly keeps to herself, that's all. In a way, like I do back in Neippon."

"You mean you don't know what's going on over here? But I thought you ruled over all the Kirin," Fluttershy wondered, flying alongside Akira as they kept climbing. Akira took a moment to scratch his mane.

"In Neippon, yes, but not here. They have their own rules outside of my people. Besides, I can't keep track of a Kirin settlement almost a country over," Akira explained.

"So she's like a member of your Diamond court. Put in a high position while you're still ruler of your kind," Hessonite concluded, overhearing everything. Akira didn't entirely follow the logic too well, but he didn't want to be rude to any of them as they neared the very top of the rocky cliffs.

"Well, something like that."

It took an extra minute before they all reached the very top, finally finding some more solid ground, only to find a bit more forest by a completely flat rocky wall. There didn't seem to be any exact arch, or door, or even more of the path as the path itself stopped over at the wall itself.

"That's strange ... wait here," Akira said, trotting on ahead and checking on the wall a little bit more.

"Where's the front door? I'm getting bored of climbing rocks," Amethyst asked.

"I'm trying to locate it, it should lead right into the village on the otherside. It should be right here ... somewhere," Akira answered, but as he kept looking around he didn't seem to be having that much luck in finding any passageway into the Kirin village. As he was working with that, Fluttershy started to pick up on some noise scurrying around close by through the bushes, making her shiver a little.

"T-There's something over there," Fluttershy whispered, getting Rarity's attention. The bushes started to shake some more, Fluttershy holding onto Rarity for a monster to jump out at them.

"Don't start panicking Fluttershy," Rarity said, though she sounded a bit scared herself, especially when the creature in the bushes started to come right out towards them! Rarity yelped and rushed back into Star Quartz and Amethyst ...
Just to see a bunch of mountain Squirrels.

"Aaww. I'm sorry, Mr. Squirrel, we thought you were one of the monsters," Fluttershy said, not feeling so scared anymore. The Squirrel spoke to Fluttershy in it's own squirrel language for a bit.

"Ohh, well sure. Excuse me for a second, I'll be right back," Fluttershy said, starting to trot away for a little bit as the others were still trying to find their way into this village. This did get a weird look from Amethyst but that was about it as many of them were focusing on the main problem.

"Did someone block it off?" Connie asked.

"I don't think so, it should be here ... maybe we made a wrong turn."

"Oh please, you're going at it all wrong. If it's just across, just make a path through," Hess said, pulling out her sword. Akira started growing alarmed.

"You can't cut through a mountainside with that," Akira shouted. All Hessonite did was push Akira and Connie aside with a gentle push. Hessonite just needed a few well-aimed cuts of her weapon and (in her mind) they should get a clean path right through the mountain. Seeing this problem was enough to worry Twilight again, she did not want to be labeled as an invader to the only Kirin that could possibly cure her ailment. She had to act.
Just before Hessonite could start chopping the mountain in half, Twilight just somehow managed to pull away the sword right out of Hessonite's hands (not without her magic turning it into a giant flower first that is).

"You organic little - give me back my sword!" Hessonite demanded. Twilight dropped the flower in worry.

"Hessonite stop!" shouted Rarity, "Violence is not gonna get you anywhere. If you want to get through that mountain, you'll HAVE to be a bit more practical than just blindly slashing your sword at it."

"I'm sorry, did I ask for a lecture by a pony? At least I have an idea how to get there, I don't see you coming up with anything," Hessonite questioned, looking down at the Unicorn. Now she was just being rude, Rarity almost growling at her.

"I just don't want the Kirin to think we're a bunch of savages," retorted Rarity.

"Now why would they think I'm a savage?"

"You want me to start? Alright, I'll start: First of all -"

"Knock it off you guys!" Connie butted in, "Let's all just calm down, put our heads together, and figure out where the entrance is."

"But we're not all here. Where's Fluttershy?" Star suddenly asked. In all the trouble and confusion, seemed they lost where Fluttershy had gone off to with her squirrel friend. Lucky for them though, this problem didn't last that long as they were hearing the sound of squirrels just a few bushes over.

"There you go, that should be enough flowers for a cozy bed," Fluttershy said as she finished giving the squirrels some lovely blue flowers. The squirrels were sure pleased, one of them chatting with Fluttershy a little bit more.

"I know, I know. We're just trying to find a way to the Kirin village, but the way in's blocked," Fluttershy explained,. One of the squirrels hopped up onto Fluttershy's back to better see the problem, though a few squeaks later gave Fluttershy a more puzzled look.

"But then ... where is it?" Fluttershy asked confused. And she wasn't the only one.

"I'm not an expert on ponies, but I think your friend might've lost it on the way up," Amethyst questioned.

"No she didn't, It's her special talent, Darling. She can talk to animals," Rarity explained, knowing that Amethyst probably doesn't know about Cutie Marks right now. Amethyst still was convinced that old pony at the station wasn't the only crazy one here.
Good timing too, because Hessonite summoned out another sword again and was just about ready to make her own path again.

"Wait, you don't have to do that. There's a secret passage nearby leading right to the Kirin village," Fluttershy quickly revealed before Hessonite could slice the mountain to pieces.

"Why didn't you bother sharing this with us sooner? ... and what's that on your back?" Hessonite questioned, pointing to the mountain squirrel still sitting on Fluttershy's back.

"Because I didn't know there was one, but the Mountain Squirrels told me it's right behind those bushes over there," Fluttershy said, pointing right over to a cluster of bushes on top of a large boulder off nearby.

"That ... thing told you?" Hessonite questioned, not really believing her. Fluttershy decided to just show her what was what, and as the Squirrel hopped off her back she flew right over to where the Squirrels were talking about. All it took was a few pulls of the bushes and a push of the rock, and sure enough there was a tunnel cut right into the rock. It looked fairly recent too, albeit a bit jagged-looking.

"Good work, Fluttershy! Thanks squirrel," said Connie, before heading over to the passage.

"... Well. ... My way could've worked too, I'll have you know. Come along Amethyst," Hessonite decided.

The squirrels went back to their own home from there, as everyone else took their route right into the tunnel. It was a slightly tight fit for Hessonite, being the tallest one in the group but the others just managed to get themselves through the passageway just fine. The passage itself wasn't really that long either, only taking a few short minutes before they found their way to the otherside of the tunnel.
It took even less time for them to find the Kirin Village either: they were literally right on the edge of it. The village itself looked VERY different from the Neippon town they were in before, tropical vegetation sprouted everywhere from fig trees to palm trees, to bushes thick with wild flowers or small fruit. The huts themselves were more nature-made, some of which high up in the trees connected by rope bridges, while others were along the base of the tree trunks with banana leaves as rooftops. Some were even hobbit-like houses underground beneath a large patch of grass and moss. A brook of a stream flowed along through the village with a fountain right at the center of it all, and a few stands selling exotic fruit were up for business elsewhere.

Strangely though, there were no signs of any Kirin anywhere.

"Great that we found it but where is everyone?" asked Star Quartz.

*rustle*

The slightest rustle got their attention. The village may be empty but they weren't alone, as shadows of animal-like figures rushed through the bushes and trees, keeping an eye on all of them along the forest floor.

"Show yourselves!" called Connie into the foliage. All of them kept looking back and forth around them into the thicket of this weird forest, but at first nothing seemed to want to come out to them. They all kept close together, all eyes in every direction just in case whatever this was turned out to be something more dangerous.

Then, after what felt like too long, something started to move out from the forest into the main clearing. The first thing they saw was the eyes of this figure, glistening in the dim light. The moment Twilight made a single look at those eyes, she thought she was becoming delirious. There was something eerily familiar about those eyes ... too familiar. ...

Twilight had to shake her head, rubbing her own eyes and trying it again, only seeing it for what it really was. The light was a bit dim, but even then what light did shine through to the clearing gave them all a good look at this figure of the Perilous Peaks' forests. As Akira had expected given his not-so-surprised look compared to the others, this figure was indeed one of the native Kirin, but the way this one looked was what set it apart from the Neippon Kirin. A Kirin mare, she looked about as tall as Akira, her fur colored an amberish gray, with light goldish gray scales along her back, and over her head down the top of her muzzle. Her opal colored mane was thick and curly, vaguely like that of a Lion's mane, with her serpentine tail ending in a fan of turquoise fur. Her single horn was thick like a tree root, and colored a deep crimson shade.
Behind her started to emerge several other Kirin. Compared to Neipponese Kirin, these Equestrian Kirin were in similar vain to the tall Kirin mare, as they all were thickly maned in some way. The colors themselves varied from greens, to yellows, to browns and such, each Kirin having an encircling lion mane and serpentine fanning tail.

"Are these the Kirin?" asked Star Quartz. Lord Akira nodded and walked over to see the taller Kirin.

"Princess Rain Shine, my pleasure to see you and your village again," Akira said, bowing in respect to the fellow Kirin. Rain Shine didn't speak a word, and did a similar bow of respect to Lord Akira. Rain Shine looked over to the rest, with Twilight and Connie bowing in respect to the leader too. Star Quartz didn't really do that, but that was just from being new to many of these things.

"It's nice to meet you, princess. It's a bit on short notice, but we -" Connie was cut short when Hessonite decided to go and confront these organics. She still was a bit iffy on them give or take, but they were part of the mission regardless.

"So you're the "Kirin" as apart of our mission. Well, needn't any of you worry, even if you're organics, I'll take my time and humbly tolerate you during our stay," Hessonite said with a smile. It sounded all good to her anyway.

...

"... U-Uhh. Our friend, Twilight, is sick. And we know that you might know what's wrong with her," continued Connie, Twilight kinda showing what her problem was by coughing a few times, pointing to her atom's apple.

...

"I think she might be judging us," Star said.

"With how she just acted, I can understand why," Rarity remarked. Honestly though it was kinda hard to tell with Rain Shine.

"Is something wrong, Rain Shine?" Akira asked, possibly the most confused about Rain Shine's response, or lack there of. Rain Shine looked to Akira, but rather than answer, all she did was tilt her head. Her expression showed absolutely nothing in any emotion except for calm and collected ... and nothing possibly.
In fact, as they checked the others Kirin, each one of them were reacting the same way. Now and then, they would tilt their head, but that was about it. Outside of that, they were simply staring at them with a emotionless stare, eyes dull and muzzles unmoving. Hessonite took a deep breath before looking to their own Neipponese Kirin.

"Akira. I'm not sure what kind of test this is supposed to be, but is Rain Shine always this uhh ... judgmental?" questioned Hessonite.

"Umm ... No," Akira said, surprised himself seeing Rain Shine act this way. The Kirin in question didn't, again, give any verbal response but just tilted her head back up straight again. Her gaze looked over to Twilight Sparkle next, the only one who didn't actually talk yet, and the Alicorn ... looked like she saw someone kill a box full of kittens.
Unable to speak though, the poor Alicorn simply had to just sit there until someone would notice her. Meantime, everyone else was focused on the Kirin village residence and their lack of speech.

"Rain Shine? You're free to tell us anything if there's something wrong," Akira insisted. Unfortunately, Rain Shine just gave em the same silent response again. This lack of "respect" was beginning to bother Hessonite.

"Tell me again why are we even bothering with them? These organics clearly are too primitive to understand who they're talking to," Hessonite questioned.

"She can understand Ponish just fine," Akira insisted.

FINALLY they're given a response from her. Again no words, but instead all she did was nod her head. No change in expression, just a move-up and move-down at least twice.

"Oh! But, you don't speak?" asked Connie. Rain Shine shook her head this time side-to-side.

"Don't? Or won't?" Hessonite asked. THIS time the response was a bit lacking, as the Kirin just stared at her again without so much as a tilt of the head. Hessonite was feeling insulted, but luckily the others were there to pull her away before anything else could happen.

"Hessonite, you have to give them "yes" or "no" questions, or they won't answer," concluded Fluttershy.

"You mean like when you talk to your animals?" asked Star.

"Not exactly. I can tell what they're feeling, but these Kirin ... don't show anything," Fluttershy replied, which unfortunately was a bit true more they looked at them. This though was a bit of a problem, and they made sure they all knew it.

"Well HOW are we gonna find a cure for Twilight, if they won't tell us what it is?!" exclaimed Amethyst.

~~~~~~

Hessonite was NOT happy. With the Kirin of the village still not saying a single word to any of them, the group was more or less stuck inside the Kirin village until at least one of them would speak to them. They stood over by the edge of town, waiting for one of the Kirin to utter a word but as they saw the villagers go about their day they weren't saying ... well anything. Going to their local market, tending to the fields, no matter what they did they weren't talking at all, not even to eachother.

"So we went all the way here for nothing?" asked Amethyst.

"No, they might still know how to cure Twilight ... if they can talk," Connie said. She wasn't sure how to handle them though.

"A minor setback, but nothing that can't be handled. Be right back," Hessonite said. Before anyone could stop her Hessonite was already off on her way into the village. It couldn't be that hard to find at least one Kirin in town that was able to talk right? The first Kirin she tired to get some information out of, or at least some form of word, was a calm Kirin over by one of the fruit stands. Hessonite tossed her cape back for some typical flair, though it was mainly to catch the Kirin's attention, which it did work but the expression wasn't any different.

"Well Kirin, I know you must be impressed by my attire. It is simply perfect, don't you agree?"

... and the Kirin said nothing. All she did was get her fruit, and trotted away. Not the best showing. Hessonite couldn't help but feel insulted by this rude animal, but all she did was huff and try someone else. Soon she caught sight of another Kirin, this one working on the leaves on the ground.

"Well, if at first you don't succeed," Hessonite told herself, and she walked over to the next Kirin. It didn't take a flair of her cape for this one to notice her. She tried a more simple approach this time.

"Ahh, I see your kind is hard working. Nothing compared to Gem kind, you understand, but it's still ... adequate," Hessonite said. A simple compliment on someone else would get anyone talking, but the Kirin just kept raking leaves.

"I mean, OBVIOUSLY you all have this done all the time. Am I not wrong?" Hessonite said.

...

"That is a yes or no statement, I KNOW you're smart enough to hear me!" Hessonite said, her voice a bit more rough than her typical pompous slur. But the Kirin just seemingly ignored her, and raked the leaves over into a good pile before just walking away. Hessonite actually growled, but she tried to regather herself.

"No, no, Hessonite, don't lose your temper over some organics. You're better than that," Hessonite made clear to herself. A Gem Admiral losing it over any organic animal, let alone a pony species like this would be disgraceful at best. After getting herself back together, the others decided to come in before she could demand any of them at sword-point.

"Hessonite, maybe you should try your approach with a little less "you" and more about "them"," Rarity suggested.

"Heh. And you would know how to do that?"

"Here, watch me," Rarity suggested. She saw another Kirin off nearby getting some stray twigs out of a fruit bush, and cleared her throat.

"My, I love what you've done to your mane. You got to tell me what moisturizer you use to keep your mane so polished," Rarity insisted. A very simple icebreaker for any conversation when it comes to Rarity ... unless you're talking to these mute Kirin.

"Impressive," remarked a not-so-impressed Hessonite. Rarity actually snorted like a horse would do before trying another Kirin out. Maybe something less specific?

"You know, those clouds look like they're a group of snow daisies. What do they look like to you?" Rarity asked. All the Kirin did was glance up at the sky and that's it. Hessonite just decided to try again, and she took her sights on a few Kirin off nearby a tree stump. A easy stage for her next attempt. She took out her sword, stood on the stump and ... kicked up some dust?

"What's she doing now?" Star questioned.

"Oh no, my scent sponge is starting to act up. I think I'm going to ... ahh ... ACHOOO!"

...

"Ehh ... nice one," Amethyst simply said.

"Bless you," said Connie. Hessonite jabbed her sword in the ground.

"GAHH! SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING! CAN'T ANY OF YOU TALK?!" Hessonite exclaimed (which obviously didn't get an answer). HOW can she do anything with these Kirins if they won't react to anything she did or anyone else did? They were never gonna get Twilight's cure at this pace. This noise did catch ONE Kirin's attention though, but unfortunately it was just Akira instead of any native Kirin.

"What in Equus was that? I can hear you from across the village," Akira said, him joined by the silent Rain Shine, who herself was just trotting there unlike Akira. Twilight quietly kept her distance, trying to find something else to keep her mind away from Rain Shine.

"Nothing, nothing, we were just trying to get to know the locals," Connie explained, "How're things coming on your end?"

Akira sighed, "Not too good. I've been trying to talk to Rain Shine, but ... seems she doesn't want to talk much. About anything actually."

"Her and every other Kirin. None of the others would talk to us either. They all look there but ... not there," Connie said, looking back to each of the natives a bit again. None of them corrected or denied anything, and simply continued on with whatever work they were doing in the village.

"Which means ... what?" asked Star Quartz. Hessonite pulled her sword out of the ground and got to answering just that.

"It means that this is a complete waste of my time! How is this mission going to be done without a single clue to go off of, and NO ONE to even tell us?" Hessonite groaned, starting to walk away. the moment she mentioned that though was when the Kirin started to react, something Connie seemed to only notice.

"Hessonite, what about Twilight?" asked Akira. Hessonite didn't listen to him, getting the dirt off of her priceless weapon.

"To think I've actually decided to go on this mission when I have so much else to do. I'm too kind, that's what it is. But you know, this is what I get for listening to -" Hessonite was cut off when one of the Kirin patted Hessonite on the hip, getting the Garnet's attention. The Kirin didn't speak, but this time she didn't need to, as all she had to do was point away from the village and off into the forest again. The other local Kirin moved aside to show them exactly what they were showing, and presenting them all with a dirt path into the woods.

"I already know where the exit is," remarked Hessonite.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Connie said smiling, looking down the path. It looked a bit dim in light, and also a bit ominous thanks to some convenient fog.

"I'm missing something here," Amethyst said.

"You want a Kirin that talks, and the Kirin are showing us this," Connie concluded. Hessonite was convinced these Kirin weren't smart enough to know that, but given how little they have to go on, what else was there to do?

"Yes, of course. Amethyst, stay here and guard the perimeter until I get back, I'm going to find a Kirin that can talk," Hessonite instructed.

"You got it," Amethyst said. She was about to go off and do so, but Hessonite stopped her when she got her by the collar, and pulled her back to her.

"You got it who?" Hessonite questioned.

"UGH, alright. ... You got it Your clarity," Amethyst said, even putting in the Diamond insignia as well ... even if she said the clarity stuff with her tongue sticking out. Still, Hessonite smiled.

"That's better. Now you can go," Hessonite stated. Amethyst just walked off from there, keeping the diamond insignia on her until she was out of eyesight. The only one who was a bit less than enthused by that was Hessonite's pleasing grin. Amethyst may be rude, but so long as she kept her place there really was no harm in it.

"I better go with Hessonite. You guys can take care of things here?" Connie asked.

"Okay. Have fun," Star said.

"But how are you going to get her to take you? She doesn't seem the type," Rarity pointed out. Connie already had a plan to get her to let her do that. All she had to do was walk a little closer, and start talking.

"If only I was more ready for this," Connie began. Hessonite glanced back to Connie, who was looking up to the trees for some reason. She would pull out her sword if she brought it with her, so instead she got hold of a nearby branch and pretended to use that.

"I've been working so hard to be a great knight, but I've been so out of practice. I wish there was SOMEONE that can take me under their wing, and show me some new techniques. I could really use a teacher right now," Connie said.

"I could teach you if you need me to, My Connie!" Pearl chimed in with a smile. Her brain-wipe didn't give her squat about swordsmanship, yet anything to please her master.

"You Humans are adopting our skills? I'm simply flattered you'd try to match our feats in anything," Hessonite said, waving her head as she had a smile on her face as if Connie was giving her a compliment.

"I've been really working hard at it, but I don't know what I'm doing. I would love to wield a real sword. I got the studies, I got the weaponry, I got the dream. ... All I'm missing is a good sword instructor to get me off the ground -"

"SAY NO MORE!" Hessonite said, "If that's all your looking for, look no further than right here."

"Oh, but you just said you'd have to go by yourself," Connie said, her hands together and playing the more innocent role of the naive. Hessonite didn't need anymore convincing, and she brought a hand to Connie's shoulders.

"Then I'll just take you with me! You can see first hand then from a professional on how a sword is really wielded, and you can learn from there. How does that sound?" Hessonite offered confidently, her own sword aimed up at the ready as if ready for a fencing match. Connie looked up to Hessonite with a big smile of "surprise".

"That's perfect! Why didn't I think of that? Let's do it!" Connie beamed. Hessonite started to go off on her way, and Connie simply gave a look back to her friends just before going off to join her. Maybe the others could find more luck in the village while Hessonite was away doing her thing. All the others could do was just wait it out in the village until they would come back.

Hopefully they can figure something out.

~~~~~~

From the village, Hessonite and Connie went right on into the woods. Compared to even the local flora and fauna just outside of the peaks, the local forest looked almost out of place. From the arid scrubs outside the peaks, Connie would've easily mistaken this place for some amazonian rainforest. Hessonite kept in the lead, only stopping once or twice to show off her sword on some low-hanging branches or vines.

"As you can see," continued Hessonite, "What you want to do is aim your swing just at the very tip. That was you can make the sharpest attack onto your opponent without dirtying the entire sword. It gets the job done without making such a mess."

"I got it," Connie replied. For the seventh time. She knew all this stuff like the back of her hand by this point, as she held her sword over her shoulder in their walk through the forest.

"This isn't so bad, Connie, just play along until this is over. Maybe you can get some new skills from this," Connie thought, looking to her sword and holding it out in front of her. Quietly, she observed Hessonite's slicing movements, cutting through the foliage as if they weren't there at all. Connie looked to her own sword, and actually started holding it in place.

"Hmm ... how's she doing it? ..." Connie observed Hessonite a bit more closely, eyes focused directly on both her arm movements, the grip of her weapon, and where exactly that sword was slicing. It was such surprising details put into each swing, Connie had to wonder if she could even replicate it. Her target became a small flower, a buttercup, poking just far enough from a nearby bush to show itself to her.

"Okay. One ... two -"

"Three."

Out of nowhere, just before Connie could test a strike, a blinding slash came right in and sliced off the flower clean in two. And not just separating the bud from the stem, this was a literal cut from the top down! Connie dropped her own sword and fell to her knees by said flower.

"A clean cut. How did you DO that? Not even the best fencers in the last 500 years could pull that off!" Connie asked, as Hessonite was twirling the sword in her hand like it was nothing. Hessonite chuckled.

"Someone's impressed. Just jot that one up to good creation, and a few years of practice," Hessonite boasted, enjoying the attention even if it was from a human. And Connie was reminded again just the ego she had to deal with.

"Hehehe ... yeah, that's great," Connie said, held back this time from her own enthusiasm. Hessonite though was still feeling charitable towards Connie.

"I'm glad you feel that way. Connie, is it? Because as your instructor, and now that we're acquainted, I've decided to make you my personal project. I'll make you a Human worthy of a Gem," Hessonite announced.

"It's okay, you don't have to go that far," Connie said, hands up in modesty. However, Hessonite smiled to the human girl, a hand placed on her shoulder.

"I know. ... That's what makes me so nice."

Not very impressive. Hessonite though still began to make her steps around Connie, and as she rested another hand down on her other shoulder, a tune started to play.

(Popular ("Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003) parody)

Hessonite; Whenever I see someone
Less fortunate than I
And let's face it: who isn't?
Less fortunate than I

Getting a little more caught up in the moment, she released Connie for a short bit, and got one hand over her gemstone while she laid her back hand on her forehead.

Hessonite; My tender stone
starts to fade away~

Honestly Connie wasn't too impressed with that statement, but she couldn't really go too far before Hessonite got her arm around her again. Could be for the song's sake, or maybe her own sake, but Connie wasn't gonna just walk out of this. Not if Hessonite could help it.

Hessonite; And when someone needs some confidence
I simply HAVE to step right in
I know, I know ... exactly ... what to say.

Connie was released again, though this time Hessonite paused and looked the human over for a few seconds, the admiral Gem looking Connie over up and down until she reached her own conclusions. Try and guess what conclusions they were?

Hessonite; And very soon you'll learn ...
Though you're the toughest stone I've yet to turn!

RUDE! Connie looked appalled even if she didn't entirely get Gem slang. Next thing she knew the Hessonite was basically dragging her along their way to the next part of the path, Hessonite in full pride mode.

Hessonite; Don't worry
I'm determined to succeed!

Hessonite found a convenient stump out in the woods that was just the right size for a seat, so what better time to place Connie down onto it. Connie would go away if Hessonite wasn't still holding onto her. Well on the bright side, at least Hess didn't look like she wanted to hurt her, so she was in the clear for that.

Hessonite; Follow my lead
and yes ... indeed.
You ...
Will ...
Be ...

well ... maybe.

Hessonite; Clarity!~

"Huh?" Connie asked. Hessonite quickly got her attention, looking proud of her task even if Connie didn't have a clue what she was gonna do with her.

Hessonite; My little sweet Clarity.

So this is about being formal, not confident. Connie had to clear this up to her at some point, but Hessonite was far from done with her song, a hand giving Connie a pat on the back as she tried smiling to show she was in it. Hessonite though then started to show a few poses and looks on her face to go with what she said next.

Hessonite; I'll teach you the proper ways
the right stance and sways
little things you took granite.

It was at this point she started to get a little more "handsy" with Connie, swiftly getting hold of her and picking her up, bringing her outfit into the song.

Hessonite; Such as knowing what looks to wear

Hess then brushed her hand through Connie's hair, actually quickly getting it into a ponytail with a few motions of her hand.

Hessonite; How to fix your hair

Connie gripped her hair and got back onto her own feet, Hessonite hardly even fazed by her efforts to keep to herself.

Hessonite; Everything you need to know
for Gem-Clarity~
And I'll really guarantee

In a more gentle gesture, Hessonite brought out her hand to help Connie better trust her. Was Hessonite even trying to be trusting or finding better ways to insult her? Connie couldn't tell anymore, but she didn't seem to be enjoying it much as she tried to let her hair down again.

Hessonite; With an assist from me
To be who you'll be
instead of dreary who you were - well, are.

Ok, NOW she wasn't enjoying it much.

Hessonite; There's nothing that will stop you
from becoming Clarity~

"... That didn't rhyme," Connie commented. Not that it mattered, because Hessonite was actually preparing something in hand. Her gemstone glowed bright, and something started to form up in her arms. It might be her lightning fast speed, or it might just be she somehow had it on hand for just the right person (probably the former HOPEFULLY). Hessonite had something for Connie either way.

Hessonite; We're gonna make you
Cla-ri-ty

Hessonite felt proud at least, but Connie really felt like she just dealt with Rarity on fashion day: in a swift few motions, Connie's outfit quickly changed into a Homeworld general's attire - easily one belonging to a typical Green Emerald. And no, not the Harmony Gem Emerald either. Hessonite even included a space captain cape too!
Hessonite meanwhile glanced off into the forest, her imagination taking over the stage of the song. In this, Hessonite was the star, and standing nearby were a set of characters: one a human, and one a pony.

Hessonite; When I see compulsive creatures
with their pre-impulsive features

Well that was quick. Hessonite continued her verse as she gently pushed the animals away.

Hessonite; I remind them on their own behalf.
To. Think. Of.

Then the spotlights shifted to above even her, presenting the highest authorities of Gem kind in form of the Diamonds themselves, starting with White, and shifting to Blue and Yellow.

Hessonite: Diamond-grand authority
and especially great diamond court members!
Did they have brains or knowledge?
Don't make me laugh!

Connie needed to re-check her ears after hearing that one, as Hessonite came back to reality and went over towards Connie again. Connie was still trying to work out her own outfit when she came over again to finish her up.

Hessonite; They're all clarity!
Please, it's all about Clarity~

Hessonite then pulled something out that looked similar to a comb or something, and despite Connie trying to keep her from doing it, she began to fix up her hair again.

Hessonte; It's not only aptitude
it's the way you're viewed
So it's very shrewd to be,
Very very clarified
Like ME!

And just like that the Gem Admiral was done with Connie. With the outfit given to her, Connie also got her hair tied back again, the curls and poofy outlook replaced with a more smoothed out and braided ponytail, kinda like how she would occasionally do while training but more refined. Hessonite herself started bringing Connie off away from the path, and over towards the sound of a mountainside stream. It wasn't a crystal clear mirror, but a reflection was still easy to see as Hess had Connie look into it.

"It's a good start. Given time, and you'll look as stunning as me," Hessonite remarked with a smile. But looking into the reflection of this battle-ready dame ...

"I gotta go," Connie decided. An odd reaction. Not changing out of the outfit just yet, Connie briskly walked away from the situation, leaving Hessonite alone.

"You're welcome," Hess replied.

...

"Thank goodness, my old clothes are still on," Connie said, getting the whole warrior outfit off of her, finishing it off with a cape being tossed over the pile. At least Hessonite had the decency to not steal her clothes, or this would've been an even bigger problem. Then she had to do her hair.

"How many did she do? Ten knots? Twelve?" Connie wondered, hands behind her head and working through the braiding she had done on her. "This is gonna be harder than I thought. Sooner or later she'll have to see through my ploy, or I really will end up as just her personal project. ... Did she have to make me look like that?"

Just remembering made her head hurt, and she didn't even get rejuvenated. Connie still had that image in her head of herself as someone's mannequin, bringing a hand to her head as the world began to grow dark -

*rustle**rustle*

Connie sprung up to her feet on the noise nearby, not sure yet if she should run off, or fight, or come up with an excuse if it were Hess checking on her. Looking around the forest, her eyes pinpointed out a bush just a foot away, shivering and rustling as something was starting to come out of it. Instinctively Connie got her sword out again, aiming it directly at the figure.

"Come out, whoever you are, I can see you," Connie instructed.

So she did. Another Kirin, this one olive green in scale and ginger in mane. This one must've wandered out of the village for a stroll before finding Connie. The Kirin, as with the others, didn't seem fazed by her at all and just had the boring mundane expression everyone else had been getting already.

"Phew. I thought you were another monster," Connie said, putting her sword down, "... Hey, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a Kirin that can talk, do you know where one is?"

The Kirin, unfortunately, shook her head for no.

"Any idea where I should look?"

The Kirin just tilted her head.

"Oh what am I thinking, isn't there ANY Kirin that can talk? We're wasting time!" Connie shouted in defeat. Twilight was stuck at the village with nothing to go off, and she knew she had limited time before Canterlot would try to find her again.

As for the Kirin ... well ...

"Gotcha! Sorry, sorry, but that was too good. Oh, you don't know how much I missed jokes. Hi-larity! Am I pronouncing that right? Some words I haven't said in a will - While! While. Hi, I'm Autumn Blaze. You've just arrived, and perhaps you're tired or hungry or reflective and want to sleep and eat and journal? Which you should do, of course! But first - Oh! Oh, what joy to talk with another creature! It's been so long! You must tell me everything about you! There's so much to say, so much to do! Oh, look at me. I'm going on, and you haven't seen - I mean, have you seen -? W-What am I saying? Of course you haven't. So just - I - yeah - I will j - Follow me!"

....... Well that happened.

"Umm ... okay. OK, I'm coming," Connie replied. Dumbfounded.

~~~~~~

The Kirin Village wasn't turning up much of anything either. As Hess and Connie were busy, everyone else tried to figure out some sort of cure for Twilight's own silence (or at the very least someone that could say anything). Unfortunately, there wasn't really that much luck no matter who they tried talking to, the only main response either being a nod of the head or just nothing at all. As for Twilight, all she could do was just sit over by the fountain and wait as everyone else continued their luck, given she couldn't even talk herself.

"Okay you, you know any cure for Twilight or what?" Amethyst asked to one of the Kirin as she leaned against one of many trees. The Kirin of course didn't answer her again, and she simply walked away from her. Twilight turned her head to see Pearl close by with a few more.

"My Connie wants to know if there's any cure for her Alicorn," said Pearl. "....... take all the time you need."

The Kirin didn't even bother with her.

"Come on, this is soo boring. Someone say SOMETHING so we can all go home!" Amethyst shouted to whoever the hay will answer ... which meant nobody. Shocker.

Twilight just sighed and looked back towards the fountain. Exactly what could she do anyway? Even if she came up with the answer she can't tell anyone about it. The best she can do for right now was see her reflection in the water, and how many ripples she can count. Here she was, doing nothing as everyone was scrambling around to find this cure for her. But as she sat there and stared at the water, turned out that wasn't the only problem that began to appear, as a silhouette started to form up right behind her.

"O-Oh my gosh!" Twilight thought, seeing a VERY familiar reflection at first. Seeing it was enough to make her horn glow all over again, though she quickly tried calming down again once she turned around and only saw Princess Rain Shine, looking a little more than concerned for the glowing-horned Alicorn. Twilight took a breath, but tried backing away anyway just in case her horn would go off again. Rain Shine moved forward towards Twilight.

"Twilight stop it, just get a grip on yourself," Twilight thought.

One bump was all it took to shoot. Rain Shine moved just behind Twilight, her leg stopping her from going further, but Twilight ended up shooting magic out of her head instead in a quick blast. The shot luckily didn't hit anypony, but it did end up hitting a piece of hanging fruit, turning that into a bowling ball ... which crashed on top of someone's fruit stand. Twilight immediately covered her head, her hooves over her horn before it could shoot again.

"Stupid horn, stop shooting everything! Why can't I control this?" Twilight thought, trying to even scratch her horn a little with her hooves, but it wasn't working.

"Twilight? Why's your horn glowing?" Star asked.

"Oh no, they saw it too!" Twilight thought. Grant it, how could they not see a flash of magic from a Unicorn horn? Twilight straightened up and saw not just Star, but Fluttershy and Rarity too. Her horn began to brighten up just for Twilight to cover it up with her hooves and -

*ZAP* "GAAHH!"

...Well, she had to deal with wheels on her hooves now. Great.

"Twilight! Twilight, take deep breaths, deep breaths," Fluttershy said urgently, but she had to move away as Twilight's horn shot into the sky again, this time aimed right at the clouds (which turned into cotton candy). Twilight closed her eyes and kept herself quiet, though they all could tell she was either embarrassed or scared. She had to keep this up for a good seven seconds or so, before they saw her horn beginning to lose its glow. It ended with a long sigh.

"What was that action?" Amethyst questioned, finally finding something interesting in this village.

"I don't know. It didn't look like she meant to do anything," Fluttershy said, a hoof on Twilight's back to let the Alicorn know she was there. Twilight looked down in shame, but when she tried to sit down, she ended up slipping right onto the floor thanks to the wheeled hooves, her face hitting the floor in a splat.
Twilight kept trying to get up over and over again, but each and every time all Twilight got was a face of dirt. Amethyst couldn't help herself, and she was just laughing up a storm at this mishap.

"HAA HAA! You messed yourself up BAD! Hahahaha!" Amethyst mocked.

"Amethyst!" exclaimed Rarity, "Now's not the time for petty mocking! Can't you see Twilight's having difficulty here?"

"Yeah, that's why it's funny," Amethyst replied.

"Ooohhh, I'd be even more ticked if you weren't already wiped clean of your memory," Rarity said, trying not to act too upset, but still showed a little bit of a scowl to her face.

"Not THAT again, look I know who I am: I'm Hessonite's right-hand Quartz with a sick tank and a lot of power. What do you want from me?"

"Yes. Right. must've slipped my mind," Rarity sighed. Their attention went back to Twilight again, Fluttershy keeping Twilight by her as Star Quartz was using her calming aura to help Twilight relax.

"Feeling better?" Fluttershy asked. All Twilight did was nod a little bit, but she had to keep herself "sitting" like a rabbit to stop falling over her hooves. Even though she was relaxed enough to control her horn, that didn't mean much since Rain Shine was still standing right there. The Alicorn kept a straight face as best she could do, but her horn was not gonna lie to anybody there. Rarity started to see the connection.

"Hmm?" Rarity "asked" looking to Twilight while pointing a hoof at Rain Shine. Twilight personally tried not to let it get to her, but it was getting a bit too obvious for the Unicorn. She looked between Twilight and Rain Shine for just a little bit, the gears turning more ... until a shocked look came up on her face.

"Twilight. Oh no I had no idea - you get over here," Rarity said, bringing Twilight further away from Rain Shine as fast as she could manage. Excessive, but needed for Twilight to calm down. Rain Shine was taken aback.

"Rarity, what're you doing?" Fluttershy asked. Rarity wasted little time in whispering the main problem, Fluttershy suddenly seeing it in full as the unicorn pointed to the Kirin leader.

"O-Oh my. ... She does look a lot like her," muttered Fluttershy.

"Everyone!"

Before Twilight had a chance to answer, the group of Ponies and Gems began hearing Akira starting to come in a brisk trot. At least there was at least one Kirin in the village that could speak.

"Good, good, you're all still here. Firstly - uh. Is she alright?" Akira asked, looking to Twilight. Twilight quickly shook her head, but then gave a smile as if everything's alright.

"U-Uhh, she's doing ... fine," Fluttershy vouched for her.

"Hmm ... alright. Anyway, did Connie and her friend return yet?" Akira asked, noticing the two not there still despite the wait.

"While I draw the line at "her friend", no, they haven't. Why, did you find the cure?" Rarity asked. Before answering though, and strangely so, Akira took a quick glance towards Rain Shine and actually gave her a sort of ... disappointed look? Stern obviously. Rain Shine just tilted her head, this time just confused rather than unable to respond to him.

"Something like that. Come here, I'll show you."

With Akira leading on, everyone else began to follow Akira towards another part of the village. As a few Kirin were looking on, and with Rain Shine following behind them all, the group found themselves looking at what appeared to be a kind of painting on the rock wall, kind of like a cave painting.
This painting on the rock wall seemed fairly simple, showing a vague look of the Kirin Village with residence among them. One side of the painting showed a herd of the native Kirin villagers smiling, happy and getting along pretty well. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but looking to the otherside of the painting showed completely different creatures. Well, kind of. They looked like Kirin, sure, but they looked much more demonic almost. Manes made of red and blue flames, coal-colored fur and scales, razor-sharp fangs jutting out, and hooves set ablaze by lava red embers.
Just seeing those monstrous creatures gave some of them shivers.

"My, what're those vile things?" Rarity asked.

"Cool," Amethyst said.

"Those "vile things" are called the Nirik," Akira explained, "It turns out while there are Kirin living here, Niriks live among the Peaks of Peril too. Creatures made of fire, hate, and vengeance. Last time they appeared, it was almost enough to burn down the entire forest!"

"Oh my, that sounds awful. All those hurt animals and Kirin," Fluttershy said. Figuring out this small tidbit of information though, Pearl suddenly realized something a bit more urgent ...

"My Connie! I let her go alone out there with those creatures! I'M COMING, MASTER!" Pearl exclaimed, immediately rushing off towards her master.

"Pearl, come back here! Eh thanks Akira, but we have to go," Rarity said, galloping off after Pearl before any Niriks could catch them.

"Those Nirik could be out there," Fluttershy added before flying off to join them herself.

"Wait a second!" Akira shouted. However, everyone else was already running off out of the village and down the path Hessonite and Connie went to. The only one that stayed was Rain Shine and Twilight, but given both being silent they couldn't really do much either. Akira couldn't stop them.

"None of you even know where they come from," Akira sighed.

~~~~~~

Autumn Blaze, prancing like a giddy filly, was more than happy to bring this random stranger in Connie right back towards her home. Connie was expecting this Kirin to live back in the village, but instead the mare was heading towards a isolated shack. It looked like a shed almost, but shaped in such a way that made it home for Autumn: a few sheets to make a padio rooftop, a palm tree for an umbrella, and Connie could even see a small telescope at the very top. Pretty impressive considering Autumn Blaze was away from the rest of the Kirin. And that wasn't the only thing Connie seen walking along. Autumn Blaze stopped just alongside the cliff side right next to her home, and Connie stood right next to her.
Feeling the late winter breeze going along through the peaks and mountain range, the entire world beyond Autumn's home was absolutely stunning. Healthy green foliage in several spots along the smooth hills, a flowing river carving its way just through the valley, and topping it off the two saw the most beautiful rainbow they've ever seen! All the soft colors of the rainbow shined in absolute harmony with one another, both sides flowing along the perfect U of colors across the river as if welcoming it.

"That ... that's amazing," Connie gasped.

"Oh, you think so, too?!" Autumn Blaze said, looking out to the world beyond the cliffs dreamily, "The way the light shimmers off everything, like, like it all suddenly woke up the moment you saw it. And you realize maybe the water and the mountains and the forest and the... yes, the rainbow and the stars and the sky are all looking back at you thinking the same thing? That we are a part of the everything. That maybe there's just one thing and we are all it."

Connie needed a moment to take it in, eyes sparkling as Autumn Blaze looked to her with a smile of her own.

"Not gonna lie ... that's amazing too," Connie admitted. Autumn Blaze was happy to hear it, trotting over to one of the nearby trees, which at the moment was blooming beautiful green flowers.

"Mmmm. And this is just the first stop on our journey to see, talk, tiptoe through!" continued Autumn Blaze, "Oh, I'm so glad I got somepony else to talk to, it's been so long since I last share my thoughts and felling - feeling! Feeling. You know, to share everything with. By the way, I never seen anything like you before, you got to tell me what you are, and feel free to be as descriptive as possible."

"Alright, settle down," Connie said, "My name's Connie, and I was out here to find a talking Kirin, so looks like that Kirin is ... you."

"You've been looking for me? I bet the other Kirin sent you, they must want me back after they sent me away!"

"Wait. What?" Connie felt blind-sided by that news as Autumn Blaze continued.

"What? .. Oh yeah, the Kirin back in my village made the vow of Silence. That's kinda why they asked me to leave." Autumn Blaze's mood soon changed into a more somber one while explaining that one to Connie.

"The Vow of Silence. So that's why no one in the village will talk to us," Connie realized.

"Us? There's more of you? How many, where're they?" Autumn Blaze asked, curious.

"My friends. We were hoping you all had some sort of cure for my friend Twilight. She can't speak at all, just like the rest of the Kirin," Connie explained.

"Oh no, not your friend too. It must be terrible for her not to speak anything when you got so much you wanna say running around in your head. Trust me, I know the feeling, and it is NOT f-u-n fun," Autumn replied, speaking from her own experience by the way she worded it all out. That did bring up another question for them though, putting all the pieces together.

"Sorry if this isn't a good subject but, what happened to your village in the first place? I know Kirin don't naturally stay quiet, so something must've happened. ... Unless you don't want to talk about it."

"It's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it," Autumn sighed.

"Oh. Well it's okay, I under -"

"I'd rather SIIIIIIING!~"

Here we go again.

(The Lion Guard - We're the Same (Sisi Ni Sawa) parody)

Autumn could remember it like it was yesterday: the Kirin Village she knew a long time ago looking very lively and happy as ever, much more so than it was today. They all looked like they were having fun, each and every one of them including Autumn herself, and of course they were chatting away the day and enjoying eachother's company.

Autumn Blaze; Once upon a time, the Kirin played
We joked, we talked, we laughed all day
Fun forever, at least or so we always say

It started off fine and dandy, but Autumn's memories shifted to basically the beginning of their trouble. Two Kirin were in front of one of the shops in the village, and unfortunately they eyed the exact same piece of fruit. And neither were so willing to give it up, getting more and more riled up as Autumn narrated over everything.

But then one day, a fight broke out
and hurtful words shouted about
they all got enraged, destruction spread around

Smash of a pot later, and the scene changed back to Autumn's current house, Autumn Blaze standing on her observatory by her telescope.

but they all took it wrong, and I'll tell you how!

Autumn jumped off of her rooftop, sliding down along the leaf roof and right down to Connie's side, not missing a single beat, before gesturing to the beautiful rainbow again.

Rainbows in the sky come after rain!

Connie; I hear what you're saying
But you need to explain

Autumn Blaze was more than happy to explain to her, but that involved Autumn Blaze grabbing Connie by the lips first, showing a smile and a frown to match her song.

Autumn Blaze; In the end, don't give up your smile
for the fear of pain
Happy and angry
They are the same!

"I'm sorry, I remembered how much I LOVE rhyming and singing. Okay, where was I? Oh, oh yeah!" Autumn Blaze said.

Back to her memories, after the big fight, the Kirin all looked on towards a wrecked village: the trees scorched up, and not too many homes even left standing after all of that fighting. And what's worse, some of the Kirin were still bickering! It was more than Rain Shine could actually take, her getting more and more bothered herself.

My pretty village all got burned
And from arguing, someone learned
words can hurt, and can be a bigger curse.

Rain Shine finally decided.

"No More Talking!" our leader said
And from the ruins we then went

Went they did, under Rain Shine's instructions. The Kirin villagers all found themselves looking on to a mountain stream going through the Peaks of Peril. It didn't look different from any other stream, but this one Rain Shine simply pointed to, and the Kirin all began to march right into it, going in angry and bothered, and coming out ... feeling nothing. It still was enough to regrow the village overtime.

The Stream of Silence cooled our emotions instead
And peace was restored, or so they said

Autumn pulled the scene away like a curtain.

"Well, not really said, but thought, but you know what I mean," Autumn said, before tossing the scene aside and she started running along a rainbow like it was a bouncy rope bridge, singing along as she did so.

Rainbows in the sky come after rain

With all this singing going on, Connie couldn't help herself and decided to join in. Autumn hopped off her rainbow bridge and joined Connie, who herself was looking through Autumn's telescope to the sky (which in their imagination was night time, and with tons of stars).

And stars will not shine without burning away

Back in reality again, Autumn and Connie got off the roof again, sliding down a nearby tree, and the two danced a bit once they landed on the ground.

In the end, don't give up your smile
for the fear of pain
Happy and angry
They are the same!

Autumn + Connie; Happy and angry
They are the same!

Autumn's memories continued on sometime after the Stream of Silence vow, day in and day out, and the only one having trouble with this was Autumn Blaze. No one else showed it, but Autumn was stressing out so much because she couldn't talk, hoof rubbing her head as if she got a headache as she walked along, not paying attention to where she was going.

Never thought I'd ever talk again
But everything changed when
I rolled into a flower bed

Her sweet salvation in flowers! She wasted no time in getting the flowers she rolled into back to her house, grinding them up and making them into a drink. Only one way to test to see if it'll work, and Autumn was the only Kirin there.

Just one sip, it cleared my pipes
And I can speak for the first time!
First in a long time!

Autumn couldn't wait any longer. Shortly after gaining her voice, and she was running around the village, jabbering chatting and talking about who-knows-what to whoever would listen to her. Heck even if they weren't listening she'd still chat with them! Too bad the village didn't enjoy it a much as she was ...

(Verse 2 repeat)
Ever since that cure, up to this day
I spoke each thought that came my way
And bit by bit, it drove everyone insane!

It was finally enough to get Rain Shine involved, one stomp finally enough to get Autumn Blaze to be quiet. In tune to Autumn's narrating, Rain Shine simply had to aim her hoof between both the villagers of the village, and a open path right into the forest.

Soon, our leader gave me a choice
I could stay there, or keep my voice
And so I left them, and kept to me all the time

Until you showed up, and told you why!

Back in reality, Autumn Blaze galloped through the forest with Connie running alongside, the beautiful forest going pass them as they rushed through, birds flying and butterflies fluttering. Beauty along with sound and voice.

Rainbows in the sky come after rain
And Sunsets won't shine unless the light fades away

In the end, don't give up your smile
for the fear of pain
Happy and angry
They are the same!

"One more time!" Autumn shouted, as they reached back to the house.

Rainbows in the sky come after rain
If you don't learn the past, then there's nothing to gain

Autumn Blaze raced right up to her balcony overlooking the valley again, as a good flock of butterflies started fluttering on by them. Connie looked on to the flying storm as Autumn continued.

In the end, don't give up your smile
for the fear of pain
Happy and angry
They are the same!

Happy and angry
They are the same!

Rainbows in the sky come after rain

Autumn Blaze finished her song with a small tear coming out of her eye, as a small white butterfly fluttered by them both, landing on Connie's head before it flew away. Now Connie got the full picture.

"That's terrible! You shouldn't stop feeling anything just because you're afraid to get angry again. Getting mad's just as normal as being happy," Connie concluded.

"That's what I told them! You know, when I started talking again," Autumn replied. Taking a vow was one thing, but how could they cure Twilight if they all forced silent?! And by a magic river no less? Connie looked out to the open hills again and seeing the rainbow still up and as pretty as ever. The answer was clear.

"Autumn, thanks so much for telling me all of this."

"Believe me, the pleasure's all mine. You know how long it's been since I broke out into song? Like, WAY too long!"

"By the way, Autumn, how long were you alone?" Connie asked. Autumn thought for a little, hoof scratching her chin.

"Ok, let's see, judging by the moon and sun ... I have no idea. But I know it's been a looonnnng time."

"Then you've waited long enough," Connie decided, "Because you got the cure for the Steam of Silence! All we have to do is get them to let you come back, and you all can get your voices back when they take your cure! You all will be talking again in no time."

"Oh my - Yes. YES. YES - oh wait ... no."

"NO?! Autumn you have to tell them, don't you want to go back?" Connie said, not believing her ears.

"Oh I do I do, I really do. But the thing is ... the antidote for my anecdote? It's all gone," Autumn admitted, sitting down at the edge of her home. It wouldn't be that easy.

"There's no more cure left?" Connie asked.

"I used to last of the Foal's Breath flowers we have to make the cure, and I haven't seen any bloom since. Believe me I've had a lot of alone time lately, and I've searched this entire forest 73 and a half times," Autumn explained. "... Though I wonder if that second half could make a difference ..."

Well now what do they do? Connie never even heard of Foal's Breath before, though if Autumn did use it all up it wouldn't matter anyway. Still, Connie tried to get her brain to work on what to do next, but it wasn't like she had a lot of options.

"Wait right here. The first thing I'm going to do is get the village to take you back," Connie said. It was a clearer path than the Foal's Breath. Connie had to get off on her way, and Autumn stood there and watched as Connie raced right back towards the village. Autumn then brought up her hoof, which by then had a face on it with a twig between her hoof ... yes. ...

"You know, between you and me, I don't think she's gonna convince them," said Autumn.

"NOPE," "replied" her hoof.

"But ... I really hope she does."

~~~~~~

With her friends running off to get Hess and Connie, Twilight was basically left all by herself in the silent Kirin village with her own thoughts. Maybe her horn freaking out made them not want her to come, or maybe them figuring out the connection did that. Either way, Twilight could only find some form of salvation by the fountain again. The native Kirin kept some distance away from her, worried thanks to seeing Twilight's magic going on the fritz. She couldn't blame them for being worried since it was Alicorn magic she couldn't control properly ... but she still felt bad about it either way.
Twilight took a drink of the cool refreshing water, sloshed it around a bit in her mouth and gargled some before spitting it aside and tried talking again. Sadly, clearing her pipes was gonna take more than that, because it didn't sound good at all. Not a single word mustered through her spore-covered voice box.

"I don't think I can stand anymore. First my voice is missing, now my horn's not working ... I'm turning into a complete mess. Please find that cure, you guys," Twilight thought. Twilight was getting a headache almost, rubbing her head with her hoof near her horn.

Eventually one Kirin did reach out to her.

"Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight turned her head, but instead of the local Kirin coming out it was Lord Akira coming to see her. Twilight just looked back to the reflection in the water.

"Twilight, There's something stressing you out," Akira stated. Twilight shook her head again, but this time Akira wasn't buying it.

"Please don't do that. Listen, you and your friends helped me when I needed it most. And now I want to do the same for you, if you'd let me. Something's wrong, now what is it?" Akira explained. If only it were that simple. Twilight couldn't talk, s if she was going to explain her problem to him she needed to figure out a different way to do it. Twilight brought her hoof to her chest in an inhale, and brought it out in front of her in an exhale. All she had to figure out now is how to even do it. Twilight looked around near the pond for something to use, but the best she could find was just a sturdy stick.

Beggars can't be choosers.

She trotted over and got the stick, noticing a few Kirin backing away, and walked back over towards Akira while holding it in her mouth. There was an open spot in the mud by the water that was just the right size to be used as a canvas, and Twilight began drawing away on it as best she could. Her drawing with her mouth was a bit rusty though, yet she made do with what she got, getting a pretty decent picture going into the dirt. Akira looked down to the picture once Twilight was finished with it. The drawing appeared to be an Alicorn, much like Twilight but older, standing with wings spread.
Twilight then went ahead and drew another picture alongside her. This one looked very much similar to her, only this one had a bigger horn, a longer tail, and a lion's mane. She stood in a similar position to the first one.

All Twilight had to do next was draw an equal sign between the two.

"Rain Shine ... Celestia ... They do look alike. And this bothers you?" Akira asked one more time. Twilight took the stick and began drawing again, but this one she actually paused and hesitated a little bit, a shiver running through her body. Like every other time this was even brought up. All she had to do to explain this part was place the stick over Celestia's drawing. Draw one long line down. And a small line near the top.

"... Ooooohhhh. I ... I'm so sorry to hear that. And now you're - ... Oh Twilight. ..."

Twilight spat out the stick and hung her head. Akira could only place a hoof on her shoulder, but the two began hearing more hoof steps coming closer to them. The leader Rain Shine couldn't help it anymore and was heading their way. This was enough to get Akira turning around completely to her, Twilight only glancing her way and already feeling a little uneasy. Some of the Kirin started to go away as Rain Shine went to their side, seeing the picture that Twilight was showing about. Despite Twilight trying to hide it with her wing, Rain Shine could very easily see the problem.

"Rain Shine, I'm terribly sorry but you shouldn't be over here right now," Akira informed. Rain Shine though levitated the same stick Twilight was using and in her own way began to draw herself. Her drawing was much simpler, only drawing a few swirls and flowing lines with a special stone above it. Still, Rain Shine circled it and showed that it could be the answer Twilight needed for her problem. Twilight studied it more closely, but Akira was not having any of it.

"My goodness, NO!" Akira said, actually stomping the ground over the drawing, "Rain Shine, you can't do that to Twilight!"

Rain Shine took a step back, but still tilted her head. Akira had to be more firm now.

"It's bad enough you've done the Stream of Silence to your entire village, but it's too much when you want the princess of Equestria to take it too! What would the other princesses even say if you'd done that? You'd have to step down as leader for such a thing, and I really don't want to have to do that," Akira explained. Twilight didn't have a clue what he was talking about, though seeing all the other Kirin so emotionless and quiet gave her enough of a hint, making her back up too. Rain Shine however looked a bit dismayed hearing that from her fellow higher Kirin, a hoof rubbing her leg as she looked to the ground. Akira took a breath.

"I know you like to help, Rain Shine, and you do an amazing job, but you can't just silence others to help in their problems, even if they're angry or sad. Recovery is what she needs right now, and for this, she needs only time to do that kind of work. Do you understand?" Akira asked, making sure it ended in a yes or no question for Rain Shine. Rain Shine looked to Akira, and simply nodded. Rain Shine looked over to Twilight one more time and, while hesitant, started to walk away ...

Until Twilight tapped her shoulder. Rain Shine stopped briefly and looked to Twilight, who started heading back to the drawing she just made. This time she simply washed away the equals sign between Celestia and Rain Shine. Whether Akira knew it or not, he touched her in some way, and those words got her into perspective. She shouldn't see Rain Shine as Celestia, but as another pony entirely.

The least she could do was show that there weren't any hard feelings to the Kirin leader.

Rain Shine smiled to Twilight, but knew she needed some space so she began to go anyway. Still, it was only then did they see that the other Kirin of the village were ... missing. ...

~~~~~~

Within the nearby forest, The others were still not able to find where Connie or Hessonite had gone off to. The path they went down would've found them if they both didn't go off the path. Pearl was running like mad for most of it -

"PEARL, WILL YOU JUST SLOW DOWN?!" exclaimed Rarity.

Everyone else was just struggling to keep up with her. Pearl was only finally stopped in her tracks when Star Quartz "appeared" in her way, making Pearl stop on a dime before charging right into her. For some extra measure, Star went and hugged Pearl to keep her from going any further as the rest finally caught up.

"My master needs me!" gasped Pearl.

"No she doesn't! Pearl, you're acting irrational. Whether you remember or not, Connie can take care of herself," Rarity said, pulling Pearl back a bit before she could get herself free.

"My purpose in existence is to protect and serve her, she's in danger," Pearl retorted. Nearby, Amethyst just rolled her eyes, leaning against a tree.

"Hessonite was right: you Pearls are so clingy I swear. Face it, she ditched you."

"My master is out there somewhere all alone, how can you say that?! She would NEVER just ... ditch me!" Pearl snapped.

"There WHERE IS SHE?! Because I don't see her coming back to your rescue! Stop acting so weird will you?"

"But my Connie - eeeeeeeooooohhhhhhh ..." Star Quartz just placed her hand on her back, a faint glow around her, in order to get her ability working to calm Pearl down a bit. They didn't need Pearl to be panicking out here, not with Niriks around.

"Whoa How'd you beat her up like that?" Amethyst asked, impressed.

"Beat her up?" Star asked, tilting her head like the Kirin from the village. Pearl felt almost dizzy from such a surge of "spacing out", enough to get her down onto her knees as she looked like she was staring off into space a bit. Fluttershy was there to be sure that Pearl didn't just fall over onto the ground.
That was, until they began to hear someone else starting to come down the same path they were taking.

"Oh no. I-Is that a Nirik?" Fluttershy gulped. That made them a bit on edge, but it just took a short minute before they found out who was coming along the trail back to them. It took her a while, but Connie finally got herself back from Autumn's house to the path.

"Guys! There you are," Connie called. And just like that Pearl sprung right back up onto her feet, glee and happy as ever that her master returned to them. Amethyst sure didn't feel so good about it though, feeling a cringe come up on her face.

"Dang it, I hate it when you're right. You get this look on your face - ... yeah that's the one," Amethyst saw the "I told you so" smirk that Pearl was giving to Amethyst, as Connie got to the group. Pearl gladly went right over to Connie's side, seeing her a little worn out. All she did then was summon a beverage from her stone in form of a can of soda.

"Liquid refreshment, my Connie?"

"Not now, Pearl, listen: I know how to solve the problem! We need to get everyone talking again," Connie announced.

"Duh. None of them will talk anyway," Amethyst remarked.

"No no, it's not what you think. All of the Kirin were hexed into staying silent, it's the same thing as Twilight when she got effected by those spores! None of them are even able to speak, vocalize or anything anymore."

"Wait, so they're not just being jerks and shutting up?"

"Right, and I think I know how to fix them, but first we need to convince them to getting their voices back."

"Convince them? What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"It mean -"

Before Connie could even speak again, they all just remembered there was one more Gem that just now showed up, stopping on a dime as fast as inhumanely possible right by the group. Lucky (or unlucky) for them it was just Hessonite, but the Garnet didn't look entirely pleased with Connie when she saw her.

"Connie, there you are! I've looked every mile so far, where have you been? And what in the stars happened to the uniform I made for you?" Hessonite questioned, her hand holding the shoulder fabric of Connie's shirt.

"I took it off, and I found the solution to the problem," Connie replied, pulling away from Hessonite.

"On who's authority?" Hessonite questioned.

"Umm, no authority, it just kinda happened," Connie replied. Hessonite took a look over to the group next and then saw Amethyst among them. Again, not too happy to see that.

"I thought you were keeping guard at the village, Amethyst. What're you doing out here?" Hessonite asked quizzically. Amethyst kicked a stray rock.

"I don't know, I got bored."

"You got bored?" Hessonite pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned a little bit. "Seriously, I leave you all alone for half an hour and it's already getting out of line. Amethyst, get back to your post like a good Quartz soldier. Connie, as your newly established mentor, I advise you to keep close to me. We don't want anymore accidents on my mission, thank you very much."

That did it.

"YOUR mission? This is not YOUR mission!" Rarity shouted, "As a matter of fact, Hessonite, none of us even wanted you to come along in the first place!"

"Not want me? Ridiculous, you all should be lucky to have the highest Gem Admiral on this mission -"

"Well we're not! All you've done so far is order everyone around and boast about how "great and magnificent" you are. We'd love it if you were a little less critical, and a little more helpful!" Rarity snapped. Hessonite glared at the Unicorn briefly, her temper starting to get a little bit harder to handle.

"Don't tell me. You all now want an apology too. Alright." Hessonite cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. There, everything's all fine now."

"What? Hessonite, you didn't even mean that at all," exclaimed Fluttershy.

"I said "I'm sorry", what more do you want? A promotion? Maybe some newly-made weapons?"

"How about COMPASSION! Hessonite, all you've done was complain, insult, and boast: and whenever you did help today it was just to make you look better than the rest of us!" Connie accused. NOW the sword was drawn out.

"You listen, I didn't have to come out here! I could've stayed at Little Homeworld on patrol, I even took the time to train your Peridot for you. But NO, instead I took some time out of my day to help you all out, and THIS is how you thank me? I think you're the ones that need to apologize to me for being so selfish."

Rarity felt the words stab her.

"OH IT IS ON YOU -"

*rustle*

And then the Kirin arrived. Hearing more than enough of the arguing, the group of Kirin villagers were beginning to come out of the foliage and encircling them all, each Kirin looking a bit worried.

"What're they doing?" asked Fluttershy. They soon got their answer though when the Kirin's horns began to glow. Just like the aura from any Unicorn, the Kirin's combined aura circled around most of them and they soon found themselves floating above the ground, being carried off by the Kirin.

"Whoa whoa HEY! What're you doing, put me down!" Hessonite demanded, but the Kirin didn't actually listen to any of them. Each of the Kirin acted as if they weren't talking anymore, at the least being worried about the group.

"They must've gotten worried because we were arguing with eachother!" Fluttershy said.

"You mean you were arguing with me," retorted Hessonite, "This wouldn't have ever happened if -"
They were quieted down when the Kirin went from a walk to a trot, speeding up wherever they were going.

"Hessonite, you're making things worse!" Rarity said, before trying to talk to the Kirin and added, "W-We're just having a civil disagreement, I swear. No need to kick us out of your village."

"That's not where they're going," gulped Connie.

And no doubt she was right. As they all were lifted along over the next hill, they began to see a eerily familiar stream flowing through the forest. It looked like any other river in the mountains, but that did not make Connie feel any better.

"They're dumping us in a river?" asked Amethyst, straining while being held.

"The Stream of Silence. If we end up in there, we won't be able to talk or feel anything again!" Connie revealed in horror.

"WHAT?! Stupid Kirin!" Amethyst shouted. But again, it wasn't working and the Kirin kept walking towards the stream. All the shouting and arguing told all of them that they were dangerous (in a different way than just fighting) and they couldn't have that. Pearl and Star weren't able to reach them thanks to the Kirin keeping them away, Pearl looking more and more freaked out about everything. Nothing was going to change their mind.
Nearby, Rain Shine, Twilight, and Akira just managed to catch up to the Kirin group, seeing them just in time to find them hovering Twilight's friends over the surface of the water.

"They've already made it," gasped Akira. Just before any of them could go in to stop them -

"PUT THEM DOWN!"

A voice as fiery as it was demonic echoed throughout the area of the forest, stopping everything and everyone by the Stream of Silence in their cleansing.
It took them even less time to find the Nirik. The creature enraged by what it saw, standing just by the path they took to get there. Fire scorched its back, teeth dagger'd and snarling, and fire-covered hooves digging into the ground like a bull. The other Kirin looked startled seeing the animal, and grew only more startled when it suddenly charged right for them all at full speed! The Kirin dropped the others just by the bank of the river, the Nirik heading straight towards them without hesitating an inch.

"My Connie!!" gasped Pearl, getting out her weapon. By the time she did though, she looked back just in time to see the Nirik set its own trail on fire with its tail, racing in a circle around all of them standing there. Connie and Pearl looked eye to eye for just a brief second, before Pearl saw her master get engulfed in flames. It was enough to shake her to her core.
As for everyone else inside the ring of fire, a lot of them were either ready for a fight or were freaking out (a white unicorn screaming herself silly), but Connie had a good look at that Nirik.

"Finally some action! INCOMING AME -"

"Amethyst wait, I think I know this one. And she's trying to help," Connie said, grabbing Amethyst before she could go whole hog on the Nirik. Speaking of which, the Nirik walked through the burning flames ... just to de-flame herself back into a Kirin.

"Of course. I wouldn't want them to silence the ONLY people who'll talk to me," said Autumn Blaze, as it turned out.

"Wait a minute. ... You found the talking Kirin? By yourself?" Hess asked.

"It's more like she found me," Connie admitted, "Everyone, meet Autumn Blaze."
Autumn extended a hoof in friendship, but she had to blow off some of the fire on her hoof first before anyone would shake it.

"It's nice to meet you, Autumn Blaze. But I thought Nirik's were savage violent creatures. But you don't look so savage," Fluttershy said.

"OOHH, right, right, well see the Kirin are the Nirik! We just turn into them when we get all riled up," Autumn explained. Suddenly that explained why they didn't see any just yet.

"... Huh," said Amethyst.

"So then, how'd you know you could control your temper?" Rarity asked. Autumn actually had to stop and think as the flames around them began to calm down.

"You know, I didn't. But then again, anger is like other emotions: it's not about having them, it's what you do with them," Autumn answered, using her tail to fan a small bit of flame away after she calmed down.

"And giving up all your emotions because you don't want one isn't the way to go," added Connie.
Once all the fire was quenched, and everything seemingly calmed down, they all looked back over to the crowd. The Kirin were left puzzled, but there was the more prominent sound of whimpering from Pearl that they all picked up on. Pearl was literally huddled up on the ground, shivering and whimpering.

"Pearl! Pearl are you okay?" Connie asked. Pearl didn't look hurt, but when she looked to Connie, she looked like she was about to break down into tears.

"WAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Pearl threw herself at Connie, crying her eyes out like crazy, as if she wasn't in control of her own tears. Star Quartz helped her off of Connie, albeit pulling her up by the back of her collar.

"I'll help her home if that's okay," Star said.

"Thanks," Connie replied. As Star walked off with Pearl to help her calm down, Autumn Blaze looked to the rest of the Kirin.

"Fern Flare, you used to love to laugh at everything. And Rain Shine, you sung the most beautiful harmonies. Don't you miss it?" Autumn asked. The Kirin pointed out by Autumn Blaze started to feel a little uneasy, but they could tell that they do miss those days that they could do any of those things. In fact, many of the silent Kirin were starting to wonder if being silent was actually a good idea or not.

"I know you're afraid to get mad at eachother, but that doesn't mean you should give up what makes you happy to keep that from happening. Everyone can disagree about something without getting in a fight, and even if you end up getting very mad, just go somewhere and be a Nirik where it won't hurt anyone," Connie explained.

The Kirin looked to one another before one of the Kirin started walking over to them. It couldn't talk of course, but it did have something it was trying to make out, a few hoof movements with some motions of the head.

"I think they're trying to say something," said Amethyst. The Kirin kept pointing to its mouth, and then spreading its front hooves out like water from a fountain or something. Hessonite, in spite of everything, just wanted this done now.

"Akira, please tell us what language is this Kirin speaking," Hessonite asked.

"Charades," Akira answered.

"Ok, are you hungry?" Rarity asked. The Kirin just kept going with the gestures, so that wasn't it.

"... Oh no, some Kirin trapped in a well?" Autumn asked.

"The heck'd you get that outta it?" Amethyst asked. Again that wasn't the answer (obviously) and the Kirin kept going.

"Ok ok uhh ... Okay, "baby". "Baby fish". "Ba" - "Ba" - No. "Baby fish mouth"? Something - anything? Just write it down - UGH this is making me furious," Autumn said, her eyes suddenly turning white as fire started to come out. The Kirin took a step back away from her, worried a Nirik was gonna just rush in and fight, but instead Autumn Blaze tried to keep a level head.

"Excuse me ... I'll be right back."

Autumn trotted over to behind a rock and ...

"GAAAAHHH!"

She walked out, slightly smoking but much better.

"You were saying," Autumn Blaze said. The Kirin walked up to her, and all it did now was touch Autumn Blaze's snout with her hoof, opened its muzzle and gestured like it was scooping something into it. Just like that it clicked together.

"OOHH you want the cure for the Stream of Silence!" Autumn concluded. The Kirin nodded along with the rest of Autumn's village. Autumn smiled, but she and Connie felt a bit bittersweet about it.

"That's wonderful! ... Isn't it?" asked Fluttershy.

"It would be, except there's not any Foal's Breath left to make the cure," Connie replied.

"Foal's Breath? I never heard of that."

"I have," Akira said, stepping into the picture on hearing the flower's name. "It's a native flower that only ever grows in these Peaks. Though ... by the sound of it that should be "only ever grew in these Peaks"."

"Are you sure there's none left?" Rarity asked.

"Oh beyond sure," Autumn replied. Take it from a Kirin who's been alone for many years, that wasn't any lie Autumn was gonna shoot out.

Suddenly Hessonite stepped in, her stomp shaking up the ground a little.

"So let me see if I understand. We've spent the entire day here, trying to locate the cure, any cure, out of any of you. And now you got the nerve to tell me that there isn't even any left?" Hessonite demanded, fuming as she drew out her sword.

"Don't do this, Hessonite!" Connie said, hand spread and trying to protect the village as the others joined her.

"Why not?! They just tried to silence me of all Gems in that stream, and NOW there's not even a cure to speak of? This was all for nothing!"

"NO it's not! Now let's just calm down, and look for the Foal's Breath -"

"That apparently doesn't even exist anymore. And anyway, what good would a plant do? Flora life doesn't even do anything besides just sit there and do nothing!" Hessonite retorted.

*squeak**squeak*

Saved by a squirrel. The furry animal hopped out of the bushes nearby just before anything could get any worse. It had overheard the whole conversation, and started chatting away in squirrel language. None of them speak squirrel, but when Fluttershy heard it, she lit up.

"You know where there's more Foal's Breath?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Huh? Really?! No way, where is it?" Autumn gasped.

Talk about a convenient save. The Squirrel knew exactly where to go, and once they were convinced to follow, the Squirrel started off just a little bit of ways. Fluttershy galloped off after the squirrel, and it only took a few more minutes before both the Pegasus and the Squirrel came back to them.
Wouldn't you know it too: there they got the flowers!

"That's what Foal's Breath looks like?!" Rarity gasped.

It was the same flowers Fluttershy gave the squirrels when they first arrived in the Peaks of Peril! The Squirrel must've brought some back as a sort of "thank you" to Fluttershy for the help. Akira went right over and took just one look.

"Those are them! I should've recognized them when we first got here," Akira admitted, feeling very dumb to not think of the connection quicker.

"Oh my, you ACTUALLY found them! Where were they?! Tell me everything, and feel free to add complicated descriptions and comedic tangents!" Autumn beamed.

...

"Oh. Right. First things first."

Hessonite ... kinda stood there. Frozen. Blank-faced enough to just drop her sword.

"Did ... D-Did a Squirrel just do my job?" Hessonite thought.

~~~~~~

Every single person there went right back to the Kirin Village post haste, the Foal's Breath in hoof and just enough of it to make the cure work. Autumn Blaze, who waited so long for this day to come, was the one that levitated the flowers and did the honor of making the cure happen. Giving a smile to everyone in her village and the others that helped out, she simply tossed the flowers into the fountain at the center of town. Like dust, the flowers disappeared into the water, adding just a bit more tint of blue to the pond. The Kirin didn't hesitate for a second. Once the flowers got into the water, each one of the Kirin including Rain Shine went right over to it and bent down to take a drink. The water was cool, and soothing to the throat, as the others waited on baited breath for the end result.
That end result came like lightning: just seconds after they all took the drink, suddenly voices rang out from the crowd from each and every Kirin. Talking, chatting, even singing and cheering! After so many years of being quiet and now they got their voices again. Everyone felt pretty good with themselves.

"Okay, Twilight, your turn. You've been very patient," Rarity said, urging Twilight to go forward. Twilight raced right over to the water, and after a bit of looking to her reflection, she took her drink. Her sore raspy throat soothed and cooled with the magical water. There was only one way to find out if it even worked.

"ssssss ... sssssshhhhiiii ... hhhiii ... hi? HI? I ... It ... It worked. It WORKED! I'm all better! I CAN FINALLY TALK AGAIN!" Twilight exclaimed, hopping like a filly as she finally was given her voice again. The others smiled to Twilight, and the Alicorn went right over and hugged her friends.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! I knew I could count on all of you! Oh the things I wanted to say but couldn't because of those spores."

"Really relatable, am I right?" said Autumn Blaze. Speaking of which, Rain Shine, now cured of her silence, walked over to Autumn Blaze and company.

"Autumn Blaze," said Rain Shine, "you have given us a gift. The realization that anger is within us, but it is our choice how we let it out. We would very much like it if you came back to live with us. I can't say how much we've missed your beautiful voice."

"She even talks like her," Twilight thought ... or she thought she thought.

"Like who?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"Huh? OH, sorry. Been in my head too long, it kinda came out, you know how it is," Twilight said, blushing. THANK STARS she could actually say it instead of charade it. Speaking of which, Twilight and Rain Shine had a bit of an odd moment. Twilight for the first time in who knows how long cleared her throat.

"Before anything else happens, I'm sorry for making things awkward, and wrecked a stand with a bowling ball," Twilight said, lowering her head. Rain Shine just brought Twilight's gaze up to her.

"You have no need to apologize, Twilight Sparkle. You have had a lot of burden on your shoulders, but I can see that you have all the help you need right there," Rain Shine said, pointing over to her friends standing nearby. All Twilight did was smile. How could she be wrong about that? Twilight went back over to her friends, Akira and Rain Shine sharing a smile themselves. Not only the princess, but the whole civilization of Kirin of the Peaks of Peril now were given back their voices.

Mission accomplished.

Author's Note

And thus, we found the second world of the Kirin! You didn't think I was gonna ignore the canon Kirin of the show did you? (I'm a Kirin myself X3)
So nice things are getting up to speed, sorry for the wait on this chapter - trying to mix in Twilight's issue with the Kirin issue while reminding that Hessonite's still here and a problem's ... harder than I thought. Anyway hope you enjoy this addition to the world ^^

Bull-Headed

"You have NO IDEA how hard it was, I couldn't even get my horn to pick up my toothbrush without turning it into a mustard bottle, and then a porcupine. By the way, I learned the hard way that porcupine quills actually DON'T just pull out of your face, you kind of have shimmy it first before they can pop out. But anyway, I had to go around all over Canterlot to find a new toothbrush, who knew it cost thirty bits to get the exact kind of toothbrush I had -"

"Twilight, Twilight, I'm happy you got your voice back and all, but PLEASE STOP. This is hour four that you've kept jabber-jawing," said Emerald at last, looking so bored and worn out he might as well fall asleep. Twilight got herself to button her muzzle for a moment.

"Sorry, it's just been weeks since I've last talked. I just wanted to get it all out to someone," Twilight said.

"Then why not go talk to Autumn Blaze instead?" Fulgurite questioned, thumb pointing over to the Kirin.

After just one visit and Little Homeworld was already working on some new visitors. As she promised them, Connie helped get the Kirin from the Peaks of Peril to come over for a visit to the new world. Since getting their voices back too, the Kirin were getting to know every single Gem, Pony, and Human they could meet up with.

"It's okay, I've already talked to them a lot today, twice in fact. Anyway, how's all the building going on here? The others told me you two had been very busy for days and days now," Twilight inquired. Fulgurite glared at the green gremlin next to her, crossing her arms.

"Right. Well, we thought -" Fulgurite zapped Emerald with her hair. "Okay, okay! I thought of the idea to put Jasper and Rupee in a contest that kinda backfired, and now Fulgurite and me are basically on construction duty for the next month or whenever Jasper decides to end it. ... You know, the usual."

"Wait wait wait. You guys ran into Rupee?! Where's she now, when'd you last see her?" Twilight asked, shocked that she was still even around.

"Eh tu, Twilight? Don't know, we last left her after Jasper brought down the hammer on her back in Equestria," Fulgurite said, "I'm just glad we don't have to deal with her again for now."

"You mean you two know how dangerous she is, and you just left her there?" Twilight asked. Before Fulgurite and Emerald could actually answer her (for the who-knows-how-many-time today), the group began to hear the Warp Pad go off nearby, though it was a little harder to hear given the chattering of the interacting Kirin. Just a glance over had them finding Steven coming out from said portal, holding the list he was still going over.

"Just add it to the pile for later, Twi," Fulgurite whispered. Steven had enough to deal with anyway.

"Hey Steve-O, there you are," Emerald said, as he went over to him with company.

"Huh? Oh, Fulgurite, Emerald, you're still around town! I've been wondering where you two were," Steven said, taking his eyes off of the list for a second.

"Yeah, we still got a bit to do around here. What about you, you said you were gonna check in on Pearl again," Fulgurite inquired. Steven's smile quickly turned into a more troubled one.

"Hehehe ... well uh ..."

~~~~~~

"Hey Pearl how're you doing? Did you get everything out of your system yet?" Steven asked upon entering.
The room he walked into was very quiet, with nothing around but the sounds of whimpering coming from the dark ends of the beach house. Ominous, eerie, and a sad vibe coming from every corner of it. Even just stepping into the house had Steven feeling a puddle of tears on the floor.
As for Pearl, she was sitting over by the kitchen, on a stool as she buried her face into the counter top. Steven couldn't see her eyes, but the two streams coming from the table onto the floor kinda made it too clear. Pearl looked over to Steven, her eyes so full of water they looked like rippled puddles. She couldn't even talk, just a lot of murmuring and whimpering as she tried not to just crash down into tears again.

"WHHHHYYYY?!" she cried at a point.

"Ok. Sorry. I'll just leave you alone then," Steven decided, Pearl crying and wailing as he left.

~~~~~~

"She needs some more space," Steven simply concluded.

"It's been three days straight now. You sure you can't just talk to her? You're pretty good at that," asked Fulgurite.

"Well we would, but Fluttershy says she needs to let it all out first. And she's got a lot to go," Twilight replied.

"You have no idea," Steven added. How hard would it be to help a friend when he couldn't even talk to them? Regardless, he took a look back to the list again briefly before the others took some notice in it, Fulgurite peeking over his shoulder to check it out.

"So ... what was the thing you wanted to see us for? Shopping list?"

"Oh no, this is just me," Steven said, pulling it away, "You guys wanna take a break?"

"YES," Fulgurite and Emerald said. ANYTHING to get out of all of this construction work by themselves.

.......

"Am I doing it right Garnet?" Spinel asked.

"You're doing just fine, Spinel. Now, relax ... deep breathing," Garnet replied.

As Steven was bringing back the Gems and Alicorn, the others were keeping themselves busy as apart of Garnet meditation class. With Spinel as one of her students at the front, this idea for a class had gotten a bit of attention with not just the Gems, but a few notable others as well. The poses this time weren't upside-down, just a few good stretches while on one foot to get the mind and spirit in line. There were quite a few there too: the Off-Colors being the main source of the new students Garnet was dealing with today.

"This is actually pretty fun, Garnet." Fluorite said. Though, Fluorite out-sized a lot of them as she was standing on two of her back legs to do some of the poses.

"That makes one of us, when is this gonna get good?" Tiger's Eye asked, getting pretty bored.

"We told you it wouldn't be action-related, Tiger's Eye. It's mostly ... exercise," Flint said. Tiger's Eye followed everyone else in a stretch, arms aimed directly above their heads ... but Tiger's Eye leaned to the side, and basically cart-wheeled away to the others nearby.

"Yeah, nope, not for me."

"Tiger, get back there," Jasper insisted.

"It's alright. This isn't something you can force someone into. Besides, I knew she'd quit half way through," Garnet said. Fair enough.

"Then why the heck did you put me in there in the first place?" Tiger asked. Garnet didn't answer outside of a *ssshhh*, leaving Tiger's Eye to just hush up and sit there to watch the rest do their thing with her. Many of the Off-Colors outside of Tiger's Eye were doing just fine, but as they continued to watch, Spinel was looking ... distracted?

"Hey guys. we're back," Steven announced once he got to the others. This seemed to set off a sort of quick-time reaction, because the second she heard Steven's voice Spinel's eyes shot open. She wouldn't miss Steven's arrival for the whole world. Soon as she saw him, she dropped the whole meditation class right there, and sprung right over to see Steven.

"Steven!" Spinel said, giving Steven her typical hug as per usual. It was more than hard to avoid at least one of her hugs for one day.

"Hey, party people! What're you all doing?" Emerald asked.

"Meditation Seminar," said Garnet, "You two had been working hard. Come join us."

"For a meditation class? ....... Eeeehhhh I dunno bout that. Sounds boring, and looks boring," Fulgurite said.

"Thank you," Tiger's Eye commented nearby. Finally someone actually agreed with her for the first time all day! Fulgurite still didn't feel like waiting around for them again.

"Meditation class? When'd you guys start doing that?" Twilight asked.

"At least a week ago. This one's just a practice before the bigger class tomorrow. If you two don't wanna do it, there's always some more crates to be moved to -"

"Where do we sign up?" Emerald quickly cut in. He also made sure Fulgurite was quiet this time, hands over her mouth so she wouldn't wreck their chance at a break. Garnet gave a mess verbal answer, and just presented the group by them. So as Fulgurite and Emerald reluctantly joined them, Garnet looked over to Twilight and Steven.

"I'd take it Pearl still needs space to let it all out," concluded Garnet, noticing that Pearl wasn't with them anywhere.

"Yeah she does. Sorry Garnet. But she'll calm down eventually, she can't cry forever," Steven said. Though that statement was a little bit hollow to say the least. They had their own theories as to why she was still crying so much, and given that she hadn't stopped crying since they got back from the Peaks of Peril, odds are it probably meant more than just fear of Connie's safety.

"She won't. We'll catch up with her later, but first -"

"Yes," Steven said. "You were gonna ask for us to join you in class, right?"

Garnet smirked, "You little clod. I got your spots open right here."

Garnet presented the spots to them, showing two spaces just big enough for both Steven and Twilight to fit in. She even got their respected blankets for the task too so they wouldn't stand on the snow.

"Thanks a lot, Garnet," Twilight said smiling, "I always wanted to try one of these classes, but never got the time. With all the work, and the whole silence thing, you know."

"You wanna join us too Spinel, or do you wanna sit this one out?" Steven offered. Normally Spinel would be happy to join in, but something was kinda bugging her about this idea as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Eehh, pass. I've been trying before you showed up, and I can't really get the hang of it," Spinel admitted, not sure entirely why she was having this much trouble.

"Huh. Okay, suit yourself," Steven replied.

Spinel went over back to the others standing nearby as Steven and Twilight joined with the other Off-Colors for the session-practice. It couldn't hurt to spend at least one half an hour out of the day to unwind and let their souls relax a bit with her. Too bad Spinel still seemed to be distracted a little by something, as she brought her hand to her face to swat a bug away. Steven and Twilight went over side-by-side, getting themselves into position the same time as Garnet.

However, fate had different plans ...

*mmmmoooo* ... *mmmmooooo* ... "Steeeeveeeen."

Everyone immediately stopped what they're doing when they began hearing that noise. It sounded very tired. Low. Pretty weak too. And it sounded pretty close. The group turned and only needed one look just along the snow-covered hills by the barn to see who was calling them.

"Is that ... a cow?" asked Spinel, hand above her eyes and squinting a little.
Now exactly just some random cow, but indeed the group was seeing a bovine trying to get over to them, marching through the snow as best as a half-dead bull could. The bull had a hard time just standing, and he was about thirty feet away from the wooden shelter before he just fell splat into the snow.

"Oh my gosh," Fluttershy gasped. That was more than enough to get the others running over to him, Steven almost skidding from a quick stop when he got to his side. He got his ear on the bull's side, listening as best he could.

"... Ok, he's still breathing. Hey, you found me, a-are you alright? Can you see my hand?" Steven asked, waving a hand by the bull's face. The bull didn't answer right away, but his eyes did look up to him.

"I found you ....... I found you ..."

"Oh my, he looks awful. You poor bull. We better get him inside," suggested Fluttershy.

"Now hang on a tick," said Flint, "We don't know who he is or where he came from. For all we know, Grogar could be setting up a trap with him."

"O-Or maybe that bull's out for revenge?" gulped Rhodonite.

"Are you kidding? Look at him, he can barely walk. Whether he's from his army or not, right now he's an injured bull. We're NOT leaving him out here to become frozen beef," Steven said, as he tried to get the bull moving again. Unfortunately, the large animal was practically ead weight, and Steven just couldn't make him budge as much as he tried to do that.

"phew ... I could've benched fifty pounds if i had my Gem magic," Steven panted.

"Hang on, I'll get him," Jasper said. Not only did she lift the bull up no problem, but all she had to do was literally toss the bull over her shoulder and stroll on towards the barn. The bull mooed a little bit, but he didn't try to get out of Jasper's grip (not that he could anyway).

.......

It took a good hour or two of work, but eventually the tired and worn out bull was starting to become a bit more aware. The others kept their eye on him for the time being. They got him in a warm blanket, a nice bed of hay, and even a bit of sugarcubes as a little something extra. The bull was still a bit weaker than before, but at least he wasn't looking ready to just fall dead now. He took a moment to get a good drink from a glass of water (which by the way proved he was Equestrian), and got his pipes cleaned out from the cold air and snow.

"Huh ... not bad. Where'd you get these? Manehatten?" the bull asked, referring to the sugarcubes.

"Just a little something I whipped up," Spinel said with a shrug. The bull wasn't complaining though, and took a few more bites of the sugarcubes. He did suddenly cringe though when someone touched his back leg, giving a loud snort as Jade tried to work some bit of her own magic.

"These cuts look pretty deep," Jade noted, rubbing something into it.

"What's that you're putting on me?" the Bull asked, glancing back at her but not lifting his head.

"Some herbs from the Everfree Forest," Jade explained, "Zecora showed me how they worked, and she says it'll keep the cut from going bad."

"Hmm ... thanks," the Bull replied, resting his big head on the hay bed for a bit as Jade continued adding the herb ointment to the wounds on him, with Fluttershy's help. Looking at him though, the others could see that he looked pretty bad for just walking through the snow: aside from the deep cut on his leg, there were a few bites around his shoulders and back, his horn scratched, he even had his nose a small bruise on it.

"Sorry to say this, Mr. Cow but you look like you've been through a timberwolf fight." Tiger's Eye asked.

"MY name is not "Mr. Cow". My name is Olson," said the Bull with a snort.

"Okay, but it would still help if we knew what happened to you. Also why were you looking for me, exactly?" Steven asked the tired bull. Olson looked over to the Human, slightly turning his head but he didn't look like he was that brave in admitting anything.

"I've heard you were a healer, so I figured I'd pay a visit. It's not like anyone back where I was gives a hoot," Olson said. Steven was about to ask a few more questions, but then he paused once he took a closer look at the bull's eyes.

"Wait. ... Wait, do I know you from somewhere? You look kinda ... familiar," Steven realized, trying to think a little bit. Olson's eyes were of two colors: one green on the left, and one white on the right. It was probably Olson's main trademark if he didn't have all those cuts from any other bull his age. But then ... something seemed to click.

"Yeah, I did see you before. You were from Grogar's army, you were one of his soldiers!" Steven realized. Immediately this got everyone alarmed except for Olson, who probably was too tired to get into a fight anyway.

"GROGAR?! Get him out of here!" Rhodonite shouted from behind Flint.

"What, no! I didn't say that because I wanted him gone, I'm just stating a fact!"

"Steven, you tried that before and you nearly died. You really want to try that again with him?" Flint asked, though not scared but still alarmed that Grogar's soldier was laying in the barn.

"He could be dangerous," Fluorite.

"Guys come on -"

"I'm NOT with him anymore, alright?!" Olson suddenly shouted, hauling up onto his front hooves before he collapsed again in a loud thud. Just like that everyone looked back to Olson, now not as panicked in a way.

"You're not with him?" asked the Rutile Twins. The bull shook his head.

"NO. Where do you think all of these came from?" Olson pointed out, a hoof aimed at one of the many cuts on his body. All of a sudden it started to make more sense.

"Grogar did this?" Steven asked.

"Ehh ... well ... maybe?"

"Look, whether he did or he didn't," Jasper said.

"... You'd think so. ... It happened few days ago, not long after our last little invasion."

~~~~~~

"You all call yourselves soldiers?! You ALL are a disgrace before Tambalon!"

Those words screeched and scratched at what army remained back at Grogar's current base, namely Nichrome's army with the captain himself standing at front taking much of the hits. Olson though kept with the other bulls behind him, but he still felt rough all the same from Grogar's harsh words.

"The first moment when things go south, and what do you do? You RUN? ... Nichrome, give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave you for the Red Diamond right now," Grogar warned, his hooves digging into the hard earth as his teeth grinded together as Nichrome could only beg at his feet.

"No no no, sir please, i-it's not what it looked like. I would've stayed by your side to the very end, and I still will -"

"Then what happened back at the beach?" Grogar cut in, "You ran like a cat before a dog! What happened that was so important that you abandoned me to the enemy?"

Nichrome tried to think of something fast, his own fear making his usually quick wit scrambled. His eyes darted around over and over again until he saw the army behind him.

"I-It was them!" Nichrome said, pointing to them, "your glorious army would've been completely wiped out if I hadn't called them back. I-It wasn't cowardice, it was conserving power my lord, I swear!"

Grogar growled low. And everyone could tell was not buying it, not for anything else. Slowly he began to walk forward, making Nichrome start to move back a bit.

"... Were you really concerned about your army? Or were you concerned about yourself? ... Were you afraid? CAPTAIN?" Grogar was inches away from Captain Nichrome at this point, Nichrome unable and uncapable to even think of an answer. Nichrome looked anywhere he could for some sort of answer, but he couldn't seem to even find it. He had no choice.

"Umm ... I uhh ... m-maybe I was afraid."

That was all Grogar needed to hear before he opened his jaws, and grabbed the alien by the head, swinging him around over and over again into the dirt. Nichrome could only just take it all, as Grogar slammed him into the ground, keeping him still by slamming his hoof down onto his stomach. Nichrome looked horrified as Grogar's eyes glowed red.

"YOU DISGUST ME! I saved you from that prison on Homeworld, I even made you a captain, and you thank me by leaving me for dead?"
Nichrome's only response is screaming and covering his head from an attack. He'd get his, but Grogar then addressed the rest of his platoon.

"All of you are nothing but cowards! You'd rather save your own skins than have any dignity. Why do you think I got you all together, huh?! And thanks to you that battle was -" Grogar suddenly stopped. He wanted to test something real quick, and his expression turned more tired.

"... No. ... No that wasn't a loss. We ... won the battle. We won the battle, didn't we?" Grogar asked.

And guess who was the one that answered him?

"Yes, chief! It was glorious," said Olson. Wrong move.

"I KNEW IT! You're ALL cowardly liars! Spineless, quivering liars! I'm not building my army off of worms like you. Fight me! I'll prove to you all what Tambalon REALLY is!"

Then came the onslaught. Without any hesitation, Grogar charged forward like a mad man, attacking anything and anyone that was closest to him. The bulls among Nichrome's army were suddenly in a scramble to try and fight him, but Grogar even with his lack of horns was proving very strong even for them, at one point even lifting a bull by the horn and swinging him into four more bulls. Nichrome, being the coward he was tried to run away but Grogar quickly got to him first and went to town on him with one hoof after another.
As for Olson, he was actually one of the few bulls that tried to make a run for it, but Grogar and his glowing rage quickly found him out and jumped him in the back. The fight quickly turned into a rodeo as Olson tried like mad to buck Grogar off of him, his sharp teeth and hooves cutting in a good bit before Olson bucked him off. Grogar of course landed on his hooves, but Olson wasn't gonna stay around, and made a mad dash for it.

"Coward. LEAVE THEN! You're be cold cut beef by the end of the week without me to save your hide!"

~~~~~~

"And I've wandered around since," finished Olson.

"But what happened to the rest of you?" Steven asked. Olson huffed.

"My guess: probably up for market for 50 bits a pound ... well maybe 70. Er wait, how much is a lean cut of beef now a days?"

Everyone just kinda starred at him.

"What? When you've been in Grogar's army as long as I have, you get used to it," Olson said.

"And ... how long's that?" Flint asked.

"Good half a year. At least since last fall after he got me out of a Klugetown market trade for some beans or something. Seriously, who trades a bull for beans?!"

"W-Well that's in the past. You're here now, and we're gonna help you get better so you can be on your way. If you need anything else, just let us know and we'll get it for you," Steven promised, though mostly he wanted to change the subject before he could've gotten more detailed with it. Olson laid back down but before they could go any further, two of them were already signaling them to come outside. Try and guess who they were?

"Flint, Rhodonite, give this a chance please? We know he's from Grogar's army, but he's not looking too good to be out on his own," Twilight made clear.

"How do you know? Grogar's played tricks on you before, and look how well that went," Rhodonite said in a slightly more urgent tone than she had to, only for Flint to elbow her.

"What she means to say is that you're ... kind of being too caring to someone that you know is the enemy," Flint corrected.

"How's that any better than what she said?" Tiger's Eye questioned.

"So you guys really think he didn't get beat up and driven out by Grogar for not fighting us before?" Fluttershy questioned. Flint paused and actually thought about it as Rhodonite tried to reconsider herself.

"Well ... ok, THAT part I'll buy, but him not at least thinking about getting back at you? ... I don't know. If you're gonna keep this guy around, watch yourselves with him, okay?" Flint advised.

"Don't worry, if he looks at him funny, we'll be there to squash him," Spinel said, her fist clenched and growing as big as a bale of hay to prove her point. You can't get any more promising than that. Steven took one more glance back to the barn where Olson was laying in, images of his time with Grogar going through his head one more time. It wasn't fair to blame Olson for something Grogar had done but it still was just enough to give Steven a slight shiver. That was, until Garnet rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone deserves a chance to change. You both got nothing to worry about. I promise," Garnet made clear not just to him, but to Twilight too.

"Thanks, Garnet."

~~~~~~

So time went by, and now the group had to add "taking care of Olson" to their list of things to do. It was a small job compared to everything else, as all they had to really do was watch him and get him food or water as the healers got the main work of handling his wounds. They took turns getting him the stuff he needed, and so far Olson didn't seem to mind the treatment. He didn't try to attack them at least.
That didn't really mean that everything around them was slowing down either though, as Little Homeworld was getting closer and closer to being complete. In fact ...

"And on this day, Gems and Ponies, the new Gem War Emporium is officially OPEN!" happily announced Bismuth, her hand as scissors as she did the honor of cutting the ribbon. She had waited to this very moment to get the museum open for all to see, and everyone in town was glad to see another grand piece of the city built to completion. The small crowd of mixed characters gave their round of applause on a job well done, and Emerald and Fulgurite were sure feeling good about it.

"Finally, this is all done!" said Emerald with a thumbs up, "Keep this up and the whole city's gonna be done by spring!"

"Actually at the rate we're going, we'd be done by the next two weeks. Trust me, we got this project in the bag," Fulgurite said, giving her companion a high-five. Bismuth smirked.

"Someone's looking happy about all the extra work. Don't worry, we got WAY more to do when this city's done," Bismuth said with a smug grin. Suddenly Emerald and Fulgurite froze up. How much work did Bismuth have in mind for those two exactly?

"Don't do that B, please?" said a suddenly meek Emerald.

"HAH, I'm just tossing your rocks!" Bismuth laughed, "We'll be done with this in no time. How much do we got left? A city block? Repairing the tower?"

"I don't know, Peridot's usually been on that part. You know, until she lost her limb enhancers thanks to Grogar," Fulgurite reminded, strolling off the Museum's stoop as the three were chatting. Emerald floated by them on his hexagon.

"Yeah, while we're on the subject," Bismuth said, "I've been wondering where the heck he is. It's been a tad too long since we've actually done anything about him, and he hasn't made any surprises yet."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, which it's not," said Emerald, "We're on a roll, let's not go and jinx it, K?"

"I'm not jinxing anything, I'm just saying. Grogar's still out there somewhere, and he's probably up to something else, going around doing who knows what -"

"OK B, quit Flintin will you?" Fulgurite butted in. That immediately made Bismuth stop.

"Flintin?" Bismuth asked.

"Yeah, you know: thinking about the future, obsessing over it, then getting in a big tizzy about it. Like Flint does all the time. I coined the term a few weeks ago while working on the beams," Emerald explained. Bismuth couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"He's gonna hate you when he hears that," Bismuth chuckle.

"Ehh, add it to the pile," Emerald shrugged, "If it happens, it happens, but for now let's just go with the flow, as Amethyst would say."

"Yeah. Like Amethyst used to say ..." Bismuth actually caught herself staring off a bit, the smile on her face disappearing as Fulgurite and Emerald looked at her side to side.

"Did he say the wrong thing?" Fulgurite asked.

"Oh, no no you're all fine," Bismuth said, "... I just miss em."

"Well, I mean the others are working on it, you don't have to worry about anything," Emerald said. Bismuth though didn't feel so chipper anymore. She brought a hand to her head.

"... This wouldn't of happened if I'd just hardened up! Pearl, Peridot, and Amethyst still don't got all their pieces together, and it was a miracle we even got Garnet, Jasper, Spinel, and Lapis. The best Gems in the world just got cut up to pieces with that Rejuvenator and I didn't even stop em!" Bismuth was actually getting angry about it, but mostly it was at herself as she remembered all those shocked faces everyone got, including those that got sliced. Fulgurite and Emerald really got a step back when Bismuth's hand turned into a hammer.

"Whoa whoa easy, Bismuth, easy! I want this done more than anyone - believe me it's gone on way too long - but the only one's you should get mad at are Grogar and Spinel. And Spinel's already good with us," Fulgurite said.

"Sorry. I'm just mad at myself, that's all. I could've at least tried to do something," Bismuth admitted.

"So why don't you, my little Bismuth?"

Oh boy, here we go. Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald turned back and surely enough there was the source of the voice standing on one of the rooftops, looking as important as a Garnet would be. No, it wasn't their Garnet, but a Garnet nonetheless.

"Hessonite?" Emerald asked.

"Oh no, you just keep out of this," Bismuth warned. Hessonite though didn't seemed very fazed at all, and hopped down from the rooftop in order to see them.

"It's hard not to notice. I was just on my way to train your Peridot for you, when I begin overhearing this "Rejuvenation" problem you all seem to have," Hessonite said.

"Yeah we do, and we can handle it on our own, thank you. And when did our Peridot start listening to you?" Bismuth made clear.

"Since I found her training with your Ruby, and thought to show how a real fighter fights. She never looked so excited, especially with that Ruby," Hessonite explained.

"You're still not getting involved," Bismuth growled.

"Still so stubborn. Emerald, tell me the whole situation, every last detail. Maybe I can lend a hand here," Hessonite offered. Bismuth made a slicing motion across her throat, hoping that would shut Emerald up, but Emerald was just stuck between a Rock and ... well, a rock. Both of which could pummel him if he messed up.

"Do ... I ... have ... to?" Emerald gulped. Hessonite didn't answer, but simply gave him a look. A stern, strong look.

"Yes. You do. Or did you forget who's in charge of you again? I'd be happy to remind you -"

"DON'T! DON'T! I remember, okay?" Emerald quickly said, before she could even think of pulling her sword out for a demonstration. Emerald had no choice here, so he took a breath.

"There's this Ram named Grogar who's been trying to kill us but we've been keeping him away from town so one time he went and visited our group and stole Spinel's rejuvenator and brain-whipped all of our friends so we've been trying our best to get their memories back OKAY?" Emerald had to regain a HUGE breath after that one, even if he didn't need to breathe. Bismuth was NOT happy at all, but Hessonite was at least satisfied with the answer.

"Hmm ... That explains a lot. And where is he now?"

"Don't look at us, we haven't seen him in weeks," Emerald answered. Hessonite tossed her cape back.

"Then what're we waiting for? You three are coming with me, and we'll handle Grogar by ourselves!" Hessonite decided.

"NO WAY!" Bismuth shouted, "If I'm getting even with him, I'm doing it without you! We're not interested," Bismuth made more than clear, walking right up to her.

"Now Bismuth be reasonable -"

"NOT. IN-TER-EST-ED," Bismuth said one final time, her face inches from Hessonite's own. Hessonite would go and put her in her place, but Bismuths were not the same as Jaspers in her eyes. She was a Builder, not a Soldier. All she did was huff, and took a step back.

"Well. I can take a hint. When you change your mind, I won't be too far away. Have fun on your little ... mission," Hessonite said, strolling away but with a sort of knowing grin on her face. Hessonite strolled on until she was just out of sight before Bismuth clocked Emerald in the head.

"Why'd you tell her that?" Bismuth demanded.

"She threatened me, what was I supposed to do? Besides we didn't agree on anything, that just kinda came up," Emerald said, making sure he flew out of Bismuth's reach. Bismuth didn't want that orange Gem to get involved in their problems anymore than she had already. But the more she thought about what she said, the more she ... well ...

"Let's show her."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's show her. She doesn't think we can do anything on our own without her help, but you know what? We're the Harmony Gems, we're unstoppable! Unbreakable! And I'm going to go out there and prove that right now. We're gonna show her what happens when you doubt the Harmony Gems," Bismuth decided, pumped up, confident, and ready to go, fist in the air.

Emerald looked at her like she was crazy, but Fulgurite was starstruck.

"Yes. YES! YEEESSS! You have NO IDEA how long I've waited for you to say that! Add a plus one to your mission because I'm coming along!" Fulgurite said, starry eyed and motivated as ever. Bismuth always had that confident talk that could rally an entire army (which she probably did before). As for Emerald, he was still standing there and taking the process in.

"You even got a mission to do, or we just winging it as usual?" Emerald asked, wanting to clear that up.

"I already got one: Grogar messed us all up. Hess thinks we can't handle him. So ..."

"Emerald? You know you want to," Fulgurite encouraged.

"....... Hang on," Emerald then said. Then his body began to glow all of a sudden as he closed his eyes. Bismuth and Fulgurite didn't know what was up at first, but then they got excited when they saw him in a completely different outfit of his own design. Instead of the punk rocker outfit, Emerald was in a hardcore military uniform straight out of World War II: camo coloration all over the main suit, a ring of spikes along his Sargent's cap, and even a starry cape right behind him. He had the most serious look he had in a while too to boot.

"This is when missions get serious."

"Perfect, let's get to it team. And once we handle Grogar that's another problem taken care of for everybody," Bismuth added, fist clenched.

"No problem, except for one problem: We don't have a clue where the heck he is," Emerald said. He was not in a mood for a wild goose chase, but quick-minded Fulgurite already had an idea thought up on the spot.

"... There's always a catch," Bismuth groaned.

"Wait a minute, yeah we do," Fulgurite answered, snapping her finger on the idea.

"We do?" Emerald asked.

"Guys, Olson! He got kicked out of Grogar's Army, if anyone knows where he is, he does. Besides, this can help us find out if he's off his side or not. Double-win!" Fulgurite decided.

"I like it. Harmony Gems, to the nearest Warp Pad!" Bismuth announced.

"To the Warp!" Emerald and Fulgurite said. Not wasting anymore time, Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald went right off on their way to the nearest Warp Pad at Little Homeworld. Hessonite though, as it turned out, didn't go too far away and was simply watching this all happen with a smile on her face. She knew when she inspired, whether they knew it or not.

~~~~~~

The day ticked by, and now with some free time on their hands (and hooves in the case of this group), some of the Harmony Gems got to moving on towards the barn. They weren't going back empty-handed though, as Steven was holding what looked like a take-out bag from out of town.

"Well it's been hours. You think he's getting any better?" Steven asked as they strolled along.

"Jade's work has been healing him since he got here. He should be good enough by now, so we'll see him off when we get there. It's a good thing you decided to get him in Steven," Garnet concluded, smiling to him.

"Thanks. I just hope he's not having any trouble staying in the barn. You know how some of us can be with strangers," Steven pointed out.

"Don't fret sugarcube, they won't try to make it too rough on the bull," AJ said with a wink. Still it did give Garnet some thought as they walked along.

"Nothing's impossible. Wouldn't surprise me if one of us tried getting something out of him," Garnet said after some thinking.

"Don't be silly, we're not THAT -" Pinkie was cut off when they heard a voice coming from the barn ahead of them.

"Come on, Olson, just tell us where Grogar is already!"

"Oh boy," sighed Garnet.

Speak of the devil. The group went right over to the barn, and sure enough Olson was finding himself pestered by Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald. Olson was not enjoying any of it, his hooves over his ears as he kept his head right on the floor.

"How many times are you three gonna keep asking that? He's already mad at me over you, don't make me a traitor to him too," Olson groaned.

"What's the difference, he already kicked you out! Besides, we already gave you a barn to sleep in, didn't we?" Fulgurite pointed out to him, impatiently.

"The hay's THAT supposed to mean?! Suddenly I'm in debt or somethin?" Olson snorted, heaving himself up onto his front hooves. Bismuth got in between them before any scuffle could happen, but she wasn't as patient either.

"Quit it!" Bismuth demanded. Olson sat back down as Bismuth continued, "Listen, all we're asking is one thing: to know where Grogar is. And right now you're the only one who can actually tell us that. I'd LOVE to get back at him if I were you, and guess what, we can do that for you right now. Just point us the right way -"

"Hello you three."

The others couldn't keep themselves away forever, and they've heard more than enough from Bismuth to get why they were there in the first place.

"We weren't pestering," Emerald immediately yelped.

"Sure. Now leave him alone so he can have some lunch," Garnet said.

"Hey Olson, we got some hayburgers for you. Eat up," said Applejack. Olson, being a bit hungry himself didn't question any of it and just started eating away at the food brought to him.

"How is it? Taste good? It's not the best this time of year, but it's still something to fill you up while in the barn," Steven asked, hand on Olson's back.

"Hmm, it's okay. I've tasted better," Olson said through a full muzzle. As they were checking in on the bull, it didn't take long before the three Gems present looked to Garnet.

"Now, Garnet, I know what you're going to say but think about it: he always knows where we are, but we don't have a clue where he is. It can give us an edge over that old goat," Bismuth explained.

"That doesn't mean go and mess with the bull. You'll get the horns that way," Garnet advised.

"I knew she was gonna say that," Emerald said, hand to forehead.

"Look, it's pushing it yeah, but you really think we're gonna get the chance again? Besides, it'll show Hessonite we got what it takes by taking him out. Don't act like she isn't ticking you off too, at least a little bit. The way she's strutting around like she owns the place, looking down on everybody," Bismuth pointed out. Garnet was quiet at first, but looked to the Blacksmith anyway.

"So is this about handling Grogar, or handling Hessonite?"

"Yeah. Yeah it is," Bismuth answered.

Garnet didn't answer.

"Eh hey, you two," Olson said at one point, "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I can't hear ya. If your gonna talk propaganda, can you do it somewhere else?"

"Sorry Olson. We'll leave you be," Garnet said. she was just about to walk out of the door and probably try to give Bismuth a bit more of a peptalk, but there was one more Gem that was just about ready to turn the tables on everybody. And she came right in with a wide swing of the barn doors. It took them just a glance of the cape and glean of her orange skin to tell them it was Hessonite.

"HELLO, GEMS!~"

"GAH, ambush!" Pinkie yelped, springing back like a startled cat and almost landing on Olson, who at the moment almost choked on his hayburger.

"Hessonite? What're you doing here?" Steven asked after calming down.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too," Bismuth added, unamused.

"Isn't it obvious? I've come to help you get your mission started. I know you didn't ask for my help, but there's nothing wrong with a little boost -"

"I already told you, we don't need your help. We'll be perfectly fine on our own," Bismuth made perfectly clear. It didn't seem clear enough because Hessonite just fluffed Bismuth's head.

"I know, you keep saying that. And you're right: you didn't ask for my help."

"I got your help right here, you big-mouthed -"

"Bismuth not in the barn! Giving her a chance, remember?" Steven quickly said, holding Bismuth's arm back as she got a hammer ready. Not that it worried Hess anyway as she walked passed her. Before she could go and tackle the bull though, she then realized she wasn't the only Garnet in the barn today. Hessonite stopped and looked dead-on to Garnet for a bit.

"Hmm ... have we met? I'd know any Garnet coming to my colony today," Hessonite questioned. Garnet glanced back to the others, some worried and some trying to make her do anything else, but Garnet was undeterred by her.

"First of all: it's not yours. Second: You met Ruby and Sapphire before," Garnet replied.

"That's not really what I meant. I'm well aware of those two from the Crystal Gems, but ... I ... huh. ..." Hessonite stopped talking again when Garnet showed at least one of her hands, showing easily Ruby's red gemstone as it glistened even in the dim light. Hessonite just kinda looked at her for a second.

"Anyway, there's no need for everyone to keep bothering Olson right now. He's still recovering, and doesn't want to hear any of this, so let's all just walk outside -"

Suddenly Hessonite was laughing. And pretty loudly, as if she heard the best joke in the world.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just you call yourself a "Garnet"? I know you two wanted to be stronger to impress the elite, but THIS?" Hessonite went back to laughing a little bit.

"WHOA hold on there, that's pushing it a bit far! There's nothin wrong with Garnet," Applejack quickly said.

"I know you wouldn't know this, little pony, but Garnets are a very respected Gem back on Homeworld. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some ... questionable examples of Garnets that tried to be perfect. Well, trying to be like me, you can say." Hessonite ran her fingers through her hair and tossed it for some flair. "But Ruby, Sapphire, if you want to impress me, try to keep your dignity with you, if that's alright. You're both plenty strong without fusing like this," Hessonite suggested, a hand on Garnet's shoulder as if talking to an old friend. Garnet tried not to show any emotions with her standing right there, but a huff still got out of her. All that came out was -

"Shut up."

"My goodness you two, don't try and make things violent right -"

"For hoof's sake, GET OUTTA HERE!"

BAM! Next thing they knew, Olson got the power just enough to ram a good portion of the group right out the barn door. Of course Hessonite was quick enough (along with Pinkie) to dodge the charge proper but the others were shoved clean out of the place, with a few of them falling in the snow while the rest stayed on their feet.

"I wanted you all to leave for a whole five minutes, and you won't shut up! Take your drama theme somewhere else, or so help me: I will TAKE YOUR GEMSTONES, SHATTER EM, COOK EM INTO A PIE AND SMASH IT INTO THE NEAREST CLOWN! YOU GOT THAT PUNKS?!"

....... They were ... stunned.

"....... O ... K ..." gulped Steven. Olson shook himself back to his senses.

"Sorry. Force of habit. Look, I'm hungry, you're annoying me. Can I have at least twenty minutes to eat before it's time for interrogation or whatever you're gonna do?" Olson asked.

"Olson, there's no interrogation, no one's going to interrogate you! A-Again," Steven took a glance to Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald before continuing. "it's all good I promise. It's just been a bit hectic for us lately that's all, with Grogar and everything, you know how it is. And sorry for bothering you so much. If you need space, we'll be on our way, ok?" Steven made clear one more time, trying not to set Olson off again. The bull looked to Steven for a bit, a snort escaping his closed muzzle. How hectic can they be compared to being in Grogar's army anyway?

"Sure. Since you didn't whip my head for snapping or threaten my life, I'll take it," Olson remarked before turning back to the barn.

"Hey, we're all friends here. ... Wait, Grogar whipped you?!"

Olson just went back in the barn, shutting the door behind him with his tail. He didn't need to finish up that sentence with any answer to give them one. The others got themselves calmed down, but Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald weren't out of the woods yet.

"Why were y'all messin with him? Olson's going through enough trouble without questioning him," Applejack asked.

"Who's interrogating?! All we were doing was asking him where Grogar is, he's the one that got difficult and won't answer!" Fulgurite said.

"Why would he have to?! Did you not just hear him: Grogar whips him everytime he lashes out, and that's before he chased him off! You guys, come on, we're lucky we found him alive when we did, and he's recovering, can we please not make it more difficult for him than it already is? Grogar nearly killed him already," Steven asked.

"But Steven, that's the whole point!" Bismuth retorted, "Grogar's been after your head all winter long, he's not gonna stop until you're handed over to him on a silver platter. I know why you're giving him a chance, and that's great, but at least we can take this advantage and show Grogar up before he can show us up. You want to stop him too, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but -"

The barn door creaked open.

"... Alright. You win," Olson answered, "Get in here, and we'll talk."

"Well, that was fast," remarked Hessonite.

"Get in here before I change my mind," Olson snorted.
A bit quick for him to change his mind, but it wasn't gonna be something they'll pass up, at least for the trio of Gems in question. Bismuth and Steven both glanced to one another.

"... Well ... this works I guess," Steven shrugged.

"Yeah, it does. But hey, it's good ain't it?" Bismuth shrugged.

They got the chance, might as well take it.

.......

"So you all are at war with the guy, but you don't even know where the hay he even is? No wonder you didn't try to jump him yet," Olson said after the others got to the barn. Good thing the barnhouse had a chalkboard for him to work with, to make things slightly easier for everyone.

"We've got a bit too much to be looking into that," said Steven. True point is true.

"Okay buddy, where's he at? And how's he always just showing up out of nowhere to find us?" Pinkie asked, curious mostly.

"K, listen: you got you guys ... here," Olson began, drawing out a ... actually kinda bad drawing of the Gems and Ponies by the beach, "And Grogar's Army is somewhere ehh ... over here," Olson when drew a bad drawing of the old goat on the opposite corner of the chalkboard. "Keeping up so far?"

"... Ehh ... sure, but that doesn't help us at all," Applejack asked.

"I'm getting there, look -" Olson began drawing out some details as best he could between the first team and Grogar, which really wasn't all that good. A few hills, a forest or two, with a big thick line right where Grogar is with a few extra rocks to make sure it sunk in better. Olson knew what the drawings were, but the others ...

"Why'd you draw lollipops? Is this some alternate candy universe he's in now?" Steven asked.

"NO, those are trees!" insisted Olson, his hoof hitting the chalkboard.

"Then where're the branches and the leaves? You drew a circle and a stick, that definitely a big lollipop," Emerald said.

"I'm not that good at drawing, okay?" Olson said. As they were trying to figure out what this was about though, Pinkie Pie actually seemed to get the idea clicking in her head very quickly.

"You guys, he's at Brooding Hill! Duh!" Pinkie said.

"And ... you can tell that how?" Fulgurite asked. Now it was Pinkie's turn to get the chalk for the chalkboard, but she didn't try to alter it at all, though she did move some people aside so she can work her own magic.

"Lookie: we gotta go outta beach city, stroll through the countryside, take a shortcut through the woods, and skip right over to Brooding Hill. It's pretty easy," Pinkie explained as she drew a few arrows to each of the locations on Olson's map. Everyone kinda needed a minute to actually see what Pinkie was even talking about.

"OOHH now I see it," Emerald said.

"He's that close? No wonder he keeps showing up so fast," Steven stated worriedly.

"Yeah, so if you're dead set on getting him then you'd better go before he catches on," Olson suggested, "Heck, I'll even show you there."

"Huh? You'll show me? I know where Brooding Hill is, it's alright. You just focus on you and try getting better," Steven insisted. It was a nice thought, but they didn't need an escort.
This was when Olson started to act a bit more assertively, as he suddenly was up on his hooves and right over to Steven's side.

"Hold up, I'm fine. You got me healed up, it's the least I can do after you saved me from becoming cold beef right? Scratch my back, I scratch yours eh?" Olson insisted, even acting a little playful by getting a hoof around Steven's shoulder. A bit forward, but alright. Still, this was starting to get some alarms going off in a Gem or two's head.

"Hold on a second sugarcube, you already got messed up good by Grogar before. You sure you wanna go out and risk gettin whacked again?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not fighting him again, you crazy? I'm just gonna show your pal Steven where he's at and he'll work it out from there," promised Olson.

"You mean show "us" where he's at so "we'll" work it out from there?" corrected Fulgurite.

"Yeah yeah, sure. You wanna get going, Mr. Universe?" Olson asked one more time, this time slightly less patient as he was ready to go to the door. The whole group were sensing some bull with this guy, and not just because of species either. Eventually though, Steven got to some thinking about the subject, and actually began to walk to the door, looking to the bull that otherwise would've been fine.

"Steven, don't go," said Bismuth.

"I'll be fine, I'm just gonna check it out that's all. Maybe we can get something that'll help us handle Grogar from all of this," Steven explained.

"Okay, are you not seeing all the red flags going up? It's clearly a trap!" Bismuth warned. This made Olson step back.

"No it's not! How can I set a trap for a ram that nearly chopped me up for the meat market?" Olson pointed out.

"I - ... good point. But we're still going with you," said Fulgurite.

"Okay, I'm not saying there's not gonna be any trap or trick, but at least let me go alone so none of you get caught up in it. If it's a trap, it'll only get one of us, not everyone at once. Besides ... it's kinda my fault this happened?"

"Hold the phone, what? How's this your fault exactly, I don't see the connection," Emerald said.

"I let Grogar off the hook, and look what happened to him! Olson nearly died because of me - his whole group got attacked because I got them involved in our Steven Tag game."

"Steven, they were on their way to get us anyway, it's not your fault any of this happened! If anything, we're the ones that kept fighting them, so it should be our fault," Bismuth said.

"Be careful, Steven."

Everyone silently turned to Garnet.

"... Uh, G? You're letting him go off with Olson?" Pinkie asked. Garnet nodded.

"I don't see any path in the future when he wouldn't at least try to go there, Olson or no Olson. If Grogar is there, he would find him anyway. He'll have a better outcome if we let him go now anyway," Garnet explained. The fusion then went over to Steven and smiled to him.

"Steven, good luck out there. Don't be late for class, okay?" Garnet suggested with a smile.

"No problem. Wouldn't miss it for the Universe," Steven promised. Bismuth, in spite of everything just took a breath and smirked, giving Steven a playful fluff of the hair.

"If Garnet trusts the situation, then so do I. Show him what you're made of, kiddo," Bismuth said. Come to think of it, how much damage could a bull do anyway? Especially one that they just saved?

"Thanks Bismuth."

"Okie dokie lokie, all we gotta do now is find where Hess went!" Pinkie declared.

"What do you mean, she's right - ... where'd she go? She was right behind us, wasn't she right behind us?" asked Emerald.

All that talk, and only now did any of them realize that Hessonite was already gone, right out of the barn door and everything! They rushed outside to try and find where she was, but she was nowhere in sight. All they did find was Olson sitting there waiting for them, and that's it.

"Pinkie Pie, why didn't you say anything if you knew she was gone?" asked Fulgurite.

"Because I didn't. I just thought it'll be good to let you know," Pinkie replied.

"I'll go talk to her. Fulgurite, Pinkie, you come with me," Garnet said.

"Me? Um, yeah okay whatever you say," Fulgurite said.

"Okie dokie," said Pinkie.

"Maybe you can zap her brain, to make her forget she heard anything?" suggested Emerald.

"Emerald," sighed Steven. It hardly mattered though, even if Garnet could do that to Hessonite. Her lightning fast speed meant that she was already miles away to wherever the heck she was. As for that anyway, they already knew where Hessonite was going ...

~~~~~~

... Well ... maybe.

Hessonite was very far ahead naturally, following instructions left by Olson for the main confrontation. With everyone else busy, and to her not qualified for the job, Hessonite figured she might as well go and handle the job for them since they clearly weren't getting anywhere fast. And how long did it take Hessonite to get from the barn house to Brooding Hill?
Around a minute, probably less. And there wasn't a moment to spare as Hessonite took a good look around the place. An amazing view of Beach City, but ...

"I knew it: that Olson was lying through his organic teeth. Oh hum, looks like it's up to Hessonite to make things right again," Hessonite told herself with a smirk. But first she had to figure out where to even go. After all, despite her prideful knowledge she'd never been over here before. Nothing a good recon can't fix. And there was a tree a good field away that was just the right height to do just that. So, with just one good leap up, Hessonite got to the top of the tree and took a good look around the area.

"Now, Grogar. Whatever you are. Where are you?" Hessonite asked aloud, hand shading over her eyes to get a better view of the winter world around her. All was quiet, aside from the ever so slight breeze of the late winter air -

"HESSIE, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Pinkie screamed, suddenly standing right next to her on top of the tree.

"GAH!" Even Hessonite can never predict the scary Pinkie-Pie levels of weird. The pink mare's presence was just enough to make Hessonite actually fall off the tree, the orange Gem landing on her feet when hitting ground as Pinkie Pie slid down the tree trunk, only to be met with the end of Hessonite's sword. Not the best reunion ever.

"What the stars is the idea sneaking on me like that?! You're lucky I'm not having you reported to the Diamond Authority," Hessonite demanded. Pinkie stared at the tip of the sword for a moment or two before she hopped out of the way.

"We don't want you to run off on your own, that's all. Grogar's a super mean and super tough boss, super duper nasty! You think that maybe you don't wanna go fighting with him?" Pinkie suggested. Hessonite drew back her sword.

"That's not what I asked," Hessonite said. Pinkie looked up the tree.

"Oh, plot convenience."

"Plot convenience? ... I'm just going to assume that's a pony ideology and be on my way," Hess concluded, which was probably the best move she made today when it came to understanding Pinkie Pie. Not like she had time to deal with the mare anyway, but before she could go Pinkie kept hopping in her way.

"But we wanna help you not get hurt," Pinkie insisted.

"I don't need any help thank you. Now be a good dear and wait here until I get back, okay? Besides, it's not like it's that big of a threat if it's only dangerous to your kind. And by the way, who's this "we"?" Hessonite said pompously.

"She means us," said another voice. Hessonite turned around, just to find Fulgurite and Garnet now catching up to Pinkie Pie. Either they've been there the whole time or Pinkie's "plot convenience" made her faster than anything ever to keep ahead from Fulgurite. Even so, Hessonite didn't seem too impressed.

"You better listen to her Hessonite," Garnet warned, "We've met Grogar, and we're telling you you're making a very dangerous mistake. He's not a normal organic. He's far more than that. ..."

Hessonite smirked, a hand cleaning up her sword so it was ready to go, "Sounds like a challenge to me. I haven't had a good opponent since I first came back."

"Hess, seriously, he's not a goat to be messed with," Fulgurite said. Hessonite paused but chuckled again.

"It's cute how you think I need protection against an organic creature, and I appreciate it. But if you're so worried about it, then you don't have to come with me. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," Hess explained, thinking she was doing them a favor this way. Hessonite was just about to bolt for it, but Fulgurite wasn't gonna give her a chance, and quickly got in her way at her own lightning fast speed.

"Ok let's get this out of the way: I don't like you, well, at all Hessonite, but we're trying to help you all the same. You march up to Grogar, he'll wear your gemstone as a necklace by the time he's done with you!"

"Just because you can't handle him doesn't mean I can't. There hasn't been any opponent that I was unable to defeat in the war, and as far as I can tell, there's nothing to compare to me now. You all should be thanking me for handling this problem for you anyway."

"... Can I just zap her brain out now? Not to reset her, I'm just REALLY ticked off," Fulgurite asked Garnet, her hair sparking after hearing all of that bull from her mouth. Garnet rested a hand on Fulgurite's head and shook her own.

"No," Garnet replied. The fusion then went right up to Hessonite.

"Hessonite, listen to me. You may think he's nothing to worry about, but we're talking about a creature that has defeated the entire Diamond Authority. Even White Diamond didn't stand much of a chance. You can't win this fight. Please, just let this be for everyone to try and solve," Garnet warned.

Hessonite just laughed.

"No don't, not even as a joke!" Hessonite chuckled, "One organic against the most perfect beings in the entire universe? That's literally impossible!"

"But it's true, we're serious! Go back to Homeworld and ask em yourself, like right now before he can probably show up," Pinkie suggested, actually trying to push her along. Hessonite though took a stomp on the ground to stop moving altogether, and suddenly it was like Pinkie was trying to push a brick building.

"Ok, at first this was cute, but now you're starting to test me. Do you honestly think that this is something I can't do?" Hessonite questioned.

"That's what we've been saying, Hessonite," Garnet said.

"Well you're wrong: I haven't been given the honor of Gem Admiral for losing any fight. And to think I thought you're starting to sound like a Diamond," Hessonite remarked, though her tone wasn't meaning she was anything impressed by the fusion Garnet-wannabe.

"Good. ... At least one of us is," Garnet remarked.

Hessonite stopped.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You keep saying you're a Gem Admiral, the best Gem of your kind and the perfect leader. Start acting like it," Garnet warned. The sword was drawn out again. How dare she insist she's not a leader?! Rather than back down, Garnet actually got herself armed and ready for any fight she was gonna throw at her.

"What do you know about being a leader? You're not even a real Garnet, you're just a fusion! You can't even exist without someone to help you, whereas I only need myself to be what I am. Perfection isn't something you just build up to, it's a skill you're made with. You think I can't beat you?"

Garnet smirked. "No ... I know you can't."

And to show how much she meant that, she actually withdrew her own gauntlet gloves. It was a silent gesture to what rules there was gonna be in this duel, and Hessonite knew what that meant as she tossed her own sword aside. Both Garnets got into a battle stance and both faced eachother head on, as Fulgurite and Pinkie had to move aside to let this happen. The bell rang when Garnet said just two words.

"You first."

That did it.

Hessonite, blinding fast as usual, rushed right for Garnet for her first hit. It seemed easy for her to handle, just a straight kick to send Garnet flying away, but the fusion was not gonna make it that easy for her and all she did was slide to the side, letting Hessonite rush by her before Garnet grabbed her by the arm and swung her back. Both Garnets met up soon after that in a blinding ray of kicks and punches, and to Hessonite's surprise Garnet was actually keeping up with them with just as fast blocks and dodges. One sideways kick made Garnet duck and roll pass her, in her roll her leg out to give Hessonite an upside-down whack of her foot to knock her back. It was strong enough to send the singular Gem back about ten feet, skidding in the snow and dirt before regaining herself, as Fulgurite and Pinkie were cheering a bit.

"What technique do you all this?" Hessonite asked.

"Something I'm making up as we go along," Garnet said.

"Cheeky are we? I warn you, this muscle isn't just for attraction you know," Hessonite said, showing herself to her.

"Please you can't even do that right."

OWCH! That really got Hessonite riled up again, and got her rushing at her in a full-on ninja-like charge. This time Garnet leaned back, almost vertical, and while Hessonite would've bolted over her Garnet grabbed her midway, and proceeded to give Hessonite a good Surplex into the snow. With the momentum Garnet swung herself over Hessonite and while holding onto her, threw her over her head. Of course Hessonite landed on her feet but she was actually surprised Garnet was doing so well without any actual hit on her yet.

How was this fusion doing so good against her?

Still, Hessonite went back for her again, this time spinning in a 360 kicking tornado against Garnet, her spinning so fast it was almost a blur Garnet tried blocking the spinning kicks for the first leg, but the last second Hessonite switched legs and suddenly Garnet got whacked in the side of her torso, sending the fusion right towards the tree. A good hit, but not enough to get Garnet to stop as she spun in the air until her feet landed on the tree, giving her a good boost to launch herself back at her. Hessonite lowered her head and literally met her head-on, forcing her to skid back twenty feet from the force, but still on her feet.

"Impressive for a fusion. You're almost as good as that Flint I fought before," Hessonite remarked, before bringing her knee up to strike Garnet in the face. It was just enough to bring Garnet up before Hessonite jumped up and did a "kangaroo" kick to push her back.

"You still won't listen though, will you?" Garnet questioned, taking off her now cracked visors to show his three eyes.

"No."

That only triggered the fight to continue, both Garnets rushing in together at once, meeting fists clashing together. The very force was enough to shake the ground, Fulgurite and Pinkie startled but still invested in who will win this tussle.

"You got this Garnet!" called Pinkie.

"Show her what you're made of!" added Fulgurite. This praise for the fusion didn't suit well for Hessonite, and suddenly she went all out on Garnet, her fists moving so fast they were almost invisible! Garnet had to keep her arms up to keep the punches away, but this still left her vulnerable to a sneak-attack in the form of a swift side-kick. Even if she foresaw it, it still moved too fast to connect, and struck her legs just hard enough to make Garnet fall to the ground. Troubling for her cheering friends, but satisfying for Hessonite as she stood on top of Garnet, the fusion keeping her eyes shut ...

"Are you about done, my little faker?" Hessonite remarked, "You held up a decent fight, but if you're looking to actually defeat me, you're just wasting your time. I've never lost a fight before during the war, and it won't be happening now. ... Speaking of now, it's time you two spent some time apart."

She said as she pulled out her sword to finish the battle.

"Know your place, Fusion."

...

"Time's up," said Garnet.

Garnet spurred into overdrive: Hessonite's sword struck down onto her, but instead of making Garnet poof, it ended up striking one of Garnet's gauntlet gloves. If Hessonite was going to use her Gem weapon, there's no reason why she couldn't, and now that the gloves are on, Garnet grabbed hold of the weapon and with a single flex of the wrist, crushed it! Hessonite had to jump back from that surprise, but now it was time for Garnet to go all in. Hessonite boasted and mocked her long enough.
The fusion locked onto Hessonite, both fists now aimed right at her before the gauntlet gloves shot out as punching rockets. Hessonite, second sword ready, sliced the first one in half as it shot aside just fine, but the second one right behind it actually opened up, and grabbed the sword right out of Hessonite's hands, leaving her unarmed before Garnet rushed forward at her. With no hands for a moment, Garnet had to basically tackle her, bringing her head down like a battering ram. Hessonite reacted just fast enough to keep herself from falling but Garnet bucked up, and with the momentum whacked Hessonite square in the chin.

"She won't get to me like that, she's just a fusion! she's still holding her own though ... I got to split her up," Hessonite thought, and concluded. Bringing out two swords this time, Hessonite went right for Garnet, but the fusion was not gonna give her the chance: Garnet jumped up, did an air splits to kick away both weapons, and swung both gauntlets down right onto Hessonite's head to bring her down.

"What?! How's she doing this to me?" Hessonite thought, seconds before -

*SLAM!!*

And THEN, just like that, the fight suddenly stopped. Hessonite was on the ground, with Garnet still standing up. At first, everything was silent as both Gems concluded what happened. Hessonite lost. And she lost hard.

"Good game," Garnet said, not even sounding tired, monotone actually, "Let's go girls -"

"WOOO! YOU DID IT, YOU SHOWED HER WHAT FOR! I knew you were the leader for a reason, Garnet! I just wished everyone else was here to see this," Fulgurite said, basically fangirling over Garnet at what she and Pinkie just saw.

"Alright, settle down everyone, let's not rub it in," Garnet said, mostly for Hessonite's sake.

"You sure we can't just a little? She kept mocking everyone, not to mention calling you a faker and everything."

Garnet took a glance over at Hessonite.

"....... Okay, maybe just a little," Garnet admitted.

"Sweet," Fulgurite said. Still, that would have to wait a little bit longer, because Hessonite was getting herself back off of the ground and onto her feet again. Her head was still spinning a little from the fight, but it was more of the surprise that got to Hessonite the most.

"Wha ... what happened? I lost? ... No. No, I-I never lost to anyone before, how could this happen? I ... I'm not flawless? ... But they always told me I'm the best admiral in all of Gemkind. Did they lie to me? ..."
Hessonite couldn't even bring herself to even finish her sentence, just looking down at her hands for a moment before looking over towards the victor. Since Garnet gave her the greenlight, Fulgurite looked smugly at Hessonite.

"Sooo what do you say now?" asked a slightly cocky Fulgurite. Hessonite took a deep breath, and ended up kneeling to Garnet, head down.

"It's okay Hessonite, you don't have to make me your superior just because I beat you," Garnet insisted. But Hessonite didn't move.

"I've underestimated you. You're the first ever to truly beat me. I'm in disgrace, so ... Finish me off. Do what you will," Hessonite concluded.

"....... I ain't doing that," Garnet bluntly concluded. Hessonite looked up to Garnet.

"You're not? But why not?! I've lost and you're not going to do anything to me? I'm at your mercy," Hessonite asked, blind-sided by that response. Here she was mocking her, insulting her and tried to poof her the whole time they were here, and Garnet's response was nothing? So what did Garnet decide to do? ...

Bonk her in the head.

*bonk* "Okay, we're done."

"... Wait. That's it?"

"That's it," Garnet answered with a shrug. Garnet turned and started to walk away, but Hessonite was still very confused.

"Wait a minute, why're you doing this? You're just letting me go, even after everything?"

"Sure. I think we've beaten eachother up enough," Garnet admitted, stretching a bit from their fight. Hessonite started to see her point, though she still was puzzled all the same. In the end, she stood back up and dusted herself off of both dirt and the snow.

"W-Well ... In that case, umm ... good match. You were a great opponent, fusion - ... I mean, Garnet," Hessonite said, trying to look more professional than how she really was feeling, even extending her hand to her as if they just finished a training session. Garnet took the handshake with a smile on her own face. A simple glance into the future told her what to say to Hess next.

"You can still hang out in Little Homeworld if you'd like. There's plenty of room for one more Gem," Garnet said.

"How'd you know I was gonna -" Hessonite then suddenly remembered the Sapphire component in this fusion. "... Nevermind."

"Giving you a chance to change. ... Now, I gotta go: Steven's waiting for me," Garnet said.

"Yes, you're little friend. You do that, I'm gonna be doing some ... other things. Bye." and Hessonite disappeared in a quick orange blur pass them on her way back to Little Homeworld. NO WAY as she gonna let this failure be known to anyone else, but her mind was too mixed up to figure out anything else to do right now.

"She's still got a ways to go. Come on Fulgurite, Pinkie, let's catch up to Steven."

~~~~~~

Good thing that they stopped too, because Olson and Steven were just now making their way up the hillside towards Brooding Hill. Steven of course knew the way to Brooding Hill just fine, but he kept over by Olson so it at least seemed like the bull was more bringing him along than the other way around. It was an ... uncomfortable walk, mostly thanks to the idea of this being a trap still going on in Steven's head.

"Ok, Grogar you wanted me to come out here, and now you have me. What's the battle today?" Steven thought, as they continued along. Whether it was a trap by Grogar or not, Steven might as well be prepared for the worst. Olson could see his fist clench up a bit on those thoughts, the bull keeping up the pace with Steven as they neared the Brooding Hill itself.

"K, you ready for this?" Olson asked.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Where is he?" Steven asked. All Olson went and did was aim his hoof over towards the very to of the hill, the highest point looking out over Beach City. Steven went right on up there after taking a few breaths to prepare his nerves, and on getting to the top immediately braced for a fight ... but nothing happened.

In fact, he did not see Grogar ... well ... anywhere. Not even hiding along the cliffside.

"Olson, I don't see anything. You sure this is the right spot? ... Olson?"

What Steven turned around to was what Olson really wanted to do. Olson got himself ready. Steven was right where he wanted him to be, and just one well-aimed charge was all it's going to take. His front hoof scraped at the ground, his head lowered, and as far as he could see Steven had nowhere else to even go.

"He's right down there!" Olson said, just before he started to charge!
Steven gasped, and braced for the impact of the bull, hearing Olson's heavy hooves slam the ground in each gallop ... before Olson was yanked back by the tail by Garnet.

"IIIEEE!" Olson yelped, falling on the ground with a loud thud. Garnet meanwhile simply tossed him away from Steven, the bull landing at about two feet away from them both. A decent move. Olson got back up, now having to deal with Steven and his fusion friend.

"You idiot, out of my way! I got nothing to deal with you," Olson demanded.

"I'm not moving. And I'm disappointed in you, Olson. You'll stop if you know what's good for you," Garnet stated. Olson shook his head.

"I know what's good for me! Grogar's ticked off at the kid, not at you, and I'm bringing him right back to him," Olson said in a snort. Well nothing secret here, and the bull wasn't really trying to be anymore.

"We've spent all day healing you, and this is what you wanted to do?! Why even bother, Grogar tried to kill you!" Steven said. The bull dug into the ground again, ready for another charge.

"We're warning you, Olson. If you're smart, you'll stop right now," Garnet said.

"Well I'm not smart, so get outta the way," Olson said, and he more than proved it when he charged right for the two. Steven and Garnet stood beside eachother, not too afraid of this charging animal (they've faced worse), but when it came to the actual "fight", well all that really happened was Garnet grabbing the bull by the horns, spinning the bull in a corkscrew, and slamming him into the ground. ... And that's it.

"... Ow. ..."

"You good?" Garnet asked. Olson, dizzy, stumbled back onto his hooves before confronting the two again.

"You know, Grogar was right about you being strong, but it ain't gonna work on me. I'm taking Steven back! Once Grogar sees me with that kid in toe, he'll have to welcome me back with a nice big reward. He might make me a captain!" Olson said, actually excited for such an idea floating in his head, and one that could easily be the case if he could make this work. With hooves bumping together like one would ready a fist, he started to close in on Steven, but Garnet wasn't having any of it. She simply crossed her arms and gave the bull a disappointed look.

"You're just tricking yourself. Grogar's NOT going to reward you. He wants him and that's it, not a bull with him," Garnet bluntly stated.

"Oh yes I will!"

"Olson, listen to her. Think about it this way: if you just walk back there with me dead, he'll probably beat you up anyway because he wants to kill me himself," Steven said.

"You'll just rob him of the satisfaction," summed up Garnet. Very good points, but Olson was just getting more irritated with them. It also didn't help that they were right about Grogar's anger either, so with another snort and shake of the head he tried something different.

"Ok, fine, I'll take him back alive!" Olson decided, ready to go forward. Unfortunately that wasn't gonna work either as Garnet cracked her shoulders.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. You're gonna have to shatter us first if you want us to go with you," Garnet concluded.
Now an angry bull in rage probably wouldn't even bother to think about that, but Olson was feeling a bit unsure about either of those things. It was just enough to keep him from just charging forward again (though getting spun in the air might've helped too). He did take a step forward to them but that was about it.

"I don't know: First Grogar gets mad at me for not fighting you, and now he gets mad at me for fighting you?" Olson said.

"That about sums it up," Steven concluded. Would they expect anything different from Grogar though? Apparently it was enough to make Olson sit down in a slump. So much for his plan of dignity.

"You got my brain scrambled guys. What the hay am I supposed to do? I got nowhere else to go," Olson asked. Garnet went over to the bull and placed a hand on Olson's shoulder.

"Start with Appleloosa," Garnet simply answered, giving the bull a pat on the back ... with one being more of a smack than a pat, but that was as far as it was gonna be. So ... now what?

"Appleloosa? Hoh boy, Gems are so tricky. They'll start telling me to go and work for the fish-people next. ... Wait, that can't be right. Maybe I should work in a china shop? No that can't be right either ... Now what am I to do? ... Go to Appleloosa I guess."

Steven and Garnet were already gone by the time Olson decided to just go. Lucky for them, thanks to the mind dilemma, Olson wasn't planning to go off after them now, so this just left them walking back towards home. Steven and Garnet took at least one look back and funnily enough thought of the same thing.

"It was worth a shot."

Author's Note

So ... kinda not too much happening in this chapter aside from a new character dealing with the group, and some more messing around with Hessonite. But hey, it's something to contribute to the story, even if it's a small one (we know what happened to Nichrome now ...)

Anyway, hope you like it as always ^^

Here Comes a Thought

Prancing through the fields of melting snow, Blue was taking time to better enjoy himself out in the clear skies. With the Harmony Gems and Elements of Harmony running around doing a lot of their own thing during the Rejuvenation Process, this left many of the pets with their own thing to do. In this case, Blue was out with Nora and Lion to have fun with his crow friend. Being cats, Nora and Lion were more waiting to have a bird treat if the crow dropped its guard just low enough (or at least just taking your typical cat nap), but the bird was too smart to fall for that trick. Besides, Blue kept the bird on its toes anyway as Blue kept chasing it around the place in his own game of tag.

It's just one of those things dogs like to do.

With the snow becoming less fluffy and more slushy, Blue's prancing was leaving the dog soaked a little bit, even finding a few spots where the snow was just thin enough to touch the cold wet ground underneath. Blue didn't care though, barking at the crow as it kept just out of reach up in a nearby tree perch. Blue, still the cheery pooch he was even after the years spent with the Harmony Gems, tried his best to get up the tree to reach the crow, but wasn't having that much luck. The crow thought it had one-up'd over the dog. And also, it was probably smart enough to keep out of the way.

"Blue, you almost got him!" called a voice nearby.

It wasn't just animals staying over by the fields today, but instead they were joined nearby by a few visitors: Off-Color Padparadscha, pink Human Lars, and unicorns Starlight Glimmer and Trixie. To put it simply, they were on pet duty today.

"Well this is a nice way to spend the afternoon on, huh?" said a relaxed Lars. "No surprises, no bonus work. Just a couple of pals relaxing by the hillside."

"Yeah, even the Great and Powerful Trixie could use an off day. All of those shows could damper my style if over-used," Trixie agreed. Her mood quickly changed though when she started seeing Blue start coming towards them.

"Blue? Blue, take a few steps back please, don't you do it -" Blue did it: he shook a good long shake, getting a lot of water and bit of dirt onto the others. Trixie especially since she was closest, and now she got her cape and hat covered up in mud.

"Well I was relaxed," Trixie grumbled, using her magic to ring out her hat of the water.

"Yuck. By the way, how're those shows coming?" Starlight asked, her own magic cleaning out her mane and tail, "Did you get any new acts in, or do you need an extra boost from your assistant?"

It'd been too long since Starlight got some magic fun with her showtime friend. Still, even if pals, Trixie still had her pride somewhat and she got her hat back on her head.

"Ha! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not go stale. But it doesn't help to have a friend play along every now and then," Trixie said, hoof around Starlight and giving her a wink. In other words, a magic boost is appreciated. Being reminded of the show did give Trixie an idea.

"Oh, that's right: I got this new act I REALLY wanted to try out. Care to watch?" Trixie asked excitedly.

"A new act? What about? It's not like your teleportation trick is it?" Starlight asked, not willing to go through any other incidents with that.

"NO, no, but it wouldn't hurt to re-work that challenge. I got something special in mind. I call it "The Great and Powerful Trixie's Starlight shimmering galaxy of shimmers!" Yes, I meant to include you in the title," Trixie said.

"Then I guess I'm included in the act," Starlight correctly assumed.

"Of course you are, you got the magic boost, and I got the know-how on showtime and flair. All we need now is an audience," Trixie said. And they all knew exactly who the audience is, and given past experiences they knew the risks involved.

"We get the picture, but we better take a few steps back. Come on, Padparadscha before the fireworks start," suggested Lars. He, Blue, Lion, and Nora moved on back a bit, but Lion had to pick up Padparadscha in order to get her moving back with them in time to give the unicorns some space. Good measure. As for Trixie and Starlight, the two were quietly talking to eachother, getting the main idea of the act to start.
The act seemed simple enough: Starlight began by making her horn glow and a few stars started to appear in the air. All Trixie mainly did was take said stars and galaxy streamers and start hovering them around above the two. A simple case of performance with magic as ammo.

"That's it, that's it. Almost got it ..."

*ROAR*

And just like that the whole act was ruined. Lion's sudden roar out of nowhere made Trixie lose concentration and made the stars basically scatter everywhere, mostly hitting her and Starlight Glimmer, and a few straying over to the others too.

"What the hay was that for?!" exclaimed Trixie, "Don't you know that actors need complete concentration?"

Lion's concentration though was somewhere else, looking away from Trixie and Starlight, and over to the nearby green bushes. Whatever caught Lion's sight would've been in the line of fire if Trixie had continued her own magic show, and the thing was soon spotted by everyone else.
It was fairly small. Well, small comparatively speaking, but still fairly large for what it looked like. The little creature looked like a big chick, two tiny wings along the side, a big head with big eyes and smallish beak. Its body was covered in a smooth layer of fur-like feathers, making it look like a grayish-white cotton ball. The actual size made it only the size of a melon, but that still was big for a baby bird to be.
They didn't know how long it was sitting there, but all it did was chirp a cute little tweet, looking around at them with a kind of innocent look on its face.

"I predict," Padparadscha gasped, "we'll find a little infant creature ... and it's super adorable."

Padparadscha couldn't help herself. She walked over and kneeled down to the baby chick, which didn't seem scared of Padparadscha at all. Even after Padparadscha picked it up and cradled it in her arms like a baby, it simply chirped some more.

"How long was that little thing sitting there?" Trixie asked, confused as the animals were trying to check it out for themselves. Blue sniffed the bird's toes as Lion gave the bird a little lick, which in turn just made the bird chirp.

"It doesn't look like any bird I've ever seen," said Lars, "What kind of bird is a baby THAT big?"

*CAW*

"You just had to ask," Trixie gulped.

They got their answer. The sounds of a much larger bird rested not too far away. If they thought the infant bird was fairly big, then these other birds were simply HUGE, many of them too big to be perched on the branches they were on, with the largest being the size of a Human! It was joined by a few others, each bird of varying size but looking fairly similar to a mix of a Raven and a Vulture: a long-necked bird with a slightly curved beak, black feathers running all along their bodies with a lot scuffled along their wings. There was a few of them up in the tree looking down at them all, about five to seven of them. All sitting there looking down at them like a group of waiting raptors.

"You might wanna take this one, floor's all yours," Trixie muttered, taking a few steps back away from the birds. They all could feel a chill in the air when they saw these creatures, and it wasn't just because it was slightly cold.

"You know what, if we're gonna show off a little, maybe we should do it somewhere that's not close to a bird's nest. Padparadscha, set the chick down please and let's just get going. I think that's theirs anyway," Starlight suggested. Padparadscha looked down to the little birdie in her arms, it chirping a little bit, and looked up to the larger birds.

"....... Oh! Oops, I'm sorry. Here's your baby back," Padparadscha realized, setting the bird comfortably down onto the nearby bush close to what they assume to be the parents. However, that didn't really do anything different for the birds, as they simply continued to stare at them from the trees. It was enough to even make Lion feel uneasy, as the big cat started to back away, pulling both Trixie and Starlight with him so they can get moving to.

"Owowow okay we get the point, you can stop pulling now," Starlight said, yanking her tail out of Lion's mouth. It wasn't like they wanted to stay with these birds anyway.

"Eh, sorry for nearly stealing your baby. We'll just be heading back now," Starlight called. Again this didn't do much of anything, and the now weirded out crowd simply started to go on their way. Maybe they would have better luck back in town anyhow. Padparadscha looked to the baby bird one more time before turning around and joining the rest. She just wished she could bring the cute birdie with her, but they didn't need a flock of ominous birds mad at them for it.

"Don't worry, Padparadscha, that bird's gonna be fine. ... Even with it's creepy parents," said Trixie, the last part kinda slipping out of her muzzle.

"We won't have to deal with anymore of them when we get back to town," Starlight confirmed.

~~~~~~

*CAW**CAW*

Which was actually ... totally wrong.

Birds. LOT. AND LOTS OF BIRDS. That summed up what Starlight Glimmer and company went back to by the time they got to Beach City again, and the whole city was straight up a mess! Those same ominous looking birds that they found on the hills were now all over the city in force, most perched on a rooftop, street lamp, sign, or wherever they could land while others were circling up in the air, and some were along the ground. Starlight's group started to go through the town a bit, numerous birds looking down at them as they went along as if they were being monitored or something.

"We won't have to deal with anymore of them when we get back to town?" questioned Lars.

"Ok, so I'm wrong, don't rub it in," Starlight said grimly. That response actually stirred up one of the birds, making it fly up in a flutter of black feathers as it tried to find another perch above them. It was enough to make them duck as it flew at them, large wings almost clapping together from such a big flap. Speaking of flying, a few more were actually coming in from the hills, slowly gliding and hovering over by them as they too were finding their own spots on the rooftops to land.

"I know this sounds stupid, but we probably should tell the Harmony Gems about this," Lars suggested. Good idea, though they could probably guess they would know they were here already.

"There's so many of them," gulped Padparadscha, feeling kind of scared. Some of these large black birds were still walking around on the ground, so with this chance in mind Blue decided to try his luck. First starting off as a low growl, Blue started charging at the birds in a fit of barking rage, to try and frighten them off. The large birds flew up off of the ground when Blue raced to them, squawking all the while, and for a moment Blue was feeling pretty good ... until they all landed around him that is. The birds, riled up, started squawking and actually pecking at Blue in the head until the dog raced out back to the rest, whimpering and yelping the whole way. It was worth a try, but these birds weren't gonna be scared off like that.

"Blue, don't run at them, you'll get hurt!" Padparadscha gasped.

Too little too late.

"There you guys are! Come over here."

As it turned out they didn't have to go off too far to find where the others were, hearing the call from Bismuth in particular. The Harmony Gems were gathered up over in Dewey Park (probably one of the few places where there's enough elbow room thanks to these birds). Not just them either, but most of the Beach City residence too.

"Everyone else seeing the huge flock too?" asked Lars.

"How could we not? It looks like something right out of some old movie," Emerald said.

"Where'd they all even come from? None of them were hanging around here yesterday," Steven wondered aloud, looking over many of these large animals looking down to them.

"I don't know, but I'll say this: this has that ram Grogar written all over it. Who else would plague this town with ... whatever the hay these are?" Rainbow Dash said. A valid point, given their luck with him lately, but Steven had to protest.

"Maybe, but maybe not. I don't remember Grogar having any birds like these apart of his army," Steven pointed out.

"Why don't we just ask em?" Spinel asked, peeking out from nearby Steven.

"Spinel you can't talk to birds. Unless you're Fluttershy ... Fluttershy, think you can talk to them, and ask em what this is about?" Bismuth asked. She was probably the only one that could do this, but looking at the scary-looking birds Fluttershy was starting to get shivers running through her fur and feathers. One of the birds glanced down to her and it almost looked like its eyes glowed a blackish light, making Fluttershy move back.

"I-I don't know. They look so ... eerie," Fluttershy gulped, shivering a little.

"Okay then, you can just ask them from right here. Confidence or no confidence, you're the only one that can talk to animals, and they're animals. We'll be right here to squash em if they try anything." Bismuth didn't need to explain it any further than that to help Fluttershy out, but that didn't mean it still wasn't troubling. In fact, they all were feeling a strange bit of uneasyness from just knowing the birds were around to begin with.

"Okay ... here I go ..." Fluttershy said, as she started to take a few steps towards the flock. She looked back one more time before she cleared her throat, taking a few breaths (hoof-to-chest inhale, hoof outward exhale), and looking up to the birds.

"E-Excuse me? C-Can I ask one of you something, if you don't mind that is," Fluttershy asked. At first the birds didn't do much of anything other than stare down at her. Eventually though, one of the birds did decide to hover down towards her, landing in front of Fluttershy. This one wasn't as big as some of the others, but still just taller than the pony, enough to look her eye-to-eye at least.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I-I was just wondering what are you all doing here?" Fluttershy asked. Now normally when the animals speak, Fluttershy would be able to understand them fine, but this bird seemed to not utter a single word to her. At least not a word she understood. Sure it might sound like bird squawking, but Fluttershy couldn't make heads or tails of the language. In fact it was freaking her out even more. It also didn't help that the bird was staring in her eyes the whole time, giving her a look that made her heart skip a few beats.

"N-Nevermind, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Fluttershy caved in and went back to the others, breath in short pants as she tried to gather herself.

"Fluttershy, what happened over there?" asked a troubled Starlight.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk to them. They're not normal animals, not even Equestrian animals. I can't understand them, even if I can talk to animals ... I think it tried to put a hex on me," Fluttershy replied, cowering when she heard that same bird squawk at her.

"You mean they're magic birds?" asked Rarity.

"I-I don't know," Fluttershy replied. So much for the animal expert figuring things out.

"Maybe we should ask what they are first," said Twilight, "If Fluttershy can't talk to them, then they're not any normal animal."

"Or maybe we can talk to em. Hang on a sec," said Spinel.

"Spinel, I wouldn't," advised Garnet. However Spinel was already up in front of one of the nearby flocks.

"Hey there, birds, you mind telling us what your deal is here? You're making it plenty crowded here," Spinel asked. Again the birds didn't exactly speak to her, just staring down at her again. So ...

"HELLO?!"

Bad move on her part. The shrieking she made caused much of the flocks to freak out, flying and hovering around in a mess of feathers. Steven and Connie quickly grabbed her and pulled her away before any of the birds could rush down and get her, but it took a while for this swarm of birds to calm down again.

"Oops," said a shuttering Spinel.

"You okay, Spinel?" Steven asked. Spinel simply nodded to him as they all looked back at the huge flock. The birds found a perch again and were simply looking down to the residence some more.

"Okay, so talking to them is out of the question, and maybe we shouldn't get them angry either," concluded Steven.

"So what do we do with em?" asked Applejack.

"I mean ... they're not doing anything. Should we make them leave if they're not causing any problems? Before you point anything you, you just freaked them out Spinel, they didn't plan to jump like that so that doesn't count," shrugged Steven.

"What about when they attacked Blue? They looked like they knew what they were doing then," Lars said, the Gem dog keeping himself hidden so the birds won't jump him again.

"Well that depends: did Blue rush at them first?" Garnet asked.

"Ehh ... well, yeah?"

"Then they were just defending themselves that's all."

"So ... what are we gonna do? Are we going to just leave them alone, or are we gonna try anything?" Connie asked, feeling uneasy with the birds herself. Garnet adjusted her visors.

"There's really no point in chasing them off if they're not giving us a reason to. We'll look into what they are and what they're about, but for now let's just leave them be. They could end up leaving on their own," Garnet concluded. No sense wasting energy on a huge bunch of birds anyhow.

"So just ignore them is what you're saying?" asked Lars.

"Pretty much," Garnet replied. It seemed simple enough.

"I am NOT working with all those birds hanging out in the Pizza shop," said Jenny.

"Oh yes you are young lady. No bird plague is going to keep you from your job," Kofi said sternly.

"But daddy!"

"Well that goes for you two, boys. Those fries and Tater Tots aren't gonna sell themselves," said Mr. Fryman.

"And miss out on this strangeness? This is an ultimate study for -"

"Ronaldo, can't you think about something besides your blog?" Peedee asked.

"Blog? I was gonna say for my class," Ronaldo said.

"... Oh yeah. You're a teacher now," Peedee said, a little embarrassed. They still needed to get used to the fact that Ronaldo was more than just some blogger now. This got Flint thinking a little bit.

"Actually ... Ronaldo, you mind doing some studying with me? You're experienced in this sort of thing more than other people in town, and I could use a second opinion," Flint offered.

"Really?! I-I mean, of course, I'd be honored," Ronaldo said, a little too enthusiastic about being joined up officially by a Harmony Gem.

They were gonna have to grin and bare it. Even if some of the animals were a bit more than worried of ending up as the bird's snack. The residence started to go off back to their daily business, though the birds were actually beginning to spread out a little bit more as the residence were doing so, soaring along the sky in a slow way as if they were just floating in the air. Seemed at least some of these birds were picking favorites. Still a good chunk of them stayed around the park, looking to the Harmony Gems.

The more they watched them, the more uneasy it felt. ...

~~~~~~

So everyone from there tried to get back to their daily business, even though now that the town was plagued by these giant black birds. All of Beach City seemed to be under complete monitor thanks to these large birds, all of them perching up and watching the residence below. It did seem strange, if not troubling for everyone in town, because wherever they went, the birds seemed to want to follow them. The only animals the birds didn't bother with were the cats (for obvious reasons), but even then it wasn't enough to get them all to go away. Even with the birds looming over their heads however, they still had other things to do.

"Who's ready for Dogcopter 6: Til Death Do Us Bark: I Now Pronounce You Man and Woof!"

Like catching the latest Dogcopter movie. It was a good way to ignore the plague.

"Dogcopter six, huh? I didn't know a robot dog got so many sequels," said a admittedly impressed Spinel as she checked out the poster for the movie by the theater. The theater had a bit of a line-up for the movie, so Spinel, Steven, Connie, Pinkie and Rarity.

"I know, it's amazing, and I don't care who says what it's still going strong. The director's promised this time it'll keep true to it's source material," Connie explained, "According to the trailer, Dogcopter and Drew the Dog are going to get -"

"CONNIE, no spoilers! I've suffered avoiding the trailer for this as it is," Steven quickly said, who wanted to keep his viewing experience fresh for the movie for once.

"Sorry, force of habit since I've joined the fan wiki," Connie admitted.

"Don't worry, Connie, I'm sure whatever the trailer showed won't ruin the entire movie ... but please, still no spoilers," Rarity suggested, basically in the same boat as Steven in terms of viewing. Nothing ruins an experience more than already knowing what happens before it starts unless you're Garnet. The group soon got their way up to the ticket counter.

"Five tickets for Dogcopter 6 in 3D please," said Rarity, getting out the money for the ticket lady. As Pinkie and Rarity were working that out, the other three couldn't help but feel watched thanks to all of the birds perched nearby, but it wasn't the same sort of feeling one would've gotten while being watched. No, the feeling they were getting was more focused on something else.

"Is it still there?" asked a whispering Connie.

"I think so, just ignore it," replied Steven.

Sure enough they looked back to the flock of birds. There wasn't as many of them as there was before back in the park, but still a decent-sized flock remained perched nearby. One in particular stood out from this group of birds though, looking just slightly bigger with a color of red and blue in its eyes. It didn't do anything to them, just look at them, but it still left them both uncomfortable all the same.

"Yeah. Ok," Connie replied.

"You three coming in? Our favorite seats are ready, and I'm down for some Dogcopter catch-up," said Pinkie Pie, showing the three the tickets they just got.

"Oh, yeah we're coming. Just checking in on our feathered friends up there, nothing to worry about," Steven said, thumb aimed at the birds nearby. Rarity and Pinkie glanced over to the birds themselves, but they decided not to push it. Part of the idea was to wait this out until the others could come up with a solution anyway. The ponies took a look to one another before they went in to join their friends in the theater.

"Those birds are really ominous, like a bunch of ghosts," said Pinkie while going in. Rarity would protest if that wasn't the vibe she was getting from the few there. Maybe the movie will help gt their mind off those ugly creatures.

.......

"Dogcopter, we got a visual on the blue car, it's heading pass T-bone bridge. Fetch, boy!"

"Come on, Dogcopter, get him," said Steven, on the edge of her seat along with her friends as they were deep into the movie. The theater was really waiting to see what would happen next, Connie trying to avoid dropping her non-butter popcorn. The movie screen showed Dogcopter with Drew the Dog, the superhero canine in the middle of a high-speed chase, following in hot pursuit with the blue car in front of them.

"Can I have some of that popcorn?" asked Pinkie. Connie gave some over to her, but the whole group got a bit of a jump as the cars zoomed right at the screen. Spinel and Pinkie especially were jumpy.

"WOW, this 3D glasses stuff feels so real, it's like I'm really being chased by a car," Spinel said, just to duck down and cover her head in wraps of her arms when the cars rushed by the screen again.

"3D's the best for action movies," Steven replied.

"SSHH, they're reaching the bridge," Connie shushed.

And indeed they were reaching the T-Bone bridge. Dogcopter at this point was up on top of the car, Drew the Dog taking the wheel as the cyber-dog was ready to jump at any moment. But just before he could, something else caught his eye that suddenly made him stop cold. A mail truck, moving at top speed, right beside the blue car.

"No no no, don't fall for that again Dogcopter," gulped Pinkie pie, her and Spinel hugging eachother in worry as they watched the scene play out. Dogcopter on-screen looked torn between the blue car and the mail truck, eyes darting back and forth as a robotic arm from his back wiped away some sweat off his head.

"I know you're eager to chase the mail truck, Dogcopter. But the mail truck is a decoy. Good boys chase the blue car. Be a good boy, Dogcopter," Drew the Dog said.

That voice was just the motivation Dogcopter needed, and he locked onto his target: the blue car. A quick leap off of the first car, and Dogcopter lived up to his name, propellers sprouting from his back and he chopper'd right over to the blue car. Getting his robot arms out, he smashed open the trunk and got out the prize: a small box ... and a time bomb?!

"Oh no, it's a trap!" gasped Spinel, gtting a few shushes from the others watching (though how could she not yelp at sight of it?). As Dogcopter was trying to process this turn of events, and the audience preparing for the worst as something began to hone in on Dogcopter and the screen from the background. It was charging in close, and FAST, as if aiming right for the audience. As this was going on, Pinkie tried to get some more popcorn, but her jittrery hoof made some spill onto Connie.

"Oops, sorry, nervous-jitters," Pinkie said.

"I got it, thanks," Connie replied. But as she tried to get some popcorn off of her lap, and looked back to the screen, the figure in the back began to move in closer, and closer, and closer with ... wings spread?

"Wings? Dogcopter never had any evil bird henchmen," Connie thought. It was an odd direction to turn the story in. However, there was one teeny tiny detail that she forgot to count on, as her hand reached to readjust her 3D glasses. Only one small problem ...

"Wait ... I'm not wearing my 3D glasses," Connie realized in surprise. Why was this a surprise? When Connie looked back up towards the screen, that same thing was starting to jump VERY FAR OUT of the screen now. Or rather, hovering off of the top of the movie screen and over the crowd.

"Nice work, DC! Now get the bomb off the bridge! We're almost out of time!" Drew shouted.

The bird was REAL! And diving right at her!

*CAW!**CAW!*

*BOOOM!*

"AAHH!" Connie shut her eyes and covered her face, her popcorn flying in the air, from what she thought was gonna be a nasty peck or scratch. It turned out the bird flew up at the last second, and disappeared over in the dark corner of the theater just as a huge explosion on-screen made the entire room jump. At least that's what it looked like to Connie. As she got the popcorn off of her (and the popcorn container off her head), she checked back to the seats behind them only to find no bird anywhere ...

"DOGCOPTER! NO!" Drew screamed, screech-halting the car as he rushed out to Dogcopter, who at this point was laying unconscious on the ground. The bomb had exploded and gone, and the other box was safely on the bridge with them, but Dogcopter was not moving. The others were crossing fingers and hooves, hoping Dogcopter would make it out of this alright.

"Please Dogcopter," said Drew the Dog, "I don't want to lose you ..."

"Me neither Drew," Spinel said.

"You need me to get more popcorn, dear?" Rarity quietly asked. Connie needed to regather her nerves.

"N-No. No I'm good ... It's really good at 3D," Connie said.

The whole point was to ignore the birds, not bring them up. So she got her 3D glasses back on, and continued watching the movie with the others. Speaking of which, Dogcopter turned out to be alive, just enough, and his robotic arms slowly got over to the box, and held in a particular way as he then opened it.

"Is it ... what I think it is?" Drew asked.

And indeed it was. A ring, shaped like a dog bone. It was such a twist from what just happened, getting a few gasps out of the crowd nearby.

Too bad Connie was too shaken up to focus.

~~~~~~

"Thanks for coming in, have a nice day," said Sadie.

About closing time at the Big Donut, and the birds still hadn't gone away. Sadie and Lars just got their work done for the day (Bill Dewey went home early), but the birds themselves hadn't gone away. Some were still perched up on top of the Big Donut, looking down at the two as they've been doing all day.

"Geesh, don't those birds have anything better to do? They've been hovering over the shop all day. It's giving me the creeps," Lars asked, looking up to them.

"You're feeling it to, huh? Well, here, let's get our minds off it with a little snack for the road," Sadie suggested, holding out a donut bag.

"You got donuts?"

"Well yeah ... I just thought we can have a bite to eat on the way back, you know? That okay?" Sadie asked. A long time ago Lars would've declined the offer, but this time Lars smiled and opened up the bag.

"Sure. A toast for a day off," Lars said, holding his donut as if it were a water glass. Sadie chuckled and did the same thing and with a "clink", they were just about to enjoy a bite when one of the birds decided to get some takeout.
Sadie suddenly felt a yank off of her hand, and a black blur rushed down and snatched her donut up with a quick bite of the beak. The bird was smaller, but moved very quick, and Sadie would've gotten a better grip if not for the black bird's wings whacking her head as it flew back up.

"Hey! That's not yours!" Sadie shouted. But the big bird just perched back up onto the rooftop, holding the donut like a parrot would to take a few bites before another one tried its luck with it, basically bringing the two to another skirmish. Lars just moments later broke his donut in half.

"Here, don't sweat it. You can have half of mine," Lars said, blushing a little but smiling.

"Oh, you don't have to Lars, it's fine," Sadie said.

"Just take it," Lars smirked, "If you don't, I'll have to eat an entire donut all by myself."

"Okay, okay you sold me," Sadie chuckled, taking the donut.

*CAW!*

And there they go again, this time it was big a bigger bird, and basically bullied Lars and Sadie into giving up their pieces by loud squawks and harsh wingbeats. At least the first one was quick and painless, this one was a straight up bully.

"Stupid birds, go get your own food!" Lars shouted. Of course the birds weren't gonna listen to them, and they scuffled on who was gonna get the food this time right off of their rooftop. All Sadie and Lars could do was sigh as they watched the donut carryout get torn to pieces. Guess they'll just have to wait until they got home to actually get a bite to eat.

"Wait, don't close yet!"

Spinel, Twilight, and Starlight. It was a bit late, and Spinel really wanted to get her fix of donuts before it would close for the day, almost making a dive for the in zone just to make it to the front door.

"Oh, hi guys. Sorry, but we've just closed up for the night," Sadie said.

"NO, you can't have. Can't I have just one donut before you all quit on me? This is a donut shop, there's gotta be ONE left in there," Spinel said, looking inside the donut shop for SOMETHING left. Sadie was really starting to feel a sense of Deja Vu just from all of that.

"So are you two coming to try and get some too, or are you just coming by?" Lars asked Twilight and Starlight.

"Yeah we're just coming by. In fact we're on our way back to the Beach House before Spinel wanted her sugar fix before you closed up," Twilight explained, looking to the now troubled Spinel.

"Back to the - wait, did you guys figure out how to handle, well, you know what?" Sadie asked, pointing to the birds on the rooftop, which by this point was joined by a few more.

"I have no idea, but Flint and Ronaldo are working on it ... Flint's a brave man," Starlight admitted. Spinel pulled herself away from the window by her own hand, showing her sad, sad face.

"Can't I at least have leftovers? I'll take the donut holes," Spinel asked meekly.

"Actually you're lucky there's even any left," Lars groaned, "Those dumb birds keep stealing takeouts everytime someone steps out with a donut. Whatever the others are going to do, they better do it soon before we're squawked out of business."

The three looked up to the birds, them looking down at them while some were still fighting over what donut was even left at this point, to the point when feathers were falling off of them and onto the group.

"Sorry, but you two are just gonna have to bare it. Okay, so they've swiped some donuts, that's not enough to give me the right to chase them away," Twilight explained, trying not to look at em for too long. Especially when one of them looked like it would end up in a nuthouse with how scuffled-up it looked, making Twilight cringe a little bit.

"Why not?" Lars asked.

"Eh, I dunno Twilight. You really think they're not doing this on purpose?" Starlight inquired, "Why else would they keep taking from just one donut shop?"

"Because they're hungry? Look, I already promised Garnet I wouldn't try anything with my magic already, so ... yeah, at least wait until we learn what these things are," Twilight said. It wasn't like she didn't want to get rid of these birds, just looking at them was enough to give her a unsettling vibe, but attacking them purely on looks wasn't gonna make it any better.

"Well, alright. It's auto-locked anyway for the night, so they won't steal anymore while we're away. Good luck guys," Sadie said. Twilight nodded and began to head back on her way towards the Beach House. Sadie and Lars didn't feel very good about that though, and felt even less when the birds seemed to not want to leave. It seemed fair to try and leave them alone, but then again, Starlight and Spinel were getting the same idea ...

"Don't worry. We'll get rid of them for you," decided Spinel.

"You two will?" asked Lars.

"It won't be long. Wait here," Starlight said. Then she walked over and confronted the flock sitting on the rooftop. Only one of the birds was already flying away, but that wasn't enough to get rid of the majority of the birds stuck up there. Spinel simply stared up at them for a moment before she quickly shook her head, as if something just landed on her face to distract her or something. Starlight though didn't hesitate, and her horn began to glow.

"Okay, I have no idea if you can understand me or not, but you all need to fly out of here. You're scaring away the customers," Starlight warned. The birds didn't budge an inch, and basically ignored her.

"You heard her! Go away!" added Spinel. All that response got was a few loud squawks and that was it. Well, time to get the fireworks started.

"Everypony stand back. I got this," Starlight said.

Aiming her horn up towards the flock, Starlight began to make a few warning shots at the flock. They weren't anything too crazy, just a few magic shots to scare the birds away, and while it did make the birds flutter away from the shots it wasn't enough to actually make them leave. One shot to the left, a few to the right, some even bouncing off of the building for good measure, but none of those were enough to do the job.

"Okay. Warning shots aren't scary enough for you? How about this?" Starlight then uppen'd the magic, and did a sweeping beam just above the flock. This one made many of the birds huddle up on the rooftop, keeping just out of range from the bean of magic, but again it didn't make them fly away. These birds were a bit stubborn, and it just got them squawking at them again.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Lars asked, not sure if she was helping or making things worse.

"I'm working on it, just let me think without destroying the place," Starlight said.

However, all of that eerie squawking and shrieking was making at least one of them a little bit too riled up ...

"SHUT UP, YOU BIRD-BRAINS!" shouted Spinel, reaching a little breaking point. Her fist inflated to the size of a wrecking ball, and rallying up her swing, she slammed her giant fist right into the wall of the building, so hard it made the building crack!
Now THAT got the birds to take flight off of the rooftop, freaking them out and flapping like crazy, as if they were trying to fly for the first time they were so hectic. Spinel, Starlight, Sadie, and Lars all moved back from the flock of now angry birds, all of them squawking and shrieking even more than before, but something else was going on as they all flew the way that they did.
Almost like a trigger, the bird flock started to become covered in a sort of darkish haze or shadow, giving those observing it a deep sense of ... sadness? Regret? Probably regret, since the flock was now acting like an angry swarm of bees. And Spinel had just disturbed their hive.

Immediately, worried, Starlight got them all covered in a forcefield of magic, just as the flock rushed right down at them, slamming into the barrier with all of their strength, beaks and claws scratching and cutting into the forcefield.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this was a mistake," Spinel managed to say in the mayhem.

Just before the forcefield cracked open.

.......

The Beach House was getting a bit of a crowd now. From Equestria there was Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, whereas for the Gem side there was Garnet, Flint, Jasper, and Steven. Peridot and Pearl were among them too, but they weren't exactly what they would call "involved": Pearl huddled up in a blanket over in the corner as Peridot kept her position in the bathroom. Everyone else was waiting for the whole group to show up, though anyone could see that they were a little bit on edge. Flint was pacing back and forth, Jasper tried to find how many tiles on the ceiling she could count, Fluttershy tried keeping herself busy with one of Steven's books along with Twilight, things like that. No matter what they did, they all knew those birds were still hanging out just outside of the Beach House door, and along with that the Temple itself.
They finally got something else to focus on though when they heard the Beach Door open.

"Starlight, Spinel, nice of you -" Garnet stopped when she saw how beat up Spinel and Starlight looked. Spinel had a few scratches on her body, a ponytail on her head undone so it sprawled over her face, as Starlight's mane looked choppy almost with a few bruises and scratches along her own fur.

"Sorry we're late," groaned Starlight. Spinel for one just fell down onto the floor as Starlight just moved her way to the couch, tossing herself onto it (and Garnet's lap).

"What happened to you two?" Steven asked. Spinel joined Starlight on the couch, sitting down quietly to have Garnet just come up and say it.

"You two tried to get rid of the birds on your own, when you both passed the Big Donut," Garnet correctly guessed.

"We were just trying to help. ..." Spinel meekly and gravely said.

"BUT Lars and Sadie got out alright so, it's not completely terrible," Starlight said ... though not too enthusiastic. They could only wonder though if they did get out alright, or how bad the birds were off when they got fighting them. Garnet looked over to Spinel.

"I know you're both just trying to help Sadie and Lars, and it was noble of you. And right now we all need to help solve this problem," Garnet said.

"Right, so did any of you get any leads or something?" asked Jasper, "All these ... things. UGH, I can't even train right now because of those stupid animals crowding me!"

"Jasper, don't be rude," insisted Fluttershy. Even if she couldn't understand them, she knew what not to say to them.

"But seriously, did anyone figure anything out or what?" asked Rainbow Dash. It was then that Flint actually addressed everyone.

"Okay, so it took all day with me and Ronaldo looking over these creatures," Flint explained, "and ... I really didn't get much."

"You spent all day with Ronaldo and got nothing?"

Flint sighed roughly.

"I'm not thrilled about it either, believe me. I was hoping to find out more, but the most that we've seen was that these birds are highly observant, and seem to pick their targets. That's all I was seeing, but we're trying to figure out more with them," Flint explained. Not the best answer ever, but what could they even do?

"Ok, I don't know about you guys, but those birds gotta hit the road. If they're gonna attack the town, they're gonna have to go through us first," Rainbow said.

"Nuh-uh, Rainbow, I couldn't get rid of them, what makes you think you could?"

"Look at you! They already made mincemeat out of you and Spinel," the pegasus pointed out.

"Only because I tried chasing them away! Look it doesn't matter, it's been a long day, I'm just gonna get going," Starlight concluded, ready to walk out the door.

"Okay then, while you're gonna do that, I'm gonna check on Bismuth at the forge," Jasper decided.

"Don't tell me she's freaking out over this too," Applejack said.

"It's one of those things where she says she's fine, but she's clearly not fine. Just at the forge and she won't stop making weapons, shields, and basically everything else with a forge. By the way, she wanted to give this to you," Jasper said, tossing something over to Fluttershy. The object wasn't even a weapon, but looked more like a metallic "rubber duck".

"Funny thing: Rarity's like that too. I tried talking to her back at her boutique, but she kept saying she's too busy with sewing," Fluttershy said.

"Sounds like more distractions to me," said Flint.

"Let's get some sleep," Garnet decided, "we'll figure out more tomorrow. Flint, I want to talk to you."

"Huh? Umm, okay, sure," Flint said. A bit out of nowhere but couldn't hurt. As Flint and Garnet were heading over to the backroom, Garnet looked over to the rest.

"Steven. You should pass out the blankets and pillows to everyone. They're in your stairs drawer," Garnet suggested, just before walking into Flint's room with him.

"But there's nothing in there except for a few old board games," Steven said, though this was mostly to himself. At least, he thought there was none in there until Spinel checked for herself. The second she opened that door was like finding a party bomb by Pinkie Pie, a big clump of pillows and a few blankets shot out from the place and sprawled out onto the couch. Amongst the bed material also came a small note, which only had two words on it:

Slumber Party.

"Garnet. Always thinking," Steven said with a smirk.

~~~~~~

The next day, morning came late. The sun was slow to come up (at least that's what it felt like), and as the rays of sunshine were going over the town by the seaside, there wasn't that many people that were up and ready for the day (take a wild guess why). Well, even if Beach City was sleeping in a little, there still were a few that took the morning by the horns.

Lapis.

"Good morning, world. Great to see you," Lapis said. Unlike practically everyone else living here, Lapis Lazuli was feeling pretty good that morning. A bit chilly, but the weather and clear sky was just right for Lapis to take on a morning flight. Her water wings were spread open, a slight shimmer in the sunlight as she stood up on top of Brooding Hill. No better spot in town where she can get a good send off. The blue Gem gave a good stretch, welcoming the day with open arms, before she leaned forward with wings spread wide, getting her to start soaring in no time at all.
At first Lapis was having fun with flying round the clouds, doing a number of turns and spins just for the heck of it, but mainly her reason for flying was just to chill out. Just gliding along always was relaxing for Lapis, not needing to focus too much on flapping her wings as she soared along, almost like she didn't have any gravity pulling her down. She even flew upside down for a little bit, as if she was laying on a cloud. Flying along the way that she was, she didn't take the time to look down to the ground until -

*CAW!**CAW!*

"Huh? What's that?" Lapis wondered. She never heard a call like that before. Curious she turned herself around, and then did she get a better look at Beach City and it's current bird pandemic.

"That's Strange. That's a lot of birds down there. And none of them look like they belong here either. ... when'd Beach City get so many?" Lapis thought. Lapis kept a visual as she continued to fly through town, finding so many of these birds not giving much legroom on any perch for her to rest. Seemed that wherever she flew, be it over by Funland or through Dewey Park, or just by the boardwalk, the birds were pretty much everywhere. She was right about them being foreign to this part of the world, as she did NOT remember seeing anything similar to these birds through the years she lived here. Speaking of the birds, they didn't really bother with her as she flew through town. Some did have to move out of the way to give her some room to fly, but that was about it for the most part. For now, anyway. Another thing too, Lapis didn't see anyone out there aside from the flying animals, so that made this scene feel just that much more ominous.

"Yep, definitely not normal birds. I better tell the others about this ... well, if they don't know about it already," Lapis thought, a few extra wing beats to pick up speed.

Only to suddenly stop once she caught sight of the Beach House.

"They definitely know," Lapis gulped. And indeed she was right (or should be anyway), because when she saw it now it was almost littered with those birds! Some were circling around the house as others just sat on the rooftops. It was so crowded up there that the birds were lucky to have a foothold left on the roof, some even forced to be pushed off when one wanted a seat. No doubt about it though, the house was practically invaded.

Lapis was not having it.

"Hey! Off the house!" Lapis shouted, flying in towards them. The birds looked over to the oncoming Gem, and actually had to scatter a lot so they wouldn't get caught in the landing. Lapis took her landing right at the front door, the birds flying up out of reach from her, but still refusing to go too far as they squawked and shrieked at her. A pair of gutsy birds even started pecking at her.

"Ow! OW, hey, quit it! Okay, you're asking for it," Lapis warned. All it took was a quick opening of her water wings, and a quick slap, to get the birds to go away. That gave Lapis enough time to go right into the house and slamming the door behind her, the birds unable to reach her by then. Lapis had to hold the door steady as the birds tried busting their way in, but as quickly as it started they calmed down and went back to roosting. Lapis gave a quick sigh.

"Well I'm home. Ok guys, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you know about the birds outside?" Lapis asked after catching her breath ... only to find barely anyone there. In fact the only one there was Spinel, her on the couch playing with her fingers and trying not to give into the birds' constant squawking.

"Guys? ... Spinel, where is everybody?" Lapis asked, looking around.

"Hi Lapi," said Spinel, grumpy, "They went out to the Sky Arena. Thataway," Spinel said, her hand stretching and pointing right over to the Warp Pad. They all then heard the birds outside, which made Spinel cover her ears.

"It doesn't look like things had been easy."

"I'm trying to try this "sleep" thing, but those birds never shut up," Spinel whimpered. That response just got the birds squawking outside again, making Lapis turn as Spinel shuttered.

"Did they come back home yet? They need to know about these birds. They're all over Beach City now, and I think they're trying to eat the Big Donut. And by that I mean the actual donut," Lapis explained.

"Of course they -" suddenly a thought struck her, "wait a minute bob. You don't know? ... WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Spinel exclaimed in shock, grabbing the blue Gem by the shoulders and getting right in her face. Lapis (only slightly freaked out) got Spinel to let go of her.

"With ... Jamie?"

"Who?" Spinel asked. Lapis started going through her pockets.

"Jamie. He and I have been a thing for a good few years, and he invited me out with him to visit his cabin over the weekend. Here, look." to prove she wasn't making any of this up, Lapis showed Spinel one of the pictures (okay a couple of them) on her trip with Jamie. One showed her showing up at the front door of the cabin with the guy, the second one showed Lapis and Jamie basically hanging out with Lapis of course wearing Jamie's mailman hat. It was a habit for them at this point. The third one though looked more like they were re-enacting a part of a play with Jamie dressed as a squire and Lapis a princess ... but it was still worth mentioning.

"Huh. Look at that," Spinel said. She thought Steven and Connie were the only match going on. For a brief moment it was actually calming down, until one of the birds suddenly jammed its head into Steven's bedroom window. Spinel yelped, throwing the pictures up in the air before covering herself up, as Lapis grabbed each picture in the air.

"Make the mean buzzy things go away before I lose my mind," Spinel whimpered ... looking ready to kill somebody. Lapis kept her distance, but as Spinel was freaking out, she looked out the same window and it seemed that this reaction only agitated the bird even more.

"How long was she going through with this? ... Spinel, if you want, maybe -"

"You'll cover for me?! Thanks Lapis, you're the absolute bestest ever, I'll put a good work to the others, see ya!"

"W-Wait, that isn't what I meant!"

Too late, Spinel already took a bolt for it, and onto the Warp Pad she went. Lapis was kinda left standing there before she could do anything else, but seeing Spinel like that only made her wonder just how bad those birds really were. Speaking of which, after Spinel left, the bird at the window brought its attention to Lapis, but rather than say anything to her it simply stared at her for a while.

*scratch**scratch* "AAAHHH!"

"Peridot!" Lapis gasped.

Immediately Lapis raced right towards the bathroom and without hesitating, she swung the door wide open. Not even noticing until after that Peridot locked Steven's door, and she just flat out broke it in a single swing. That she can fix later, she had Gems to get. Looking into the bathroom she quickly saw that the bathroom had a visitor trying to break into the bathroom. Peridot was keeping herself as far away as possible from the smaller window near the door, s a large vulture head was trying to break its way inside through clawing with its talons.

"CLOSE THE DOOR, YOU CLOD!" Peridot screeched, plunger in hand to break her at any second. Lapis, staring at the weapon, quickly closed the door behind her, as the vulture head caw'd right at her face. As a natural reflex, Lapis actually slapped the bird square in the face. And HARD. It was enough to make the bird move back away. Quietly.

"Is everything okay in here?"

"NO, those ... THINGS keep trying to get in here! They're gonna shatter me!" Peridot said in panic, just to hear the birds getting agitated again outside. The Peridot Lapis knew wouldn't get this scared over a few birds. But then again, this wasn't the one she grew used to yet, and the bird giving another squawk proved it and made Peridot almost scramble back to the back wall, muttering "don't let it get me" over and over again.

Turned out she wasn't alone in here, as Lapis saw someone whimpering in the bathtub. Hidden over in the corner, a stream of tears still going down into the bathtub drain, Pearl was keeping herself as isolated as she possibly could inside the room.

"I lost her ... I-I'm her Pearl. I was supposed to protect her from everything," Pearl muttered, trying in vain to wipe away some tears on her face.

"Pearl, don't worry, everything's fine. Connie's still alive, you didn't lose anyone," Lapis said. Pearl looked over to Lapis with so much water in her eyes, before she suddenly wailed and cried again.

"I try so hard for her!" she cried, "I was made to serve her, to protect her, to keep her safe! I'M A DISGRACE TO ALL PEARLS, and now I lost everything! My ... my ..."

"Your Connie?"

"... MY CONNIE!!!" suddenly Pearl lunged over to Lapis Lazuli, wailing and crying herself ridiculous. Lapis held Pearl to her to try and calm her down, but this did a bit more than just give Pearl some small bit of comfort and possibly scare Peridot crazy again judging by the face. No that other response was just outside the bathroom window.
The birds were getting riled up again just outside, now at least several birds trying to get their way inside like a swarm of hungry piranha.

"Lazuli, how do you get it to stop? it's gonna make them mad again," Peridot asked frantically, hiding behind Lapis.

"Again? You mean they tried more than once?"

"I don't have to analyze the entire issue just make it STOP before they break in! The last ten point seven times they almost got me! Just make it stop, umm ... your clarity," Peridot muttered in panic, even giving Lapis the diamond insignia for the sign of respect, just to yelp and hide when they heard a loud hit by the window. Lapis looked over to the window, not even able to see outside except for the bird heads filling in every square space of it. She looked back and forth between the Gems and the birds and ...

"We gotta go. Peridot, get out of the bath tub and follow me. Here Pearl, let me help you up," Lapis said. Pearl, still holding onto her, was then lifted off of the ground, holding her in a cradle as Pearl gripped her in a arm/leg hug.

"Waitwaitwait, we're just leaving? NOW? I can't leave, I got so much to do in here!" Peridot said.

"You want those birds to get you or not?" Lapis asked.

"Point royally made. Coming," Peridot replied. Peridot almost slipped on Pearl's tears just to keep up with walking Lapis Lazuli, Pearl leaving a small stream of tears all along the way. Lapis, Peridot, and Pearl moved straight over to the Warp Pad, the birds starting to go into more of an uproar. The trio of Gems went right over to the Warp Pad, and turned around just to see the birds finally breaking through the front door.

"I give you this tribute as a sacrifice, thank you!" Peridot said, trying to push Pearl out to them.

"Peridot!"

"What?! she's expendable!"

The birds broke through and rushed towards them.

"GO GO GO GO!" Peridot screamed. Lapis got the Warp Pad working just in time, and all the birds got to grab was just air ... and the back wall as they slammed into it.

And then everything was quiet, and still.

.......

That was far too close, and now miles away from the Temple, Lapis, Peridot, and Pearl got themselves caught up to the rest of the Harmony Gems. Good timing too, because the Sky Arena itself was getting a bit of a crowd with many of the ponies and Gems present for the training session for today. Since Pearl wasn't there to teach, the dummies made by Bismuth had to be used for the session instead. It's too bad though that the birds were still around, perched up on the Sky Arena's main entrance piece. It didn't take very long until some of the group noticed the three starting to come in.

"Lapis!" called a waving Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Lapis, welcome back. You and Jamie had fun?" asked Garnet.

"Oh, yeah I had a fun time. I'll say something about it in a minute, but first, what's going on here?" Lapis inquired.

"We're just getting some ol' fashion training started with some of Bismuth's dummies. It's special training today for Steven and Connie and ... that's all we know," replied Rainbow Dash, showing Lapis the dummies over nearby. It was then their attention went over to Peridot and Pearl with Lapis.

"You brought them here with you," noted Steven.

"Pearl and Peridot? Yeah, that's kinda why I'm here too," Lapis said. Before she could go and say what, they all then began to see a portal from one portal key start to open up out in the Sky Arena. A quick moment later and out came Connie, quickly shutting the portal behind her, big bag in hand with all the supplies they needed.

"Connie you made it," said Steven.

"Oh, uh hey Steven. Yeah, I'm not missing any training for the world," Connie said, looking into her bag for a bit more, pulling out the items they would need for and after the training. This included some juices she brought for them, delicious and filling pineapple flavored.

"A refreshment for your body and brain, my dear?" said Connie with a smile.

"Why Connie, that's so thoughtful of you," said Steven ... just for the two to chuckle afterwards. They still shared the pineapple juice though. Though as they enjoyed the drinks before the training could begin, a few of the others were starting to notice a few details on Connie's person, such as a hint of baggy eyes and a slightly less smooth flow to her hair.

"Don't tell me, had a rough night? Because you're not the only one not capable of sleeping," asked Spinel, checking out Connie's hair and how worn out it looked.

"Huh? Umm, yeah. Rough night. ... again. Don't worry, I'm still ready to start," Connie said.

"Ya sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. Steven, whenever you're ready," Connie replied.

"Yep, I'm ready. Bismuth, activate the -"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Garnet, "We wanted to show you two something important before you start. This is a special training session after all."

"Special? Oh no, was I supposed to bring something?" Connie asked.

"Nope. We made a few signs," Garnet revealed. Then, appearing from behind her back she was holding what looked like a picket sign she made herself. Nothing too fancy, just a couple of words written on it in dark pink color marker. In a flick of the wrist she "spawned" in three more, which Spinel, Pinkie, and even Bismuth were more than happy to take for their support.

"This side is to cheer Steven and Connie," explained Garnet. But then she turned around the sign, showing more writing in the back of it and added "and THIS is for Stevonnie. It's two signs in one. ... A Fusion sign."

"Oh. Fusion training," Connie realized. Steven and Connie looked to one another for a brief moment, their minds starting to shift back to a particular night back on Homeworld, and how much trouble that even was. They knew how Fusion training worked, they've done it a few times before, but today they weren't too sure about it.

"You ... don't like it?" asked Fluttershy.

"No, no it's great, great Fusion joke. Come on Connie let's get started," Steven said, trying not to feel so rough about the idea, and bringing Connie out towards the arena.

"I wasn't asking about the joke," Fluttershy noted. Still, the others sat down by the front stairs and bleachers as Steven and Connie were ready to get themselves going. It didn't take a detective to see something wasn't sitting too well with those two, but they didn't want to bother them and break any concentration.

"You sure you want to do this, Connie?" Steven quietly asked. Connie took a breath.

"Yes. For Stevonnie's sake. I want her to enjoy herself again," Connie replied. Steven smiled.

"Me too. ... Let's do it."

So it began. This time the fusion dance didn't take so long, and they were more focused on the fusion part rather than the dance part but the second the two held hands was when the light began to shown brightly. As they were fusing, the cheering friends turned their signs around so it showed for Stevonnie instead of Steven and Connie. THIS time though, the fusion actually managed to complete the transformation, and there was Stevonnie standing there at the ready for the actual fight.

"C-Connie?" gulped Pearl. Lapis kept her sights away from the action as Stevonnie took a moment to get used to herself.

"Bismuth, get them started. We're ready to start now," Stevonnie announced.

"You got it. Show the world what you can do!" Bismuth called, before she gave a good and loud whistle that echoed across the arena. Like the start of a wrestling ring's bell, the dummies set down all over the place started to become activated and started moving around the fusion. It was like a swordsman version of a shooting gallery, and Stevonnie was ready to get started with her weapon of choice. After getting herself together, she began to get to work on the dummies, working in quick attack with her kicks and slashes of her sword. A stranger note too, Lapis turned away from the fighting and noticed the birds watching the whole fight go down. Something about the fight was making them more and more riled up.

"Psst, hey. Does anything look off to you? Meaning, those birds?" Lapis asked the nearest pony.

"Huh? Birds? What birds?" asked Rarity. Lapis would've bought it if the tine didn't sound so genuine.

"The birds literally swarming the place right over there. They're looking a bit jumpy," Lapis said worriedly. If they were anything like the birds back at the Beach House, then they need to get themselves prepared. The Unicorn turned around and saw the birds too, seeing a few of them watching with anticipation.

"Lapis, don't pay attention to them. They're not a big problem," Rarity said.

"Rarity, there's literally over a hundred up there right now. That's a little concerning," Lapis pointed. Rarity stopped and looked back again.

"... Umm, you feeling okay, Lapis?" Rarity asked.

"Huh?"

"Steven! Connie! Ste-Von-Nie!" cheered Spinel, getting their attention back to the fight and away from the devil birds sitting up there. But still, there was an ominous feeling going over much of the Gems thanks to these birds. They were quiet, but they were eyeing them all down with a lot of anticipation. A little more diligent. A little more impatient. Especially with Pearl still crying by Lapis's side in silence.

Anyway, Stevonnie out in the field continued to keep her focus up on the fight in front of them, working through dummy after dummy as best she could do while keeping herself together. At least here there was something both sides can focus on rather than the party on Homeworld. She kicked one dummy, and punched another, and brought out her sword for the third strike, and this strike she made with a huge jump in the air to avoid two more dummies rushing towards her.

"Connie?"

suddenly something started to happen. It happened so quick too. Stevonnie first saw a dummy there, but one blink of the eye saw someone else there. Someone that Steven never seen before, but Stevonnie still looked in horror anyway. He looked average for a kid his age: black short hair, basic blue-green shirt and dark-blue shorts, black sneakers ... and a surprised look on his face.
It was enough to make Stevonnie slow her swing just enough for the dummy to move aside, her sword slicing into the ground as she was suddenly back in reality.

"No Stevonnie, keep it together. You're fine, you're healed. They're just practice dummies. Just. Dummies," Stevonnie told herself, just for one of the dummies to bump right into her. It would've done it a bit harder too, but Stevonnie jumped away and brought her sword out, making a direct stab into -

Garnet?!

This time Stevonnie panicked, seeing that her sword stabbed Garnet right through her stomach. It wasn't on her Gemstones, but it still was just as horrific for her. Stevonnie dropped her sword and moved back, the whole world around her turning darker, and turning gray as "Garnet" started to tremble a little bit, dropping to her knees before she began to split. Rather than poof though, she literally split in two right down the middle, something beginning to rush out in a white blur and a cyclone. It was moving too quick to comprehend what they were, but they were circling around the now panicking Stevonnie for a bit, the fusion not fighting but instead screaming as she covered her head. The white cyclone was freaking them out plenty, but then the two started to see very dark shadows that was making the white cyclone scatter quick, being replaced by black feathers of one of the larger birds' wings. The bird was getting tired of waiting, and with a single flap of the wing it made a falcon dive.

"STEVONNIE!"
Just in time by Lapis Lazuli. Steven and Connie flew in the air for a bit, landing hard on the ground from what they just saw, surprising everyone else there at this reaction. This time no one was mistaking the problem here, seeing Steven and Connie both looking horrified about ... whatever it was they were seeing. But that was the least of their problems, as the large bird was now squawking and frantically trying to get back to its feet, but once it did it quickly flew away again.

"You two okay?" Lapis asked.

"I think so. Connie, what about you?" Steven managed to say, though now his heart was racing.

"I-I'm ... I'm fine ... I should be fine ... I-I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm ..."

"Connie. Connie, what's wrong?" Steven asked urgently. Connie clearly was not fine, covering her head as a heavy shadow loomed just above her, wings flapping just enough to keep it off the ground, but still slow enough to keep it from flying away. Connie could feel the weight keep her down, stuck in her own little world ...

"CONNIE! No! Don't go, not again!" Pearl said, suddenly rushing out towards her.

"P-Pearl?"

"My Connie, I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible Pearl, why did I let you get hurt? I'M SORRY CONNIE!" Pearl said, still mournful as ever. Pearl then got into a crying fit again, laying herself on top of Connie who was still too scared to react properly thanks to what just happened. So much mourning and fear in one moment. And all of the birds could sense it.

"Uhh ... does anybody else feel like everything's gonna get all energetic in a few seconds?" Pinkie asked in a shiver.

The birds couldn't wait any more.

"Everyone. Warp Pad. Now!" Garnet warned. Too little too late.

*CAAWW!*
The flock of birds dove right into them all! It was an entire wave of beaks, talons and feathers as many of the Harmony Gems were thrown out into the arena, each one fighting their own flock of birds. They tried getting to the Warp Pad but none of the birds were making that any easier for any of them; some more focused on trying to fight off the birds while others were just trying to get away. Even some of their strongest were having difficulty; Garnet swarmed by several birds and whenever she could force a group off of her one point they just jump back at her. Bismuth, even with her hammer arms swinging and even cracking the ground once or twice weren't handling so many at once even if managing to get a few of them under her swings. The Gems may be in trouble but the Ponies were blind-sided (well most of em were)

"What the hay?!" said Rainbow Dash, almost taking off she got up so fast.

"Guys, what's going on?!" asked Applejack.

"What do you mean what's going on, we're being attacked!" Jasper shouted, swinging her fists everywhere like some rabid gorilla, and probably doing just as bad.

"By what?" Pinkie asked.

"THE BIRDS! Don't you see em?!" Spinel screamed, huddled up on the ground as her arm was spinning like a helicopter blade to keep the birds away.

"I ... NO!"

"No? The heck do you mean -" Spinel was cut short when a bird knocked her to the ground. They didn't have too much time to actually question any of this, as the birds kept trying to make mincemeat out of them, pecking, and clawing with talons. It looked like a crazy battle for the Gems, but most of the ponies were only seeing the Gems freak out. Speaking of ponies, a few birds targeted them too, and it turned out Fluttershy and Twilight were the targets. Both ponies were basically tackled off of the bleachers and right out into the field, Twilight getting a forcefield up as Fluttershy kept behind her, covering her head. Twilight was seeing at least three or four large birds, looking frantic and vicious, whereas Fluttershy saw about two of them, both were extremely aggressive towards her.

"I'm coming guys! You four, follow me!" Lapis said, quickly taking off after the birds, but the four ponies don't know where to go at first.

"To where?!" Rainbow asked. No time to answer that question, as Lapis dove right into the fray. Lapis went dead set onto the bird flock, her dashing making them rush into the air to avoid her. Even when Lapis kept rushing back and forth through the birds to try and make them go, it still wasn't enough to keep them from their crazed assault. She did manage to get a few of them, but she needed more help.

"Okay this is weird, but let's get in there!" Applejack said.

"But do what? We can't exactly see them you know," Rarity asked. Good point, but if they didn't do something then they're all gonna be fighting a swarm of these birds. Either fighting or blocking, they weren't gonna get anywhere this way.

"Hey Rainbow, I got an idea," Applejack said, "You go out there and get a tornado going, the rest of ya, get behind me and ready to fetch em outta this tussle, got me?"

"Got it!" Rainbow said. So Rainbow Dash flew off up first, as fast as she could fly. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie stood at the ready, hooves digging in the ground ready to charge.

"Everyone, tell us when those birdies get away from you! The rescue team's ready!" Pinkie called. They weren't sure what they were gonna do, but the fighting suddenly almost seemed to stop once Rainbow Dash began her own act of flying in circles. So quickly she flew she was a blur in the air, and Rainbow didn't stop until the wind around her started to spin. Little by little, a tornado was starting to show up, the rapid winds whipping around them and starting to pull them closer to it. Almost immediately, the others got down as close to the ground as they could, as all of the birds were starting to get themselves sucked into the tornado. Of course they kept trying to stay to their targets but the winds were too strong to even remotely try. It took only a minute before the tornado was filled with feathers and vultures, and while the three couldn't see them they could tell that it was working.

"Keep it up, you're blowing the whole flock away!" said Steven.

"Get a hoof on y'all, while they're getting tossed around," Applejack said, her and her two helpers rushing in. As the birds kept dealing with the tornado, the others got to their friends and got them moving away from the arena as quickly as they could manage (Pinkie Pie being the quickest in that part). Every shield was dropped, and every fist unclenched as they focused on getting themselves moving away from the swarm.

"Good plan, Applejack," Twilight said as they got moving.

"Thanks a bunch. Rainbow we're good, come on!"

Rainbow Dash stopped her flying and quickly changed direction to join up with them. However, without somepony to keep the whirlwind up, that made the tornado stop and the flock started to regain themselves again, albeit very dizzy. By the time the flock regained their composure the group just got out of the exit, and the flock quickly bolted right for them. As the same as before, everyone got the Warp Pad working just moments before the flock could even get them.

They all practically fell right into the Beach House in a mass tumble by the time they got there.

"... I'M ALIVE! Less importantly it looks like we all made it," said Peridot, who was upside down and by the wall.

"No we're not." gulped Lapis.

They ... kinda forgot that a flock was waiting at the Beach House too. And now that they were ALL back, and with no screen to keep em out they were slowly beginning to come in towards them. Guess a few minutes away gave the flock time to get comfy as they were all over the place (according to some of them anyway).

"Oh. Right ... eep!" Peridot yelped before bolting back to the rest, the birds starting to go for her. But here was the thing: Peridot got back to the rest, but the birds strangely stopped when AJ, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie stood against them. The four weren't seeing anything from any bird, but Peridot was left stunned seeing the birds just flat out stopping in front of these four ponies ... and turning around and flying out.

"... K ... they gone? For real now?" asked AJ.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes," said Peridot.

Lucky break. They calmed down once they got that news, but as the four ponies looked back to them all. Well, they didn't look like they were feeling any better about it. In fact, they looked shell-shocked mostly, some with tears coming down their faces ... okay, most of them.

"There there, don't let those ol buzzards shake you up like that," said Applejack, going over to Steven. But that didn't seem to make them feel that much better, though some of them didn't even realize they were crying until after it being pointed out to them. But for one of them, it was just a little bit too much.

"I need to get home."

"Connie?" Steven said, but Connie was already rushing off away from the house, not even caring that the hole in their house was a thing.

"Go get her," said Applejack. And so Steven did, as everyone else stuck behind to try and figure this whole thing out. These birds were now an official threat.

~~~~~~

Lucky for Steven, he didn't have to go too far before he found where Connie was again. Connie was trying to get herself back home still, but she only got to Beach City's Big Donut before Steven could catch up to her. As for Connie, she was holding her head down a bit, knowing very well those birds are probably watching her somewhere even if she can't see them. She looked so tired now.

"Connie, wait up," Steven said, catching up to his girlfriend by the time they both just passed by the Big Donut. Connie didn't look very happy to see him catching up to her, just looking away.

"Everything okay? Talk to me, Connie," Steven insisted, hand on Connie's shoulder. Clearly something was wrong that Connie wasn't telling him, though given the fusion they tried to do Steven might have some idea what that would be. Not enough to confirm anything though and he didn't want to straight up point it out to her, in case it would make her upset. Connie for one moved Steven's hand away.

"... I've hurt someone."

"Excuse me?" Steven asked, confused. Both kids then heard some birds somewhere by them, but couldn't see anything as Connie continued.

"Ever since these birds arrived, I've been so anxious. They've been making me jumpy, maybe even trigger-happy. I was at High School and ... I don't even know what happened, I wasn't focusing and then someone grabbed my shoulder, a-and I just reacted! ... Then I just ran away. I hurt someone and I didn't even do anything about it," Connie explained.

Ooooo did that hit close to home for Steven, as he suddenly started feeling regretful too.

"So ... that kid we saw while training. ...?" Steven correctly assumed.

Connie paused, but just nodded gravely.

"I know how that is. Whether you meant to or not, then you end up hurting people even if you didn't mean to ... and then getting scared over what the others think of you afterwards ..."

"Oohh," Connie groaned, hands over her face, "It's getting so bad I can't even sleep anymore. I haven't had a good night sleep since ... well, since those birds showed up! What if it breaks me?"
The idea of breaking immediately reminded them both of a little something from both of their pasts. Breaking now was the last thing either of them need

"Well ... then I'll just have to put you back together," Steven concluded.

But suddenly Connie stopped and stared ahead.

"S-Steven. Steven hold my hand," Connie said stuttering and staring ahead. Steven did so, but he didn't know what was scaring Connie now. Well, that was until he looked to where Connie was looking. There were a few people out and about today, wary thanks to their own birds following them around depending on who they are. But they saw a boy amongst the crowd, and what was worse than that, this boy had a cast on his arm. NOT something that Connie was ready for.

"I-I ... I broke his arm ...?"

"Connie, is that the same kid you're talking about? Connie?" Steven asked, but Connie was backing up away. He didn't see them yet, so Connie had time to turn around and make a run down the next block corner so he wouldn't catch her. Steven quickly followed her.

"Connie! Where're you going?"

"Steven, I can't face him, not now! What's he gonna say when he sees me just walking up to him?" Connie asked in a panic.

"You mean that's the kid you hurt?"

"YES, and apparently it's bad enough to give him a hospital bill! Oh Steven, I feel so awful," Connie said, covering her face in shame. As Connie herself was contemplating the horror that will come down onto her, the two started to feel another much bigger regret start to loom over them both. Steven specifically remembering something Connie said back on Homeworld about him not being the only one with problems ...
But with these thoughts getting scrambled in her head, Connie looked up just passed Steven, and saw that one of the birds had found her and was coming in as fast as it possibly could. Immediately Connie stood up and got ready to run -

"GUYS! There you are!"

Scratch that, it was Rainbow Dash instead coming in from the Temple, and coming in for a landing. Rainbow Dash landed down quick as she usually does, so even if there was a bird coming in it probably would've bolted somewhere else to get out of Rainbow's way.

"Rainbow Dash! What's going on, is something wrong? Preferably non-bird related?" asked Steven.

"No, not that. You're not gonna believe this, just after you left we're all inside, Flint shows up and ... well come on, you'll figure it out when we get back to Little Homeworld, there's a big meeting and everything," Rainbow explained, trying to get them to head on back.

"Flint showed up? Wait, you mean ...?"

"They've actually figured it out!"

.......

"You mean these birds aren't real?!"

The first and quickest question asked by Fulgurite the moment the revelation came up to them. All of the Harmony Gems and Off-Colors, even the other residence of Beach City this time were brought right back to Little Homeworld by Flint's request (probably because there's enough room for them all). As for Flint and Ronaldo, they got the main idea drawn up on the chalkboard, with the birds looming over a downed person like the vultures they seem to represent. They all were seeing the birds all over the place still, but this weird knowledge meant that it wasn't entirely as physical as they seem to be.

"Not un-real," continued Flint, "But after we kept looking around it seems that there's more to these flocks than just a bunch of birds conveniently picking targets. It's obvious they're interacting with us in some way."

"Exactly!" added Ronaldo, slamming his hand onto the chalkboard to get their attention, "They're emotional-leeches, feasting on your past sins and draining you of all of your emotions! They're here to feast on all the negativity in town and take over -" Flint gave him a bonk in the head so he wouldn't go too far.

"I draw the line at "take over the town" but Ronaldo's got the idea."

"But we hardly seen any birds today. Except for Padparadscha's infant bird. How is that understandable?" asked Fluorite.

"You still don't have that bird do you?" whispered Lars. Padparadscha waited a bit but quickly shook her head for no. Flint gestured Ronaldo to flip the chalkboard and it showed another picture, this time the picture showing different people with different number of birds around them.

"Ronaldo and I have been asking around town, and it turns out different people have only seen a particular amount of birds. Some don't even see any birds, some are seeing fewer birds whereas others are seeing a whole flock of them around all the time."

"But that don't explain why we can't see em," pointed out Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity agreeing with a nod. Flint simply had a question for that answer.

"Well, how many sins did you do Applejack? Anything you've regretted in the past that you hadn't exactly got over?" Flint inquired.
Almost immediately, the entire group was starting to get the picture. Just how many regrets and sins can one say for a bunch of war veterans?! If any of this was true then it's no wonder they were seeing so many of these birds around them. Still, Applejack took a moment to think, but eventually came up with nothing too fancy.

"Well ... I mean, I got grounded once for breaking a bunch of eggs from the chicken coop. And maybe this one time when I tried handling the apple-bucking all by myself."

"Those don't count AJ," Flint said.

"Well what does count?" asked Star Quartz. Flint felt a shiver.

"Let's see. Betrayal. Thievery. Tyranny. And if you wanna get real deep, murder, geocide, slavery, or -"

"That's far enough Flint!" Garnet quickly cut in urgently, not wanting to finish that sentence for the life of her or anyone else. Flint clammed up and continued.

"W-Well you get the idea. Essentially anything that's a crime counts as a sin, and apparently these birds like that," Flint said, pointing up to where he was seeing the birds ... but no one else was seeing where he was pointing.

"Umm Flint, nothing's there," said Tiger's Eye.

"My point."

"OOOHHH Flint don't you start saying you're mr. goodie-goodie because clearly you're -"

"Of course not, are you kidding?" Flint cut in. "What I'm meaning is that every person has different regrets, and therefore ..."

"They see different birds," concluded Connie. "But wait, they can still attack us, how can they if only one person can see their own bird?"

Flint looked back up to where he was seeing the birds, which to him he was actually seeing a lot of them looking down on him, giving him a shiver as he continued.

"They're not birds exactly, they're emotion. You can't touch emotions ... but emotions can touch you."

"... THAT'S NEAT! How do we get rid of them? Stop feeling things?" Fulgurite asked. A sarcastic joke that Flint decided to ignore.

"Well I haven't gotten that far yet, but they still hadn't done anything ... yet. So that gives us time to figure this -" That response got the town on edge rather quickly.

"You got to get rid of them! They're scaring away my customers, and freaking me out!" Kofi Pizza said.

"It also doesn't help that I can't even sleep with those things squawking all night," added a tired-looking Martha Barriga. Her and a few others.

"That's where you're wrong Flint," Garnet said, "They swarmed us back at the Sky arena. They're getting impatient, and they don't want to wait any longer."

"They what? All of you?" Flint said, surprised in a way but also slightly expecting it to happen sooner or later.

"We were training as Stevonnie, but then we started seeing things, we split up, and suddenly the birds just started going crazy, and got everyone," said Steven.

"Not EVERYONE, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and me didn't see any of those foul creatures anywhere," Rarity said.

"Maybe that's because we don't got anything we regret that's bad enough for them to deal with us," Applejack said. Made sense to them, or at least it was the best they were going to get with these creatures. Flint then started addressing them all again, this time stepping aside to give a free space out on the field.

"Okay, so here's what's gonna happen: whoever hasn't been seeing birds these past few days come out of there and stand over by me, whoever has just stay where you are," Flint said.

"... We're not gonna do that," Garnet said.

"Huh? Garnet we need to find who's seeing them and who's -"

"Flint." Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder and rather than explain herself, all she did was shake her head. Flint stayed quiet for a minute, and eventually caved.

"Okay we're not doing that," Flint concluded, rubbing his arm. Probably a smart move on their part, and there were some sighs of relief coming from the audience. Separation wasn't the way to go.

"Okay here's the main idea: for those who don't see the birds, try to comfort those that are and make sure, just in case more birds somehow appear, don't commit any sins or crimes while we get the solution together. Don't feed the birds."
Now came the strange part, at least to those that can see the birds. Flint's explanation seemed to bother the birds again, but not in the same way as them being exposed to misery or panic, but more irritation that this solution was even suggested. Not enough to leave, but still enough to deter them at least a little bit.

"They didn't like that one," thought Bismuth, and indeed that felt true. Either way, this was the best answer they were going to get right now. However, before anyone could go, Spinel actually raised her hand good and high (and even inflated it so he could see).

"Yes uhh ... Spinel?" said Flint, pointing her out of the crowd.

"Ehh, okay uhh ..." it took her a bit to actually say it, "Do any bugs count in this scenario or no?"

"Bugs? Spinel?"

"Yeah," Spinel said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, "I've been seeing a lot more of those lately, and they've been driving me nuts, so uhh ... is that relevant?"

There was a moment of quiet, making Spinel clam up even more. First these birds, now insects? still, given the evidence they had on hand, Flint shook his head.

"That sounds like a completely different thing ... but just in case. If anyone sees bugs only they can see, let us know! Alright, you all can go now."
Not the best answer Spinel was hoping for. With the clear, the residence went off and continued their day, leaving the Off-Colors and Harmony Gems left there to try and figure things out, though Spinel was just left standing there feeling uncomfortable. Bringing up a subject for no reason would make her feel that way.

"Good job, Flint. You did great," Garnet congratulated.

"Well Ronaldo helped," Flint admitted, not wanting the entire credit for the studies.

"So what's the plan now chief? I can get another tornado going and get the flock flying away, just say the word and I'm on it," Rainbow Dash said, ready to go off flying again to do just that. If it worked to the Sky Arena, then it'll work just fine here. However, Rainbow quickly got grabbed by Twilight before she could run off to do that.

"Rainbow don't do that! You'll blow half of Little Homeworld away if you do that here," Twilight insisted. Rainbow sat back down on the ground, but not thrilled that the easy route can't be used again. The birds were relieved though of not having to get blown off of their perch but that didn't mean they were feeling so thrilled now that they got them figured out.

"Well we can't see any of them, how can we fight something we can't see? That tornado worked well back at the arena," Rainbow retorted.

"That was the arena. This is Little Homeworld," stated Garnet. Good point there. They didn't need to go and re-build Little Homeworld just to get rid of a bird flock. Still, those that could see the birds were still getting a bit wary of them, but as they kept on with it, Garnet spotted Steven and Connie beginning to go away from them on their own way.

"Steven. Connie," Garnet said, making the two stop.

"Sorry, I'm just getting Connie back home," Steven said.

"Before you do, we just want to check if everything's okay with both of you. ... With you, Connie," Garnet said.

"Yeah, everything good? You kinda ran off on everybody," asked Pinkie curiously. Connie felt uneasy again, but this time she wasn't alone.

"Guys don't bother her about it. What happened in the Sky Arena was both of our faults anyway," Steven said.

Just as Garnet suspected.

"So you both were troubled before you both split," Rarity concluded.

"... Yeah," Steven and Connie concluded. Garnet, gestured to by Rarity, went down to their level.

"For a fusion to work, there needs to be balance," Garnet explained, "An imbalance can cause your fusion to lose touch with reality, see things that aren't there, and eventually fall apart. That is to say, if one of you is falling apart, your fusion will as well. And if both of you is falling apart, then your fusion can't exist."
That part made a bit too much sense. Steven and Connie both thought back to not only the actual fusion attempt in the arena, but also back to the Homeworld ball. Both times Stevonnie was lucky to even get started, let alone stuck around.

"The fusion can't exist ..." repeated Steven.

"For balance, you need to see things more clearly. To understand and face your problems, without running away from them."

"Garnet ... I'm -"

*caw*

Another bird. Right on Flint's chalkboard. One that only Connie could see just looming there. Standing taller than she saw it before, it stared Connie down with eyes that struck Connie down into her soul ...

"... gonna go home and think about what you said," Connie decided, and she had to turn and go off before anything else could happen. Some of them quickly checked where Connie was looking as she raced off, but of course they weren't seeing the large bird, even after it jumped off of the chalkboard and slowly hovered and soared away.

"Connie, wait, we're not done yet," called Garnet. But Connie didn't stop moving, and just continued on her way.

"... Portal Key?"

"Right away."

~~~~~~

Connie did eventually calm down just enough so that she was walking home rather than running, but that didn't mean that dread and worry weren't stuck on her mind as she kept going on towards home. That monster of a bird more than proved it, circling far over her head like the vulture it was. The walk did give Connie time to think as best she could.

"I know why you're following me, but ... why? There's got to be a time when you're somewhere else and don't need to follow me around. Don't you need to keep hydrated? Find food? Groom yourselves? ... Maybe since they're not real they have nothing else they need to do."

Her walk turned into a bit more of a brisk pace when that was decided, but the bird still kept following her through the whole way there. The large vulture found a nice comfortable perch over on top of Connie's home, looking down as if it was a stone Gargoyle. Connie looked up to the bird, the creature leaning pretty far forward just to keep an eye on where she was going. Connie shivered.

"You look awfully hungry ..." Connie shook her head, "No, don't feed the birds remember that. I'll just distract myself with some reading, that usually works."

*SKRAAWH!*

"Stop it! That's just not fair!" Connie shouted. Then again, that did work: it got Connie's attention. It also didn't help that the bird jumped off the rooftop and soared down closer to the front door this time. Connie needed to get inside, and NOW, so she got the door open and shut it quick behind her before the bird could follow her in. The loud door shut didn't go unnoticed for long.

"Connie, that you?" called Doug.

"Oh, hi dad, I'm home. Sorry for the noise," Connie said, still shaken. She was probably happy that her dad couldn't see the bird outside the door, but now she had to come up with an excuse for slamming the door.

"Forget about the door, what about you honey?" asked Priyanka as Connie was walking in.

"Me? Oh umm, it's fine, everything's ... just a bit stressful," Connie said, rubbing the back of her head.

"We figured as much. Garnet did say you needed some help tonight," Priyanka said.

"Help? - ... wait, Garnet's here?"

"Surprise sleepover!"

Out came not Garnet, but a number of the ponies Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, along with Steven and Spinel to boot.

"Hey Connie," said Steven.

"Steven? Spinel - girls? What're you all doing here?"

"To make sure you get a good night sleep," said Spinel, though a bit more toned down than her typical jumpy nature. Appropriate too given the situation.

"Yeah, you looked a bit too stressed out with those birds flying around so we thought to give you a hoof," Applejack explained.

"It's okay, you all don't have to do that for me. I just need something to keep myself busy," Connie insisted. That only seem to make the others a bit more on the nose, as Rarity levitated what looked like a tea cup to her, already having a nice warm tea inside.

"Why else do you think we're here darling?" Rarity said, "Think of it as like umm ... a sleepover!" Rarity said.

"Only this sleepover's mandatory because we're gonna play watchdog while you sleep to keep the nightmares away," said Pinkie with a wink.

"A mandatory sleepover ... well then, I guess I can't say no to that," Connie admitted. Maybe this idea could help her out more than she thought.

"That's the ticket! So what's number one on our agenda: pillow fighting? Juicy gossip? OH, how about a baking competition hosted by yours truly?" Pinkie said.

"You're not cooking in my kitchen," Priyanka said. She was in no mood for cleaning up after Pinkie's mess. Pinkie did feel sad, but got the idea.

.......

It's amazing what can be done in just a few hours: with Doug and Priyanka just standing side to let them have their fun, Connie had quite a fun time with her pals, doing what she would normally NEVER do under normal company, AKA regular sleepover activities:
They blew up the pillows in their pillow fight in clouds of white feathers, and learn just how merciless Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash can be in a pillow warzone. A lot of new hairstyles were discovered from the fabulous Rarity's fashionista touch that night. Once more, they had a lot of time to just chat away about who knows what. Sadly, no cooking ... but they still crafted some good sandwiches.
But alas, as fun as it was, Connie could still sense the presence of that bird looming just outside. On the flipside it couldn't get in even if it wanted to, as everyone made sure to keep any windows shut while they were playing around. Not even all of the cleaning they did in between activities can get the feeling to go away. Despite the feeling though felt by some, they tried keeping themselves busy without that messing up their night.

You know, until they had to go to bed.

"So let me make sure I got this right," said Connie as she got Pajama self into bed, "You guys are going to sleep outside while I'm alone in here."

"I mean, I did ask to sleep with ya, but your parents REALLY didn't want that. Offer's still open though," Spinel said. Understandable.

"Just give us a shoutout and we'll clobber whatever comes in here," said Rainbow Dash. Connie just sighed and laid down in bed.

"... Thanks guys," Connie said. She gave a yawn, and closed her eyes for a bit.

"Don't be scared of that bird Connie. I don't care, I won't let anything bad happen to you," Steven quietly promised. That was the last thing he said to her before he and the others stepped out of the room. It was gonna be a very long night.

Well, there she was. The night ticked on. And on. And on. Connie had been given all the protection she could ever needed: her friends were just a room away, ready to jump at a moment's notice. The alarms were all set up. The window sealed shut, but Connie still felt so insecure without her weapon to back her up in case SOMEHOW it could come for her with everything sealed tight. Despite that though, Connie did try to go off to sleep, but it seemed that no matter what she tried to do it just wasn't working. Just the thought of one of those creatures coming out again kept her tossing and turning. She tried just laying on her back …

A thought about the creature rushing her at the theater, and she was laying on her side to try and sleep.

A thought of the incident during school, and she laid on her other side.

A thought about the incident during training, and she tried covering her head with her pillow.

A thought of seeing that straight jacket -

"Too hot!" Connie suddenly snapped, throwing the blanket off of her. It was more than she could bare, and she just couldn't get herself to go to sleep.

"... I can't sleep anymore," Connie thought, her eyes continuing to look around. "Steven said I was healed, but … Those monsters. T-They're waiting for my friends - t-they're waiting for me! I -"

*scratch* *scratch*

They were back. Connie tried to cover her ears to the scratching noise, but no matter how much she tried, it was still there. Still waiting for her to finally slip away. The claws still beckoning her to let it in. A hiss that stroked her paranoia like the chimes of a rattlesnake. It will NOT LEAVE HER ALONE. But as it kept clawing the window -

"N-No. No. I-I'm not letting you in, you can't get me!" Connie insisted, smiling to mask her fear from the monster outside. It kept slowly bringing its claw up, and pitifully clawing the window like a cat would do. Connie, unable to even sleep, could only sit there and stare at the monster. The second it breaks in, she was ready to bolt for the door and to wake up the others. But then, after what felt like forever of staring and clawing, the beast began to turn, and disappear from sight.

"D-did … did I win?" for the first time in days, Connie was feeling a bit more secure. No monster in her room, and this time without any sedatives, or Luna's night magic. Her smile became more genuine as she finally started to calm down, only for it to quickly drop again when the sound of that same creature echoed outside. It was very faint like the night wind, but she knew it was somewhere there.

"Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it ... I really shouldn't ..."

Her nerves couldn't bare the anticipation. she HAD to check and make sure it was actually gone. So, reaching under her bed and pulling out her sword for some backup, she slowly started walking to her closed window. It felt so surreal almost: she did not want anything to do with that bird but at the same time, something kept urging her to see where it was.

"One ....... two ....... two and a half ....... NOW," She pushed it open and stabbed her sword right out, only to hit nothing but the night air. Well she got it open, might as well look outside. Connie went right to the window sill and immediately checked down to the ground. Then straight up into the air. Then side to side along the house at any balcony or perch. Not even a feather.

"I'm going crazy ... come on Connie, you've faced worse than this right? Heh, you're a natural by now. Just sleep it off, maybe it'll not exist tomorrow morning," Connie told herself, eyes wide despite her smile. With a few more nervous chuckles later, Connie closed up the window and turned to get back to bed ...
Just to find the bird staring her in the face. right on her bed.

"Huh?! W-Wha - but how'd you -"

*SKRAAWH!* The monster will not be denied. The screech, along with the wings spreading to cover one side of the room made Connie stumble back to the window with a loud thud, the vulture not giving her any time to even say anything as a large talon was suddenly wrapped around her mouth. The monster had her undivided attention, and this time Connie had nowhere to go. Connie couldn't call anyone, she couldn't scream, all of it was only making her more and more terrified as she stared directly into the bird's eyes, not able to look anywhere else.

"STEVEN! STEVEN IT GOT IN!" She tried to say through the muffled mouth under the bird's foot, but it was nowhere loud enough for anyone to hear. However, as Connie kept trying to move, or trying to break free, the bird didn't do anything else other than hold her down and stare at her. It did slowly open its beak, a loud hissing emitting from the depths of its throat. Connie felt frozen, her essence almost feeling like they were draining into this creature. She tried kicking it, but that hardly did anything.

"This is bad. I got to get away from here, but how?! If I stay like this ..." Connie didn't even want to know what'll become of her when this was over. Her eyes darted back and forth around the room. She can't fight it off, but all she needed was something to make some noise to get the others in here.

Her eyes then found her lamp.

"Sorry mom, but I have to!" Connie realized. Then came the struggle to actually move. Trying to crawl over to the lamp with the giant bird on her back was beyond difficult, especially with the bird trying to stop her any chance it could without knocking anything over. It didn't want any competition to charge in. It pecked at her, and tried keeping her down (even having the nerve to pull back on her hair) but Connie didn't stop for a moment, her hand reaching out just inches away from the lamp. Just a good push and that was all it was going to need.

"Come on ... almost there ... please, just. One. Shove," Connie thought. Her fingers were so close to it, inches away. But the bird was not gonna let her do it, and with a flap of the wing it pulled Connie right back to the floor, spinning her around again so it stared at her. Connie couldn't get out of it this time, and the bird stomped down onto her arm. While that did hurt her, something suddenly flashed in her head. As if that hit reminded her of something.

"W-Wait. What is this? ... Why's this familiar to me? W-What is this reminding me of?" Connie thought. She couldn't put a finger on it right away, but as the seconds ticked by, she felt more of her energy start to fade away ... at least, to the bird that's what it looked like so it loosened its grip just a tiny bit. Just enough for Connie to shove it off of her mouth.

"GUYS! GET IN HERE!!!" Connie screamed. The bird skree'd and launched back off of Connie from the yelling, but with her screaming it was sure enough to get the Connie's door swung open -

*SMASH*

Er, smashed open. A GIANT foot knocking down the door later, and soon Spinel rushed right in, not even knowing where any bird was. Though, in Connie's eyes, the kick alone knocked the bird clear out the window. All that was left were a bunch of feathers.

"Bring it on birdbrain! BRING IT - ... on ..." Spinel said. A bit late on that one. Everyone else caught up with Spinel and Connie, finding Spinel just standing on the door as Connie had her back against the wall.

"Connie!" shouted Doug.

"We're here Connie don't panic, where is it?" asked Rarity, looking around for any sign of it. Connie needed to comprehend what just happened.

"It's ... out the window. Thanks to Spinel. ... I'm ... alright now," Connie said, though mostly it was to herself.

"I did?" Spinel asked, honestly confused. But then the parents looked and noticed what Spinel did.

"Did you break that door?" Doug asked.

"Ehh ... I guess so."

*CAW!**CAW!**CAW!*

Just outside, the large bird was struggling to get back up to its feet, on its back from the blind hit. If these creatures were magical, then the hit must've stopped the illusion because when the others looked outside, they ALL could see the same bird.

"Huh, looks like ya did Spinny," said Pinkie.

"Wait, you can see it too? Not just me?" Connie asked urgently.

"Yeah we can. That hit must've made that bird become visible again. To everyone, not just you," Steven said. Honestly it was the only conclusion he could come to, but that was not the problem. As they looked down to the large animal, suddenly Pinkie began to feel something start to occur on her body. Mainly a rapid twitching in her tail.

"Something's about to fall ... HEADS UP AND TAKE COVER!" Pinkie said, grabbing them and pulling them inside away from the window. And just in time too, as a flurry of black feathers suddenly rushed straight down like a downpour of rain. No more nice guy, NO ONE side-kicks the bird monster and gets away with it! Looking up to them one more time ...

*Skreeeeeeee! Skreeeeeee!*

"Skree?" wondered Priyanka.

*caw*

When the flurry of feathers cleared, they all were looking outside to see that there was more than just one bird outside. Responding to the call, as if manifesting out of complete nowhere, the family and friends were witnessing a spawning of an entire swarm in every direction: the neighboring rooftops, the bushes along the sidewalk, even the distant light posts ALL had at least four to five birds just appearing from their invisibility cloak. One bird quickly turned into almost one hundred in a matter of seconds. And they ALL locked their eyes on the home.

"That's a lot of birds," gulped Steven, feeling a cold sweat.

"So what if there's a lot of them, we can take them on. None of those birdbrains are getting in here! ... Umm, again," Rainbow said, a snort from her muzzle. Finally a more proper match where she can actually see her opponent.

"NO! You're not going out there, are you insane? They're all waiting for you outside," Priyanka dictated.

"Ok then, we can wait it out until morning by uhh, staying in the basement! ... You have a basement right?" asked Pinkie.

"Stay together and wait here, I'll get the Gems," Steven said, going right for the door, "Make sure NONE of them get in here until I get back -"

*CAW!* "AAHH! NO! GET OFF ME!"

Too late: the second Steven opened the door to the hallway, a small black bird suddenly flew in and started flying like mad around like a panicked fly, and just a clutsy as it bumped and rammed into everything and everyone. It did peck at them a few times, keeping them all on their toes, but this was just nothing more than a distraction as a few more birds suddenly tried smashing through the window!

"They're trying to break in!" Rainbow shouted.

"None of y'all are gettin in here!" Applejack shouted.

"Okay, that's it. Connie, you and your friends get in the car! We're leaving," decided Doug.

(rush to the garage later)

*SCREECH!*
All of the birds were taken off guard when that garage door opened, and the car rushed right out of there, full speed. None of them were in it's way, but some still had to fly out of the way. Doug had to act pretty fast, shifting gears and leaving marks on the asphalt as the car quickly sped off into the night. Of course the flock was quick to start giving chase. Even in the dim light of the night, the rearview mirror can easily see a thunderstorms full of those birds flying after them.

"Can't this go any faster?" asked Steven.

"It's the most it can do, plus it's hard to go top speed in a residential area," Doug said. Turning wasn't any better, as making turns whenever they had to avoid a flock coming at them only seemed to make the swarm come faster. The sharp turns were also kind of tossing around the people in the back so that didn't help much either.
As they kept trying to get away, the racket coming from the animals was starting to wake up practically everyone in town, looking up into the night sky just for it to turn completely dark thanks to the swarm of birds. They could see the car driving through town, but with so many birds already there wasn't gonna be anyone risking rushing out to help them.

"The swarm's gaining on us!" Spinel yelped, pointing back to the flock closing the gap.

"Screaming and pointing aren't helping, Spinel. I'm going in!" Rainbow Dash said, and before anyone could stop her, she opened the back door and flew right out in one leap, her target being right at the flock. With none of them cloaking anymore, Rainbow Dash got a clear view and smashed right into the flock of birds, sending the swarm into a frenzy.

"RAINBOW! NO!" screamed Pinkie. Rainbow Dash bolted and rushed in and out of the bird swarm, getting a few good hits on some but even with her distracting some of them, the flock still had its focus more set on the moving car. Rainbow and all her speed kept trying to keep in front of them to buck them back, but one Pegasus could only do so much. It also didn't help that while the car was driving forward, one of the larger birds actually slipped by and landed RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM!

"Dad, look out!" shouted Connie.

"GAH!" gasped Doug, slamming on the breaks. Even so, the car was moving fairly quick, and the sudden stop made the car begin to turn.

"Spinel, make like a lasso, pronto!" Applejack instructed, pointing to a nearby light post.

"Got it!" Spinel said. She stretched one of her arms in a way that her hand grabbed the same arm, making a lasso out of it. It took a good yet quick aim by Applejack, but the lasso arm got wrapped around the light post and held on tight. Applejack and Spinel held on tight to what they could, and the combined effort was just enough to keep the car from not only flipping over, but striking the bird.

... The bird sliced the tires in that moment too, not to mention jumping into the car. Everyone had to tumble out to get away from the mad bird, Applejack sending it away with a swift kick to the beak.

"Everybody okay?" asked Applejack.

"YAAAHHH!" Just before anyone could answer, Rainbow Dash was knocked down to the ground, still being pecked at by at least ten birds as she tried getting away. Flapping her wings, bucking, even biting, she tried everything to get them off her back but it was barely working.

"Stupid birds won't give me room to breathe. I think I lost half my feathers back there," Rainbow groaned, her wings sore from all the pecking she had to endure.

"There's too many of them. Guys, we have to do something before they go out on all the town," said Steven.

"Forget the town, what about us?!" exclaimed Spinel, "We're the ones they're after."

The flock began to close in on them more and more, a flurry of squawks and screes, with the largest in the flock landing down in front of the group with wings spread open as if it was trying to cover them all up. Its gaze was focused on just one of them though, one that it sensed had more sin than all of them put together -

WHACK! Distracted just long enough for Rarity to spring in with a karate kick to the bird's head.

"Why don't you stare at someone else, you beast!" Rarity snapped. But while the bird was knocked aside, there still was an effect given to them by the bird's eyes, as Steven brought both hands up to his face, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"Steven, you alright? Say something, bro, and quickly before the birds get more snappy," said Spinel, right at his side. Steven opened his eyes, blinking a little bit to make sure they didn't blind him or something, but sure enough he could still see. That didn't mean much though since the whole flock was still looming overhead like an enraged hurricane. As for the largest one that got kicked, it shook itself back to focus, and bellowed a loud screeching call that could only be related to a scratched chalkboard (and just as painful to listen). More birds tried to get close to them, diving down like groups of hawks with beaks and talons at the ready.

"No you don't!" Applejack said, her and Rainbow Dash getting in the way of the flock, with Pinkie and Rarity doing the same. Suddenly the birds were flying upward, and around them again unable to get passed the four "pure" Ponies guarding the sinned Gems and Humans. Spinel wrapped her arms around the others at least three times as they all huddled down as much as they could.

"Keep it up everypony, we can't let em at them," Applejack called, giving one bird a quick buck to the face.

"All of this for just one group of people? These birds are beyond desperate!" Rarity managed to say.

"Really? We haven't noticed - ACK! Back off buck-beak," Rainbow quickly gave her attacker a swift whack to get the bird off of her. But there was just one small error in this setup that the largest bird took full advantage of: They all were stressed out ... and they weren't moving.
The bird's eyes glowed bright.

"Don't look into it's eyes, it's trying to drain the energy out of you!" Connie warned, covering her eyes from the animal. Everyone else did the same but this vulture was sensing one target in mind, and it had a few more tricks up its feathers than just a few squawks.

But there was one boy who wasn't listening, and looked more like he was distracted by something else completely. That bird's flash magic did more than just make him lose sight for a few seconds. His gaze slowly moved down towards his stomach, following the sight of the largest bird of the flock.

"... No way. N-No, that can't be what's going on."

"What is it Steven? What's wrong?" Connie asked urgently. Steven then brought his hand to his gemstone, his hands tightening around it as the large vulture began to close the gap. It was very quick and clear what Steven was about to say.

"Steven don't think that, none of that was even you're fault! It's impossible those birds would be after you for ... her," Rarity said, trying to quickly calm him down.

"NO, N-N-NO that can't be! B-But I'm apart of her. My mom did SO MUCH WRONG while she was alive, and she didn't even bother to fix anything! She left Bismuth in Lion's mane, she lied to everyone about who she really was, she left Spinel behind because she got bored of her! I can't believe this. I've dealt with all her problems, I-I'm done with all that - I've been done with all of that! This can't be another thing mom left behind for me to fix!"
Steven's eyes were starting to show some tears as they kept their shocked look, Steven putting two and two together as the larger animal took the chance of vulnerability to subdue him. With no shield to block him, he was quickly jumped at, and soon he was stuck underneath the bird's talon, which turned his head so he was face-to-face with the large vulture.

"Get your dirty talons off him!" Spinel shouted, wrapping an arm around the bird and trying to pull it away, but while feeling pulled back the bird was not moving, using its beak to peck at Spinel's arm like it were an actual rope. The others grabbed hold and tried to get the bird off, but the smaller birds weren't making that easy for them as they were getting more than hungry themselves. Steven was trapped again. The sky looked so dark, nothing but black with glowing red eyes ...

Then the sky began to turn blue. The hue from the moonlight was just enough to pierce through the blackness, Steven's eyes finally being pulled away from the bird's eyes for a moment, as the bird itself quickly turned and followed his eyes to the sky.

"LAPIS!" the others shouted.

"Stand clear!" Lapis called. The birds couldn't get out of the way fast enough, as the water Gem done right into the battle, water wings spread and whacking away numerous birds all over the place, getting them away as best she could do. The larger bird was flat out tackled off of Steven, the animal sent flying into the air before it corrected itself.
Lapis did not come alone in this rescue, joined in toe by a few of the other Harmony Gems coming in to fight off the attacking flock. Starlight and Twilight kept their magic shields and blasts on ready, keeping whatever birds there were at bay from the others, as Jasper, Bismuth, and Garnet went for a more physical approach with fists and kicks. As they caught up, Lapis herself landed right by them, as everyone else quickly went to Steven's aid. Even though saved, Steven's emotions were already kicked into overdrive and tears were streaming down his face from the mere fact that this could possibly be all his fault.

"Everyone okay over here?" asked Bismuth.

"Everyone except Steven! I don't know what that bird did, but he's breaking down BIG TIME," said Pinkie Pie, and she proved right as Steven was trying just to keep from wailing altogether.

"Steven, stay with us buddy. You feeling okay?" asked Starlight.

"It's my fault! They're all here because of what happened with my mom, and now I'M carrying her burden again! They're all here because of me!" Steven cried.

"How the heck can you say that?! I'm the one they're after - I still hadn't even gotten over my problems," Connie said, getting emotional herself over all of this.

"Ok, now's not the time to blame anyone! We got a flock to get rid of up there! Get him out of here," said Jasper, getting their attention to the birds in the air. But the birds had different plans, especially now with A LOT more sins present ...

"Wait, don't!" Lapis cut in, before confronting Steven and Connie. "Listen to me, both of you. You can’t run away from yourselves. Wherever you go, you’ll be there. Trust me, I know."

A few squawks to get their attention, only this time the bird suddenly was looking COLOSSAL, easily larger than most of the buildings in town, wings spread open wide and eyes glowing a vibrant and almost blinding red. A echoing screech rang out throughout the entire town, and anyone in earshot was struck with a colossal hit of dread and sorrow, enough to send some to waterfalls of tears.

All but one.

Lapis Lazuli, still standing defiant against these creatures, only got out one single tear from the effects of these sin-feasting birds. Even the bird itself looked surprised seeing them, as Lapis simply wiped away the one tear in her finger, only having one thing to say to it.

"I've. Felt. Worse."

Then the tables were turned on the bird, and whipping out the water from her wings she grabbed hold of the animal in large watery hands. The large animal screeched and squawked trying to get away, but Lapis proved to be quite the adversary this time. With the largest one covered, Lapis slowly brought the bird down onto its stomach, Lapis going down onto her knees and pulling the animal down to earth. For a moment, it seemed that Lapis got it, but the feeling she was receiving felt so familiar to her. Something she felt more than once before ...

....... Something suddenly clicked. And just in time before the bird broke free from her restraints, the entire flock in a frenzy.

"What do we do now?!" asked Spinel.

The answer? ...

"Nothing! Sit down and do nothing!"

"WHAT?!"

"Trust me!" Lapis shouted. Strangely enough, in amidst of all of these birds, Lapis Lazuli got down onto the ground, crossed her legs, and took a breath before closing her eyes.

"Now's not the time for Meditation Class!" screamed a freaking out Spinel, making the birds riled up even more.

"These birds are our regrets. Now's the time to stop running," agreed Garnet, sitting down next to her and doing the same thing.

"Sitting isn't going to get rid of that flock of birds. We have to get in there and fight them off before they get the entire town -" Jasper was cut off when she heard Bismuth actually take a seat. A bit of a surprise to see her do it, but if the future-seer says they should do this, then they should probably listen.

"You sure about this?"

"More than anything," Garnet said.

It took a bit, but one by one everyone began to sit down. The entire flock around them soared above them all in their cyclone along with the giant bird, as they found themselves in presence of the entire group meditating. Eyes closed, them not fighting any of them.

*SCREEEEE!* called the giant bird. With them all not moving or fighting them the whole flock began swarming them, this time not holding anything back and basically toppling down on top of them. Swarms of birds surrounded each and every one of them, shrieking, cawing, squawking in their ears with large wings flapping and slapping them as they all tried to get their attention focused on them again. They all were feeling their nerves tested and they can imagine the beaks, talons, and wings flashing across their vision with each second they tried to do something to them. Some of the group were struggling just to keep from freaking out, shivering a bit to keep calm and not break the meditating session. Anyone looking at them could only see clumps of birds around the place, like groups of angry bees. Even with their eyes closed, the birds' presence forced them all into seeing flashes of their regrets whether they wanted to or not.

"Let them flow through your mind. You have to accept and be true to your mistakes before you can move on. ... Don't fight it. ... Breathe. ..."

Little by little, the birds were starting to get more ... mellow. Their frantic squawks and shrieks quieted down and their flapping started to slow. The vultures were actually beginning to calm down, and eventually, they stopped fighting all at once. The visions they were seeing were different per person, but still left them feeling rough about it all. But none of them at first opened their eyes or broke away from the session, the birds sensing the presence of these visions going through their heads. The giant bird loomed over all of them, but even then it didn't try attacking them like before, just looking them down and observing what was happening. It opened its beak and as before began to suck away their essence, but unlike before none of them actually felt tired or drained, the regrets it was actually getting swiftly disappearing.

Everything turned quiet.

"Is ... is it over?" Spinel wondered. Her curiosity couldn't help it, and she peeked through just one eye before both eyes shot wide open at what she was seeing.

The birds were starting to disappear. Not in the same way as simply vanishing to focus on one person, but instead their feathers almost seem to float off of each and every bird, disappearing into dust in the night wind. She really couldn't make heads or tails of it, but every Pony, Human, and Gem was having their own birds beginning to transform and drift away from them. Even the colossal bird, which just moments ago was ready to devour them, began to fade away from sight in dust and wind. Spinel could see tears from some of the mediators involved, but as the seconds ticked by and the birds vanished, they felt ... lighter.

By the time they were done, the birds were completely gone. Not even a feather remained.

"Whooooa. Guys? How do you feel?" Spinel asked.

"... Better," Connie managed to say, still wiping away some tears from her face.

"The birds. They're all vanished," realized Rarity, looking around above them just to find nothing remaining. For the first time in days they all were feeling pretty good. No more regret.

"That was amazing. If only we can do that with the rest of the town," said Pinkie.

Sometimes the answer can be so easy to find. A short minute of thinking and about what just happened, and Steven himself smiled.

"You know. I think we can."

~~~~~~

Morning. Everyone was gathered up at the Sky Arena in little to no time at all. Spinel did her job pretty well, and standing alongside her friends, she and her friends were waiting for the others to come in. They saw their respected guests to the Sky Arena stroll in from the frontal gate. Sure there was a lot of others that were coming in to check this out, but their main targets of interest were spotted coming in though each of them had an escort: Amethyst with Hessonite beside her, Pearl coming in and announcing Connie's presence (this included trumpets and red carpet even), and Peridot was ... carried in by Star Quartz. Like a handbag.

"Quite the turnout," remarked Steven, seeing a bit more Gems and Ponies than he expected, but mostly the townsfolk.

"When Spinel says she'll get a crowd, Spinel's gettin a crowd," Spinel said, hands behind her back and smiling happy. They all looked and watched them all take their seats around the Sky Arena for this session. They've had a few set up before, though the Sky Arena had to be altered a little bit in order to accommodate this class. Some pillars were moved, and some rubble from training had to be cleaned up good and quick so the blankets could be spread out flat and evenly.
They saw everyone else settle down on their respected blankets, setting it up as if it were just any other session, getting the blankets laid out and everything. Hopefully this can work better for everyone.

"Spinel, why don't you have a seat?" Steven offered.

"You wanna lead this class by yourself, Steven?" Spinel asked. Steven looked back to the others waiting for him, and eventually made his conclusion with a nod.

"I can do it. Just sit back and enjoy the lesson," Steven reassured. Spinel was still telling herself that she didn't need something like this, but if Steven said he can do this by himself, than he can do this by himself. Spinel was even given her own complimentary class blanket by Garnet, which hers was a pink blanket with stars on it. Spinel took a moment to let her eyes sparkle seeing her blanket before she walked over to find a spot right next to Connie, right near the front of the crowd.

Steven and Garnet looked to one another.

"Go get em, champ."

"Thanks Garnet. But can you do me a favor and set things up before we get started? I don't want everyone getting confused before we begin," Steven asked. Garnet smiled. Most of her future visions said he wouldn't ask that ... but it was still a nice gesture.

"Sure thing. Wait right here," Garnet said. Steven nodded and stood ready, as Garnet walked out in front of the crowd. She too had her own blanket to use, and it was already set up by helpful Starlight.

"Good morning everyone. Glad you all could make it," Garnet began, "Now before we begin anything ... I am not. But he is. Everyone? Steven Universe."

A bit blunt there, but hey an intro's an intro. Steven took it and walked out in front of the crowd, finding a bit of a mixture set up here: Gems, Ponies, Humans too. Steven kept a smile on his face.

"Hey, morning," Steven said. "I'm glad everybody can make it today. I'm a little new to this, but I also think this can help a lot of people out. Also feel free to correct me if I make any mistakes -"

Straight away one Gem actually raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Where's your blanket?" she asked.

Well that was quick. Steven rubbed the back of his head to try and think of an answer, but lucky for him, Garnet already had a spare blanket for him, which turned out to be that of a Cookie Cat blanket. No rules specify what kind it was, as long as it was comfortable to the person.

"Right here," Steven said, getting the blanket all set up on the ground. After that, Steven cleared his throat.

"Okay, it's great to be here today. I've been told by someone I know that a lot of you had been having problems. Something going on that you might not exactly be proud of, or just something that's just worrying you, or maybe it's both or something else," Steven explained. He didn't mention any names, but the people knew who they were and that was the important part. They already heard some of the main ones already, and they could easily point them out of the crowd.

"A wise person explained to me how in order to find balance, you must first understand your feelings, and to do that ..." Steven brought over the portable radio, placing it beside him, "you need to see them clearly without running away from them."

Steven pulled out his "Secret weapon" for this session, which turned into a CD for the radio. A simple push in, and soon music was starting to play. Well, not "music" music, but more ambiance of what sounded like soft rain in the middle of a forest. A typical choice for any yoga class or to relax in general, even if much of the place was a little bit cold.

"Have a seat. And close your eyes," Steven instructed. They all were already seated so all many of them simply had to do was close their eyes. Steven watched them all follow his instructions, and soon they all had their eyes shut and patiently waiting for what Steven had to say next.

.......

"Here, in darkness, everything's okay ... listen to the rain. ... Here Comes a Thought. ..."

So it begins. Even if they closed their eyes for much of it, some of them did start to open their eyes, starting off with Spinel. She wasn't sure what was going on, but suddenly, she didn't find herself in the Sky Arena. In fact, she didn't have a clue where she was. She didn't see Twilight, Connie, or ... well, anybody. At least not at first. After a few moments before Spinel could freak out, she did start seeing a few more people specifically, and they started to see eachother.

Pearl, Amethyst, Peridot, and Twilight in particular. Also in particular, they all had a glowing color hue around them: Pearl a light blue, Amethyst a lavender, Twilight a purple, Peridot a green, and Spinel a dark pink.

None of them spoke, only looking around confused. They were not in a Sky Arena, or anywhere familiar for that matter. But instead, they all found themselves in some sort of small forest. No snow, but appearing like early spring still, pine trees standing around them catching and gently dropping off small droplets of the "rain". It was nothing too harsh, nothing too hectic, but just a fine small drizzle, making a cooling little bit of fog around them too. It felt comforting somehow, like a time in a sauna but cool instead of hot.

Steven was sitting across from them all, already sitting in meditation (taught by Garnet). His hue was glowing a bright light pink. Seeing Steven glowing link like that already was giving Spinel some rather rough thoughts, but she tried to keep them from getting to her ...

Then they saw something. A small. Glowing. White Butterfly. Where'd that come from?

Steven; Take a moment to think of just ...
Flexibility, love and trust ...
Take a moment to think of just ...
Flexibility, love and trust ...

As Steven was singing, a few more of these butterflies started to appear around them, fluttering along gently through the air, unaffected by the rain. They weren't sure what the butterflies were about, but none of them were really scared of these people. In fact, some of them gently landed on them, the first one landing in Steven's hands. Spinel felt one land on her head, which she quick shook away.
As some of the butterflies started to flutter along through the forest, a group of them began to circle around above them, but as they were flying, they all were starting to see some images. Steven could already feel a little bit uneasy when it began showing some of his more ... troubling moments.

Here comes a thought
That might alarm you.
What someone said
and how it harmed you ...

The first main memory shown to them all through these butterflies shown a "younger" Steven in presence of a gigantic figure. A towering figure of bright white that, shown in the butterfly images, was far too tall to even compare to anything else. She had a few other figures around her, but their colors couldn't make out who they were exactly, at least not as well as some would expect. Twilight and Spinel were left a bit in the dark, though Pearl and Peridot began to feel uneasy. Why were they feeling troubled over something they don't know about?

Something you did
that failed to be charming
Things that you said
are suddenly swarming ...

Now to a more recent event. The butterflies were showing Steven the moment that for him was the moment that he felt the most shameful. The battle on Homeworld, as Stevonnie, against Grogar. It was a moment he kept trying to not bring up over again, but these butterflies were showing the pain Stevonnie felt the moment she saw what she had done, how it split her apart in both Connie and Steven, and how much it hurt them both. Unlike the real life events though, the gemstones that fell to the ground instead burst open into even more butterflies, along with Grogar's body, turning into a massive butterfly swarm that consumed the entire view.

The swarm of butterflies circled all of them in a spiral that seemed to reach out to the sky. It looked so overwhelming ... But one still found its way towards Steven. This swarm began showing each of those involved something. ... Something important to each of them.
The first one to be shown was Peridot, the butterflies seemingly showing her a form of flower - the same metallic one that came from tar Quartz and the Prime Kindergarten. It didn't matter before, but now without her Limb Enhancers holding her up high it felt different. She was seeing herself nearby. Scared. and Tired.

Oh
You're losing sight ...
You're losing touch ...
All these little things seem to matter so much ...

Peridot saw herself huddled up as the butterfly swarm was circling around her, feeling so weak and fragile even to these small creatures, swatting away any that got close to her in a feeble attempt to keep them away. Without her limb enhancers, how could she hold herself to anything? The question her current self, and her past self, was constantly asking herself. As Peridot watched, she saw someone else come over to her, and help her back up on her feet.

A Ruby. A Ruby who helped her get so far to where she would be today. As the Peridot stood up with her, Peridot saw that same metal flower now on her face.

That they confuse you ...
That I might lose you ...

The swarm began to lift, and both figures disappeared from view as a group of them went by. Peridot's vision was done, but now it was Amethyst's turn. At least it seemed to be when Amethyst began seeing herself off in the distance, in a bit of a crowd of butterflies as if they were a crowd of people. This Amethyst was smaller, more primitive, and the one that came out of the Prime Kindergarten again in her original state. Similar to Peridot, Amethyst saw herself looking confused, but more in trying to act like everybody else. But the figures were so distorted by the butterflies she just couldn't seem to make it work, and all she did was cover her head.

Take a moment. Remind yourself to
take a moment and find yourself.
Take a moment to ask yourself if
this is how we fall apart.

This other Amethyst looked so scared and freaked out, like how she used to be, as a few Butterflies started flying around her, one of which landed on her shoulder. All of the butterflies looked the same overall, but the one that landed on her had a few special features on it. The difference was small, only what looked like a star on its body, but it made it sparkle and shine a little bit. Suddenly she no longer looked so overwhelmed, only having the special butterfly to look to.

But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not.
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay.

The special butterfly took flight, both Amethysts watching it fly through the crowd of butterflies. Although so many were there, this special one stood out throughout the entire flight. All those people started flying away into the spiral above, and came back only as one figure. An Amethyst made of butterflies. The scared Amethyst marveled at this other butterfly. Even if she was different from everyone else around her.

Watching this happen, something was starting to click a the butterflies flew over view of the once scared Amethyst.

You got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear ...
I'm here.

There was a break in the flying butterflies, first showing the captain Amethyst: the one their Amethyst looked like when coming in with Pink Diamond. ...

I'm here.

Second showed the Amethyst that the Mane Six first ever met, her more tomboy-ish modern outfit ...

I'm here.

And finally came the new Amethyst, smiling, with her newest form, and her Cutie Mark. This all looked nice, but seeing Peridot and Amethyst go through theirs, there was another voice that ... couldn't keep it in anymore.

Twilight; Here comes a thought
That might alarm me.
What someone said
and how it harmed me ...

The first time in days she can finally sing, even if it was just in her head. Steven wasn't expecting anyone else to sing, him and a few others looking over to Twilight as she looked on in weakened dismay. Just seeing that troubled face made it clear that the stress was tolling away so much at her. The butterflies themselves started to show much of it, flying around her in such a way that mirrored that of a written list flying through the air in waves, encircling and almost constricting.
Twilight saw herself struggle to keep up with the order as best she could manage, but it seemed whenever she got one thing done there was a ton more waiting for her.

But that was not all these butterflies dared to show for her.

Something I did
that failed to be charming

A figure began to take shape out of the sea of butterflies above her, showing Twilight the moment that changed everything for Equestria, and to herself. Flying in the sky, the butterflies took the shape of the Alicorn of the sun herself, flying as best she could just above this other Twilight. The thing she did was more something she didn't do, this other Twilight unable to reach Celestia before the alicorn fell from the sky and disappeared.

The butterflies seemed to disappear, but this other Twilight's horn began to glow as the weight of it all was pushed down on her.

Things that I said
are suddenly swarming

Suddenly, as it had before numerous times, the horn blasted into the air out of her control. Instead of launching some random magic spell however, her horn released a huge wave of butterflies, circling and spiraling out like a tornado off her horn. Unlike the other two before her that seemed to find some form of closure, this Twilight apparently hadn't found her's yet.
Pearl's vision wasn't that far behind Twilight's, and for Pearl her's was a bit more simplified, but offered the most to see for this Pearl. Pearl first saw herself just standing there at attention as she had been doing for Connie, but the swarm showed someone else she was standing alongside ... someone more regal. ... Someone more Diamond-esque.

Oh
I'm losing sight
I'm losing touch

The diamond-shape figure changed into a more "recent" shape, to that of a Rose Quartz. The Pearl looked different, but still stood the same way, albeit with a bit more of a smile ... until this Quartz started to fade away. The Pearl tried to reach, but all that happened was that it "popped" into a butterfly flock again, disappearing from her.

The Pearl was on her own, and in her current form but ... more confident. Happier even.

All these little things seem to matter so much
That they confuse me ...

Steven+Twilight; That I might lose me.

All of them looked up to the entire swarm of Butterflies, these visions and experiences, and time to get their thoughts and feelings into shape giving them all a little bit more clarity. The swarm was no longer a swarm. It was a display of emotion flying through the air, all together.

Take a moment. Remind yourself to
take a moment and find yourself.
Take a moment to ask yourself if
this is how we fall apart.

This swarm, which just moments ago was confusing and somewhat worrying, now was something they all wanted to watch fly by them, as they began to relax. In fact, they actually laid down and watched the entire butterfly flock go over them as if they were just watching the clouds go by.

Steven+Twilight; But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not.
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay
You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear
I'm here, I'm here, I'm here

Then their own butterflies finally flew off to join them. The group released their respected butterflies up into the air, and watched them join the clouds of butterflies fluttering into the air. ... All but one.

Steven+Twilight; And it was just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought.
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
We can watch, we can watch, we can watch, we can watch them go by
From here, from here, from here ...

The only one with a single butterfly left now was Spinel. A small little butterfly still resting on her finger, still resting as everyone elses flown away. Spinel was quiet, looking down at this butterfly she'd been seeing this whole time.

Spinel; Take a moment to think of just ...
Flexibility, love and trust ...
Take a moment to think of just ...
Flexibility, love and trust ...

.......

Just like that, it was all over. Everyone at the meditation class were feeling happy, even of most of them were tearing up from the experience. These were tears of joy though, nothing sad here anymore. Steven opened his eyes, who were also watery, to face the entire class again. Just in time too, as the tape had just finished playing it's ambiance.

"Oh Steven ... that was amazing," said teary-eyed Topaz, rubbing some tears away.

"I can't wait for next week's class," said a slightly emotional Thorax.

Steven got up himself, smiling from the experience in spite of what it shown. He felt lighter somehow. And in such thoughts, he wasn't alone. As the class was starting to get their blankets and head on back home for the week, all looking forward to what the next class would bring, there were a few that had to stop and wait. Standing there and looking to Steven.

Pearl. Amethyst. Peridot.

"....... Steven?" muttered Pearl.

Just looking to them one time told them exactly what this class had done. Amethyst and Peridot's Cutie Marks were there all over again, and Pearl's new outfit alone were proof enough. Steven waited long enough for this moment.

"Welcome back guys. I know what you're -" (Sees the three Gems in mid air, lunging at him) "... Oh."

*BAM!* Down went Steven, laying on the ground as the three Gems were crying their eyes out.

"YOU'RE BACK YOU CRAZY CLOD!" exclaimed Peridot, "I was worried sick about you, DON'T RUN AWAY EVER AGAIN!"

"I missed you so much, man!" exclaimed Amethyst, "I should've been there for ya, I'M SO SORRY. I'm so glad you're back!"

"Oh Steven, you're finally safe and sound!" exclaimed Pearl, "Thank the stars!!"

"I missed you guys too - easy easy!" Steven said from underneath the three. Overwhelming? Obviously. But it was a good kind of overwhelming. As Steven was handling them, the others were looking on with a bit of relief and fulfillment.

"Finally," sighed Connie. It took a long while, but they finally got everyone back up to speed. ALL of the original Crystal Gems were back together at last. This was all fine and good, but there was only one Gem out of the entire group that wasn't smiling. She was thinking, looking down at her feet.

"Spinel," Garnet said, placing a hand on Spinel's shoulder. Spinel looked up to Garnet for a little bit before she turned away.

"I uh ... got a bit of thinking to do ..." Spinel simply said, before walking away.

~~~~~~

So a few hours had gone by, and the Sky Arena had become much less active since the meditation class. Not a single sign that any Gem, Pony, or otherwise had been there today. The only thing left there now, aside from the ruins of it all, was Spinel. She had never actually left the meditation class, or the Sky Arena. She simply sat over by the edge of the arena to look out to the sunset, sky and clouds going by the place, with nothing but her own blanket to snuggle up to and keep her warm, lost in her own thoughts on what to really do. She saw so many other people going through their own feelings, and here she was looking at clouds and keeping her mouth shut.

It was only a matter of time before someone did come over to her. And it wasn't Garnet.

"Hey, Spinel. Is everything okay?"

Steven Universe. Spinel looked over to him, seeing him not only in winter clothes but with a blanket of his own to keep him warm.

"Oh. Hey, Steven. Come to check on me?" Spinel asked.

"Well ... yeah. Garnet told me you weren't feeling so good. What's the matter?" Steven asked, having a seat right next to her. Spinel clammed up, curling up in her blanket again.

"It's uh ... it's nothing. Or, it's something but ... something not too big to worry about," Spinel managed to say. Steven tried to figure out what the problem might be. He could tell that Spinel wanted to say something, but just couldn't bring herself to say it to him. He had one idea, and decided to try his luck.

"Spinel, if you're worried about Amethyst, Peridot, and Pearl, I'm sure they'll like you. We'll just go talk to them whenever you're ready, okay?" Steven said with a reassuring smile. Spinel ... just decided to roll with it.

"Thanks, bro ..."

Steven and Spinel just stayed quiet and they both looked on towards the clouds ahead of them. With the Sky Arena bring so high up, that meant the best view of the clouds they could get, seeing plenty of them below them, alongside, and above them with the soft hue of the setting sun. Spinel pretended that she was feeling better, kicking her feet lazily as she sat at the edge with a kinda "forced" smile. As she was doing this though, Steven was actually keeping an eye on her for a bit. Let's just say she wasn't the only one holding something back ...

"What'chu thinkin about, Steven?" Spinel finally asked, thinking it was about the other Gems again and how they'll react to her. Now it was Steven's turn to clam up. How was he supposed to approach this subject exactly? ... He was to ease it in.

"... Whenever the other Gems. Lapis, Jasper, Peridot, Pearl, Amethyst ... after getting their memories, they all keep changing their forms until they reach their recent ones. And ... well when you got your memories back, you did too ....... Spinel. How'd did you -"

"Get destroyed? wrecked? Poofed? ... I like poofed. It sounds less horrible that way," Spinel said. Steven could see that despite her smile, Spinel looked hurt, so maybe now wasn't the best time for it.

"Spinel wait, if you don't want to talk about it -"

"You want to know what happened?" Spinel cut in.

... Steven nodded.

Spinel began to cry.

"....... After White told me about Pink, I ... I felt so sad. Broken. Betrayed. It's bad enough she left me and all, but knowing she was ... gone gone? ... I ....... I ..."
Spinel could hardly even say it.

"... I tried to shatter myself, Steven. ..."

The whole world felt like it stopped.

"S-Spinel? ..."

"I was made to be her best friend ... and I thought, what's the point anymore if my best friend isn't there with me? Ever again? ... But I didn't do it right. All I did was poof myself. The whole time, I kept thinking "How could she do this to me"? ... How could she leave her best friend behind? ... And in the end, all this revenge talk just mad me into ... this. A villain. A monster. A unlovable good-for-nothing. ......."
Spinel's hand moved over to those streaks on her face. After hearing all of this, Steven started to see those marks for what they really were. Those three streaks weren't mascara tears ... those were claw marks. Self-inflicted claw marks.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I ... I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to dump another problem on you. You already got a LOT of problems: White Diamond, Twilight, your girlfriend. You wouldn't want to hear this ..."

Suddenly, Spinel found Steven hugging her. Spinel was quiet but she returned the gesture.

"Spinel, don't say that, of course I do. I don't care if the whole world is on my shoulders, I always want you to share your feelings with me. Don't ever think you're not good enough for anything, you mean so much more than that," Steven said, feeling some tears start to come through his eyes too.

"... Heh. You almost sound like you did this before, Mr. Universe," Spinel meekly joked, tears flowing out much more now, almost as if Blue Diamond's aura made her cry. Steven could feel a sting in his own heart when she said that, the whole Grogar affair replaying in his mind again.

"I guess you can say that. We're your family, don't forget that," Steven sighed.

Spinel waited as this scene replayed in her head. Grogar made it sound so dangerous. So sad if she were to share something like this. But now that it all happened, Spinel could begin calming down. She felt ... lighter. The Gem gripped Steven a little bit as she hugged him.

"Thanks, Steven. ... For giving me another chance."

...
Sitting on the end of her ponytail, her butterfly just stood there, small fluttering of its wings. A small brush of wind was all it took for this white butterfly to flutter off away.

Spinel's butterfly was free to fly away.

Author's Note

So this chapter was a bit of a challenge for me. A bit of a fact about myself: I would sometimes try to get a vibe for a chapter by listening to other stuff around me. Yes, this chapter has a base inspiration when it came to the huge flock of birds, but I tried to not listen to the inspiration one time throughout writing this ... It's honestly hard when i can't pause writing and listen to someone's voice, just so i can hear that voice when writing (come to think of it, was a struggle i had when writing the whole franchise in general, writing things that I know the characters would say. ... Gotta work on that).

Anyway, THIS was a long time coming, especially for the "Here Comes A Thought" song. Seriously, that was supposed to be several chapters ago, but as you can see, other things kinda were put in to add more to it. This was the best I could do to help flow better. Plus it handles Connie's trauma, Spinel's inner crisis, and a lot of other stuff to get the mind thinking at once without becoming too overwhelming ... well to me. Also I've noticed how little the Ponies have compared to the Gems in terms of ... well, involvement, so hopefully this chapter makes up for that at least a little bit.

Once Upon An End

It'd been a while since the Barn had so much activity going on by it, but now in the warmth of the barnhouse there was more than enough of a party going on inside. Since the whole team was back together at last, there was no better time than a get-together party thrown by party pony and party gem themselves. ALL members of the Harmony Gems were present there, all of them having a good time and taking a break from all the work they got for them, not to mention enjoying some sweets Pinkie and Steven got together. The main thing set up inside was a large table with a big cake to share (an ode reminder of the last time old friends visited the barn).

"I reformed with my own Limb Enhancers? I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I COULD DO THAT!" Peridot gasped, starry eyed and smiling. Even when rejuvenated her abilities always impressed even her.

"Yeah you did, and by the way we need to get a new utensils for the beach house. Metal elixir, my lady?" said Steven, offering Peridot the drink she forgot she absolutely loved for the longest time. Peridot starry eyed happily took the drink, drinking it down. It'd been WAY too long.

"MMMMMM~ My sweet family concoction, how I missed you," Peridot said, huge smile on her face.

"Don't gulp it, you'll choke yourself," Pearl said as Peridot was chugging her drink.

"Can't breathe, don't care," Peridot said point-blankly as she gulped away. It was too good NOT to enjoy a little bit, at least to her (even if it did make a few cringe a little).

"So keep going, what else did we miss out on?" Amethyst asked, enjoying some treats herself in form of some hot coco.

"Okay, okay. So anyway," continued Twilight, "You three kept on acting as if you've never even heard of the Crystal Gems before! I don't think we'd ever could've gotten used to any of that."

"BUT you did get a Crystal Tank outta the deal," added Spinel. THAT definitely got her attention, enough to make Amethyst up to her feet.

"NO WAY! I got myself a tank?!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Yeah you did: A Stonecruizer 2000," said Bismuth, "Hessonite somehow got a hold of one of those so you can stick to her side. At least that's what I got while pulling the thing out of the Battlefield."

"Dang. The coolest thing I've ever gotten and I don't remember even getting it," Amethyst said, laying back casually in her seat.

"Don't sweat it, the tank's still in good shape. We just had to get it in a better spot than a crater of strawberries," Bismuth said with a wink. Even if Hessonite was the one to give it to them, didn't mean they couldn't still make some use out of it.

"... I'm still allowed to run it, or did you make it off-limits?" Amethyst asked.

"That's up in the air, you nearly flattened us with that thing," Flint answered bluntly.

"Oh ..."

"Yeah, by the way ... we didn't do anything too embarrassing while we were rejuvenated, did we?" Pearl asked humbly with a slight blue blush. Even a Pearl with her memory had trouble with remembering her time brain-wiped. The others kinda needed a moment, the flashes of Pearl's over-pampering, Amethyst's rudeness, and Peridot's experiments going through their heads for a quick five seconds.

"You wanna tell her, or shall I?" asked Twilight.

"I'll go," said Spike. The Dragon then looked right to Pearl.

"Spike?"

"Eh to make it simple: you thought Connie was your master for a bit, you tried pampering her almost non-stop for weeks. And I think you and her mom were rival-ing for a bit. But hey, you made a lot pf pretty good pie," Spike explained. Pearl could feel her face turning blue.

"Wait are we gonna ignore the fact that she cried for days straight?" asked Fulgurite. Which made her even more blue.

"Fulgurite, you promised not to tell her that!" Connie exclaimed.

"AH! Oops."

"No! No, it's fine. I uhh I'm sorry for being so invasive Connie. ... So. I ... didn't make you eat all my pie did I?"

"As persistent as you were, I kept my portions small," Connie said. Pearl could only wonder just how much pie she ended up making for Connie while as her servant, but she decided not to look too much into it. She was embarrassed enough already.

"Yeah, by the way, what's with you and pie? I thought for the longest time you hated food with a passion," Emerald pointed out, hovering nearby her on his hexagon plate as per usual. Pearl took a moment or two to get herself back together from being so blue-faced.

"Consuming food, yes, but making food no. I mean yes, I do hate eating. The idea that you consume something, then it goes through your body and ... UGH," Pearl shuttered a little at the thought of it all, though Amethyst really didn't seem to care about that and simply shrugged as (after Peridot gulped her metal drink) gobbled up the cup.

"Glad to have you back," chuckled Applejack.

"It's SOOO good to be back," Amethyst said after swallowing the cup. Nearby Steven was just smiling.

"It took a few weeks, but everyone's caught up. Finally. ..."

"And since this is for all our friends, and all our good stuff ... this calls for BIG BERTHA!" Pinkie suddenly zoomed away to fetch Big Bertha (whatever the hay that was). She went so quick pass Spinel, it sent her in a 360 spin until she fell back on her rump.
Steven and Twilight couldn't help but feel happy. After everything they've gone through so far, it's something they really should deserve by now. While she was munching on some cake, Spinel ended up tapping his shoulder and he found she had a little something else for him in her hand: a familiar piece of paper and a pencil.

"Oh, my list. Thanks Spinel," Steven said.

"No prob, brah," Spinel said through a stuffed mouth. Steven simply took the pencil and went right to updating the list. Finally, he can cross off "Recover Memories" from that Happily Ever After to-do list. While his smile stayed, he still had a LOT left to do, but with all of his friends finally back together, he felt a lot more secure.
As they were enjoying themselves, Bismuth stood up and tapped her glass with her finger, loud enough to get their attention but controlled enough so she wouldn't smash it.

"I just want to take a moment, and say how proud I am of all of us. I mean, we got all the Corrupted Gems healed, Little Homeworld's all built up, AND we got everyone back together and caught up. We did ourselves proud today, Harmony Gems!"

"You know it. We're doing awesome!" agreed Rainbow Dash. Garnet then stood up for her part of this speech.

"I'd also like to say congratulations to you all. Even when we're split apart, you were there for us. Both old friends, and new ones." Garnet glanced to Spinel who shyly smiled to Garnet before she continued. She was just happy the others forgiven her for what she did to them.

"We still have a little bit more to do before we can get our vacation started," Garnet said, "But I know we can make it. And no that's not just the Future Vision talking."

Some of the others couldn't help but laugh. Garnet simply raised a glass.

"Let's build our best future ever!"

"YEAH!" said everyone else.

*BOOOM!*

"HEEERE'S BERTHA!" Pinkie shouted, standing just outside with the BIGGEST Party Cannon they've ever seen, with the cannon itself big enough to fit a tree inside. Pinkie was all smiles but everyone else was a bit shocked. And covered in confetti and streamers. ... well, Garnet gave a thumbs up, so one of them knew.

"Right on cue, Pinkie. Nice," Garnet said with a smile.

"I've been practicing," Pinkie said with a wink. Unfazed herself by the brief heart attack she caused, Pinkie hopped off of Big Bertha, but she didn't come back with just the giant party cannon. With the object in her muzzle, she went right back over towards the others like a dog would. It turned out to be a scroll of sorts, though not one that seemed too out-of-the-ordinary when the Ponies looked at it.

"What's that you got there, pink?" asked Amethyst. Pinkie spat it out.

"I was on my way to grab Big Bertha from Sugarcube Corner when I found this from my mailbox. So OBVIOUSLY I had to grab it and share it with all of you," Pinkie explained. Not true, but good move as it turned out as Twilight got the scroll unraveled so she could look it over.

"Dear Harmony Gems. I know you all must be very busy right now, but I wish you all can come and talk to me over in Canterlot Castle. Your superior Princess Luna has told me how much you've all done these last few weeks, and given what you've done for me, I want to help. Signed -" Twilight immediately stopped when she read who signed this paper. The name was there but to make sure it was him and not someone else, a picture of a peacock feather was also added.

"Quetzalcoatl? He's in Canterlot?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"We haven't heard a thing out of him since that whole Everstorm thing happened. What's he doing here?" asked Connie, surprised on seeing the news. While Twilight could've gone without another reminder of THAT incident - it was enough to make her shiver again - it still was a good question.

"Read the rest of the letter," Garnet said. So Twilight did.

"... P.S.: mind bringing me some feather ointment with you? My wounds still need healing and the castle ran out using them for me."

"W-Wounds? What happened to him?" gulped Fluttershy.

Then ...

"Poor Q. I thought we gave him enough for what the Council did to him," Star wondered, eyes looking up as she tried to think.

"The who did what-now?" Fulgurite asked.

"Hmm? Oh right: The Spirit Council wanted me, Diopside, and Jade to come back with them before. Dio and Jade were fine, but I ended up stuck in some dark place called the "Catacombs" where they kept Q stuck and arrested. So we three fought Your Great Honor and after helping him out, we asked he'd be free and ... well, here we are."

Everyone kinda just ... stared at the three. Eventually though, without a word, Peridot walked right over to Star, her hands gripping Star Quartz's arms.

"... Star. ... Sweetie. ... Why didn't you say something?" Peridot asked, looking ready to break down any second.

"No one asked me until now. Besides, didn't Garnet tell you?" Star Quartz asked. The attention quickly turned to Garnet now, the fusion quiet at first but then just adjusting her shades. Peridot inhaled SUPER LONG, before she tried calming down.

"You and me really need to communicate more," Peridot said.

"I thought you knew. You saw me go and you were okay with that."

"I was rejuvenated, OF COURSE I would care less!"

"OKAY OKAY, we can talk about this later. First, it sounds like we should check in on Q and see how he's doing," said Twilight, showing the message again as a reminder.

"Do we have to leave the party? It's not easy bringing ol' Bertha," Pinkie asked, pointing to the heart-attack giving cannon.

"Pinkie, we can't always party hard every day, we still have things to do. A party wouldn't be special if we have one every day," Garnet informed. Pinkie felt her mind completely boggle on such a statement, looking as if the idea literally popped in her head like a balloon.

"We'll just catch up on it when we're done getting Q's ointment or whatever. You can work up more ammo for Big Bertha while we do this," Amethyst said, arm around Pinkie's shoulder.

"You know ... you're absolutely right Amethyst! That first blast wasn't even half of what it was gonna be, I better stock up," Pinkie realized. They didn't even want to know what a full blast from that cannon would be like. Pinkie knew what she had to do, and after giving a quick goodbye, she whipped out her Portal Key and got one opened good and quick, diving right in before anyone could say anything else.
Seemed Pinkie was gonna be pre-occupied for a while, but the others had Q to get to.

~~~~~~

Pacing back and forth in her own horseshoes, Princess Luna was under a little bit of stress in her castle. She could hear some activity going on in the next room, a few of the guards feeling a little bit uneasy themselves over who was inside. They were used to having unexpected guests, but the guards weren't so comfortable with having a gigantic feathered snake in the bedroom. They could still hear him moving around in there, a small feather or two slipping out from the bottom of the doorway just to turn into smoke. Princess Cadance was also present, though she was more just standing there than pacing around.

"How's he doing in there? Is he getting any better?" asked Cadance at a point to the guards.

"Umm ... we haven't actually went in there since he started, so we're not sure," one of them answered, taking a sidestep away from the burning feather. Cadance found herself coughing a little from the smoke, the smell like burning garbage.

"Oof. Terrible," she coughed. She needed to clear her throat before answering the guards again.

"Well keep up the good work, be sure to say anything if something else develops," Cadance instructed. The guards saluted her, just for them all to hear a loud wheeze coming from the room, almost like steam letting out of Ponyville's steam engine. They heard a few grunts after that.

"Queztalcoatl? You sure we can't get you anything? We'll be happy to get you some tea, or some magic cough syrup. Just name it, and we'll get it for you," Cadance said.

"... No. ... Just ... let me know when they get here ... I'm enough of a nuisance as it is," Q said through a low breath.

"Q you're not a nuisance. We happily agreed to let you stay here when Star and her friends brought you to us remember? Just stay in there until you recover, I promise everything's fine."

"Well ... if you say so," Q sighed. He was in no condition to fly away anyway, and besides the Spirit council was probably not going to let him come back anytime soon. They all could hear him move around again, probably adjusting himself to get more comfortable in there.
With the two princesses still waiting outside, unsure how to better help him out without any ointment, the two began to hear the familiar sound of a door opening just down the hall. They wouldn't take much attention if the hallway itself didn't already have just the one door. Luna and Cadance turned to the noise, finding the light from the Portal Key door opening up, with the Harmony Gems starting to make their way through it.

"Princess Luna! Princess Cadance! Is everything okay in here?" Twilight asked after coming in.

"Twilight, everyone, good to see you've made it," said Luna, trotting over to them first. Didn't take long before the rest of them got inside.

"We got your message. Where is he?" Garnet asked.

"He isolated himself in that room over there," explained Luna, looking over to the door with the smoke and feathers, "He didn't want any of us to catch his current state, so we gave him his personal room so he can recover."

"How bad is he? If he's a god, something must've been really bad to get him sick like this," Fluttershy asked, looking on in worry.

"Well he's not "sick" per say, but he started shedding feathers since he got here, and he keeps saying it'll cause some problems," Cadance explained.

"Well he said he wanted to see us, so we're going to go in," said Jasper. She was just about to get inside the room when -

*BOOM* "DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!"

The voice was enough to make Jasper jump, if the slam against the wall didn't, moving back quickly as if she was touching a time bomb ready to blow up. The others behind her also jumped on the bellowing voice. After that came a lower groan mixed with a sigh.

"I'm ... I'm sorry. But ... please, don't come any closer. Not the Gems. ..."

"Why? We're Gems, whatever illness you got, we're unable to catch it," Pearl promised.

"Earth illnesses, yes. But I'm not from your world remember? ... my feathers. They dry up and they have a ... bad effect on Gemstomes. Sentient or otherwise ... so, please don't come in here," Q explained. Only Lapis really remembered what he was talking about, shivering at the reminder of plenty of "liquid Gemstones" in the temple.

"Well can we come in? I'm not entirely a Gem, and I don't think those feathers can effect me. We're not leaving you like this, just so you know," Steven said.

Q was quiet, but he did readjust himself a moment before answering.

"... Only the Humans and Ponies. The rest of you, stay outside," Q finally said.
Seemed simple enough. As the Gems stood back over by the alicorn princesses, the others started to go over towards the door with Steven up front. Steven got his hands on the door, but before he could even get a chance to open it, they all began hearing a wheezing sound again, smoke bellowing out from underneath them.

"....... We're gonna need a few bubble helmets," Steven stated.

"I'm on it," said Garnet.

Few minutes later, and the room beyond those doors finally got itself some light when those same doors were opened up. They had to make it very quick though so the smoke didn't completely shoot out of the room. Good call on Steven's part to use the bubble helmets, because the room was almost completely filled with smoke coming from the coiled up Q.
It took even less time to see the full damage done onto Q. His wings which were once vibrant with feathers now looked more like plucked chicken wings, covered only in down feathers with much of the flying feathers already falling onto the ground. He remained coiled up just enough so the others can come in, but he took up most of the room.
The only other creature within the room besides the large feathered serpent was a small crane standing at attention nearby, not affected by the smoke around them and awaiting for ... something? They weren't sure what yet.

"Q? Is that you? What in the world happened to you?" Steven asked, trying to not step on the feathers.

"What happened to me isn't important. But before anything ... did you bring the ointment?" Q managed to inquire. He had only the slightest of fluster on his face for asking, even if there's nothing embarrassing about it.

"Yes indeed, right here. Got it while getting Ol' Bertha," Pinkie said, pulling out a bottle of the stuff from her mane to give to the giant feathered snake. Q decided not to inquire about Bertha.

"Nice ... just. If you don't mind ..."

"Oh, absolutely Mr. Q," Fluttershy said. Taking the ointment, Fluttershy flew over towards Quetzalcoatl's wings and began to rub the ointment onto them. Q cringed a little from the slight pain, but relaxed as the ointment took effect.

"Oh my, these don't look good at all. What did the gods do to you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Like I said," sighed Q, "What happened to me isn't important."

"You're a god that's gotten almost crippled by something, I think that is at least a little bit, or as important as what you had in mind for us," Steven said. Q felt disgraced looking back at his feathers again. He'd try to keep quiet, but he couldn't let this go any longer.

"It's the Spirit Council. ... Steven, think back. The times when I put myself into your universe. Protecting from Bismuth, your first solo mission. They didn't like that I had to put myself into the story being played out," Q explained.

"What's wrong with trying to help?" Rarity asked. Q recoiled.

"The law of the gods forbids it. And my intervention with Discord and White Diamond's trial was the final straw, so they locked me away," Q finished.
There was a moment of shock that went around the whole group when they all heard this.

"Wait, y-you - WHAT? You mean they locked you up and plucked you just for helping us?" exclaimed Steven.

"No, no! ... My feathers just fell off out of stress. You know how it is," Q said. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash probably knew that kind of issue more than anyone else there with their feathers. Pinkie and Rarity helped clean up the feathers, Pinkie getting them in piles as Rarity just delicately lifted them off the ground with her own hooves (magic and bubble helmets don't mix).

"But they did lock you away," Steven repeated.

"... Yes they did. If it weren't for some of your Gems outside, I wouldn't have been allowed to leave at all," Q explained. Q only paused to cringe a bit as the ointment got to work on healing his wings. Not exactly pain, but uncomfortable at least.

"There, that should grow your feathers in just a few days," said Fluttershy.

"Thank you."

"So, that aside, just what is it you want us for?" Twilight inquired, "You're the one that asked for us to come here."
For a moment or two, it almost looked like Q was having doubts about his own decision. He knew the done a lot, but should he be the one to add the workload or no? Still, he did indeed got them out here, it was the least he could do ...

"....... Let me make this perfectly clear before I say: you don't have to do this."

"Just tell us what it is, Q. We can take it," insisted Connie.

Quetzalcoatl took a small breath before he began to move, slowly recoiling around the spot. They all took a few steps back as he was doing this, Steven wondering if his shield would actually be needed or not (not that it would matter) but the feathered serpent made sure his body didn't slam into any of them. As he kept recoiling, his whole body was now along the walls, showing them all something in the center of the room. Q didn't stop moving until the group and the object got enough space, leaving him almost completely off of the ground.
The object itself was sitting in the center of the room, right where Q was coiled up. The object itself in the center of the room appeared fairly small, and kinda looked like a box. It didn't even look extravagant or even magical, just a case with a handle on it, along with what looked like a few pages laid out on top of it ... all of which were empty.

"And what're these?" Steven asked confused.

"Your supplies. ... Sorry if it's not anything special, but, it's the best I could use for the trial coming up."

"Trial? What -" suddenly the clues began to click in Twilight's head. Q being here, and trial suddenly made it a little too obvious what he wanted them to do. "The Spirit Council! You mean they want us on trial AGAIN?"

"Well not exactly, but listen," explained Q, "You might've proved her wrong before, but the Spirit's foresight sounds eerily unavoidable ... the least I can do is help you prepare."

"But wait, that already happened: Star, Diopside, and Jade already went up there for us, that's why you're even here," pointed out Steven, holding some of the papers. Q shook his head as he slowly began to recoil.

"That isn't the one I meant," Q said, back in his coiled position, "The messenger crane brought me the very message of a third trial upcoming ... that I have to be present for. Even after my wings look horrid like this."

"So to recap: not only did they nearly KILL you, but now they're expecting you to show up for another trial?" asked Twilight in disbelief. All Quetzalcoatl did was nod, a small bit of smoke once again sneaking out of his nostrils. Everyone there looked to one another, imagining just how bad these gods would have to be to treat him like this, AND still be on them even after what they've been doing. With all of their thinking out together, the request was clear.

"You want us to go for you, Q?" asked Pinkie. "That's the big ask you were gonna do, right?"

"Hmm? ... Go for me? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put that on you. I was mainly going to ask if you're all okay to go to the trial at all."

"Q cut it out, just look at yourself. Clearly you're NOT going anywhere until you're better! They're just trying to humiliate you for actually trying to do something about our worlds instead of just standing by and watch," Connie pointed out.

"If they're willing to do THIS just to get what they want, I think we have to try and make this work," Steven agreed. Q looked around to those remaining around the room before he gave a sigh, everyone getting blown at by a heap of smoke. Thank goodness they had the helmets (though Rarity still tried getting the smoke out of her fur).

"I expected nothing different. You all have the next week before the trial begins, and during that time get as much information and evidence as you can in your documents there."

"Is that what these are?" bluntly asked Pinkie, looking at the blank pages.

"Nothing's more true than experience first-hoof ... er, hand. Anything you locate that you think will help, write it down and bring it to the trial with you."

"Cool, thanks. Also thanks for the case, we're gonna need this -"

"THAT case is a backup. Just in case that whatever evidence you gather doesn't work. Only THEN open that up, and use what's in there. Not before. Understand?" Q explained, a sense of sternness in his voice so the point was brought home. This did get them thinking about what could actually be in there, but if a large snake god told them not to use it straight away, then that was probably for the best. They got a week before they could use it anyway, and only if they had to, so Twilight levitated the case and kept it with her.

"We promise, Q. We'll win this one," promised Twilight.

"I hope so. Discord and White didn't deserve any of this," Q said gravely. Fluttershy then flew over next to his head.

"We know, Q, and you did you're absolute best. Just relax and we'll take care of everything for you," Fluttershy said, gently rubbing his head with her hoof. Quetzalcoatl just hoped it would be enough to help them out now, because he wasn't going to go anywhere like this, let alone back home.

"Let's go guys," said Connie. They all began to go, but Q still had another question lingering in his mind.

"Er, one more thing. How are those two doing? Are they adapting well, or ..."

"Oh, they're doing fine. White Diamond's been spending time inside the castle, and Discord's been ... doing ..." Come to think of it, what has Discord been doing? Ever since failing to guard the barn, they haven't heard that much out of him.

"We'd better check in on him," suggested Rainbow Dash, which was the same thought many of them really had. Q didn't enjoy that answer.

"Get well soon, Quetzalcoatl," Steven said once more, waving goodbye to the feathered serpent.

"Good luck you all," Q simply said. The large serpent rested himself, and everyone else had to get out a little quick so the rest of the castle wouldn't get smoked out. Steven quickly got the door shut and fast, the smoke disappearing seconds after he did that so none of the Gems could end up sick from him, and only then did he simply poke his bubble helmet and popped it off his head.

"Ah, fresh air, much better," Steven said with a smile.

"Sweet Luna, I'm going to need the strongest shampoo to get this smell out," Rarity said, few whiffs of her fur making her cringe a little.

"I might need some of that," added Twilight.

Then came the Gems themselves. They all were standing off nearby, but given that they still had the smoke on them they couldn't go near them. Safety for their sake.

"Everything okay in there, guys?" asked Amethyst, ready to walk over to them but they quickly took a step or two back.

"Eh, just stay where you are. We still have that smoke on us, so ... we don't wanna melt you," Pinkie said.

"Melt us? The heck're you talkin about?" Spinel asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Spinel," promised Garnet. Despite the danger, Garnet started walking towards them, the group trying to move their way back just in case something were to happen, but Steven only needed just one step back before Garnet was standing right in front of him.

"Stay back, Garnet," Steven warned.

"It's okay Steven. Let me see those papers," Garnet said, catching sight of them first. Steven took a glance to them, which at the moment were also levitated by Twilight. All the Alicorn did was levitate them to Garnet, the fusion not even hesitating to grab hold of them.

"How's Quetzalcoatl doing in there?" Cadance asked.

"He's gonna need a few more days to get his wings back," Fluttershy explained, "just make sure to apply the ointment on his wings twice a day."
The fusion meanwhile just took her time checking out each of the blank pieces of paper, moving one paper over the other as if she was seeing something on them the others weren't. One paper was given a look down for about twenty seconds each, until she went through each and every one, lining them up.

"What is it he told you?" Garnet asked.

"Ok. So, it looks like we're called up to that godly place on trial. Again," said a slightly annoyed Applejack. Some groans were heard from the crowd.

"Come on do we have to deal with those freaks again?" Fulgurite asked, fuming at the idea of tangling with the Spirit again.

"I don't think we're gonna get out of this one. We ALL have to be there this time to handle Discord and White Diamond," admitted Rarity, though she wasn't amused either. All of their previous experiences with the Spirit was NOT anything happy, and even those that don't know what they're talking about could sense the dread.

"We should at least try, getting their powers back is apart of our current job isn't it? Let's face it, we left them alone for a little bit long," shrugged Steven.

"I know, I know ... doesn't mean I have to like it," remarked Lapis.

"Hello? Few people who're in the dark here," reminded Amethyst.

"We'll explain on the train ride."

The others turned to Garnet, who at this point was about done with her paper-checking, giving the papers back to Steven.

"You got an idea, Garnet?" asked Twilight. Garnet adjusted her shades, them giving off the O so classic shine to give her answer. Future vision gave her just the thing they need. If they need proof for the trial, Garnet got the way to get it.

"Let's go on a family trip."

.......

Only Pinkie was saddened that her party would have to wait even longer because of this. At least this way she can take some of her party out on the road, as they all were on their way along the traintracks and taking a full ride in the Equestrian express to their destination. The Harmony Gems, for this ride, actually got their own personal train to get there (probably because they filled in a while train car just from their group alone). The ride itself was relaxing for them to take, passing the time exactly how one would expect: watching the world go by outside, small chatting, even some board games curtesy of Pinkie Pie. They got a good round of Serpents and Stables going at this point, an actual audience watching as Pinkie, Spinel and Star were in a all-time race for the final finish line.

"I can feel it. This is it. Come on, baby," Spinel said to herself, overly-serious about a board game, before throwing the dice down. One slam on the floor and ...

"NOOOOO!"

"Hehehehe, I got this," Pinkie chuckled, grabbing the dice as Spinel moved her piece just before the finish line, only to slide down the serpent back twenty places. As for Pinkie ...

"PONYFEATHERS!" Pinkie yelped, suffering the exact same fate.

"Ha ha, karma," Spinel remarked, her mood from sad to salty. Pinkie reluctantly moved her piece right next to Spinel's piece, a raspberry echoing pass her muzzle as her piece slid down the serpent.

"They look like they're having a good time," remarked Bismuth, reclining in one of the train seats (which for her was the entire seat).

"They'll probably not like what'll happen next," Garnet replied.

And as per usual, no doubt she was right: it came Star Quartz's turn. At this point she was a bit far behind the other two, but seeing how it was her turn. Star quietly picked up the dice, and gave it a good shake before tossing it out onto the board. Wouldn't you know it, she didn't get a Serpent but got herself a route to the next Stable ... which happened to be right at the finish line.

"Oh! Did I win?" Star asked. Pinkie and Spinel just didn't answer her.

"... Yeah ... you did. ... I'm just gonna play something else," Spinel decided, sliding over to the nearest window to see if she can find some clouds to stare at or something. Some of the others couldn't help but chuckle on that reaction.

"OOOO, you two just got owned without her even trying! That's the fifth game on the ride," Amethyst said, one of those more into the games. As Star sat there wondering if winning was bad or good (with Peridot's help), some more small talk was going on with Garnet up front with her friends.

"So Garnet, care to share where we're actually going? You've been acting secret again," Twilight asked, nudging Garnet with her wing.

"Somewhere where we'll have everything we need to deal with our Trial problem," Garnet answered, adjusting her shades in her unique fashion.

"And ... where's that? Given how long we've been on this train, we're not in Equestria anymore," concluded Steven, who stopped noticing anything actually "Ponish" at least half an hour ago. Garnet had noticed that too, glancing back outside to see the winterscape of the land going by the window as any passenger would on a train.

"Nope. But our target's not from Equestria either, so it works out. When we're done here, we'll have everything," Garnet said.

"Our target? You're not making a lick of sense," questioned Applejack, not really following what she was even talking about. They left to get evidence, not anything specific.

"You'll all see when we stop in the next ... minute," Garnet replied. She'd rather not spoil her plan just yet, at least not until they would get there.

"You sure you can't talk about it for that next minute so we're more prepared for wherever we're going?" Steven asked one more time. Garnet looked over to Steven, and saw that he really wanted to be ready for whatever was coming. She tried not to get too caught up in the look, but ...

"Oh, I can't say no to that face. Come here you two," Garnet said.

All Garnet did was give Steven and Connie her signature future sight kiss to the forehead. It'd been a while, so Steven had a good shiver when seeing the future sights rush through his head, the number of possibilities going by him at Rainbow Dash speed. But amongst those future visions, Steven saw one in particular with precise detail, namely where they were going to end up on this train ride. And the exact kind of creatures they were gonna end up seeing.

It was enough to give Steven a headache actually, hand to forehead. And pretty much was the same kind of reaction from Connie.

"Aahh ... Garnet ..."

"I know it's rough for you, Steven. You and Connie can wait at the station if you don't want to come with the rest of us," Garnet proposed.

"No, no, I think I can handle it. It mostly just took me by surprise that's all. It's all fine, right Steven?" Connie said, trying not to let that get to her again. She had suffered enough of them with the birds before, she did not need more trouble with past sins again. Steven thought about it for a bit and took a breath. They were NOT the same person. Same species, but not the same person.

"Sure, I can take it if it'll help us. Thanks for the heads up Garnet," Steven said.

*SCREEEECH*
As if right on cue, waiting for them to be done with their conversation, the whole group felt the train screech to a grinding halt, a bit louder than usual thanks to the passengers abroad. Only a couple actually ended up tumbling over in their spots thanks to the abrupt stop, but nothing too serious overall to them or the train.

"We're here," Garnet simply answered.

"Great, G ..." said Spinel ... who was under a pile of her friends and a board game, her arm stretching and giving a thumbsup out of the pile. Not the best pile-up ever. Twilight helped them out of their little jam with some levitation magic as everyone else began to go to the exit to see where this surprise destination was. After being split up, Pinkie spat out one of the game pieces.

"So where'd we end up, chief?" Pinkie asked casually. Garnet was the first to go over to the door, leaning casually against it, but strangely she didn't say anything at first. Just smirking.

"Come on, Garnet, what's the big secret? Just tell us where this big destination is already," said Jasper.

"You only got to wait just five more seconds," said Garnet.

Funny enough, it was just two seconds before the conductor opened the door, and moreover, even if the conductor didn't help, their little tour guide coming up from outside was proof enough where they were. And who happened to be showing up from the train station?
Well appearance wise, it was someone none of them knew: he stood fairly taller now, his hooves sharper yet gently stepping into the train car without cutting. The horns were curved simple as ever, but looked smoother now with a dull tip. Around his neck he had a simple ring of foliage, kind of like a collar of clover. He even had a tuff of fur under his chin now, like any animal his new found age. Even with a different look, there was something ... familiar about him.

"Welcome to Ramicorn, everypony," the ram said.

"Well, hi," said Steven, "You gonna be showing us around?"

The ram was a bit surprised at first but chuckled anyway and replied "Well, someone's a good guesser. I heard we were going to get some new guests, so I decided to come by and give you -"
The ram stopped right away when he realized just who was apart of this tourist group. One in particular. Just one sight of her and the ram started to know who it was, and by extension, Jasper too.

"Jasper! Well, well, well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" the ram said.

"Eh, sorry. Do I know you?" Jasper questioned.

"You know me! Think back for a minute," the ram insisted. But while it was itching at the back of her head, Jasper didn't really know who he was talking about.

"K, look, I think you got the wrong Gem. I've never been here before," Jasper said. The ram paused, and suddenly he turned a little red-faced.

"Eehh ... hehe. Oops. Must've got the wrong Jasper," the ram said, rubbing the back of his horns, "Forgot there's more than one Jasper in the world."

"You know what Gems are?" asked Twilight. The ram nodded.

"Sorta. I came across one a few years ago before a nasty storm went through the country. Must've been another one," shrugged the ram. NOW the gears were starting to turn in Jasper's head. However, before the Gem could figure anything out, the group began to head off of the train.

"Alright, come on everyone, outta the train, we got lots to check out," the ram invited, first to hop out of the train as the main guide into town.

"Nasty storm ......."

~~~~~~

So there they were. With their new Ram guide leading the way, the Harmony Gems were off through the main town. It was a scenario they were a bit more used to by now: a new town with a new race in Equestria to follow them and see what they're up to as part of their own mission, but unlike before with the other races, this one was a bit more ... unnerving. At least thanks to involvement of another ram they were stuck with for so long.
The town itself didn't really look too advanced compared to some of the pony towns they were familiar with. In fact, much of the places was mostly farmland with stone walls along the road, which by the way were only there to keep the hill from falling into the road so they were more like detailed fencing than stone walling. They also, of course, saw other rams tending to the land as they so pleased, though many of them they noticed weren't even using farm tools for much of the work: Applejack would've used at least a hoe to turn the dirt but she saw a Ram use his own horns to do that, marching forward with his head near the ground as he went along.

"Well I'll be. Y'all farm this here land with just hoof grease alone?" AJ asked, impressed a bit. The ram nodded.

"Yeah we do. We got the horns, and we got the hooves, so why go with anything else? Besides, it turns up the soil better if you ask me," the ram explained, just as the other ram in question got his horns under some pesky roots and stones, just to toss em aside just like that. AJ usually had trouble with that, speaking from experience.

"Fine job you all got going here. I know hard work when I see it, and that's definitely it," Applejack said.

"Oh, it's not that much," said their humbled guide, "it's typical ram's work for us. Speaking of which, what brings you all here? Is this a business trip or just a tourist thing?"

"Eh yeah, it started off just for the job, but we kinda don't have all the details so it's a family vacation now," Amethyst answered.

"What kind of business are we talking about?" the ram asked, curious as he stopped and turned around, unwittingly chiming the bell on his neck in the sudden swing.

"It's okay, you don't have to -" Twilight tried to say, but one Gem was already talking.

"We're trying to find information on a evil Ram named Grogar," bluntly answered Star Quartz, quickly getting a few of the others to jump at her.

"Star!" snapped a few of the others.

"Sorry, he asked nicely," Star said shrugging. They weren't sure if the ram would be shocked they were looking for info on the guy, or confused they were finding this stuff out in the first place. But the Ram was actually more surprised they were so jumpy at Star than asking about Grogar.

"Gro ... gar ... Grogar, Grogar ..." the Ram needed a moment, hoof tapping the ground, "Hmm ... that's a familiar name, but I can't quite put my hoof on it. ... Are you guys talking about the Lion Ram?"

The what?

"I dunno. Are we?" Steven asked.

"Well, there's only one Grogar I know of, and well, he's definitely the Lion Ram," the Ram explained, confident in his answer despite everyone looking confused. They called Grogar a lot of things: the Demonic Ram, king of Tambalon, but "Lion Ram" wasn't one of them. Still, this information suddenly got Connie to realize something ...

Few know here that I'm actually a hybrid. And like you. I had to try and prove myself. … And here I am. Outcast to ruler. King of Tambalon.

"That's got to be him," Connie realized.

"What's that Connie?" asked Fluttershy.

"Grogar told me he was a hybrid, just like me and you! Who else would the Lion Ram be?" Connie concluded.

"WHOA WHOA wait a minute. You ... met him?" the Ram suddenly asked, his turn to look confused.

"Eh, long story," Pinkie Pie remarked, waving a hand at the thing. "Big war, briefly took over Homeworld, trauma, you know how it goes."

The Ram was silent and blank-faced. "....... Right."

"Do you mind telling us more about your "Lion Ram" Grogar? We're not too familiar with that term," Pearl inquired.

"Oh, I'm not an expert on him but if you'd follow me I can bring you to the library. It's got some things about him that can help you, if you want," the Ram offered, ready to walk on ahead.

"A Ramicorn Library? Perfect!" Twilight said.

Suddenly Spinel stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Pearl "I'm going with Pearl!"

...

"What? I've made up with everyone else for nearly destroying the planet. I wanna do everybody," Spinel explained. Pearl could only pat Spinel on the head. The ram chuckled a little from her reaction.

"Well anypony who wants to come, just follow the road and you'll find the library. I'll wait for you there. The rest of you, have fun checking out the neighborhood," the Ram decided. He can tell it was gonna be a little bit before they work all of this out. The Ram turned and was just about to go on his way when -

"Sonny boy!"

The Ram immediately stopped himself when he heard that noise. It was probably inevitable that they all would start mingling with some of the locals, and then and there the first one took form of a much older looking goat. It as a female goat, looking about the age of any old lady ready for retirement. Even if a girl, her horns looked almost longer than their guide's horns, curved way around almost completely around her head. Her fur was a bit rugged with a slight purple tint to it, some bit of dirt from being out in the fields. A bonnet was worn just around her neck, small enough to fit between her horns and just above her eyes.
The goat herself was just hauling in some wheat from the fields in her stroll. Their guide went right over to her, nudging her head a little

"Grandma, what're you doing out here? I promised i was going to bring in the wheat today," he said.

"I was just strolling by and saw you had some company. Didn't want all em wheat to go to waste, ha! Don't you think I can't haul em in myself," the old goat said. Then her old eyes looked over to the Gems standing off nearby.

"Pleased to meet you, mam," Garnet said.

"He he he he, o Cloven you got a lot working today don't ya?" chuckled the old goat. The Ram immediately flustered at his grandmother's jokes.

"Don't say that, you're giving the wrong idea!" he said frantically.

"Wait. Cloven? ..." Jasper must've said that a little too loud, because soon the older goat saw her right away, lifting up the bonnet to see her with a better view.

"Ooooo. Well it's about time you introduced me to that Jasper of yours, Cloven! She's a lot taller than you kept tellin me she was," she said. Cloven felt more embarrassed, ears folded back.

"Grandma, I thought that too, but she's not the same one," Cloven insisted. However, unlike Cloven, the old goat went a bit closer to Jasper, who herself was trying to better work her memory gears in her head.

"HA HA, you youngsters got a worse memory than I do!"

"What're you talking about?" Amethyst asked.

"Well I remember the day Cloven Hoof was runnin into town, hootin and hollerin about this giant orange Gem hanging out with him during a pesky storm. Nopony in town believed him of course, and he got grumpier than a warty ol' toad," the old goat explained. Cloven and Jasper's gears continued to turn and turn and suddenly ... Lightbulb.

"It really is you!" Jasper realized, "I-I can't believe it! You look so different from that runt of a goat back at the barn!"

Cloven, equally surprised ended up chuckling, "Yeah, you haven't changed a bit either. Literally."

The old goat laughed "THERE IT IS! If you didn't have your horns glued to your head, you'd lose em by the -"

"ANYWAY," Cloven butted in, embarrassed enough, "Let's talk about anything else before we keep falling down THAT hill okay?" He didn't volunteer to be a guide to the Gems just to get humiliated by his grandma.

"Pardon my grandson. He's trying to act mature, but you know how youngen's get when they don't want their pride tickled with," the old goat chuckled, amused and all that. Too bad Cloven wasn't as amused.

"Nothing wrong with that. Again, nice to meet you miss ..." Garnet said.

"Collie. Collie Flower Hoof. I ain't talkin the vegetable either," the goat said with a wink, just to laugh at her own joke. Steven, Pinkie, and Spinel actually felt themselves almost laugh at the joke, but Collie unfortunately wasn't going to get an audience today.

"Great joke, ms. Hoof but we do need to get to the library," reminded Pearl.

"Eehh no time for some humor? Collie Flower's got plenty of time when you all come by the ol' campfire. You gotta skedaddle go and skedaddle," Collie said.

"I don't think we'll be staying that long, but thanks. Come on guys, let's catch up," said Pearl, starting to go off after Cloven Hoof. Collie wasn't insulted by the news, but seemed to know that they probably will be sticking around THAT long. Maybe even longer.

"Hmm ... so at this campfire. Will there be marshmallows?" Spinel asked sternly.

"With the graham crackers and coco bars," Collie answered.

Spinel nodded, "Then we WILL be there."

So the group began to split. Some of them went on with Pearl over to the library, Spinel catching up in just a few bounces. However, before Collie could stroll off with the wagon behind her, one country pony was stopped with a tap to the shoulder by Cloven Hoof.

"Eh, hey ... I know you're all busy but, you think you can do me a little favor?" Cloven asked.

"A favor? What kind of favor?" Applejack asked.

"It's my grandmother, she's ... getting too old for the work."

"What's that you say, sonny?" butted in Collie Flower. Cloven was almost startled out of his own fur.

"N-Nothing, I said you're very uhh, BOLD to be working so much," Cloven said, correcting himself fast before she could catch what he meant.

"Worried about your grandma, huh? I know the feelin, believe me," AJ asked.

"I'm glad you do. I know she acts young, but she's still a senior. She can throw out her back pulling that wagon, or get her horns caught in a root or -"

"OW! Blasted sharp pointy rocks scattered in the road," Collie suddenly shouted, her hoof red after stepping on some bitter rocks. That alone was enough to drive the point home.

"Just make sure she doesn't over-do it, ok?"

"I think we got it, Cloven."

"Thanks. OH, and in case she asks, this conversation never happened," Cloven said with a wink. Clearly he wanted this secret from his relative, and Applejack just winked back at him. Cloven trotted off to catch up to the library team, as Collie had some company on the ride.

"If it isn't too much trouble, you mind if we stuck around with you today? We don't all need to go to the library, and we still have a few days so -" Applejack was cut short when Collie Flower ended up right by her side.

"Honey, you had me at "stuck around", now tag along little ponies and rocks! Work's not gonna work itself," Collie said, starting to go off on her stroll with wagon towed behind her. For those that remain there, they needed a moment before someone made their response.

"I like her," said Garnet with a smile.

~~~~~~

Team 1: Spinel, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pearl, Flint, Jade, Jasper (surprisingly), Star, and Peridot.

The Ramicorn Library itself wasn't that far away at all, and despite looking primitive elsewhere, the library itself looked actually pretty modern. The building was of two-stories, made up of stone and a hay rooftop, this library had its fare share of literature inside (much to Twilight's enjoyment as she checked out any and all the literature she can get her hooves on). It was a bit of a mixed bag: some were more focused on Grogar's information while some were just there to browse. Try and guess who was doing what ...

"I have to say, you got a good selection going for yourselves," said Twilight, holding one of the many books they had on hoof, "So much history written in these pages."

"Oh, think nothing of it your highness," Cloven Hoof replied as Twilight continued to fond over the books, "Long as it's helping you all out."

"Well it definitely is giving us more information about ram culture. I never knew Rams were so good at plowing fields," Jade said not too far away, holding a book that appeared to be about agriculture for the Rams ... only to put it back and go onto the next book.

"It's not an actual metal plow, but we work with what we have," Cloven said, pointing to his own horns. However, Cloven Hoof then felt a book get bounced off of his head, just to find Spinel rushing through book after book, only to find nothing.

"GAHH!" Spinel yelled, falling on her back as the books flew into the air, "How hard is it to find a stupid book?" Twilight levitated the books away from Spinel as she and Jade sat down on a nearby table with the books in hand.

"Spinel, you're not going to find anything just by randomly grabbing every book you see, just look at the section before you just rush into it," Pearl advised, picking Spinel up off of the floor.

"Define this ... Section," Spinel said.

"The one above your head," Pearl replied. Pearl pointed up, and sure enough Spinel found that she wasn't even in the history section of the library. Or anywhere educational. Especially since the picture just showed a carrot on it.

"Uuuhhh ... carrot ... Cloven! Translate!" Spinel decided, a bit loudly too. Cloven jolted, but he went over to them anyway and looked up at the sign.

"You got a clue what dis means?" Spinel asked, pointing to the sign.

"Oh, that's the culture section," Cloven answered.

"... You mean agriculture?" Pearl questioned quizzically.

"Uh, no, just culture. Agriculture's over there," Cloven said, pointing to another section of the library ... which had a set of horns for a sign. Pearl and Spinel felt a little confused.

"I thought that was battle or something," Spinel remarked. Cloven Hoof decided not to reply to her about that blunt sentence.

"So which one is for history?" Pearl asked. All Cloven did was point over to the next section a few isles away, which turned out to just be a book sign. Not even any particular book, just a picture of a book.

"... I'm so confused," Spinel grumbled.

"Let's just come on," sighed Pearl. Pearl and Spinel went off to the section, leaving Cloven to just stroll back over towards the entrance to the library. Even with so many people in the library after the same thing, it was honestly surprising that they were taking so long to even get somewhere. The only one not really looking though was Jasper, standing right by the door too and really having a bit on her mind.

"Aren't you going to help them, Jasper?" Cloven asked.

"I would, but reading's not my thing," Jasper replied. Cloven was confused to why she was here, but shrugged it off as he had something else to ask.

"So, how's it been? It's been a few years since we last met," Cloven said. Jasper looked to her old acquaintance, giving a casual stretch before resting more of her back on the wall.

"Where do I even begin? Fighting Corrupted Gems and monsters, saving the planet ehh ... three times? Four? Not to mention I'm the first Gem to actually get a Cutie Mark, so that's something cool for me," Jasper said, pointing to her Cutie Mark. Cloven was sure impressed seeing that on her.

"Well look at that. And here I thought only Ponies ever got those," Cloven said. "It's also nice for the information. The Jasper I knew a long time ago wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me."

That response got him Jasper's hand onto his head in a playful fluff.

"Hey, even someone like me can change."

"Ok, ok. ... So, umm, hope it's not too personal, but did you all really ... meet Grogar? Like, in real life?" Cloven asked again.

Jasper sighed, "Yeah we did. He appeared from nowhere and -"
Jasper stopped talking when she saw Cloven's face. The goat was staring right up at her, with starry eyes and ... barely-contained excitement. "... You okay?"

"You all MET the legendary Grogar?! What's he like? How many bells does he really have? Is he REALLY a cloven-hoofed Ram or a Lion with ram horns? Is he really as strong as the stories say he is -"

"HOLD ON!" Jasper bellowed, her voice rattling out the entire library. Cloven was humbled back to his senses.

"U-Uhh. Sorry. I like Grogar," Cloven admitted, red-faced. The ENTIRE group stopped.

"You LIKE him? How, he's a demonic Ram bent on taking over the world," Rainbow Dash said.

"How could I not? Grogar's the most determined, powerful, and brave Ram in all of Equus. There's no creature on the planet that's better than him," Cloven said, almost fanboying over the Ram by his star-eyed look again. None of them knew what he was talking about, imagining the demonic ruler of Tambalon compared to the majestic king in Cloven's head.

"Cloven? ... What the hay are you talking about?" Twilight almost bluntly asked.

"What do you mean "what am I talking about?" Grogar's fought every single monster in Ramicorn, traveled through all the countries of the world, AND knows more magic and spells than any other thing ever," Cloven revealed, though that could just be from his fanboying. Twilight felt almost triggered by what Cloven's saying, so much so that she HAD to say something.

"No he didn't! Starswirl the Bearded did," Twilight suddenly said. Cloven stopped immediately.

"Who?"

"He just so happens to be the most amazing Unicorn in all of Equestria," Twilight said, "He's master any and all spells known in all of Equus, vanquished any threats that he's ever faced, he even was the mentors to the future rulers of Equestria!"

"He can't have done all of that. Grogar did," Cloven said, confused about this Starswirl fella.

"How could HE have done any of that? Starswirl the Bearded has studied and has mastered everything from transfiguration, dimensional calibration, teleportation -"

"Wait ... wait, oh I know who you're talking about now," Cloven suddenly realized. At first Twilight felt like she got it through to him but -
"Grogar met a Unicorn like him before, and beat him with just a single ram of his horns!"

"WHAT?!" Twilight exclaimed, getting right into Cloven's face. "I know THAT'S not true! If he did encounter Grogar he would've beaten him easy!"

"That's not the story I was told," Cloven retorted. Before Twilight and Cloven could go any further, they found themselves a mediator standing in between them, pushing the two back.

"Twilight, Cloven, not now," said Pearl, "Why don't we just agree that every country has it's own form of ultimate hero, and move on before we say something we might regret. Good?"

...

"....... Eh, that's fare," Cloven decided.

"That's fine," added Twilight.

"THANK YOU," everyone else thought. One idea to save them hours of fan war. However, they got one more surprise in store.

"FOUND IT!"

Finally, they got themselves somewhere, as Spinel was holding up a book for them all to see. Cloven Hoof almost seemed to light up when he saw what Spinel had found and tossed onto a nearby table (pushing the other piles of books away) and slamming the thing down hard and wide open.

"Well done, Spinel, what'chu find?" Flint asked.
Spinel licked a finger before starting to go through the pages. The book itself, judging mostly by the pictures seemed to be mostly about ancient rulers of Ramicorn. The kings shown are plentiful at least, most if not all of them regal rams in knight and king attire. If the king of Tambalon was going to be anywhere, it was gonna be in this book. At least in theory.

"You found the hierarchy dictionary? How the hay, I've been trying to find that for weeks," questioned Cloven.

"Irrelevant, must find Grogar info," Spinel said, eyes glued to the book.

"You sure it's in this book, Spinel?" Jade asked.

"Uhh, it's literally called the "Hierarchy dictionary", and last we're informed, Grogar's a king. I fail to see where else it would be," Peridot said, thinking it was obvious. They all simply hoped so. They kept a clean eye on the book, but the more and more they kept going by king after king, the more they were seeing that Grogar ... wasn't there. At all. Some of them were pretty close, but none of them seemed to match Grogar's description by what they know.

"Huh? Wait, Grogar's not in any of these," Spinel realized, rushing through the pages again only to find nothing.

"But how's he not? He's the king of Tambalon, that's something that should be in there," Pearl said, taking the book and trying to find it herself. However, the results were more than clear.

"Well. We're just gonna need to keep looking," Pearl sighed.

"Hey, can I have that book?" Cloven asked. Pearl just gave the ram the book, and he happily trotted off to the checkout table.

"Ok, so it's not in that book. Don't worry, it's still a library, and there's a lot of books still in here, he's got to be here somewhere. Let's keep looking as much as we can," concluded Twilight.

"Absolutely Twilight. Just read the books that could have Grogar in it, and not how they grow their vegetables," remarked Rainbow Dash. Twilight flustered.

"Research," Twilight simply stated. Not the best answer ever.

However, there was one Gem that were still reading not too far away who not until now got their attention from not too far away. All that focus on one book left Star Quartz focusing on another one, sitting down comfortably on the floor reading the book in question by the time the others saw her. All she did to get their attention was a quiet whistle.

"Find anything Star?" asked Peridot, walking over to her.

"I don't know. But did Grogar meet any winged unicorns before?" Star asked.

~~~~~~

Team 2: Garnet, Steven, Connie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Emerald, and Fulgurite.

The open fields of Ramicorn were just as busy as ever, and with one team at the library, the rest were left handling more of the farms work alongside Collie Flower. Or rather, them trying to. Collie Flower got the main wagon to the destination and emptied by now, but while they were trying their best to lay off the workload for her she still was making her rounds around the fields to harvest.

"So you payin attention youngin? This is first-hoof tips here," Collie said at one point, stopping herself just to look to the others standing nearby the wagon.

"We're listening, we're listening," Steven said, trying to get the crops out of the ground, but not having much luck with it. Especially since it was wheat they were dealing with. Steven had no clue what he was doing, so he was actually just pulling out one wheat stalk after another, each one hard to even get without falling on his back.

"This is harder than I thought," Steven said. "How're you making this so easy?"

"Because you don't pull em outta the ground, Steven, you just chop em at the stem," said Applejack. Steven just sat there in shame as Collie Flower laughed and continued her work. As Collie Flower kept going, cutting the stems in a sideways swing of her horns, the old Ram bent down again, and suddenly her horns struck something good and hard.
And this rock was easily a good 300 pounder.

"OOF! what the - Oh, you rocks. Alright -" before Collie could get her horns into it, the others sprung into action and got in her way.

"Wait, we'll handle it for you," cut in Connie.

"I've moved plenty rocks, I got this," Collie insisted.

"I bet you can, but let us move this one rock for you, okay?" said Steven, rolling up his sleeves before looking right to the rock. Before Collie Flower could say anything else, Steven got his hands underneath the rock, and tried to get it lifted up. Now NORMALLY he can easily bench a ton or two, but now he was actually having some trouble lifting just this by himself.

"Do you need help, Steven?" asked Pinkie.

"No, I got it. I can lift things way heavier ... than ... this ..." Steven was hardly even moving it, let alone lifting it up. He tried and tried, and for the first few seconds it wasn't even working. That WAS, until after exactly seven seconds, when it suddenly became a lot easier to lift. Steven himself looked surprised, but very excited ... just to see Garnet lifting it for him.

"Thanks Garnet," Steven simply said. All Garnet did was nod and toss the boulder to the horizon, far out of sight, and only then did the others leave Collie Flower alone. All Collie did was get right back to work after that, ignoring the fact that boulder was chucked a mile away.

"How long does it take to go through this field again?" Fulgurite asked at a point.

"You hold onto your stones missy, cut one stem the wrong way you spoil the whole bale!" Collie Flower instructed. Fulgurite didn't know what sounded more interesting now; being here or being in books. But as she was looking over the fields -

"Don't even try it," Garnet quickly said.

"Huh? Try what?" Fulgurite questioned.

"You were gonna think about cutting the whole field by yourself just to get it over with. Not a very good idea," Garnet said.

"... No ... But thanks for the tip, G!"

"Fulgurite, I just said -" before Garnet could finish, Fulgurite stretched, readied herself, and soon she was off like a light. All of a sudden, they all were seeing a blur of yellow and tossed up wheat in the air as Fulgurite bolted every which way like a lawn mower on overdrive. All Garnet could do was mentally slap herself for saying that.

"Whoa, what the hay?" said Applejack, the group having to step back as Fulgurite skimmed through the wheat. Steven had to grab Collie Flower and pull her away before Fulgurite could run her over, making him stumble back into Fluttershy and Applejack. The cloud of grain moved up and down the field, dodging what rocks were in the way still, until Fulgurite skidded to a stop right in front of everyone, leaning against a now twenty foot tall pile of wheat, plucked, cut, and ready for whatever the heck they do next.

"Done and done. So, Collie Flower, what do ya think?" Fulgurite asked, expecting at least some admiration or even a thank you.

Just to get clocked in the head.

"YOU WHIP! You think it's just "cut em up and pile em up", huh?! now I gotta go through all them stalks and cut em up right!" Collie snapped, getting right in Fulgurite's face about it.

"How do you cut them wrong?" Fulgurite questioned, just to get bucked aside by Collie Flower before she could cause any more trouble.

"Look at this," she said, holding up several different wheat stalks. The cut stalks had different-sized cuts, some barely even noticeable to the yellow Gem. "Angled cuts every which way? I've seen Beavers cut down trees better than this sloppy mess. This ain't work you're gonna have to rush through, there's a wee something called "patience" that by the looks of it you better start tryin otherwise you're gonna zoom by your life faster than a roadrunner on fire. Get me?"

Fulgurite was ....... speechless.

"....... Yes, mam. Sorry, mam ..."

Fulgurite felt a hand rest on her shoulder, belonging to Garnet. She didn't say anything, but then again she didn't need to. Collie Flower said more than enough.

"Ok, I get what you're saying. Guys, wanna leave her alone now?" Fulgurite asked.

"Y'all can if you want to, I still promised to watch over Collie Flower for Cloven, and I'm gonna keep it," Applejack said, in spite of everything. And to prove her point, Collie Flower was then seen struggling to fix all the cuts that Fulgurite had made, simply because she was having trouble seeing them all while grumbling to herself.

"Fulgurite, you just got owned by an old goat. I am so sorry for you," Emerald said, almost sincerely. Fulgurite knew he was acting like a jerk ... and spoke a little too loud for Collie Flower. A smirk then got onto the goat's muzzle.

"Eeehhh, you know what? You wanna help ol' me with the farm job?"

"If you'll let us, it's okay if you don't," Steven said, "... But yes we wanna help."

"That case ... OI, Green goblin kid! Come over here!" Collie instructed. The mood swiftly changed to trigger as Emerald spun around to face the old goat. Collie Flower simply went back to the wagon and pulled out an extra something from the heap and chucked it right at him. All Emerald did was sit up and hold ... a broomstick.

"You're kidding."

"Kidding round's for kids and not-ticked-off old ladies. Now get that broom workin on your friend's foot work on the field and sweep away, sweeper-ston," Collie Flower instructed.

"What?! but Fulgurite made that mess, why're you giving it to me?" Emerald asked in disbelief.

"Don't over-think it," Collie replied, giving him a headstart by lightly tossing him out to the dirt to get started on Fulgurite's fast dash. All Emerald did was glare at Fulgurite before starting to get to work on sweeping up the footprints and stray piece of wheat. Collie Flower simply chuckled and snickered before turning to the rest.

"Now, you kids wanna help me do some selling of some wheat?"

"We'd love to," Garnet said.

~~~~~~

The day from there seemed to go by like clockwork, as both sides continued doing their own brand of work throughout the rest of the day. Celestia's sun was well down by the time they were all done with everything (for the day) and as Collie Flower had promised and possibly predicted them to do, she got them a good bonfire going out in the open grass fields nearby town. The fire was burning bright and hot for the cool night in Ramicorn, and the team had just enough space to settle down comfortably by said fire, some sitting by it, some standing and chilling out, some laying near it as if watching TV. Regardless they were all together. Best part of all: Collie Flower had smores to give, most of which were gobbled up thanks to Spinel and Amethyst. Much of them still got some marshmallows roasted though mainly for the moment more than food.

They did promise her smores, and they delivered.

"Mmmmmm, chewy! And so sweet," said Spinel with a mouth of marshmallow.

"Hmmm, it's adequate," added Pinkie after a taste test of her sweet tooth. Someone would continue that if they weren't slightly distracted by Emerald sitting there. All that sweeping all over the fields left him completely dirty, his hair no longer spiked and drooped down over his face.

"What happened to you, man? You look like you went through the jungle," Amethyst inquired. Emerald moved some of his hair out of his eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Emerald grumbled.

"Collie Flower got him sweeping the fields for ... why did you make him do that again?" Applejack asked. Collie smirked.

"Because he'd mock your yellow friend all day long if he didn't have somethin else to complain about," Collie said with a wink.

"To be fare, it worked," Fulgurite bluntly admitted. Emerald didn't even respond to that and kept his mouth clamped shut. Peridot didn't though and couldn't help but laugh at him for his mistake. That was, until Collie Flower glanced to her.

"Watch that mouth missy, or I'll ask you to clean up my dishes fer me," Collie Flower said. Peridot stopped talking right there. Collie Flower sure was on the ball with this group. Cloven could only sigh and smile with his grandmother's antics with them, even if it was just a day.

"Aside from that, everything went great. And look, we even made some good bits out of this job too," Steven said, showing the group what looked like a small bag by him, packed tight with coins and bits paid for the wheat. Opening it up, he showed a few of them easily a good fifty, seventy bits for their work today.

"Not bad for your first day as a Ramicorn farmer," Amethyst said, nudging Steven as he was getting his marshmallow in between some graham crackers.

"Eh, we didn't do that much," Steven said bashfully.

"And the Library? Did you find anything more about Grogar?" Garnet then asked.
At first the response was pretty quiet, the others glancing to one another. By the look on their faces, they could tell that they did find something with him, but they were being reluctant on sharing it with the rest, especially the ponies involved here. ESPECIALLY especially Twilight Sparkle herself, who was rubbing her hoof and glancing to the fire. It was an obvious sign.

"Well it took a while but we did find something from him. Just one thing ... in a children's book," admitted Flint.

"A ... children's book?" Connie wondered confusedly. Some gazes then turned over towards Star who, instead of having marshmallows and looking at the fire, she was reading through that same book she found in the library. Looking at the cover of the book, rather than dealing with anything involving a goat or ram, it involved that "winged unicorns" she mentioned to them earlier, circling around a Ram's head.

"Star's been reading that since we found it. It's the closest we've gotten all day," said Pearl.

"You sure that's it?" asked Steven.

"Oh, definitely. For someone who's constantly calling himself the king of Tambalon, he doesn't have that much to go on," Twilight pondered, which did strike as weird for everyone else. They knew he was real, that's for sure, but being a ruler from Ramicorn?

"Let me see the book, Star," said Garnet, sitting down next to her.

"Oh. Okay, here," Star answered, giving Garnet the book.

It only took her a minute to realize just what was inside that book for her to see, more specifically who was in the book. The page that Star was reading had a few simplified drawings in it, similar to those of some of Equestria's books. The picture specifically showed a young ram standing and ready to fight against some giant Cockatrice, using a blindfold over his eyes and some form of sword in his mouth. Garnet kept going through a few more pages with similar results.

"Grogar's got quite a record doesn't he?" Collie Flower cut in.

"Wait, THAT'S Grogar? He looks so cool though," pointed out Spinel. Collie Flower looked back to the fire, watching the flames flicker and dance in front of her.

"Eh, time can do weird things to people. Either that or can make people go stale, whichever," Collie said, "But hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Steven could already feel the chill around him from that statement, but said nothing as she continued.

"Yeah ... Grogar is by far the most defiant little Ram you've ever laid eyes on. He has the pride of a Lion and the stubbornness of a Goat, all rolled up into the most headstrong creature this Equus has ever been stuck with. It's got him from one battle after another, and whatever thing he wanted, he'll stick to it better than honey in a beehive."
As she was explaining, the others were seeing the other pages in the book, imagining what Collie Flower was saying as they were. Garnet flipped to the next page and the young ram was facing a Sea snake on a small boat, the next page showed the slightly older ram surrounded by northern Timberwolves, so on so on. Honestly Garnet didn't seem that surprised how much this ram was fighting, but none of them looked malicious. In fact, Grogar looked ... heroic almost.

"He never gave up," Collie Flower continued, "And anybody tryin to tell him otherwise might as well play staring contest with a wall."

"So I never had a chance to begin with," Steven told himself.

"Hmm?"

"U-Uhh, nothing. Continue," Steven said.

"Nah, nah, what'd you say boy?" Collie insisted. Steven clammed up. He was so used to just have this give him a free pass.

"... I-I said "I never had a chance to begin with". I ... tried reforming him," Steven repeated.

Collie laughed. "Well you're braver than most."

Steven just kept quiet as the old goat continued. Her expression started to frown slightly as she began recalling at few more things involving Grogar. Before she could speak, and just took the book from Garnet, and skimmed through a few pages before reaching the end of the book. This picture showed Grogar, now older, facing off against ... two Alicorns. And a Unicorn.

"That ram. Oof. One day he got old enough and got hoof-to-hoof with those Equestrian rulers over there. He vowed to get them from the very beginning, and he thought he can get em back -"

"From the beginning? When did he meet them?" Twilight cut in, shocked that Celestia, Luna, AND Starswirl the Bearded were even involved in this, let alone just Starswirl. Collie Flower thought a little bit more, her hoof to her chin, but Steven and Connie already had their answer.

"He wanted their help with Peshtihorn," concluded Connie.

"Eerr ... YEAH! How'd you know?" Collie Flower asked.

"We uhh ... figured it out," Connie answered.

"Oh. Anyway, he was REALLY angry with em, and gave em all the runaround at first, heh. But when you're fightin the sun, the moon, and the stars you're kinda in trouble at the start," Collie Flower explained.

Then she turned the page that explained everything: this page showed Starswirl, Celestia, and Luna all together using their magic against him, as Grogar himself was not only magically chained down and locked tight inside of a cage, but also sent off into the rocky crags of what looked like Tartarus.

"The three overpowered him," Collie explained, "And when they were done, they all got him and locked him away to those deep dark crags of Tartarus: someplace only the wickedest of things go. But just before they sealed him up, he shouted -" and she cleared her throat before shouting "- YOU COWARDS! I'll be free again, and when I do, YOU'LL ALL PAY! YOU HEAR ME?! ALL OF YOU!!"

Collie Flower only stopped to cough and wheeze for straining her throat, but the point was more than clear.

"I don't remember that part of the story," gulped Cloven quietly.

"I know. They won't write that for normal kid books," Collie Flower replied, giving the book back to them. Everyone around them was just taking this information all in.

...

Twilight got up.

"This is all Revenge. Grogar lost everything one day, he was sent to Celestia and Luna to get help, but for some reason they won't help him. So all of his fighting was to get back at them, but then they locked him in Tartarus for it! Guys ... I think he's in the right to be mad at the world."

"Oh don't say that," groaned Amethyst.

"Sorry Amethyst. ... Oh, and Sorry Lapis. Connie, Steven. you know, for doubting you two in the first place when you brought Grogar in," Twilight said.

"No, it's cool, we get it. At least we can say we've tried, right Steven?" Lapis said.

Steven was ....... quiet.

"Yeah. Right."

Author's Note

WHHHYYYY did this take so long?! I'm sorry :fluttercry: Sweet luna, I don't know how these things keep happening, and THIS close too. We're almost at the end folks, but for now enjoy some of Ramicorn.

I Have Spoken!

The days had come and gone. Oddly quiet for the longest time for the people around Beach City or around Ponyville come to think of it. The Harmony Gems were close to coming back, but one would expect Grogar's Army to take advantage and come in. But the Ram himself had a bit more on his mind than just mindless violence.
Off out in the outskirts of his current base, Grogar was still fuming. It was bad enough that his last army attempt was thrashed by the Harmony Gems, but he also had no horns to help him, AND an entire platoon no longer functioning. This only left Budgerite, Trotter, Bray, Stubby, and Tempest Shadow to handle much of the army for him, with only one Captain of his army left that will actually follow through with him. Pacing back and forth on the cold ground and snow though, that hardly made Grogar feel any better. As for the four in question, all they could do was watch him go back and forth, quiet and not wanting to actually say anything to him. Who even knew what to say to him anyway that wouldn't make them get crushed or crumble?
Without saying a word, Budgerite nudged the only pony brave enough to talk to him, and tried gesturing her to say something to him. No way was the bird hybrid gonna squawk to him, not in the state he was in.

"Fine," Tempest sighed. And throwing caution to the wind, she began walking over to him. However, before Tempest could say anything, Grogar stopped all together and spun around to face her, making the Unicorn stop.

"Got something to say?" Grogar questioned in a low growl. Tempest gathered her composure with a clear of her throat.

"Sir, you've been pacing for days now. We know what's bothering you, but we ... we need to take action at some point, if you do want to take over," Tempest advised. Grogar looked to the ground, his teeth barred.

"Well how would you feel when your enemy is so unpredictable? He tries killing me to reforming me on a tip of a hat, and is driving me nuts! HOW can I manipulate the kid if I can't read him?" Grogar questioned, going back to pacing again.

"It's not like you made it easy for him," muttered Budgerite, not able to help it. THAT made Grogar stop and glare down at the hybrid, making her regret her life choices.

"HE'S just stubborn that's all! He just can't accept the fact that he can't break me, but he's trying every single trick in the book to stop me. ... Just like I was."
That last part was just muttered by him, but they all heard him all the same. Grogar sat down and got to thinking now, thinking over what kind of materials he had left to use.

"He and I are the same and HE'S got the entire world on his side yet I don't. What does he have that I don't have?!" Grogar wondered in anger. None of them said a word to answer THAT question, but they knew they had to calm him down SOMEWHAT. Still, before any of them could say anything, they then started to hear a small sound just underneath their feet.

"Budgerite, you're getting taller!" gasped Bray.

"Huh? WHA!" Budgerite jumped off when she saw a growing molehill start to come up from underneath her. The others stood back away from the growing molehill as Grogar stopped altogether to see what was up. Soon, the last main elite of this group popped out of the ground, shaking off the snow and shivering a little on breaking the surface.

"Sumu, you're back. ... Well? ..." Grogar asked. Sumu needed a minute, shivering from the cold. Sumu needed a moment or two to get the chill off of her, shaking off any snow stuck to her leaves. After that she gave a salute to the Ram.

"I spied on the Harmony Gems l-like you asked. T-They're coming back today. S-Something about princesses and ... you being in Tartarus?" Sumu said. Grogar could feel his hooves grind against the hard rock, but part of him knew they would piece it together eventually.

"What a bunch of bull. At this rate they're gonna learn when I brush my teeth! I gotta stay ahead of them, but how? ..." Grogar was back to pacing again, the others not sure how to answer that question. Budgerite and Bray at down and tried to think of what to do, but slowly their eyes started to drift down towards Sumu again, especially with what she said next after some thinking ...

"Why don't you ask the gods for help?"

"... Say that again?"

"Uhh ... Why don't you ask the gods for help?" Sumu repeated. Grogar turned around to face his plant spy.

"What gods? The alicorns?" Grogar scoffed.

"No, the gods. They mentioned something about that too on their way. Something about getting daddy's powers back, how they took that, or ... something. It's really confusing," Sumu said.

"....... Uhh ... sir? You're staring," Bray said, and indeed Grogar was. That info might've flown over her head, but that didn't mean it wasn't anything valuable. Grogar's blank stare off into space slowly began to turn into a sinister grin.

"O-Oh no, he's got that smile again," gulped Budgerite.

They knew that smile in particular could only mean Grogar was about to do something crazy. ...

"That's it. My ultimate opportunity. ... Trotter, Stubby on guard! Sumu, coordinates! Rest of you with me. If this works ... nothing can stand in my way. Not even the Harmony Gems."

.......

"NO NO NO NO NO! You've all done your decent amount of chaos, but I'M supposed to be the insane one NOT YOU!" pleaded Discord.

Speaking of gems, the Harmony Gems were almost ready. Getting back with all of the information they could need for the final push, they were all gathered over at the barn for a few final checks just before taking off. The whole trip to Ramicorn had left them with at least a full pile of papers and documents written by Twilight Sparkle and Jade to make sure it was at it's best for the final trial.

"Discord, we promise everything will be just ... fine," Fluttershy promised, though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little nervous, "We got it all planned out."

"But a final trial against the Gods, Fluttershy! You all were lucky to escape last time, speaking as the spirit of Chaos I can assure you that they will NOT let you go after three strikes," Discord explained. He'd get into a baseball suit for the pun but all he could do was grab a plank of wood and use it as a bat.

"Can't we at least stay here," White asked, "they're so ... merciless. If you challenge them one more time who knows what could possibly happen?"

"No," Garnet firmly said, "If we are going for a final trial against them, we need you two there to receive your powers back. Besides, someone needs to make sure our Portal Keys know where they're teleporting us. We got the documents for our case, we got the evidence we need, and we got the best lawyer on our side."

"What? Who? Which Zircon's stupid enough to do this?!" White asked in shock. Zircons were made to be lawyers sure, but there're limits to every Gem. THAT answer came when Flint stepped forward, readjusting his lawyer's outfit.

"A Zircon who's a Harmony Gem, possibly," said Flint, "Trust me, this is my area of expertise. If all goes we'll, you both can have your powers back by the end of the day."

"Now, Flint, I know you have a reputation to be stubborn as bricks, but YOU can recognize the danger right? THEY'VE drained my powers and Discord's," White said.

"I've hardly listened to you before White, what makes you think I'd do so now?"

"....... Good point," White gulped. Flint nodded and turned over towards the rest of them. He and Garnet started heading over towards the others, but they weren't the only one getting things ready. Near the barn the Off-Colors were present as well, including Lars and Sadie for the moment.

"Off-Colors, you all stay here. We're gonna be gone for a while so you need to watch over things while we're away," Garnet instructed.

"You can count on us," said Lars confidently, the other Off-Colors agreeing to terms. Good to see that someone was watching over things while they're away. With that reassurance, Garnet and Flint went over to the others.

"So, did you get anyone to guard over Little Homeworld? The Off-Colors can't guard there and Beach City at the same time," Flint inquired. Garnet smirked.

"I've got Hessonite to do that for us."

"Wait, Hessonite? But she doesn't like us," Flint said, surprised by the answer. Garnet simply smirked and adjusted her shades, a telltale sign that she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Let's just say we had a little chat," Garnet simply said. Flint couldn't ask for any more than that he can tell.

"K, that's everything," announced Connie.

"Thanks Connie. Now remember, we might have guards set up for Beach City, Ponyville, and Little Homeworld but you still have to be prepared just in case something goes wrong," Pearl said. Connie saluted her, sword in hand.

"Yes mam. I've been training all week while we were gone, so if anyone comes, I'll be ready. I set up my personal guard in town and practice emergency procedures with Nanefua," Connie explained confidently. Pearl felt so proud of her for hearing all of that, a big smile on her face. With that reassurance all done, Garnet pulled out her key.

"Everyone ready?" asked Garnet.

"We're all set," said Twilight.

"Great. Discord, if you would do the honors," Garnet said, giving the Draconequus her key. Discord was still reluctant about the whole thing, but he knew very well it was impossible to get the group to change their mind now, especially this close. All he could do was take a deep breath and just toss the key into the Barn wall, its magic quickly creating a large door for them all to go right through.

"Last chance to change your mind?" Discord asked meekly.

"Discord, this has gone on far enough. Lets get your powers back," Steven said. Before he could actually go in there, Garnet grabbed him by the shoulder to hold him back. There was a very vague chance that what'll happen next might happen but this was Discord they were dealing with, magic or no magic so ...

"Spinel. Stretch your eyes and look through there for us," Garnet instructed.

"Umm ... ok?" Spinel said. She got her hand around one of her eyes, and while one eye stayed shut, the other one stretched out and right through the portal like a good ol telescope. Ignoring some of the cringe from the Off-Colors , Spinel extended her eye into the portal a bit and got a good look around.

"Does this god world have giant lollypops in it?" Spinel asked.

Lollypops? Spinel retracted her eye back like a tape measurer, rubbing it a little thanks to the strain. Everyone looked over to the Draconequus.

"Well it's not MY FAULT the portal leads to a Candy kingdom. Guess you'll have to stay," Discord decided.

No one was amused. Not a word, but Discord already got what they meant.

"... ALRIGHT I'll fix it," Discord grumbled.

Discord walked over to the door and pulled the key right out of the wall, slamming the door shut of any chance of getting to that kingdom. Wherever the heck that was. He took a moment to clean it off of some wood and splinters, blowing on it wand whipping it clean before he gave it another try. This time he focused on the actual location. The portal opened up good and wide again, Discord staying away and by the rest this time without anymore mishaps. He was not so thrilled about it either way.

"Thank you," Garnet said.

"You absolutely sure you don't want to stay?" Discord asked one final time, looking up to Garnet from his slouched posture right behind her. Garnet's answer? ...

"Let's go everyone," Garnet announced.

So that's a no.

~~~~~~

Discord and White Diamond were just left for the ride as the Harmony Gems made it through the Portal Key's path to their destination. The portal itself lead them all out from their world and right into the cloud realm of the gods, and in a more distant spot other than right at the center of the realm so at least then they won't be bombarded straight away without getting their barring together. With no prior plan for the god realm, the count on spirits and messenger cranes were far more evident than usual, though none of them noticed the group of mortals yet.

"Okay, we're here now, but look at that. Don't see anybody special around, so why don't you all just go back -"

"Discord, we're not turning back now. You want your powers back, don't you?" Steven asked.

"Of course I do are you kidding me?!" Discord immediately responded, getting right in Steven's face. "I haven't pull a decent card trick in months."

"Then why don't you want us to do this? There isn't really any other way we can do this unless you want us to steal your powers back," Diopside noted. White suddenly freaked out.

"Refrain from your rebelling PLEASE, For the love of stars!" White shrieked.

"That's what I thought. Just let us talk to her, work one more trial and everything will be fine ... as soon as we find her."

But where though? All the group could see while looking was a few cranes and numerous other spirits amongst the world of clouds, but nothing that really matched the description of their Spirit that got them in this problem in the first place. All the flyers of the group took off above the others to get a better view of the place, but they weren't having much luck either no matter how high they flew up. Rainbow Dash especially took some extra miles into the sky, but no matter how high she flew there wasn't that many major spirits she can make out from up there.

"See anything?" called Rarity.

"That's a negative, see no one important up here," Rainbow called down.

"How can we miss her?" wondered Jade. Discord could feel his heart stop.

"Wait. Her. ... SERIOUSLY, you're just asking to get into trouble," Discord said. Bad enough they were here in the first place AGAIN, but going straight to her on the spot was just ... well, he already said it.

"She's the one that started this in the first place, so we're gonna finish it with her," Bismuth said. For some reason that didn't reassure Discord of anything, even if he expected no different from this group. Discord would try to defy or say SOMETHING to them, but that wasn't gonna make em turn back or stop anyway so all he did was grab his tail and nibble on it like someone would to their fingernails.

"There there, Discord," Fluttershy said after landing, a hoof on his shoulders. No that didn't help him out, and it only seemed to get even worse when, while everyone else was looking, a shadow began to loom over them.

"Looking for someone?"

The Spirit of the World Yet to Come. Almost as if appearing from the very air behind them, the same equine-like shape began to manifest right then and there, in her same dark cloak and all. Standing and towering over them, was just the spirit they were hoping to run into (well most of them). What flyers remained quickly bolted back down to the others as the Spirit herself only hovered above the ground to move in closer to them, the group already feeling the ice cold from the wind tossed up from the spirit's wings, even more so when she landed down in front of them, kicking up wind and a bit of clouds their way.

Here it goes. ...

"What do you think you're doing back here?" the Spirit demanded, wings spread and glare keeping them all still. Steven took a breath and decided to speak first, walking to her alongside Twilight.

"We'd like to talk to you about them," Steven said, pointing to White Diamond and Discord. The Spirit's glance just made them keep their distance, both knowing how dangerous she was, but all they got was a look before the Spirit shook her head.

"You're all truly doing this act again? Your last two attempts weren't too impressive," the Spirit said in disapproval and even disappointment.

"W-Well we want a third attempt. One more try to make a good case for them," Steven said.

The Spirit raised her head up and turned nose away from them. "Out of the question! It's troubling enough that you rebels constantly return here from the start, I'd be more than hardened if I allow yet ANOTHER trial to occur! Anyway, what would make this third trial any different from the other two?"

"We were hoping you'd say that. Because we got everything right here," Twilight revealed, levitating all of the documents she and the others had gathered over the week. The Spirit looked quizzically at the object she had, which was less of documents and more like a small book. Twilight even added a title to it and everything.

'History of a fallen hero' written by Twilight Sparkle

"What is this?" the Spirit questioned, levitating the object out of Twilight's forcefield as she started examining it over.

"Grogar's documents. It catalogues all of the information behind him, with pre-existing details AND current whereabouts. We all worked hard to make it happen, as you can probably tell," Twilight said confidently.

"What does THIS have to do with them?" the Spirit questioned, her hoof pointing to the Draconequus and Diamond yet again.

"Because that evil Ram is gonna wreck EVERYTHING under his huge hoof. I mean HUUUGE!" said Pinkie, waving her own Hooves in a circle to show the size of Grogar's hoof to her.

"We gotta get everybody at full strength if we're gonna try anything to stop em," added Applejack, "Grogar's already lost those horns of his but he's got an army bigger than a country behind him already, and he ain't gearing to give up."

"Before you just tell us to stop him, BELIEVE us, we've tried fighting him off but he's always a step ahead of us: he's toppled the diamond Authority single-handedly - er hoofedly. Well you get the idea," concluded Lapis Lazuli.

"Please, Spirit? One more time, give us one more chance to make a good case for them, then I promise, for as long as I live, we'll never bother you ever again," promised Steven.

The Spirit paused and looked over everyone around her. They all seemed to share the same amount of determination as those speaking to her, so simply demanding them to leave didn't seem like an option to her. She levitated the documents closer to her, opening it and reading over exactly what they had to say. There were fingers crossed, and everyone hanging off what word the Spirit had to say.

Her response?

.......

*rip* *rip* *rip*

She did NOT just do that. Releasing her magic, the spirit dropped what remained of the documents right down onto the floor at their feet. Whatever chance they got to prove Grogar's existence to the Spirit Council was now blown away along the wind.

"NNOO! The documents!" exclaimed Twilight, trying to fly and get them, only for the Spirit to add even more burning by shooting a weak spell into the sky, burning what remained. Their only leg to stand on and it was burned to dust, disappearing into the clouds of the god's realm.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" snapped Fulgurite in rage. The Spirit, cold as ice, remained undeterred by any of their expressions towards her.

"Grogar does not exist, he never existed, and as far as I'm concerned, he was never apart of your timeline. Discord and White Diamond will never regain their power, and that is and will be forever final," The Spirit bellowed, her wings spread as an icy wind rushed along by them all. The Spirit, feeling satisfied with the results of everything, turned and started to make her leave when she then felt something stomp down onto her robe.

"This isn't how justice works, Spirit. You all never gave Discord or White a proper trial, and you drove the entire thing," Garnet questioned. The Spirit slowly turned back to the defiant fusion.

"Excuse me? I only did what the law dictates, this is NOT personal gain. You're all just the ones who refuse to accept -"

"You hate his guts, don't you?" Garnet cut in. The Spirit nearly slapped Garnet off with her wings, but the fusion simply leaned back to dodge the swing. "You just love to see him messing up and make a fool of himself, to the point when even he doesn't want himself around."

"And just what are you trying to say?" the Spirit questioned.

"Make this a fair trial. Let both sides of the story be told, and let everyone reach their own decisions. Is that so hard to ask you to do?" Steven instructed. The Spirit looked down to both the hybrid and the fusion herself for a brief time before she went and simply pulled the robe out from under Garnet's feet ... just to find her tail under her foot still. Garnet was NOT letting her walk away without an answer.

"FINE. Since you are pathetically willing to risk your lives for this," the Spirit said.

"You dip," Fulgurite said. The Spirit just ignored her.

"In fact," the Spirit continued, "Why don't you and I make a wager. The trial will happen, as you've humbly requested, though without your evidence, the odds are against you."

"They're always stacked against us, when have they not? What're the steaks?" asked Bismuth.

"If you all win the trial, then I'll give the order myself to return White Diamond and Discord's magic to their full capacity along with their size so they don't look so ... minuscule."

"Oooooo, she even makes fancy words sound deadly," shivered Discord, backing up behind Fluttershy like a chicken. The Spirit continued.

"But when I win the trial, then all of your powers are surrendered to the council, AND you all will be put under arrest for insubordination of the gods," the Spirit added, more confident that she was gonna win.

"Under arrest?" Fluttershy gulped.

"What kind of deal's that, that's too one-sided! Little Homeworld, Equestria, we have to keep them safe from Grogar's Army, if we're locked up here, there's no one to help them," Twilight retorted. The Spirit was unmoved by Twilight's words, and simply waited to hear if they were up for the challenge or not. Garnet thought a little bit on it, but then ... smiled.

"And when we win. You will give us an apology. Right. In front. Of everyone."

"GAH! ... T-That's just ... that's so cruel."

"You better say "sike" in the next five seconds before I scream," Spinel said, not believing her ears as with most of the others. They met some proud people, but THIS is what the Spirit called cruel?! APOLOGIZING? As for the Spirit, she was now taking them more seriously as she stared daggers down at them.

"I'll take that wager, only because I know that's never going to happen! Mark my words, mortals, you all will regret the very second you discovered our existence. I promise you that," the Spirit warned, ready to take off and fly away. She only needed one look to Garnet though before the fusion stepped off of her tail, letting the Spirit fly away back towards the Council building.

"I do not like her," Peridot managed to say through her gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, I'm with ya on that one," Bismuth said.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" screamed Spinel. Lucky for them, her screaming was muffled thanks to a well-prepared bubble formed around her head by Lapis Lazuli. Spinel looked so ready to tear someone a new one, teeth sharpened into triangles and just screaming her head off like a banshee ... until she wore herself out and collapsed to her feet.

"Thanks," Spinel simply said.

"Anytime," Lapis replied.

"Y-You sure you know what you're doing Garnet? Not that I'm saying you don't but some - not me - think this is ... a bit extreme?" White Diamond muttered.

"They took your power away, AND they hurt Quetzalcoatl for basically no reason. It's time someone kicked their butts," said Garnet, cracking her knuckles. Discord freaked out a bit, jumping at her and practically begging at this point.

"Guys, girls, let's not be too hasty here pretty please. Just listen to them, I pinkie promise I'll take care of everything. You believe me don't you?" Discord asked.

"Nope. Because you won't," Garnet simply replied. Discord slumped in his spot - which was all he could do.

"If even half of what Quetzalcoatl said was true, then there's no point in trying to play by their rules. Homegirl's gonna have to make our own rules," Amethyst said.

"Yeah! God or no god, let's show em what happens when you mess with the Harmony Gems," agreed Bismuth.

"Can you at least wait until AFTER the final trial before you rebel? I know it's your thing, but you can hold it off until then can you?" White Diamond asked once more.

"....... We'll see what happens."
All the team needed to do to make their decision was look down to the destroyed piece of evidence they had, and the only evidence they had left to support any of their claims before the trial could even get started. It was painfully obvious what they're gonna do, and the decision was unanimous. Time to consort with the gods.

~~~~~~

The trial was right on schedule. With the gods beginning to gather around the court room again, filling up the room as it had been the last two times now. It was a bit exciting for the spirits who did attend because not only was this the most court sessions they've had in forever, but it was mortals who arranged this final trial completely. Who wouldn't want to miss it? Discord and White Diamond though weren't given any chances, kept in chains of magic over by the judge's stand to keep both of them from just bolting off or something. It was like a pair of guard dogs sitting by the king (not that they'd be any good at anything right now). As for the rest, they were all given their own spot in the court room since there was so many of them this time, and truth be told some were in awe at the sheer size of the court room.

"Ok so you know the game plan. No one speaks unless they're absolutely sure about their facts, okay? We can't afford to make any mistakes ... especially without our data," Flint reminded.

"We know man, you've said that ten times already," Amethyst said, "But for real ... how big of a chance do you think we got?"

"Realistically ... not very much. But what else is new?"

"Yeah random sidenote: ... Jade. Diopside. Star. Is that YOU up there?" asked a dumbfounded Rarity. The court room since their last visit had actually been given a few murals along its walls. The one that Rarity was pointing out had Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz on it, holding a particular sword in hand. They each had their own reaction to it, though it mostly was "humbled".

"... Eeehhh ... wow. Yeah, that is us," Diopside said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Your Great Honor must really like us for what we done for him," Star figured. Peridot stuck close to Star after hearing that, but decided just to keep quiet. Odds are they'll figure it out later anyway. Pretty impressive still for the three to earn a god's mural in the council's court room.

"Anyway, let's do our best today. And if we can't make this work ... no one can say we never tried," concluded Twilight.

"Look!" Pinkie said.

Then the ground started to shake. The entire court room turned silent with the noise slowly starting to grow stronger and stronger, until the front of the court room began to break open from the ground up. The room filled up quickly, the sheer size of it now being filled in by the judge himself, Your Great Honor. His colossal feet found their footing on the floor in front of him, each step feeling like a mini earthquake. All attention was brought over to him. Before saying anything though, he stretched his neck out good and long, giving it a few stretches and getting some kinks out before seeing what the situation even was.

"Hello!" called Star Quartz with a wave. The others quickly tried getting her to be quiet, remembering how angry and aggressive he was last time he saw them all.

"Star what did we just say?" Peridot frantically said. Before anyone can reply a low exhale echoed throughout the room, sounding almost like a wheezing engine as the others looked back towards Your Great Honor again, who by now was staring down at all of them.

"THE COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!" Your Great Honor bellowed, his voice as earth-shaking as ever, "DO ALL PARTIES AGREE TO HOLD TRUE IN FRONT OF THE JUDGE?!"

Everyone in the room agreed with him fairly quickly, though Your Great Honor can see the tension between the Harmony Gems and the Spirit. Still, procedures were procedures.

"WILL THE PROSECUTION PLEASE RISE AND MAKE YOUR STATEMENT?" Your Great Honor requested. The Spirit moved out to position, though not before giving a sideways glance to the Harmony Gems first.

"As you're all are possibly aware of. Again. The condemned are once again in request of returning powers to the Draconequus and the Diamond. Despite the previous evidence from the prosecution, they've requested one final chance in explanation," the Spirit explained to the crowd. Your Great Honor looked over to the Harmony Gems again, looking more bitter if anything. He could still remember what he said about not bringing this subject up again, yet here they were ... doing it again. Wonderful.

"WHICH OF YOU ARE TO REPRESENT THE DEFENDENT?"

"That would be me, sir," Flint said. The giant tortoise moved his head in a gesture to allow him up to speak. Flint looked back to his friends one more time, them giving him their silent support (Garnet especially with a wink) before he took his steps towards the judge, right next to the Spirit. Your Great Honor spoke again.

"YOUR STILL CLAIMING TO DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND'S POWERS TO RETURN. STATE YOUR REASONINGS TO THE COURT!"

Flint's calm nature was tested in front of this giant, but he kept his composure. "I would naturally, but I also know that there was a previous one that only three of us were involved in. I'd hate to re-make statements as true as they could be, so a refresher would be nice."

Your Great Honor paused and slowly turned to the Spirit. Again, another quiet gesture got the Spirit to remake her points. As for the Spirit, finding it humorous that they let HER start things off, she took a look down to Flint (more obvious this time) before speaking.

"To summarize," said the Spirit, "The previous points were regarding both survival of Discord and authority of White Diamond. Both of which are invalid: Discord is perfectly fine even without his magic and Gem kind's been thriving better as well without White Diamond's involvement. Furthermore they have a history of tyranny, are unpredictable and leaving those two with powers that can destroy reality is far too risky to allow roaming as free as they were."

"She's gone over the biggest points already!" Flint thought in surprise. The best points to give and they already swept them aside. A few bits of small talk shared among the crowds around them all, as Flint thought about what the Spirit said. Diopside was a little peeved that she didn't put the exact details but they can only ask so much. But if anyone was the one to defy even them it would be Flint, and that's exactly what happened next after some re-thinking.

"Your Great Honor, jury," Flint said, keeping himself together, "the punishment of removing their magic purely off of past mistakes is circumstantial at best. You can't judge someone purely based off of their past."

"So you are to say we should ignore their crimes? Even such crimes that could've ended in the elimination of your reality and space and time as we to know it?" The Spirit almost immediately fired back. Flint clammed up, but tried keeping together, but the Spirit continued. The Spirit started to use some of her own magic now, and with a simple summoning from her horn she brought forward a screen to better elaborate what she was going to conclude. It was like a TV screen, only unable to be touched by anyone except for the Spirit. They looked intently at the screen the Spirit was showing, and while they couldn't tell at first, a picture slowly began to show up.

"Your Great Honor, Discord and White Diamond needn't I remind you all, had caused chaos and strife throughout their existence with the powers that their worlds had placed on them: Discord has the power to bend reality to his will, and all he's done with it is make Tartarus look normal!"
And to show what she meant the screen showed what Ponyville was like during Discord's villain days: Cotton Candy clouds, Rabbits with giraffe legs galloping across patchwork hillside, Bison dancing like ballerinas, pies flying in the sky being chased by flying pigs, and practically anything else! Discord blushed on seeing his more troubled times, but he wasn't gonna lie and say it didn't look fun. But then the screen started changing again ...

"White Diamond is given the powers of creation and what has she done with it?"

A figure. A humanoid figure trapped inside what looked to be a cylinder of sorts, filled up with a green liquid, and attached and kept together by robotic wires, mostly around the head, and suspended off of the floor. THIS made Flint freeze up on the spot.

"Playing a fake god, that's what!" the Spirit continued, "No beings of any world are supposed to have the power to deny life, but White diamond has used her abilities to play with it like it was some toy. Not dissimilar to how Discord used to bend reality like it's his toy. Such defiance will NOT be overlooked, and why such powers had to be removed. I rest my case."

"DOES THE DEFENDENT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?" Your Great Honor asked.

...

"OBJECTION! She's traumatizing the Defendant!" Jade managed to say. With help from Bismuth, she got up onto her and now stood up where the others can see her. The Spirit immediately took offense to this.

"I never! I'm showing evidence to my argument!" retorted the prosecutor, "I would never show evidence that would alter the decisions of the Defendant!"

"Yeah, I don't believe a word of her," quietly commented Fulgurite, Spinel and Rainbow agreeing and possibly everyone else. Jade looked to Flint, who had his eyes fixated on the screen at what the Spirit showed everyone, a cold sweat coming down from him as if just seeing one of Grogar's torture methods in front of him. Jade knew, and she had to fix this now.

"Then we want a 5-minute recess! Please," Jade said, looking right to him.

"The judge hasn't called any of you outside of the -"

"ORDER!!!" Your Great Honor roared, his voice so forceful it almost knocked the Spirit off of her own feet, and making everyone tremble almost. For good measure Your Great Honor even stomped the ground, threatening to collapse the whole room with the floor. There was a good side to this, as it snapped Flint back to reality, but still made him collapse onto the ground.

"I WILL ALLOW THE RECESS. PROSECUTION, PUT THAT THING AWAY! WE ALL GET YOUR POINT," Your Great Honor demanded. The Spirit got the image put away and out of sight with a simple blast of magic, but Flint was still left more than trembling. Jade and Diopside turned pale.

"Oh no, Flint wait, think about what you're doing!" Diopside shouted. She and Jade got to him just in time before he could shoot the Spirit's head off. His pistol was out but Jade grabbed his hand to try and make him stop as Diopside held Flint back. Flint was FURIOUS with her, and tried fighting his closest friends to do something to her but luckily for the Gems, Twilight got a magic aura around all three of them that kept things from getting even worse. But they all then saw something on the Spirit that made Flint even more angry but forced to stop.

A smirk on her face.

Twilight dragged all three of them back to the group, who at this point was nearby the door.

"Everything okay, Flint? What happened over there? ... did you know that figure?" asked Steven.

"... That. Was me. ..."

~~~~~~

They didn't have that much else to go to, so the Harmony Gems simply stuck around over by the entrance hall to the main court room, but all of them did have a bit of a negative vibe thanks to what just happened. It was bad enough they were having to do this at all. Flint meanwhile was sitting down, almost curled up with his head between his legs as the others tried to lend their support (Spinel hugging him in her arms, Jade and Diopside keeping him company, Lapis trying to sooth his nerves with her water, etc.) Those all helped but that didn't make him feel happier.

"There, there buddy. Think happy thoughts," Spinel encouraged, stroking his head. But flint couldn't think of anything beyond what happened.

"How in the stars did she get that? T-That's when I was made in the space station, NOBODY could've seen that except for White!" Flint said in a paranoid tone, "Did she watch us for THAT long? D-did she look at White's memories or something?"

"Either that or Sumu talked to her too," Jasper said.

"Hold on now, Sumu's a plant right? No plant I've ever known's grown up this far," Applejack pointed out.

Star shook her head, "Sumu didn't say anything about Flint, I don't think. Or the Space Station either. I think she only mentioned the Spirit one or two times, and that's when everyone ran away from eachother."

"Then she has watched us that long," Flint concluded gravely.

"Well why'd she show it?" Star asked.

"I'll tell you: she did it to get Flint to be quiet," Bismuth said.

"Well it worked," Flint mumbled.

"Flint you did fine, it's that Spirit who pushed too far. I mean who shows trauma as part of their argument anyway?" Rainbow Dash had to ask. Flint huddled back up again, and while Lapis stopped her water massage, Spinel didn't release him and held him close to her. Nearby, Steven was watching this happen, and began to wonder if putting Flint in such a spot was even a good idea at all.

"Look Flint, you don't have to go out there again, I'll take the next one," Steven offered.

"Steven, no. Who knows what she'll do to you if she sees you taking my place," Flint said, worried that she'll try pulling that trick on him like she did to himself.

"Then how about I do it," Twilight offered, "She doesn't have that much to use on me, unlike the Gems so it could make it easier."

"You don't understand: I've put myself as representative, I can't just leave now! J-Just give me a bit okay? ... you can let go now Spinel," Flint said.

"Not until you're all better," Spinel said. Fair enough, though this won't help them get their trial fixed, and Discord and White Diamond were still stuck inside with the other Spirits so who knows what they're doing in there. Regardless they all knew that the Spirit wasn't gonna give up so easily if allowed these kinds of tactics, so they better arm up when they get back in there.

"If only we can somehow compete with those jerks in there, AND know what they're gonna do at the same time," Pinkie remarked. "What to do, what to do ..."

"You're trying to imply something, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight figured.

"Huh? No, I'm just saying if we had someone as big into politics and so well that they can know what the opponent's thinking this'll be a piece of strawberry shortcake," Pinkie said, sounding legitimate about it.
They all knew what Pinkie Pie was saying though even if the pink mare did not, though Flint seemed a bit 50/50 on it, his hands gripping his knees as he wondered how serious they were about this idea.

"... Jade, you okay with this?" Flint asked.

"I think we should be asking you that," Jade replied. Slowly his eyes drifted over towards Garnet. The fusion thought a bit more into it, and eventually she decided.

"Garnet? ... Only if you're okay with this."

"Take my hand."

.......

"TIME IS UP! RETURN TO THE COURT ROOM!"

It didn't matter how far away the actual court room was to the crane or Spirit, hearing Your Great Honor's voice echoing across the realm was enough to get any one back involved within a hundred miles. Flocks of the Messenger Cranes flew back as fast as their wings can carry them, and the lesser Spirits manifested in their respected seats pretty quickly too. Your Great Honor watched them all settle down, including the higher spirits attending, and he turned his eyes to Discord and White diamond who honestly hadn't moved since this all started.

"YOU TWO HAD BEEN AWFULLY QUIET," Your Great Honor noted to the Draconequus and Diamond.

"Well what do you want me to do? I can't do anything for me or my bestie Fluttershy while I'm tied up in knots like this," Discord said, trying to bite off some of the chains with his teeth, just to get his fang stuck in between the chain links. Your Great Honor lowered his head very close to the two, his eye practically like looking into a full-length mirror.

"Your ... bestie. You mean you've made friends with one of them?" Your Great Honor whispered (which to them was just normal talking).

"You kidding? We're practically BFFs, and superb pen pals. I mean it's much easier when I can just snap a letter in thin air instead of actually writing," Discord said. Your Great Honor just gave him a look for a bit before looking to White Diamond briefly, not seeing her putting up any attempt to escape.

"And you're not even trying to get loose like your Draconequus," Your Great Honor noted.

"Well, excuse me, I'm trying not to cause any more accidents ... plus I can't break them anyway," White simply said.

Your Great Honor raised his huge head, keeping both of those things in mind. The court was ready to begin anyway.
Speaking of, the Harmony Gems began to come back in and get back in their respected position in the court room, but as he and the others noticed, they also noticed that not all of them were there. A few of them were missing actually, quite a bit. Your Great Honor said nothing, but the Spirit didn't follow.

"Let me guess: some of your team had convenient "missions" to take care of. For you're not all exactly present," the Spirit stated.

"Eh, sure. So we're getting someone else to represent this case for them, and us," Peridot explained.

"And who pray tell might that be?"

*SLAM*

There was their answer. The doors to the court room swung wide open, the slamming they got from hitting the wall catching their attention very quickly. The only thing that surprised them more than that was WHO actually was attending this case for the Defendant.

A Fusion.

Right. The Harmony Gems brought a fusion to the court room, but this one wasn't anything they've seen before: the Fusion stood as tall as the Spirit of the World Yet to Come, strolling towards the front where they all were. The fusion itself had a grayish purple color to the skin and hair, its hair tied back in a smooth ponytail along down its back. Their eyes counted up to four with a gemstone on its forehead, but they still had the bottom set covered by slim reading glasses, which they gave a slight glisten in the light like Garnet's visors would. The outfit on this Fusion matched the professional suit for any Zircon, with leggings and sleeves matching the similar colors of hot pink and gray. As for any extra limbs, there were two sets of arms (as with many of these kinds of fusions) with both arms even-length, and even two sets of feet set in such a way that they appeared to have high heels.

Alongside this fusion came the rest of the missing Harmony Gems, two of which were riding on the fusion's shoulders (Steven and Spinel), as Fluttershy flew alongside them and only rested in the shoulder when the fusion stopped moving. It adjusted its glasses before taking a look to its opponents for the afternoon.

"A FUSION?" Your Great Honor questioned, recognizing the game immediately from the amount of gemstones.

"That is correct. I am Teal Garnet, here at your command," it introduced, even giving a slight bow with a hand over heart.

"So this is the game you're pulling on the gods now? One prosecutor and one defendant at a time," the Spirit firmly stated.

"Afraid to play the game, are we? There isn't any shame in backing away from a challenge if you're so sure about it," Teal said. Immediately the Spirit felt insulted again. That, and given that Flint was technically here, there was no point in going any further on it. Your Great Honor decided to continue with this anyway.

"DEFENDANTS, STATE YOUR REPLY," Your Great Honor instructed.

"Certainly. Steven, Spinel, Fluttershy, you two care for a seat by the judge's stand and keep them company. We'll call you in just a bit," Teal said, gently placing the three down by Discord and White Diamond.

"Thanks for the ride," said Spinel. Teal gave Spinel a pat on the head before straightening back up, and strolled over towards the main area of the room so they were center of attention.

"Alright then. Now, where were we before our recess?" Teal asked, though by the tone in their voice they probably already knew the answer to that.

"THE PROSECUTOR SUMMERIZED THE REASONS WHY DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND ABUSE THEIR POWER," Your Great Honor reminded.

"Ah, that's right. You went on that for quite a bit and you do make a fairly decent point, wat?"

"... You're agreeing with me," the Spirit said quizzically.

"I'm not entirely unreasonable. I mean, Discord has clearly shown to go all out with his chaos magic, turning any world upside down and all that, and White Diamond has gained a bit of a god complex since getting her special powers. When it comes to restraint for those two ... they stink."

"Uncalled for, giant woman!" said Discord.

"What are they doing? They're supposed to be helping us," White whispered in panic.

"Just let them be, they got this," reassured Steven, but they have to see it for themselves first. It did throw them for a loop anyway, given the defendant was actually helping the prosecutor out in her statements ... at first. But now getting that out of the way, they adjusted their glasses.

"Alas, that's how they were. But just because of their past crimes, does that make them who they are now?"

"Your Great Honor, the Defendant is clearly avoiding the main crimes -" *snap* The bolder Teal Garnet actually snapped their fingers to keep the Spirit from jumping in.

"How rude, and he never said you can speak either," Teal said. The Spirit glared at them but knew they were right so she kept her voice down as they continued. As for Teal, they looked up to Your Great Honor. Teal Garnet raised a pointed finger high, and brought it down right to the stand.

"I call the Diamond Authority to the stand!" Teal announced. The spirits were starting to get intrigued now, but that didn't mean that all of them were up for it.

"We ... don't do that," stated the Spirit. A controversial statement, but true none the less and Teal rolled with it, and basically acted like they didn't even hear her, awaiting Your Great Honor to do so. As for the judge, he was skeptical ... but the titan raised his foot over the stand nearby. The bottom of his foot began to glow just before he stomped the stand, covering it completely. Instead of just shattering the stand and crushing it all under foot, the stand remained in tact and as he raised his foot, two figures started to appear in place ... floating in mid air before they both fell to the floor with a thud.

Blue and Yellow Diamond.

"OOF! What in the stars just happened? Where're -" Yellow wondered frazzled, just to see the giant tortoise standing next to them. This made Blue gasp and step back, Yellow Diamond up in arms immediately until they looked around and saw everyone else.

"What's going on?" Blue had to ask.

"I'm going on, my Diamonds," answered Teal Garnet (again surprising them), "And so we're all caught up to eachother, I called you both so you can share some questions regarding White over there."

Blue and Yellow glanced over towards White Diamond, who was blushing pink for getting them caught up in this, even if she didn't make that call. Suddenly they got two and two together.

"That's Garnet and Flint," Blue quietly realized.

"Fair enough, but can't you warn us next time? I was in the middle of getting my colonies in a row when you got me," Yellow asked, slightly annoyed. Teal Garnet readjusted their glasses.

"We'll talk to the tortoise later. Oh Steeeveeen?~" Teal said.

"You got it, Teal," Steven said before going over to the stand with Blue and Yellow. He was a Diamond too. Your Great Honor huffed but didn't say anything as Teal Garnet actually began to summon something out of its head gemstone. Not really a Gem weapon, but instead a storage item in form of a clipboard and paper giant woman-sized. They got a pen out and started addressing.

"Now, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond. You two had known White Diamond for basically forever, so odds are you know more about her than anyone else, true?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. We're the first Gems she created," Blue Diamond said honestly, as one would when on the stand. Teal Garnet wrote the notes down before continuing. Teal nodded.

"As figured. Now, the prosecution has already labeled White Diamond as irresponsible and unpredictable. Do any of you agree with that statement or no?" Teal asked casually.

"... Well ... Unpredictable, yes, but Irresponsible, absolutely not. She always made sure to calculate everything she does. Every step checked, every planet categorized. I don't think anyone's ever been as prepared as she was," Blue Diamond explained, knowing her the longest. Teal Garnet was going to speak again, but the Spirit saw an opportunity here and stepped forward in Teal Garnet's way. Strangely Teal Garnet didn't say anything.

"Diamond?" the Spirit butted in, "So you claim she always makes sure she is prepared and calculates everything. So then you say that White Diamond knew what she was doing when she decided to experiment on her own kind? To create new life by her hands? To FORCE-FUSE YOU BOTH INTO GREEN DIAMOND?"

"OBJECTION! HELLO, YOUR HONOR, she's cutting in!" Spinel shouted, jumping up to Your Great Honor's ears so he can hear her. But Your Great Honor said nothing. Yellow and Blue especially felt humbled remembering how that happened, but given the circumstance they kept their reactions to a minimum.

"Yes, she knew what she was doing when trying to do that, and those other things," Yellow admitted.

"But she's grown so much better since then," insisted Steven, "She's trying so hard to be a better person; understanding her people, growing the empire with more freedom and independence. She's growing into the North Star she is."

White Diamond felt silenced, but her face was just enough to say how much she liked hearing she was doing well. The Spirit tried talking again but Teal Garnet already was a step ahead and cleared her throat.

"No further questions. Thank you for joining us today ... and not angry for being "dropped" into it," Teal Garnet said.

Steven kept from chuckling, but still smirked.

"Again. We'll talk about that later," Yellow Diamond said. Your Great Honor raised his large foot over all of them, but suddenly Teal Garnet decided to pull them all aside before any of them could end up underneath his foot.

"WHAT NOW?" Your Great Honor asked.

"They're free to stay until the end of our little game, can't they? They would want to be there for their "little" sister, think so?" Teal Garnet explained.

"You're pushing your luck ... FINE," Your Great Honor decided, "BUT THEY ARE NOT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSION UNLESS TOLD TO!"

"Sounds fair. Thank you for your time, my Diamonds, you just get comfy over there and we'll take it from here," Teal Garnet said, gently moving them over towards White so they can comfort her as the discussion continued. The Spirit tried not to show her distain for them.

"PROSECUTION? YOUR RESPONSE?" Your Great Honor said. The Spirit took a breath.

"She may have turned a few voices, but that still doesn't disprove any sort of claim she has to make. Besides that, let the records show both had been known for mind manipulation and mind control, so who is one to say that they hadn't warped any of their thinking to make them appear as innocent before the court?" the Spirit said.

"What?" quietly screamed Steven. A terrible reason yet the Spirits seemed to take her word in stride slightly more than Teal (which didn't make the Harmony Gems feel any better). Teal Garnet readjusted one of their gloves before pointing to the stand again.

"I call sweet Fluttershy to the stand!" Teal announced.

"Sweet Fluttershy?" Fluttershy muttered, blushing a little.

"Oh it's not false. Now go on, you got this," Discord said encouragingly. Fluttershy started flying off towards the small stand. The small Pegasus tried to feel confident before the court, but she just felt so small before everybody it was hard not to, making her recoil and lay down on the stand with her eyes looking back and forth.

"Fluttershy? You were the first of your friends to try and befriend Discord after Celestia released him from that stony prison, true?" Teal Garnet asked.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes I did, and ... I-I'm sorry. Everyone's watching me," Fluttershy gulped. Teal gently brought a comforting hand down to her and brought her gaze to them.

"Don't worry about them. Only look at me, okay?" Teal Garnet said. Fluttershy needed a bit of a moment to calm down, but the Spirit did take a mental note of that move. Garnet in any form always knew how to keep her friends together when she can help it.

"Absolutely. Celestia herself asked me to be friends with him just before she released him out of that cold, stony statue. It must've been so uncomfortable for him."

"And how has Discord behaved over the years since that happened? Any malicious intent on his part?" Teal Garnet asked, notes at the ready.

"Oh, definitely not! ... I-I mean, not later on. He had a few umm ... hiccups, once or twice at first, but he's grown into such a sweetheart."

"Now what about his magic? Has he maliciously used it ever since he started being friends with any of you?" Teal Garnet asked. Fluttershy looked over to Discord for a moment, thinking about the previous involvement they had with him. Discord had his fingers crossed she wouldn't sell out any mistakes, but ...

"Oh no, he wouldn't go out of his way just to hurt anybody. He's always good at his tricks, but that's as bad as they've ever gotten. I guess the worse he's done is flip around my house whenever he comes over for a visit but he is always polite enough to turn it back to normal when he leaves."

Teal Garnet wrote it down in her notes. However it was the Spirit's turn to jump in, and she was right in front of Fluttershy now, her front hooves slamming onto the table, and making Fluttershy jump.

"OBJECTION! The Defendant is leading the witness. By keeping her focus on her, she's making her say exactly what she wants her to say! I'll take it from here," the Spirit boldly accused.

"The hay, no she's not!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, but no one really paid her any mind.

"So you claim Discord has done nothing wrong, have you? Then what about his involvement with Tirek? He willingly set out with him to help him gain power, he captured you all in a cage, and left you all for dead before Tirek! Surely you're not going to ignore THAT."

Fluttershy looked confused. "U-Umm ... I am aware of him with Tirek but ... locking us in a cage?"

"Don't bother trying to deny those -" the Spirit stopped when Teal Garnet pulled her away, readjusting their glasses once again.

"Different Timeline. Remember?"

... the Spirit actually blushed.

"E-Er, w-well it's still Discord's fault the Everstorm happened by getting their worlds stuck together in the first place!" she retorted. She felt like that was impossible to dispute, but she wondered what kind of dispute it was gonna be when she saw that Teal Garnet was hardly dampened. That wasn't the same for some though.

"Oh no, not that again, I didn't do it on purpose!" Discord said in frustration. The Spirit was about to turn and speak but Fluttershy (who'd of guessed?) was up at her eye level.

"That's right, he didn't know this would happen. Discord is known to do a lot of things but there's ONE thing I know he can't do, and that's predict the future! In fact, if you must know, he left the keys for Steven because he wanted us to be friends, and nothing else. Is it wrong to try and make friends from other worlds?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN SAYING?!"

"ORDER!!!" and with that another thunderous stomp shook the entire room to avoid a huge confrontation. The Spirit was silenced fast and all she could do was turn away from the pegasus.

"No further questions," the Spirit huffed. Teal Garnet nodded and Fluttershy flew back over to the rest, given her spot in the case.

"Wow, look at you Ms. bold and brave," said Bismuth. Fluttershy blushed but smiled. For the Spirit this was all getting out of hand. She HAD to make this work in her favor, and with many of her tools quickly dwindling she had her final one to use.

"So perhaps they're not the same as they were before, but that doesn't excuse any of their crimes. They still had too much power, they still threatened the worlds and reality, and NO ONE has apprehended them for any of it. They must be punished for their crimes so they learn the consequences! It's how punishment works." The Spirit said the last part directly in Teal Garnet's face.

Just the line Teal was waiting for. Sooner then expected, but good for them. They took a moment to move their glasses up to the second eyes, revealing the covered eyes to the Spirit, and they revealed a set of glaring eyes underneath. Garnet had the floor for a while, now it's Flint's turn.

"Is that how it's supposed to work?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Spirit questioned.

Now it was time to bring down the hammer.

"Jury, Judge. I know that there're consequences to someone's actions, and YES, sometimes you do need to punish someone to show that an action isn't okay and won't be accepted. But how right is it to make someone hurt more when they've already figured it out and trying to be better?"

The spirits, Cranes, and even Your Great Honor started listening more intently to Teal Garnet, as the Spirit was feeling more riled up. Teal Garnet went into some pacing as they continued talking.

"It doesn't matter if they're trying to be better, they can't ignore their past mistakes!" the Spirit suddenly snapped. just the thing Teal expected her to say.

"Well here's the reality," Teal said, glancing coldly at the Spirit, "It's not going to change the past. No one's in danger, so you're not protecting anyone, and you're not doing this to teach a lesson to them if they already learned it."

"Well no one else -" the Spirit suddenly was silenced again NOT by Your Great Honor, but by Teal Garnet pointing directly at her.

"Has done any justice towards them?" Teal Garnet butted in, "You've been saying that from the start, but you know what I think? ... You're not doing this out of justice. You're doing it out pf pleasure."

The whole court room actually got into quiet gasps (except for the Harmony Gems of course), and some small talk was spread around.

"It's no secret that you've hated Discord for a very long time, Spirit. Seeing him suffering like this must really please you. You're only keeping this up to make you feel better."

"Objection, Your Honor -" the Spirit was quieted again when Teal Garnet actually snapped their fingers in her face. They weren't done yet.

"Do correct me of I'm wrong, Your Honor, but isn't putting punishment on people that learned they're wrong and trying to be better for your enjoyment a bad thing? That's not "seeking justice" ... That's being vindictive."

*ZAP*

Teal Garnet quickly ducked down before the attack could strike her, instead zapping and landing into the nearest wall in a quickly explosion of electricity. The blast of smoke and debris from the wall went around the room, everyone linking it right back to an angry Spirit nearby, horn still sizzling a little.

"II will NOT get defeated like this!" The Spirit shouted, her horn glowing again for another attack.

"Don't do this, Spirit," warned Teal. But that only made the Spirit even more angry, her teeth grinding and aiming her horn directly at them.

"I'LL DO WHAT I WANT!" Rather than listen, the Spirit shot right at them again, Teal Garnet stepping to the side to dodge yet again, just for the magic beam to slam the wall, making the Spirits and Cranes scatter away wherever they can as the Spirit tried to aim her beam at her target, only slicing the floor like a knife but missing throughout the entire attack! The Harmony Gems had to step back, blocking or dodging and debris that came their way.

"Know your place, mortal! I will NOT stoop to taking orders from any of you!" the Spirit demanded, wings spread as cold wind blasted over them all in her fury.

"We're not leaving until you fix them, jerk!" shouted Pinkie. The Spirit then turned right to Discord and White Diamond. Yellow, Blue, Steven, Fluttershy and Spinel almost immediately were on defense and Steven brought out his shield as Blue and Yellow stood in the way.

"I never should've weakened you. I SHOULD'VE DESTROYED YOU!" the Spirit yelled, her horn charged with so much energy it sparked and scattered.

*SLAM!*

As quickly as it began, it ended with one powerful stomp from Your Great Honor, only instead of just slamming into the ground, the Spirit found herself underneath his foot! The vibrations felt under such a stomp was enough to shake the entire realm, and all panic immediately halted at once. Your Great honor meanwhile stood completely still, not moving a single inch like a statue as the dust cleared and everyone can realize what happened.

"OH MY STARS, HE JUST KILLED HER!" shrieked Spinel.

"NOT. REALLY," Your Great honor said, slowly raising his mighty foot. Turned out he didn't actually crushed her, a din light emitting from his foot as to not crush the floor underneath. Looking in though, the whole ground underneath looked almost caved in, as if a meteor had just slammed down hard onto the ground. The Spirit meanwhile sure looked crushed, flat on the floor but still slightly twitchy as she slowly realized what happened herself. Her wings twitched a little, her feet slowly starting to move, and the weight of hundreds of tons no longer on her back allowing her to slowly stand right back up. The hit was sure enough to knock the wind out of her, wings drooped, panting and everything as she looked around.

"You'd rather ... listen to mortals, than your fellow god?"

"SPIRIT, I AM NOT BLIND!" Your Great Honor bellowed, "IT'S ONE THING TO LOCK QUETZALCOATL AWAY FOR DIRECTLY STOPPING EVENTS, BUT IT'S ANOTHER TO TORMENT DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND FOR YOUR OWN AMUSEMENT!"

Every single word made the Spirit crumble into silence. Even more so with what he had to say next.

"SPIRIT, RETURN THEIR POWERS! THEY ARE LIFTED OF THEIR SENTENCE!"

"W-WHAT?!" the Spirit exclaimed.

"YOU HEARD ME. THE SESSION IS OVER, YOU ALL CAN GO NOW!"
The giant tortoise began to move his way back down into the cloud he emerged from, sinking down as the ground shook with all his movements. The Spirit kept trying to talk to him, to make him stop and reconsider this decision, but that wasn't going to do her much good. Soon, the giant tortoise was completely gone, disappearing underneath the floor completely and leaving the stunned and defeated Spirit to her lonesome.

So ... now what?

"....... Teal Garnet, you -" the Spirit turned around to face her, but suddenly ... she was gone.

"Down here," said Garnet, waving up to her. The Spirit looked down just to find Flint and Garnet unfused now. The Spirit only looked around at everyone present there, them all waiting for her to give them what they wanted. She knew what they all wanted, and now she no longer had a choice ...

"... Fine. This one time."

"Eh eh eh, apology, remember?" reminded Pinkie.

"DON'T PUSH IT," the Spirit warned. "One thing at a time. Bring Discord and White Diamond over here, and keep your distance."

"What're you going to do?" Yellow Diamond questioned, still on edge for her attack on them earlier.

"You can't ever make it easy, can you?" the Spirit groaned. Instead of the bringing the two over, the Spirit just walked over towards them. Discord and White both looked up to her meekly in their place, at the mercy of this Spirit in whatever she was going to do to them.
The tall being closed her eyes and took a long breath, putting all of her concentration directly into her magic. She had to keep it under control now, more so than her usual tricks. The magic from her horn swirled around in a spiral slow and easy, glowing a pure white mixed with a mess of rainbow colors. Like snakes, both sets of magic split off from her horn and formed their respected orbs of power: one pure white with sparkling stars, the other a mess of watercolors swirling into nothing and everything. The Spirit kept her wings spread and magic focused on it. The Harmony Gems started to wonder if this was their real magic or just another trick, but still kept their distance anyway.

A golden opportunity for what would happen next ...

...

"NOW!"

It all happened so fast. Galloping out of literal nowhere, and just seconds before the shot, GROGAR HAD ARRIVED!

"NO! NOT YOU!" the Spirit gasped. But the spell was casted far too late. The powers of the highest Diamond AND the spirit of chaos flowed out of the Spirit's horn right into the Ram's body, surges of energy beyond even his comprehension rushing into him. Grogar screamed the loudest any could, his eyes glowing a blinding white as his entire body spazzed and twitched like a seizure. Everyone had to stand back, nothing able to be done to stop what was about to happen. The light itself grew so bright it nearly blinded everyone, everything having to shield their eyes away from the source as Grogar himself began to succumb to the power bestowed onto him.

"What's happening?!" screamed Peridot.

"He's absorbing their magic! Take cover!" Garnet said in horror.

All that came after all of that was an explosion of white fog and smoke, making the light shining even brighter. All they can do is shield however they could. The blast lasted for ten long seconds, wind gusting strong enough to push them off their feet. Then came the end result. Slowly the fog began to lift, but even with the fog down they all can see signs of small shimmers within its wake. Shimmer not unlike those seen on White Diamond's cape.
A simple swish of the tail, and the fog disappeared to reveal the monster that was born from the magic. Silver-encased hooves sharper than the rock, fur as dark as the midnight sky, and a rough lions mane and tail that shimmered in blue and white, stars shimmering within them. The magic revived what trauma he had endured, and a set of glistening golden horns stretched and curved, glistening in the sunlight. His eyes were narrowed, blood red and streaming a deathly purple smoke. His chest and head are encased in godly gold armor, red stones lining along their wake, with his golden bell chiming his presence. Grogar stood over most mortal he saw, with Yellow and Blue being taller than him and even then it was just barely thanks to his horns.

"M-My king? ... You uhh ... you alright?" Bray stuttered, the only one brave enough (or dumb enough) to go up to him. Grogar just stood there, the only movements he was making being slight shutters. It was then Grogar turned his gaze down to the loyal yet terrified Bray, the mule only hunkering down in fear of what his lord might do. Rather than answer, Grogar slowly began to turn towards the audience around him. They were all bewildered, stunned, not sure of what to do now. But his movement only stopped when he locked eyes with the Spirit.

His grin was filled with shark teeth.

"That was exhilarating ... now who should I kill first?" Grogar growled sinisterly. The Spirit stood up, shaking off the shock before ... turning to the Gems.

"See what happens when you mortals rebel against gods? None of you listened, and look what happened!" The Spirit growled.

"WHAT?! How is any of this OUR fault?! We never even knew he was here!" exclaimed an appalled Yellow Diamond.

"You lead him here! How else could he have entered this realm?" the Spirit bellowed.

"YOU CAN'T BLAME US FOR THAT!" yelled Garnet.

"Can't I?"
They all could feel their anger rising, but strangely lucky for them, GROGAR actually settled the score by whacking the Spirit square in her head, sending her back.

"Since I hate stupid arguments I'll answer it for you: Sumu told me about you. And I teleported here myself," Grogar revealed. The Spirit growled and looked directly at Discord again, the one that created the plant in the first place. Before she could even say anything, Grogar jumped her again, this time sinking his jaws into her horn. The Spirit charged up power in a bright glow, but this only made Grogar charge up his combined magic and brought it to his teeth, making them almost melt into her horn like knives to butter, before -

*snap*

The horn was off, and the Spirit fell back in the aftermath. She fell over her own cloak and onto the ground, just to look back and find that the monster she created had her horn almost melting in his jaws.

"But ... how? Y-You can't do that to me. You're a mortal, I'm a god!" the Spirit yelled, just for Grogar to drop the horn onto the ground. Or rather what remained of it anyway.

"You're pretty bad at your job," Grogar snarled.

Looking down at the horn, Grogar raised his hoof and made one mighty stomp down on top of it. Normal Grogar would've crumbled the horn into shards and left cracks in the ground, but when THIS happened, the ground underneath Grogar almost destroyed itself, cracks reaching all over the arena! Messengers and spirits panicked and flew out of the way as the entire arena crumbled. The cracks left blasted white light, as if the cells themselves were being destroyed by Grogar's single step. Even Grogar himself was startled!

"Whoa. ... Whooooa-oh-oh-oh. Now THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!" Grogar said in triumph. He turned around and tested his newfound power again, this time slamming both hooves down onto the ground. This actually caused a major earthquake, the ground splitting fifty times over and making the Harmony Gems and Diamonds scatter away quick.

"He's gonna destroy the whole realm," said Fluttershy.

"So come on, stop him!" said Peridot, "We can stop him right?"

"I-I don't know! He has my Gem magic and Discord's chaotic magic, what can defeat that?" said a worrying White Diamond. Just loud enough for Grogar to hear and suddenly loom over her. White had protection from the others, but that was hardly much compared to Grogar.

"Easy Grogar, y-you don't know what you're dealing with here. Only I know how my magic works, it's not your toy!" Discord said.

"I think I'm doing pretty good at it," Grogar said. Then his horns began to glow again in a barrage of different colors, as if the magic itself can't decide what it wants to do but was gonna go for it anyway. Immediately Blue and Yellow Diamond got in the way, their size covering what blast would come out of Grogar, but rather than just some death-blast, Grogar instead got a aura surrounding them, wrapping around them in a large bubble. For some good measure, he also summoned up a lock and key, and numerous lightning chains wrapping around the bubble.

"Y-You got it right out of the box!"

"You're darn right I did. Remember, I have your chaotic magic AND White Diamond's control magic. I can literally create, AND destroy whatever I want."

"You can't do that! Grogar you have to stop before you go too far!" exclaimed Steven. Grogar laughed a laugh so loud it shook the ground, lowering his head until it almost smashed the bubble open.

"Stop? I just got god powers now, why would I stop? You all should've killed me when you could!" Grogar then brought his hooves up like hands, and his horns began to glow. The motions were beginning to tighten and shrink the bubble, bringing the entire Harmony Gems closer and close together. They all tried to stop the bubble from shrinking any way they can, but no matter what they did it wasn't going to work. Grogar wanted to end them all, he wanted to destroy them right there so badly ... but one single thought made him stop.

"HAHAHAHA! what am I doing?! If I kill you now, I can't watch you all suffer as I destroy your previous kingdoms. It'll be a nice gift," Grogar decided, expanding the bubble but not popping it yet.

"The only gift you'll get is a free ticket to Tartarus when we're done with you, you monster!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, slamming into the sides of the bubble.

Grogar snorted smugly, "I would LOVE to see you try. Of course I would also love seeing you as a fried chicken."

Grogar then laughed and whacked the bubble, sending it spinning with everyone inside. Grogar then got his attention to the only three members of his own army present. Bray and Budgerite both tried keeping some distance, Tempest Shadow even wary of what Grogar had become. Even the slightest slip up from any of them could kill them no problem. When regaining their senses, some looked over to the spirits nearby.

"Hey! Aren't you guys going to do something?!" Diopside shouted, banging on the edge of the bubble. But none of them would even lift a finger to stop Grogar, not after seeing what the Spirit had to deal with. That moment they knew there was no point in looking at them for help.

"Tempest ...?"

"Y-Yes, my lord?" Tempest said with a gulp.

His horns began to glow again. Tempest was alarmed, and immediately got in a battle stance against the ram as the magic spurred out of his golden horns and landing right on top of the broken Unicorn. But strangely, Tempest didn't feel any pain in the strike. No stinging, numbing, or anything really. Once the light was done, Tempest slowly opened her eyes to ...

Her horn. ... Her healed horn. Tempest Shadow was quiet, just staring at the horn bestowed onto her before looking up to Grogar. Seemed he kept his promise after all.

"I'm done playing games. Done holding off, done holding back. It's time to take control of what is rightfully mine! ... But first ..."

He then went right over to the Spirit, and without even a second thought, he grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up. A single swing sent the Spirit over her head, the cloak ripping clean off of her and revealing her true body. She appeared almost like Luna (which made it strange for Luna to see), with a human-like shape to her anatomy. The Spirit was a horse with only two legs to walk, and even then Grogar wasn't making her move by herself as he dragged her with him. The spirit struggled against the monster, pulling back and using what magic she can without blowing her head off, but Grogar's god power was making it all useless at this point.

"What's the matter? No god-like escape plans?" Grogar mocked with his mouth full, only to crunch down tighter on her. For the Harmony Gems it was surprising how little everyone else was even doing to help her, even if she was awful. They kept trying to escape their bubble, but Grogar simply got his hoof up and sliced open a portal with ease.

"Release me, you demon! Let me free!" The Spirit demanded, but no dice. Grogar did release her only after stomping down onto her wings first to keep her down, even if she was still kicking him while stuck like this. Then his attention turned to the rest of the world behind him.

"Hope you all enjoyed your last minutes of freedom. Because THIS realm and ANY OTHERS with it belong to me now," Grogar announced.

"GROGAR!" Steven screamed. Grogar simply ignored him, and with the Spirit still struggling under him and fighting, he grabbed hold of her and started dragging her through the portal he created. Bray, Budgerite, and Tempest Shadow made their leave with their new god leader, only Tempest pausing to give them all one final look. She can see how much they were struggling to get out, but also the horror and dismay on some of them. That, and with everything she heard from them ... well ... what was a mare to do?

"Tempest. Please. ..."

Tempest couldn't hear her from where she was standing, but she knew that's what Twilight was saying. She took one look at her horn, and then back to the Harmony Gems. Grogar never said NOT to do anything about them. She can either bust them out and go back to Grogar, risk of getting destroyed on the spot, or just go on her way and leave the only heroes left for whatever fate the bubble had for them. ...

She chose the former.

Tempest glanced back to the portal one last time to make sure before rushing over towards the bubble.

"Everyone stand back, I'll get the lock broken. You can break the bubble much easier from there. After that, you're on your own," Tempest instructed. Not sure how else to break it from the inside out, all they could do is listen to her.

"We're ready," Blue Diamond said. Tempest looked up towards the lock left behind by Grogar. It didn't look that complicated and Grogar didn't add a keyhole to it so a key was out of the question. Not that it would matter anyway. Tempest focused her horn good and hard, the O so nostalgic feeling of magic flowing through the horn exactly how it was supposed to. One well-aimed zap and the lightning chains were sliced off in half. The chains dropped to the ground, slipping through the cracks in the floor left by her boss, and they all began to push hard on the unrestrained bubble prison.
The bubble contorted and stretched to its own limits, until a notable pop filled the air and got them all released.

Tempest ran off for it moments after this happened, rushing through the portal just before it closed up behind her. It was the least she could do.

"We gotta stop him!" Rainbow Dash said, immediately ready to make a break for it after the demon ram. They would go after him, but their attention was first brought over to the Spirits themselves ... who were starting to go away.

"Wait! Where're you all going? You're not giving up are ya?" said Twilight, rushing over towards some of the Spirits. A few did stop and turned back to her, but a few didn't even break stride.

"Giving up on what?" one of the cranes asked. "What Grogar does in your world doesn't effect any of us."

"It clearly does, he just took one of your Spirits hostage!" retorted Twilight.

"Yes. ... So?"

"What do you mean "so"?! Don't any of you care at all? Doesn't the fact that she got taken by Grogar bother any of you?" Steven asked firmly. The lesser Spirits and messenger cranes looked to one another with some small talk mixed in ... before shaking their heads.

"Not really," said a crowned crane. It didn't even sound conflicted about it, and gave one of those "what can you do" shrugs.

Steven felt stunned.

"... Not even a little bit?" asked Fluttershy.

"We've never been this social with mortals before," explained the crowned crane, "We don't gain anything out of it, and it'll only put this realm into trouble so why raise such a fuss?"

"Besides," added another messenger crane, "it's not our fault she got herself caught. Grogar wanted her, not any of us, let the mortals figure it out for themselves."

"That's right, why should we?" chimed in another spirit.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing! One of your most respected Spirits just got taken and none of you even care?! What if the Mistress got captured?! Or Your Great Honor? Are you just gonna leave them too?!" Lapis exclaimed, off of the ground. All that did was give her a peck in the face by one of the cranes.

"You mortals. You always think it's the end of the world when things don't go your way," the crane scoffed.

"Oh, and you know what THAT'S like," Amethyst huffed. The spirits just ignored them and started to go away.

"Don't go, you can't walk away from this! What're we supposed to do against a god?" shouted an angry Pearl.

"You're supposed to be the chosen heroes of your universe. Figure it out," one of the remaining spirits said, before leaving them. Some of them did try to go after them, but unfortunately there wasn't much they could do before the spirits disappeared from sight. As for everyone else, there didn't need to be any discussion on what happens now.

"What're we gonna do now?" asked Spinel.

"What we do every time. Try and save the world," Steven decided.

Author's Note

SURPRISE FUSION TIME! Had my debates, but I figured "eh what the heck?" So now we're setting up the stage for the grand finale ... hope you're all ready for the craziness coming up.

True Kind of Love PT1

"That was exhilarating ... now who should I kill first?"

.......

"GAH!"

Starswirl was horrified. Jolted awake by what he had witnessed, it was just strong enough to snap him out of an otherwise impossible-to-break meditation. He was short of breath, heavy too, and looked around the room he had been meditating in. It seemed to be normal enough: an empty room with a blanket on the floor and a few candles for scent, with an open window to a walk-out balcony but that was about it. That did not make Starswirl the Bearded anymore uncomfortable, and the vision that flashed in his mind was just enough to make him go back up onto his hooves. Just outside his door, a set of royal guards were stationed and went right in on hearing the sound.

"Master Starswirl! What's the trouble? We heard you gasp," one of the guards asked. Starswirl took a second to calm his nerves.

"No. No, something terrible is about to happen. One of you warn the princesses at once, line Canterlot with as many guards as possible. Now!" Starswirl said urgently, startling the pair of guards.

"Ok, ok, I'm going," one of them replied, galloping off as fast as he possibly could. The other one was about to rush off too, but Starswirl stopped him by blocking his way with his horn.

"Not you. Send out pegesi troops, send out scrolls, whatever you need to do: spread the word. Make sure any other kingdoms know the danger."

"Absolutely, sir ... but ... what's the danger?" the guard asked. Starswirl shuttered, and he was just about to speak when -

*boom* ... *BOOM*

"No. How could it so soon?" wondered Starswirl. Meditation would have to wait on the old Unicorn. Something didn't sit right in the Unicorn's stomach as he trotted on towards the window of the tower to see what was even going on. Starswirl only got out a hoof or two outside onto the balcony before his eyes bestowed upon him the danger looming towards Canterlot.
Off in the distance of the mountainside city was brewing a large set of clouds. At least it appeared like a set of clouds starting to close in from the valleys, but the closer Starswirl looked into it, he slowly started to see that this was no ordinary phenomenon or even a Pegasi-caused one. The looming shadow crept across the sky, ominous thundering and lightning striking the ground far below, Starswirl noting that ponies specifically were being targeted by these lightning bolts, as if something was directly aiming them right at the poor creatures. Starswirl instinctively took action, and actually jumped right out of the balcony window, using a magic aura around himself to keep from falling right onto the ground, flying through the air as fast as levitated flight could allow him, before bringing himself down onto the edge of the city's borders.
His arrival wasn't strictly alone though, as by the time he arrived numerous guards and even princess Luna were stationed there, alongside Shining Armor and Cadance as well.

"Starswirl, thank Celestia," said Shining, "That's starting to come close. Do you know what it's about? None of the guards can use their magic to get rid of it that storm cloud."

"That's not a storm cloud," Starswirl immediately informed.

And no doubt he was right. The cloud was coming in dangerous close to Canterlot now, moving ever closer like a great dragon. But for Starswirl, the cloud was not the focus of the danger, but more rather who was actually controlling it. All of those on guard focused their attention towards the top of the cloud. There was something riding on top of this cloud towards them all, and when they figured out who this was, none of them were ready for any warm welcome.

"Grogar," Starswirl said in disbelief. The now godly-charged Grogar was more pleased to see them all in one place. The cloud itself stopped at just about the borderline of the city, close enough for the ram to make a easy leap off of his cloud platform right down onto the grounds of Canterlot. The guards tried to block his landing, but Grogar just needed one landing to send most of them flying away. Unfazed by the literal wipeout of the guard, Grogar raised his golden horns good and high, looking down at all he could see.

"Did you miss me?"

"G-Grogar. You're -"

"The one that's going to STAIN YOU ON THE WALL!" Grogar bellowed. Not even time for a villain's speech, Grogar charged up the power inside those horns and started blasting away in all directions. The guards were scattered, shot at and panicked in seconds. Immediately Luna and Cadance took action and started shooting at him with all their strength, but their magic blasts almost seemed to bounce off him. All it took for the Ram to knock them away was just a swing of his tail, knocking them into the nearest Canterlot tower.
Grogar quickly aimed for Starswirl next, Starswirl summoning a shield almost immediately to counter Grogar's charge. Hyped up on the most powerful magic in both worlds made smashing his forcefield a synch for the giant ram, but Starswirl still made a clean shot right at the Ram's face, briefly making him stop as the Unicorn raced for Luna and Cadance as they were pulling themselves out from the tower.

"You two alright?" Starswirl asked.

"We're alright. Is THAT Grogar you kept talking about?" Cadance asked, pointing to the giant Ram.

"No ... not anymore. Hurry! We must stop his assault," Starswirl instructed. But by the time the three brought themselves around to face Grogar again, the Ram had already fought and defeated the entire royal guard of Canterlot, several guards laying unconscious all over the ground. Numerous buildings were left wrecked and destroyed in his wake. The citizens were trying their best to find cover, but Grogar simply had to make one blast their way to create his own walls, trapping numerous groups of Unicorns in cages just like that so they wouldn't get away.

"A little late, are you?"

"That's far enough!" Starswirl charged up his horn and rushed Grogar, the two meeting head on. Despite his god-like advantage, Starswirl actually proved to be a decent fight compared to everyone else, his aura around his hooves to deliver stronger hits with them in between blasts from his horn. Grogar's new magic verses Starswirl's magical ability, and surprisingly after a few kicks and a strong magic blast, it was enough to make Grogar skid back.

"Showoff."

"THAT'S my final warning. Stand down or we WILL stop you for good. You're NO MATCH for our magic, Grogar, we both know that. Or did you forget last time?" Starswirl warned. Grogar actually sat down and scratched his chin.

"Well unlike you, I've been upgraded. Want me to demonstrate?"

Grogar's horns began to glow strong all over again, this time the ominous green for his bomb magic. Rather than just a simple bomb, it turned into a flurry tornado, sending numerous bombs all over Canterlot. Whenever any bomb landed left a crater and tons of green smoke. Starswirl kept a magic shield up to protect himself and the alicorns, but the bombs did far more than just leave craters in their wake. As the green smoke spread around, any pony not in a cage found themselves wrapped in spontaneously appearing vines! Starswirl was startled and immediately tried using his own magic to stop the sudden vine growth, blasting away any vines that appeared and freeing anypony that got caught in the brambles. Starswirl's magic might've been a strong attack against the vines, but dozens more were sprouting up all over the place far faster than he could keep up with.

"Step down from my teacher!" Luna shouted, blasting numerous vines that blasted it to smithereens right behind Starswirl. Cadance and Shining also tried their absolute hardest to fight off the numerous vines, but so many were spreading and sprouting all at once it was quickly overwhelming even them: for every two they shoot, four more sprout back. Grogar simply watched with a sinister and satisfying smile as the rulers started to get wrapped up in the vines, to the point when only their heads were exposed. All they could hear was Grogar laughing as he walked towards them. Rather than talking to them right away, he eyed a Pegasus guard and got him levitated to him, snapping him out of unconsciousness. The guard only needed to see the mighty trapped to make her blood churn.

"Don't give me that look, sweetie. I got a little message for you."

"I'm not doing anything for you. You can forget it," the guard warned. But Grogar sliced opened a portal right then and there.

"You wanna tell your Twilight what happened here? Go on, I want you to tell her. And this ..." Grogar then whispered his remaining message to the guard pony, and while she might not get the true extent of the details, the news still made her irises shrink and a cold sweat rush by her. Before she could even process it, Grogar threw her right into the portal and closed it tight behind her.

Then he looked to Starswirl.

"Don't get used to this, Grogar. You will NOT take over Equestria, I swear on it," Starswirl said. Grogar then had one more surprise.

"Oh no. Whatever shall I do?" Grogar "asked". His jaws curved into a sinister grimace, his horns glowing a sun-hot aura around his teeth, before bringing them down for a bite.

.......

"WHAT?!?! Grogar's turned God mode now?! But how'd that happen?" exclaimed Lars.

"Does it matter HOW it happened, what matters is that now we got a psychotic god running around the worlds and we have to stop him!" said Yellow diamond, which basically summed up the doomsday-potential scenario best. The Harmony Gems and Diamond Authority all knew how bad this was going to get if they didn't get themselves prepared, and their first order of business was straight back to the barn to get everyone else on the level. They can't waste anymore time.

"He had no problem defeating the Diamond Authority when we first met him. But with Discord and White Diamond's powers ... who knows what he's capable of doing now," Blue Diamond said worriedly.

"You mean besides turning every world into his toybox? I got nothin," Emerald said.

"Discord, White? You two had those same powers, is there any limits to them we should know about? Anything will help at this point," inquired Flint. Discord and White Diamond however were left more or less shivering if anything.

"Don't any of you look at me, I'm still left at him actually using it right! You'd think that using magic that can spawn talking pineapples alongside party nukes would be a little bit difficult to do!" Discord said almost in panic.

"You make it look easy, though," said Rhodonite.

"I'm the spirit of chaos. Controlling chaos magic's part of the package ... until someone steals it from me at the last minute!"

"And me! With your chaos, and my control, he's got the combination to literally be a god! I-I should've just left it alone and not complain, I should've just stayed like this and accepted my fate like a good Gem," White Diamond said, slowly going into a panic at the thought of what Grogar could even do to any of them, AND the world with their combined powers. Flashes of an entire universe under the tyrannical hoof of Grogar left White Diamond terrified beyond belief (which to some was weird to see). White Diamond then felt a hand touch her shoulder, just to see Garnet.

"My Diamond? Let's calm down," Garnet simply said.

"... Alright. You make it sound so easy," White Diamond said.

"We've had practice. Besides this hasn't stopped us before: we fought against you twice now, and the Elements of Harmony stopped Discord at full power. Grogar's powerful, but we have our own army with us right here."

"W-Well ... yes, but he's destroying everything!"

"Then we can't waste any time," Twilight said. "Equestria, Earth, and Homeworld are in danger, and we need all the help we can get. What we need is everyone in the world armed and ready for wherever Grogar will strike next. Knowing him he will not leave any town untouched if it means to get his own kingdom."

"That's thinking. Just tell us where to go," said Applejack.

Nothing too hard after some decent thinking on where to go, and Twilight quickly began to make arrangements immediately.

"Ok, right. Lars, you and the Off-Colors go to Nanefua and get Beach City on lockdown, and make sure there're isn't any problems in case of evacuation. We also need Little Homeworld, Ponyville, anywhere else nearby on guard, Grogar will most likely go there first if he's coming this way."

"We got that covered," said Fulgurite, saluting the Alicorn.

"We'll get Homeworld on lockdown as well. I do NOT want Homeworld to be turned into Tambalon, ever again," Yellow Diamond added.

"Excellent. We're about to be given the greatest fight we've ever had to face, but as long as we're all together, there is nothing we can't do!"

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"

Timing, once again, seemed to be picky on when to show because seconds after Twilight finished her instructions and mini-speech, the voice of an unknown pony started ringing through the air. They hardly needed that much time to look around, the diamonds seeing who was coming first in form of a Pegasus royal guard. She was lucky to even find them in the cold weather, the Pegasus flying through the cold brisk air as fast as she could right towards them. She was so frantic reaching them, she practically crashed into the snow, skidding to a stop like a scared pilot landing a plane.

"You're one of the Canterlot's royal guard ponies?" asked Spinel.

"Yes. OH thank Luna you're still safe. Princess. Canterlot: it's been overrun! The tyrant Grogar has taken over Canterlot. You got to do something!" the guard informed, almost pleading for some help from any of them even if she tried to be professional about it.

"What? But how?! We were only gone for like, half an hour! How'd he get that done so fast?" asked Bismuth in disbelief.

"Where're the princesses? Princess Luna? Princess Cadance?! They're still alright, aren't they?" asked Twilight.

"All captured. them, the captain of the royal guard, E-Even Starswirl the Bearded got captured by him. I've never seen anyone take over that fast before," the guard informed. Twilight felt pale. It also didn't help when Star started talking.

"I thought you said he'll attack Little Homeworld first. Didn't you?" Star Quartz asked.

"He ... he attacked Canterlot first?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"To get rid of our strongest support, no doubt. Did he say where he'll attack next, or was he smart enough not to tell you?" Jasper asked, clenching her fists to bash a ram's head in. The guard felt a shutter run through her before she answered.

"There is something else he wanted me to tell you. He -"

"Hold on, pause: Grogar wanted you to tell us what he did? Is he TRYING to make us mad over here?" Amethyst asked.

"This is Grogar," sighed Flint, "Now, you were saying?"

The guard was a bit troubled in saying it, but she had to tell them anyway. "Ok, I don't know how important this is, but he wanted me to tell you what happened to ... Ramicorn?"

"What did he do?" was the immediate question coming out from Twilight. So he not only got to Canterlot, but Ramicorn too? The guard took a deep breath, but took off her helmet and brought it to her chest.

"It's all gone. He told me he went to Ramicorn and destroyed what he wanted. Just because they told you more about him."

"HE ATTACKED THEM FOR THAT REASON?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"That's what he told me before he threw me over here. If Canterlot's anything to go off, he's going after everywhere. Princess, you and your friends do have a plan, right?" the guard asked. The whole group paused in wondering what was going to happen now. Not only did Grogar take over Canterlot, but also had the time to wreck Ramicorn in just half an hour. Just the concept of that kind of speed was giving them chills, especially since they weren't sure where he was gonna go now. Not after this information was given however, there's one more problem they got on their hands and hooves when they checked the group ...

Steven was gone.

"What the? Steven? Where's Steven?"

"He must've gone to get the word out. Now come on, we gotta stay ahead of that ram!" Rainbow Dash said, the first to bolt off to get her respected task done. Some of the Harmony Gems began to split up to get their towns nearby the area all on lockdown and ready, but the thought on where Steven went still was lingering on whoever remained. Soon, the only ones left were Garnet, Spinel, Twilight and Connie.

In truth, it didn't take too long until they found where he disappeared to. Right inside the barn. Looking in, all Steven did was sit down on one of the hay bales inside, back against one of the support beams and basically contemplating his own decisions at this point. Two big places already destroyed so quickly, and they didn't stop it.

"Steven? You okay bro?" Spinel asked, cautiously walking in.

"No. I'm not. Everyone's so ready to fight but ... UGH, this is all my fault!"

"How's it all your fault? You didn't make any of this happen," Connie retorted. But Steven was already feeling harsh about it.

"It doesn't matter what I do anymore! I was expected to kill the Ram, and I never did, and NOW look what happens. I left it alone for too long A-And now I know for a fact that we can't even beat him, because he's got White Diamond and Discord's powers!"

"Steven calm down," Twilight said urgently, but Steven wasn't listening.

"Red Diamond's expecting me to destroy him, and I got too scared and too stubborn to do it! And even if I did, HOW CAN I DO THAT NOW?! Now he's the most powerful king ever and we can't even touch him without getting slaughtered! ... Grogar knew all along this was gonna happen ..."

Steven fell back down to his knees. Honestly, all Twilight could think to do is bring a wing around him. What can she even say to him though, given the situation he was in?

"Steven, listen to me. I've been with you all for years, watching you all do so many amazing things ever since we first met, and if there's one thing that I've learned from it, is that even when things are impossible, there's never a time when we all gave up, and even the few times you did, there's always someone behind to get you back up to your feet."

Twilight helped get Steven back to to his feet as she continued explaining.

"You seem to know a lot about it," Steven said.

"I learned how bad it can be without your friends after Grogar tricked me into overwork and captured me for it. I was so caught up in being a princess that I almost forgot my friends, but it was your rescue that helped me remember how important friendship is."

"Twilight that wasn't even my plan. In fact, I nearly wrecked the plan."

"To save me, Steven," said Connie, "You were scared of what'll happen just like everyone else was. Your heart was still in the right place, and always has been. You even tried giving Grogar a second chance, even when no one else wanted you to -"

"And look what happened. He's NOT changed and he's turning every single world into his toybox. If I'd just swallow my pride and finish him when I could this wouldn't even be happening!" Steven exclaimed, his fist banging against the post before he collapsed again, this time sitting down with his head to his knees.

"....... I'm so scared. ... What do I even do?" Steven was so close to be on the verge of tears at this point. Connie, Spinel, Twilight, and Garnet looked to one another before an answer finally came up.

"You want to know something Steven? There's a lot of times when I don't really know what to do either. And when I don't know what to do, I stop using just up here for a minute -" Garnet pointed to her head, "And started using in here." she then pointed to where her heart would be. "Even if it didn't turn out like you wanted, you still made the right choice in trying to give Grogar a second chance. You're always good at making others happy, Steven, even if you don't know it."

"... You still think I'm doing okay? Even if what I did made things worse?"

"The only one making things worse right now is Grogar, not you. And let's be honest, Grogar's probably going to tell you that when we run into him again, and when he does. Don't listen to him. The only thing he's doing is trying to knock you down. We all love you Steven, even if you don't think you deserve it. Nothing's going to change that and we're not going anywhere," Connie promised.

"You really mean that?" Steven asked in disbelief. Rather than go into another speech, Connie just summed it up with a kiss on the cheek, which summed it up pretty well.

"It's not like you did ALL bad. I mean, look at me," Spinel said, "I was coming down to Earth and ready to kill all of you after getting messed up and thinking you're all with the Diamonds, but now thanks to you I'm all cool with it. That and you did save me from being stuck alone again so ... eh, here."
Spinel wasn't as good with thoughts as the others so she summed it up with a hug to Steven. Connie, Twilight, and Garnet were happy to join in, leaving Steven quiet at first but his tears coming out felt warm instead of cold, the tears of doubt being replaced by tears of joy.

"Thanks guys. I love you guys too," Steven said.

"There's the Steven we know," Garnet said smiling. The group gave Steven some space so he can get up and start heading out of the barn.

"Okay, so everyone already getting everyone ready for Grogar, but he's still going to try and get all of us whenever he can. He's already got Sumu AND the Spirit with him so my guess is he probably already knows wherever we go in any world we jump into. We need SOMEWHERE we can go that Grogar doesn't know about. Somewhere only we know."
The group tried thinking on where something like that would be, but slowly their thoughts were shifting to Sumu more. Despite all of her knowledge about them from plant talk, Sumu was in essence still a plant. So if they were to go anywhere, it can't be anywhere organic or have plant life on it, or at the least not suitable for Sumu to stray in for long. They all were thinking hard on it, but as if by some miracle, Twilight got an idea that simply HAD to work.

"I got it! I gotta go real quick, you three get whoever you can right back here as soon as everywhere's ready to go," Twilight said.

"But wait, where's the place?"

"Somewhere we've never been to before, but somewhere my friend knows about. Be right back," Twilight replied. A bit cryptic but enough for them to be convinced. However she skidded to a stop once she got outside of the barn before looking back and saying "Garnet, find a moon base somewhere for a backup," before getting out her portal key and getting a portal open for use. Without a moment's hesitation she jumped her way through to her destination.

~~~~~~

Determination doesn't even describe how much both sides were trying to make their goal work. The Harmony Gems with their respected tasks went right to work in spreading the word on Grogar's invasion plan to wherever they could. Each place they've spoke to got them all on edge but prepared themselves for whatever Grogar might have for them: some places such as Ponyville chose to just hide and wait for it to blow over, while other places like Diamond City were quick to set up what defenses they could against this approaching enemy. Whichever the case may be for the Harmony Gems' side they were getting things done, and in fact as they were doing this they were actually getting some decent help in the fight as well on the front lines.
By the time they all got back together at the barn, their original number just above twenty had easily ranked up much higher at this point: The Diamond Authority, the Off-Colors, the Pillars of Equestria, and many others from wherever they could. Their fleet had turned into a rightful army to face against Grogar's army whatever it may be. Twilight and Starlight stood in front of the crowd, with some big box with them too.

"All of Homeworld's on high alert now, and now with more knowledge about him they should hold him off for a while," Yellow Diamond informed.

"And we got Ponyville and Beach City evacuated and safely out of the way too," added Rarity.

"There's no doubt that Grogar's going to come our way, so if we're gonna face him we need somewhere we can set up basecamp at. And we know exactly where to go," Starlight said confidently.

"And that would be where? Sumu's been everywhere we have," pointed out Rhodonite.

"And what's that box gotta do with it?" asked Tiger's Eye, pointing to the crate behind them.

"That's not entirely true. We're gonna need a guide first. someone who knows this place inside and out long before anyone else, and he should be ready right now," Starlight said.

"He? Starlight?" asked Spike.
Starlight and Twilight nodded to one another and brought their attention to the crate. Starlight and Twilight both turned the box and Starlight seemed to give a signal to it by knocking onto the box. Starlight and Twilight both moved back and sat down waiting for their special guest to come up. Many of them were thinking that this box would have the guest inside there, but there was more to this than any of them thought. For a short moment, one of the corners of the box began to distort and blur a little bit, as if something was manifesting in view of it. It was at this point their special guest started phasing through the corner of the box, and out into the late winter weather of their world.

Sniper the Tindalos.

"Hi Starlight. You knocked for me, did you?" Sniper asked, happy to see her.

"Yeah, we might need a bit of help," Starlight replied. Sniper was about to ask for what, but the Tindalos immediately began seeing the sheer high amount of Gems and Ponies all present there, enough to make the creature start moving back a bit, ears folded back in worry and growling a little, especially when seeing the towering Diamonds there.

"Wait, wait, relax, they're not going to hurt you," Starlight made clear to help calm him down. Sniper looked to her and took a breath, ears back up again.

"Oh, sorry. It's a natural habit," Sniper replied after calming down.

"So THIS is your main plan Twilight? I'm sorry but I don't know. Us and his pack never really got along," Lapis pointed out, not sure about the idea. Sniper decided to speak for his pack.

"Oh, no trouble. My father might've held a grudge but the rest of the pack doesn't hold anything against you, they know you're just trying to survive. Simple as that. Anyway, we do have several other dens to use, so you're free to use this one if you all have to," Sniper explained. So that's one hurdle they don't have to deal with, which was more than good given the trouble already.

"Wait wait. Den? As in ... a animal hole underground?" questioned Hessonite.

"It's fairly clean, and plenty of space even for your giant friends over there. As long as navigation inside the den isn't gonna be a problem, then it should be good for you," Sniper explained. With the little timeframe they didn't have time to work out anything else so they had to basically roll with it. Sniper turned back to the crate to enter it, but he quickly stopped himself on the ... obvious problem.

"N-Not to worry, portals back to my realm can accommodate all sizes. ... But for safety's sake, we'll enter from over here," Sniper said.

"Thank you," Twilight and Starlight said. Sniper trotted over not to the box but towards the large barn. It's still slightly small compared to the Diamonds, but it's still plenty of room for them to enter. The entire corner of it started to warp and blur away, telling them the portal was more than ready for them. To make sure the portal remained open for them Sniper kept himself in position right between the realm, in a way like how the portal doors can prop open.

"After you," Sniper said, offering to let them go by him inside.

"Thank you, Sniper, that's very polite," Steven said.
There was honestly some caution around the whole group, as none of them actually knew where Sniper was even from. Their past experience with the Tindalos beforehand, and what sort of clues Sniper left for them over the years about his home world did at least tell them his realm wasn't as friendly as the others they were familiar with. Still they were more focused on getting a base together instead of that. Steven and Connie both took the lead in and they began to phase through the Tindalos portal. What did they find on the other side? ...
Space. LOTS AND LOTS OF SPACE. The main chamber of this den, as they all began to look around, was simply colossal, about the same size as the Diamond Authority's main chamber in the Diamond Palace, light being very limited at best. The entire walls were left dark gray to black, made up almost entirely of smooth stone and a hint of dust. They could see other tunnels around the area, but they all didn't look dug out but rather jagged with octagon entrances and cornerways everywhere.

"My goodness," gasped Blue Diamond, peering in.

"I think we won't have a problem," Steven decided, looking back to the others. Cleanliness wasn't a problem either, since they hardly found any actual dirt that settled in the den.

"So this is your den, eh Sniper. It's actually not that - AAHH!"

One little issue that Sniper forgot to mention: Tindalos alter their forms between realms. And now that they were in his Home world, his body had already altered itself into what they could only assume to be his original form. They knew he was Sniper thanks to his blue eyes, but his entire body that made him a wolf had been altered a lot. Still having four legs, sure, but his body no longer looked all crooked and jagged all over, his limbs not even ending in paws but more like three triangular toes, with various spikes running down his back, and ears and muzzle sharpened like blades. There was NOT a single curve on his entire body like any of them, the only actual curve being his ribbon-like tail.

"No no no, it's only me! ... Well, the real me. It happens when we Tindalos return to our realm."

"... Right. I'll remember that for next time," Starlight said. Something for later.

"You're so ... sharp," Spinel said, poking one of his corners on his back.

"All in the family," Sniper replied. "So, will this all work for you all?"

"Oh definitely, thank you and your family. You all can have it back when we're done," Blue Diamond said. Sniper nodded and began to move back to the portal, trying to keep it open as everyone began to move their way in. It took a bit of time for everyone to go through the portal back into the den, but slowly and surely everyone began to disappear from one realm to another. There was a very few left though when suddenly Sniper's ears began to perk up. He started sniffing the air back in Earth for a short bit.

"Sniper, what's the matter?" asked Starlight.

"How many did you say were coming in with you?" Sniper asked.

"That should be everyone. ... What is it you're smelling?" Starlight asked cautiously. Sniper sniffed a bit more again. He and Starlight looked over towards beyond the hills a ways from there, and almost seemed to get the same idea.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Suppose so. Starlight, you get in there, I'll be right back."

Starlight went into the den, and Sniper bolted off.

~~~~~~

As they were making a lot of progress, so too was Grogar and his advancing troops. Me may have won over Canterlot by himself but that didn't mean he had an army to back him up like he would like, so getting some troops together for the overall invasion was a must. With time to spend he went around wherever the Harmony Gems hadn't shown up already and began gathering up what monsters he can, even making some completely on his own thanks to his magical prowess. With god powers, some creatures created from thin air never hurt. Even with all this power, his loyalist of subjects were slowly starting to become a bit more concerned, especially given the kinds of monsters he was creating. In the heat of his creation stream, he just got himself finished creating a whole troops of flying Gargoyles to help him out, all of them dangerous and action-hungry much to Grogar's glee, and the fear of his subjects.

"Won't you just look at all of that? Gargoyles, Hook Horrors, Gremlins, Even the Leviathan ALL together in one place. doesn't it just bring a tear to your eyes, lads?" Grogar said, enjoying the sight of this advance of an army. Grogar went over towards one of the Hook Horrors - it was like a upright turtle with extremely sharp mantis arms - giving it a nudge. The creature, even with it being in his army, screeched and slashed its claw at him, actually getting some fur off of Grogar's mane. Grogar moved back, but then he laughed.

"You flatterer! The world will never know what's coming!" Grogar laughed. At least he was happy, but Bray and Budgerite nearby were just left shivering in place.

"B-Bray? ... I'm scared."

"How do you think I feel? You can pop back I can't," Bray said shivering, talking about Gem reformation there. The two quickly moved back when one of the monsters created roared their way, and actually began to hone in on the two. Luckily for their necks the creature was pulled back by Grogar by its tail, putting it back in line.

"Easy big fella, you'll get your taste soon enough. Leave the pests alone for now," Grogar said.

"Thank you my - ... wait, pests? You mean friends?" Budgerite asked humbly. Grogar looked down to them both, towering over them like any diamond would which REALLY didn't sit well for the hybrid Gem.

"I can call you whatever I want. You're not dumb enough to defy me now are you?" Grogar inquired.

"NO NO, NOT AT ALL!" both donkey and gem said quickly, scared he was going to crush them under hoof. Grogar just laughed at them, his tail still knocking them away despite not using his own hooves. Grogar had been a cruel Ram, but now he was just not considerate to them at all. Grogar just ignored those two, and brought his attention off nearby to another "special guest" nearby in form of the Spirit.
The Spirit couldn't believe a mere mortal was doing this to her: to take her horn away, and left in chains on a wagon of Grogar's own imagination to keep the Spirit from flying away. All she did was simply sit there and watch as all this was going on. It didn't help that she was without her cloak either, exposed to the cold. Not that Grogar cared.

"Alright you. Get my future told right now. Where're the Harmony Gems going to now that I'm free?"

"Up your flank," the Spirit growled. Grogar didn't even hesitate and slammed his hoof on top of her head, shoving her snout into the ground.

"Do i need to remind you that YOUR foresight's the only reason your alive right now? Now try again: Where're they going?" Grogar asked, his snout hovering right by her ear so she wouldn't miss anything. The Spirit was still ticked off Grogar got this strong in the first place.

"My foresight does not work that way. I see to ending outcomes, and try to prevent them so your universes don't -" *WHACK* right across the face.

"I don't want excuses, I want answers! Now be a good horse and whinny for me or I'll melt off more than just your horn," Grogar warned. The Spirit was left staring at Grogar's red eyes, and looking around she just groaned. Without her horn this process was a little harder, but she did close her eyes and tried her magic aura anyway. A few sparks got out, sure, but the aura still worked thank goodness.

"You'll find them in a new realm, they're all there to prepare for you further, for some will leave and some will fight. That's as far as I am truly aware," the Spirit answered. Grogar smirked and stepped off of her.

"There you go, that wasn't so hard. SUMU!" Grogar said. Sumu popped up right in front of the Spirit, a bit cold but a bit quicker this time. The Spirit stared at the small little Plunder Vine as Sumu looked right up to the god.

"Yes sir? ... Say did you get taller?"

"Later. Sumu, Stay put here and keep yourself hidden in the ground. You'll be needed later, understand? Bray, get to Nichrome and check the Homeworld artilleries. We're ALL about to go to war," Grogar instructed. Sumu nodded yes and burrowed back down into the ground to do just that. Grogar was looking forward to this for a LONG TIME.

Sniper had to bolt back immediately.

.......

"Grogar plans to come in here and destroy us," stated Twilight to everyone within the den, "He's going to give us everything he's got, so anyone who doesn't want to fight should stay in here."

"And for anyone who does want to fight. Get in line behind Me," said a confident and battle-ready Bismuth. It was a bit hard to say if anyone didn't want to at least try and fight them off for the sake of the world, but given what they were putting themselves up against it was by far from a quick victory.

"Twilight, think for a minute here, you all sure you want to do this?" asked Rhodonite one final time, "There's a god running around for us, with an entire army armed with who-knows-what on their way right now here! We REALLY need a different spot. ... Maybe he'll make it quicker of we -"

"Oh, run away? That's a splendid idea, let's run away - A-And what happens when they chase you down?" Hessonite cut in, "And even if you can stay ahead of them, where exactly do you plan to go?"

Rhodonite was shut up right then and there, along with whoever else wanted to just take off and go. There were quite a few that were wondering if they should stay or not, but after a good three seconds of silence a voice spoke up again, belonging to the fusion Garnet.

"We're not going to make any of you stay here if you don't want to," Garnet continued, "But Earth. Equus. Homeworld. They're our home. And I WILL fight to keep it."

... No one decided to go. As scared as some were to face against Grogar now, it's even scarier to let him take over the world if Homeworld was any indication on what that would mean. They were scared, but they were ready to at least try and keep what they had from this invader, no matter which world they were from.

"Just so you all know, there's no going back if you stay. We're all staying to fight until the very end," warned Flash Magnus one more time. Just to be sure that everyone was absolutely sure they wanted to stay. Once again, none of them moved.

"If you think I'm going to get my Gem marked by some mutant pig cutter, then you're out of your mind. I'm staying!" announced Amethyst, hand raised good and high to be sure they knew she was there and ready. Little by little, the others started to raise their own hands. Some more reluctant, some more confident, but either way they all were raising their hands up high for the battle ahead.

It's decided.

"Alright. Let's do it," Garnet decided. Upon that notion, she brought out their literal key for this mission to work, and with Portal Key in hand, threw it over to the nearest wall to get their path opened up for them. Before any of them could go, Garnet looked to Hessonite first.

"Hessonite, set things up here. Don't give into them whatever you do, at least for the first twenty two minutes and thirty seconds," Garnet instructed. Hessonite smiled confidently, sword already drawn out and at the ready.

"When have perfect Garnets like us ever backed from a challenge?" Hessonite said. Garnet knew that answer was coming from a mile away. Steven also spoke when he saw Spinel.

"Spinel, I'm going to need you to stay here and help everyone else. They're going to need all the help they can get, and you can give them a lot of it. I promise I'll come back," Steven instructed.

"Okie dokie Steven. I'm gonna send them all packing their bags in no time, just you wait and watch me! I promise, I'll be a strong Gem for ya, bro. In the real way," Spinel said with a salute. Steven smiled to his little sister as they both saluted eachother.

"Good luck out there."

"You too."

"Gems! Ponies! Let's go!" announced Garnet. With the exchanges finally met, it's time to have the teams split up. The Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Gems began to take their leave, heading through the portal with no time to lose. The sooner they get to Homeworld from here, the better their chances to stop Grogar once and for all. They needed every second they could get. In a quick dash through the portal, the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Gems were gone and on their way. They got their half of the plan to work out, now everyone else had to give them the time they needed.

"Alright everyone, you heard the heroes! Off-Colors, your team will take the north, and the Pillars you can -" before Hessonite could continue on with her instructions, Sniper nudged her side.

"Hessonite, is it? If this is gonna be an all-out scrap, maybe we'd better show you all where to go. After all, we got more experience in this world than any of you ever could," Sniper said, as the rest of his pack started to come up behind him.

"Come now, Garnet put me in charge of this heroic mission -"

*AHEM* said her own Diamond. There was no time for any of her bravado.

"... I-I mean ... yes. I'm open for suggestions," Hessonite said.

The biggest main entrance is just beyond the front tree roots. I say get the largest fighters set up there and the other front entrances for the larger ones out there.

A fairly easy decision to make for that one, and the strongest of their group began to line themselves up along the front entrance. Fluorite, Bismuth, Rockhoof, and a few others lined up at the ready for the fight ahead of them, looking out to the barren plains just beyond the den entrance they could see the rows of monsters Grogar managed to bring up in his short time out, gathering up large Pony Golems and Leviathan and her pod along the front lines for the bigger assault. Leviathan herself hauled up into view, bellowing out a guttural roar.

"There so many of them," Fluorite said.

"Don't worry bout a thing, lass. Just let em try to get in here," Rockhoof said, hooves scraping the ground like a bull ready to charge. Bismuth smirked as she got out her hammer arms.

"I'd love to see that," Bismuth said smugly.

Far off into the soon-to-be battlefield, Leviathan actually started to make her way towards them, some of her pod moving out of her way as she forcefully whacked any slow ones aside. Nevermind what Grogar told her to do - this big girl was taking over NOW.

There're a few smaller tunnels going just underneath the field. Some of the more magical ones should probably go there if you want to set up a few traps.

The tunnels themselves were a bit smaller compared to the main tunnels, so fitting through them was a bit harder for the average animals. But it was a good size for those such as Aquamarine, Emerald, Spike, Hoppy and Hopper to get themselves inside.

"We should be directly underneath the field. They won't know what hop'd them," Hoppy said, her sword at the ready.

"I'm going to get shattered, that's what's going to happen to me," Aquamarine said, "But you'll survive and probably be a legendary captain somewhere. But deep down they love me, I know they do. ... So they'll make a statue of me in my honor, praising and a reminder every day of what could've been -"

"Oh Red Diamond take me - I'll kill you myself if you DON'T SHUT UP," Emerald cut in, grabbing Aquamarine by the collar and looking ready to slap her.

"That's nice, that's so reassuring from someone you're about to go into battle with," Aquamarine said. Emerald will just had to deal with it until this is all over ... or until one of them gets killed, whichever comes first.

There are several other openings all around the den, seven last i checked. Try and spread yourselves out in each, keep none of them open.

Numerous amounts of this army were scattered about every which way, Grogar's Army moving along and making sure every single entrance was blocked off for the upcoming battle ahead. Numerous animals, some old and some new, were seen off at least a good thirty feet from each entrance into the Tindalos den. Gems, Ponies, and whatever else kept each entrance guarded. This included even the Diamond Authority. And both White and Blue took their own guard at one of the entrances together.

Despite everything, this moment gave them one final moment to talk.

"Blue? ... In case something were to uhh ... happen. I just want to say I'm so sorry for everything I've done to all of you."

"Oh White. We've already forgiven you," Blue said.

"I know but ... I promised I'd help Homeworld be better. To make everyone happy ... I make you happy. But now I ... don't know if I'm going to see it," White said, a bit worried about the outcome of this whole endeavor of theirs. Blue Diamond looked over to White briefly before she looked onward to the army. They may be Diamonds, but experience already told Blue that they were not indestructible by any means. Hard to break at the least.

"Well ... how was that going to go?" Blue asked. White could feel a fluster come up ever so briefly, but this time the blush didn't last all too long. Did she mean Homeworld or just her?

"W-Well ... I'd start by letting the Gems be themselves, umm ... not be so harsh on any Off-Color Gems back home. As for you uhh ... I'd start by telling you how wise and caring you've become. And how you've become a great Diamond, you and Yellow both. ... But ... in the end ... I'll just end up telling you ..."

White Diamond leaned against Blue Diamond, holding onto her robe.

"... How beautiful I think you are. ..."

And in that moment, White Diamond looked back to Blue and what did she find? ... Blue Diamond smiling. It might be the start of a fierce battle, but Blue still gently placed a caring hand on White Diamond one more time. White Diamond saw it happen after all.

Nothing left unsaid. They were ready.

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, just outside of the den, the army was slowly beginning to take up shape. Grogar got them all surrounding the entire den and what entrances they could find. They themselves were just like the pack of wild wolves that were helping the Harmony Gems too, waiting for the word to rush in and raise Tartarus on the Tindalos Den.

"Alright, that's every entrance armed up from what we can find, sir," informed one of the soldiers ready to go.

"Excellent work. They got nowhere to run now," Grogar said sinisterly, licking his razor sharp teeth. There was no way ever are they going to get their way out of this one, regardless of the issue. As he looked on towards the so-called stronghold of the Harmony Gems, Tempest Shadow moved in over towards him.

"You have them all at your mercy, my lord. Our prison hold will suit them rather well," Tempest Shadow said.

"What prisoners?" Grogar asked. At first Tempest was just going to explain to him the prison hold they've had in mind, but one look on his face told her that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You ... are taking prisoners. Right?"

"Absolutely not," Grogar replied. "I want them all to scream by the time I'm done with them."

"Sir? You're the leader of your kingdom, showing some mercy would better suit -" Tempest was harshly cut short when Grogar turned and suddenly Tempest shadow was off of her hooves and onto the ground, whacked away by a hit of Grogar's sideways kick. He barely used any muscle to do that thank the stars, otherwise Tempest would be in even worse trouble.

"Listen closely, if you're going to sit there and think about everything I do, I will kill you. You will do as I say and you will like it. GOT IT?" Grogar snarled.

"... S-Sir," Tempest managed to say. Budgerite helped Tempest back up onto her hooves as Grogar moved over towards the front of his line. If he was going to watch them all suffer he wanted a front row seat for it.

"Now everyone line up. We're going in."

The invasion began with Grogar's Earth-shaking roar. The entire realm could possibly hear it, and everyone inside of that den knew what will be coming their way. The first signs were distant roars and screeches from creatures they've never heard of before, echoing through the air just before the ground began to rumble from an army's footsteps coming right towards the den. As many of them were running at them at full speed, Grogar they saw simply took his time in a casual stroll to them instead.

"Here they come. GIVE EM ALL YOU GOT!" Bismuth ordered, being the first of the Harmony Gems' side to actually rush out right towards the army. With hammer arms ready, she made the first attack on them and leaped for the invading creatures, her mighty swing slamming into the ground with all her strength at once. This attack was followed by combined attacks of Rockhoof and Fluorite charging in like freight trains, numerous soldiers from Grogar's side getting brutally slammed and forced back.
This was just the first area of the overall assault onto the Tindalos den, as every entrance that could enter the den was being invaded by the army. The Harmony Gems wherever they were, found themselves facing this fight no matter what the case may be. Most of the fighting was done at each of the entrances into the den, with any and all guards at each putting in some effort to keep them back, but those still inside had their own problems as the army was taking them in from above too, digging into the den from wherever they wanted to.

"Off the roof!" Spinel shouted, her fist suddenly smashing through the hole they just finished, sending three of the troops flying off of the den rooftop. That same hand grabbed at least two more and swung them around to knock ten back like a spinning fan before throwing them aside.

"Good work, Spinel! keep it up, they can't know what's going on yet," said Starlight. Spinel was feeling pretty good, but that was very short-lived before they heard a crack above the tunnel, and another monster suddenly jumping down inside! Starlight got this one though and as soon as it got in, she levitated right out, knocking back five more. She made sure they stood back with a magic blast skyward too.

Cutting back to outside the den however, it was going through a lot more trouble than inside: dealing with the front lines, Leviathan was plowing through the way to reach the creatures standing in her way. Yellow Diamond naturally was the one who stood face-to-face with that beast, and unlike before Leviathan wasn't near any water for any surprises.

"PUny PiBble!" Leviathan bellowed, charging blindly at her while almost trampling her own subjects. Yellow Diamond braced herself and felt tons of blubber and muscle slam into her like a landslide, making her skid back hard on the ground before stopping a good ten feet.

"You're NOT beating me this time. I know how to deal with you," Yellow Diamond groaned, before gathering her own strength and began to push Leviathan back. As much as the beast tried to fight back, even biting hard into Yellow's shoulder, Yellow Diamond got a good grip on Leviathan's body and swung her over her head, giving the beast a Curplex into the ground.

"Everyone move aside!" ordered Yellow Diamond, grabbing Leviathan by the tail. her allies ducked just quick enough to avoid the oncoming swing, and Leviathan was thrown right into the army, sending her and dozens of others flying and tumbling onto the ground in a huge crash. Yellow Diamond just smirked smugly before getting back into the fight with the rest as Leviathan sloppily got back to her bearings and forced herself back into the fray. She even grabbed some of the soldiers Grogar had and threw them back at her! Yellow Diamond blocked most of them, but one large Storm Creature got her right in the head and leaving her distracted. Leviathan found her chance.

*bang*

Until just before she could land on top of Yellow. Out of nowhere, a shot from Flint's pistol.

"Fortunately, I know how to deal with those too," Flint joked with a wink.

With them going back into the fight, more waves of enemy troops were coming in closer to the den, finding an opening as everyone else was distracted up front. The weight of their feet onto the ground below them shook up the underground tunnels, roaring and shouting their warrior cries as they made their way closer to their target.

"Another wave's coming. Time to show them our own riddle," decided Somnambula, giving the signal for Spinel to bring out the warhorn. Only instead of blasting it in the air, she stuck it down into the ground and blew good and strong. Moments later ...

"EAT FIRE!" shouted Emerald from underground, just before green flames suddenly shot out from the ground below like a fire geyser, catching a large goblin off guard and suddenly on fire. This did stop a few other soldiers in their run, but this only left them expose to Spike's fiery blasts from below, different fire geysers blasting off from all over the place to catch the soldiers by surprise. However this didn't stop all of them, as Grogar had himself a couple of Pony Iron Golems as well, which galloped right through the flames without even hesitating.

"Jade, honey?" said Aquamarine. Jade nodded and focused her own energy. Small fire geysers were fine and all but they needed A LOT more power to keep this wave back. Fortunately for them, Jade had the exact thing as a jaded serpentine Dragon blasted out of the ground, seemingly out of nowhere to confront the army. The Dragon bolted right at them, spiraling and spinning rapidly, using the momentum to whack away any Iron Golems and other creatures in the group. They weren't getting passed this beast without clearance. At first this draconic appearance gave them all a good start, but as some of the soldiers stepped back, one of them accidentally broke through one of the smaller tunnels underfoot, stumbling back and unwittingly exposing those hiding underneath them.

"They're under here!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"HIYAAAA!" Hoppy shouted. They HAD to go and fight now, and they rushed out from their hiding place to fight off the larger creatures. Hoppy was quick to start fighting with her sword as Hopper and Spike joined her soon after. Emerald and Aquamarine more or less had to get out of there to avoid getting stomped on, but Emerald did fight back later as Aquamarine kept her distance up in the air. Not to say they left her alone, as many of them tried to jump at her from the ground below.

"Watch where you're striking, you disgusting creature," Aquamarine said in disgust, quick to use her wand to levitate and launch back any that got close to her. Although she had good aim with her wand, she couldn't get all of them at one time (or had the time to do that), since she felt herself get struck down by a quick attack from a leaping Hook Horror. The strike from behind knocked her down to the ground, her wand flying in the air and out of reach. She tried getting it, but one of the monsters stomped right on it.

"Careful! I don't have that many left you know!" Aquamarine snapped, before a large minion of Leviathan grabbed her by the back and lifted her up to crush her. It roared at her, saliva splattering all over her as it readied to swallow her whole. This did not go unnoticed for long, and guess who happened to see her?

"Aquamarine!" said Emerald. The hexagons he had got right to work, and with a mighty swing struck the seal-beast right in the gut, with a second one slamming the head moments later. Emerald got right by Aquamarine and got out several more hexagons, making them fly every which way to keep the army back. Aquamarine was ... admittedly impressed.

"My Emerald. I didn't know you cared about me," Aquamarine said, only partially teasing him.

"I don't, baby, but not enough for you to die. Here you go," Emerald said, picking up the wand and tossing it over to her so she can be armed. Aquamarine decided to take it and run with it, but stayed close to his side as they went back into the fight.
Then slowly came the king. During all of this fighting, strangely enough, Grogar was actually the last to walk into the fray, his casual strolling not fazed by the brutality going on all around him. Hearing the war cries and seeing his own troops fly by him didn't bother him anymore in his walk towards this onslaught around him. The only time he briefly stopped was an explosion going on right next to him, released part by some magical Unicorn energy, but that was hardly any.

"What kept you?" called Tiger's Eye mockingly. "You're getting lazy?!"

"I just have a specific group in mind for my hooves. But I don't mind the extra company!" Grogar said, before starting to make his presence known with a barrage of bombs being released from his horns like a fountain.

"SCATTER!" shouted Rockhoof. The Harmony Gems raced away wherever they could, explosions from these bombs blasting off every which way like an aerial attack. The stronger fighters actually had the strength to knock them back towards Grogar, the god ram only getting hit once in the chest and briefly stopping from the hit.

"Stay behind me, White," Blue said, stepping in front of her. Grogar's casual walk didn't stop until he was twenty feet away from a army in front, and an army behind him.

"Well isn't this such a noble picture? If you're so willing to fight together, how about you all die together and make it a fitting ending?"

"In your dreams! We're never giving up and we're never going to bow down before you, no matter WHAT you do! Turn around now, and you might learn from it!" Yellow Diamond warned.

"We all know who you're after, but newsflash: you're not getting them! Better listen and might as well pack and go home while you got something to pack up!" shouted Fulgurite.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to. You never stood a chance against me, NONE OF YOU! Surrender and I'll kill you quicker! Or are you all a fan of slow pain?" Grogar them laughed manically.

"We're NOT surrendering Grogar," Blue Diamond said.

"DIE THEN!" Grogar roared. His horns charged up in a bright hue of green before launching a huge barrage of lightning their way. Starlight jumped in and she, combined with Mistmane, had just enough power in their shield to block of many of the lightning attacks. It was only a matter of time before they all had to face Grogar, and they didn't take any chances.
The first to go in after the shield went down were the Pillars of Equestria, charging in right for the God Ram without thinking twice. Flash Magnus and Somnambula rushed around his horns as Rockhoof took the hooves head on with his shovel and pure strength alone. At first it was a distraction, but the ram only needed a quick flash of his horns to send the group back away from him.

"His magic's too powerful head on," called Flash Magnus. "We got to weaken him!"

"Leave it to me!" Yellow Diamond said, charging up for one of her own lightning attacks. Grogar was hardly spooked and turned his head and golden horns her way, charging his own lightning towards her. Soon both lightning struck head on, leaving both of them in a magic blast stalemate, lightning flying everywhere! A strong hit, but Yellow was quickly losing.

"Not this time!" Blue said. As Grogar was busy with her, he saw Blue seem to work in something from her own hands: a very bright blue aura coming from nowhere, and it wasn't her emotional aura either. In a wave of her hand, a large blue orb appeared and floated up right above Yellow Diamond's head, and suddenly it began firing blue aura beams right at him! Grogar briefly stopped attacking with lightning and quickly made a magic shield just in time to avoid the blasts from Blue Diamond, each shot landing in a miniature explosion of light.

"You can't defeat me! I'M A GOD NOW!"

"You're a crazy goat, Grogar! and if you want the Harmony Gems, you'll have to get through ALL of us first!" called Starlight Glimmer.

Grogar gave another mighty roar and advanced towards them again, a shield formed in front of him so any attack would be rendered useless. As well as it was to block off the projectiles in front of him, Fulgurite and Hessonite both quickly bolted passed that and struck the Ram in the back legs: slice for one side and shock for the others. Grogar skidded and turned around quick to see the two, and attempted a blast at them but they just moved far too quick for him to make a proper hit. As his back was turned, he then felt a HUGE sets of fists slam him on top of the head, along with Spinel's laughing as she avoided his sharp teeth.

"Hess, aim for those horns. If he's like any Unicorn, he can't use his magic without those," Fulgurite said.

"Say no more," Hess replied. Hessonite went for broke in her attack, and with blinding fast speed raced right for the Ram with her sword at the ready. Spinel kept him distracted just long enough for Hessonite to make her hit, her sword making direct contact with that horn.

One hit, and it snapped.

"What? ..." Hess thought in shock. Grogar saw her in the air, and in a quick grab he caught her in his mouth. He had to focus though so instead of even killing her, he shook her up and threw her back towards the others, though he made sure to crack her gemstone good and harsh before letting her go. Hessonite got to her feet, but fell to her knees from the weakening blow on her. He bucked away Fulgurite and Spinel for a moment and without any more hesitation, he charged up a powerful beam from his own horns.

"Brace yourselves!" called Flash Magnus. Grogar charged as much power as his horns could possibly muster, created what can be described as a thunderstorm inside each horn before making his attack. Accompanied by a shattering roar, a beam of pure white and chaos magic spiraling at them in all their strength. The two titan Diamonds were unable to dodge this hit.

*POOF* went their forms, leaving only two Gemstones to fly through the air ...

*SMASH* went Grogar stomping on them both.

Everything was quiet immediately after that hit, Grogar moving back off of both Diamonds, just for them all to find nothing left but shards in his wake. White Diamond was left completely shell-shocked, blindly leaving the entire group and racing towards the two Gems. There was no scream, there wasn't even a yell coming from her.

"Yellow ... Blue ..."

"You all are so gullible. Get in that den!" ordered Grogar, all behind him running in towards the den to get at the Harmony Gems remaining inside. The others tried their best to fight them off, but White Diamond didn't even hear him, staring down at the remains of her fellow Diamonds as the army went right by her. White Diamond collapsed to her knees ... and she started to cry. ... Quiet, whimpering crying. ...

Only one group from Grogar's side didn't move, which Grogar quickly noticed.

"Tempest, take your group and come on already. This is ending now," Grogar ordered, starting to close in on the remaining gap between him and the Harmony Gems.

"... NO."

Grogar stopped.

"... What did you say to me? ..." Grogar asked, his voice in a low growl. Tempest did move, but instead of marching into the den, she went in between him and White Diamond.

"No. I'm NOT going in there with you," Tempest stated again. Neither she nor her troop moved any further in from where they were. Grogar snarled at her.

"You. My own captain, who I wasted my magic returning her horn, and THIS is how you thank me? You'd be dead if I never found you, Tempest!" Grogar reminded harshly, his head down to her level with his golden horns and helmet shining. Normally Tempest Shadow would consider it, but while that was more than true, everything Grogar had done started to play out in her head. All the creatures he fought, all the pain he caused, the torment he enjoyed doing. Tempest took one final breath for what she was about to do next.

She reared back. Lowered her head. And smashed her horn onto his. All that was left on her head now was the same cracked horn she started with, sparks flying out of it as she stared Grogar dead in the face.

"I'd rather lose my horn. Than lose my mind. Sir," Tempest Shadow stated.

"....... So be it."

Grogar couldn't believe it, just staring at the Unicorn in front of him. Grogar raised his head, towering over both broken Unicorn and Diamonds below her, and without saying another word to her, he reared back on his hind legs, his hooves sparked with dark energy. Tempest got herself battle-ready to face him, her own horn sparking. White Diamond was terrified, covering what shards remained with her own body as Grogar brought his giant hooves down.

"GROGAR!"

*BAM!* narrowly missed them both.

"WHAT?! Go in that den and get them!" Grogar roared angrily. However, Stubby bolted out from the den's many entranceways, racing right over to him as fast as the little fella can go.

"That's just it: they're not in there! The den only had a few tunnels into a BIG room, and no one's inside!" Stubby reported. Grogar looked on towards the hulking den they were trying to bust into. All of his soldiers out-numbering these Gems and Ponies and whatever else all over the place, all to get into a den that had nothing for them. Standing there, Grogar remembered suddenly what The Spirit had said.

"Some will leave, and some will fight. ... Stubby, get them captured. I'll be right back after a little pitstop."

Grogar suddenly brought his hoof up and sliced open a portal for him and Bray to enter.

"No!" White yelped, but Tempest blocked her way, not because she was against her but because he would crush her too if she didn't. Grogar glanced back to Tempest Shadow and White Diamond.

"You can rot with the rest of them Tempest," Grogar decided, before jumping through the portal and leaving them in Sniper's realm. He had no time to deal with any of them right now.

~~~~~~

Homeworld was up in arms, but oddly quiet as the Crystal Gems and Mane Six made their way in Homeworld's main city. Many guards were set up all over the place, telling them no actual attack was created on the planet yet, but Grogar's slip of "Homeworld artilleries" said that he was getting ready for them, and they had to get to it before he could get the chance.

"No one's attacked Homeworld! They've taken the bait!" Lapis said as they were rushing through the area.

"Then high-tail it before they figure it out," said Amethyst.

"Right, now Twilight, can you tell us what Grogar meant by that? Just calling it "artilleries" isn't that much to go on," asked Steven.

"That's all he said, but whatever it is we have to find them and destroy it before he can use them on Homeworld and everywhere else!" Twilight replied, answering for her. That was enough information for them to go with. Their running through some of Homeworld's elaborate buildings, lead by Garnet's future vision, brought the group high above the ground level, with one long connecting bridge from one tower to the other main one, leading close to the Diamond Palace itself.

"The artillery's in there," Garnet said.

"Good enough for me. Let's go!" said Pinkie Pie. The whole group began making their run across the bridge. The sooner they can make it over there, the sooner -

"Stop!" Garnet shouted, skidding to a grinding halt. Everyone else was just at the middle of the bridge when Garnet did this, the whole group turning back to the fusion.

"What's wrong Garnet? The tower's right there!" said Pearl.

"Yeah, come on let's go before Grogar gets smart!" Amethyst added. Garnet however wasn't moving, hands on the side of her head as she tried to focus enough ahead of time. Garnet suddenly snapped back to her senses.

"We have to fall back. We need a new plan!"

"WHAT?! WHY?!" exclaimed Connie.

"Because I already know your trick!"

There he stood. The voice shook up the ground, and everyone looked right up towards the tower they were trying to get to. They could tell that demonic Ram from anywhere, and even if a good mile away his golden attire still shined enough for them to see him. The distant chime of his bell made them know this is real. His horns were glowing bright as if he were a part of the sun, and they saw him slice the air in front of him only for a portal to pop up right in front of them. Grogar wasn't gonna keep them waiting.

"I was wondering when you all were going to show up. I was starting to get bored," Grogar mocked, walking casually through the make-shift portal he made, his horns sparking and swirling in magical aura. The rest of them armed up, Twilight bringing out a forcefield in case of an attack.

"So, let me get this right before we finish this. You're trying to take over all of our worlds because Celestia didn't help your family?" Twilight asked. Grogar slammed his hooves onto the shield, immediately smashing it to pieces and leaving them exposed before another forcefield was brought up again.

"NO, you pathetic equine! I'm taking over to prove that creatures, like myself, are the strongest and most powerful beings that has ever lived! Is there any doubt?" Grogar replied, taking a moment to eye the group's own brand of hybrids and fusions in the group. They knew he was targeting a few of them.

"In a way. We're hybrids, but we've done far more than you have WITHOUT beating up everyone," Steven said, just for Grogar to snort at them, the scent of hot embers emitting from his nostrils.

"Then ask yourselves this one: if the great, almighty Diamond Authority AND the perfect, loving Alicorn princesses are the strongest figures in Homeworld and Equestria history, and I just plowed through ALL OF THEM ... what does that make me?"

"A COMPLETE MORON!" Twilight exclaimed. "Grogar, you could've had it all: your own Kingdom, your own place to rule and call your own to do with as you wanted, Steven offered to give you that! We wanted to give you a second chance, but instead you threw that all away because you can't accept the fact that you got help from us."

"Firstly, no you didn't, and second, I never wanted any of your help! WHY would I need it now anyway, when I can topple ANY PROBLEM THAT STANDS IN MY WAY?!" Another blast from his horns shattered the secondary shield, this one stronger and throwing some back a ways.

"It doesn't matter how much power you have, that doesn't prove you're strong! Trust me, anger is NOT strength, it's weakness. Restraint takes strength, PATIENCE takes strength! And let's face it, you don't have ANY of that!" Steven said.

"Enjoy your words. Because that's the last thing you're gonna be grateful for."

They don't really have a choice here.

"Then let us entertain you for a bit," Pearl said, summoning her spear.

"And I think you're gonna have a tough time enjoying it," added Applejack. The others begin to summon their weaponry and armor. Grogar had to give them credit for standing up against impossible odds at the very best, the God Ram cracking his neck and gave a Lion's roar before making his way towards them. Simply running to them was enough to crack the ground under him, the magic aura covering his hooves and his teeth for the ultimate physical assault. It took the combined effort of Twilight, Rarity and Lapis to create a strong enough shield to withstand Grogar's charge, and even then it shattered after contact.
Anyone that could fly got themselves up and into the air and started making their own assaults from the air: Twilight blasting him with magical beams as Lapis assaulted him with hits from her water wings alongside Rainbow Dash's hoof strikes. Grogar summoned up a stone wall to block off some of the attacks from the air before focusing on the ground fighters. It hardly took them much time before they were jumping at him from all over the place: a whip in the face by Amethyst one second, pulled by chains from Lapis and Twilight another second, getting slammed by Garnet and Jasper for another, even a buck to the face by Applejack at a point before projectiles from Pearl and Twilight rained down on him. The Harmony Gems weren't giving this Ram time to breathe, let alone counterattack them. Grogar made numerous attacks on them, but with his abilities so many of them were out of nowhere: summoning a ring of lava around the sky to hit the fliers as he blasted a "barbed wire snake" to constrict the fighters on the ground, adding an oil slick to slip up Steven and Connie for good measure. Grogar lunged for the Humans just for them to be grabbed last second by swift Rainbow Dash, narrowly being missed herself by a few strands of her rainbow tail. He tried a second lunge, but this time he got Peridot underneath his hooves.

"No!" gulped Peridot.

"HI!" Pinkie suddenly replied, party cannon FROM NOWHERE and blasting him square in the face full of streamers and balloons. As a response, Grogar summoned an actual cannon to blast them out of the way just for a chain to yank him back by the horns again, just enough for the two to gain distance (and use the same cannon to shoot at him). Grogar kept a good front, but so much was being thrown at him at once it was getting overwhelming. He started thrashing his head, each swing shooting a random spell at them whatever it may be to get rid of them.

"You know what your problem is? You fighting types are so stubborn you don't know when you're outmatched!" Grogar said.

"Keep telling yourself that. NOW!" Twilight shouted. Grogar quickly armed up for whatever attack would come his way, summoning a forcefield around himself. The forcefield itself even looked intimidating with a reddish hue of electricity surrounding him. But as he waited for the next attack, it didn't come at him right away.
Instead, Lapis Lazuli stepped up next and brought her hands right to the god Ram, water shooting out of her wings not to attack him, but to encase him in his own shield! Grogar readied to blast it away but they weren't done yet, as Rainbow Dash rushed right around him and began flying in circles as fast as she could possibly go. The Pegasus never stopped for a moment until the winds around her wake began to pick up in its own spiral, just powerful enough to start lifting Grogar off of the ground. Grogar tried to keep footing, even summoning chains to tether him to the ground, but that only left him in the air.

"Amethyst?" offered Jasper.

"Right behind you," Amethyst replied. Joined together, both Quartzes started spinning in place, rapid-spinning and charging into a pair of energy-filled fireballs before rapid-spinning directly towards. With a warrior cry, both Gems charged right towards the Ram and, with him distracted by Lapis and Rainbow Dash, Grogar was exposed to a barrage of their strike, breaking both his shield AND actually hitting him hard enough to break his chains to send him flying up into the air. Jasper and Amethyst rushed out of the tornado in their blast but Grogar found himself spiraling in the air for a bit, before a single magical aura wave wiped out their tornado.

Grogar was starting to get annoyed now, especially since someone was right behind him. Grogar could only get a glance as Twilight appeared, wings spread and blasted the strongest spell she can right at Grogar's back. With his guard down it was just enough to bring him down to the floor, and onto his stomach.

"Alright everybody, group up!" called Applejack, ready for what they're gonna do next. As Grogar was getting himself back up and shaking off his hits, he turned to them to find that they were all up in the air already, magic users already summoning their powers as Gems brought out their weapons in arms. They ALL got their armor and weapons charged for him.
And then came the big strike: all weapons blasting directly at him all at once: magic blasts from the Unicorn and Alicorn, Gem projectiles from Lapis, Pearl, and Garnet magically enhanced for some extra power to them. Explosions and magic energy trampled down onto Grogar in a barrage of explosion, Grogar roaring throughout the entire time in their combined onslaught. And then everything was still. The shooting stopped, and everyone waited for the outcome of the blast, but all they could see was a cloud of smoke ...

"Is that it? ..." asked Connie.

The smoke slowly lifted around the target ... Grogar was frazzled, but the worst damage done to him was a very slight bruise in between his horns. Everything else? Nothing. Grogar simply shook it off.

"All of that, and NOTHING?!" exclaimed Peridot.

"My turn."

Now it was time for Grogar to show off his potential. The first move was to make sure they had nowhere to go, and Grogar made short work of that by lining their escape route behind them with a huge wall of obsidian crystal, spiking out from the bridge and growing like devilish trees. Of course they tried breaking it, but just touching it made whoever hit it jump back after being shocked. Twilight tried teleportation, but this was an eerily familiar crystal because the moment she tried, all that did was make her teleport back to Grogar's view. They were NOT going anywhere. They all saw that his horns were starting to glow again, this time the horrid mix of pure white and the chaotic mixture of rainbow, all coming together for one final killer attack, the wind picking up from the sheer force of energy he was making and blowing them all towards the crystalline wall. Any moment and they all were going to be part of the god's line of fire.
Garnet looked ahead, and saw Steven standing in front of them, trying his absolute best to hold his ground. Garnet knew what would happen now ...

She grabbed him.

"Garnet?"

"... We all love you Steven."

She threw him aside.

.......

One single second. That was the only time Steven had to contemplate what even happened next, it all happened so fast. For one single moment, Steven saw all of his friends: Human, Gem, and Pony alike standing together with their backs to the wall. And for the very next moment, nothing. Nothing but the white noise from an explosion so loud and so sudden, he couldn't even see anything. The knockback shook the world so much, Steven thought the planet had gone off from under his own feet. Everything was so quiet.
... He then saw what remained. Steven felt his heart stop. The next moment he could see, he could only see what remained of all of his friends. Just a few seconds ago they were all standing, and now they were all left laying on the floor. Lifeless in some, shards in the rest.

Grogar just killed them all.

"NOOOOO!" Steven shrieked, just finding his feet and trying to run towards them. But Grogar remembered he was left alive, and Steven felt his coat get grabbed by his magic, pulling him harshly back off his feet. Grogar may found it grateful they were gone, and now he had only one person left to handle, as he levitated him right over the edge of the bridge. A drop thousands of feet down to absolutely nothing beyond Homeworld's city.

"You all can't leave well enough alone. How does it feel to have everything taken away from you?" Grogar asked, Steven trying not to fall from Grogar's levitation, which was only holding onto him by the sleeve of his goat.

"Grogar I know you're mad at the world, but all this ... you gave us no choice! Please. The Dragon's gone, you don't have to be afraid anymore," Steven begged.

"THE WORLD GAVE ME NONE!"

Steven struggled and struggled, feeling the tight grip of Grogar's revived magic now holding him right above Homeworld's deepest pit. None of his powers were working still, and all of his closest friends were just slaughtered right in front of him. The gemstones left in their wake, scattered all over the floor by Grogar's hooves, and the Elements of Harmony laying down dead. And all this time, he can't heal them, he can't protect them, he couldn't even fight properly. He tried one final time to summon a shield, or SOMETHING ... but nothing happened.
Something in him broke.

"I DON'T GET IT!" Steven finally shouted, "Why aren't my powers back?! Even after everything that's happened to me, and they're still not coming back! WHY?! Someone from another world is trying to kill me, I'm suffering for crimes and plans that have NOTHING to do with me, people are suffering because of things I keep doing, I'm struggling to try and help when the world's about to end! What piece am I missing?! THIS IS THE STORY OF MY LIFE!! Grrr WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!"

...

"....... This."

Steven looked to the only figure left standing, the ram looking to him with not anger, not glee ... but disappointment. But there was something else in those eyes that only Steven could see.

"Life's always had it out for creatures like us, Steven. You're a hybrid between a Gem and a Human. I'm a hybrid between a Ram and a Lion. Through all of my years, ever since I was forced to leave me home, I've seen how much harsher life was to all creatures life does NOT consider normal. You've been corrupted, captured, and nearly killed many times but not for the reasons you might think. It's because nature hates creatures like you and me, and will do anything and everything to make sure we're dead. ... We're not apart of life's master plan, Steven, whether you know it or not." Grogar's tone was stern, strict, and right to the point of summing up the so-called biggest moments in the Harmony Gems lives ... and how little Steven actually did for each of them. Steven could feel tears coming down his face more now.

"... You were right about one thing: My life has been awful. My family's dead, my home completely destroyed, and NO ONE was willing to help after that. Not even Celestia herself. And while I was locked up inside that Tartarus prison for lashing out, I vowed that I will make the world pay for not just me, but for every being crushed down by the common races. The world failed me Steven, and Face it. The world failed you too."
Garnet warned him he'd do this. She warned him that Grogar would manipulate him one more time, and as much as he wanted not to believe him ...

"....... They didn't fail me. ....... I failed everyone. ....... You're right. For how wrong you were ... you've always been right. I can't even protect my friends from a simple fight without their help. ......."

Steven finally said it. He didn't want to believe it, but ... how much more proof did he need? Everyone was gone and Grogar learned everything about them because HE thought he could help him. He made them hold back and what did he get? Homeworld under Grogar's control again, a high-ranking dead Diamond, and WORSE, the death of the Harmony Gems! ... What was he thinking?
Grogar himself was gleeful in his defeat.

"So sad. I would've made it easier if you'd join me, but if you want to be with the common folk so bad ... then here. Take em!"

With one swing of his hoof, he did it. Each shard, each bit of stone at his hooves was knocked clean off the ledge. Steven tried in vain to catch them, but Grogar kept him up just out of reach as he watched them all fall below him. This also included the ponies that remained, Grogar bucking them off down the ledge with them too. Soon, it was only Steven left.

"Let me ask you one thing, and I want a straight answer. For how little you've done, what made you think you could change anything, hmm?"

... Change ....... Change ...

It all came at him at once. All Grogar had pointed out was how little he'd done in the fighting world. And while that is true, the moments that went through his mind weren't him just fighting. It showed him caring, being with his friends, old and new. Time when he helped others find their own way ...

"....... Change. ... wait a minute. That's it. All this stuff I went through, I've learned from them, a-and I grew. I help my friends grow and - ... Ohmygosh. That's the missing piece! All this "happily ever after" stuff. I isn't just my powers I forgot, I forgot the first power I've ever had!"

Grogar knew what was coming. He had to end it NOW!

"You're too late anyway. See you in the afterlife!"

Steven fell. One slip away of magic, and Steven was dropped. No magic to keep him alive, no floating powers to keep him from falling like a rock, no bubble or shield to cushion his fall. Grogar had to be sure he didn't have time to work it out, so even after letting him go, Grogar jumped out towards him, and swung his hooves down right on top of him to send him flying down.

Steven was gone. And Grogar was still there, landing back on the arena. He took a quick breath to how close this could've gone bad for him, before he walked to the edge. He did not see anyone, or anything. He just stood there for a minute or so, as Bray finally came walking out to see if there were any survivors.

"I-Is he dead now?" Bray meekly asked.

"... Nothing could survive a fall like that. He's dead alright. ... Bray?"

"Yes my lord?"

"Tell the troops that I want those ships running by the time I get back. We're setting sail tonight, and going to finish this. Once and for all," Grogar ordered. Bray saluted him and Grogar took his leave, leaving the carnage behind him. Bray himself could only glance back one more time, his ears drooping at what he had just laid witness to, before he too started to go. What could a Donkey do about the dead anyway?

True Kind of Love PT2

"... STEVEN! STEEEVEEN! ... Anyone there?! ..."

.......

"GUYS! WHERE'RE YOU?!"

*ROOOAAARRR*

Such silence in such a desolate place like the Supreme Kindergarten could only last for so long. Unable to stand being gone from her friends for any longer, the only free remaining Harmony Gem Spinel finally bulked up the courage to go out to them herself. The realm of corners was far behind her by now, and with her animal friends accompanying her in this struggle, she wasn't alone in trying to find them either. The Supreme Kindergarten was so empty, even after the more recent activity of turning it into a prison hold for Tambalon months ago. The bars were still left on some areas of the Kindergartens, many of which were broken up of course as Spinel was going through the place to try and find them. Her animal friends Lion and Blue were trying their best to find them, but since neither had ever been here before it was difficult to even know where to start. Their only main source of direction was with Blue's sense of smell, still only vaguely on the scent of the other Harmony Gems.

"You still got their scent, right boy?" Spinel asked worriedly. Blue barked for his answer, though the scent was still a little harder to follow. Lion kept his pace with Blue in their search for the group of Gems and Ponies, roaring time and again to see if it'll bring any voices their way. The only voices they could hear were their own echoes through the empty space.

"Steven, you better be okay, PLEASE be okay. I should never have stayed behind, I'm so stupid! I-If he's getting himself killed over me ...!" Spinel started to get more and more freaked out, yanking hard on her own pigtails as her eyes began to water. However, she still had a promise to keep and she quickly shook her head.

"No, Spinel, don't lose it. You promised him you won't lose it!" Spinel told herself, trying crazily to wipe away the oncoming tears. Lion snorted to get Spinel's attention, before pointing off ahead towards Blue. The Gem dog continued his tracking some more ahead of them, his nose at work to take in every inch of the scent Blue's nose started to lead the Gem dog off the beaten path, and actually making him climb up a small bit of rubble up to a small opening in the path, made up of a recently-made tunnel during Grogar's control. It took just a few shorts hops to get there, and he began making his way inside ...

They began to hear him howling. He found something.

"What is it ...?"

Spinel only needed a peek into the next area to find that out. Looking on into the next area was a big clearing in the Supreme Kindergarten, very flattened out and worn away by the army that used to be here But that wasn't the thing that they saw first.

"G-Guys?"

Gemstones. Or rather, what was left of them. Scattered among the sand and dust, in the dim light, they could see the signs of the shards of once-living Gems all over the place. A very faint shine glimmered off of each and every one of them, as if they still had a faint sign of life still inside of each shard. Nearby the shattered remains were other signs of Grogar's onslaught, the Elements of Harmony themselves laying all lifeless on the ground. Not a single twitch. Even when Lion started nudging Fluttershy's limp body, there wasn't any reaction from her. Or any of them.
And then there's Steven ... lifeless. Laying on his stomach there cold in the dirt. Spinel was horrified.

"No no no no no no! STEVEN!" Spinel rushed right over to him, dropping to her knees the second she got to his side.

"Steven? S-Steven, you okay? You wanna say something?" Spinel said. But Steven was not reacting to anything she had to say, much to her horror. Spinel tried to shove him, push him, whatever she could to wake him up.

"Come on Steven, this isn't funny. I don't wanna play this game anymore! Come on buddy, up on your feet! G-Get up!" Spinel pleaded. She even tried picking Steven up to get him to his feet, but Steven flopped back to the ground. That made Steven flip over onto his back, showing Spinel that he was still not awake ... and something else she could go without seeing. A hoof mark right on his chest, and blood coming out of his nose.
Spinel tried rocking him awake over and over again, but he still wouldn't wake up.

"Steven, stop fooling around with me! Y-You promised you'd come back ... right? ... Brother? ..."

Spinel was starting to feel tears starting to come up.

"N-No. Don't do it you," she murmured, trying to cover her eyes, "Y-You promised him you wouldn't cry. D-Don't ... don't cry! ... Stop! Just don't - ... don't ... DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Spinel couldn't hold it back anymore. Wailing loud, tears bursting from her eyes, she collapsed right on top of Steven. She couldn't take it, she just couldn't!

"I DON'T WANNA BE ALONE ANYMORE! COME BACK! COME BACK!" Spinel cried, wrapping her arms around Steven as she continued to cry her eyes out. Steven did so much for her since they first met, even after what she tried to do on her first day of Earth, and now she couldn't even return the favor. The sounds of her cries echoed throughout the entire Supreme Kindergarten, telling the entire world how horrible this all felt to her. What's worse: ... what could she even do?
As Spinel kept just laying there crying, Lion and Blue sat nearby in silence. Blue could only whimper at the sight of it all, seeing all of his owners now gone in front of him like this, as Lion kept his gaze aimed to the ground. It may appear as a sign of silent respect, and in a way it could be, but as Lion did this he also began to take a better look at the shards that laid down everywhere around them. They were small and scattered everywhere, but seeing the one at his paws more closely began to show that they were active a bit more than they let on to be. Lion looked closer, just enough for the big cat to nudge the small shard with his nose.

For just a brief moment, the gem shard glowed even brighter. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to catch the lion's attention, along with the Gem hound next to him. Curious, Blue nudged the gem shard again, and got a similar glow from them again. ...
It was a long shot, but they might as well try. Lion got Blue to start looking around, and while Blue was doing that the big cat went over towards Spinel, who at this point was just whimpering as the tears streamed down her face. Lion couldn't take to her, so he had to nudge her to get her attention, looking her eye-to-eye.

"What do you want?" Spinel quietly asked grimly. Lion started grunting a little as he tried to make Spinel get off of Steven for a moment. Spinel wasn't so willing though and tried to stay with him, but being so sad and weak she couldn't keep him all to herself for long. Spinel fell back a little bit and was just about to shove Lion away when she and Lion saw something else going on with Steven ...

His gemstone was glowing. A lot.

"Steven? ... No way. A-Are you ...?" Spinel still didn't know much about humans, though something was telling her only one way to find out. Going closer to Steven again, she rested her ear on Steven's chest and listened closely. What Spinel was starting to hear among the silence of the Supreme Kindergarten was a very faint, yet noticeable thumping. It started off slow ... then began to pick up the pace. At the same time, Steven's gemstone was almost flashing along with the thumping, as if whatever was making that noise was pumping through the gemstone as well.
Spinel stood up and moved back to Lion's side, giving Steven some more space. Lion didn't seem afraid and kept Spinel from going any closer to him as his gemstone began to work its own kind of magic. No matter how long ago any Gem was created, no matter how much memory, there was always one power all Gems possess. And Steven's gemstone was doing just that. Starting by removing the hoof mark on Steven's chest.

The gemstone suddenly came to life. A large pink glow shot all over the area, coming from Steven's gemstone itself, shining the brightest it has ever been. And the best part? Steven Universe was now awake!
He kept his eyes open, but the very first thing he noticed now was the gemstone and all of its own life returning to it. Steven's eyes sparkled, instinctively knowing exactly what this meant as a smile formed up to his face. The proof was all right there, and to prove it, he jumped into the air. The jump, which had for so long been nothing more of normal, now brought him up a good ten feet, and kept him there through a bit of floating! Steven brought out one Gem shield in one hand, and one shield in the other hand. He then spread his arms out and threw them down, forming his signature Gem bubble shield, which then formed a spiked ball shield with a flip of the hand, which then burst open in another swing of his arms in a blast of energy!

Steven had survived.

"I made it ......."

"STEVEN!" Spinel rushed at him, hugging him tight and even giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Spinel. You're here too?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry I just got so scared that you were gonna leave me alone again, and I was gonna have nobody, and I'd be stuck like it was back at the garden again! I'm so glad you're still here with me," Spinel said. Steven smiled, but then he started to look around a bit. He was not blind to the fact that the rest of his friends took the fall too, either just laying there or just shattered on the ground.

"I'm sorry you had to see this too, Spinel," Steven said, down on his knees and lifting up one of the remaining shards of gemstones.

"Grogar did this, I know he did. When i get my hands on that -"

"It's not gonna do anything," Steven cut in, "Getting back at Grogar for this won't bring them back."

"Huh? B-But what about your home? What about the planet? What about your "Happily ever after"?!" asked Spinel. Steven only had one thing to say about that.

"There's no such thing as "Happily Ever After" ... I'll always have more work to do."

"....... So ... We can't do nothing?" Spinel quietly asked.

*arf**arf*

Before Steven could answer her that time, the barking coming from Blue caught their attention. Blue had been working like a dog getting the other remaining shards scattered everywhere, walking back over to what looked like a small cluster of them placed together by the dog. It wasn't all of them by any means, but it still was enough to at least get one of the Gems together - a blue one in particular. Hopefully it was all the pieces.
Steven only needed one look for his ultimate eureka moment.

"Maybe there is. Spinel, try and find the rest pieces."

"But aren't they shattered?" Spinel asked gravely.

"Red Diamond didn't get them yet. It's exactly like you said: it's just like a puzzle," Steven said.
If it meant getting their friends back. Spinel got to work with Lion to find the remaining pieces of this big puzzle, as Steven walked over to the gemstone Blue found the pieces for. Getting down on his knees again, he looked over each of the pieces closely, getting one part after the other to match each bit of pieces. It was a bit hard to do since some pieces were so small, but he did finally manage to make it come together. Very good that the first Gem he pieced together was the one that can help him out the most with it all. All he needed to do now was put his healing powers to work.
One single kiss right onto the gemstone. His healing spit did it's job. All of the cracks on the gemstone started to fade away, fusing back together into it's perfect shape.

Then it started to form.

"Happy Welcome Back Day," Steven said.

*FLASH*

"... Ooohhh ... I ... where're we?"

Lapis Lazuli was back. But with the reformation meant an entirely new form, and this one was a bit special compared to the flowing aristocratic dress beforehand. For starters, her outfit had completely altered from the short dress and scarf, being replaced instead by a tomboyish outfit: a backless halter crop tank top colored a nice shade of blue and navy, a pair of dark-blue puffy pants, with sandals on her feet and a ribbon tying her pants together, both colored a nice shade of bronze-gold.
A more smaller detail they just manage to catch was that her hair was no longer as well-kept as before, darker shade of blue with the back of her hair longer and slightly messier. Less of an aristocrat and more of an adventurer.

"... Steven! You're alive!" Lapis beamed the second she saw Steven. It didn't take her more than five seconds before she was hugging her friend too.

"But I thought that we ... I mean, we were all -"

"Shattered? Yeah, but it looks like my healing powers fixed you right up. And as soon as I get everyone else, we're going to save our universe. You in?" Steven said, hand out to her. Of course Lapis took him by the hand.

"Definitely."

"Great-O! it worked! Good thing too, otherwise we'd gotten em all together for nothing," said Spinel close by. With some help from both Blue and Lion, Spinel got hold of the rest of the remaining shards. Now knowing they can be brought back this way, the sight of them like this was a temporary issue at best. Lion had the effort of bringing the ponies with them as well, lining them up comfortably along the ground as Spinel and Blue got the Gemstones all set up and ready.

"Lapis, I'm going to need you to help me out with this."

"Anything you need, Steven, anything at all," Lapis replied.

"Great. Now, can i see your water wing?" Steven asked. A simple request in exchange for basically reviving her from the dead. Lapis happily gave Steven that request and brought out her water wings. Since Steven revived her directly with just a single kiss, Steven actually decided something a bit more creative: gathering up his saliva, he actually dunked his face into one of Lapis's wings, opening his mouth good and wide. He sucked in some water, and spat it back out, releasing a good amount of his healing saliva into Lapis's water wings, enough to make them shine in the light.

"So that's your master plan. Alright, line everyone up. We got worlds to rescue," Lapis said.

"Aye-aye captain," Spinel said with a salute. She stretched her arm out one more time to tilt one of the built up gemstones just right, and moved over to join them all aside. All Lapis Lazuli herself had to do now was raise up the holy water from her own wings, and start releasing all of it right above them all in a nice shower of healing water.

Time to save the world.

~~~~~~

Grogar was sure pleased. Happiest he'd been since preparations for the wedding months before or heck, taking over Homeworld in general the first time. Practicing for one final time in his personal chambers with The Spirit herself sitting not too far away in her own chains and damage, Grogar had never felt more in power than he had now. Especially with the extra satisfaction of proving wrong a fortune teller, even more so one of such a god status ... or used to. Much of Grogar's practice here was sharpening his horns on a nearby anvil, the sound similar to that of a sword being sharpened.

"Well, well, well," Grogar lamented, "Would you look at that, Spirit. The Harmony Gems all either dead or to be dead. The Alicorn princesses out of commission. The Great Diamond Authority toppled. ... Not the picture you saw in your personal future, is it? Seems your skills are NOT as good as you thought."

The Spirit groaned at him. So much humiliation she suffered thanks to this mortal Ram, and this itself was just a nail in that coffin. Grogar took this in stride much easier.

"Oh, don't get upset you said it yourself: all of them are clearly a bunch of fools," Grogar pointed out.

"Are you sure it is THEM who is the fool here, Grogar? You already destroyed your entire country to get where you are now!"

"A small sacrifice, when all realms is my reward," Grogar said with a grand smile, moving pass the Spirit to check the map he had to figure out where to strike first. He had a few spots circled on the universal map, many of which would be a good start anywhere. The Spirit grew angry again.

"Then will you finally be satisfied? Will the complete annihilation of every single world in this universe finally make you feel better?" The Spirit asked sharply.

"Hmm, it's a start," Grogar shrugged, "I've also considered turning your realm into one of those Aredox concentration camps."

The Spirit still, even now, couldn't believe her own ears. She was a god all rights, and this mortal was taking to her as if she were nothing but dirt! Stripped of her horn of magic, plucked of her own wings, she was practically made into some random ageless pony thanks to him. And NOW he wanted to mess with her own realm as well?!

"... Grogar, what you're doing will destroy everything. There's still a short matter of time to stop this madness."

"Now why would I do that?" Grogar questioned. The Spirit only had one more card to play, and this one was especially close to Grogar specifically. It had to work. It HAS to.

"So your parents can rest in peace."

... Grogar's response? ...

It first came with his hooves digging into the floor.

"They were robbed from me. ... Do you understand? ... The world WRONGED me. ... And I will make it right."

"They loved you, and you know it Grogar. So much so that sending you away killed them."

"... The dead exist only in the past, and I need to tend to my future."

"But there is no future. And if you don't stop this, it'll destroy you and everything. It will kill everyone!" the Spirit said. Grogar turned and gave The Spirit a stern look that eerily mirrored that of her own Great Honor, making what he said next even more horrific.

"The world wanted to kill me. So if it dies because of me, well hehehe ... THAT'S only fair."

... Nothing. NOTHING will make this Ram stop anymore. The Spirit could show him the future over and over again until she would drop dead, and Grogar was in a position where it will be impossible to make him stop through just simple words and pictures. The Spirit had nothing. Grogar looked on away from her, back to the map again.

"... Guards? Set The Spirit free. She's of no use to me anymore," Grogar ordered. Two large Pony Golems marched in to do just that, the Spirit forced up onto her hooves.

"Farewell, Grogar ... I hope for a better future," The Spirit said.

"There WILL be a better future. And I will show them the way," Grogar replied. The Spirit was walked out of the room, still kept chained in case she jumped at any of them. As the once powerful god was being brought out for what she figured to be the end of the world, a Gargoyle flew in and gave its report to the ram. The news brought another smile to Grogar's face.

.......

Nightfall.

The darkest night in history. The rimming of the many ships laid out in the docking station ready to go. They all were heavy with the weapons on board each, so a quick takeoff was impossible to make. The very least they'd have to sail out of town in order to make the takeover possible, but Grogar was in no hurry. The light of the ships, blue fire flickering, was the main source of light outside of the buildings. This tyranny caravan was about ready to set off. On Grogar's main ship, there stood the remaining hope for stopping the demonic ram. For those that remained, he made sure to advertise them all in such a chained position, leaving the weak for all to see. Blue and Yellow Diamond, hung up like ornaments above the king's throne. Cadance and Luna, sitting by said throne with their wings spread, tied up by magic-resistant rope to show their worn out wings and shattered horns to the world. Starswirl the Bearded, barely alive and right next to the throne like a tortured pet. White Diamond and Discord were basically the same thing, only under extra restraint. The remaining fighters, bounded tight and hung up just in front of the king ship, one of Grogar's weapons aimed directly at them for the "grand finale".

"Ah, a clear full moon night. Perfect. And soon as we reach Earth, there in front of all to see. You and your precious love and harmony will die." Grogar's words were crystal clear to them, and while they did give him a look that could kill, that was all they really could do. Grogar proudly moved right to his throne, as they all felt the ships start to move on their way, in a manor much like that of a parade. Looking from the buildings around Homeworld, the sight was impossible to ignore.

"Honestly, guys … this sucks," said Lars.

"This sucks? Huh. Is that all you have to say? Over half of our friends are dead, the Diamonds had fallen, and the alicorns are crippled! … Yeah, this sucks BIG TIME," Rhodonite said.

"Stop talking like that. They would want us to stay strong, we'll fix this right? Bismuth?" Diopside said. Though even she couldn't think of anything to say on that. Seeing all that happen, Grogar was just stronger.

All of this was observed by whosoever dared to look out of their buildings, Grogar's flying fleet moving on through Homeworld. Any that saw their Diamonds hung up like tree lights left any and all shuddering in fear of this tyrannical rule. So many strange creatures were with this ram, equestrian beasts and mystical creatures alike, all equally ready to take over these realms.

"Can't believe Budgerite and Tempest thought of ditching me the last minute. She would've LOVED to see all of this," Grogar said as they continued, sounding disappointed more than anything. Bray still felt a little bit nerved up by that experience, but all Bray could do was nod in agreement. One misword now and he would be a goner.

"Yeah, it's great, really great," Bray said meekly. At least Grogar was in a better mood now.

Looking away for the moment, Bray then began seeing some of the buildings around their flying ships. And yet with that, something off in the distance began to catch his eye. This sight was soon seen by many of those on board, including the remaining Gems, ponies, and eventually Grogar himself. There was something up on one of the roofs of these buildings along the path, many of the flying ships in their sights as well. And what they saw was beyond unbelievable.

The Elements of Harmony. The original Crystal Gems. All reformed, all alive. And all ready to face the biggest threat yet. One in particular standing out the most amongst this group, still alive and ready for anything.

"T-They're alive?" said Flint, not believing his eyes.

"Twilight," breathed Starswirl.

The only one not happy with this was Grogar, who felt his anger boil up a little.

"Twilight? Can I get an amplifier?" Steven asked. Twilight nodded, and with a quick and temporary spell, Steven got the voice he needed.

"GROGAR! The Harmony Gems's mission is to protect those we love from anything that causes them and their planets harm! Everything we love is what you're trying to take, and we will not stop until all the worlds are in peace and harmony! You don't think so, but it's our love is what kept us alive so far. We all love eachother, and this is OUR home! OUR LOVE! And THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO STOP YOU!"

"What the - WHAT?! I KILLED THAT BRAT! Didn't you see me kill them, I DROPPED HIM AND EVERYTHING!" Grogar yelled, more in shock than anger at what he was seeing. Bray didn't have a clue what to say here - NO WAY should any Gem survive THAT kind of punishment.

"Yes you did, and it was very scary and traumatizing sir!" Bray said.

"You ready, Steven?" Garnet asked. Steven smiled with confidence.

"I'm ready."

"Good. Step one: free our allies. GO!"

And then the entire fleet began to see them start to move towards them: Lapis carrying Jasper, Peridot carrying Connie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moving Rarity and Applejack, and Twilight flying with Steven. The others ran down on foot, jumping here, there, and everywhere as they were getting closer. Grogar shook off his shock.

"Blast their remains, launch them across the horizon!" Grogar instructed.

Soon the entire army was scrambling to get the job done, with much of the team closing in fast. Many of the weapons were aimed at them, but they already knew what to do and began flying and running around in such a way that it was impossible to fully aim directly. The flyers kept darting back and forth, and the runners were jumping all over the place, frustrating the animals in control of the weapons even more so.

"Hold still," groaned one of the armed beings, trying to aim as best it could. But it wasn't any good.

"What's wrong? Aren't you gonna shoot?" called Peridot, as she kept darting with Connie holding on.

"JUST BLAST THEM ALREADY!" Grogar roared. However, none of the shoots could even be fired, and eventually they found themselves being invaded by the Harmony Gems. The first act was from Steven, who dropped down right on top of one of the weapons himself. His landing knocking the trajectory right at the ground, shocking much of them on board as the weapon spun a one eighty until it was aimed at another weapon before firing! That's one weapon blasted off the ship. The next to land was Jasper, who with her size upon landing on the same weapon, catapulted it clear off the ground and falling to the abyss below, crashing into a heap of metal.

"Good one, Jasper!" Steven said.

"KILL THEM! TEAR THEIR WINGS OUT AND PLUCK THEIR SHARDS OFF!" Grogar roared.

"Oh, oh, here we go," Amethyst said. On Grogar's command, the army began to pour in right towards them, blades drawn, teeth barred and claws at the ready. It didn't take very long until they began retaliating with all they got, with punches, kicks, and shots of magic raining down on the opposition: Amethyst got her whips to good use by wrapping it around one of the soldiers and swinging him like a mace, wiping out a good ten of them right there. Jasper and Garnet were plowing through them too, their combined punches sending many of the foes flying.
In this fight, much to Grogar's surprise, Steven was actually piling in far more than last time, with his training shining through in much of his fighting. Even one of Grogar's giant brutes tried for him, only for Steven to jump up and stomp on top of his head before rushing by him. Fighting was inevitable, but their first step needed to be handled first. Steven brought out his shield.

"CATCH!" Steven called, throwing his shield right towards his friends just before a horde of Grogar's army poured onto him. Steven's shield flew far into the air, some of the army trying to stop it, but Emerald's telekinesis just got hold of it and brought the fast-moving weapon right to their chains. One hit, and they all busted out. And just in time to head to their friends, and launch the horde back.

"I can't believe you're still here! Color me impressed," said Emerald to Peridot with a smirk, "And is that MY visors your using?"

"HA! they're better than just visors. VISOR-RANG!" Peridot said. and like an anime mega-attack, Peridot jumped up, took off said visors, and threw them right at the crowd! These visors were not only cool on her, but they started bouncing off guard after guard, clocking them all square in the head before returning to Peridot's open hand! OK, Emerald was REALLY impressed.

"OK, that's awesome."

"I know."

Off nearby in this fight, the flyers were getting a bit more of their own scuffle with Grogar's flying gargoyles. Rainbow Dash, Lapis Lazuli, and Fluttershy were flying all around the ships, even flying underneath them on occasion to try and one-up these flying devils. In their flying spiral, the two flyers got towards the throne, just as Jasper forced her way over after clobbering a good twenty beasts in one charge. Grogar himself was caught off guard and he was knocked out of the way by a surprise attack from Rainbow Dash.

"Time for a rescue," said Jasper.

"But how're you still alive? You were shattered," Luna asked.

"Ask Steven when we're done," Jasper replied, getting out her sharper teeth, and with a strong bite and pull the chains snapped off like twigs. Luna and Cadance were soon freed of their chains. Starswirl was soon freed himself thanks to a quick slice of Lapis's wings, and Rainbow Dash had the pleasure of taking the shards of the Diamonds with them.

"Take flight with these," Rainbow quickly said.

"Good luck," Cadance replied. Cadance and Luna were in no condition to fight, so they had to take their leave while they could. The gargoyles tried to keep them there, but Lapis and Rainbow Dash kept them at bay just long enough for them to escape. Starswirl the Bearded though was a bit harder to work with. sure they got him free, but he couldn't fly away.

"Give it up already!" demanded one of the guards, ready to slaughter. Jasper confronted the beast and readied to fight, but from behind her a wave of magic shoved the guards back. Jasper spun around and saw Starswirl with one hoof in front of him. Even with his horn obliterated, that didn't mean he was out completely.

"The heck? You don't even have a horn!" the guard bellowed.

"I've studied magic ever since I was just a colt. You truly believe magic can ONLY be used by a horn?" Starswirl questioned, before giving another wave of magic at them again. However, magic being used by the hooves was a bit harder on the already weakened pony, making him stagger in his steps. Rainbow kept him steady.

"Don't worry about me. Go. Grogar will open the portal when he reaches outside the city," Starswirl said in his voice. That was all the information they needed. And now, all of their friends were out and free.

"Not bad Harmony Gems. So what's the plan? Lay it down for me," said Bismuth, as she knocked a heavily-armored guard clear over her head.

"Step one: free our allies," said Garnet.

"What's step two?" asked Jade.

"Step two: Stop Grogar before he reaches the edge of the city."

Strangely simple.

"You made that up on the spot didn't you?" Flint said smirking.

"You can say that," Garnet admitted. There wasn't much extra time to prepare, but that would be the main goal would it?

The ships suddenly started to go to war right then and there: Grogar's army against the Harmony Gems. What began as the scariest sight now turned into the biggest fight they've seen in a while, as all of the Harmony Gems, Pony, Human, and Gem alike, started to pour down the pain on Grogar's army, each one taking them on. Still, Grogar had A LOT of firepower in his troops. Quantity vs. quality.
In this fight, Connie was toe to toe with one of Grogar's Hook Horrors, her sword clanging with each swipe of the beast's single clawed arms. She forced the beast back more and more, but each hit of her sword didn't penetrate the creature's thick hide. The animal tried slicing her head off, but its swing was cut short with Steven bringing up his shield right behind her back. The block stunned the creature, and gave Lapis time to tackle it away. Good save from the Hook Horror, but another guard was right behind it. Steven took it this time, grabbing it on the way and surplex'd it on its head, knocking it out cold.

"Peridot, here's some help for you!" Steven called, throwing the limp body towards him. Just the thing for him to work with.

"Applejack!" Peridot called. AJ raced in, and next thing they knew the unconscious guard was attacking the others around them, with Peridot controlling his armor and swords like a puppet, and Applejack as the mount.

"GET OFF ME YOU BUGGERS!"
Nearby, some of the fighters were having some more trouble: Lars and Flint were trying to handle the hordes of corrupted Goblins. Sure they were small, but in their numbers they were very brutal on them both, Flint lucky to blast one off without two more jumping onto him. This wasn't left unnoticed for long.

"Hang on, I gotcha!" Twilight called, who at the moment was in her own fight with a pony golem. She bucked it back briefly and bolted to help them, her horn glowing strong and blasting them with one quick magical zap to knock most of them off, the rest swung off by the two combatants.

"Thanks Twilight," Lars replied, just to sucker-punch a leaping goblin right in the face and sending it flying off. That's a group of Goblins out of the fight.

Many of them may be doing their own share in fighting off the enemy, but some of them just weren't fighters: Padparadscha and Rhodonite found themselves trying to run from one of the monsters on board. The two Gems were far from safe, and suddenly they found themselves stuck in a corner, with the Leviathan right behind them.

"HELP! THE LEVIATHAN'S AFTER US!" Padparadscha called. Rhodonite and Padparadscha had nowhere to go.

"D-Don't lock up. Don't lock up!" Rhodonite kept telling herself, as the Leviathan raised up good and tall, fangs bared and webbed claws raised for the finishing blow. It made a few swings at them, and while Rhodonite dodged them, Padparadscha was struck and sent dangerously close to the edge of the ship. Ignoring Rhodonite, the Leviathan went directly towards the weaker creature.

"Padparadscha! Run!" Rhodonite called in panic.

"PunY RoCk," it mocked, slamming a hand on top of her. Padparadscha could barely move as it raised its second hand. Rhodonite felt a horrid sense of Deja Vu as she watched this happen. She was too scared to do anything before, too much of a coward as the beast had said before. She wanted to help, but questions raced through her mind: what if it tried to get her? what if they both fell off?! What if -

"HELP!" Padparadscha called.

Oh screw it.

"GET OFF!" Rhodonite threw herself at the beast, the Leviathan suddenly finding itself in a headlock by the fusion. The beast roared and bellowed, backing up and swinging like crazy. Its blind attacks whacked and sent other guards and fighters flying all around it, Padparadscha contemplating what she was seeing. Rhodonite wasn't gonna let this monster nearly destroy her friends again. Finally, Rhodonite finished off the Leviathan, taking both of her arms and twisting the beast's grotesque head until they heard a loud crack, knocking the beast unconscious.

"... WHOA. Did I do that?" Rhodonite had to ask. Padparadscha, with surprisingly good timing, went and hugged Rhodonite tightly for protection. Now wasn't the time to question anything.

With all of them basically beating everything up, Grogar was getting more and more furious. Seeing his subordinates and subjects get pummeled was one thing, but there was one tiny fact that was just a little bit more noticeable.

"WHY AREN'T WE FIRING?!" Grogar shrieked.

"T-They're getting close, Grogar, what do we do?!" Stubby asked in a panicked state. And indeed, at this rate, they'll be right on top of the ram in no time. Within the crowd, even Steven was getting his own beating into the army. STEVEN!

"What do you mean what?! FIRE AT THEM!" Grogar demanded, becoming more panicked as they continued closing in on him.

"But sir, we can't shoot, we'll wipe out our own!" Stubby insisted, but Grogar was near his breaking point.

"I SAID FIRE AT THEM! FIRE!!" Grogar roared. Bray knew the damage it would cause to his own kind amongst that scrap, and the Harmony Gems were still advancing towards him as best they could. With what Grogar said though, that didn't matter. He didn't care who else dies, as long as HE lived. Stubby turned to Grogar, about to say something he never had for so many years, and perhaps something he should've said at day one.

"... No."

…

*CRACK!* "AAAHHH!"

One bite into Stubby, and Grogar was down his "closest" comrade. Stubby was still alive, but Grogar made sure he didn't continue by throwing him right off the ship! If you want something done your way, you have to do it yourself.

"Steven, incoming!"
And what a time for Grogar to charge in. Just before the ram could reach the half human, Jasper got out her helmet and met him half way, both crashing skulls into eachother. The charge was hard enough to crack even Jasper's own Gem weapon, but not enough to force Jasper aside as the orange warrior threw the ram off a good ten feet. Now the whole team was faced with the boss of the army.

"I don't know HOW you're still alive. But when I'm through with you, you're going to wish you weren't!" Grogar snarled, saliva and a hint of blood dripping from his jagged teeth as his horns began to glow bright yellow.

"Everyone, behind me!" Steven ordered, bringing up the biggest shield he could manage. The shield was so huge he couldn't lift it over his own head, but it was more than enough to block in Grogar's oncoming barrage of lightning strikes, strong enough that Steven was sliding back. But Steven wasn't alone: Garnet brought her hand up and held the shield firm. Along with Twilight, Connie, Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis. Soon, all of them were holding it steady. They were all with him to the very end, and Steven could only smile. Eventually the lightning attacks cleared … but so did Grogar.

"Where'd he go?" Connie asked.

"UP!" Twilight said. Up above them was the ram, charging down from the heavens directly towards them. The entire group quickly scattered, Grogar slamming down hard enough to make the entire ship sway. However, while it seemed they got away, there was still a fusion missing, as a Pearl and Ruby stone laid on the ground.

"Rhodonite!" gasped Pearl.

"Play fetch!" Grogar mocked. Still angry, Grogar simply grabbed both stones and threw them right on into the sky. Falling from that height and they'll shatter for sure!

"We got you Rhodonite!" called Steven, rushing with Pearl beside him. In a mighty leap off the ground, both of them zoomed right up to the two, only to hear -

"DIE!"

"LOOK OUT!" called Connie.

It all happened so fast: with the two flying up to the two Gems, Steven and Pearl looked back just to see a green bomb thrown right at them from below, courtesy of Grogar, and they didn't have time to dodge it! Steven could only bring up his bubble shield to protect them both, but the bomb was beyond devastating, creating an explosion that covered the sky, and everything up with it. What a dirty trick!

"Oh no you didn't, you party pooper!" Pinkie quickly shifted gears and charged directly at Grogar. The pink pony was faster, but Grogar was stronger and simply head-butted the mare back.

Before another fight could break out, something else started to come up in the sky. The smoke cloud hung out for a bit, but there was something that began to clear the skies to present the full moon behind them. At first, they thought it was just Steven's bubble moving the smoke out of the way, some instead they saw what looked to be the top of a parasol spinning for a bit. And then …

"Well what do you know! It's Rainbow 2.0! Now this is a fine mess we're in."

Rainbow Quartz 2.0 had arrived. This fusion maintains the original Rainbow Quartz's skin color, but the hair is significantly shorter and is deep mauve in color along with blue and pink streaks. He wore Pearl's blazer over a midriff version of Steven's shirt, Steven's pants as knee-length shorts, and Pearl's slippers (though his feet were much wider than hers). The gems of Pearl and Steven were a shade of pink, which very closely resemble the shade of his skin color. This fusion was about the same height as Pearl would normally be, small as fusions go but clearly he was glad to be there.

"COME ON! Get her! O-Or him. GET! IT!" Grogar demanded, as Rainbow 2.0 saw some Gargoyles flying directly towards them. That, accompanied by seeing Lavi and Button's gemstones falling downward, already signified his goal.

"Well, that won't do at all," he said, his accent strongly posh English. After giving a quick raspberry, sticking out his tongue at the Gargoyles, he closed his parasol and zoomed downward, making the Gargoyles crash into one of the nearby buildings. Rainbow 2.0 then brought the parasol under him, like a witch's broom stick.

"Rainbow Quartz powers, ACTIVATE!" he said, the parasol acting like an actual witch's broom stick as it rocketed him downward towards Lavi and Button. In no time at all, he got them gently in his hands, bringing them safely down to the others.

"DANG, look at you!" Amethyst said.

"Ah yes, long time no see eh? So Flint, Emerald, nice to know there's more boys in this rag-tag team of ours, don't you think so?" Rainbow 2.0 said with a wink, actually putting an arm around Flint. Flint actually got slightly flustered, but only briefly.

"Very funny, but not now, we got an army to fight," Flint reminded, just as some of the guards and Grogar himself rushed them. Rainbow 2.0 decided one extra little surprise before making his leave, and without even turning to them, he opened his parasol again to block them. It was like running smack into a trampoline, and just as well as they were launched back.

"What's that thing made out of?!" one of them shouted. A shield, maybe understandable, but an umbrella?!

"Oh just essentials: some rubber and a lot of "NOPE"," Rainbow 2.0 said, putting a few laughs at them.

"Okay, we need to quit fooling around: we can fight them all day but they're still gonna get to the other worlds at this rate," Jasper said, looking off to the edge of the city. Their fighting was giving the ships a good amount of time to get there, and now they were getting dangerously close. Rainbow 2.0 already began working his thinking cap, and he soon got a simple yet profound idea.

"Well we can't have that, now can we? If the lions are trying to bust out of the zoo, it's time to shut the gates. Follow my lead!" Rainbow 2.0 said, jumping up on his parasol broomstick, and rocketing off to the front of the line of airships. He didn't stop until he was at the first ship in the line, and soon the plan became clear: he briefly got off of the parasol, and swung it like a bat to knock one of the heavy weapons towards one side of the ship. The weight shift made the whole airship pivot to the side, making a bit of a hit onto one of the nearby buildings.

"Of course! He's making a barricade!" Diopside concluded.

"Well what're we waiting for?" Rainbow shouted.

Didn't take long until they all got to work. The first to make her move was Garnet, who alongside Flint made a combined kick into one of the weapons themselves on another airship. This one collided with at least three more, which pivoted the next ship so quick it almost made a full one-eighty! Many of the guards fell off to be sure, and Flint and Garnet rode the top of the ship until they hopped off and landed with Rainbow 2.0 on his ride. Applejack made a good kick in one of the weapons herself, and Twilight and Rarity got their magic to levitate and slam down another one on top of that. Another ship capsizing.
Jasper and Bismuth made their own work together, their combine strength used on two of the ships side-by-side, and putting themselves in between the ship they were just strong enough to actually pull them together, tilting them both.

"Give us a good shove over here!" Bismuth said. Lapis Lazuli flew passed them both, and she was joined by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle. Each wind gust they gave with their wings was just the thing they needed: Rainbow Dash the speed, Lapis the strength, Twilight the dexterity, and Fluttershy the accuracy. All four then slammed into the ships hard for a good push. Revived strength from them all, and both ships were pushed far too fast for the guards to fix, crashing into Rainbow 2.0's barricade and adding to it.

It was more than good enough.

"OK, that's it! Forget getting to the edge of town, we're leaving RIGHT NOW!" Grogar finally had enough of this. There was only one thing left for him to do.

"GET HIM!" Lapis instructed, the flyers racing right for him. They tried catching up with Grogar, but the ram was not giving them a chance. Any more chances and he won't have any airships left to even invade with! With them flying right on his tail, Grogar was just fast enough to avoid their chase, making a portal and disappearing like a flash. It was where he appeared next that caught them all off guard: the other portal appeared WAY up in the sky, and Grogar launched himself right out. His hooves were glowing a magical hue, and using gravity, he started slicing the entirety of the sky, scarring the fabric of reality right in front of the remaining airships.

"The portal? NOW?!" Peridot exclaimed, them all coming to regroup.

"B-But where'd he go?!" Fluttershy asked.

The sound of a lighter was all the answer they needed.
Reappearing on top of his own weapon. and it was already lit, and aimed!

"RIGHT HERE!"

Then it fired. Grogar even lifted it up over his shoulders and started blasting like a complete madman! The whole group scattered around on the ship as best they could do, each shot of pure and chaotic energy ball flying everywhere and striking everything. Grogar no longer cared how much got destroyed: the buildings, his own crew, as long as the Harmony Gems die! They all kept out of firing range as best they could manage, but Grogar's reckless blasting made the projectiles strike more his side than their side.
Unwittingly showing them their answer in one accidental blast at an Iron Golem. The shot itself actually didn't knock it down, but Twilight and Connie stopped and looked to the Iron Golem galloping towards her for a moment. As it was doing so though, something started happening to it: a strange aura started to mix around it, swirling like a magic orb. As this happened, its legs started to break apart, then its torso, and quickly, the Iron Golem was nothing more than a normal suit of armor by the time it reached Twilight. Only then did the aura disappear from sight in form of a cloud of magic hanging over the remaining metal. That cloud of magic held in the air for a bit before being trapped in the pure/chaotic orb like a container.

The two suddenly got the exact same idea.

"It drains magic. That's how to defeat Grogar! Twilight, tell everyone else," Connie said. Twilight quickly got to flying again as Connie quickly found one of the weapons off nearby. Grogar's mad shooting left so many of these ships at a standstill, and stuck in such a blast zone none of the remaining troops dared to even come out while Grogar was blasting like crazy. Little by little, everyone started to disappear around him.

"WHERE'RE YOU?!" Grogar demanded.

Before any answer could come out this time, Grogar's "hoof-held cannon" was shot directly off of his shoulders, and down into the depths of Homeworld below.

"Right here," answered Garnet. Grogar turned around and what did he find? The Harmony Gems all lined up, with their own respected cannon already lit and aimed directly at him. Several of them held the cannon in place, Steven and Twilight at front of it, holding the mouth of the cannon directly at Grogar. Grogar froze.

"You son of a -" The cannon blasted right then and there (just in time too) and slammed Grogar so hard it knocked him right off of his own ship. Grogar screamed as the momentum launched him directly out of Homeworld through the given portal he created, the explosion afterwards ringing out in the air from the other side, wherever that exit would be. Grogar's army suddenly found themselves leaderless, and scared. They tried to get away from the area as best they could, but the Gems guarding Homeworld started to gather around now. The portal itself remained locked open briefly, but started to fade away just after two orbs launched out of the portal, and towards them remaining on the ship. One orb was glowing pure white like a star, and the other, vibrant and flashy like a disco ball. It's pretty clear who these belonged to, and Garnet caught them and had them bubbled before they could strike the ground. The fusion gave them to Steven, who knew exactly what to do with them.

"Discord, White Diamond? These belong to you," Steven said.
Gleefully Discord practically jumped for his as White Diamond took hers. Grabbing the respected orbs immediately made the both pop like bubbles, their respected magical essence finally released back into their respected owners after too long. The effects happened almost immediately: White diamond's body began to glow a bright white hue, her eyes shining as the power enhanced her entire being (and making her taller), as Discord began to suddenly stretch and distort his smaller body into the more serpentine and erratic shape he was so used to being. The return of so much power was so exhilarating to both of them, White Diamond almost immediately spreading out her cape to show all of the shining stars in it to the entire Grogar army. As for Discord, he stretched and bent in all sorts of ways, hyped up to being back to normal.
All White Diamond needed to do was turn to the army that remained and they all IMMEDIATELY were freaking out. Without Grogar to get rid of her, what chance do they have?

"Do you feel better, Discord?"

"I think so. Let me just see here ..." Discord simply snapped his fingers, and next thing they knew there was a fruit bowl of tap-dancing apples, peaches, and a saxophone-playing watermelon inside. "It's so wonderful to be me again!"

"This feels so much better. ... If only you can revive my sweet Diamonds," White Diamond said, a bit mixed really as she looked to the remains of the Gemstones nearby.

"I wouldn't doubt the best man in the world, White. Steven, wanna work your magic?" Spinel asked.

"You got it. White, can I see Yellow and Blue?" Steven said, looking up to White Diamond.

"You're not saying you actually have a way to fix them ... do you?" White asked. Twilight sparkle levitated the gemstones towards Steven and placed them down in front of him, getting all shards together so they all remained in piece. Before he did his magic he made sure that there was still life inside the gemstones with a simple touch, the touch making the gemstones glow slightly. Red Diamond didn't take them yet. All Steven had to do was kneel down, and give both gemstones a single kiss.
One for each, and one was all it took for the same effects to take place. The cracks within all of the gemstones shifted and reattached themselves. Everyone moved back good and far for Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond to slowly take their shape again. The whole ship shifted slightly from the new weight as Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond landed onto the ship, both bolting to their feet ready for a fight just to find there wasn't one.

"Oohh, what happened back - ... White?! You're back to normal!" exclaimed Blue.

"Yellow! Blue!" White said, bringing the two in for her own hug. It was almost enough to knock them off of their feet, but they still had to take in what was going on around them.

"Someone please explain what happened while we were out. Did we beat Grogar or not?" Yellow Diamond asked.

"You both were shattered by that Grogar, but thanks to best man Steven, he brought you two and his team back to life," Discord said, giving the hero of the day a pinch on the cheek. He couldn't help himself.

"Then ... where is he?" Blue Diamond asked.

"That's not gonna be too hard," Discord said confidently. Getting into a dramatic pose because he can, he brought up his fingers and -

*SNAP*

~~~~~~

*SNAP*

"OOF! Discord," sighed Fluttershy. The teleport was by far quicker than any of them expected, much faster than typical portal keys, leaving many of them actually in the air before hitting ground. Luckily for them the ground was just a foot down, so not too bad for months of no practice. As for the location, the entire group was left shocked on where they ended up.
They found themselves over on the shoreline, vast ocean one side, and a huge city the other. Tall skyscrapers, many bustling noises of people, and the appearance of motorized cars told them that they were not in Equestria at all.

"That psycho was gonna blow up Empire City! Well good thing we stopped him before that can happen," said Bismuth.

But that wasn't the main concerned as they looked around on the beach near the city for any signs of their Tambalon King. Fortunately for them, that actually didn't take that much time to locate him, as it took just a few turns on the beach for one of them to spot him. That blast from his own weapon left him not only laying there in the sand, partially in the watery waves of the cold ocean, but A LOT smaller without his god-like state to keep him stronger than everyone else. His size was no longer titanic as he was the size of any normal goat now, even with his horns still in tact. All that draining knocked out so much wind out of him he didn't react too much for the others going over to him, finding that they were all towering over him now. Grogar tried to summon up some form of magic, but all his concentration was doing was giving him a headache.

"My ... my magic's gone. ..."

"It's over Grogar, for real this time," said Jasper, "You might keep knocking us down but we'll always keep fighting for our home. Your army is defeated, and your weapons are destroyed back on Homeworld. You literally have nothing left to fight us now. Face it, Grogar, your plan failed, YOU lost. Just take it like a warrior."

Grogar slowly got up to his hooves. "So it looks like it ..."

"Grogar don't do this. You have no magic, and we ALL know how this will end if you try this again. You only beat them because of your magic and now that it's all gone, you're not a threat to any of us anymore," said White Diamond sternly.

Grogar just stood there contemplating everything that happened so far. It was quite the day, he could say that much: losing one fight, getting stopped from even starting another one, and going from god to commoner in a single attack. Well, the Ram laid back down onto the sand, and brought his head to its side.

"... Uhh ... what're you doing?" asked Spinel.

Grogar didn't answer at first, keeping an ear firmly on the ground and listening as carefully as he could.

..... *gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* .......

Grogar smiled and got up. That was NOT a good sign, along with what he said next.

"It's always great to have a backup plan."

Every single thought stopped. Plan. B. … The entire Harmony army completely stopped on those very words, which themselves echoed in their heads for a bit. Plan A didn't work as they hoped - charging in to tear them to pieces in Sniper's world then getting the weapons loaded and out. They all made sure of that.

"Plan ... B? B-But, wait, no! No, there's no Plan B, we've got all of their plans!" insisted Rainbow Dash.

"We stopped his attack in that Sniper's realm, we destroyed all of their weaponry, w-what else do they have?" White Diamond wondered, growing terrified.

"... This isn't right."

Everyone turned to Garnet. The fusion that, for so long, had it all figured out. So what was left? What was this final plan?

"It was supposed to end here. … Unless ……."

Before Garnet could get an actual answer worked out, Grogar grunted, clearing his throat.

"You all haven't met me? You HONESTLY think that I did all of this thinking it will work the first time? I've survived years upon years, and never once in my life did a plan work the first time. I had to try again, try new things, work it differently. Oh, I'm not following your little script? Well too bad! Twilight, over there? I told you once before I'll make you scream for Celestia, and now I'm going to keep it. I'm through with being a slave."

"What're you talking about, Grogar, what did you do?!" Spinel shouted, enraged still. What was he talking about? The wrenched Ram took a few steps away, hardly taking any mind to what confusion he left everyone in, finding a perfect spot just by the edge of the beach, overlooking the calm sea, and the setting sun sky.

"Grogar, it doesn't matter anymore. Just let it end here," Steven asked one more time. Grogar looked back to the child one final time.

"You want me to end it? … Ok, I'll end it. Right. Now. ..."
Rearing back on his hind legs, the Ram let out a mighty gutteral roar, as loud as he could muster. At first nothing seemed to happen as the entire world was silent, letting the echoing roar overcome the noise of Empire City's busy late-day traffic. The surface world may not have heard this call as anything special. Heck, Empire City might've never even noticed. But as everyone listened to the war horn that Grogar was roaring away, another more ominous sound started to slowly emit from the very world itself.

It began off very low. Making the entire city itself start to quiver and shake, as if it itself was fearful of what was about to come forward. Like an oncoming earthquake, the earth itself shook and trembled, the ocean's waves rattled and starting to smash against the coastline in a angry invasion. The Harmony Gems and the Diamond Authority made a mad dash away from the beach, even the largest White Diamond being knocked off her feet in the crash of waves as seawater rushed in and began flooding Empire City right then and there in huge rushed of waves. It would've washed them all away if Lapis Lazuli hadn't stopped much of the water from doing so with her own powers, hands raised up and halting the water right at the edge of the city. If Grogar's plan was to destroy Empire City then maybe it was doing a decent job at it, but he had far more in mind than that. The water was the very least of their problems.
As the waters tried to force their way into the city, the ground itself was starting to give way all over the place, starting just down from the Empire City pier. Looking inland, the ground all over began to shift and crack open, tearing apart the concrete of the roads and any buildings unfortunate enough to get caught in the cracks of the Earth. It was like the injector all over again, but only much worse.

Something was coming up. Through the cracks of the earth busted out what looked like a serpent of some kind - a large snake like body with the head of a Venus flytrap, its skin rotted and green. One alone was easily stretching out as long as one of the buildings, but there was far more than just one. Each second passing was every second another one of these creatures blasted out from the ground, wrapping and coiling one after the other around any surface they can get a hold of. Anything left out on the street was swiftly taken away and covered by the sea of vines and flytraps, leaving numerous city blocks wrecked and reeking of rotting vegetation.
But the worst was yet to come.
At the very center of it all, forcing its way right out of the earth below risen a massive colossus. A being that itself dwarfed any and all around it, buildings crushed and pushed aside to allow its girth to reach the surface. What revealed before them all was a mass of rotting vines and plants, coiling into one another like veins on muscle, reaching down into the roots where the flytraps came from far into the ground. Nothing on Earth could compare to this creature, towering over even the tallest building in Empire City. At the very top of the mass was the head of a monster: crocodile in shape and wrapped in vines all over the body. Its mouth hung open to reveal rows upon rows of dagger like teeth, each one the size of a car and as sharp as a sword.

The apocalypse had arrived.

*RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!*

True Kind of Love PT3

There they were. The Diamond Authority, the royalty of Equestria AND the Harmony Gems all looking to what kind of apocalypse Grogar released onto the entire world. The people inside the city in absolute panic over what just happened to the city itself, and vines and vegetation growing all over the place, attacking anyone and anything that they could get close to. The titanic beast itself stood above the entire bay, hardly even aware of the chaos it was causing far below it. Apart from the earth-shattering roars it was creating, the group could only hear Grogar's laughter nearby.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!?!" screamed Spinel.

"I have no idea. Grogar, what did you do?! Speak!" demanded Starswirl the Bearded. Grogar laughed some more.

"Since you made it this far, I'll tell you. Not like you can do anything now anyway," Grogar decided. Call it their reward for somehow surviving the dead at this point. "While on my way to Homeworld from your little trick at that den, I took a sidestop over back at home to see my dearest little Sumu."

"THAT THING is Sumu?" exclaimed Discord.

"She is now. I got enough of my own troops ready to take over whatever is left by the time she's done playing around, and don't even THINK about jumping in and splitting up because Sumu's spreading all over your worlds. Every single one of them. Go ahead, take a look if you want to!"

That's exactly what they did next, Twilight immediately grabbing her own Portal Keys and quickly throwing it wherever to see what happened to Equestria. She swung the door open as quickly as an Alicorn could do it, almost breaking the door itself, but that didn't mean that the portal was offering anything promising.
What Twilight saw made her heart almost stop: Canterlot COMPLETELY invaded by Plunder Vines! The exact same ones that were invading Empire City at the moment, and causing just as much havoc onto it as it had before: wrapping around the buildings, and terrorizing the ponies all over the place by either attacking them or trapping them in its horrid branches. One of the flytraps actually saw her and Twilight had to slam it shut before it could bite her.
They also made extra portals and checked other areas but got the exact same problem: a portal to Homeworld showed the entire Diamond City being invaded by the horrid vines, all of the Gem guards trying their hardest to fight them off but to no avail; A portal showing Ponyville showed all of its residence trying their best to handle the Plunder Vine invasion; one to Little Homeworld showed Gems all over having the buildings begin to get wrapped tight in the vines and forced to fight off the creatures invading their new home.

"YOU MANIAC!" screamed Starswirl, actually charging at him and tackling him to the sand. "Stop that monster at once!"
Grogar allowed Starswirl to jump him actually, not making any actual effort to resist at all this time, but giving the old Unicorn the knowing grin he always gave his enemies. The demand only made Grogar scoff at him.

"I can't stop that thing, I have no magic remember? You drained it out of me, so good luck dealing with your monster without it!" Grogar reminded, bringing his back hooves up and kicking Starswirl off of him.

"Oh is that all? Well, it's time to be the MVP for today," Discord said, cracking his knuckles for a short bit. He went right ahead and snapped his fingers ... but the thing was still there.

"Huh?" Discord tried several more times to snap the titan out of existence but for some weird reason his "Deus ex Machina" trick wasn't working. At first he thought his magic might've worn off, but a quick snap elsewhere and making the sand dance the jig proved otherwise.

"Don't even try your Chaos tricks, Discord, Sumu's created out of YOUR magic, and combining that with pure magic means I wrote the reality's rules so you can't just "magic" her away," Grogar revealed. Discord paused in a blank stare.

"In what world does that make any sense?!" shouted Fulgurite.

"Well it's working, isn't it? The world wanted me dead, and if I can't live, I'm taking all of you with me!" Grogar exclaimed. The Ram then let out a victorious laugh to the skies above. The entire group was about ready to run him, but it turned out none of them actually needed to do anything to him. His laughing was just too loud, and it caught Sumu's attention far up there. The colossus slowly moved her head to see the Ram far below her. The one that took her away from her cozy home next to the fountain, and abused all of her knowledge without anything in return. If she remembered that. One of the numerous flytraps rushed out from the clusters of vines and targeted directly for the Ram. All Grogar did was continued laughing as the large flytrap launched itself down like a harpoon, and in one bite, Grogar was swallowed alive. One guttural gulp and Grogar was gone, nothing left but hoofprints on the ground, and the flytrap hissed an alien roar at all of them.

"Discord, can't you talk to her?! she's your daughter, do something!" said Peridot.

"Not by choice! I already tried snapping her away, what more do you want from me?!" Discord replied in panic. The titanic creature gave a large guttural rumble of a roar again, scent of rotting flowers covering the entire city. Vines started to creep out towards the beach, slamming into the saltwater of the Empire City sea, with several of them taking notice of the whole group nearby.

"AAHHH! Stand back!" Pearl demanded, but the plant matter refused to listen and went for them in a literal wave. Starswirl the Bearded sent out a forcefield all around them to protect them from the plants, each plant slamming into the shield getting electrocuted by the Unicorn's shield. At first things calmed down, but what part of this wave that didn't get fried just immediately began growing again, and in fact added even more flytraps!

"So we know it can regenerate. GREAT!" Emerald said in worry.

Then came even more trouble. In the city, one of the nearby buildings started to crumble under the vines' weight, and started to slowly tip away and collapse on them. The buildings' shaking was accompanied by screaming citizens, who were trying their absolute best to get out of the city as soon as possible.

"Diamonds, quickly!" Blue Diamond instructed, actually the first to rush over to the collapsing building. Just before the huge building could collapse onto the Humans below, the building slammed onto Blue Diamond's hands, the immense weight already extremely hard on the single Diamond. Yellow Diamond, and later White Diamond, joined in on the rescue and with their combined strength somehow pushed the building up back to standing. As for the people down there, Fulgurite and Rainbow Dash bolted around and quickly got them grabbed and moving towards the beach to avoid any more buildings. The vines around the building did not like that and hissed at the three Diamonds, wrapping their vines around their arms fast like snakes. Yellow Diamond quickly fried the vines on them all before all three rushed away, vines re-growing like lightning.

"We got to evacuate everyone out of the city!" Connie said.

"There's so much of the world we need to evacuate, and if we don't get them out now, Sumu gets them all," Garnet said.

"Then you all go! Spread out to wherever Sumu's taken root and get everyone out of there! We'll work here and get the city to safety however we can," Luna instructed.

"But you can't use your magic!" retorted Twilight.

"Just go now! We all believe in you, you'll come up with something! We'll all meet with you later!" Cadance said. They hardly had any more time to discuss this, as the vines began to close in on the beach. Discord got rid of this batch not by snapping them away, but instead bringing out a firework barricade and blasted it at the vines, making them move back away from them.

"They'll be fine, they got Discord with them!" shouted Jasper. All of the Portal Keys were quickly brought out this time, and qithout hesitation, they got right off to try and save whoever they can, with Twilight, Spinel, Connie, and Steven joining up in one group for this launch and being the last to go. Sumu was expanding.

~~~~~~

The first stop for them was back in Equestria: Canterlot and Ponyville. On their arrival, they already could see that so much of the world was completely covered by the vines when they got there. The portal they took brought them to the outskirts of Canterlot first, just on the edge of the invading plants all over the place. Smaller vines were deeply rooted into the ground and slowly expanding out but at a much slower pace than the other vines back in Empire City. They all could hear just inside all of the ponies in there in panic trying to get out.

"Don't panic in there, we're going to break you all out! Everybody stand clear!" called Steven. Steven summoned bubbles over his fists and tried to force his way in there, alongside Connie with her sword slicing away at the vines, but both weren't making that much progress and were only attracting flytraps their way. Steven gasped in surprise, but Connie was quicker to react and her sword managed to slice the head in two before it could do anything.

"Thanks, Connie," Steven said.

"Of course," Connie replied. More flytraps began to appear, but Spinel quickly got them covered and wrapped them up in knots to keep them busy for a while.

"None of you are getting my big brother, you hear me?!" Spinel warned the plants, as she tightened their knots. Steven and Connie moved back towards Twilight, the Alicorn trying to get a way in there. However she started to remember a ability of Steven's and quickly looked to him.

"Steven, time to bowl up," Twilight said. Steven knew exactly what she meant by that, and he felt himself become levitated off of the ground. Steven was brought back as far as Twilight could make him, as the Diamond hybrid summoned up not a bubble, but a spiked pink ball around himself. If they were going to get in there fast they needed a one-strike. Twilight swung her head forward and Steven rocketed right for the plant wall. It was a good thing Steven told the others inside the stand clear, because he barreled right through the plant wall in no time at all, leaving a big tunnel through the vines. Steven skidded to a stop as the other three got their way inside, Twilight having to use her aura to keep the vines from re-growing and sealing off the tunnel.

"Hurry!" Twilight shouted. A large group of Unicorns saw the chance and stampeded through the tunnel they've created as Twilight struggled to keep all the weight from caving in on them. A good total of fifty ponies managed to get out of Canterlot's increasing plant binding!
The four found some of their group already present in the city; Peridot, Diopside, Rainbow Dash and Rarity going around and fighting off the Plundervines as best as they could.

"Get out of this city, you invading green vines!" Diopside shouted, using her acid to force off a Plundervine from one of the buildings so a family of ponies could get out. Rainbow Dash handled as best she could from the air, flying around like lightning and hitting any Plundervines that got in her way. She even grabbed one Plundervine and with tricks learned from Applejack, got it lassoed around several others and tied down still.

"Twilight! You four got an escape route handy? We keep busting through these walls, but these vines aren't giving up!" Rainbow Dash asked, before having to buck off another Plundervine flytrap.

"Get everyone out through there! Twilight can't hold it any longer," Steven called.

"You all heard him! OUT!" called Rainbow Dash. She and the others with her got the residence of Canterlot moving towards the tunnel, and charged through as fast as their hooves could carry them. The Plundervines were brutally crushing her, and they could tell she can't hold it up long enough for them all to make it out of there, Spinel and Steven helping others along with Diopside and Rarity as best they can. Connie was seeing the result faster though.

"Wait, don't run through!" Connie shouted.

"Why not?!" shouted one of the Canterlot Unicorns, "It's our only way -"

Twilight gave up the fight moments after he spoke, the Alicorn only able to release her magic and bolt back inside before all the vines slammed down over the tunnel. They all would've been crushed if they continued through there like they were doing.

"Connie!" Steven gasped.

"I got your girl!" Spinel said. Without even thinking, Spinel stretched her arms right through what opening they can make out in the mess of vines, leaving her arms stretching between them and Canterlot boundaries. It did take Spinel a little bit to find out where Connie actually was after some feeling around, but once she found her and the other ponies left there, she expanded her hands huge and then proceeded to grab them all. Covered safely by her own hands, Spinel tried to pull them out, but that was when she was having some trouble.

"Grrr! A little help here!" Spinel grunted, her feet on the wall as she pulled as hard as she could. Steven and Twilight quickly grabbed hold of her and pulled back hard, making the vine wall strain but unable to break. It only took the combine effort of both teams taking hold to finally have enough strength to make the vine wall give, sending them all back and what remaining ponies and Connie out of the city.

The vines did NOT like that, and went on the attack, making the Unicorns run like mad as far away as they could from the dangerous vines. Nothing worse than panicking ponies.

"Steven, Connie, Spinel, you three go on to Little Homeworld, I'll stay here and make sure everyone's safe. We'll join you back at base when we're done here, now go!"

"Good luck you guys," Steven said. Twilight went back towards Canterlot as the three ran off downhill.

.......

With a quick jump from their Portal Keys, they got right from Canterlot to near the Everfree Forest, already finding that Equestria's Little Homeworld wasn't doing any better. In fact, one could say it was actually worse since the vines hid in with the forest so it had a constant spot to retreat to if needed. In a ways, it was already surrounded. And IMMEDIATELY the vines were attacking them. Spinel yelped and ducked to dodge one of the Plundervines stretching for her, only for Steven to block its bite with his shield briefly before taking Spinel away from the creature with an arm wrapped around her. Connie added some extra protection with a quick few slices to keep it back before running with them.

"How'd they get to Little Homeworld so fast?! Sumu's never even been over here!" Steven had to ask, not remembering Sumu ever actually visiting Little Homeworld before on this side.

"They're Plunder Vines, Steven, they came from this world! AND this forest!" Connie reminded, just before Steven had to bring up his shield to block another Plundervine from biting into them all. Connie swung her sword to slice the head off the plant. However, this time the regrowing head turned HUGE, big enough to swallow all three of them whole if it wanted to. Steven instinctively brought out a bubble for protection, and the three were stuck in the large jaws of this large plant. Steven strained and struggled, and had enough energy to release a pulse of energy, forcing the Plundervine back.

"Get to the Warp Pad!" Steven said.

"Lead the way!" Spinel said, all three of them running for it just to avoid a large bite from the plant. Numerous other Plundervines started chasing them down as they made their run towards the Warp Pad, too frantic to notice they were the only ones on this side of Little Homeworld.

"Lead the way faster!" Spinel yelled, picking the two up and going almost sonic-style running speed to reach the Warp Pad. Spinel's boost was just enough to get them to the Warp Pad in time, a full swarm of flytrap heads ready to swallow them whole.

They quickly got the Warp Pad working just in time, but the warpstream almost seemed to bring some of the Plundervines with them through the Warp Pad's mainstream, all three of them trying to keep them back away from themselves. None of them were attached to anything after checking, but they sliced them up to be absolutely sure by the time they got to Earth's Little Homeworld.
Wouldn't you know it, THIS side was just as bad as Equestria's Little Homeworld, vines wrapped everywhere and unlike before actual Gems in danger. And what was even worse was an extra surprise for them when they got off the warp pad. The Plundervines they chopped up in there included a severed head of one, which on landing on the ground, re-rooted and grew into a full plant right then and there!

"They regrow bodies too!" exclaimed Spinel in disbelief. The large plant opened its mouth wide to bite down on all of them, but before it could even manage to bite into them, something flew in the air and slam down hard onto the creature, a huge boulder slamming into the mouth to keep its bite to itself.

"Guys!" shouted a voice nearby. They turned and saw Bismuth there, alongside Applejack and Jasper fighting off the Plundervines near Bismuth's forge.

"Y'all got through those Plundervines! Where's Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"Twilight's helping in Canterlot right now, how're you guys doing over here?" asked Steven.

"They're putting up a heck of a fight, but we're holding them off: the Quartzes living here are fighting them too. We got them armed up and everything," Bismuth explained, the group seeing at least four of them fighting the vines off with weapons crafted from the Forge, including swords and axes, whatever was sharp enough to cut through them. A bit barbaric in the fighting but that was just quartzes for you, as long as it was helping.

"Good job, but make sure they get evacuated too, we're not trying to just fight Sumu right now," reminded Connie.

"We'll take care of them, you three do what you need to do," Bismuth said.

"GRAH! GET BACK!" shouted Jasper, punching one of the plants square in the face and almost snapping it in two just for four vines to sneak up on her and grab her by each limb.

"Hold on, Jasper!" Applejack shouted, galloping over as quick as she could, dodging at least three more vines before reaching her. She jumped onto one, bucked away another, and grabbed one by her teeth and yanked it off of Jasper as the orange Quartz stomped on the fourth the make the Plundervine let go. Little Homeworld was in good protection here, and Spinel, Connie, and Steven went off out of there. They'll meet up soon enough.

.......

Lucky for the three, Beach City was already well evacuated by the time they got to the borders of the place, not a single person up and anywhere in the town by the looks of it. As expected though, vines were everywhere there, wrapping around houses and buildings and leaving hardly anything left, even including Funland! A group of Beach City inhabitants were standing well clear of the borders, Nanefua looking on in concerned as the trio arrived to them.

"Steven, what is going on?" Nanefua asked.

"An invasion. It's a good thing you got everyone out in time," Steven said.

"Not everybody," said Bill Dewey in fear, "One of your moms won't come out of the city. you know, the big one with the square head?"

"Big one with - GARNET!" Steven gasped, "Thanks Bill Dewey. Spinel, Connie, come on!" Steven said. Who knows how long Garnet's been in there?!

As the plants were still active and looking for more people in the town, the trio made their way from the borders right into the center of town to try and find Garnet. The Boardwalk, which just yesterday was clear and full of activity was now nothing more than a walkway for the vines to creep around the place. The three had to watch themselves from tripping on the vines while fending off any flytraps that showed up for them. Not even any seabirds were nearby the town with all these plants around, and any that flew close were just snapped away by the flytraps. These in particular were fairly aggressive and on their tails through much of the way.

Spinel looked back to the horde in the run, and tripped over one of the vines!

"Spinel!" Steven and Connie skidded to a stop seeing Spinel stuck in the wrapping vines on her foot, the horde of flytraps looming in closer still. Steven pulled her as much as he could, but her foot was wrapped up tight and not letting her go. Connie thought fast, and pulled out her sword and got the vine sliced off of her foot, but the screeching Plundervines were already right on top of them, starting with a bite onto Spinel's foot!

"It's gonna take you too!" yelped Spinel, more scared of seeing Steven die over her, "J-Just go without me!"

"We're not leaving you behind Spinel, I promise you that's not going to happen," Steven said, bringing up his shield. As the plant tried to regain its bite, Steven shoved the shield in between its jaws to give Spinel just enough room to wriggle her foot free. Connie even pried the shield up with her sword for extra measure. Steven however had to re-summon the bubble to counter the rest of the horde and keep the others safe as a whole wave of the vines surrounded the bubble around them. All they could see was slithering vines all around them, with the occasional mouth trying to bite into it and break the shield.

"This is it. They're gonna eat us! They're gonna destroy us and leave us alone forever!" Spinel whimpered, wrapping her arms tightly around Steven in fear like a small child.

"Just keep it together! There's got to be an opening somewhere," Steven said in a strained voice. They tried finding some way out, but the Plundervines refused to let any of them go. Little by little, the Plundervines started to overwhelm the trio, making the bubble smaller and smaller. It seemed the Plundervines had found their next meal ...

*screee -* *BOOM!*

Luck was on their side today! As soon as it seemed like their fate was sealed, an outside explosion forced the Plundervines off of the three just as the bubble would've given way. Spinel was covering her head as Steven was catching his breath and Connie was on her knees. The three needed a moment to realize that they were free to move again, and as the smoke began to slowly clear up they soon found the one who saved their lives from being Sumu's targets.

Garnet had found them just in time.

"Garnet!" the three exclaimed.

"My hero," added Spinel.

"This way. Now," Garnet instructed urgently, rushing over in a single motion, and grabbing all three of them: Connie and Steven under her arms as Spinel held onto her back. Garnet bolted off out of there just as the Plundervines came back to and began their chase again after them. Garnet's quicker speed though left the Plundervines further behind, and good thing too as Garnet made her way right to the Beach House (which was almost being invaded itself by Plundervines on the cliffside). Garnet went through so quick she practically flew through Steven's room and right to the Warp Pad in the cave, as the Plundervines began to try and make their way into the house.

"Are you three alright? None of you got hurt?" Garnet asked the three.

"Tired a bit, but I think so. Is everyone out of Beach City?" Connie asked.

"Every single one of them. Now's the time to get back to our base. We'll work out a game plan there, and you'll be safe from Sumu," Garnet said.

"Okie dokie, but we better go. LOOK!"

The Plundervines were tearing apart the Beach House, right down to the floorboards! Every single thing inside that beach house was being eaten alive and torn to pieces by this invading horde, no appliance or materials left unturned in the slightest. If they were gonna go, they had to go NOW, and one stomp got the Warp Pad moving.

.......

The Warp Pad got them in the warpstream fine, but their quickness to leave made some of the Plundervines get teleported with them too, and this time they weren't going to get them get away, the "floor" under them filled with at least five mouths. Garnet had to make a dire call here.

"Hold on tight," Garnet said.

Steven, Spinel, and Connie held on as tight as they could to Garnet, the warping plants stretching up from below. Garnet brought out one gauntlet glove, but she didn't aim for the plants, but instead shot in front of her. The propulsion launched herself, Steven, Spinel, and Connie, out of the Warpstream and out into Warp Space. The plants refused to follow them outside of the Warpstream, for it was far too cold and too low in oxygen for them to even remotely attempt to follow them through. One overly eager vine did try, but it got way too cold and got frostbitten almost immediately, and bolted back into the warmth of the Warpstream. Steven and Connie held their breath, but Garnet knew they wouldn't last for too long out here. Lucky for them, they had something planned for this.
Steven and Connie were then propelled by another one of Garnet's gauntlet launches, moving them away from the Warpstream, and over towards what looked like a Warping orb. It had similar coloration to the Warpstream, only this one didn't connect to the Warpstreams coming in and out. Garnet managed to fish out her own Portal Key and threw it through Warp Space right to the warping orb, creating their own Warpstream from it to connect to the four, sucking them into it. The four fazed through, landing inside with a bit of a fall but no true damage comparatively speaking. Both humans could finally breathe again, and they were greeted by a welcoming sight.

The orb was much larger inside than outside, and showed what appeared to be a sort of base. In fact, this area was indeed Earth's Moon Base, and most of the Harmony Gems, and numerous others from Sniper's Realm fight that filled up the base. This included the three other Diamonds and Pillars of Equestria, telling them that Empire City was successfully evacuated. Among them even included Tempest Shadow and some of her storm creatures left in the realm by Grogar, requested by White Diamond

"GUYS, YOU'RE ALL ALIVE!" Steven gasped, rushing over to greet them.

"Thank the stars you're safe, Steven," said Blue Diamond.

"A well-calculated idea choosing the Moon Base, Twilight. That monster won't be able to access here without a Warp Pad," White admitted.

"Exactly why we thought of this place. Now we can finally come up with a plan without anything peering in on us," Garnet agreed. That would be the best thing they could do right now. As everyone finally took time to calm down in there, Steven began seeing Hessonite sitting nearby, her gemstone still causing her some trouble.

"Here Connie, Spinel, you two relax for a bit I'll be right back," Steven said. Spinel needed some encouragement to actually let Garnet go, but a few tugs from Garnet herself got her to relax her grip and rest on the floor as Steven tended to Hessonite. There still was a bit to talk about however, and they had to figure something out before their worlds become a complete greenhouse, which at the rate it was going wasn't that far away.
Steven kneeled down by Hessonite and he got his healing spit to work on her gemstone, the Gem herself cringing a little.

"There, that feel better?" Steven asked.

"Isn't there a less ... gross way of doing it?" Hessonite asked.

"Sorry, not really."

"Oh ... well, thanks."

Best to just let him do his magic, even if it was a little gross. Besides, they got a lot more problems to worry about now. Nearby, Spike already had a quill and list to check off some things.

"So that's Canterlot handled, Ponyville's gone into hiding before we got there, Diamond City's on lockdown, Empire City, Little Homeworld, and Beach City's evacuated ... okay, looks like everything on our end," said Spike, concluding the checklist. Twilight was sure glad to hear that.

"Well that's all fine and good," said a stressed Yellow Diamond, "And I know you have your priorities like the rest of the ponies, but we need to keep focus or all three worlds will be all trapped in this overgrowth of organic matter!"

"You mean four?" corrected Hopper.

"Actually five," put in Sniper.

"Regardless on the count," Garnet concluded, "The longer we wait, the stronger she gets. We need some form of attack to remotely stand a chance against her."

"And how do you propose we're gonna do that?" Aquamarine questioned, "You tell me something we can use that out beats a DOOMSDAY DEVICE!"
That logic did make this look very grim for many of them. They tried thinking of something against Sumu but for all the knowledge Sumu had on them all they barely knew enough against her to figure out a prominent answer outside of the obvious. Hardly many answers came up at first.

"This is a riddle we have to unravel," said Somnambula. "This creature's knowledge is as vast as its own flora."

"Well let's work off what we know: Sumu was once a bunch of Plunder Vines planted by Discord a thousand years ago to get them to attack the Tree of Harmony, and it's gained sentience thanks to magic coming in from Steven's world. It can grow and regrow any part of itself just like a plant can do, only a lot faster and has invaded everywhere we've known. ....... Do any of you have any ideas to stop this thing?" Twilight concluded.

"As fun as that would be, it's one of the few things I don't have. I gave up on that thing eons ago, so I stopped watching it," Discord said. Rare for him to say, but this is indeed a rare-case scenario.

"Okay, is there anything you can tell us about it?" corrected Blue Diamond. Discord wasn't enjoying any of this anymore than anyone else, so he had to try this again. Anything to get back at that monster for destroying his favorite pony's home.

"When you put it that way ..." Discord did some snapping work and got out a red sofa, and one of those chapter books, the Draconequus dressed up in casual tux and reading glasses. Might as well look the part if he was gonna tell his story. He opened the book, showing pictures of his explanation with the plant as we spoke. "Well, back during my not-so-happy days as your original tyrant chaos spirit, I had my plunderseeds planted that should have stolen the magic from the Tree of Harmony and captured Princess Celestia and Princess Luna thousands of moons ago. Alas, it seems the tree had enough magic to keep the seeds from growing up big and strong. Until a few years ago that is."

"That doesn't explain how it got into Earth and Homeworld in the first place," Jasper said. Discord sighed.

"Not one of my better choices. Some ponies were having trouble, I was relaxing with a cool drink, so when Twilight showed I kinda just snapped them away from existence. Which seemingly ended up in your world Steven. So uhh ... my bad."

"So you just decided to throw it on another world and made it their problem? That's very irresponsible of you, I do hope you're aware of this," Starswirl said.

"Says the unicorn who banished three sirens onto planet Earth to get them out of Equestria," reminded Steven. Starswirl recoiled on the memory, bringing his hat down so it covered his gaze.

"Ok. Point taken."

"Well it's not like I meant to have to get THIS out of hand," Discord insisted guiltily, "I only meant to teleport it away, not for it to get stronger on me."

"Well that's the thing about magic," noted Starlight, "it isn't truly something one could just "study". I mean, yes, you can learn it, and use it, but to truly predict what magic can do is just too complex."

"You can say that?" Sniper gasped.

"Well yeah, even in my years of working with magic, I've suffered quite my own hiccups. ... Like almost destroying Equus for meddling with the space-time continuum," Starlight replied, the last part a bit embarrassed to say as she turned her gaze to her hooves.

"So traveling back in time's out of the question, I assume," concluded Yellow Diamond. How easy of a fix that would be if they could just jump back in time to fix this little mishap, yet Starlight was completely against that idea and just nodded her head. If removing the sonic rainboom could result in a apocalyptical war, who knows what removing the Plunderseeds from the timeline could do to the worlds? Forbid Homeworld from reconciling with Earth? Make the Barn pop up on the moon!? It's anyone's guess, and with so many options they were not willing to risk that kind of thing with this.
Starswirl made the opening, and all it really did was make the wall transparent for a brief moment of time. And they began to see the Earth itself turn a dark green all over the place. North America was turning into the rainforest with this beast's vines, and it was still expanding. Lion gave a snarl on sight of all of this.

"Our monster is spreading fast. If we don't act now, all of the worlds will be consumed," Starswirl confirmed.

"Yes, but how? We can't hurt her apparently, and whatever we try she just regrows back," Flint reminded. As if they needed to say it again.

"Maybe we can uhh ... burn her down? She is a plant, and plants burn a lot in fire," Spinel thought.

"Not a chance: that'll burn wherever else she's in. Plus we don't have enough fire to make that happen," Garnet made clear. Well it was a good thought anyway. But there was someone that might have an answer for them, looking over towards two figures amongst the big crowd: Tempest Shadow and Star Quartz.
The Unicorn remained laying there by the wall of the Moon Base, tired from all of the emotional battling she'd been stuck with already.

"Is ... everything okay, Tempest? You don't look so good," asked Twilight.

"I'm just tired. Breaking my horn was emotionally exhausting," Tempest admitted, rubbing her broken horn a bit more as she stayed put.

"It was so brave of you to stand up to Grogar," said White.

"Let's just say I woke up. For years I thought I'd be fine once if I can get my horn back, but ... if that also means following such a madman like Grogar, it's not worth it. There's nothing to gain -"

"Alright, you're sorry, we get it, now can you tell us about Sumu before the world ends?" Aquamarine quickly cutted in.

"Aquamarine, manners! ... But really, it wouldn't hurt," added Hessonite. Tempest got the point across either way, so she got up onto her hooves, her head still ironically heavy even without the horn.

"I would if I could. Grogar's always limited everyone's contact with that plant ever since he found her. All I know is that she talks to plants and that's it. My guess for stopping her now is as good as anyone else. I barely ever spoke with her about anything," Tempest said.
That didn't sit very well for them. With the images of Grogar getting eaten by Sumu flashing in their heads again, it was painfully clear that whatever weakness Sumu had was Grogar's knowledge, and that Ram took it with him. Before anyone could say anything though, Star Quartz started to perk up.

"Sumu did mention something about a core. Does that help?" Star asked.

"Core? What core?" asked Applejack.

"I think something like an apple core? She said she has one deep inside of her and she hurts if someone tries to take it from her. Or something," Star Quartz revealed. tar Quartz didn't think that much of it as anything too special, but everyone else in the room found this to be their only real lead to anything. It was something they had to take.

"So all we have to do is get in there, and get that core out. Simple enough. We just need to figure out a way to get inside her," concluded Applejack. A rather disturbing thought to actually work with, but by now it was all they got left. Though, the matter of HOW to do it was very important.

"But isn't that mean?" Star asked.

"W-Well, yes, but so is taking over numerous worlds," said Pearl.

"Well, what can we do? I'm guessing getting eaten is not really the best option," said Diopside.

"Can it even digest rocks?" Starlight asked. NOT something they wanna think about ...

"We shrink?"

NOW the odd suggestions were coming from young Padparadscha, who hadn't even uttered much of a word up until this point.

"... Huh?" asked Pinkie.

"I don't know if you'd notice, Sapphire, but Sumu's already the size of a continent - almost literally. How's it gonna help if we shrink?" Aquamarine pointed out.

"Aquamarine is a pain in the neck, but for once she's got a point," Emerald agreed.

"We're not that small compared to her," said Padparadscha.

"She could crush a town by laying on it if she wanted to!" retorted Fulgurite.

"Wait a minute," Flint then said, thinking a bit more intently about this subject. "... Perhaps we are already small enough to venture inside of her, but with high risk of her seeing us. ... But what if we were small enough to go inside her undetected? If we were small enough compared to Sumu, it could be possible to go inside of her without him being even aware of our presence."

"And while we're inside, he would be vulnerable to our attacks! Good thinking Padparadscha!" said Starlight. Padparadscha took a minute before she actually looked alarmed, but blushed a bit too. nice to receive a compliment from a good mind. In fact, this idea was even enough for the Diamonds to consider.

"While normally I'd take such suggestions with a grain of stardust ... if it's what we have to do to defeat Sumu before our worlds become his garden. Then so be it," White Diamond concluded.

"Well if White agrees with your plan, then so do we," Yellow Diamond concluded.

"As do we," Starswirl agreed, the Pillars of Equestria in agreement too. "Though we still need a way to even reach Sumu that close without provoking her forces."
SO CLOSE. Luckily for them though, this part was a bit easier to work out with, and Twilight began to work out the details first.

"I know! We can teleport a holding vessel to move close enough to Sumu's head."

"And have her swat us away and kill us on site, like every other air attack. Twilight, we need a different approach," Sniper said.

"No, no, hear me out. This vessel we'd be in will be full of a smokescreen attachment, so when it makes contact with Sumu it will explode into a blinding steam. It will give us enough time to go into her body as she's distracted with that. Even if she hits us beforehand, we'd be small enough to ride the cloud into her and it'll have the same effect!"
Since when were Twilight's plans this risky? The bigger minds considered this kind of approach, imagining the scenario playing out in their mind. Sumu basically had eyes all over the place, be it ground or air, so any sort of approach otherwise would either be pointless, or take way too long to do. Garnet was checking her Future Vision on this plan in particular, looking at every single scenario with this plan involved, seeing if this would work at all.

"... It's crazy enough to work. Flash, call your Pegasus for an airstrike. Make sure our vessel is the last one dropped."

"But we don't have any vessels," said Blue Diamond. There was, however, only one look Discord needed to see one in the group that made him work something else out in his head. Something that didn't really need to involve shrinking.

"I'll take care of this," Discord said. The Draconequus did a few stretches, cracking his knuckles for some ultra focus. The chaos spirit got to work immediately, and he lined a perfect spot for the vessel to be dropped. It'd been a while so the few focused snaps actually were taking a bit of effort, but soon they all were armed up with just one vessel. One with a porthole in the top, built like a rocket.

"What would we do without you?" Garnet said. They started to make their way in there, but as Pinkie hopped inside, she quickly started discovering a little something about this vessel.

"I'm noticing a little flaw in your rocket: it's a little too tiny for everybody," Pinkie pointed out, which was true. Looking down into the vessel, Discord only made about three seats, compared to the twenty or so they all thought were going in there. Discord though didn't seem that worried about it, checking into the vessel himself first.

"Did I?"

"Discord, there's over twenty of us, we can't all fit in there," said Rainbow Dash. Discord relaxed on the vessel for a bit, as if waiting for someone else to speak for him.

"Seriously, we don't have time for any of your jokes right now! Sumu's down there destroying the planet!" insisted Jasper.

"He knows what he did. Because he knows what I'm about to say," said Steven at last. The entire crowd looked over to him as he started walking over to the vessel.

"Steven, what're you -" the look on Steven's face was more than enough to say the words for him. "... No. No no nonono Steven, you can't go in there by yourself!"

"Guys, I'm not going to let any of you get hurt because of me. Red Diamond wants me to finish what Grogar started, remember? I've been running from this for too long."

"What's the point anymore, Grogar's eaten! He's dead!" reminded Jasper.

"And look what he left behind!" Steven reminded back, pointing through the "window" and down to Earth, "Even when he's gone, he's still making everyone miserable right now, and now Sumu's rampaging out there. I have to put an end to this, and if things go really bad, I don't want any of you going down with me, okay?"
Steven tried getting himself into the vessel, pulling him up to the opening, but before he could go in there he felt a hand pull him back down.

"We're not going to let you go in there by yourself. I'm going with you," Connie said.

"I can't let you come. If anything happened to any of you -"

"What about YOU, Steven?" Connie cut in, "You already know how it feels losing someone you love, how do you think we'll all feel if you lose in there? If you have to face this, then we're all for it, but I'm not going to let you face it alone. I'll always be by your side, Steven. You're my Jam bud."

Steven looked ready to cry. A tear did manage to get out of his eye before he got himself together. Steven just simply nodded to her. Connie and Steven then remembered the third seat, and they already knew who that belonged to when they both looked over to Spinel. She wanted to go, she really did, but was it a good idea if Steven didn't want her to get hurt either?

"You too, Spinel."

"Eehh I want to, but you said you didn't want anyone gettin messed up in there, so ..."

"And we also promised we won't leave you behind," reminded Steven. Spinel didn't need any big long speech to change her mind on it, and already she was getting a bit emotional about it.
They don't have anymore time to talk about this now. Discord stood right by the vessel, and now that the main trio was ready to go off on their way, it was time to get the vessel filled up. But of course, they did not go in there without one more final goodbye to everyone in the Moon Base. The Crystal Gems and Mane Six went over to them and they all gave the three brave warriors a few goodbye hugs, and all three were ready to go on their way. Discord then provided the three with a set of devices.

"Some walkie-talkies. Just say the word, and I'll get you back growing to normal. I'm one snap away," Discord said. They won't defeat anyone being the size of ants. Spinel and Connie went inside first, and Steven gave one last look to everyone in the base with a smile, before settling down and closing the door. They all were going to be safe up on the moon while all this was going on. Flash Magnus was trotting over to get the vessel, but again Discord had a different idea, and lifted it up himself.

"You all heard him, he doesn't want anymore people hurt, so I'll get em down there. This chaos spirit has a debt to repay," Discord decided. They knew he meant that jokingly but still worth the time anyway just to be on the safe side. Unlike the others they couldn't really argue with the Draconequus.

"Remember Discord, you only got one shot at this. You HAVE to get them in there," Twilight said.

"Please be careful, Discord," Fluttershy said. Discord saluted his bestest friend in the universe like a real trooper, and with a snap from his tail, a flash covered the vessel and everyone inside, and now it was as small as an orange. Better safe than sorry. Discord looked to the vessel one more time before flying off on his way, disappearing in a flash of light.

"... Good luck," Garnet said.

~~~~~~

Back on Earth in the city, Sumu was honestly not moving an inch. Her vines had deeply rooted into the now abandoned city, many buildings no longer being recognizable in the mass of vines and roots. The actual body of Sumu was left sitting there and in almost a bit of hibernation, the head lowered closer to her body as if sleeping, absorbing the essence from the world. Some stray helicopters were checking out the event, so this wasn't just some event going unnoticed by the population of the world. While nothing seemed to be around the area aside from Sumu's flora, Discord just appeared in a flash by a pile of rubble, dangerously close to the main core of Sumu. Discord felt humbled being in presence of this giant beast, but he knew he had a mission to do. He looked to the vessel one more time, before taking a breath.

"For Fluttershy. For Equestria," Discord told himself. It took the Draconequus some more effort to get moving, but soon he got himself off of the ground and flying into the air. Flytraps did start to notice him as he was flying up, some trying to snap at him but none of them really got close to him. The closest one got to was near the end of his tail, which Discord simply yanked away as he was flying up to Sumu's face. Aside from the wind, the sounds of low-booming breaths echoed from her. Discord simply had to knock on her head to get Sumu's attention, the huge corrupted plant's eyes opening up to see her "father" standing there in mid air.

"Hi honey. You've sure grown haven't you?" Discord started. Sumu no longer even recognized him, and growled viciously. Her growl alone was enough to make his body shutter, but Discord had to build this up.

"Now now, I know I haven't been the best dad ever, but it's time you and I had a daddy-daughter chat about your behavior. Has anyone told you how far you can stretch your vines before it becomes difficult?"

Sumu responded with a warning snort, making Discord go into a spin.

"Don't you snort at me, little lady! Do that again and I'll take away your growing privilege. Have some respect for your discount dad," Discord warned like an upset father. Sumu started to sneer at Discord, her mouth opened wide as horrid rotton flora breath seeped out and right onto the Draconequus. It was enough to make him coil up.

"And WHEN is the last time you brushed, sweetie?! Alright, that's it, I'm going to put you under stricter rules. You are to brush your teeth every morning until you at least smell like the daisy I know you can grow to be, then we're gonna talk about -"

*RAAAAAAHHHHHHH* Sumu roared, sending Discord flying off a bit. He almost dropped the vessel actually, but luckily he kept that from happening and now Discord was just upset with his "daughter".

"Well if you think you can do a better job, be my guest!" Discord yelled. And he chuckled the vessel right down in Sumu's nose, joined by a smoke bomb discord chucked at her face!

"GAH!" In a roar, the missile landed its mark, exploding in a mess of dust, smoke, and cloud fluff. Once the cloud cleared, Sumu found her face covered in white dust, namely over her muzzle. It was a bit of an odd move, but she thought little of it, as she focused her efforts more towards Discord. She wasted no time in roaring at the Draconequus, forcing Discord to move back quick. Once he was gone, she checked the stuff on her muzzle, accidentally giving a quick sniff. Annoyed, she gave her head a quick shake to get rid of whatever remained on her skin, before coiling back up to sleep. Discord got himself in a safer distance, but he knew that he did all he could do for now.

…….

Now they were in. Spinel, Connie, and Steven tried to keep themselves steady inside their vessel. Going right down through Sumu's body was a very bumpy ride, the small vessel bouncing off of the interior walls of the plant. The interior of the actual vessel didn't allow them to see anything outside except for some small lights in it (Discord's idea), so they could only keep themselves down as they were thrashed around deeper and deeper into the body. Spinel provided the extra safety by wrapping her arms around Connie and Steven like a safety jacket, her getting banged around in the vessel and keeping the two from getting hurt before they could land anywhere. It took them forever before they could feel like the vessel had actually landed somewhere, the vessel rolling and landing down on what seemed to be some solid ground.

"Is the ride over now?" Spinel muttered.

"I ... I think we made it. Get ready, I have no idea what's going to happen when we walk out of this," replied Steven, feeling just a bit dizzy from being banged around so much. Connie raised her sword and Spinel got into a boxer stance just before Steven went right over towards the opening in the vessel. One push open though, and suddenly the three were met with an almost blinding green light at first. Steven moved back, blocking some of the light before venturing out of the vessel into the unknown area.
The first thing they noticed was how banged up the Vessel actually was, numerous bumps and dents all over the Vessel from such a rough ride down. The second thing they noticed though easily out-weighed the actual damage done to any vessel. The area they landed in was colossal in size, only being matched comparatively by the Tindalos den they were in earlier, only here it was completely covered in foliage. Every inch was covered in either a vine, a leaf, or whatever else Plundervines were made of, leaving no source of view from the outside world able to enter. The whole "room" as it were was illuminated by what looked like a large orb on the wall, shaped like a sunflower seed and glowing a bright green. Inside the core was a very faint shape of a wilted plant, vaguely red and weak, connected down to the floor of Sumu's core. As if the core itself wasn't even apart of Sumu, the core also had a number of leeching vines wrapped around the wall, rooted in deep and making it impossible to budge. A low hum could be heard from the core, water flowing through its roots like pipes to the rest of the plant.

"Sumu's Core. Discord, we made it to the core, you can grow us back to normal now, over," Connie instructed through the walkie-talkie.

"You got it," discord said. They all heard a loud snap from the walkie-talkie, and sure enough, all of them (including the vessel) grew back to normal size. But even if no longer tiny ants the room was still extremely huge compared to them. The first thing any of them did was Steven going over to the core to get a better look at the plant within it. The wilted plant was drooping, leaves dead and hardly able to even straighten up. Connie and Spinel joined him up there.

"So is that really Sumu, or is that just a part of Sumu stuck in that core?" Connie wondered.

"I don't know, but the more we wait the more trouble our home's in. We got to get in there and fix this before we're too late. Now how do we get in this thing?" Steven said, feeling the exterior of the transparent core. The surface felt cool, see-through but hard like glass. As they were trying to work this out, Spinel then began to felt a small piece of vine drop onto her shoulder, making her look up ...

"N-Not yet," Spinel gulped.

"Spinel, what's wrong? Are the vines coming in here?"

*ring* *ring* ...

...

Steven, Connie, and Spinel rushed back when they realized who else was inside Sumu with them, weapons drawn and shock written all over their faces. The final player was standing on top of Sumu's core, standing there as the final defiance and a final stand against them after everything that happened.

"Grogar." Steven said.

"How're you alive?! We saw Sumu swallow you!" Spinel asked in disbelief. Grogar didn't answer at first, and instead made a leap off of the top of Sumu's core, landing down in between them and their only way to stop the monster from destroying the planet. Deciding not to give Spinel satisfaction, he simply didn't answer her question and focused his time on Steven.

"So. ... It's come down to this, hmm? One final fight for the fate of the world, YET AGAIN. This time with the higher steaks."

"Grogar, I know you hate doing this but, please listen. We don't need to fight eachother, this is NOT the answer, it doesn't matter what reasons you got! If you let this happen, it will destroy everything, even you! There will be nothing left when you get your army back together. Just let us save Sumu."

"Not on your life, Steven," Grogar warned, "I want some satisfaction for once."

"Your LIFE isn't enough?!" Connie exclaimed.

"You've destroyed everything I've worked for, taken a lot from me ever since we met last year, and this is the only thing I have left to make the world pay for what it's done to me. If you want to fix this, you're going to have to kill me first. You pathetic creature, you."

"I'll show you pathetic you grumpy old -"

"Spinel!" Steven got his hand in front of her before she could jump in to beat Grogar up. "... This is between me and him."
Spinel stopped but, reluctantly, she stepped back alongside Connie. Steven took a few steps forward towards the Ram, this time not seeing the dictator god or even the undead monster. Just a Ram defying his final chance to save the world. He was not able to step away from it this time. Grogar snorted when Steven showed his shield to him.

"You can't ever fight without your weapons can you? You're too weak against me, and you know it."

"What's really important to you? Actually giving creatures like you a chance, or just the fact that you're stronger than everyone else? If you can't stand being weaker than anyone in the world, then you're no better than the dragon that destroyed your home."
Normally a comment like that would send Grogar over the edge, but strangely Grogar no longer felt as offended by the statement.

"Your Spirit tried that same thing, and I pushed her away too. What makes YOU think you can do it? ... What can you really do?"

Steven was just the person to tell him.

I can make a promise,
I can make a plan.

A song? Grogar was not a fan of them, but he allowed Steven what he thought was to be his last musical number. Steven meanwhile brought his hand up into a clenched fist. He had no choice. If it was either the world or him, then Steven had to make this fight count. Everyone's lives depended on it.

I can make a difference,
I can take a stand.

Steven took a step forward, this time in defiance towards Grogar. While Grogar's stomp was intimidating, Steven's stomp shook the ground underneath them, a aura and light of pink now filling up the room instead of Sumu's green, making Grogar step back looking around him.

I can make an effort,
If I only understand,
That I,

Grogar charged.

I can make a change!

The fight began. Grogar's charge right for him was met with a bubbled fist right between his horns, making the Ram stop dead in his tracks. Steven was on the ball this time, and each swing Grogar tried to strike him with was met with another bubble fist to block it fast. Grogar tried slamming both hooves on him, but Steven brought out his shield that time and forced Grogar back with a strong shove.
Grogar with his magic wouldn't be shoved around so easy, but now without any of it he had to put in the extra effort, and immediately after skidding back ten feet he raced right back at Steven at full speed, his jaws wide open. Steven actually took the bite onto his arm, feeling Grogar sink his teeth into his jacket but not his skin. This bite got Steven to swing Grogar around in a circle at least twice before Grogar had to let go. He landed on his hooves, but the spinning left him unsteady on his feet, actually slipping for a second before stabilizing himself.

"I understand Grogar. After everything you've been through, you must be in a lot of pain. More pain than anyone else in the world!" Steven said. Grogar felt his teeth clench by that correct sentence, but he tried not to let him get to him AGAIN, even scratching his own face.

"No! NO! Stop messing with my head, kid! You cannot control how I feel!" Grogar snapped, before charging right back at him again. Steven actually grabbed Grogar by the horns this time, and without Grogar's magic to electrify those horns of his that was enough to make Steven gain one-up on him, the Ram trying to push him to the wall.

"That's right! Only you can."

That didn't make Grogar any better, and in a swift grab he got hold of Steven's arm. This time he spun Steven around as fast and as brutal as he could before throwing Steven right towards the core, making him slam into it and making it crack. The hit though didn't knock Steven out, and he took it like a champ, landing on his feet.

You can make it different,
You can make it right.

As Steven kept singing this verse, Sumu's core began to continue to break open, the cracks expanding and actually adding some sparkle to Steven's own light. Grogar jumped for him again and Steven just jumped.

You can make it better,
We don't have to fight!

Almost as if in tune to his song, Sumu's Core behind him suddenly exploded open, the transparent shell like featherweight glass. Steven's pink light now covered the whole room, sparkling off of the featherweight glass as it gently landed on the ground around them. Spinel and Connie were amazed, and seeing this also was getting to Grogar again, but now his look was that of unsureness.

You can make an effort,
Starting with tonight!
'Cuz you,

Grogar jumped forward, smashing the glass on the ground.

You can make a... change.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP WILL YA?!" Grogar roared. That was when the fight itself took a severe turn, and Grogar grabbed the shattered glass and began throwing it at him, including a giant piece. Steven blocked off many of the fglying glass pieces, but Grogar snuck up on him in a mad run and just got a hold of Steven's foot, swinging him and slamming him into the ground! Grogar was going right for the throat. Or stomach to be exact.

"Steven!" Spinel and Connie yelled. Grogar got Steven's shirt up and saw Steven's gemstone right in front of him. There was only one way left ...

"You can't! Make anything better! By singing some STUPID SONG!"

Then it happened, Grogar dove his head down, and got hold of Steven. Then ...

*RIP!*

.......

"...…. Steven! … Steven! Wake up!! Wake up, please!"

… What even happened?

The world was silent. Quiet. No more fighting. No more war cries or screams. Steven's eyes could barely see the world around him, but they did ever so slowly start to come to. Connie was right there by his side, looked very scared for Steven and almost in tears at what was happening to him, whatever it was. Steven couldn't tell what that thing is though. Some time must've passed because from what little he could remember something must've left their mark on her, her already having a reddened face, one eye closed shut from her injury. Spinel was also right by him, the unknown attack leaving her bruised and battered. Steven couldn't make out anyone else, but distant murmurs told him just that much.

Ever so slowly, Steven began to remember what was going on. They all were still trapped encased inside Sumu's core. The Vessel they brought in there wasn't seen anywhere, instead shards and wrecks of it scattered all over the chamber. The core itself was no longer glowing at all, the shattered glass leaving the light more dim in the room, and the water bring seeped out of the core into the chamber as if Sumu herself didn't realize what was happening inside of her. And that wasn't the only scar he had left …

"...…. w-wha …. wha … w-where - … where's my …"

Steven's gemstone was missing. Not cracked. Not damaged. But missing. His gemstone was torn off of his own body, leaving nothing but a silent, gaping hole within him, both metaphorically and literally. No blood came out, but who knows how long Steven was even out for. Weak, and now terrified, Steven didn't know where to even look for it.

And there stood Grogar, with Steven's gemstone locked in his teeth. Instinctively Steven tried to reach for it, but Steven could barely even move, collapsing almost the second he took a step forward.

"N-No … please ...…. I need - .... I need it." Steven could barely even utter his plea to Grogar, but all that did was send a smile to the ram's face.

"Need what? This?" Connie, Spinel, and Steven watched in horror, as the ram made a simple swing of the head, and threw the missing core of Steven's being away out of sight, hidden in the darkness of the chamber's corners out of reach from him. Steven was barely able to comprehend too much, hardly even able to speak, but there was nothing Steven could do to stop him now.

"Have you figured it out yet, boy? As I've said at the start: In the real world, might is what keeps you on top. I'm among the mighty, YOU'RE caged, and at my command. And now it's all gonna be gone soon."

"N-No ….... don't ... please, don't ... don't hurt them."

"Sorry, can't hear you."

Grogar started walking towards them, Connie and Spinel standing over Steven to try in a last ditch effort to protect him. Connie was hardly able to stay on her own feet, damaged, but she will fight til her last breath in the face of this evil.

"Don't you dare," Spinel warned.

"I already killed him you two. This game is over."

And Grogar made his move. Spinel and Connie were shoved aside and Grogar was right on Steven, his teeth already holding onto him. Grogar then laid it down on him, starting to slam his body into the metal floor.

"AND! STAY! DOWN!" Grogar roared, each word accompanied by a strong slam of Steven's body. Even if he was dying, Grogar was going to make sure of it this time. This was it. THIS was the end of Steven Quartz Diamond Universe.

"Stop!" Connie pleaded, her and Spinel trying to hold Grogar down. All that did was make the ram buck them off, sending them both into the wall, as he continued slamming Steven down over and over again. Steven could only feel pain from each impact, his vision blurring with each and every hit given to him. One final slam of Steven sent him rolling head over heels. Steven HAD to be gone now, he had to be.

And all observed by his younger sister, and his girlfriend.

"S-Steven ......." They went closer to Steven, holding him gently. He was not moving. Grogar was satisfied for the first time in a long time, and he turned to reclaim his kingdom.

Almost.

There was one final thing. It started off as a very dim light, off in the darkness from earlier. It continued from there as a small step, echoing in the silence of Sumu's core interior. With a slow almost automatic gape, someone else was walking out of the dark, and into the light itself was creating, a pink light beginning to appear from it. The figure looked small. glowing a pink light. A mirror replica of that same boy in their arms.

A Pink Steven.

A long silence echoed across the room, this other Steven just standing there. emotionless. A blank stare towards the other Steven. They couldn't read what this Steven was thinking, nor what it was feeling on seeing itself laying there like that. But the silence was eventually broken when Connie and Spinel looked to their Steven, finding that even after everything. After getting his gem torn out of him and pummeled to near extinction. Steven stirred, and opened his eyes.

"Steven. You're still here," gasped Connie, tears already in her eyes.

"What?" Grogar questioned.

"H-Help ....... help," Steven managed to say, his breath so weak. He didn't know who this was, but something kept telling him that he needed it. He had to reach it. He struggled and struggled, but he couldn't make it by himself. Before he could fall again, Spinel and Connie worked together, lifting him by his arms with a strong yet gentle hand.

"... You can make it," Spinel quietly encouraged.

"Wait, what're you doing? But you - YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD! HOW'RE YOU STILL MOVING?!" Grogar roared. But none of them even listened to him.

Step by step, one at a time, both Stevens slowly began to come closer together. Tears streamed down Steven's tired eyes as he fought to hold on, as the Pink Steven slowly continued moving forward at equal speed. But there was just one thing standing in their way, as he moved right in between both Stevens. The three stopped moving, along with Pink Steven. Rather than talk to Steven, this final obstacle turned to the new Steven.

"So it's you. You're the one that kept him alive, isn't it?" Grogar demanded.

The Pink Steven didn't answer, looking as if it didn't realize Grogar was even there. Grogar snarled.

"Look, Pink Diamond, if that's what you are. I've torn him up, torn him down, several times already and SOMEHOW he's still here! I'm not going to let him live this time."

"....... I'm not Pink Diamond," the Pink Steven responded, his voice matching Steven but said nice and slow, monotone as well.

"Oh, right, there's two of you."

"She's not Pink Diamond. ....... She's gone."

"Gone? What're you talking about?! ANSWER ME!" Grogar demanded. This time, Pink Steven didn't respond to him, much to his anger

And then ...

"She's GOOOONNNNNEEEE!!!!!!!!"

The world itself shook. ONE yell from this Pink Steven make the entire room shutter, cracks sprouting everywhere and anywhere, even a crater itself spontaneously popping up from under Pink Steven's feet. Any glass near him almost disintegrated, it shattered so fast. Life's greatest mystery now was that Spinel didn't completely shatter on the spot. It was THIS power that made Grogar feel something he hadn't felt in a long time ...

Horrified.

Both Steven's locked eyes again, though this time the other Steven was feeling hurt, covering his ears and crying again. Pink Steven actually, very briefly, felt sorry he did that, but they could hardly tell. With that made clear, Pink Steven slowly began moving towards their Steven again. At first Grogar didn't budge, actually allowing Pink Steven to pass him. Connie, Spinel, and Steven went on again, slowly moving ever closer until Grogar came to his senses again.

"H-Hold it!" Grogar demanded, running in front of it again, despite the initial shock and still stuttering, "You take one more step, and I'll turn you into dust!"

Pink Steven didn't even break stride. Grogar was angry at this new Steven, but he was actually backing up as Pink Steven tried to reach his other half.

"I-I MEAN IT!" Grogar roared.

Still nothing. Angry again, Grogar, desperate, reared back on his hind legs for a roar to the sky before actually charging right for this Steven. Pink Steven just kept walking, and only briefly stopped when Grogar rammed him ... it was like running right into a platinum wall, and Pink Steven didn't even budge. Grogar gave another shot at this Pink Steven, but again he couldn't even move him, not even scratching Pink Steven. Whatever power this Steven had, it was far beyond anything Grogar could stand against, Pink Steven continuing to march forward some more.

"I SAID STOP!" Grogar screeched, sending one more ram right on Pink Steven. However, this did make Pink Steven stop briefly and turned its attention directly onto Grogar. All it had to do was gran Grogar by his own horns and throw him aside, the very force enough to send Grogar through Sumu's body, launching him outside! It was hardly even an effort for Pink Steven to do.
It was just Spinel, Connie, and both Stevens now. With Grogar out of the way, Spinel and Connie gently brought Steven over towards his pink self ever so gently, and soon, Steven felt Pink Steven's touch.

"Here," Connie said.

Steven was then cradled in Pink Steven's arms, his eyes watering up again as Connie and Spinel quietly moved back. Steven felt quiet at first, feeling the comfort and warmth in this other Steven's arms. With all the pain he'd been receiving, this sort of comfort was actually almost overwhelming. Steven started crying again, but what came out weren't tears of sorrow but tears of joy, as he started to laugh and hug the other Steven. Pink Steven began to feel the same emotions and hugged Steven's back, both laughing with pure happiness. After all the torment they both had gone through, it was such a nice feeling to be together again. Steven, during all of this and much to the joy of the others, slowly began to come more alive, spinning with Pink Steven and holding its hands, able to stand on his own feet. A light began to emit from both Stevens during their joy, both starting to spin faster and both starting to come together into the singular being.
In this process it was a gift to all of his friends, for as they were together, that same pinkish light started to come out to the others in waves, spreading in all directions, coating Steven's friends in both needed energy, comfort, and protection under a shade of pink for them all. They all began to look good as new, and FEEL good as gold as they began coming up to life again. Once that was done, Steven stopped spinning, a smile on his face, and tears in his eyes.

Despite the world and cruel fate all turning against him, he survived.

"STEVEN!" Connie and Spinel were the first to meet with Steven, hugging him tight and Connie even kissing him. That's the second time today that they almost lost him to Grogar. Steven felt more alive than ever before, along with his pink-shaded friends. He had to return their hug to them, to show them once and for all that they were still okay and still there.
All this activity inside of her began to make Sumu stir, the entire room starting to shift ever-so-slightly as a low moan emitted from within the massive creature. She made amends to her own body by covering up the hole with more Plundervines, blocking off any exit they could've been given to get out. These vines were also accompanied by a set of flytraps as a line of defense inside of her, hissing at them in protest to the pain they just gave her. All that time with Grogar and they almost forgot the reason they were here at all. But now with him out of the way and Steven alive again, it was time to deal with Sumu.

And Steven knew exactly how to do it.

Connie and Spinel were all smiles as they let him walk over to the wilted plant in the middle of Sumu's core. So much activity inside of Sumu and the wilted plant itself was just left shivering almost, cold and maybe even scared of what Steven was going to do. The Half Hybrid Gem went down on his knees gently, and he only needed to do one thing. He went down to the plant, and gently placed his lips on top of it for a simple kiss. The plant shuttered feeling the magic start to flow in it, but this kind of magic was life-giving unlike the curse Grogar left on her. The dead leaves started to perk up back to life, the stem straightening up with new strength, and the bud? Well it began to blossom and open up into a small, pretty pink flower.

.......

Everything seemed to happen all at once. As soon as the flower came back to life, the green color inside of Sumu's chamber began to shift away and brighten up into a calmer pink hue, spreading all throughout the vines within Sumu, as if the essence of chaos and evil were being drained away from this creature's very blood. The trio moved closer together, Steven bringing up a bubble around themselves not really for protection against Sumu, but so they can watch it without getting hurt, as the pink essence moved across them. The flytraps hissing started to quiet down as the pink life seeped into them, transforming the flytraps into pink blossoms. Sumu herself began to feel something new grow within her, enough to stir her completely out of her sleep to find her entire body shifting color from dark green to light pink. She felt so confused, so conflicted, shaking her head over and over again as if getting a migraine as it consumed her mind ... but in a good way.

Once that color covered the main source, all of the vines that branched out from everywhere in the world suddenly started feeling the same effects. All Plundervines lost their spines and dark colors, replaced with the pink warm hue, and all vicious flytraps now being replaced by sweet-smelling flowers. All worlds effected by Sumu stood and watched this ultimate transformation: Equestria, Earth, Homeworld, and wherever worlds Sumu had sprouted her branches to undergone this same transformation, and the advancement of her roots all stopped altogether. Whatever fighting they were to defend themselves against Sumu also paused for a brief bit as they were wondering what was even happening. The moment of beauty from all of these plants though wasn't to last, as the vines all began to retreat away. Buildings once wrapped in the vines gently released and even mended somewhat by the vines in whatever they wrecked. It was a small repayment but it was worth something as the entire countryside was being freed of these plants. The monstrous center of Sumu began to shrink down, the horrifying look morphing and changing into the human-like face they knew for the longest time. The vines themselves began to disappear in a sea of petals as they retreated, giving North America and anywhere else the biggest blossom storm in history. Sumu was cured of her corruption.

…….

And just like that, it was over. As if the signify this moment, the sun NOW started to rise to reveal the end result the next morning. Grogar himself could barely come to after the crazed attack, but the end came up to show that he was the loser in this invasion. Weak, worn out, and light-headed with what remained of his horns now scattered as clumps on the ground, Grogar saw nothing but ... well, nothing from his side, as he slowly picked himself up along the beach he was thrown onto. No troops, no creatures, no remaining ships left. Not a thing to tell others that he tried taking over in the first place. Grogar silently took everything in during this silence, until he then heard something land close by.

The Harmony Gems.

"... Grogar? ……. You okay?" Steven asked.

"... Am I okay? … Is that some sick joke?" Grogar asked.

"I only make jokes when it's supposed to be funny," Steven reminded. Grogar paused for a moment, but then a smile came to his face. He had just one final trick. Desperate, but it was all he had left.

"… You still never answered me, by the way. What then, eh? When they're gone and you're still here? I asked you once before, and you never answered me. Well? ..."
Steven and Twilight of all people knew what that meant, and it was a question that had been stuck with them for a very long time, although never really admitting it. Twilight and Steven looked to one another, but this time they didn't have a look of utter shock or confusion as Grogar wanted. But they felt … quiet. Calm even. Twilight nodded to Steven, and she decided to answer for them.

"Oh that. Well … I'm okay."

"...…. What? …" Grogar's voice was barely loud enough for a mouse to hear with that question.

"I'm okay with that, Grogar. And I understand: There's no guarantee that everything's going to stay the same forever like we want it. But the time we spend together ... that will never disappear. And that's fine by me."

Grogar couldn't believe his ears.

"And you? Steven?"

"I'm fine with it too, really. I know everything can't stay the same forever, but … well, that's life. It's supposed to change, and if I do end up alone, well … at least I have my memories of all the good times we had together."

"...…. You're serious? You ……. But. How? After everything I did to you. To them, I - … I corrupted your love. I shattered your friends. I took away your home. Everything. … I … I scarred you for life." Grogar's voice was full of pain of a different kind as he told them all this, more so when his words weren't effecting any of them at all. This pain was more on himself, not on them.

"Well that's just it, Grogar. Scars heal."

"No they don't. WOUNDS heal," Grogar "corrected".

"Okay, what do scars do? Fade I guess -"

"I don't care what scars do," Grogar growled. Though, after everything, there indeed was something Grogar was caring for in his scars, mentally and all.

"You really should, Grogar," said Twilight. "... I won't deny that the past can effect someone as they grow up, and some things like Celestia's death would have a big effect. But just because it can change you, doesn't define who you are."

"Look. she said it without panicking," quietly noted Tiger's Eye.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I do," said Steven, "... My mom, Pink Diamond, was the leader of the Crystal Gems, and while I grew up I kept hearing just how much good she did. How much I had to live up to. I thought that, maybe if I was more … well, like her. Everything will be fine. … But no. No, I'm NOT her. And I never will be. I'm not Pink Diamond, OR Rose Quartz. I'm me. I'm Steven."

Grogar didn't know what to say, but they still had more to tell him.

"... Listen. The past can hurt, but you gotta let it go because it just doesn't matter. … The only thing that matters is what you decide to do right now."

Grogar ... something in him broke, but not the same breaking as it would be when he would go ballistic on everyone trying to kill them. This break was to the eyes, as tears began to come out of them. He tried SO HARD, and he still couldn't do it. He lowered his head, his teeth barred in a weak attempt to make any of them scared, any of them recognize him as the strong ruler he always told himself he was ... but it wasn't working. Nor will it ever.

"You know what? ..."

...

"... I give up."

Grogar collapsed onto the beach.

"You got me. I can't keep this up anymore. The worlds are yours, lad, congratulations. So ... Finish it. I won't stop ya," Grogar said, laying there in the sand and waiting for the Harmony Gems to finish him off once and for all. However, none of them were willing to go near him just yet except for Steven, concerning that they were beginning to hear something else start to come up along the beach towards him. Someone that only Steven ever had met and lived to tell the tale.

"We'll let her decide what to do with you," said Twilight.

"Hello, Grogar."

How. Fitting. After everything that happened, it wasn't until now that death herself began to manifest herself before them all. Grogar had avoided the Red Diamond for long enough. The rest of the Harmony Gems knew better than to even go near her as she made herself known from myth to flesh. Strangely too, the Harmony Gems didn't seem too scared of Red Diamond showing up. Cautious yes, but not enough to make them freak out. The only guess was they must've seen her while they were "shattered" for a time.

Red Diamond slowly moved over towards Grogar, a look of disappointment edged on the titan's face, but not one of threat. Grogar didn't feel needing to fight anymore, exhausted and not wanting to keep up this war game anymore. Red Diamond gently picked him up off of the sand, cradling him in her arms. Not a word was spoken between her and the others standing nearby, only focusing on her purpose and bringing Grogar back with her. They could see that she was talking to Grogar, but they couldn't hear her at all. Grogar grew tired, and closed his eyes while resting in her grip. It's what he would've wanted. Red Diamond took one look towards Steven one more time, before she slowly turned around, and walked away. Disappearing in the breeze alongside the ram himself.

So ... what now?

.......

~~~~~~

.......

"Hmm, so ... post-apocalyptic donuts. A rather unorthodox choice," said Peridot, as she took a bite from her donut.

"I know. But there's plenty of time for surprises, adventures, and challenges to come. For now, all I want is to spent a quiet time with the best group of friends I've ever had," replied Twilight, taking a bite from his.

"Well mostly quiet," Applejack chuckled, seeing Pinkie and Spinel gobble up theirs.

So much had happened over the course of a single day, it was only natural for everyone involve to finally relax and unwind some. For the Harmony Gems, nothing said unwind like a moment along the beach. All of the Harmony Gems were there enjoying themselves, either with donuts or just in the new warmth of the spring sun.

"What a day though. It's a war, a invasion, AND a doomsday all rolled into one. Who's of guessed huh?" said Amethyst as she gulped her donut.

"Who would indeed? And who would've guessed Sumu would actually mend some of her mistakes. Speaking of which, where is that plant anyway? Haven't seen her since this all stopped," asked Flint.

"She found her cozy spot back by Rose's Fountain," explained Lapis, "She's all worn out from being a huge monster for a night."

"Who could blame her?" said Diopside, remembering her own experiences as a corrupted.

"Well no matter the case, we got a LOT of time to get our dreams coming true until that "happily ever after" comes. Right Steven?" asked Garnet. Steven sighed and laid down, looking up at the sky.

"I'm not in any hurry for it to happen. Happily Ever After can come whenever it wants to. Until then, I'm just happy to be here, with all you guys. Besides, whatever will happen is going to work out just fine."

"How can you tell that? You get future vision while in pink form?" joked Spinel.

"No," Steven chuckled, "Just with us all together, how could it not?"

A chuckle was shared amongst the crowd.

"So that aside, what'chu playing?" Pinkie asked, looking to Steven's guitar he had been stringing for the past twenty minutes.

"Oh, it's an idea. Well a song idea, but also an idea idea," Steven replied.

"Well let's hear it," Garnet said, settling down next to him.

"I bet it'll sound amazing," said Connie, gently bringing her hand to Steven's hand. Steven could only smile.

"Always."

Then he began to play.

I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me.
I don’t need you to love me, I love me.
But I want you to know you could know me,
If you change your mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind,
If you change your mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind,
If you change your mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind,
Change your mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind.

Author's Note

Was it good for you too?

Thanks for reading :twilightsmile:

A Universe Away

Silence. One motion was all it took for Stevonnie to do it. The cloud cleared, and it revealed the ultimate end to this entire ordeal: Stevonnie was back on top of Grogar, the horn knife right in the center of the ram's chest. Grogar froze up, staring into the sky passed Stevonnie, his front hooves holding onto the blade but clearly not enough to avoid the mark. Both sides were only breathing, taking in what occurred around them. Stevonnie had a look of shock at first, but eventually that shock shifted into … snickering. Much similar to what Peridot would do as Stevonnie smiled upon the victory.

"YES! How's it feel, Grogar! This is the pain you kept dishing out to everyone. This is what you deserve," Stevonnie said in victory, fist in the air as she said so.

… But then Grogar slowly smiled again, much to Stevonnie's confusion.

"What're you happy about now, creep?" Stevonnie asked.

She saw it. Grogar, not a single word or even a sound, simply gently moved his front hooves aside from his chest, and allowed the victor. Stevonnie could see the horn going into Grogar's chest, with a good amount in it. But there was something else that was stuck in between the blade, and the ram.

Two gemstones.

Skewered.

…….

"AAHH!" *bonk* "ow."

Another restless night, and for this morning, another rather rough wake-up call with a hit to the head as Steven jolted awake. Not like this sleeping was anything new for him by now, taking a second or so to look around and make sure he was dreaming still or not.
No. No, he wasn't back in the battlefield with Grogar again reliving that nightmare, nor was he off in a nice comfy bed back at home (if he had one there still). Instead, Steven found himself still on the ride off to who knows where, within his own personal train storage car. He was laying by the main door of the car, the cold breeze from outside still creeping into the wooded crate that was his room for the time being. Since he did leave behind everything except himself and his clothes, he was just left shivering somewhat … well, shivering with a bump on his head from his stumble off the hay bale in his scream.

"OK, how far did I go now?" Steven wondered aloud.

Well there was only one way to check, him getting up and opening up the train car doors to see the world outside. Steven groaned a bit as the light came to him, a mix of sunlight and pure white snow easily enough to give off a blinding light for a little bit. Eventually though he got a better view of what place the train was passing through this time. All Steven could see was a bit of empty landscape, the fields and hills covered up with only a slight snowy blanket, clouds giving off a light chill in the air and some more of the white stuff, some of which got onto Steven as he stood there and looked out. It did take him a bit more to look past the glare, just able to see a few houses off a good distance away. A bit urban, but not at its best state ever.

Nothing alive though at first. The only thing he saw was a partially covered field, not even birds in the sky.

"Is anyone there?" Steven wondered. But not much of a reply got back to him. But as cold as the shivering, stuttering Steven was out in winter like this, not only did he feel it deserved but his thoughts weren't thinking too much about it. Only about the thing that got him out here in the first place.

"... Garnet. I can't believe it: she's the best mom ever, and she saved me a million times. And this is how I thank her? … the end … what's that gonna be like for me?"

What the end will be like for him now? That kind of question kept going through his mind as he kept soldiering on through the cold of the winter. It wasn't even a comfy cold with soft snow at his feet, nothing but hard cold with rocky earth and snow barely leaving a mark on him or anywhere around him. Each step he was making to the place ahead was met with him stuttering and shivering, arms wrapping around him for some form of warmth. No, it was not working at all.

Then, almost before Steven even realized it, he found himself right on the borders of the place. And boy did it look run down. Even so, Steven felt a little bit of relief.

"Worn out. Rough. Probably going through a bad time. … Yep, suits ol' Steven," Steven decided. Though he wished he didn't have to keep saying it to himself, but truth kept finding its way into his head.

The train itself did stop eventually about a mile down away from the houses he saw earlier for some water to drink. Given this chance, Steven got out of the train car, and started walking away to who knows where. At least in the car there was some protection from the wind, but not in this case, Steven in his lonesome only having his short-sleeved star shirt and blue pants for some form of warmth. And of course his sandals didn't give him much either from the snow, but still made it a little easier to walk through.
Steven stuck out like a sore thumb: not too many people were around him when he actually got passed the "borderline" into town, but for those that were they were looking at him like he was just crazy. The whole town was a bit of a urban sort of place, plenty of space but a bit of urban apartment brick buildings lined along the road. It wasn't a city, but not open country either.

"S-So cold … Ok, Steven. You're a bad guy now, so, you need to find other bad people. Killers stay with killers, right? … But where the heck is that around here?" Steven thought. He didn't feel up for lying about his past, he struggled in keeping that kind of secret already, so the easiest step is finding those to relate and work from there. Steven kept looking for potential people as he kept going.
But in such a state, his own wit was not exactly grade A: looking on to the crowd a little bit further away. It might've been of his one eye, or maybe because he was freezing, but someone looked … familiar, over there. A group of three, sure, though one of them seemed a bit too close to home. And she didn't look corrupted at all.

Connie.

"C-Connie? Impossible, but how -" Steven looked away, and again his eye was playing some more tricks. By one of the shops in town, some other more rugged figures started to see him, this time a pair of Gems. One purple, one blue.

"Lapis? Amethyst?" Steven wondered.

But all three of these figures suddenly started to fade away a bit, and now it was people he didn't recognize again. Steven shook his head.

"Stop it, Steven, they don't want you anymore remember?"

And what happened next ...

*HONK!* "Get out of the road, nutcase!!!"

"AHH!" Steven yelled, suddenly jumping out from the middle of the road and up into the air. The person in the car, not caring for what might've happened to him (or the fact he launched up at least ten feet up) just drove onto wherever she was going. As for Steven …

"Of course," he groaned … floating in the sky. He wished he could've figured this out before running away, but there was some slight stroke of luck just a few feet away. It didn't matter to him anymore that everyone down below now were REALLY watching him way up there, as he tried to "swim" towards a nearby light pole. It was a tiring effort, but he did finally grab hold of the pole. … Then he looked to the crowd.

"Don't mind me, just your everyday flying kid," Steven shouted. Not malicious, but still annoyed somewhat, as he slowly started pulling himself down from the air, and onto the ground. It was the first bit of good luck he had for the last few weeks since autumn started, even if it was small. After a sigh of relief, and making sure everyone quit looking at him like anymore of a freak than he was, he turned and started walking again. For a few more steps.

"Mmm?"

"Oh no. First I'm seeing things, now I'm hearing things? If I wasn't nuts, I swore that sounded like -" And guess what happened next? Steven stopped when he felt someone grab his shirt. The grip was a bit strong, keeping him still a bit. At first Steven didn't know who it was, turning with his blind eye looking back only to see nothing. He tried turning for his good eye to see, but it seemed whoever was grabbing him was also playing tricks as he couldn't see anyone with his good eye either.

"Hmm …" A basic game, and Steven knew how to handle this one. He turned his head side to side, the figure moving one way over another, but suddenly as Steven turned back with his blind eye, he quickly double-take'd and caught sight of the figure with his good eye. And one glance was all Steven needed before he spun around completely, gasping and jumping back at who it was.

Onion. Beach City Onion!

"Onion? … wait, nope. Nope. I'm just seeing things again, no way you're here right now," Steven told himself, going passed Onion … just for the rebel to trip Steven over his own feet, making him fall into the cold ground. Sure it hurt, but not as much as it had been for him. Steven groaned a bit, and looked back ahead, just to find Onion standing there again, kneeling down a bit. If this was a trick of the eye it would've fixed by now.

And it freaked Steven out even more.

"Wait, you're here? Really here?!" Steven gasped, "But how? I'm so far from Beach City, how'd you get here?" Steven questioned, trying to rationalize this. Onion though had other ideas, and got hold of Steven's hand, trying to get Steven moving. He didn't know if he was surprised or even fazed by his one eye or not (it's impossible to tell with Onion).

"O-Okay, I'm coming I'm coming," Steven hesitantly said, being pulled along by Onion to … well, wherever on Earth Onion wanted him to go. It wasn't like he had plans to go anywhere else anyway.

~~~~~~

"So is this where you're staying?"

That was Steven's first question when they got to the destination. Onion got Steven there under the hour, going down the street and slipping through an alleyway to get to the spot. As for what this was exactly, the building seemed to be apart of the brick apartment buildings Steven had been seeing, this one specifically of red bricks and the entrance within a backstreet, stoop going up to it and everything. Onion nodded, and started pulling on Steven's shirt, pointing to the door as if telling him to go inside. Steven though was reluctant enough to pull his shirt away, seeing the possible picture.

"I-It's okay. It's cold out here, but it's not so bad after a few days. Besides, I kinda - oof!" Steven was cut short when Onion started pushing him forward to the door, not having any of it. This all felt kinda weird: Onion's care for other people is, admittedly, kinda slim. He'd rather run a motorcycle into the nearest dumpster beforehand, though he seemed determined to at least get Steven up to the door.

"Onion, please," Steven insisted, but all Onion did was speak his "onion talk" and gestured him to at least knock on the door or, since they had one as it turned out, ring the doorbell. Steven paused for a bit, just looking to the door for a while. For a minute, he did consider opening the door, letting himself inside the warm home for at least the day. … But the past gnawed at his brain some more.

"No Onion. I'm bad. I don't deserve this, and you shouldn't be around me," Steven said. Onion shrugged and gave a look that said "So?". Steven sighed.

"I know you have your own way of doing things, some against the law and some not, but maybe some other time after I get more of my just desserts, ok?"

… And Onion rang the doorbell for him.

"Onion!" shouted Steven in a panic. Already he could hear someone coming in from the other side of that door, whoever that may be, and Steven could only think of one thing to do … which was make a bolt for it. Onion tried calling him back, but Steven didn't listen and found some cover just as the door opened up. A quick save on his part.

"Hey there kiddo," said a voice, "you're just in time for bites."

Steven didn't know who it was, but he didn't care as he kept down in his hiding place. Which in this case was huddling up inside the nearest empty garbage can. Not the best hiding place ever, him just sitting there with his face in his knees. Steven couldn't exactly hear what conversation was going on outside, but eventually he did end up hearing some footsteps, and the door closing. This gave Steven a weird sense of relief, but as soon as he did that …

"... What the hay am I doing?" Steven muttered to himself, "Is this gonna be my life now? Hiding away from everybody, huddled up somewhere all the - … time ..."

He didn't know how to answer it, but then he looked ahead to the very slight reflection in the gray garbage can, and once again saw that single gray eye of his, as if it alone was nothing but a reminder of why he was stuck here at all.

"Why did it have to be like this? …"

*clang*
Suddenly Steven felt the garbage can move and shake, making him start to stumble a bit inside of his own sort of protective bubble of a tin can. It only took a good five shakes from who-knows-what before Steven found himself stumbling out and into the ground again. At first he thought it was Onion again, up to who knows what at this point.

"Onion, I swear to -"

"STEVEN?!"

Well it wasn't Onion, but rather Vidalia instead. And she was left shocked as ever when she found Steven Universe in a garbage can!

"Yeah. Hi."

~~~~~~

Well as much as Steven didn't want to just go in there, he ended up inside the building anyway. He may feel like he didn't deserve it, but with a blanket wrapped around him, some slippers on his feet for his ice cold toes, and FINALLY some warm air for a bit, he actually did feel a bit good with things. Or at least he didn't feel like an icicle anymore, though he was still shivering a little bit, his nose red as that of a particular reindeer by this point.
For the moment Steven was just sitting in the main living room of the complex, having a seat on the couch as he tried to feel a bit warmer for a bit among other things. The room itself didn't look too bad either - had a sort of home-away-from-home kind of vibe in spite of the rest of the town itself so far. He may be warm, but he still felt a bit down with himself, not even the funny scenes of comedy show "Canine Court" could get a smile on Steven's face. He simply sat there like a lump as Vidalia got back to him with a nice hot bowl of tomato soup, common remedy for any cold for TV.

"There ya go, kiddo. Nice hot bowl O soup for that cold stomach," said Vidalia.

"Yeah, thanks," Steven sighed, getting the spoon and getting a few good spoonfuls of soup into him. It tasted alright, nothing special, but boy was it hot on his ice cold tongue, almost enough to make him jump, coughing a little bit.

"W-Whoa boy! What's in there?" Steven had to ask. He didn't see much from just red tomato.

"Just some secret ingredients I've added in. You were looking a bit too blue for your age, so I thought an extra punch will help," Vidalia said, as Steven actually had to wave his tongue a bit. It was more of the shock difference that got to him really.

"Well, it's hot," Steven simply said, Vidalia chuckling. That it was indeed. But then Vidalia brought in one of the wooden chairs from the next room.

"Okay, so let's get the big questions outta the way," Vidalia decided, having a seat on said chair (backwards so her chin rested on the headrest), "What're you doing way out here? A bit far from home?"

"Oh. You mean it's not "what happened to my eye" or "how'd I end up in a garbage can"?"

"No, that's second. Y'know, unless someone got you in there, messed you up, and dragged you all the way to the Fairfax state," Vidalia said.

Fairfax? After all those days in a train and he only made it two states over? Well he was still far away from Beach City. Not from Delmarva, but still Beach City, so at least it was something so Steven didn't push into that. That didn't mean talking about the issue wasn't gonna be any easier though, him already trying to figure out what to say. Onion joined Vidalia during the question, sitting down by Steven as he tried figuring out what to do.

"Yeah, I'm just traveling right now," Steven said. It wasn't lying exactly, so it worked.

"I'm no expert on travel plans, but maybe next time try to get some better clothes," Vidalia advised. Steven blushed despite himself.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind next time," Steven said, taking a few more spoons of the soup. The soup did get better after a while, so he wasn't just jumping each sip now. It was still very hot though.
Obviously there was a bit more to it though, and the next question should've been more expected than Steven thought it was.

"Now, about being here instead of Beach City? It takes a couple days to get here by car," Vidalia asked. Steven felt a shiver go through him, though they jot it up as him just being cold.

"Well … actually, I was gonna ask you the same question," Steven admitted, shrugging. Again, it wasn't exactly lying, and he was legitimately curious about why they were here instead of Delmarva. Vidalia was glad to comply.

"Oh, right! We're just staying here for the winter. See, Onion likes hanging out with some of his pals during summer, but they always have to come back here when the cold starts coming in. So this time I've decided to bring my little troublemaker over here instead," Vidalia explained, giving Onion a playful fluff of what hair he had on his head. Onion surely appreciated it, and Steven could just remember that Onion had a group of friends. It was a brief visit with them, so he would've forgotten them entirely if not for the reminder. Steven still knew he had to answer her though.

"So, now your turn," said Vidalia. Steven clammed up, but at the end of the day … well, what was the point? He did already give a hint about it to Onion, so …

"... I ……. I don't exactly … have a home. Anymore."

"Say what?" Vidalia asked. Steven felt his grip on his blanket tighten, as if pulling it over himself would make them go away.

"I-It's a lot to take in. But the sum-up is that everyone hates me now, and they don't want me there, and it's my fault," Steven repeated, more clearly this time. Vidalia of course was startled, and obviously confused. But Steven suddenly heard Vidalia laughing, a snort slipping in almost before she spoke.

"Not want YOU?! Are we even talking about the same town? Why the heck would anyone not want you around, you're one of those good joes."

Just some sugar for the medicine to go down, it seemed. Bittersweet, but it still made Steven realize something.

"They weren't there when it happened!" Steven thought. He saw plenty of folks off back by the barn on that day, but now it was pointed out, they weren't among the crowd!

"I don't wanna talk about it," Steven stated, a sentence he probably was more confident in saying. Details like that were probably best not said anyway. Maybe the world knew it too, because before Vidalia could actually inquire some more, there suddenly was a bit of commotion going on just above them. It felt like thumping of sorts from some sort of machine or something.

"What's that?" Steven asked, looking to the ceiling. Vidalia could just make out the music.

"That's just Sour Cream DJing upstairs," Vidalia said, "it always shakes up the place. Drives the other folks in here nuts at night."

"Wait, others? It's not just you three?" Steven asked. Vidalia laughed.

"Of course not! As awesome as that would be, we don't have the bling your dad's got to get the whole building to ourselves. Besides, I think it'll get really boring in here without some adult company, or some kid company for my kids."

"Good point," Steven said. He paused for a minute to look around the room, wondering how many other people were actually inside the place. He was just ready to get another sip of the soup, but unfortunately the cold did catch up to him, and he ended up sneezing. Onion then got his mom's attention, him getting some information to her through whispering in her ear as per usual.

"Wait wait wait. Steven. Onion's saying you actually dove into that garbage can yourself?" Vidalia asked.

"It wasn't one of my better ideas," Steven replied, placing the spoon back into the soup, looking in his own reflection in said soup as he continued talking. "I just didn't want anyone else with me. I guess that didn't really work either. …"

Vidalia straightened up and looked to the one-eyed Gem boy.

"OK, it's time to cut to the chase. What happened back home that made you run out here? Lay it on me, I can take it," Vidalia offered, ready to lend an ear for Steven. Steven turned away.

"I … don't think you can."

"Try me."

"No thanks."

Just no. He already gave Vidalia enough information about what was going on, he didn't want to continue it. As far as he knew, Vidalia, Onion, and Sour Cream were the only ones who didn't really hate him right now, and he was not up for wrecking that due to facts. Vidalia paused and thought about it a bit, but then the DJing upstairs kinda kicked it up a notch. Enough to get the lights flickering.

"Geez, he's fritzing the power again. Here, hold that thought, I'm just gonna go get that before the old man comes knocking," Vidalia said, getting up and walking out. Onion just stayed with Steven, yet Steven just ignored him and just stared at the reflection in his soup bowl.

Only, she wasn't going off to do that.

Instead, after going out of the main room, went right over to the kitchen. And right to the household phone. A quick call will sort something out for them all, she was sure, so a few quick hit of the number keys later, and the phone was ringing out to the other line.

…….

*ring* …

*ri* - *click*

"Hello?" asked a slightly familiar voice, the figure on the other end handling some of the dishes seemingly as Vidalia could hear running water.

"Yeah, hi, is this the universe residence? This is Mother Onion," said Vidalia.

"Uhh. Mother. Onion?"

"You know, Vidalia."

"Oohh, I see, one of Amethyst's friends -" the figure only stopped briefly to put some of the dishes away, expertly placed with ease in the cabinet in a sort of Frisbee-fashion, not a single one missed. "- just let me handle the dishes and i'll lend you over to her."

"Um, okay … but isn't that a bit long?"

"Oh it's no trouble, I just have this stack of plates and a few glasses -" "- Just put it on speaker." "Huh?" "Speaker, just put it on speaker for a bit." "Amethyst, clearly I'm speaking to her." "No, P, here let me see it."

Vidalia was patient with the two over there, and then heard a click.

"Oooooo. Well that makes it more convenient," said Pearl.

"Am I coming through over there?" Vidalia asked, though she couldn't help but smirk.

"Hey girl! Yep, you're coming in just fine over here. How have you been, I haven't heard from you in weeks," Amethyst asked, as Pearl just continued the rest of the dishes. Vidalia leaned on the wall, phone casually held by her ear.

"Oh we're doing fine over here. Fairfax's is just like we remembered it: a bit worn out, but still has some charm to it. And i mean exactly," Vidalia said.

"No way! They still have that diner working there?"

"Hmm? Wait, oh yeah! Yeah it's still there. And they still have those potato pancakes you can just die over," Vidalia answered. Amethyst almost shivered, licking her lips.

"Oooo baby."

"Hehe. Well that aside, I want to ask you guys something, if it's okay."

"Sure thing, V, Lay it on me," Amethyst replied. Vidalia took a quick check to be sure Steven wasn't eavesdropping on her, but he still was just at the table with his soup alongside Onion. So she went for it.

"Okay, so … you know anything about Steven?"

"Steven?" Amethyst asked, actually sounding humbled.

"Yeah, we found him outside in a garbage can, and now he's with us."

"WHAT?!"
Talk about a shocker, even if they were trying not to just worry sick. It was still enough to actually make Pearl stumble, but not because of the shock, but because a third voice managed to overhear what was going on and rushed passed Pearl and got to the phone.

"Steven's there with you?! Answer me!"

"Peridot, let go!" Amethyst said, quickly yanking the phone away. "Sorry about that, but seriously is he with you?"

"Well yeah, he's enjoying some of my tomato soup with some TV in the next room over," Vidalia said, again checking in on him. Steven actually started watching Canine court a bit, and while not smiling was at least paying more attention to it.

"Is he okay?" asked Peridot.

"He's fine, just a bit blue."

"Blue? Humans can't turn blue," Peridot said worriedly.

"That's human lingo for being sad," reminded Amethyst.

"... Oh yeah."

"How'd Steven even get there? Isn't Fairfax, like, a week away?" Amethyst asked.

"That's what I want to ask about. Know what's going on over there? Steven won't really tell me anything other than everyone hates him, and it's "all his fault". Whatever that is," Vidalia inquired.
It was here that the other end was a bit hesitant on talking about, but they knew now that Steven REALLY was getting a lot of hate on himself. Or at least, he thought he'd been. It took a bit, but eventually Amethyst spoke to her again.

"Eeehhh … well. A lot."

"A lot of bad, huh?"

"Eeyup. It a bit of a tough time for everyone right now. Ready for a shocker?"

"I already found Steven with one eye in a garbage can. I think I can handle it," Vidalia said.

Story time.

"Well … alright, here it goes. So know how I told ya about that Grogar guy back on Homeworld? And remember when I said we had somewhat of a plan to kick him out?"

"No."

"Yep. It went haywire on us, and -" Amethyst suddenly stopped from some unknown reason, making her suddenly switch gears, "B-But I shouldn't tell you everything. That wouldn't be fair for Steven."

"No, no, I think I got a good enough picture," Vidalia said. Not the full picture drawn out, but enough for her to make a good guess.

"Is he still there? I want to see him again," said … another voice. Probably one of the Gems again, but Vidalia got thinking again as she looked back to Steven one more time. The tomato soup was almost empty by now, and Steven actually looked less depressed and more trying to keep warm in his blanket.

"... You know what, maybe let's let the big guy decide for himself."

"W-what?"

"Well, I just figure he's got WAAAY lots on his mind right now, and sounds to me this plan or whatever's left him with a lot of trouble at home. Taking some time away from all that drama sounds like just the thing he needs to get back on his feet again, know what I mean?"

"WHAAAAT? Dude, Jasper said the exact same thing," revealed Amethyst, "We've been trying to give him some space, but let's just say some are a little … antsy."

"We're right here, you know," Peridot stated. On the other line, Vidalia then heard the Warp Pad go off not too far away.

"Oh! Boss's here. Sorry, Vidalia, we gotta go. Chat with ya later, K?" Amethyst said.

"Yeah, sure. And don't worry, I know it'll all work out in the end. See ya."

And the phone call was done. Vidalia hung up, and only after another minute or so, went from the kitchen and back to the main living room for Steven and Onion. The phone call got just enough information for Vidalia now to see what Steven was coming from. Steven seemed to at least be relaxed about things, but in a good way.

"Need anymore soup?"

"No, I'm good," said Steven, getting another sip of the soup. So Vidalia decided on something else, as Onion got back up and went towards her.

"Ok. Hey Steven, I got a great idea. You're in no hurry to go anywhere, why don't you stay with us for a while?"

And that definitely got a spit take from Steven himself.

"W-Wha? Stay? I-I don't know ..." Steven asked.

"Come on, you caught a cold out there. At least stick around until you're feeling better, then you can go off and do whatever you wanna do," Vidalia insisted. Steven paused for thought about it. He was indeed struggling for a while now since he just left Beach City behind him. Onion kinda held Steven down by gripping his shirt, though Steven didn't know if he was keen on doing this or just messing with him. Steven was reluctant, but eventually he just nodded.

"Well … ok."

"Great! Now let's see, where can we put you?" Vidalia wondered.

"I-It's okay. I'll just find a corner somewhere," Steven replied.

"Nonsense! I'll think of something …"

~~~~~~

"Now you can help yourself to the food downstairs whenever you want to, Steven, just make sure there's enough for everyone else, and we already got a schedule on the wall for the laundry room, but I think we can squeeze you in there."

The conversation as Steven was brought upstairs was mainly more one-sided for Steven, him only following her along as he looked around the building. Much of the place was around the middle when it came to maintenance: it wasn't Pearl-levels of top-notch, but not really young Amethyst-levels of disarray either. To give an example, Steven saw some neatly hung pictures along the wall in a row, but still saw a crinkled up rug by one of the doors.
Speaking of doors, Steven and Vidalia did end up stopping at a point by one of the doors, which already had a bit of a red flag … or rather, one of those "keep out" signs. You know the kind.

"I don't know about this," said Steven.

"Don't worry, they'll love ya," Vidalia reassured. Something was telling Steven though that this might not be the best idea, but he just stayed quiet as Vidalia knocked on the door. Steven heard a bit of commotion from the door, and apparently after a short bit someone did end up answering the door. And it was someone that Steven naturally did not recognize, in appearance anyway.
And she didn't really look all too … what's the word … thrilled? She surely looked like someone who'd been up all night, her surprisingly long, and vibrantly colored ponytails in a bit of a mess and her eyes somewhat baggy.

"What do you want? We already paid rent," she groaned, sounding a bit tired for whatever reason. Vidalia, arm around Steven, smiled and got to the point with just one sentence.

"Say hello to your new roommate."

… she quickly proceeded to try and slam the door, just for Vidalia to put her foot in the way, keeping the door wide open.

"Listen when someone's talking, girl," Vidalia advised, walking into the room with Steven.

The room specifically was a bit of a mundane one, if not a little bit bigger since there were two other girls living with the first one, and according to some of the sheets on a nearby couch, that just told Steven that arrangements for these three weren't the best ever (not enough beds for all of them).

"Hi Vidalia!" one of them said, waving hello. The second one in the room took just one look at Steven, already getting her answer about their new roomie.

"Hello girls. See the room's still in one piece," Vidalia said, checking out the place a bit. The room didn't look too bad overall, so Steven can say they tried keeping things tidy in a way. The other two girls did check out Steven though.

"Who this?"

"Oh, he's gonna be moving in with you three for a bit. Cool," Vidalia revealed, hand patting Steven's head. There was a bit of silence in the air, but then that same girl started laughing herself silly.

"A new roommate?! No way they're gonna accept that!" she laughed … only to pause briefly. "right?"

"Don't be so stingy," Vidalia said, "He came all the way from Beach City to get here, and needs a place to stay."
Beach City? Well, that surely intrigued one of the girls at least. They don't remember HIM being from that place.

"Beach City? You're not serious," said another one of the girls, again not really too enthused about it at all.

"It'll be fine," said Vidalia, "You three have an extra bed right there Steven can have."

The bed she was talking about, currently covered in a number of things, mostly clothes really or just some random junk they've had with them. Not convincing enough though.

"Look, I've got enough trouble with these two, I don't need a third wheel, okay?" she made clear. Two of the other girls were a bit offended, but either didn't show it or just didn't say anything. Steven knew when he wasn't wanted.

"I-It's okay, Vidalia, really, I'll just -"

"I'll take care of this Steven," Vidalia reassured him before he could walk away. Then she turned to the trio of teens.

"Girls, I wanna talk to you, not as your landlord, but as a friend," Vidalia said.

"You're our friend?" one of the girls asked, legitimately confused. Another girl rolled her eyes at the remark, but it was this girl that Vidalia went right up to, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember when you three were roaming around the town, without a place to live? And even after your fiasco in Beach City, I agreed to take you in as a kind stranger?"

"Y-Yeah, so what?" one of the girls asked, unamused. Could be pride or not, but she wasn't gonna just jump and say yes. And Vidalia knew that too seemingly.

"Now you three have an opportunity to be kind strangers, girls," Vidalia said, presenting Steven, who was just keeping quiet even with a little blush on his face despite himself.

"I'd rather be a snowman."

"See, and you were worried they didn't like you," Vidalia joked, nudging Steven.

"Wait, are you even listening -"

"Have fun you four. Let me know how things settle by dinnertime, ok?" Vidalia said, cutting one of the girls off. She was just at the door, back turned, before she looked back with one more thing to say. She had a smile, but there was this … ominous vibe in the air.

"And girls? … Screw it up, and I'll kill you in your sleep. … Have fun."

And THEN she left. … OK THEN!

"Have a nice day, Onion head!" one of the girls snapped, but Vidalia didn't reply that time.
So there they were, Steven just standing there with these three girls who, clearly, didn't want him there. Either Vidalia wasn't exactly thinking clearly, or maybe this could be something good for him. … Maybe they wouldn't mind a killer like him. They all were kinda at a stalemate, but eventually one of the girls "decided" (AKA, pushed) to get this going. Much to her bemusement.

"Alright, I'll go first."

"Uh. Hi? I'm Steven."

"Adagio. That's Aria, and Sonata over there, and we're like a big family in here," Adagio said.

"Big, and dysfunctional," Aria simply stated. Adagio quickly turned around, hand giving a cut along her throat. Aria and Sonata weren't sure what yet, but Adagio helped out Steven towards the new bed.

"Uh … thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Adagio, moving away from him over to Sonata, "Now Aria will get you settled in here, we got some laundry to handle."

"But we just did laundry today!" whined Sonata. Adagio grabbed Sonata by the arm.

"Yes, and now we need to do it again. Come on," Adagio made clear. Sonata was clueless on the deal, and Aria … well, she was stuck with Steven so she just got the law down.

"Now that we know eachother, let me just lay down some ground rules." … she said this while another girl lined the ground with her foot. Territory established.

"Don't touch any of our stuff, you got that? Don't touch our books, our beds, or our lyrics! And when I get my CD player, don't touch that either. This is our place, OUR rules. … Except for Sonata, I don't care what you do with her stuff."

"Any place I can put my clothes?" Steven sighed.

"How about the garbage dump?" Aria huffed, not really caring much for this at all. Even with the death threat, they really weren't trying to make any good impressions here, and he'd probably try to correct them on it. … You know, if he didn't already feel he deserved it anyway.

~~~~~~

So for the rest of the day, Steven was just kinda going with the motions here. He made sure, at least, to keep everything that was his away from Adagio, Sonata, and Aria (which actually wasn't hard since it was just him and his clothes). Steven tried his absolute best to make some good will with the place, though while Adagio was giving him a shot now and then, the others here wouldn't really bother with him all too much other than to make him move away, or to simply remind him who's room he was crashing in. Well, Aria would anyway.
Onion, Sour Cream, and Vidalia did give Steven at least some bit of company he can admit to NOT hate him and try to make him feel comfortable throughout the day. Well, in their own way:
Dinner for example. Steven was sitting down quietly, not really talking to the others around him straight away, his mind still a bit stuck in the fog. A number of the boarding house's folks were having dinner, including Sour Cream (who was more DJing to some earphone music), and the others were just talking and doing their own thing. Only Onion was working with a bit of things with his mashed potatoes, something Steven managed to catch when looking to him.

"Hey, that me," Steven realized, seeing that Onion made a good-looking mash potato head of Steven … only for Onion to then lick it … chew it in his mouth … and spit it out. Onion thought it was funny, but ...

"Why do you hate food?"

It didn't work. So he tried something else.

*SPLAT*

Well, it usually worked with Watermelons and hammers, so why not his bare hands and mashed potatoes? … That only freaked Steven out a bit.

"Vidalia, your kid's got taters in my beans!" snapped one of the locals, but Onion was more focused on the goal at hand, which again didn't seem to work.

"Easy Lima," said Vidalia, "kid's just expressing himself. Real expressive Onion, way to show your art."
Onion appreciated the support, and Vidalia looked right over to Steven, seeing Onion's focus on him. It didn't take much for her to work out what exactly was the main idea here. Vidalia smirked, and then sealed Steven's fate.

"Looks like he's ready for you, Steven."

"R-Ready? For what?" Steven asked, still unnerved.

"Onion wanted to show you around his room," said Vidalia, "but he wanted to go through dinner first. Ain't that right kiddo?"

Onion did start talking again, but much of the chat was mainly just a bunch of "murrs". Y'know, Onion talk. Vidalia, who probably was the only one who understood him at the moment, just chuckled.

"Great Idea! I'll go see if it's still open tomorrow," Vidalia said. Whatever THAT would be.

…….

Next attempt: Onion's temporary room. Turned out ol' Onion didn't change much of his room here from the room at home, apart from a few "local accessories" of course. Still a single bed for him with his pet cage not too far away, light dim for the time being, a small TV for who-knows-what, and so on. Steven quietly looked around a bit, Onion letting him do so at his own pace.

"Uh … nice theme in the room. I-Is that a new trampoline?" Steven asked, trying to keep himself relaxed. Onion though was moving suddenly, and went right over to the trampoline … only to jump off of it, and started bouncing off of his bed. He even invited Steven to join him with a wave, though Steven wasn't exactly thinking about that.

"Umm, shouldn't you just use the trampoline? It's … right there … b-but it's your room, so do whatever you want," Steven said. It was then that, as Steven started walking over to him and looking around, something scurried over his foot, and actually stopped on it. It was just enough for Steven to look down and have a see: a small, white mouse.

"Oh! Onion, you live with a little mouse. … Is he your pet, or is he your roomie?" Steven wondered. The mouse took a look up to him briefly before scurrying off. Or it would've scurried away if not for Onion jumping off of bed, and catching it. Roomies don't catch eachother like that, so odds were it was Onion's pet (maybe). After catching the little guy, Onion turned, and then began heading over to the darkened cage. Steven wasn't sure exactly what the deal is here, the cage being a bit big and all.

"Nice home for a mouse. It's a pretty big container for a -"

and then the light to the cage turned on.

"- SNAAAKE!"

Luckily for Steven, this wasn't some magic evil snake out to get him again, just an average, gray-scaled, curled up snake. One that wasn't out to get him, thank the stars, but it still spooked him. Seeing Onion with the white mouse in hand, offering it to Steven (who knows why?), Steven got the picture of what it was Onion wanted him to do.

"You … want me to feed him to the snake, huh?"

And Onion nodded. Steven gulped.

"O-Oh hay … s-s-sorry little mouse, but … w-we all gotta eat …"
Steven felt his hands tremble a little bit on the idea. He knew from experience the whole "nature" idea, and how sometimes you HAD to do some bad things to survive. But looking at the little guy, its eyes looking right back at it as if silently trying to talk to him, Steven could feel himself start to panic again, especially after glancing back at the snake's eyes. Waiting patiently for what Steven will do next.

"nnnnnNO! Onion, you do it, make it quick and painless for him, I-I'll be over here!" Steven quickly said, giving the mouse back to him, and rushing away, covering both his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to be responsible for ANOTHER death. Steven kept himself quiet, but still trembling more than usual for him, as he only heard the mouse's fate with a few squeaks, and closing the snake cage.

"I'm sorry, mousey," Steven murmured. Well, hopefully the Snake wasn't one to play with its food before eating it. That was all he could say. After that ordeal, Onion walked over to him, placing a hand on his back.

"Umm … y-you don't have anything else weird to show me, do you?" Steven asked. Onion got that answer already in preparation, getting out a tape for the VHS of his TV.

"Oh, a movie? … um, okay, that sounds okay, and not creepy at all."

Well, let's hope so …

*click*
"Oh, cool Hospital setting."
"Okay. I'm ready."
"Hey, that's your mom!"
"Ohhh, oh, Yellowtail... I think... It's happening!"
"Ah! Wait! What's going on?"

And Onion presented the tape case.

"...Happy Birthday, Onion? IS THIS YOU BEING BORN?!" Steven gasped. He was expecting punishment, but not THIS! Steven quickly covered his eyes, and Onion eventually just stopped the tape. Guess that didn't do much either.

"This punishment's too much for me," Steven said weakly. Onion paused. Is THAT what Steven was thinking this all was? A punishment for his work in the past? Onion briefly gave Steven a sort of scolding look, but shockingly not one that said "I wanna kill you" … well, maybe. So Onion had one more ace up his sleeve, starting to go over the bed, and moving over a poster he had on his wall. Opening up what looked to be a "secret door". Or something. Onion wanted him to follow him, or at least come over and see.

However …

"O-KAY, no more unusual punishments for me, thank you!" Steven decided. No amount of guilt was worth this, and he walked right on out.

Guess Onion's idea of having a good time didn't work for everyone. Maybe tomorrow will work a bit better.

~~~~~~

"w-w-w-w-w-w-whoa-a-a-a-a-a!"

A very brief moment of alone time between themselves and the rest of the boarding house, as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were down in the laundry room. While Sonata was playing around, sitting on one of the washing machines. Now that they were alone, Adagio addressed her sisters.

"Alright, you two, hear me out. I think we found our answer to our little problem."

"Here we go again," sighed Aria.

"No, I'm serious! You heard Vidalia, that "Steven" is from Beach City."

"So don't tell me: you think he has Equestrian Magic, and we make him ticked off so we can feed off of - oh wait. We can't do that anymore, remember?"

"Yeah, that mean doggie broke them up!" said Sonata, after her fun on the spin cycle.

"Good reminder."

"Girls, just listen!" Adagio said through gritted teeth, hands over mouths before they can go off on eachother again. She only got her hands off after a second when the two got their full attention on her.

"We may not be able to drain any magic now, but he can be our way to get it back. There's something about him that's not the same as other humans in this world, and I think I know what it is."

"The one eye?!" gasped Sonata. Adagio was not amused.

"Yes. Sonata. The one eye missing is why he can get our magic back."

"I knew it," Sonata said, being legit about it, unlike the other two. Aria didn't say anything this time, and just flicked at Sonata's forehead.

"Look, I've overheard Vidalia earlier today talking to those "Gems" back in Beach City about Steven, and I swear they keep saying how "magical" they are while we were there."

"Yeah. So what's your point?" Aria asked quizzically.

"My point is that if we can get him on our good side, and have him take us back there, we'll be that much closer to getting ourselves back at full strength again. And that means we have to be nice to him until we do, capiche?"

"Car-peesh!" Sonata said, giving a salute to her. Aria rolled her eyes on this stupidity.

She'd say no if they had any better ideas.

.......

It seemed a bit too quick when it was time to go off to bed. At least this time, Steven could say, he wasn't sleeping inside some train car rolling on through the winter countryside. Kept under some warm covers, Steven found his own spot on what bed he had left, the other three sleeping in their own accommodations. Aria and Adagio had their own "actual" beds, though Sonata was stuck with the couch in the same place Steven was stuck in. The kid did try to have a good night sleep, but unfortunately for him, the dream world wasn't going to let him get off easy …

…

There he was. The whole world around him was white, cold, yet surprisingly quiet. All Steven could see around him was the blue sky above, and the stars below. Steven was stuck floating around for a bit, not entirely sure where he was actually going, as something kept pulling him along towards somewhere. As Steven went upward, he began to see something come up around him: a yellow halo over his head, and wings on his back.

"Oh geez," Steven gulped. He knew what THAT meant.
And he wasn't alone either. Looking around, he was seeing other people from his past start to come up with similar halos and wings. Ponies, Gems, Humans and a few others were going by him, all seemingly following a similar path to wherever they were going. It turned out though that Steven didn't have to wait for very long, seeing a sort of large gate up ahead of him, many others already there and seemingly waiting. The others around him floated on through just fine, being welcomed in …

*SLAM!*

Except for Steven. The gates locked up tight, Steven trying to get in there, but it wasn't any good. Soon, one figure presenting herself showed him exactly why.

"Garnet, I'm sorry! It was an accident, I didn't mean to!" Steven pleaded. But his pleading was on deaf ears, Garnet not even responding before she and everyone on the other side of that gate disappeared, and faded away.

"Garnet, wait! Don't leave me!" Steven called.

It was no use though. Steven stopped briefly, but there was little time for that either, as he then saw the feathers on his wings begin to wilt and fall off, and his own halo disappearing. He was terrestrial again, standing on one of the stars.

As it was suddenly breaking apart! In vain, he tried to stay on his platform, pieces cracking and breaking off more and more, making it smaller and smaller until he was only on one small speck of a star piece, nothing but the empty space miles below him. There was only one way to go …

*crack*

…

"NOOOOOOOOO!!"

And next thing he knew he was right back in the same room again. His heart was racing like crazy, and even if it was a dream he still felt a swell of tears trying to come out of him, and his breath still in rough strains as he tried to calm down. … Only for Aria to charge out the door, slamming it open, and almost running into the nearest wall from the sudden screaming.

"Ah, what?! - … Kid, what's the screaming for?" Aria scolded, not seeing ANYTHING other than Steven just there.

"Um, sorry. I just had a bad dream," Steven said. Aria, tired, was in no mood for any games.

"Well I was having a good one," Aria said, "Off in some casino somewhere, with some chumps throwing money at my solo singing career!"

"... Huh?"

"Oh, just go back to sleep, megaphone, I don't wanna hear another peep."
And with a loud slam of the door, Steven flinching from the noise, Steven was by himself again with his own thoughts. Even when he didn't know what he was doing, he was still causing trouble for someone. Miserable all over again, he just laid back down on the bed, staring right up to the ceiling. He'll probably bother someone else if he did start going around the place, so that was out of the question.

"... Goodnight," Steven simply said, having such a worn out, and tired look on his face.

~~~~~~

And after a scene shift, he still had that face. Maybe "goodnight" wasn't exactly the right word after all, because as Steven was just sitting there, he felt like he was still asleep.
And where was he sitting this morning? Well, not in the building: after checking it in yesterday by Vidalia, a crowded van consisting of her, her kids and some others. As Vidalia mentioned, Onion's friends were in town during winter, so it was a packed car with some old faces: Garbanzo, Pinto, Squash, and Soup. All of em' basically doing their own thing in the car, as Sour Cream kept himself busy with some catchy tunes. Off in the far back, the Dazzlings actually went along for the ride, just in the back ignoring much of them. Steven offered, and Adagio simply insisted.

"Garbanzo!" said Garbanzo at one point, Steven feeling something hit his head (a piece of paper). Not that it bugged him anymore, but, eh.

"Hey, man," said Sour Cream at a point, Steven waking up a little bit, "You're looking a bit down in the dumps this morning."

"I couldn't sleep," Steven yawned, "Really, really rough night."

"Don't tell me, those "Dazzlings" got on your case last night? I heard Aria screaming from upstairs even with my headphones in," Sour Cream said with a nudge. Steven wasn't sure if it was THAT much screaming, but Aria was indeed loud at a point at least.

"No, i-it's fine. I kinda woke them up anyway from screaming my head off, so that's about even," Steven replied.

"Wait, so was it her or you that was screaming "noooooo"?"

Steven blushed.

"Yep, that's me. Scream-o Universe. Hehehehehe - sorry about that."
Hardly a good joke, but Steven just got himself looking on to the outside world of the car again, seeing the town of Fairfax go by as they stopped at a stoplight. He saw some bit of the snow go down on the world out there, Fairfax citizens doing their own things on their lives, some with pets, some working out some shopping. It was a typical look far as Steven knew: a few dogs on leashes, a couple flocks of small sparrows, even one building had a giant fake spider sitting on top of it (for whatever reason).

"Cool statue," Steven commented. It actually did look pretty good, even if he could only see it with one eye. Whoever made that thing sure knew what they were doing. His mind stayed on that for a while, among other things, until eventually the car was moving on again.

"Hey Steven," Vidalia said at a point, "You up for some fun?"

"Uh, I guess, why?" Steven asked, as the car got to moving again.

"Well, Onion thought it'd be a great idea to take you somewhere only Fairfax can give you. And lucky us, it's still gots plenty of snow."

"It is a lot of snow, but for - … whoa."

And he got it.
Even in his rather dulled state, his eyes shot open at what the place they went to actually was, only his good eye sparkling those stars. They didn't go too far out of Fairfax to actually get to this destination place, though checking it out they might as well at least gone off five miles or so from border limits. To give a basic idea, the place was pretty wide open, not a building up and covering the place as with the city they were just in. Snow itself covered up the ground a bit more here than where Steven had just walked right on through to get to town, though that was probably because artificial snow was used here as much as real snow. The main bulk of the place consisted of a warm lodge off a walkways away from the parking lot, and a VERY big hill, almost a mountain you can say. Fairfax's Ski Resort!

"Wow … it's even bigger than the hill to the lighthouse," said Steven, as everyone began to get their way out of the car. Steven though didn't exactly realize how quick until he was suddenly pushed out by Sonata, the only one of the three eager to go up and give it a try.

"OOOOO, that's a very big hill!" Sonata said, looking up to the ski resort hillside, Steven covered in snow from the stumble.

"Garbanzo!" But Sonata got her just comeuppance when she was pushed out by Garbonzo, and from there the rest got right on out to have some fun on the hillside. Steven was alright, picking himself up off of the ground and getting some of the snow off of his face. This was of course seen by Adagio and Aria coming out, and with a glance to Aria, the two pony-tailed gal had to go in.

"Steven? You …" Aria cracked her neck a bit to relax "... OoooKaaay …?"

"Yeah. I'm okay," Steven simply said, ignoring how hard it sounded to be for Aria to say that. Adagio had that sort of "you serious?" kinda stare, which Aria just brushed off. Steven started going off, but Aria was pulled back by Adagio.

"What was that? You sounded like you're gonna crack his neck," Adagio hissed. Aria just pulled her shoulder away, wiping it off where Adagio's hand was.

"Who said I was gonna try hard?" Aria huffed, walking on her way.

Steven and the Dazzlings went on from the van, and over passed the boundary fence for the ski resort, seeing Vidalia and the Onion Gang already off ahead of them a bit, in fact already at the lodge. The kids themselves were happy to get going, but unfortunately they kinda had to wait for Vidalia. Annoying. Funny (and even ironic too), that it was Onion who actually caught Steven before he could just wander out onto the slopes.

"Onion? What is it?" Steven asked. Onion then pointed over to a sign on the wall of the lodge, one just by the door. No words were on it, but it simply showed a kid wandering around, with a big X through it. Steven paused. Was … was Onion following the rules? ONION following rules?

"Huh? OH! Onion, you're following the rules! Good Onion," Steven said, actually amazed. So many times Onion just basically a "heck with it" kinda thing, but not today. Onion smiled and nodded, as did Steven eventually. Onion then was starting to pull Steven towards the lodge doors, wanting Steven to at least go inside the lodge first before they go out on the slopes. Before they could go in though, the Dazzlings caught up with them, Sonata Dusk first.

"Hi, your besties are here!" Sonata said, "Ready to go up the very big -"

*GRRRRRR* Onion suddenly growled, standing in the way between them and Steven with his arms out. Off-limits apparently, as far as Onion was concerned, and it was enough to make Sonata skid to a stop. His growling calmed down the more Sonata backed away.

"Maybe in a minute," Steven muttered, humbled himself by Onion's reaction to them. Steven got hold of Steven's arm, and pulled him inside before the Dazzlings could do anything else.

Steven had to get quickly used to the warmth the lodge had when he was brought inside. The lodge itself was fairly big inside, plenty of space for the skiers to relax around the log cabin-esque scenery: a few log seats, a warm fireplace off to the back with fur rugs, and plenty of windows to see the snow outside. There was already quite a few people in there just hanging out, either getting ready/getting done with skiing, or just chatting away with eachother. One guy Steven saw was playing a guitar actually, a soft tune carrying around the lodge. Vidalia was getting some stuff for the skiing, and Steven and Onion went over to one of the many seats, right next to Soup and Squash. At least Onion had pals to hang with.

"Wonder why we don't have a ski resort back at home," Steven wondered, "We got a lot of big hills in the countryside."
As he was sitting there, he felt someone nudge him, namely being Soup.

"Oh, Soup. Long time no -" Steven paused briefly when Soup actually looked humbled, though Steven already knew what that was about, hand going over his bad eye, "Oh that. Don't worry, it's just a bad eye that's all, nothing to worry about."
Soup did calm down a bit quickly, though it still looked weird seeing him with a scar of any sort. In fact, she actually gave him a smile, and a pat on the back. Guess scars make you look cool, depending on who. All the same though, Steven did see Onion keeping an eye over to the Dazzlings, who themselves sat down not too far away.

"Um. Is something wrong Onion? Something with those three?" Steven asked. Onion nodded yes to Steven, the one-eyed Gem boy looking back to the Dazzlings again. Sonata did see him and waved, feeling safer now further away, and while Steven did wave back Onion actually kept his hand down, shaking his head.

"Wait. So, you don't want me with them," Steven figured. Onion nodded, and gave the three in question a more stern look. Did something happen while he was gone?

"I mean, they were okay to me, a-and they didn't hurt me all night. Did they do something?" Steven said. Onion actually looked a little confused, but before they could continue on it -

Weee're in HAAAARMONY!!!!

FOR STARS SAKE! Everyone jumped hearing that screeching singing done by Sonata Dusk, some covering their ears (okay, most of them). Lucky for the eardrums, Sonata was quickly stopped by Adagio, who clamped her mouth shut. Spur of the moment, sure, but Steven suddenly was up and going over to them, despite Onion's warning.

"Sonata?"

"Everything's fine, you little -" Adagio gave a quick glance before Aria could finish her sentence, "... Steven."
Steven may be distraught, but he was not stupid.

"Okay. I can tell you don't want to be nice to me, and it's okay. You don't have to if you don't want to," Steven reassured. FINALLY a break, but Aria still wasn't given the chance to actually say anything as Adagio got up, grabbing her by the arm.

"But we do, we do," insisted Adagio, "In fact, why don't we go and get you some hot chocolate? Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Ok, I get the point Adagio," Aria quietly huffed, as she and Adagio went off to fetch the warm drink for cold Steven, leaving only him and Sonata for the moment. Sonata meanwhile was just left in a bit of a slump, pouting from her lack of vocal talent as Steven sat down next to her.

"This is SO unfair. How hard is it to sing?" Sonata complained.

"You like singing, huh?" Steven asked. Sonata turned to him.

"Duh! Me and my sisters sing, like, ALL THE TIME! It's how we get people to do what we want," Sonata said … not exactly thinking of WHAT she was saying. Steven knew what she said though.

"... Huh?"

"You know: we sing, people listen and do what we want, it's kinda what we do … or what we used to do," grumbled Sonata. It was always easier to get along with people just by mind-controlling them, even if the payoff was ticking them off one way or another. Rather than feel sorry though, Steven was a little suspicious.

"Don't tell me: you use magic?"

"I mean, duh, of course we do! It's SOOO much easier."

"Figures," Steven sighed. He probably should've suspected this considering their colors and all. He can tell though that Sonata was indeed really down about this, and with what Steven knew about them wandering on their own like he was, how could he blame them for wanting a quicker fix to find a new place?

"Hmm … well, I don't know enough about magic to help, but … if you like music, I can help you a little. I-If you want."

"You'll do that for me?!" Sonata asked, sounding surprisingly excited like a particular pink mare Steven knew a while ago. "Can you sing?"

"Wait, right now? Hmm …"
Well, that was a bit quick to ask, but as he thought about it, he remembered the guitar one of the ski lodgers had with him, at the moment not even playing it right now. Well, the best lessons are through example, so …

"Can I borrow this?" Steven asked. The owner of the guitar looked and just nodded, taking a break from it anyway. With the greenlight, Steven took the guitar for himself, and got it positioned for himself. Sonata herself waited to see what Steven had in mind. Steven tested the strings a bit, a musical strung going through the lodge before Steven started singing a little bit.

I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready for this
I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready
Things start and things end
And isn't it lovely in theory but
I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready

The song itself only lasted for like a minute, but the room was quiet and taken off guard by this song. Out of nowhere, Steven had the whole crowd looking at him, hearing the captivating tune out of the blue. Sonata Dusk was by far the most amazed, eyes wide in shock, as Adagio and Aria came back to him.

"Did that just come from you?" Adagio asked, dumbfounded.

"And did you plan that out or something?" added Aria.

"Well, not really. It just kinda came to me," Steven replied, placing the guitar back down where he found it. So not only was he magical, and familiar with magic, but he is also apparently some musical prodigy? What more could they want?!

Steven paused, and glanced back to Onion and his gang, but seeing Onion's friends though, he did notice that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Garbanzo and Pinto?"

"GARBONZO!"
He got his answer soon enough, hearing the doors swing open (starting a few people), and in came Garbanzo and Pinto. Guess they went off to fetch their own "surprise" from the car as Steven was distracted, this case being a good-sized, wheeled sled. And seeing them rocket right in it worked like a charm.

"There they are," said Sonata, pointing to them. Garbanzo and Pinto checked the crowd, seeing Steven and the Dazzlings watching, and then he made a quick turn with the sled. This turn was pretty sharp, impressive for the fact it was just a sled with wheels, only for it to bump into one of the seats. Nothing too bad, but -

"Garbanzo!" said Garbanzo, as he fell out off the sled and onto the floor.

"Uh, what's going on?" Steven wondered, going over to investigate. And what exactly did Steven and the Dazzlings ended up seeing? …

"G-Garbanzo."

"AAHHH!" Steven gasped. Garbanzo was on the ground, laying next to the sled, and suddenly was red all over his face! Blood it looked like, and this looked serious.

"Whoa, what the hay happened here?" Aria asked, though she was more curious than concerned as Steven raced over to him. Squash was right next to the laying kid, holding his hand to the "dying" Garbanzo. This sure looked serious to Steven, but strangely the others were more "waiting for something to happen" than "how can we help this kid".

"Garbanzo! H-He's gonna be okay right, I-it was just a little spill," Steven asked, looking to Soup and Onion, but they didn't look too hopeful either. And then …

"Gar … ban … zo …."

Silence. Squash did the "final" bit, and actually closed Garbanzo's eyes for him, the kid just laying there. Steven was frozen.

"I-Is … is he gone?" asked Sonata.

"NO, he can't be gone! Garbanzo, hold on, I'll call a ambulance, or - wait. Wait no, I got an idea!" Steven said, frantically making use of his healing powers. He got a lick on his hand, and was just about to get it on his head, but then Onion actually started to hold him back a little bit. All Onion did was shake his head in dismay. Well now what?

"... Garbanzo? …"
Not a reply. Steven couldn't believe it. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself together as the others were waiting in silence. As Steven lowered his head though, he then started to catch a whiff of something.

"Huh? … *sniff**sniff* Wait a second. Is that …" Steven actually got some of Garbanzo's blood, and tasted it "... Hot sauce?!"

YEP it was. Steven even then saw a hot sauce packet hidden just underneath the same chair Garbanzo rode into. It was enough to make Steven jump to his feet, the others now chuckling at this whole ordeal. Garbanzo even started laughing in spite of the situation, and to top it all off, Onion went right up to Steven, and gave him a nudge and a wink.

"Why're you winking like this was all - ……. A big joke?" Steven said, his voice hushed. Onion nodded and smiled, again giving Steven the nudge/wink gesture. So that's why no one else was jumping at this - they knew this wasn't as dangerous as it looked. Yet another attempt to cheer Steven up. Steven liked jokes …

Didn't he?

"Grrrr, WHAT THE HECK ONION?!" Steven shouted, actually making the notoriously dangerous Onion jump back. This was quickly seen by Vidalia, going right over to angry Steven.

"Steven, easy, easy!" Vidalia said, going over to him before it could get anymore out of hand, "Onion's just trying to cheer you up."

"Cheer me up?! I get it that you got different humor than I do, I can even get how weird and creepy you can be, but FOR STARS SAKE I thought he was gone, like, ACTUALLY GONE! How can you make dying a joke like that? IT'S! NOT! FUNNY!"

And after that, and in a huff, Steven turned around and stormed straight out of the lodge, fuming. Onion tried calling him back, but Steven didn't listen that time.

…….

Steven didn't go too far however. Yes, he was out of the ski lodge and walking around, but he only got around nearby the slopes of the ski resort itself. The snow around was calming down from the small flurry into a more softer, cooler snowfall. All Steven did to work out this frustration was kicking around the clumps of snow forming on the ground below him.

"I should've known," Steven lamented, "No one can get that beaten up from just sliding a wheelie sled into a bench. And there I was thinking he actually was gonna go away on me. Why did they HAVE to pull that on me anyway? I'm already going through one young life crisis right now."

Steven kicked a stone aside, which landed over by the car. Sure he was angry, but this anger was shifting between that and troubled thoughts.

"I don't know what I'm trying to expect. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata are only nice to me because Vidalia would kill them in their sleep if they didn't … and Vidalia, Sour Cream, and Onion only took me in because I was sick, cold, and in a garbage can. That doesn't have to do with me me, just sick me. …"

*mwah!*

Onion. Steven turned around, and sure enough there was Onion coming out to see him, looking worried. He couldn't talk of course, but Steven already knew why he came out.

"No, Onion, go away. You don't have to play with me anymore," Steven said. He turned back around, and took just one step before he felt Onion grab him by the arm, and tried pulling him back towards the lodge. He wasn't going to leave him like this, but Steven yanked his arm free.

"Onion, stop," Steven stated. Onion only grabbed the other arm, this time Steven being more forceful in getting himself free.

"Onion, please, you don't have to do this. I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I get it now: you're all only nice to me because you feel sorry for me, isn't it?" Steven figured. Onion did let him go, but he didn't walk away, and shook his head. Unfortunately for him, Steven wasn't buying it.

"You don't have to lie to me to protect my feelings," said Steven, "I already told you you shouldn't be around me, but your mom said it herself she only kept me there because I was sick. It's got nothing to do with how any of you feel about me. your gang, Onion? They're your real friends, so … just forget me."
If Onion could speak, he wouldn't be able to come up with anything. Steven was just fully convinced they don't care about him, at least not outside of a principal one. Onion was sad in the face, but his expression turned to fear. Something else was happening right behind Steven. As if it was manifesting from the snow ...

"You don't need to pity me. That's the one thing I can do by myself without bothering anybody," Steven said. But when Steven's looked, Onion's gaze was not even looking at him. But rather looking behind him.

"Onion?"

Steven tried turning his gaze, but Onion quickly grabbed his head, and kept it focused in front rather than behind. Very rarely did Steven actually see Onion look troubled about something, even scared. Steven didn't need to know onion talk to understand to keep still, as Onion, VERY slowly, kneeled down and picked something up off of the ground. Careful not to make any sudden movements that could trigger … well, whatever was going on. Eventually (and really eventually), Onion got himself the only weapon on hand, which was the stone Steven kicked moments ago. Onion soon riled it up …

And chucked the rock right passed Steven's head. Seconds later, Steven was running, being pulled by Onion.

"Hey, where're we going?!" Steven asked urgently, but Onion didn't stop the mad dash to reach the lodge. Steven was still in the dark, but he didn't have to wait that much longer to figure out what the problem is: just behind him, something was trying to reach them. He heard it land on a car, then land in the hillside snow, and a third jump had it leap passed them, and landing in their way, enough to make Onion skid to a halt.
There it was. At first it landed facing away, but it quickly turned around to confront its prey. A gigantic spider, easily the size of the van they drove in with, its skin pure white with blue lining its head and back. Steven and Onion saw their own reflections within the eyes of this creature, Steven again facing that horrid reflection of his one-eyed face.

"I-It's … a-alive. It came to life!" Steven gulped. The creature itself left Steven shivering - the same spider statue he seen before they got there. Only this time it was all real! The giant spider though didn't bolt at them right away, just standing there in the way of them and the lodge doors. The spider moved forward slightly, making Steven pull out his shield.

"Stay behind me Onion, I'll protect you!" Steven made clear, just about ready to put his shield to good use -

This is the pain you kept dishing out to everyone. This is what you deserve.

Steven hesitated. And that hesitation was all this spider needed to try at them. Onion, thinking fast, grabbed Steven and threw him aside, the spider's fangs digging into the snow briefly. This jump did give Steven and Onion time to go for cover, the giant spider having to turn on a dime like a spinning car to get itself in the correct direction.

"Steven, Onion, there ya are. You get everything out of your system?"

"Well maybe -" before Steven could finish, the spider suddenly appeared, banging against the door. The whole place was up in alarm now, the giant spider trying to get inside to get something for food. Everyone kept well away from the door, the spider itself seemingly too big to just fit inside.

"AAAAHHHH! EWW, EWW, EWW, GIANT SPIDER!" Sonata shrieked in absolute panic, having a death grip on Adagio in her horror.

"You're not helping," Adagio strained. They didn't really do much at first, but Soup got one weapon out fast, and with her trusty slingshot gave the spider what for with a shoe to the eye. The spider quickly backed up a bit, in pain and now angry, only to charge forward again. This charge was actually pretty strong, only its abdomen still stuck outside while its legs and head were just inside the building.

"AAHH!" not exactly thinking straight, Steven got out the shield, and used it like a frisbee. It struck the spider easy, bouncing off of its head and towards the crowd.

"Let's not do that," Steven gulped. He did not want to break the building while fighting this thing. But the spider had enough playing games, and … stopped moving? … And faded away?
Yeah, it just faded out of existence right then and there, leaving everyone to take a breather.

"O-Ok, that spider's gone. Everyone okay?" asked Vidalia, looking back to the others. They all looked alright overall, no one getting hurt.

… Well, except for one. Sonata Dusk. Who now was on the ground, knocked unconscious thanks to Steven's ricochet shield hit (at least they figured much since the shield was still nearby). The others went around her, Adagio on her knees to try and wake Sonata up from the hit. There was a bit of silence for a moment until Steven broke it, his gaze unable to break away from what he saw.

"S-Sonata? But I was just talking to her," Steven said. What Aria said next only sealed the fate of what was about to happen.

"Look, it's happens, maybe she's in a better place."

… A better place. ...

Killers are only welcomed by other killers.

So that was it then. Silence hung over the air a bit more, as Steven worked out what puzzle happened here. Steven, once again, tried to fend off an attacker, only for a friend to get caught up in it all and paying for it. As Steven stood there, the images started to flash in his mind: the fight between Grogar again, the final blow, … Garnet.
He was seeing Garnet laying there again as everyone's feet. The fusion that, he knew, would no longer exist thanks to him and his fighting.

And anywhere else they are outcast'd and outlaw'd.

"... I killed her. … No. No, not again. I can't. Please." Steven felt a swell of tears again start to come up, emotions reaching their peaks at history repeating itself right in front of him, whether he liked it or not. With tears pouring from his shocked eyes, the murderer began to back away from Sonata, almost shaking.

If you'd only listen … she'd still be alive.

And he ran.

"Steven, don't go anywhere! Steven!" shouted Vidalia. But Steven didn't stop once, as he raced right out the door and out into the snow, not caring of whatever danger he might out himself in. As Steven ran, his body was racing as much as his mind was, his tears streaming off of his face and onto the cold ground. Onion tried to go after him, but unfortunately, something was already giving chase after Steven - something no one could see except for the shifting snow.

"I did it again. I try to help everyone, but all I did was hurt them again! What was I thinking? I knew I shouldn't have stayed, otherwise Sonata would be alive. Tempest is right - I can't be with anyone anymore!!"

BAM! Something struck Steven's head, hard enough to make him fall forward right into the snow. Steven landed on his back, looking back and seeing the snow shift and "explode", as if some giant monster was walking through. Steven did try to get up, but whatever struck his head kept him on the ground, the sticky webbing keeping his head firmly stuck. He strained, and groaned to try and get free, only to then feel something press his hand down. He felt the claws, but he saw nothing. Well, nothing except for the snow landing on its skin.

"Wha? But who -"

The Phase Spider hadn't gone away. Now far away, this predator no longer had to keep itself invisible, the giant monstrosity manifesting itself into the right plane of existence, and so Steven could see it. And by the time it was finished, Steven found himself staring directly at the spider's large fangs, each one aimed right at him. With him all alone, and no one to help him, the spider had Steven all to itself.

"Looks like it's curtains for Steven Universe," Steven concluded. He already caused more than enough trouble. The giant spider reared back, six legs keeping it stable on the ground as two of its legs lifted up with its head, and Steven simply laid there waiting for the finishing bite. It brought the fangs down and sank the tips into Steven's arm, the pain in it strangely meek as it felt more like two needles pinching his skin rather than a giant bite … and that's it. There was one detail going on though that Steven didn't see.

Its glowing blue eyes.

"Stop toying with me, if you're gonna eat me get it over with!" Steven groaned, but the spider didn't listen. It wanted to have food, of course, but not out in the open like this. Instead, with its eyes still glowing, it picked Steven up by the head, his head in between the spider's fangs, and the spider began dragging its catch away. Steven did briefly think of breaking free, but whatever that bite did was making him feel less and less "active", and the cold didn't feel as strong as it did before. As they moved along, the whole world around Steven began to very slowly change, shifting away from one world to another, as the Spider put its dimensional phasing to use on not just itself, but to its prey as well.

"We're teleporting!" Steven gasped. Ands that's just what happened next, as the world around Steven just disappeared. The Phase Spider began moving a bit quickly through between worlds, but in this dashing around, Steven began to feel more and more tired, trying to keep awake, and in such a delicate hold by the spider, the G-forces were quickly putting work on his limping body.

Steven was slipping.

"No no no NO NO NO - AAAAHHHHH!"

~~~~~~

…….

No spider. No rush. Not even snow anymore. Steven Universe only managed to get himself back around ever so slightly, a very faint grunt coming from Steven's closed mouth. It was still a bit difficult for him, but feeling something very small gently land on his head was just enough to make him try to get up. It didn't feel forceful or heavy like the Phase Spider, and upon actually opening his blurry eyes. His vision was a little bit off, but eventually he looked up and found his eyesight taking in what looked to be a clear night sky. No clouds in sight anywhere, not even a proper moon at first, just the empty space and stars up high in the air … for a short bit, until a small shooting stars whizzed by in a flash.

"Where … am I?" Steven groaned at last. It was probably good that bite from the Phase Spider made him feel a bit less, otherwise the fall might've broken something, the ground just underneath him looking cracked almost from impact alone. Speaking of which, the ground wasn't exactly "ground" at all, but rather very old, fattened metal, worn out by pure time itself.

Steven rubbed his good eye so he could see a little bit better, and once he finally got up to his feet, straightening up a bit, he took a quiet, fairly long walk around at where that Phase Spider dropped him off. Was it on Earth, or somewhere else? Honestly, Steven wasn't sure.
On one hand, Steven saw that this place indeed was some sort of place of foliage all effected too harshly by time: patches of wilted flowers, various clumps of bushes dried up with brown leaves with patches of sticks jutting out of some, and off in the distance a ways, weakened trees, some of which are mere skeletons without any sign of a flower, leaf, or anything. Along the ground, old moss and vines grew with complete abandon.
On the other hand, the constructs tell a different idea, as this appeared to be a sort of ancient place where something did built this as a place for … well, he wasn't sure of that yet. There were some old paths winding their way around the area, distant small walls lined the whole boundaries though some did become overwhelmed thanks to the growing vines and weeds, and strangely, floating pillars along the center of it. These pillars, as Steven walked towards one of them, did indeed have flowers along their length but as with everything else, they were wilted and long dead too.

Everything here was old, and for a lack of a better word, dead.

"How long was this here? … Was this place some sort of garden?" Steven wondered.

His eyes then caught the more prominent details on the place. In the center, near where Steven first fell, was what remained of a very old fountain - a construct wide at the base with a very small top to resemble a flower again, suspended in mid air over a ring of green water. Whatever water remained, that is. Steven walked over to the edge of the fountain, and then looked on to the biggest construct within these ruins. A VERY large construct, slightly pyramid-like with one set of stairs to one level leading to some sort of door, two branching stairs to reach the second level, and a third set of stairs reaching the very top. And the thing at the very top of this platform?

A warp pad.

"So, this has to be a Gem place," Steven concluded. No other areas would have a Warp Pad, otherwise (unless you count the Warp Pad in the Castle of the Two Sisters way back when). Steven doubted what he did next would do anything, but out of curiosity he tired anyway.

"HELLO?!" Steven called.

And all he got was an echo. Not exactly a basic echo, something more like one would hear in an empty stadium rather than a cave - concealed with no direct way out. No matter though, nothing else was there except for Steven himself. It took an odd while, but eventually Steven rubbed his eyes again, getting a sorrow smile going.

"Well, this isn't so bad. I mean, how can I hurt anyone if there's nobody here to get hurt?" Steven even put in a few chuckles at the thought, though it was anything but happy. After working out that, Steven silently walked over to a patch in this space garden, having a seat over by one of the many patches of bushes., leaning his back on the bushes as he looked up to the sky. He only noticed now that there actually were some clouds somewhere around the place, though these clouds look like they'd been orbiting the boundary, as if a dome was around the area.

"I can't hurt a plant … right?" Steven remarked, gently holding one of the flowers nearby. It only took that slight touch though for said flower to fall off its stem and onto the ground, like a dry leaf. Steven paused, and just gave a long sigh. Why did he expect anything different anymore?

He was alone. And he will end up alone.

(Steven Universe The Movie - Drift Away [feat. Sarah Stiles] parody)

Here in the garden …
Here all alone …
Under the endless stars ...

Steven eventually got back up, and he began to walk around the garden again. Even if there was no wind inside this dome, Steven still noted a few small dry leaves dropping from the bushes as he went, whatever breeze he did make making the leaves follow him slightly as he continued singing.

Here in the garden …
All on my own …
wandering off so far ...

His eyes moved off to the monument at the center of the garden once more. Even after so many years of it standing there, it too still was taken by the foliage thanks to giant vines creeping around it, keeping it still as much as it didn't want to be there.

And here I am now, safely far from home,
And here I can't hurt anyone anymore

These questions kept in his mind a while more as he reached the fountain again, stopping for a moment as he placed a hand on the rim of the fountain, looking back to the stars, again seeing a shooting star go by as he kept singing on. A pair of shooting stars.

You said to listen …
To stay away …
To watch as my whole life drifts away ...

Steven took a moment to look back into the stale waters of the fountain after seeing that shooting star go by. That same face with that single bad eye stared right back at him as he kept looking down into the water, that same reflection and reminder everywhere he went and still wouldn't go away. But he still was left thinking ...

Yet I'm still thinking …
All the way back …
Back to life with my friends ...

As he thought about it, his memories kept coming around to him about all the good times he had with everyone back home. The parties, the games, things like that. They were good and all, but they didn't help, especially since a fusion was there each and every time. …

All of the good times, each passing day …
Me wishing it never ends ...

There still was that fusion in his mind, and it almost seemed as if his imagination started getting the better of him. Looking ahead of him, he saw Garnet in front of him. So sweet, caring, the perfect mother to him where he never truly had one. Steven smiled, his eyes hopeful almost, looking ready to cry again.

Seeing your warm smile, each day and night ...
the sound of your laugh, the love inside those eyes ...

And Steven saw Garnet smile, visors off to see those same eyes that invited him into her family. Her love. Steven slowly began to walk towards. But the closer he got to her, the more Garnet started floating back, disappearing more and more he tried getting to her.

Happy to listen …
Wanting to stay …
Even after your life drifts away ...

And Garnet was gone. But the imagination was not over just yet, the world black for a moment until a spotlight appeared over Steven, him balancing on the rim of the empty fountain. The rest of the garden didn't exist at this moment, only the memories of each one of his friends, Gem and pony alike, all around him and smiling to him as he continued his singing.

You keep on turning pages …
For people who are there …
People who all care about you ...

As the next verse was sung, in tune to the music, more of the spotlights start to dim away, as each of his friends disappeared from him, Steven knowing that what he did was not forgivable to any of them. One light after another …

And still it takes you ages …
To see that no one's there …
See that no one's there …
See that no one's there ...
See they're better off without you.

The imagination stopped there, Steven back in reality with him going off of the fountain rim. Silence hung in the air for a bit, as Steven took one more look around, but then he noticed something. It was vague, and something he didn't see yet, but it was just enough to make him go over to see what it was. It wasn't near the platform, a bit aways from the fountain too. The main clue of what was there was thanks to the way the vines were wrapping around eachother, and the opening they left behind.

A single set of footprints. Not going anywhere. Not coming from anywhere. Just … there. Was someone here before? Whoever it was, it was gone now … and the footprints fitting Steven's shoe size as he stood in those same footprints. Even the vines felt comfy wrapping around the sides of his feet.

And then it all happens …
One final fight …
Just one more story's end …
Grogar is gone now, but at Garnet's cost …
And all thanks to her best … friend ...

Steven couldn't keep it back anymore, and the tears were flowing free from his eyes. The pain was back, and he knew why that is. Even with all those tears, Steven was still having some sort of smile on his face. Smiling through the pain, pure emption through the singing now.

Isn't that lovely?
Isn't that cool?
And isn't that cruel?
And aren't I a fool? ...

Steven paused, and fell to his knees, the emotional overload too much to keep him up on his feet for a moment or two. Steven could only wipe away those tears.

… So I will listen …
… I'll stay away …
… And watch my whole lift drift …
… Drift …
… Drift …
… Away.

…….

So after accepting his place in this Gem Garden, Steven basically … well, waited it out. It will be a long time until he would just "drift away" as his song said, Human or Gem, so all he could do was take a better look around the whole place. He had all the time to do it himself, so there was no hurry as he continued checking everything out. He went around the whole wall boundaries of the garden, seeing what kind of plants would've been here if they were alive, even taking the time to count out how many extra planets he could see throughout the day (he was in space, and he counted three). Looking around the garden was all fine and good sure, but eventually Steven did have to check one more thing.

"Let's see what's in you, construct," Steven wondered, yawning a little bit and starting to walk up the front stairs to the construct's "door". The door was your typical Gem door: a flattened octagon piece with no knobs, or handles, along with a rather old-looking control panel. Steven still was a bit rusty when it came to these, so he wasn't sure what to do first.

"How do these work again? … Hmm …" Steven thought it over a little before he took a click on the panel screen. This, surprising given the age of the place, did activate a more lightened up pink screen. The step seemed simple next: unlock the door by sliding the bar over.
So just like that, Steven was now within the construct underneath the Warp Pad. Steven took his time looking inside the place, and for the most part it didn't offer very much for him really. The room was as big as the construct made it to be, and whatever might be anything interesting was obscured by the roots of the plant life in the garden.

"Look at all these roots. How much time did pass by? … I guess it was forgotten like other ruins," Steven figured, whatever marks around the place unable to really be seen as much. One root in particular was shaped in such a way that made it look like a good-sized hammock … with a small sort of picture up just above it.

"Hmm … Mom was here. … Who's that?"
Steven can recognize the Pink Diamond no doubt in this rather simplistic drawing, but there was another figure standing next to her that seemed a bit vague. Seemed like someone he should know, but he wasn't sure … yet he was too tired to work that out right now.

"Must just be another friend," Steven figured. Tired, Steven found the root underneath the drawing enticing just enough for him to just climb right up on. The root was stable to keep him in place without him sliding off, and almost felt like a bed in its own way.

"Hmm … it feels … smooth … and comfy … and … *yawn*"

And just like that, Steven was off to sleep.

…….

*VROOM*

But there was no rest for Steven within his own dreams. Or in this case, Stevonnie. She was nowhere near the garden or really anywhere, all on her own and in the middle of a chase with her target right in front of her. He was standing there, very far away and not moving, right in Stevonnie's path. And Stevonnie was VERY angry.

"I got you now Grogar!" Stevonnie shouted, flooring it and going at top speed directly towards him. She saw others making a run for it, but Grogar did not budge, lowering his head for the oncoming car. But the closer Stevonnie was reaching Grogar, the more the world seem to start crumbling around her. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she found that the road she was driving on was crumbling right behind her, disappearing out of existence. This did scare her a little, but she remained focused, saying that infamous line.

"No! We HAVE to beat him. HE DESERVES TO LOSE," Stevonnie said, the same almost stuttering tone at the end of that statement as she did before.

But that sentence was a curse on this dream, as the closer Stevonnie got to Grogar, the more she realized that he wasn't actually small, but tiny in perspective. The closer she got, the bigger he got. Eventually, Grogar became so big, and so menacing, that Stevonnie actually panicked and hit the breaks on the car. The car skidded and swerved a bit, until finally getting a stop right by Grogar's hoof, the ram hardly even phased by the car at his hooves. In fact, soon as she stopped, the ram raised his hoof and with a maniacal laugh, readied to smash Stevonnie! The fusion got out of the car just in time, falling on the ground from sheer impact as the car was crushed into rubble. It was only her and Grogar now, and the ram wasn't letting her have much room to maneuver.

"You think I deserve to lose? Well now it's your turn to lose," Grogar bellowed. As Grogar raised his hoof, showing the rubble underneath, Stevonnie felt fear overcome her all over again as Grogar then took a deep breath, exhaling a thick red smog from his mouth. Hitting the car completely disintegrated it, leaving absolutely nothing behind except for the reddened air. And Stevonnie was next in the line of fire, the ram in his sinister grimace staring down at her terrified expression -

"Now you're all - ACK!!"

"ENOUGH!"

The smog came to life. Before Grogar could kill Stevonnie off, suddenly the very same red smog floated above the ram, and morphed into a pair of hands that wrapped around his neck like a collar, crushing tight and pulling him back. More red smog escaped the ram during this, consuming the entire area and Stevonnie herself. Stevonnie may fade out of existence, but that didn't mean that Steven was dead now, finding that only the coating was gone, and he was back as Steven.
Well, kind of. But that wasn't important now, him looking on through what red smog he could see, and finding Grogar suddenly stumbling and falling out of sight. Whatever this smog did to him ultimately finished this job off.

Something started to move though, manifesting from all of this red mist. A being completely red, red like blood and crystal. The figure manifested at a size that made Steven humbled, but not too terrified of it (which in this case was eight feet tall at most). Features on this figure were a bit more simplified: not much detail in the face outside from brighter red eyes, hands and feet ending more in points. Her outfit vaguely resembled another, much friendlier looking Diamond he knew, her hair sharpened into a set of points alongside her head, rounding out at the top.

"Steven."

"Huh? … uh … d-do I know you?" Steven asked, backing up a little bit. The figure took a step forward, not remotely afraid of him, even after what Stevonnie was trying to do moments before.

"All know me. … All know me as a different name. Your Gem half knows me ... as the Blood Diamond. … Red Diamond. ... Your Human half knows me ... as the Reaper."

The Reaper. Red Diamond. Steven couldn't move once he heard that from this being, humbled like all who face it. Steven was scared at first, but after everything that happened to him … well, it was only a matter of time, anyway.

"So it's my turn? It took you long enough," Steven said in grief. Red Diamond moved closer to him, and actually went down on her knees, a gentle hand moving Steven's gaze to her own.

"Your time is far beyond what I can take, Steven. I'm not here to take you yet, and it will be long before the time comes for you to be by my side."

"... Why do I still feel uncomfortable?" Steven gulped, feeling goosebumps all over him. Red Diamond removed her hand from Steven. Red Diamond actually giggled a little bit on the question, but she had more to show him. She raised her arm, and pointed away towards another part of the abyss itself. The red mist around them both started to swirl and spin into one known point not too far off from the two. It took some time, but as Steven looked a bit closer, he started to notice something.
The mist began to reveal a bit of an image, like a screen of sorts, to what looked to be the city off somewhere. Where exactly, he wasn't too sure of just yet, but he got some clues. For instance, the screen showed apart of an alleyway, darkened and remote, but with what looked to be Gems walking around. These Gems seemed to be recovering well since the army left. Steven saw some of the higher-ranking Gems, possibly recovering from their corruption given some of them didn't look exactly the same as before. But as they passed another part of the place to wherever they were going, the view remained right by the alleyway, Steven beginning to notice something starting to move slowly out from the darkness. Starting with a single cloven hoof, and then revealing the red eyes. Then the dagger-toothed jaws. Then the red and blue gemstones tied around his neck.
He may still be injured from his previous fight, a notable crack in his horn, and cut in his chest, but he still was holding himself up well.

"Grogar's alive?!" Steven shrieked. Grogar himself didn't move off on his way until after the coast was clear, continuing on.

"He still threatens the world of the living … he's planning an invasion on Earth, starting where all of your friends reside. Under my name. … He must be stopped," Red Diamond warned. Normally Steven would be more willing to do the job, to save the world from this mad ram, but …

"I want to … but I just can't," Steven said, feeling tears again, "I mean, I already killed Garnet trying to stop him, and then Sonata too. Haven't I done enough?"

Red Diamond leaned close to him.

"... Take a closer look," said Red Diamond. Steven wasn't sure why, but he did take a better look anyway, Grogar briefly stopping at a point to avoid sight of a pair of Topaz guards. In this brief stop, Steven looked closer to the ram, seeing namely the gemstones. He of course knew who these stones were, and seeing a hole in them of course told him they weren't in one piece as they were before. … But one tiny detail, in the dim light, changed everything he thought he knew.

The gemstones … were glowing.

"Garnet ……. Grogar. Played me. … He tricked me. Tricked everyone."

"Well yes. And no," said Red Diamond, "They are out of my grasp … for now. If nothing changes, then I will be able to reach them. Which isn't good for her."

Steven couldn't believe it. The image of Grogar and his gemstones remained some more to allow him to let it all sink in, before he moved off screen, and the screen disappearing.
So. Garnet was somewhat still alive. Grogar was for sure alive. And at the end of the day Steven ran away from home over guilt he shouldn't even be having.

"Can I beat him though?"

"You will not fight alone. But fight you must."

…….

Back to reality. One of the few dreams that Steven didn't end up screaming awake from, and he found himself back in the Garden once more. The garden still seemed the same, despite his crazy dream. It was impossible to say whether the Red Diamond he saw in his head was actually there or just someone talking in a dream. Either way, the world was no longer stuck in that red mist. He looked around the chamber for a little bit, and then his gaze turned back to that drawing right above him. If even half of what Red Diamond said was true ...

Well, he didn't take much longer to make his real choice. Grogar's twisted game was NOT going to go his way anymore. Steven got right to his feet, putting his thinking cap to use now, as he exited the room, and started up the stairs.

"Even if they all hate me now, I can't just keep running away forever. I have to go back and finish this … or at least, apologize," Steven confirmed. It was the least he can do to try and get this all fixed, since he did technically caused this whole mess after all. His walk hardly took a minute before he got to the Warp Pad at the very top. He turned, looking at the garden one more time. He raised his arms, getting them in position for the activation, but something else crossed his mind.

"First, one stop. … Please be close."

*FLASH*

~~~~~~

*FLASH*

The flash of light did go away briefly from the area, and after readjusting his eyes back to Earth weather, he got a good look around. Time must've gone by quick on Earth, because it was a bit darker now, passed sunset and with clouds of snowfall as it was to make it even darker.

"Okay, it's snowing, so at least I'm in the right hemisphere. Now where's the way to Fairfax?" Steven wondered. Of course it was impossible to tell -

"STEVEN!"

"Hold the phone. Am I really THAT close?"
Steven couldn't believe his ears. Vidalia! Steven didn't know if that was the case or not, but there was only one way to find out. Steven got right off the Warp Pad, feeling the cold snow all over again, as he kept following the noise. Was he actually this close to Fairfax? THIS close to the Ski Resort where that Phase Spider took him away again? The more Steven thought about it, the more speed he gained until his walk turned into a full on sprint through the snow. Each call of his name brought him closer and closer, though all of this cold (not to mention the emotional exhaustion) was wearing him out slightly. He only paused at one point to hear the call again, just to make sure he was going the right way.

"I can hear you, keep calling," Steven said.

"STEVEN!"

Closer. The terrain around him did begin to shift as he kept going, dropping off here and there. In the dark, Steven kept finding pitfalls along the way, some at this point a good knee deep. One even made him fall over into the snow, dropping into a pit at least waist high. This wasn't that much trouble though, and Steven pulled himself out of the cold fairly quickly before heading off along his way. He was being called, and he was not going to ignore it. Being so much in the dark though, there still was a few things Steven could not see. One of which caught his foot, knocking him into the snow again. Steven got himself covered in snow again, and turning back to find something … big, standing there. Slightly transparent at first, but eventually it became more solid once it noticed that Steven was close by.

Just to find the Phase Spider again! It must've came back to get some extra hunting because it already got a hold of a rabbit in its mandibles.

And what did Steven say after seeing this? …

"Yeah, let's pick this up later," Steven said, before getting back up and just running off. The Phase Spider … just kinda left from there. It had some food anyway, so why waste energy getting another meal? Steven had other plans too, but seeing the Phase Spider was also a welcoming sign. If the spider was found there, then -

"STEVEN!"

May the stars shine on him tonight! Lights were just about visible as Steven kept going, finally getting some decent sight over what was ahead of him. The Ski Resort lodge! And better yet, he saw Vidalia standing just outside of the lodge herself, her along with Onion and his gang, and the Dazzlings (oddly enough). Aria was simply standing there freezing, probably the only one not looking for the kid. Adagio was looking, but not calling, and Onion was up on Vidalia's shoulders for the best view he could (well, one that WON'T get him stuck on the roof, anyway). Eventually, Onion finally spotted something off in the distance, pointing off in that direction.

"GARBONZO!" shouted Garbonzo, upon seeing what Onion was seeing. Steven was back and, overall, safe and sound.

"Sorry for running off like that," Steven immediately said. But the others weren't worried about that, and next thing Steven knew he was met with a warm group hug by all of the gang, including Vidalia.

"Steven, you crazy kid, you're alright! You are, are you?" Vidalia asked.

"I'm alright. Just very cold," Steven said.

"Halleluiah, now can we PLEASE go back inside?" Aria asked, now just waiting to go back in to warm up. Hearing them though did remind Steven of something else, including the fact he only saw two of the three.

"Okay, Aria, you can go in," Vidalia simply said. Just what Aria wanted to hear and she was right inside the warm lodge in no time at all. The others didn't take too much longer either for them to go inside to warm up. They found Aria right by the fireplace, a sigh of relief as she warmed up from just standing outside. By this point the lodge was pretty empty all and all, with the exception of one more worker at late shift by the counter. … And Sonata, who was over by said fireplace, laying down on one of the seats. As he thought.

"So, fill me in: is she just sleeping, or still knocked out?" Steven asked.

"From when you ran off? Yeah, she's still knocked out," Adagio answered. That's all Steven needed to hear. He then walked right over to Sonata, sitting down over by her head. He had one idea to help her out. It was a long shot, but it'll mean well for Sonata and her sisters. So, he licked his hand, and then placed it right down onto her forehead.
A bit gross, but experience at least told Onion what he was trying to do.

"Was he outside too long?" Aria questioned, a bit grossed out.

"Just watch," said Vidalia.

… And suddenly, Sonata's eyes shot open, and she sprung upright.

"WHOA! Talk about a rush!" Sonata gasped, acting as if the concussion didn't even happen at all.

"Healing powers, huh? Interesting," though Adagio. Sonata Dusk was back in action, getting right back up to her feet. As she did that though, and getting back to her sisters, Steven got right back up with a smile, having only one thing to say to them.

"I think I'm ready to go now."

…….

"AND stay out!" joked Vidalia.

It may be later in the night, but Vidalia wasn't going to try and make him stay any longer than he had to. Plus after a bit of explaining, she knew that he kinda had to get going soon. Onion's friends were off home, so Onion, Vidalia, Steven, and the Dazzlings were left standing just outside the boarding house, Steven being given a coat this time for the walk back home.

"Thanks again for the room … and for letting me stay," admitted Steven.

"Thanks for letting me find you in a garbage can," said Vidalia, "And listen, don't worry about that other stuff. It's all gonna blow over before you know it. Remember, you're a rock! … Literally."

"Well, only half rock," Steven said, but he did get the joke anyway, smiling.

"Whatever you are, don't be a stranger."

"Thanks. And girls?" Steven said, turning to the Dazzlings.

"What is it?" Adagio asked.

"Well … I know this is a bit out of nowhere, but maybe after I beat Grogar again, maybe I can make you three a home back home too."

All three of the Dazzlings weren't sure if they heard him right.

"Wait, why would you do that? We weren't exactly all "peachy" with you," Aria pointed out. Adagio nudged her roughly, but Steven already got talking again.

"I know, but you don't have a place to stay. That, and I did kind of nearly killed your sister, so … I guess this is my way to make up for it. It's the least I can do."

"It's a deal!" Sonata suddenly said, sounding pretty happy for the news, only for Aria to yank her back by the ponytail. They still had some things to work out apparently, but Steven wasn't going to just leave them like this.

"Good luck, Steven," said Vidalia.

And with all that, Steven turned, and began going off. It's time to get back to where it all began.

Author's Note

Welcome to Season 9! Better get used to these long chapters, because it's gonna be a thing that's gonna keep happening this time until the end of the series ... at least I'll try to ^^. Sorry for the rushed ending, BTW.

And yes, this is indeed a Phase Spider from DnD now existing in MLU. Not sure if it follows the same rules as an actual Phase Spider in this dimensional hopping and stuff, but it's the best i can think of to get Steven from Earth to the Garden.

Battering Ram

"Jasper! JASPER! Where are ya?"

Fulgurite and Emerald's search for their Orange Quartz was surprisingly not going so well, at least not as well as people would think. As everyone else was at least making progress, these two couldn't even start as they couldn't even find where Jasper had gone to. Their wandering brought them from Beach City to the nearby wood, tall pine trees standing good and high around the fallen snow, which there actually wasn't too much of it on the ground thanks to the trees. Fulgurite was doing much of the walking, with Emerald actually riding her shoulders (because why the heck not at this point?)

"JASPER!" called Emerald for, probably the fortieth time, and still nothing.

"Geesh, you'd think finding an angry Orange Quartz would be easier," Emerald said.

"I know. Where do you think she could've gone to? Training somewhere, getting that pent up anger out?" Fulgurite wondered as they walked along.

"No doubt here, but where's that? Come on Ful, you gotta work with me here, she could be destroying some town somewhere for all we know," Emerald replied. That actually got Fulgurite to stop walking for a moment, glancing up at him.

"This could be easier if you didn't keep checking your iPhone every five minutes," Fulgurite said.

"Hey, it's ten minutes. I'm on the clock!" Emerald insisted, holding out his iPhone. In fact, just after she said that he actually went on to check the phone anyway, only to just find that signal out in the wilderness just wasn't a thing.

"I'm on the clock too, but I think finding a renegade soldier's a bit more important than finding your comments section. By the way, feel up for a sky view again? I think three hours is long enough for another one."

"Eh sure. Lift me up," Emerald decided.

It was something the two worked out after a few more hours of walking around, especially once they got to the wilder part of the world. Focusing on her hair, Fulgurite stretched it up good and high, and basically lifted up Emerald as high as her hair would allow her to do, which was a good twenty feet high. Emerald stood on the hair like a small platform and tried checking around the place as best a green little Gem could do. Even with such height, she couldn't get passed the tree line.

"Anything going on up there?" Fulgurite called.

"Nah but HEY I got a signal up here! Just keep me up for the next ten, fifteen minutes -" Emerald was cut short before he could finished, being pulled down to ground level by Fulgurite

"Not happening," Fulgurite stated.

"Ok, fine," Emerald replied, picking himself up off the ground before he and Fulgurite started walking onward again through the forest.

"Soooo … what's it like working with Hessonite?" Fulgurite asked at a point. Emerald groaned.

"Terrible. One word: terrible. I mean, yeah you get benefits of being popular for being with her, but seriously she's relentless. You remember that Spirit we tango'd with few weeks ago? Like that," Emerald explained. At least he can even say these things without Hessonite over his head to judge him. Fulgurite, for the heck of it, strolled backwards with her hands behind her head as she kept on talking.

"I thought you were one of those guys who loves attention. Or is it only from you?"

"I'll get famous on my own thanks. "Hey look, it's one of Hessonite's Emeralds!" I'm not gonna get known for someone else's fame, I'm putting in the work myself!"

"Hence that lame iPhone account?" Fulgurite said. suddenly Emerald stopped and looked Fulgurite right in the eyes, floating on one of his hexagons to do so.

"I've seen people make millions of moolah just for posting puppy videos, CLEARLY they're doing something right. … Though seriously, that's shortcutting it," Emerald made perfectly clear, even showing Fulgurite a picture he took off his iPhone with some guy holding his cute puppy beside his face.

"Major clickbait … my stars, that's so cute."

"See, that's how they get you! They pull you in with all the kawaii and don't let you go," Emerald said, sounding like it was some conspiracy scandal or something.

"... And that's a bad thing?"

"No, not really, it's too cute to be mad at," Emerald said casually.

After that answer, the two went on walking for some more, calling for Jasper every minute or two, still not having that much luck in finding where she went. With so much time to themselves though, and it being so quiet out in the snow-covered wood, sometimes they just couldn't help but talk to eachother. After all, the only other sound was the sound of their feet going through the thin layer of snow and the thick snow-covered limbs of the trees occasionally swaying in the breeze. Eventually these conversations turned into more casual games. Such as a game of "Would you do it?" they started about twenty minute after the Hessonite chat.

"Ok, for every good thing people say about ya, you get one dollar, but every bad thing they say about you, you lose two dollars. Would you take it?" Fulgurite asked. Emerald thought a bit much about this.

"Hmm ……. Nah, because I'm sure you guys say A LOT of bad things about me, so whatever money I do get's probably gone anyway," Emerald shrugged. Not that it bothered him at this point anyway. Emerald strolled a little further ahead, finding a small hardened snow pile to stand up on before he did his turn.

"K, let's see … alright, try this one: you have the authority of a Diamond for a day, BUT then you get the authority of a Pearl for the next day. Would you take it?" Emerald asked. Fulgurite found that scenario kinda tricky to think about, especially with how Pearls and Diamonds are SO far apart from eachother. Still, in her usual fashion she gave her answer right away.

"You know what: I'll take it Emerald."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, think: you're a diamond for a day, so you can put whatever rules you want. So by the end of the day I can say "All Pearls are now the highest rank under Diamonds" or whatever, so when I end up treated like a Pearl, it's not gonna be that different, get what I'm saying?"

"You know, I didn't think of that and it's not as bad as I thought it would be, DANG IT!" Emerald said, Fulgurite just laughing at the response as the green Gem slid down his little mound of snow.

"Ok, laughs-a-lot, you're turn," Emerald said. Fulgurite smirked.

"I got you covered: You will be able to command an entire Homeworld fleet of your choice, this includes all the captains and pilots, but you can never leave the main mothership for as long as you exist," Fulgurite shot back.

"So you're basically White Diamond then. I guess that depends on my home situation," Emerald replied.

"... does your life suck at home?" Fulgurite inquired.

"Well no, not enough that makes me wanna fly around in space for all eternity, so … nnnnooooo? Maybe? Eh, I'm 50/50 on it," Emerald admitted.

"It's a yes or no answer, dude, no maybe's in this game," Fulgurite reminded. A rule Emerald had to put in himself when Fulgurite couldn't think of answers fast enough for them. Emerald actually was caught up in this just enough to not pay attention to where he was going. Fulgurite had a bit more attention than he did though and did abruptly stop in the walk. Emerald kept going though, and how predictable this all looked one can probably guess what happened next.

"Well, you guys got a good gig still, plus there's a lot of manga orders I've been meaning too - WHOA!"

Of course Emerald would fall into a ditch. With so much of the area covered in snow and trees, this sudden pitfall was pretty out of place as Fulgurite and Emerald checked it out. They weren't any terraforming experts, or experts on the Earth in general, but they could tell right off the bat that this was forcefully made, circular almost like a VERY LONG skateboard halfpipe, going down a good five feet and stretching into the forest about twenty feet until abruptly halting thanks to a fallen tree. Fulgurite got to the edge of the ditch as Emerald was actually chilling out at the bottom of it.

"You ok, Emerald?"

"Yeah, and I got an idea on where Jasper is," Emerald replied.

He wasn't lying about that either. After Emerald picked himself up off of the ground, he and Fulgurite started following along the ditch towards what looked to be some sort of clearing in the forest. The two Gems walked over to the edge of the clearing, and just the same as the ditch Emerald fell into, the area they stumbled down into was completely cleared up of ANY plants. Trees were now small stumps left on the ground all over the place, each tree torn out from the stumps out of sheer force. Very little snow remained anywhere in the area, either melted away by the sun or actually wiped away from the ground in places. Amongst much of this lack of plant life, there was plenty of dirt, stone, and rock around. In fact there was a good bunch of it few feet in front of them which looked like a cave, with what looked like a pyramid of round boulders just alongside the cave entrance. The only actual "man-made" thing here was some blue curtains.
Fulgurite and Emerald didn't know how long this area was like this, nor just how much Jasper actually did to the place over what was already here, but regardless of the matter the two Gems were a little shaken up on seeing the land turn into one big bruise.

"Remember when I said Jasper was angry? … yeeeaaahhh," Emerald gulped.

"Well, come on," Fulgurite said, getting over her worry and starting to stroll on over to the structure.

"Hold up what? You can't just waltz up in there, she'll tear you to bits," Emerald warned.

"She can't tear what she can't catch. Besides, we're supposed to watch her anyway, make sure she doesn't get into trouble," Fulgurite reminded. Emerald though got in Fulgurite's way.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoa, you wanna just run in? We need a game plan here, or we're gonna be pancakes when she's done with us. Here, why don't we work out who's playin who? I figured we can do good cop, bad cop!"
The idea was just enough to stop Fulgurite from going any further along.

"Come on, let's just get this over with. Besides, I'm the good cop. I'm always the good cop," Fulgurite said. Emerald always liked being the good cop, but whatever.

"Oh geez, FINE. I'm worried more about everyone else anyway," Emerald replied before he ended up joining her as well, but rather than walk or run he floated on his hexagon, giving him a quick getaway just in case their Orange Quartz wanted to jump at them. For all her strength she can't fly. Fulgurite moved in first, yet she only got another one step in when -

*SMASH*

It was almost like a land mine gone off right next to them, Fulgurite and Emerald quickly bolting off away from whatever landed there, Emerald only barely getting out of the way as Fulgurite was already right next to the cave by the time things settled down again. Fulgurite and Emerald were the ones being found, and by Jasper no less.

"What do you want now?" groaned Jasper.

And they haven't even decided their approach either. After they did calm down though and replayed what just happened in their heads, the question had to be asked.

"The heck did you come from?!" Fulgurite exclaimed. Jasper didn't answer with a response, but she did point upwards into the nearby tree, which by the way looked a bit torn up itself with a lot of branches torn away in clean slices. Jasper began walking over back to the cave nearby as the other two gathered their senses. Maybe she ran out of stream, maybe she didn't, the two still had to at least watch her either way.

"... Right. … Soooo is this … your place?" Emerald began.

"Yeah, and let's keep it that way. I'm not looking for anyone to join me," Jasper answered. Neither of them were gonna ask that, so the statement was a little bit outta nowhere.

"Ok, ok. … So how's it been? It's been a while since we last uh … talked," Fulgurite asked. That question Jasper didn't bother to answer, or if she did she wouldn't have time to say much. Because shortly after Fulgurite had finished talking, the three Gems began hearing the sound of a nearby red cardinal, looking around on the ground for whatever food was available. None of them bothered with it, but the second the bird hopped just a little too close -

*BAM!*

"... WHY'D YOU DO THAT FOR?! That's just a bird," exclaimed Fulgurite. Luckily Jasper missed her strike, and the freaked out bird fluttered well out of reach. No, that didn't faze Jasper at all, it was more annoying to her that she was questioning her about it.

"I don't care what it is: any Earthling that invades my space gets crushed," Jasper explained, as she walked over to one of the boulders nearby, "It took me forever to yank all those green earthlings out of the ground."

"You mean grass?" Emerald remarked.

"I don't know their names!" snapped Jasper. Emerald actually got right down to the ground and sure enough, he couldn't see any signs of grass anywhere. Not even any signs of roots. Attentive to detail this quartz, but it still referenced the real problem. While the grass was seemingly taken care of, there was still a matter of the snow.

"Again? I thought I drove you out!" Jasper snapped at … the snowflakes. It wasn't even that heavy of snowfall, just a very light flurry. Still, Jasper tried fighting off the snow anyway, punching the air to make the snow stop invading her space. Her thrashing kept up easily as long as the flurry came down (which was at least ten minutes straight) as Fulgurite and Emerald just waited for her to finish. Jasper even took her time to stomp down on any snowflakes that managed to touch ground, leaving the cold earth cracked.

"You finished?" asked Fulgurite at one point. Jasper swiped her foot along the ground, kicking up and away any snow that remained … well, where she was standing anyway.

"Those puny white Earthlings are too stupid to give up. Every time they try, and there's nothing left when I'm done with them," Jasper scoffed, these constant invasions starting to just be annoying at this point. The snow wasn't giving her anything new to work with, so each time was literally a repeat.

"Snow. It's called "Snow", Jasper. NOT actually living," Fulgurite stated, only to get a rough huff from the orange quartz.

"Who cares what they're called?" Jasper questioned. The tiny flurry did stop afterwards though, so no more snow-fighting for this Gem for a while. With that weird moment of fighting over, if they could call that a fight, Emerald and Fulgurite then brought their attention towards the pyramid of boulders.

"So, what's with the rocks?" Emerald asked.

"Training," Jasper replied. As if it was no big deal, she single-handed grabbed hold of a stray boulder (again cracking it), lifted it up, and tossed it under-handed right to the pyramid, the boulder landing right at the very top. Easily a ton boulder and Jasper tossed it like it was nothing, even if the impact from the boulder onto the pyramid caused yet another tiny tremor, making the two Gems step back from the pyramid.

"Oh. I thought you were -" Fulgurite was briefly cut short as Jasper bumped into her walking by, "- You were maybe getting into art?"

"Into what?" Jasper asked, unamused.

"You know, sculpting, painting - er wait. You don't remember. Uh, ok - think of what Bismuths do," Fulgurite explained, quickly remembering that this Jasper didn't remember what that even was like the Jasper before Spinel's arrival. Jasper, for a brief moment, did actually start getting the idea …

Which made her knock the whole pile over. All it took was a "gentle" sidekick from the orange Quartz to send the boulders rolling away, some of which nearly rolling over Emerald and Fulgurite. The two buddy cops looked to one another.

"Or wreck the pile, that works. … What're you even training for?" Fulgurite questioned.

"For a fight, what do you think?" Jasper replied, leaning her back against the walls of her cave "home".

"Fight what? There's no one around for miles, and even if there was they wouldn't want to tango with you," Fulgurite remarked. Jasper snorted.

"There's always someone to fight, you pebble. There's just no one here worth fighting," Jasper stated firmly, and somewhat harshly as if she was gonna just fight Fulgurite head on right there and then. Jasper actually sounded a bit disappointed that no one was around to give her a challenge, the bird from earlier being the largest thing that came across her since she showed up. Fulgurite then got an idea.

"Hey, if you're lookin for a fight, maybe we can all hop back over to Little Homeworld? Hessonite's looking for someone to spar with again. Eh? eh?" Fulgurite said. Just the mention of that name was enough to make Jasper grind her teeth, slamming her fist against the rock wall of the cave.

"Don't EVER mention that cheap-tactic boulder again! If she wants to fight me again, she can come out here herself instead of sending you weaklings as her messengers!" Jasper firmly said.

"For stars sake, we didn't get sent by her!" Fulgurite insisted. Fulgurite would go even if Hessonite wanted her to.

"So THAT'S the part you deny," the quartz said coldly. Fulgurite was beginning to lose her patience with Jasper now (if she wasn't already).

"Let's try this again: can you start by NOT sounding you're gonna shatter us?"

"NO," Jasper simply answered, sounding even colder.

Fulgurite actually paused. "... Okay, that's just rude."

"One moment please," Emerald said. Jasper snorted again, not giving very much care about what Fulgurite had to say. As Jasper simply stood there as Fulgurite and emerald were going off to a safer distance in their little huddle. They got themselves just far enough so they were safe, right behind some snow-covered bushes.

"See what I mean by needing a game plan? This is harder than usual," Emerald said.

"Ok, you're right. Alright, we just got to make her come back to Little Homeworld. Let's face it, it's going to be a fight," Fulgurite said, glancing over back at Jasper. While true, Emerald didn't feel like getting shattered today.

"Fulgurite, are you mad?! We're talking about rejuvenated Jasper here, she's not nice like me," Emerald said.

"... Umm. ……."

"My point." Ignoring the obvious insult, the two Gems checked in with Jasper again, though this time Jasper was handling some training again with the knocked over boulder, getting them stacked up into a pile once again single-handedly.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll do the talking," Fulgurite said.

"Just make sure you tell her it's me who's saying it, otherwise you won't get anywhere," Emerald advised. So, as emerald decided to float above em with his hexagon, Fulgurite went back over towards Jasper. She got a plan already working in her head.

"Jasper, you done throwing rocks for a second?"

"I am now. what is it now?" Jasper huffed. Fulgurite got her words together.

"Now, Jay, your superior Emerald up there's given me strict orders to tell you to come back to Little Homeworld -"

"He's making YOU tell me," Jasper questioned.

"Because he's busy," Fulgurite answered, pointing to him high in the sky. Jasper looked up to him too, seeing him on watch for whatever, but the orange Quartz wasn't looking so willing as she would normally.

"You're not the boss of me."

… So much for that card.

"Okay, look, we're just here making sure you didn't make the end of the world happen out here, so if you're gonna keep tearing everything open, you're coming right back!" Fulgurite made clear, pointing a finger at Jasper's chest. That was when Jasper made a little bit of a mistake, and felt like grabbing her hand and crushing it was a good idea.

*ZAP*
It wasn't: Fulgurite did clam up just as Jasper wanted her to do, but just like setting off a bomb, the electrified Gem was suddenly set off. Her hair stood on end, sharpening out like tons of spikes just behind her head, but this was also joined by TONS of electricity shooting out of her head, making her flash and zap everything around her! Lightning bolts shot out every which way, zapping trees, snow, and whatever else unlucky enough to be near her. Emerald could only use his own hexagon to deflect any stray lightning strikes, but seeing this display was actually enough to make Jasper bolt back, her back slamming into the rock wall of her cave. As for Fulgurite, this kept up for another five seconds until slowly the light from her electrical explosion started to calm down, her hair smoothing out and laying back down again.
Fulgurite was silent still, just taking the time to look at her now crushed hand.

"...…. OOOWWW!" Fulgurite eventually shrieked. As she wrapped her hand up in her own hair for a cast, Fulgurite then brought her gaze up to the sky to see Emerald still up there, looking around the area at what he could see from up so high.

"Emerald, get off your hexagon and help me out down here! She'll listen to you!"

"You got this good cop, I'm staying out of the firing line," Emerald said. He wasn't gonna be put under fire by Fulgurite's electricity, no matter what the case may be.

"That isn't my fault, Jasper just crushed my hand - … uhh, Jasper?" Fulgurite's shout was cut short when she glanced over towards Jasper again. The quartz was still right by the wall, her eyes locked onto this seemingly frail Gem. All matter of her being kept saying this Gem shouldn't scare her, that this Gem shouldn't be THAT scary! Right? …

Right? …

"Hey, Jasper, you still with us or what?" Fulgurite asked, snapping her fingers in Jasper's face. She was a bit quicker with it that time though, not wanting her good hand to get crushed by Jasper, yet it was good enough to get Jasper to come back to her senses.

"Get lost!" Jasper demanded, roughly shoving Fulgurite away before another electrical explosion could happen. Fulgurite kept herself steady, just enough to keep from falling over but not enough to avoid being shoved away a good five feet.

"K, you looking to start something girl? Because I'm the rock to start with ya if you're gonna start something," Fulgurite warned.

"Listen here, you scrawny pebble!" yelled Jasper, "I didn't walk all the way out here to be ordered around by some renegade split Gem like you. I'M the ultimate quartz here!"

"Finally."

That didn't come from Fulgurite … or Emerald … or Jasper for that matter.

Then came the oncoming shadow. Invading Jasper's own personal abode beginning from the top of her cave, the newcomer didn't even bother waiting for an answer from the Orange Quartz before she targeted them. Leaped off of the very top of the cave, she gained a lot of height before plummeting down to Earth directly towards them, using as much gravity as she could with her own strength. Fulgurite immediately bolted out of the way, and Jasper was thrown back by the sheer force of the impact, slamming her against the rock wall again. There was so much force in that strike, it might as well be a meteor landing in between them! Cold stone was scattered from the hit, landing every which way as Fulgurite dodged and Jasper blocked. The dust cloud cleared shortly afterwards, and the two Gems took a good look at what decided to come by for the party, standing tall in the middle of her own make-shift crater.
A Gem that (if Jasper had her memory back) would be recognized right on the spot. As for Fulgurite ...

"WHAT THE HECK?! EMERALD!" shouted Fulgurite, bolting her eyes straight up to the green Gem sitting all the way up there on his hexagon still.

"U-Uhh, someone's coming!" shouted Emerald.

Fulgurite threw a rock at his hexagon, making it spin like crazy before he ended upside-down, falling down to join them whether he wanted to or not. Now to address the actual newcomer herself. Her focus had nothing to do with Fulgurite and Emerald, and kept it directly onto Jasper.

"There you are, Jasper. I've been waiting a long time for this comeback," said the figure, a look to kill written all over her grin. Jasper didn't know what to make of this new figure, but if she was looking for a fight, Jasper was willing to oblige. Too bad Fulgurite and Emerald got in the way.

"Not another fight, the forest's wrecked enough! What's your problem, whoever-you-are?" Fulgurite quickly said.

"This is between me and the runt, so Stay outta this," the other women said, swatting both Fulgurite and Emerald away like flies with a single back-handed swing.

"Runt? Who're you calling a -" Jasper was quieted right away when the figure pushed Jasper back with her own bulk, the Gem standing taller than Jasper and seemingly having more muscle. It's clear who she was calling a runt here. The figure also made it a point she wasn't here to play by grabbing Jasper and slamming her into the wall.

"You're the runt," answered the powerhouse, "And I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"What're you even talking about?" spat Jasper. That response just made the fighter tighten her grip.

"You know what I'm talking about," the figure snapped. Jasper brought her legs up and kicked the large brute off of her, sending the larger Gem skidding off only five feet. Funny thing though, seeing this Gem was starting to give Jasper a bit of a rough headache again, just like with Hessonite.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care," Jasper growled, "Get lost before I decide to crush you!"

"YOU'RE the one that's gonna be crushed when I'm through with you. You've bested me before, and by my Diamond I'm NOT gonna get beaten again! Especially by you!" the figure bellowed -

"STOP! … Who even are you?!" shouted Emerald. He and Fulgurite were used to sudden butt-ins, but at the very least they needed to catch up to speed with whoever this was. The brute never saw Fulgurite or Emerald herself, but she really didn't care.

"The one that's gonna wipe the floor with you if you keep bothering me," warned the figure.

"Watch your mouth around my leader!" warned Jasper, giving a rough punch to the figure's side. As for their fighter, she looked to Jasper with a bit of disgust, but was more on her about being given orders by her. In fact, that punch Jasper gave just got the orange quartz one right back at her.

"I can talk however I want! And if you think you're hard enough to tell ME what to do, then fight me and prove it," warned the fighter.

Uh oh.

"Heyheyhey, no fighting please! Why don't we all just sit down, have some snacks, maybe talk a little -"

"With pleasure!" Jasper said, sounding … a little too happy for someone to challenge her.

"HEH. Well then, why don't you throw the first punch?" mocked the fighter, gesturing for the quartz to give her first blow on her. So much for keeping the peace, but emerald actually got a bit freaked out. He got an idea.

"WAIT! WAIT!"

… He pulled out his iPhone, and hit record.

"Ok, have at it ladies!"

"Are you flippin serious?!" Fulgurite questioned.

"Oh, just let me have this, it's not like they'll stop," Emerald remarked. He was gonna get a video today no matter what. Emerald and Fulgurite could only move out of the way on a nearby rock, as Jasper rallied up her fist, and whacked the other fighter good and hard. All that strength did make her skid back again, but it hardly made much of a dent. It didn't take long until the maniacal laughing from the other fighter rang out in the air as she gladly returned the gesture.

"I guess we're doing this," sighed Fulgurite.

What were the two expecting? They got a newcomer coming in, looking for a fight, with an Orange Quartz who was already ticked off thanks to Hessonite. Why WOULDN'T a fight start? As Fulgurite and Emerald kept a safer distance, Jasper and the fighter basically were all over eachother, throwing punches, kicks, and throwing literally whatever they could at one another in their fight.

"Hey, random question to you Emerald, since you've apparently dealt with angry Jaspers before. How long do fights like this last?" Fulgurite asked, both pausing briefly as a huge boulder was thrown by them, landing in the forest somewhere as it toppled down a tree. A tree which Jasper was more than willing to grab and use as a weapon.

"I dunno, but I'm placing good bets over here, wanna weigh in?" Emerald asked, recording the fight from only the best of angles with his telekinesis working his iPhone recording. Fulgurite couldn't believe he was turning this fight into some game

"Dude. Really. The fight's not gonna last that long anyway."

…….

*BAM!* "Is that all you got?! You're losing your edge since the last time we fought," shouted the fighter, just after quickly recovering from another boulder thrown at her. Both she and Jasper looked pretty battered and bruised slightly, but neither of them were remotely willing to back down away from this fight, even if the area around them looked more wrecked than it should. Tree stumps were pulled out of the ground, boulders were now rubble at this point, and it's a miracle the cave was even standing up by now. The fighter got herself some cold hard rock and chucked it directly at Jasper, only for it to crumble with one swing of Jasper's fist. Jasper straightened up, a single turn of her head enough to knock some stray rocks outta her hair.

"Not bad. I almost felt that one," Jasper mocked. This fight was a much better setup compared to the Hessonite battle, though that didn't mean she was gonna let her just pummel her so easily. Both fighters rushed forward, locking fists with one another. It was a stalemate.

"You're actually giving me a good fight! It'll make it even better when I crush you," said the fighter.

"You're gonna be nothing but rubble when I'm through with you -"

… both fighters literally stopped when they saw Fulgurite and Emerald nearby. To put it simply: Fulgurite took a try at the whole "sleeping" thing, and was passed out on a rock as Emerald was using what using what was left of his iPhone battery to watch some TubeTube videos. NEITHER of them cared anymore.

"HEY!"

THAT woke them up. Fulgurite sprung to life, suddenly on her feet ready to fight as her hair sparked with energy, as Emerald was more concerned where his iPhone ended up in the snow after he got startled.

"BRING IT - … oh it's just you," Fulgurite said, realizing and remembering where she was. She did get a rough punch from the fighter as the titan was right in her face.

"You idiots aren't even paying attention! I didn't leave you two in one piece so you can mess around," the fighter yelled, insulted beyond belief that these two were more interested in their eyelids than their fight. Emerald found his iPhone fully intact by that point, and walked back as Fulgurite spoke again.

"It's not our fault your fight's taking forever. I didn't even want a fight in the first place, you're the ones jumping on the idea," Fulgurite retorted.

"Why else do you think I'm here?! It barely lasted long anyway," the fighter said.

"You two were literally fighting for five hours straight, and I lost all heck in caring since hour one," Fulgurite said, not even caring anymore, deadpan as ever.

"Yeah right," Jasper remarked. Fulgurite snatched Emerald's iPhone, and showed them just what evidence they needed right on his iPhone screen. After some tweaking with it, she got the video showing their fight, showing an hour plus long video.

"I thought you were studying the fight, what even is this?" questioned Jasper. Emerald took the iPhone back before either of them could crush it.

"Getting views, that's what. Thanks again for the tussle, my fanbase is gonna get a kick outta this," Emerald concluded. Not the best answer.

"You're using me?! You're supposed to be supporting me, you clod!" Jasper snapped, looking ready to kill him for that (nothing new for Emerald). Not that she would do that, but stars she was mad! Here she thought he was gonna support her in the fight, not exploit her. Fulgurite got in between them before yet ANOTHER fight can start.

"STOOOOP! Obviously this is gonna get nowhere, so can we do ANYTHING else? There're other ways to settle things besides pummeling eachother."

"Such as …?" questioned Jasper. Fulgurite's mind quickly started getting to work, the ideas in her head going as fast as her foot was tapping the ground (AKA jackhammer speed). Eventually one idea did spring up in Emerald's head and he jumped on it before Fulgurite could try anything else.

"I got it! You wanna beat Jasper, right?"

"That's why I'm here," the fighter stated.

"Ok great, then this is gonna work fine: let's make a contest out of it!" Emerald ultimately decided.

"A … contest?" questioned Jasper.

"Huh?" Fulgurite asked.

"A contest is like -"

"I know what a contest is!" Jasper quickly snapped before they could say anything further. Well good, because Fulgurite didn't want to spend anymore time on this than they have to.

"Good on ya, anyway, you two are focused on power. So, We're gonna set up challenges, fights, and whatever, and whoever wins the most of them will decide once and for all who's the better stronger Gem. It's gonna be great: not so boring, more than one thing, and nobody potentially will get hurt."

"Sounds dumb," the fighter scoffed.

"Do you want two to beat eachother or not?" Emerald firmly questioned. Jasper and her opponent looked over to one another. At least the fighter had her priorities straight, and Jasper just wanted a battle worth her time. Fulgurite then butted in and went for the card.

"We'll include giant monster fights."

"We're in," both quartzes said.

Well that was quick. Just the way Fulgurite liked it. Fulgurite smiled and giving a gentleman's gesture to allow them to walk away from the battlefield. They can hold off their fighting anger for just a bit longer, if it meant to show who was the more powerful being here.

"And, you're welcome. going the safer route today," Emerald said, looking over towards the Good Cop in their cop duo.

"Fine … it's more interesting anyway," shrugged Fulgurite.

It starts.

~~~~~~

…….

*click*

"What's up everybody, your boy Emerald here back and I am here with my buddy Fulgurite, Fulgurite say hi to everyone," Emerald said into his iPhone camera. He got his camera to show Fulgurite standing over not too far away, just finishing up … eh something. The screen didn't show what she was working on, but according to how much she was pulling on the rope, it was big whatever it is.

"Who're you - … what? You talking to somebody?"

"Camera's rolling, sister, we're live right now," Emerald simply answered, a thumbs up towards her as Emerald held the camera mid air. Fulgurite got startled, but got the rope tied.

"Wait, now?! U-Uh hi everybody, Fulgurite here too! I totally didn't forget you're doing an intro," Fulgurite said, though she couldn't help but fluster on her mistake. But that wasn't important anyway, as Emerald went into frame of the shot alongside his "professional", laughing.

"Alright, now before we get into this, let me give you all a brief idea on what the clod's about to happen." Emerald brought out the iPhone and kept it on him as he floated up skyward.

"So Fulgurite and I, earlier this morning, were basically sent out on guard duty. Guard duty to watch over my friend ms. Cheesepuff AKA Jasper Quartz. But turned out, she has this buddy of hers who's got some beef from her for … heck if I know, heh. SO, one thing lead to another, and BOOM!"

He spun the camera so the audience could see just what Fulgurite had done for this contest of hers. Jasper and her opponent were trying not to just get this started already, but the wait will be worth it with what they got here. They were a bit away from the forest, and now out in what looked to be the Strawberry Battlefield (appropriate), with both the Quartzes standing on one of the large floating islands. Fulgurite was standing on what looked to be a treadmill of sorts, with the rope itself wrapping around the island that Jasper and her opponent were standing right at the center.

"Welcome to the mess that is: QUARTZ POWERHOUSE CHALLENGE! Place your bets down below, we're gonna start any second here, who do you think's gonna win this mess? We got several challenges, first one here, and it's Jasper against - … uh …"

Emerald turned away from the camera and, keeping it in place with telekinesis, floated down closer to the opponent.

"What's your name again?"

"Grrr … Rupee. It's Rupee," Rupee said.

Emerald flew back up the camera, him and it floating down over by Fulgurite.

"Jasper against Rupee! It's gonna go down for challenge one, and Fulgurite, tell everyone what you got here because I know absolute jack about it," Emerald said. Now that Fulgurite finished up, she got to explaining herself, presenting the first challenge to not just Emerald's audience, but to Jasper and Rupee as well.

"Okay, here's the first challenge: Jasper, Rupee, you two are gonna stand there and I'm gonna spin the platform. All you two gotta do is stay on it, last one standing wins!"

"Just start it!" shouted Rupee.

"Okay, okay! Emerald, keep that thing running," Fulgurite instructed, as if this was her own idea to broadcast this. Emerald got the camera up to a good view of the entire arena. Fulgurite stepped on the treadmill, her legs ready to run as the other two on the island readied for the challenge to commence.

"I'll show you who's the stronger Gem, runt," Jasper said.

"Don't try me, pebble. START THE CHALLENGE!" Ordered Rupee.

"Alright keep your Gem on. Ready … set … SPIN CYCLE ON!"

And Fulgurite started running. She couldn't do it (nor did she want to do it) standing on the actual platform so the safer bet was to use the rope and treadmill like starting up a top. As it was expected the spinning started off slow, both Gems staring eye-to-eye with eachother. Emerald kept a good angle on the entire platform, and the whole thing spun faster, and faster, and faster, to the point when the whole thing looked like a blur! Fulgurite ran out of rope at that point, and hopped off it to see what the end result was gonna be.
Just the very spin itself was kicking up a good blowback of wind onto both Emerald and Fulgurite as the two were watching the challenge unfold. Emerald could probably already feel the votes start piling up in this live-recorded challenge, making sure to keep it where it is as best he could manage. As for Jasper and Rupee, while the two were standing firmly in place with their hair whipping around in the wind, neither of them were actually budging an inch despite so much G-Forces pulling them HARD. One slip of the foot, and either one of them was gonna start sliding on the floor and neither was doing THAT.

"Looking weak there," groaned Rupee through gritted teeth.

"Speak for yourself," groaned back Jasper through gritted teeth. They would go into a tussle, but the forces weren't gonna let them go in any closer. For the first minute or two, the whole platform kept spinning at lightning speed. But after about a minute and twenty -

*crack*

"Huh?"

All this G-force on even the platform could only handle so much. And now, as Fulgurite and Emerald saw a good chunk of floating island break off and succumb to gravity, the platform was beginning to break.

"It's breaking, it's breaking, Fulgurite it's breaking on us!" Emerald pointed out.

"I know, that's the point: they can't stand there forever," Fulgurite casually replied.

"Oh. … Well, nevermind," Emerald shrugged.

Jasper and Rupee both knew the platform was breaking up on them, getting smaller and smaller with each chunk tearing away but neither of them wanted to give into the other. Even when the very ground was cracking at their feet from all the friction and force. Rupee and Jasper kept their focus on eachother, sensing the ground breaking more and more, more chunks tearing away and breaking off in the fight like some crazy game of chicken. And NONE of em wanted to be chickens!
Emerald actually had to maneuver the camera a bit more to avoid it getting hit by flying debris, but the flying rocks did give some 3D effects he didn't need to add. The cracks slipped out under their feet more and more, until finally … The ground broke completely! At the same time, and both Gems fell right down to the ground! Fulgurite and Emerald freaked out briefly, but looking down from their own platform, they found Jasper and Rupee again.

Still standing. Still in the same spot.

"HA! That victory's mine!" exclaimed Rupee.

"YOURS?! You mean mine!" shouted Jasper.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll give that to me you -"

"OKAY, IT'S A TIE!" shouted Fulgurite, as she floated down with Emerald, both standing on his hexagon, "It's just challenge one, let's just continue onto the next one."

"What next one?"

"IIIIII'll let you know when we get there. Emerald?"

"I got this. Clap transition!"

"What're you talking about?" Jasper asked.

*CLAP*

"And just like that here we are!"

One screen jump later, and the group was in a completely different area according to the camera screen scenery. After basically destroying a landmark, they took their case away from the Strawberry Battlefield, and brought it more closer to the magical side of their universe. The camera saw Emerald standing there, but now they got themselves in a more rocky area of Equestria, looking like a sort of barren area. In contrast to the battlefield of snow and plants, now it was mostly rock and heated smoke. Although snow was falling ever so slightly, it was too warm to actually have any snow on the ground.

"What do you mean "just like that", we've been here for half an hour now," Jasper questioned, only to be shushed by Emerald.

"Suspend your disbelief for about five minutes, okay? Now, the general's got some setting up to do, you two will like this one," Emerald promised.

"I'd better. I'd better care," growled Rupee. Emerald was hoping she would care about this too.

"Just stand here, you'll know when it starts Ruby," Emerald simply instructed.

"Ruby? My name is Rupee! Get it right," Rupee said. Emerald kept calling her Ruby at least ten times now, and Rupee really was getting sick of it. Emerald just ignored her and floated over by Fulgurite, who took her refuge over a safe distance away. Emerald got the camera ready, and Fulgurite was finding a comfortable spot to chill out.

"So Fulgurite, did you get the greenlight from the lord for this run?" Emerald asked.

"Eh, kind of. Had to do a arm-wrestling match to make it work and apparently they REALLY wanted to eat me, so …"

"Yeah, close enough. We'll just wait here and wait for the action to show up," Emerald reassured. An easy plan for round two, but Fulgurite wasn't as keen about it, looking to Emerald.

"Is this gonna be as long as the fight you made happen this morning?" Fulgurite questioned. She was NOT gonna sit there for hours again if she could help it.

"First of all, I didn't start anything, I just encouraged it with my camera," Emerald said, showing the iPhone, "Second, NO WAY can those two stand there without getting someone to come over -"

"Well, well, well, what do we got here?"

"Told ya. Here we go," Emerald said. Fulgurite and Emerald ducked down so they wouldn't be spotted, Emerald keeping the iPhone just high enough to see what was gonna happen next. As for Rupee and Jasper, the two then started to hear something coming their way.

"This time I'm not making it easy for you," warned Rupee, readying her muscle.

"Just the way I want it," Jasper replied, already summoning her gem weapon and ready for battle. They both could use a good battle right now, and the locals were just the ones to give it to them. Well, if they wanted to anyway. The Gems at least had the decency to wait for the opponents to show up. As for said opponents, there was a good five of them that were coming by to see what was going on, and all of em looked ready for a good tussle. They've heard of the Gems, but that didn't mean these dragons were gonna give any of them any respect. Why give respect to food after all?

One Dragon in particular was eerie similar.

"Well looks like we got ourselves a few guests. You two a little far from home, aren't ya?" mocked Garble the dragons.

"Yeah, why don't you crawl back to your hole in the ground?" another one mocked.

"Stars, they're not letting up at all," Fulgurite quietly remarked. Emerald only nodded, and that mockery only reminded Fulgurite and emerald not to get involved in the Dragon fray.

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you, Earthlings. We came here to fight!" warned Rupee. That word just made the Dragons slightly confused, but laugh anyway.

"You wanna fight huh? Sounds good, but I'd rather have some dinner. And that gemstone's looking pretty ripe," said one of the Dragons, licking his muzzle seeing Jasper's nose gem. Despite being fighters, Rupee and Jasper felt a shiver run through them. Rupee got over it first, cracking her knuckles.

"You think you're gonna make a meal out of this Homeworld Gem, then you this fist coming to you. This victory's MINE," Rupee said. The fighter made the first strike at the group of Dragons, but her fist didn't hit anyone at first as they flew up out of the way of the hit.

"Wait a minute. They're Gems! Like, talking Gems," realized one of the Dragons.

"That's right! And I happen to be the ultimate quartz, so whoever wants to get crushed, bring it," Jasper warned.

"Still think you're tougher than me do you? I'M made to be the ultimate quartz, you loudmouth boulder!" Rupee reminded. Jasper and Rupee looked ready to just fight again ... but suddenly the Dragons started to laugh at them.

"Oh yeah! We've heard of you: You're those talking rock friends with those puny ponies," mocked Garble.

"I'M NOT FRIENDS WITH ANY PONY, EARTHLING!" snapped Rupee, getting right up in Garble's face and basically towering over him. She barely heard of the ponies, but if they were friends with the Harmony Gems then she wanted no part of it.

"Ooooo, look guys, we made the pony-loving rocky mad haha!" another Dragon laughed. And suddenly Garble made an extremely gutsy move with what happened next.

He swiped away Rupee's eyepatch! Rupee, strangely, covered her other eye immediately after that as the orange Dragon checked out the dark red eyepatch with the white diamond insignia.

"Awww, how sweet. Did your pony friends make it for you with friendship and gumdrops?" Garble asked teasingly.

"MY DIAMOND made that, give it to me!" Rupee snapped. That wasn't the only thing they decided to swipe, as another Dragon actually grabbed Jasper's Gem weapon right off her head, and started to eat it right then and there.

"Thanks for bringing us some lunch, this ain't half bad," the Dragon said.

"You think you're all funny do you?! I didn't come out here to be made fun of by some organic scum like you! Now give that back and fight me before I crush you!" Jasper demanded.

"Oh how precious, you want your toy back?" The Dragon did return it, only AFTER he was done eating it … and by giving it back, that meant chucking it at her face. As for Rupee, she was still trying to get her eyepatch back from Garble In fact, the cocky Dragon actually turned this into basically a game of keep away, as they tossed the eyepatch back and forth to eachother.

"Give that back, or so help me I'll end all of you!"

"Well come and get it, pony girl," Garble mocked, the other Dragons laughing with him, so much so that fire spewed out of their mouths. One Dragon actually (probably accidentally) scorched Jasper and Rupee's faces while laughing.

"OKAY. … OKAY!"

Rupee and Jasper barreled into the Dragons. Pretty soon the area turned into the next battleground as the brutes fought the Draconic opponents full force. Fulgurite and Emerald kept themselves well out of the way from the potential onslaught, Emerald keeping his iPhone rolling to show his audience the fighting that was going on. Surprisingly, the Gems were holding up very well, and in fact the Dragons themselves weren't holding their own as good as any of them thought. They blasted fire at them a number of times, but that didn't stop either of them.
Jasper was the one dealing more hits though compared to Rupee, but mainly because the larger Gem was more focused on getting her eyepatch back over actually fighting them. Not saying she didn't want to fight them, and she did have her own fair share of hits on the other Dragons but priorities come first. Punching and kicks were raining all over, but Jasper's main attack was her fiery charge, making her almost pinball around the area, wrecking rocks and cracking the ground with each ram. As for Rupee, most of her strikes were done single handedly as her other hand was kept over her other eye.

"Stop flying above my head and fight me coward!" shouted Rupee.

"Hey! I'm no coward!" Garble said, now his turn to get angry. Garble did a good fire blast right at Rupee's face, just for her to use both arms to block off the fire. Garble collided with her head on, though by pure reflex Rupee released the hand from her face, blocking both claws from Garble.

"Whoa."

That was all Garble really said, before Rupee started to swing the Dragon around. Rupee got her eyepatch back from the Dragon, and with the free hand started slamming him down over and over again. Garble implants were left all over the place, before Rupee grabbed the Dragon by the tail and swung him around fast, letting him go just for him to slam head first into the nearest rock wall.
Which just so happened to be right above Emerald and Fulgurite. Good timing too, because Jasper was just about done with her Dragons, and threw them right by Garble in the same way. It was just a dart board was on the rock wall. Jasper looked ruffled up, but she was smiling anyway.

"Now THAT felt good. You all held out longer than I thought," Rupee said. Probably the best compliment the Dragons were going to get, and they all suddenly weren't that hungry.

"I don't care who won that, this is a far better challenge than earlier," Jasper said. First time today the two were agreeing on something (which was weird, but whatever). Emerald and Fulgurite only then got out of hiding, seeing not only the knocked out Dragons but how much Rupee and Jasper actually enjoyed that.

"Well look at that. They're … not trying to kill eachother," said Fulgurite.

"Yeah, one might even say they're actually getting along …" Emerald noted.

The two then smiled big as they looked to eachother.

"General! Who won the challenge?" Jasper asked, getting their attention back to the task at hand.

"The challenge - OH YEAH right! All that violence I almost forgot, uh okay since Jasper fought off three Dragons compared to Rupee's one, safe to say Jasper gets the first point," said Emerald, sharing it with the video as well for the audience. Ruppe didn't take that without her two bits.

"I had to get my eyepatch back, I could've crushed all of those Earthlings if that one flapping thing didn't steal it," retorted Rupee.

"We know we know, we got more than one challenge," Fulgurite said.

"Good. This is the best action I've gotten since arriving in this place. Bring it on!"

"Awesome. You two meet us by the Quarry we passed sometime ago, and we'll see if the Quarray Eels will play some whack-a-mole with us. … I'll explain when we're there," said Emerald. Rupee and Jasper, rivals in this game, went off on their way to this Quarry. They couldn't do much with it earlier when they passed it by, but now it was time to make some mincemeat out of the Eels living there. Fulgurite and Emerald watched them both go on freely before looking to eachother. They got the full game plan.

"YEAH!"

…….

"Hmm?" Garnet wondered. Very brief, but Garnet just got done relaxing by the Forge, the others nearby her dealing with some of the Little Homeworld Forge weaponry.

"What is it, Garnet?" asked Fluttershy.

Garnet took off her glasses, and looked off with suspicion in her eyes.

"I got a bad feeling all of a sudden. …"

~~~~~~

Garnet wasn't wrong.

Since leaving the Dragon Lands, it basically turned into a mix of "crazy rampage" and "challenge extravaganza" as Fulgurite, Emerald, Rupee, and Jasper continued going around Equestria and Earth on occasion to handle more of the cops' challenges, most of which involved beating something up:
As they've previously mentioned, the first stop in this runaround was the Quarry Eel pit. The main challenge: tossing boulders at the giant Quarray Eels, and whoever got the most in their throws wins. Rupee and Jasper got well into it themselves, though Jasper personally felt this was too close to home when it came to her training. The only difference was that she was throwing boulders at something, so there was a plus. The extra strength on Rupee gave her just enough of a boost to keep ahead of Jasper though, and just BARELY got ahead at the end. That's one point for Rupee.

Another challenge they tried afterwards more involved a heads-on approach near the Badlands, taking initiative and fighting face-to-face with a large animal called a Malwurf: half-bear, half-mole, half-raging-pile-of-claws! The Maulwurf mostly resembled a giant star-nosed mole basically with blue fur, large forearms, and multiple light-blue appendages around its snout. Despite the dumb look, it gave Rupee and Jasper a rough time in their fight, most of their punches only vaguely stunning the animal (plus the whole digging underground thing didn't help either). This challenge was more in Jasper's favor for her speed, and whenever the Maulwurf got distracted by Rupee's fighting or coming up from the ground, Jasper struck it good and hard in the head. It took a lot of strong strikes, but eventually the beast was knocked out and back underground. One point for Jasper.

This pattern kept up into the night, Jasper and Rupee getting one point after another, one way or another, with some other monster beaten to a pulp in the wake of this contest of theirs. They fought all sorts of animals in their challenges: A Manticore, a Bugbear or two, some Timberwolves, whatever it may be they were cleaning through them all, leaving knocked out and slightly broken monsters and animals everywhere they went.

Sucks for the losers, but for the Gems it was going spiffily.

"Don't have a clue if you're all still there, but DAYNG we're going all in! To recap, we got Jasper at nine points, and Rupee at nine points, and somehow we're still at a tie. Still have a chance to place your bets bellow, folks, it all comes down to this. Hashtag final round, Hashtag to the limit! I'll get the final round in just a few minutes so stay tune, grab some popcorn or whatever it is you like to do, and catch you in a bit," Emerald said to the iPhone, showing the results all the while to everyone. After the catching up, Emerald stopped recording again and, as Jasper and Rupee were training nearby for the "final challenge", they two took a minute to take a breather.

"They're actually placing bets on this?" Fulgurite remarked, finding it amusing at this point.

"You'd be amazed at how gullible the internet is," Emerald said. Good thing the iPhone was turned off for the moment otherwise the stream would be a bit less popular by now. Fulgurite stretched and smirked.

"You know, this is going great. And by tomorrow we can all go back to Little Homeworld and get back to business," Fulgurite said, looking forward to it.

"Right? And not only that, this is some sick footage we got from all our fights today," Emerald added, actually checking out some of the fights they've recorded today, in particular the first fight with Garble and the Dragons. Some sick angles always made any fight look awesome, and this fight was no exception to the rule.

"I should thank you for the idea, Fulgurite," Emerald said, "I gotta admit, for being an on-the-spot idea, this is a great one."

"Don't sweat it: Jasper's not hurting anybody, they're both having fun and getting everything out of their systems, and heck we might actually get a friend out of this Rupee. This beats a simple steakout any day," Fulgurite concluded, relaxing a bit. Emerald heard her loud and clear, but his eyes were focused on the video. There was something … strange. Something standing out just enough to catch his eye.

"You even listening?"

"Yeah yeah I heard ya but … eh, c'mere, let me know if I'm seeing things," Emerald said. Fulgurite could tell that depending on what he saw, but all he was seeing was his iPhone movie. Having nothing better to do, she walked over to him.

"What's up, E?"

"Ok, I'm going over the footage here, got some angles throughout that Dragon fight, and just … just tell me if you see this too," Emerald said. He then got the footage to a specific spot in the run, and simply clicked play. This was a focus over by Rupee and Garble, and at first it seemed to go along well, ending with Garble getting thrown right over the camera.

"... OK … what am I supposed to see?"

"Here here, look again. This time at Rupee," Emerald said, sounding oddly unnerved somewhat.

Fulgurite did again as Emerald rewound the footage to that part again. Fulgurite studied it a bit more closely, and once she caught it, the yellow Gem actually quickly paused it and enhanced the image to see it more clearly. What the two saw gave them both chills.
Rupee's exposed gemstone. The gemstone that normally would be hidden underneath her eyepatch. The gemstone looked a bit off as the two kept looking at it, it vaguely looking like Jasper's gemstone in a way with a reddish color same as last time (if Emerald could remember that far back). The gemstone though wasn't the actual thing that made them disturbed, although it did look like someone cut off a good chunk of it already.
No, the real factor came with the cracks they were seeing along the face. The big, long cracks.

"Holy stars, that's just nasty," said Fulgurite with a disturbed expression.

"So I'm not seeing some PTSD stuff again. Seriously though, what happened to her? Did those Dragons crack her gemstone in their fight, or what?" Emerald asked, legitimately concerned if not curious. As much as she didn't want to though, Fulgurite started to study on the cracks going along Rupee's face.

"Ehh … I don't think so. Her gemstone looks messed up, but those cracks aren't on her gem. They look like they're apart of her her," Fulgurite said.

"You mean like what Pink Pearl had while stuck as White's puppet?" Emerald asked, remembering the others mentioning something about that. Fulgurite shrugged.

"Maybe? I dunno, but something must've happened to make her look THAT bad," Fulgurite concluded. "... Has she been fighting with that all day?"

The two paused on that idea. Here was a Gem fighting any and all monsters, with a gemstone that at any moment could crumble and shatter on her with one wrong hit. … Suddenly, Fulgurite shook her head.

"WAIT, WAIT, nope. Not gonna do it. If she's been going this long and NOT say anything about it, clearly she's not looking for any pity," she concluded, turning off the video and getting the idea out of her head.

"Fulgurite, she's a Quartz, and a generic one at that of course she's not gonna ask for help," Emerald pointed out.

"Which is WHY we're not giving it to her. She already threatened to kill us this morning, fought Jasper for hours, and didn't let up once with -" Fulgurite got her mouth shut when Emerald got his hand over it.

"Okay, okay, okay. recap given we're good," Emerald said, "Now what're we gonna do for the final challenge? I don't wanna give a challenge just to kill them for the sake of a video."

Fulgurite and Emerald needed to work out something soon, because not look after he said that the two were hearing the crashing from Rupee and Jasper's training off nearby. When the two looked, it mainly was the two rough-housing and wrestling but they still manage to dislodge at least one tree in the tussle. It was basic fighting, but still brutal with some good wrestling moves, grapples, and throws.

"Well at least they're happy," remarked Emerald.

"More or less," Fulgurite agreed, though not too fond really. But as they kept on handling their rough-housing, Emerald suddenly saw signs that Jasper was rallying up for a head hit in the form of a double-handed downward swing. Given the picture, he felt a little … jumpy.

"Hold it -" *WHACK*

"General!" Jasper said, backing up just to find her "boss" headfirst in the dirt. Rupee didn't know what that was about, but it was amusing to see a pebble get slammed like that anyway. Fulgurite decided not to comment, and instead pulled the green Gem out of the ground by his foot, Emerald spitting out some cold snow and dirt once he got pulled free.

"THIS is why I said no head hits," Emerald said.

"Why'd you even jump in like that? We're just having a little fun," Rupee huffed.

"Because that's a cheap move and I said no to that before Challenge one! Save your energy for the ACTUAL final challenge okay, and bring your A game because this is gonna decide all the marbles," Emerald said, still being held upside down by Fulgurite.

"What're marbles?"

"He means you're gonna lose," Fulgurite bluntly said, before dropping Emerald onto the ground. Rupee looked over to Jasper.

"If I knew he'd be your superior, I'd put you out of your misery years ago," Rupee said, knowing well that'll tick Jasper off apparently, which it did.

"Remind me to crush you again when this is over," Jasper growled, "MY captain may be different, but I stand behind him."

"Until you get your memory back," commented Fulgurite.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"You mean he stands behind you," Rupee said, "Did he ever actually fight, or did he keep using you like a shield?"

Emerald cut in before Jasper could start thinking about it.

"Enough with the savagery guys," but in Emerald, "we got a final challenge to do! You're all tied point-for-point, so let's bury the hatchet and decide this already! … which means "stop acting bitter" in case you ask."
Jasper and Rupee both were ready to go, so ready to show the other up in this endgame when either of them win. Fists clenched, they were ready. All they needed now was a direction.

"What's the final test?" asked Jasper.

……. uh oh.

"Eeeeehhhh … uuhhh … Fulgurite will happily tell you both, I need to go do some finishing touches on it," Emerald said, which did NOT look convincing at all. Fulgurite snatched him with her hair.

"Don't put me on the spot, help me with this," Fulgurite quickly demanded.

"With what, I got nothing! We fought every monster in Equestria, and it's the ONLY thing that'll keep these two from killing eachother, what else is there to do?" Emerald retorted, also quiet.

"Something besides monster-fighting? That's a thing that exists too, you know, don't limit to one thing."

"It's not easy when they only TAKE one thing!"

"You do have a final challenge. Don't you?" Jasper questioned. Fulgurite and Emerald stood at attention to Rupee, Emerald worried but Fulgurite not letting him get away from the scene. Didn't help neither of them could think of what else to fight next.

"We got details to finalize, quit freaking out," Fulgurite said quickly.

"Well what is it?"

"EASY! For stars sake, it's uhh -"

*SNORE*

Sometimes the universe can give you a free B. Before Fulgurite could talk anymore, they all then begin to hear a distant snoring off not too far away, just enough for them to hear it beyond the winter wind of the forest. So what if they didn't know what the sound came from, it's good enough for them.

"... Right over that way!" Fulgurite said smiling. Emerald breathed a sigh of relief, and given how deep the snoring sounded it sounded BIG. Rupee and Jasper looked satisfied at least.

"Ready to settle this once and for all?" Rupee asked.

"I was made ready," replied Jasper.

The quartzes went right off towards the noise from there, Fulgurite and Emerald feeling like they avoided a big danger there.

"... So, what do you think's over there?"

"I dunno but this better be good."

…….

A lone, yet large cave. That was what the four Gems ended up finding after following the snoring sound for the next five minutes or so. Everfree Forest always had it's fair share of creatures, so hopefully it wouldn't disappoint any of them this time. The area ended up looking like a cave entrance into the mountainside, the rumbling of the snoring telling them all something big was inside.

"Alright you two, the final challenge: defeat whatever the heck's in that cave," Emerald announced. Seemed simple enough for a final challenge but best they could do on short notice. Whoever's in there, whatever's in there, they better be ready for a good ol' tussle tonight.

"Let's get started," Jasper said, being the first one to walk right up to the entrance of the cave. She and Rupee were ready for it, standing bold at the front of the cave as Fulgurite and Emerald stood aside as they've been doing since this started. Before Jasper did anything though, she took a second and glanced back towards the others, seeing her superior basically sitting out of the way instead of standing by her.
Was Rupee correct about him being a wimp?

… She'll figure that out after beating up whatever's here. Getting the thought out of her head, all she had to do was bring up her fist, and slam it in a sideways swing onto the wall of the cave. That alone was enough to crack the rock, and shake the ground.

The snoring stopped almost immediately.
They all began to hear a grunt escape from the cave, something just waking up from what sounded like a deep sleep. Little by little, the four Gems daring to tackle this thing started to see the figure begin to move out into the moon light of the winter forest. Typically a monster would be hidden in the darkness, but this one actually seemed to glow almost, not casting a shadow and the light of the sky shining through its body. A colossal, bear-like animal emerged from its den. In fact its whole body was transparent, a tint of blue with sparkling lights that resembled the stars of the night. The forehead showed a magic symbol resembling Twilight Sparkle's own Cutie Mark. The only actual "solid" part of this animal were the weapons in it's arsenal: it's sharp teeth, and its sharp claws.

And side note: it's REALLY ticked off.

*ROOOAAAARRR*

"Alright. Bring it."

Final challenge started. As Emerald got out his iPhone for the final fight of the night club, Rupee and Jasper wasted to time in fighting this behemoth head on. This giant animal towered over most of the threats they've faced already just by rearing up on its back legs and attempting the first strike to take a good swing at them. Its right claw raised good and high, it tried a powerful side swipe at either of them, but these fighters got out of the way quick. They weren't going to be taken down that easily, not after this long. Jasper's jump went to the side as Rupee went whole hog, jumping right at the giant bear's face and giving it a straight punch to the head.
A strong punch to be sure, making the bear move back a bit as it thrashed to try and get Rupee off of its face, its large front claws swinging around and striking down trees like they were sticks. It accidentally chopped down a good five trees before it brought both paws up, and shoved Rupee off of it straight down, slamming her into the ground. It roared good and loud in Rupee's face, its claws dangerously close to her face, and to her already damaged stone. She got enough strength to push the weight upward and off of her, Rupee bolting to the side to let the giant bear's weight hit dirt instead of her. The bear readied for another try, but Jasper saw her chance and rocketed at the animal, ramming it in the side and slamming it into a few more trees.

"This victory's mine!" Jasper exclaimed, swinging the bear by its back leg almost like it was nothing, but then Rupee suddenly rushed in and tackled Jasper half way into her swing, making her lose grip and dropping the animal.

"NO YOU DON'T! You're NOT showing me up again!" Rupee snapped, throwing Jasper aside so she can fight this giant animal. Jasper snarled and tried going for Rupee instead, but the bear already got her covered and swiped Rupee clean in the face from a surprisingly fast slash of the claw, cutting off the eyepatch into shreds. Now her injuries were on full display, as much as she tried to keep it covered up now. The giant bear didn't really seem to care though, it just wanted them to go away, giving another warning roar. This roar was cut short though by a fast uppercut by Rupee, followed by a head-on ram by Jasper shortly after that. The bear swung at Jasper good and hard, making the orange quartz fly into the air for a bit until she landed in the trees. No way was she done and out though, and with a quick rapid spin, Jasper launched herself right back at the cosmic bear again.
The bear raised its paw, and stopped Jasper half way, making Jasper launch off into the night sky. And in that same swing attempted to crush Rupee underneath it, its front weight pushing down right on top of the fighting quartz.

"I'm! NOT! LOSING!" Rupee snarled, using what strength she had to force the bear off of her. Good time too, because Jasper was rearing up with a rapid spin for yet another charge.

The bear got struck, RIGHT ON THE HEAD. At the same time. The giant bear got its head slammed into the dirt by both Rupee's downward double-fisted swing, and Jasper's skyward-falling ram.

"... Whoa." That was all thoughts that could come out of Fulgurite and Emerald. The cosmic bear was left on the ground, both the quartzes making contact to finish off this animal. Did it feel good to finish it off, absolutely … but this meant one thing though …

"And we uh … sweet cheese and crackers, we got a tie everybody, we got a tie!"

"WHAT?!" the quartzes snapped.

"Sweet cheese and - do you hear yourself when you talk?" Fulgurite asked, not believing her ears.

"In a minute - We uh, kinda didn't expect this to happen everybody so um … here, you've been leavin your votes down below, so for the next … however long we're doing this, I'll leave the vote count to you. Who did you think won today: Rupee the barbarian or Jasper the veteran! Sorry for the not-so-straightforward results, I'll see you all in the follow-up video coming up … probably tomorrow morning? Your boy needs his sleep. Catch you all later!"

*click* …

"So after ALL OF THAT, and you still can't just say I won?" growled Rupee, fists clenched and teeth barred. "I wasted all day with you FOR NOTHING?!"

"NO, NO, not for nothing, you got to fight all those monsters! That's good … right?"

"You know what, forget you!" Rupee decided, grabbing Emerald and swung him good and hard out of the way, making sure both the grab and the throw hurt bad. THAT just got her a strong punch from Jasper.

"Stop fighting my general!" Jasper demanded.

"And what are you going to do about it, start another contest? Why can't you just admit that I'm the better Quartz than an old, worn-out pebble like you?" Rupee remarked.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Jasper roared. Well didn't take long until Rupee and Jasper got into another fight, Jasper starting it off with a strong ram to Rupee's stomach, though this wasn't enough to make Rupee fall over. THIS time though, Fulgurite wasn't going to let another long fight happen.

"You little - that's it!"

"Fulgurite, we said no to that!" Emerald quickly said, picking himself up off the ground.

"No Emerald! If we'd just done it my way, we'd be done from the start," Fulgurite made clear, and before Emerald could go in and say something, Fulgurite rushed into the fray. Emerald was sitting alone now, as Fulgurite wasted no time in getting between Rupee and Jasper, and the electric Gem wasted NO TIME in spreading her hair and shooting out a ton of electricity to make them both stop! Jasper froze when she saw this display, eyes wide and almost locking in place as she skidded to a halt. Rupee however, just rushed for Fulgurite, only for the yellow Gem to shock her good and hard. It was like running head long into a powerplant generator.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" both quartzes shouted.

"I've wasted all day with you two babies, and right now I'm NOT sitting and watching another pointless fight. Jasper, we're going home, and Rupee, just go away we want NOTHING to do with you," Fulgurite yelled.

"This is none of your business! If I'd wanted to fight a knock-kneed defect I'd crush you already, now out of my way before I make you move. Or do you got a death wish?" ordered Rupee.

"Just try it, and you'll see," Fulgurite said. Rupee happily obliged and suddenly the fight turned from two to three as Fulgurite kept fighting against Rupee. The lightning-fast speed of Fulgurite made it almost impossible for her to hit her however, Rupee getting electrocuted over and over again. Rupee slammed the ground at least five times before Fulgurite felt something whack her away. But this belonged to Jasper.

"Eh tu Jasper?!"

"I'm not asking for your help! I can handle this on my own!" Jasper ordered.

"Yeah, obviously," Fulgurite snapped. Now both quartzes were ticked off at her and both of them were trying to get her. All Emerald did was simply stand there and watch this all happen, but Emerald glanced over towards that giant Cosmic Bear … and it was now starting to come around again.
The bear was awake by that point, but instead of trying to get the three again, it just sat there and … started crying? It wasn't even threatening at all, it was like a baby bear crying, tears out of its eyes as it held its head, which now had a big purple bump on it.

The Cosmic Bear's cries weren't ignored for long … the ground was starting to shake. It started off very low, as if the source came miles under the ground, but soon something slowly was starting to appear from the entrance of the cave. Something big. How big? Well, its eye is almost as big as the Cosmic Bear's head for one thing!

"Oh boy. U-Umm, can I say something?" Emerald meekly asked.

"NO!" Rupee, Jasper, and Fulgurite shouted.

"OK. OK. You all deal with mama then! BYE!" Emerald quickly bolted for it.

"...…. Mama?" questioned Rupee.

*ggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

The following growl was so deep and so low, it could've come from the very center of the planet. The trio looked around, and not only did they now realize their giant bear was crying like a wimp, but they also saw the ominous creature looking out from within the cave. WAY too big for it to fit inside, whatever the eye belonged to. The Cosmic Bear looked to the giant eye and while crying, pointing an accused claw at Rupee, Jasper, and Fulgurite. And that was all it needed to know.

One would think that the cave entrance would crumble from this animal, but instead a very large hue of purple began to slowly illuminate from the mountain the cave was attached to. The ENTIRE MOUNTAIN was glowing purple. A creature beyond anything any of them had ever seen before slowly started to faze out from the caverns below, out into the night surface world like a ancient god. A colossal, otherworldly body of a polar bear emerged from the grottos of Equus itself, titanic arms stretching out from the ground before crushing the very stone under its paws. Each claw was the size of a fully-grown tree! Its muzzle jutted out pairs of sabers larger than any Gem alive or dead, each paw having the power to cover an entire cottage, and any and all trees underneath its paws are destroyed instantly. She pulled her entire body out of the mountain, manifesting, and all her weight meeting the surface of the unfortunate world, and then she slowly raised back on her legs. The very ground around the three turned a hue of purple, as the moonlight went through this titan and turned the world's color. Taller than any Dragon, taller than any Diamond.

No other animal even comes close.

"...…. T-That's it's cub … that blue bear you beaten up … was it's cub …" Fulgurite murmured, not sure what to think and feeling all shaky. Confirming her statement, the first cosmic bear went right over to the giant, and hid behind the titan's back leg like a scared child would. The mother bear gently moved the baby bear away towards the cave with a gentle push, telling the baby that she will handle them for it, the baby sitting just inside the entrance of the cave to watch.

... Jasper smiled wickedly.

"FINALLY the ultimate challenge! You, me, the first one to crush that monster will decide once and for all!" Jasper decided. Oh god no.

"NO YA DON'T! DON'T GET ANY IDEAS!" Fulgurite said, wrapping her hair around Jasper and holding her tight before she tried making a run for it. The colossal bear though didn't even give them the chance to run, one giant paw reaching a good thirty feet in their path.

"YAAAHAHAHAAA!" screamed a now distant Emerald. NONE of them are getting away from this mama bear. Its claws cut into the ground, carving miniature canyons with each claw as the claw scraped back to rake them all in. They only barely managed to survive that alone, slipping in between the raking tree claws of this cosmic bear, the entire landscape shaping and shifting into a valley of claw marks by the time the bear mother was done. A ton of trees and foliage were raked up as well, which the mother bear easily tossed over them all like someone would lazily toss a bunch of stones.

"Oh sssschnitzel!" gasped Fulgurite. The four were stuck in a literal rain of dirt, stone and trees, many of which Fulgurite was bolting like mad to avoid, and the Quartzes strong enough to forcefully fight off. Rupee even punched a tree in half in one of her swings, and she caught another giant tree to swing right back at the cosmic bear.
She might as well throw a twig at a brick wall. In fact, the monstrous Cosmic bear grabbed the tree mid-way, and crushed it with one flex of her mighty paw. All that was left were leaves, and broken timber. Not even a scratch on her paw.

"Rupee, Jasper, we gotta go! Amscray! NOW!" called Emerald.

"Not until I win!" Rupee called.

"Will you forget about the contest for a minute -"
A mighty roar escaped the cosmic mother again to silence the insects in front of her, sending her giant paws swinging downward like meteors from the sky. Emerald knew Rupee wasn't gonna move on her own, so he did something a bit crazy and without thinking: he got in front of Rupee, and launched his hexagon at Rupee to shove her away best he could, also launching him closer to the bear. The mother tried to attack Emerald as he did this, getting snatched by the collar at the very tip of the mother's deadly claw. Emerald thrashed to get himself free, only to quickly find the major threat staring him dead in the face.

"Get your greedy paws off him!" Fulgurite shouted. As annoying as he can be, she had to rescue him from this cosmic horror. Going lightning fast, she raced at the animal, bolting up its leg and neck, until she got right to her face and not hesitating to shock the animal right then and there! Emerald was thrown high in the sky as the mother roared in anger, rearing back and scratching her face to make Fulgurite let go of her. Emerald quickly returned the favor and got out his hexagon, flying down as quickly as he could and snatched Fulgurite up just before the cosmic bear could swat her like a fly.

"I never thought I'd say this but, thanks," said Fulgurite.

"No prob bob. Let's get outta here before mama bear make porridge out of us," Emerald decided, not having any fun with this game anymore. Fulgurite agreed more than ever, and the two Gems zoomed down towards Jasper and Rupee, who while Rupee was trying to fight, Jasper was still kinda standing there. She saw the electricity fly again.

"OK, Jasper, we better go, and we better go now! … Jasper?" Emerald soon saw the orange Quartz staring off for some reason, her headache getting worse all of a sudden. They did NOT have time for this.

"For stars sake, she froze again - WAKE UP! Lookatme!" Fulgurite shouted, actually going as far as to slap Jasper across the face to wake her back up. Jasper shook herself back to reality, but that didn't mean she was any better, her head pounding all over again.

"How hard did you hit her?!"

"For Jasper, barely anything. Jay, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know, I think I just need you to leave," Jasper managed to say while holding her head, trying not to look at Fulgurite.

"We're being attacked by a giant kaiju, I'm NOT leaving," retorted Fulgurite.

Before they could talk any further, the giant mother bear got their attention again when she flung Rupee towards them, making the already severely hurt Gem skid along the ground like some skipping stone, until she smashed into another set of trees. Fulgurite didn't have a problem with it, but Emerald sorta did He couldn't get near her though, the cosmic bear not letting any of them move after swinging her claws down again. Another swing went closer to the trio, which Fulgurite instinctively reacted by electrocuting the bear's mighty paw with everything she had. It was like stepping on a live wire, and just as painful, enough to make mama bear step back, holding her paw.
This kept giving Jasper a headache though, and she actually threw a rock at Fulgurite to make her stop.

"Who's side are you on, you idiot, quit trying to kill me!" shouted Fulgurite.

"Then STOP doing that!" ordered Jasper.

…

"STOP, URSA MAJOR!"

A whole new Canterlot voice rang out in the skies above them, catching the cosmic bear's attention as she looked up into the sky. This voice didn't come from any Gem however, but instead came from a few particular equine coming in from high above. Almost appearing to fly down from the moon itself, Fulgurite and Emerald quickly recognized her as Princess Luna herself! And not just her, but she was also joined by two other Ponies: Starswirl the Bearded coming in with a magic aura around his body to float, and (surprisingly) Fluttershy as well. Weird, but they didn't have time to question it.

The first one to react to the Ursa Major was Starswirl the Bearded and Princess Luna, who landed over by the remaining Gems, bringing out their magical forcefields just before the Ursa Major could crush any of them under her paw. It was just strong enough to keep them all from getting crushed, but while they have the magical power to keep the giant bear away, that wasn't why they were here.

"Luna, Starswirl, Flutters! What the heck're you doing here?!" asked Emerald.

"In a moment. Ursa Major! We mean you no harm! We're here to aid you!" called Starswirl the Bearded. Ursa Major didn't look so willing just yet, not after what their friends just did to both her and her cub.

"Fluttershy, think you can consort with her?" Luna asked. Fluttershy looked over to the gigantic bear, the animal snarling at them all. While it did scare Fluttershy a little bit (as it would any pony), Fluttershy took a breath and nodded. Her friends were in danger after all.

"You think she can defeat that bear?" questioned Jasper.

"We're NOT fighting her tonight," said Luna, which of course confused the rejuvenated quartz.

"U-Umm, excuse me? Ms. Ursa Major? Can I talk to you for a second? We just wanna ask why you're -"

*RRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR* responded Ursa Major, her roar powerful enough to crack the ground, and almost level the entire forest. Fluttershy had to gather all her strength just to keep herself still. Fluttershy had to relax again with a few deep breaths before talking again.

"W-We don't want to fight you. W-We just want to know why you're so angry," Fluttershy asked. Jasper didn't know what she was trying to do - she can't talk to a monster! Or so it seemed.
Ursa Major, despite her anger, did begin to "speak" in the form of low growls and grumbles, unknown by most normal Pony ears. Fluttershy listen to each so-called word that Ursa Major had to say, eventually looking a bit surprised as she looked to the injured Ursa Minor over in the cave, looking hurt.

"Oh, that's terrible! I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, "We can help make him feel a lot better if you'd like. It'll only be a minute."

They all kept hearing low growls again, the mother not entirely sure if she should.

"No no no no, I promise I won't hurt him," Fluttershy said. "Starswirl the Bearded knows a very great healing spell."

… For a moment or two, Ursa Major looked to Starswirl the Bearded, and then to her injured cub. And, to their shock, Ursa Major actually moved aside.

"SERIOUSLY?!" exclaimed Fulgurite. Ursa Major snarled at the Gems to keep them all quiet, as the Ponies began to cautiously move over towards the cub. The Ursa Minor felt uneasy, moving back slightly as they got closer to it, but Starswirl's horn glowed anyway as he got closer, and gently placed it on the bump on the cub's head. It stung a little at first, but after a few short moments, the bump started to go away. And in just under a minute, the bump was completely gone.
The Ursa Minor felt its head, no longer feeling hurt and it actually smiled to the small Ponies … and gave them a friendly lick.

"U-Uhh … you're welcome," Starswirl simply said, feeling a bit soaked actually from that.

So yeah, that was all it took to stop the fight it seemed. Ursa Major looked to her cub, seeing it all better now, and gently nuzzled her cub, who replied by giving its mom a friendly lick. It was a bit cute, and a much better ending over what could've happened. Once that was over, Ursa Minor simply walked back into the cave, and Ursa Major, smiling to the ponies, fazed back into the mountain herself.

"Sweet dreams," said Fluttershy.

"Well. That's that," said Starswirl.

Their attention then went back to the Gems.

"As for you, what in Equestria were you thinking? What made you believing awaking the Ursa Major was a good idea?" questioned Luna.

"It wasn't my idea, pony!" retorted Jasper, "What's the big idea driving away my prize anyway? I would've won this contest if you didn't show up!"

"... Prize? Contest? … Emerald? Fulgurite? Care to explain?" Luna asked, looking to the guilty Gems. Fulgurite and Emerald felt a lump in their throats, not entirely sure how to respond to this without messing eachother up.

"We have no idea what you're talking about," said Emerald.

… None of them bought it.

"Okay look, I just thought that doing a contest will keep Jasper and Rupee from killing eachother, and that bear just so happened to be the tiebreaker okay? I didn't know it turned into a kaiju fight, I swear!" Emerald revealed.

"We didn't even know that was in there, we just heard it snoring," added Fulgurite, "... Hey, speaking of which, where is Rupee?"
Uh oh. In all that confusion, they almost forgot about the other Quartz of this game. Lucky for them though, it didn't take very long until they found out where she ended up: stuck under a bunch of lumber. She didn't look like she was moving though, either knocked out or just not trying anymore.

"Oh jeez, Rupee! Hold on, I gotcha," Emerald said, going closer. But all that did was make Rupee slash at him.

"Go away, you pest … I want to die alone. I already lost to her," Rupee said.

"Geesh, losing isn't that bad, just let me get you out of here," Emerald said, using what power his telekinesis can do to try and remove the trees. He only got half way before Rupee tried to make him go away again.

"Stop treating me like I need help. Why do you care anyway?"

"Feel your face for a second, Rupee, and you'll work it out," Emerald said, getting back to removing the trees. Rupee felt her face, and felt the cuts along it along with the gemstone. But that only seemed to make her more frustrated.

"So what if my gem's cracked, that doesn't mean I'm helpless! Why does everyone think I need help whenever they see my gemstone?" Rupee questioned in annoyance.

"Because it looks like you're about to crumble at any second? Speaking as a cracked Gem for thousands of years, it's not fun walking around like that," Emerald said. Rupee could care less about what he went through, as he managed to move one more tree off of her (with help of Luna). … All Rupee did was make them all back away from her.

"Hey, that's not a nice way of saying thank you. He's just trying to help you out," said Fluttershy.

"So what if he is? And SO WHAT if I have a cracked stone?! I've had this ever since I was made, and I feel fine, so stop freaking out over it!" Rupee demanded … only after saying it realizing she blurted out her biggest secret to everyone. But while she expected them to now sound worried over her, the reaction seemed … somewhat mundane almost. Fluttershy then went closer to her, despite her warning.

"Hmm. Looks to me like the only one freaking out about it is you, Rupee. Why didn't you say you were hurt this whole time?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'M NOT! And you better not tell anyone about this, or you're dead meat!" Rupee insisted. Starswirl and Luna got in Rupee's way before she could try any attacks, but while Fulgurite and Emerald seemed to be a bit surprised with this new information, Jasper was still getting a rough pounding in her head hearing this random Pegasus talking to this angry animal. She had to walk away for a bit …

"But why? If I was hurting, I'd want to tell my friends right away," Fluttershy said.

"I just said I wasn't hurting!" Rupee snarled, getting right up into Fluttershy's face. But after she said that, they began to notice something with those same cuts on her face. Those cuts … were growing.

"Rupee, wait. Your cuts are stretching," gasped Fluttershy.

"Listen here you runt," Rupee warned, "As long as I can still punch, kick, and fight, I don't need any help from you or anybody else no matter HOW BAD this looks! I'm NOT weak."

"I'm not saying you're weak at all, Rupee, and there's nothing weak about asking for help especially when you're like this. Just talk to me," Fluttershy said. Rupee felt terrible: first she gets shown up by the other Gems, and NOW they're lecturing her?

"NO."

"You have to. How else are you gonna solve your problem?" asked Emerald.

Rupee gave that answer by grabbing a nearby tree, and using her strength crushed it in her grip.

"THAT'S HOW."

"... Crushing trees?"

"NO, crushing my enemies, and showing everyone that I'm the dominant one! There's nothing better than watching your opponents grovel in the dirt!" Rupee said, already feeling powerful. Though, they could easily disagree with that.

"Umm … okay, but, how do you think they feel?" asked Fluttershy.

"Humiliated! Ashamed! Sad, lonely, they probably wanna hide, find a hole to bury themselves in and ... never come out again," Rupee said angrily.

"That's because that kind of competition can divide you, and it doesn't get to the heart of the issue. Talking about your feelings and understanding others does," Fluttershy said. Normally Rupee would turn around and crush her for it, but that … wasn't far from the truth.

"Keeping up appearances? THAT'S what this is all about?" asked Fulgurite in disbelief.

"I am made by White Diamond herself to be the ultimate fighter, better than any Quartz, STRONGER than any Gem! … Well, besides the Diamonds of course. It's bad enough I got pummeled by that orange Quartz, no one's gonna take me seriously when I look like THIS. WHY ELSE would I keep a stupid modifier over my face all the time? … Grr, what am I doing?! I'm talking my problems to a organic runt. I'm just like you organic-loving Crystal Gems!"

"Hold on, what's wrong with organic life, let's be honest," asked Emerald.

"They're weak, they're fragile, soft! I mean, look at this one," Rupee said, referring to Fluttershy, "She's talking to me like she can control me, but I can literally crumble her with one flex of my wrist. What is it you love about them anyway?"

…

"I don't know. Their wit? Their charm? What about their good heart? What about the fact that she's noble enough to not slap you in the face which you clearly deserve?"

Jasper. Coming back out from wherever she came from, in front of everyone there. But there was something different about her now, after seeing everything that had happened.

Something on her face...

“Listen here, Rupee,” Jasper continued, her tone more controlled, “You are NOT to talk to me, or my friends like that ever again. What I see standing there is something that can change, adapt, and tolerate anything that can be thrown at them. I see friends that, no matter how messed up you are, won’t ever give up on you. I see something in them ... that I don’t see when I look at you. So the real question is: what’s there to love about you?”

Silence hung in the air for a bit more after all of that was said. This wasn’t the same Jasper they were dealing with all day. Not anymore. And her Cutie Mark proved it.
After getting all that through to Rupee’s head, Jasper turned away from her and she began to walk away. Not really caring what Rupee was thinking anymore, and wanting NOTHING to do with her.

“YEAH our Jasper’s back! This is awesome the others are gonna be psyched aaaand we’re still in trouble aren’t we?” Said Fulgurite.

“Big time,” Jasper simply answered.

Author's Note

Welcome back Jasper ^^ sorry about the abrupt ending - best I can do on short notice.