Gem Glow
~Narrator's POV~
"Noooo! This can't be happening! This has to be a dream!" I cried in dismay and distraught. I ran over to my friend and threw my arms around his waist, "Swift Wind! Swift Wind! Please tell me I'm dreaming!"
"Get off me, man. I'm stocking here." Swift Wind told me, walking off and leaving me to face-plant the ground.
Oh, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself. My name is Quartzite Steven Universe. I'm 13 years old and... Well... I'm not really your average Earth Pony colt. I'm Half-Gem, my mother is a magical alien being named Rose Quartz. But I never got to know her.
Swift Wind is one of my friends in my hometown of Beach City, just on the coast of Manehattan. He's quite tall and skinny for a Pegasus stallion. With light golden fur, ginger mane styled in some kind of poofy mohawk, matching tail and dark brown eyes.
"I'm sorry, Quartzite. I guess they stopped making them." Swift Wind's colleague, Sweet Tune, apologized and explained.
Sweet Tune is actually nicer than Swift Wind. An Earth Pony mare. Unlike him, her build is more short and stout. Nearly the same height as me. Sweet Tune has shoulder-length curly blonde hair, pastel pink fur and deep blue eyes.
I sat straight up again, "Stopped making them? Why in the world would they stop making cookie cats? They are only the most scrumptious and delicious ice-cream sandwich ever made! Don't they have laws for this?"
Swift Wind sighed, continuing to stock the shelves, "Tough bits, man. Nobody buys them anymore. I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers."
Wait. Did he say 'Lion Lickers'? I groaned in slight annoyance. You can't be serious, "Not Lion Lickers! Nobody likes them! They don't even look like lions!" I put my fists on my hips and shook my head, "Kids these days. I'll tell you what!"
"Well, if you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don't you make some with your 'magic belly button'?" Swift Wind joked with a laugh.
"That's not how it works, Wind!" I argued. Concerned, I lifted my redish-pink shirt to look at the large, round pink gemstone, with pentagonal facets, embedded in my naval, "...Right?"
I squeezed my stomach for a second, but nothing happened. I sighed and walked over to the Cookie Cat freezer, "Oh, sweet cookie cats, with your crunchy cookie outside..." I drew the symbol on the glass of the door, "Your icy creamy insides, you were too good for this world."
I kissed the symbol and hugged the freezer. Sweet Tune spoke up, "Uh, Quartzite? Do you want to take the freezer with you?"
I looked at her and nodded.
*A Little Bit Later...*
With Sweet Tune's help, I was able to get the Cookie Cat freezer strapped to my back and made my way home, which was a bungalow built over the Gem Temple.
Gems are a magical alien race that are personifications of our own gemstones; garnets, spinels, pearls and even quartzes. They take Earth Pony forms, like normal Earth Ponies of Equestria, with color-coded attire and color scheme, fluffier ears, small fangs, leonine tails and gemstones embedded in their bodies.
I entered through the front door and I spoke up, "Hey, guys! You won't believe this!"
Before I could continue, some centipede monster attacked me. I tried to pry it off me, until it was tied and pulled back by a black and purple whip.
I looked behind it and saw the whip belonged to Amethyst. "'Sup, Quartzite?" She greeted, then threw the monster across the living room.
Amethyst is a purple Gem. A Quartz, like my mother, but she's about the same height as me. Maybe about an inch or two taller than me. Her gem placement is in the center of her chest. Her Cutie Mark is her gem fashioned like a shooting star.
Her fur is a shade of purple. Her long, wavy mane reaches past her ankles and bangs cover her left eye. It's a very pale lavender color. Her tail is shorter, but matches her mane.
She wears a darker purple tank top with the right strap hanging over her shoulder. Under her tank top, Amethyst wears a pair of black overalls with purple stars at the knees.
I looked around and saw Pearl and Ellie fighting off more of the monsters at the Warp Pad with their spear and scythe.
Pearl is a tall and skinny Gem. Her stature gives her a crane or swan feel. Her gem placement is her forehead. Her Cutie Mark is her gem overlapping a Fleur de Lis.
Pearl's fur is white, or a very pale cream. Her short pointed mane is a pastel orange. Long matching tail, and she wears a lace-y short dress over a pastel blue tube top and pastel pink shorts. Pastel blue eyes, nails and hooves.
Ellie is a Spinel Gem, but she goes by 'Ellie' to make her feel more Pony-like and forget her old life. Like Amethyst, Ellie's gem placement is in her chest, but it's in the shape of an up-side down heart. Her Cutie Mark is her gem with a jester's hat.
Her fur is a light pink color with magenta eyes and dark magenta mane tied in pigtails. She wears a white shirt under a black, sleeveless hoodie and dark magenta pants. Dark pink, finger-less gloves with black trimmings.
Pearl knocked a monster over toward Garnet. Garnet broke its back and threw toward another. She continued fighting more of the monsters near the kitchen, using brute force and her gauntlets.
Garnet is the tallest Gem out of my guardians. She is a Zebra with a slim torso and a thick lower body. Calm and mysterious as she is beautiful. She's unique because she has two gems. One in each palm of her hands. Her Cutie Mark is of two gems, one red and the other blue, tracing over a heart.
Her fur is a brick red color. Black square-shaped afro mane and matching tail. You can't see her eyes because she wears a pair of shades that hide her eyes.
She wears a black and red body suit with a star on her chest, dark red sleeves and black gloves under her gauntlets.
One of the monsters leaped on top of Garnet's head. She calmly grabbed it, ripped it in half and it poofed like a cloud, so the monsters must be involved with Gems. It turns out the entire house was infested with the monsters. I put the freezer on the couch next to me.
I gasped with an excited smile, "Awesome! What are these things?"
Another monster crawled past me. Pearl picked one of the monsters, "Ugh! Sorry, Quartzite. We'll get these centipeetles out of your room." Then she turned to me, "We think they were trying to get into the Temple."
"You don't have to get rid of them. They are really cool!" I encouraged.
However, the monster, centipeetle, spat acid at me. I stepped back and the acid hit the floor, melting a hole through the floorboards. Ellie sliced her scythe through its head and it poofed.
Amethyst threw another centipeetle into a wall and the monster poofed. "Um, you guys? These things don't have gems." She informed.
"That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby." Garnet summarized.
Another monster tried to surprise-attack her, but Garnet punch-poofed it without flinching.
"We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt." Pearl suggested.
I got excited and asked, "Ooh! Ooh! Can I come? Can I? Can I?"
Pearl looked at me and grabbed the centipeetle's head, "Quartzite, until you learn to control the powers in your gem, we'll take care of protecting Ponykind..." She snapped its neck and dropped it, "Okay?"
I sulked and sighed, "Aw, man." Then I heard the refrigerator door open and noticed a centipeetle was going through it, "Hey! Get out of there!"
I chased it off, "Go on! Shoo! Shoo!" Once it was gone, I looked at the mess it made, "Aw! They got into everything!" I looked at the bug and shouted, "Not cool!"
Garnet punched it toward the temple's door.
I looked into the freezer and saw familiar pink wrappers with a smiling cat on them. Wait a minute! Are these...? They are!
Stars appeared in my eyes, "No way! I-It can't be! What-" I grabbed one from the freezer, "Where did you get these?! I thought they stopped making them!"
Pearl closed the door and smiled with a shrug, "Well, we heard that, too, and since they are your favorite-"
"We went out and stole a bunch." Amethyst finished.
Pearl glared and corrected, "I went back and paid for them."
"The whole thing was my idea." Ellie smiled, as Garnet made her gauntlets disappear into her gems.
"It was everyone's idea." Amethyst interjected.
"Not really." Garnet answered.
Pearl folded her arms and sighed, "All that matters is that Steven is happy."
I was so happy, I broke into song of the Cookie Cat theme,
"Now available at Gergins off Route 109." I finished.
Garnet and Ellie clapped their hands while Amethyst and Pearl giggled.
I looked at the wrapper and smiled, "I can't believe you did this! I'm gonna save these forever!" Then I opened the wrapper, "Right after I eat this one. Hello, old friend."
I took a bite off the left ear of the ice cream sandwich. Yum. Strawberry and vanilla ice cream in a chocolate cookie wafer. So good!
Happiness and delight filled me to the brim, "So good! I like to eat the ears first."
"Uh, Steven..." Amethyst called me with wide eyes.
I looked and noticed a bright pink glow coming from my stomach, "Wha-?" I lifted my shirt and the glow got brighter. It was coming from my gem. I gasped, "My gem!"
"Quick! Try and summon your weapon!" Amethyst encouraged.
"I-I don't know how!" I replied. The glow must be responding, because it was starting to fade. "Aah! It's fading! How do we make it come back?!" I panicked, jogging on the spot.
"Calm down, Steven." Pearl told me calmly, "Breathe. Don't force it."
"Yeah. And try not to poop yourself, either." Amethyst added.
"Please, don't." Garnet agreed.
Unfortunately, the glow vanished. I sat down and sulked, "Aw! I was really close that time!"
"There's always next time, Steven." Ellie assured me.
I put my Cookie Cat sandwich back into its wrapper and put them back into the freezer.
I looked at my guardians, "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?"
Pearl quickly raised her hand, "Oh! I'll go first!"
*A Little Later, In Front of a Cherry Blossom Tree...*
Pearl lead me out of the temple and to a cliff with a cherry blossom tree.
"Pay attention to these petals, Steven. The petal's dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real time, based on the physical properties of this planet. With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem and perform your own dance!" Pearl told me.
She closed her eyes and summoned her spear from her Gem. Then a petal gently landed on her hand with ease, "Like so."
I looked at the ground and picked up a group of the fallen petals.
*Later that Evening, Outside the Big Donut...*
I started practicing with the petals. However, I'm not having much luck. Amethyst came by from picking out donuts from the garbage.
"Did Pearl tell you the petal thing?" She asked me.
"Yeah, I need to practice really hard so I can dance like a tree..." I answered, "I think..."
"Listen, Quartzite. All that practice stuff is no fun." Amethyst told me. She took a bit from the donut and continued, "Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens!"
She closed her eyes and reached for her gem. Her gem glowed and she summoned her whip. She used her whip and sliced the dumpster in half.
"See? Didn't try at all." Amethyst smiled.
I scratched my head in confusion. Try hard and try nothing at the same time? I don't get it.
My train of thought was broken by a loud gasp. Swift Wind just arrived, with a bag of leftover donuts, "Again?!"
Amethyst and I quickly left the scene, before he found out how it happened.
*Later that Night, On the Beach...*
I strolled with Ellie down the beach. "I don't understand it, Ellie. Am I supposed to practice really hard, or not try at all?" I asked, "How do you summon your weapon?"
Ellie stopped in her tracks and looked at the moon, "Mine is more of an emotional state of mind. Whenever I feel the need to protect those important to me, my weapon is ready to be summoned, to help me defend against anything that tries to hurt me or my friends."
She reached for her gem and did a twirl, summoning her scythe in a graceful movement.
"And that's how I summon my weapon, Quartzite." She smiled.
I scratched my head in confusion.
*The Next Morning...*
I joined Garnet at the lighthouse, at the top of the Temple.
"So, I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time? Link summoning my weapon with my emotions?" I asked her.
"Yes." She answered, then her Gems glowed, "Or you can link you mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem, which results in..." She summoned her gauntlets, "At least that's my way of doing it."
I just stared in dumbfound. Work really hard, don't try at all, work with my emotions, link my mind with the energy of the universe?!
Okay... Now my head hurts.
*Later That Day...*
~Ellie/Spinel's POV~
"I think the best bet is to re-create what happened the last time your Gem glowed." Quartzite theorized, as he gathered me and the other Crystal Gems around the fridge, "So Garnet, Ellie and Amethyst were here." He strategized, as Amethyst sat on the counter, "Pearl was next to the fridge." Then thought for a moment, "Hmm, hmm." He pointed at Amethyst, "Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed?"
Amethyst nodded and folded her arms, "Okay, your majesty."
"And, Pearl, your hoof was like this." Quartzite spoke up, moving Pearl's right hoof a small angle.
"I don't think it works this way, Quartzite." Pearl shrugged.
But Quartzite didn't listen and turned to Garnet, "And, Garnet." He grabbed her face and re-positioned it, "Uh... Uh... Yeah." He opened the freezer and grabbed the Cookie Cat he took a bite of yesterday, "Then I took a bite of this Cookie Cat." Then he remembered, "Oh! Wait! I sang the song first!"
Then he started singing again, "Uh, he's a frozen treat... All new taste... Interstellar war... And now available at Gergins." He sighed, "Aw! It was funnier last time!"
Quartzite lifted his shirt and checked his gem, there was no glow. He lowered his shirt and sighed, "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem."
Pearl knelt to Quartzite's level and assured with her hand over his shoulder, "Don't be silly, Quartzite. Of course you are."
Amethyst nodded, "And you're fun to have around, even if your gem is useless." Pearl growled and Amethyst corrected herself, "I mean... You're one of us, Quartzite. We're not the Crystal Gems without you."
Garnet and I quietly nodded in agreement.
Quartzite regained his smile, "Yeah, even if I don't have powers, I've still got... Cookie Cat!" He took another bite of the sandwich and smiled in delight, "Mmm, so good."
Within seconds, Quartzite's gem glowed again. It glowed brighter than yesterday, and something popped out in a flash of light. It was a small pink shield with Rose's emblem. A white rim and a vine spiraling to meet the emblem in the center. Everyone gasped.
Pearl gasped, "Quartzite! It's a shield!"
Quartzite opened his eyes and saw the shield in front of him, "Whoa, what?!" He smiled with stars in his eyes, "I get a shield?!" He jumped into the air, "Oh, YEAH!"
The shield launched into the air and ricocheted all around the room, until it hit Quartzite's television in his room. Pearl face-palmed in disappointment, while Amethyst laughed. I folded my arms and shook my head. Guess I have to fix it again.
Quartzite looked at the Cookie Cat in his hand and exclaimed, "Cookie Cats! I can summon my weapon by eating ice cream!"
"I don't think that's your secret, Quartzite." I spoke up.
Pearl picked up the wrapper on the floor, "What's in these things?"
Then the ground started shaking. But it wasn't an earthquake. Shadows of the centipede monsters crawled up the window. And there was a huge one following them.
"What was that?" Quartzite asked.
We ran outside and there was a giant centipede monster on top of the Temple. This one had a gem in its mouth. Longer green-ish white hair. And it was angry.
"It's the Mother." Garnet alerted, as she jumped into action.
Pearl looked at Quartzite, "Stay in the house, Quartzite."
Quartzite shook his head, "No way! I'm coming too!"
Quartzite ran inside and grabbed a bunch of Cookie Cat treats and the themed fridge.
Garnet delivered a flying roundhouse kick to the Centipeetle Mother's face. The Mother growled in anger and chased after Garnet onto the beach. Pearl, Amethyst and I leaped in to join the battle. The Mother turned to face us and sprayed a stream of acid towards us. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and I jumped out of the way and took refuge behind a broken hand statue of the temple on the beach. The Mother continued spraying acid, dealing considerable damage to the hand statue as it began to melt.
"We could really use Quartzite's shield right about now!" Amethyst told us.
I slithered myself under the Mother, expanded my hand and delivered a powerful uppercut to the Mother's lower jaw, making her stop spraying acid and recoil back. I summoned my scythe, ready to fight back. The more I looked at the Mother, the more familiar it looked. I gasped and lowered my stance a little, "It can't be..."
Just then, I noticed Quartzite approaching from behind and threw a rock at the Mother's head, "Hey!" The creature turned to face him, as he slammed the Cookie Cat freezer into the sand, "Leave them alone!"
"Quartzite! No!" Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and I shouted.
"Cookie cat crystal-combo powers, ACTIVATE!" Quartzite shouted, as he grabbed a treat from the fridge, unwrapped it and stuffed it into his mouth. Quartzite lifted his shirt, but his gem wasn't glowing and there was no shield. The Mother aimed to attack Quartzite. I slithered past the Mother, grabbed Quartzite's hand and ran from her.
Quartzite dragged the freezer behind him and opened the freezer to grab two more of the treats and unwrapped them.
"Goodbye, my friends." He whispered.
"Quartzite..." I tried to speak, but he stuffed the two treats into his mouth.
Quartzite swallowed the treats, and his stomach growled. Still no gem glow or shield.
"Why isn't it working?!" Quartzite exclaimed.
The Mother spat acid at me and Quartzite. I grabbed my best friend's hand and jumped out of the way.
"Quartzite! Spinel!" I heard Garnet call, but she got caught by the Mother's tail-pincers.
The Mother turned her attention back to the Gems. Quartzite picked himself up and looked at the Cookie Cat fridge. It was melted half-way through. No more Cookie Cats.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Quartzite cried, running toward what was left of his gift from Big Donut.
He reached to touch the machine. It sparked and shut down. Quartzite sulked and started sobbing.
"Cookie cat, he's a pet for your tummy..." I started singing, as anger started burning in my heart, "Cookie cat, he's super duper yummy..." I picked up a the wire connecting to the fridge, "Cookie cat! He left his family behind!" I charged toward the Mother, "Cookie c-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t!"
I threw the fridge toward the Mother. Direct hit and shocked the beast.
"Now available nowhere..." Quartzite finished, falling to his knees in sadness.
"Yes!" Amethyst shouted in cheer.
"Gems. Weapons." Garnet instructed. She, Amethyst and Pearl burst out of their hiding place, weapons summoned, "Let's do it."
Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst charged toward the Mother and defeated it. The Mother poofed with only a green sphere remaining. Garnet bubbled the Gem and teleported it back to the Temple.
Quartzite buried the last wrapper of the Cookie Cats, "Farewell, sweet Cookie Cats." He put a leaf over the small grave, "I'll always remember the time we spent together." His stomach growled. He put his left arm over his stomach and put his finger over his mouth, "Shh. Hush now."
"Are you crying?" Amethyst asked him, joining us.
"Only a little!" Quartzite shouted
She sat beside him, "Well, I guess your powers don't come from ice cream."
"Of course they don't come from ice cream!" Pearl nodded in a 'I-Told-You-So' tone.
I glared at Pearl for a second, then sat beside my best friend, "Don't worry, Quartzite." I put my hand over his shoulder, "I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem."
"Yes." Garnet nodded towering over us, "In your own Quartz-y way."
Quartzite regained his smile, "I'm okay guys. I just-" His stomach growled again, and this time, Quartzite doubled over, "Ugh, I think I ate too many Cookie Cats."
Pearl, Amethyst and I laughed, until Quartzite doubled over again and threw up over his Cookie Cat grave.
Oops. Hehehe.
Laser Light Cannon
~Ellie/Spinel's POV~
*Exhales* Sunsets... The time of day that makes you feel small compared to the stars appearing in the sky.
Not this time however. There was another sun-like object in the sky. A couple of nights ago, it started out as a normal star. But it got bigger and bigger as the nights passed. Now we know it's not getting bigger. It was coming for us.
Pearl, Garnet and I were outside the Temple, looking at the star. Amethyst and Quartzite were elsewhere.
"This is bad." Garnet spoke up.
"Look at the size of it!" Pearl gasped, looking through a telescope, "I had no idea these things were so big!"
Then we heard Amethyst call, "Garnet! Nellie! Pearl!"
Garnet, Pearl and I turned and saw Amethyst arriving, carrying Quartzite over her head.
"We saw!" Pear answered, then pointed out, "Some of us are trying to protect ponykind!" Then she asked, "Where were you?"
Amethyst put Quartzite down and answered casually, "Eating fry bits."
Pearl face-palmed and sighed, "Ugh."
"Can I see?" Quartzite asked.
Pearl stepped aside and Quartzite looked through the telescope. The star opened to reveal to be an eye. A Red-Eye.
Quartzite smiled, "Whoa. It's a giant eyeball! Awesome!"
Pearl shook her head, "Not awesome, it's a Red-Eye!"
"A Red-Eye?" Quartzite repeated, then stepped away in panic, "It's going to infect us all!"
"That's pinkeye, Quartzite." Garnet corrected. Amethyst giggled.
"It's going to crash into Beach City, and crush us, along with a bunch of oblivious, innocent people!" Pearl explained, "We have to stop it!"
"What are we going to do?" Quartzite asked.
"The only thing powerful enough to destroy it is a light cannon, that belonged to Rose Quartz." Garnet answered, adjusting her shades.
"My mum?" Quartzite asked.
Pearl nodded with a forlorn look. I hugged myself to stop myself from feeling bad about Rose Quartz's passing. If it wasn't for Rose Quartz, I would've been stuck in the Garden, still waiting for Pink Diamond... Oh, I miss her...
Amethyst sighed, "If Rose were here, this would be so easy."
Pearl hugged herself, "I know, but she's not, and the cannon is missing." Then rubbed her chin in thought, "We'll have to find another solution."
Quartzite smiled and raised his hand, "If it belonged to my mum, I bet my dad knows where it is. He can help us save the day!"
I rubbed my chin in thought then smiled, "That's... Actually not a bad idea, Quartzite."
The other Gems looked concerned and uneasy.
"Graphite is nice, Quartzite." Pearl assured, but admitted, "But I doubt Rose would entrust someone like him with such a powerful weapon."
Amethyst put her hand over Quartzite's shoulder, "Your dad is kind of a mess, Quartzite."
"Amethyst!" Pearl glared at the purple Quartz.
Amethyst shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just saying! Even if she did leave it with him, he probably broke it, or lost it, or dropped it in the ocean by now."
Garnet nodded, "True..."
Quartzite shook his head, "No way! I'm sure he is just keeping it somewhere safe." Then volunteered, "Ellie and I'll go ask him."
Quartzite grabbed my hand and we were about to leave, but Garnet interjected, "We can handle this." She turned to Amethyst, "Ready?"
Amethyst nodded and Garnet picked her up. She leaped into the air and threw Amethyst toward the Red-Eye. Amethyst hit the eye, but fell into the water. The eye had no sign of damage. This is gonna take a while.
"Uh... W-We're gonna go." I spoke up, taking hold of Quartzite's hand.
Pearl waved us off, "Okay, good luck."
Quartzite and I ran to the other side of the Temple, to the local car wash. Graphite Universe, Quartzite's father, decided to open it with the money he made selling cds of his old music. Some of it is not half bad.
We found a closed van on the driveway and Quartzite started knocking on the back doors, "Dad, it's me! Daaad? Are you in there?" He rammed his shoulder into the doors, "Wake up! We have to save the world!"
Out of options and getting impatient, Quartzite climbed to the roof of the van and jumped on it, "Dad!"
He slipped and fell. Still no response. I sighed and walked up to the back of the van. I knocked on the door, "Graphite?"
The car alarm went off, causing me to squeak in startle.
Graphite exit the van and ran toward me with a waffle iron, "What do you want? I have a waffle iron!"
Graphite Universe was an Earth Pony stallion in his late 30s to early 40s. Long mane, like Amethyst's, but balding and a dark brown color. A matching beard. His fur was a light beige color and he wore a white tank top and sweatpants.
I grabbed his wrists, "Graphite, calm down. It was just me and your son."
Graphite looked at me and Quartzite with tired eyes, then switched off the alarm, "Nellie? Quartzite?"
Quartzite hopped off the roof and hugged his father. Graphite released the hug and looked at me, "I almost waffled your face!"
I giggled and waved my wand, "You were still waking up."
"What are you two doing up so late?" He asked Quartzite and I.
"What do you mean?" Quartzite asked, "The sun just went down an hour ago."
"Oh..." Graphite muttered, then rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle, "It was a slow day at the car wash." Then he asked, "Anyway, what's up? Just needed to see your old man, pal around, learn some lessons about life?"
Quartzite shook his head, "No. I need the light cannon that belonged to Mum."
I nodded in agreement, "We need it to destroy the Red-Eye coming toward the beach."
"Red-Eye?" Graphite repeated.
"That!" Quartzite answered, pointing at the Red-Eye.
Graphite looked at it, as Amethyst was thrown at it for the fourth time. Again, she hit and fell into the water. The eye was untouched.
"Wait. Is that a magical thing?" Graphite asked, then pointed out, "The Gems told me not to get involved with magic stuff. I-it could be dangerous or interfere with what's left of my hair."
"But they need Mum's cannon. You've got to know where it is!" Quartzite argued, "Like a cave dungeon or a cloud fortress or in a clam at the bottom of the ocean."
Graphite picked his waffle iron and put it back in his van.
"You and Rose were very close." I explained.
Graphite turned to us, "Well, I don't know about all that, but I have an idea where it might be."
We hopped into his van and Graphite drove us down the road to the storage place, 'U-Stor'.
"A magical storage unit!" Quartzite gasped with stars in his eyes.
Graphite shrugged, "Not exactly. But some would say there's magic inside." He grabbed a key and unlocked the door, "It's just a shed I use to keep things that don't fit in the van." Then he opened the storage unit, "If it's anywhere, it'll be in here."
The storage unit was filled to the brim with boxes and other stuff. And I thought Amethyst was a hoarder.
No offence...
Quartzite entered and tried to move some boxed. The boxes collapsed, giving a cave-like entrance.
I put my hand over his shoulder, "Let me, Quartzite. I'm skinnier and a little faster."
Quartzite nodded in agreement, "Alright." Then pointed out, "But if you're going in there, you're gonna need some gear."
With that, he tied a flashlight on top of my head with a sock, and tied an electrical cord around my waist.
Quartzite smiled, "All set."
Graphite gave me a thumbs up, "Good luck!"
I switched the flashlight on and entered the storage unit by crawling through the boxes.
Inside, the place was full of stuff and a few bits and pieces of junk. Watching my step, I journeyed deeper into the unit, squeezing through a sandwich of mattresses. I saw something and grabbed it. It was a golf kit with three clubs.
"Do you golf?" I asked Graphite.
Graphite shrugged, "Ah, I like to think of myself as someone who would golf... Eventually."
I continued deeper into the storage unit. I found a bongo drum. Tennis balls and a t-shirt cannon. Then I found a box full of cds. They all had Graphite's face on them, when he was younger, so they must be his.
"I found a box of your old cds!" I called.
Graphite sighed with a smile of nostalgia, "Oh, man. I couldn't give those things away." Then he explained, "You know, before I ran the car wash, when I was a band, we traveled the whole country."
I continued through the unit, "I remember that."
"When I came to play a concert here in Beach City, no one showed up except-" "An alligator!" Quartzite cut into his father's story.
Graphite shook his head and chuckled, "No, it was your mother."
"Interesting..." I muttered to myself in thought.
"And we were always together after that." Graphite continued his story, "Until she gave up her physical form to bring you into the world, Quartzite. I don't know what a magic lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like me."
I heard a crack and I saw my knee leaning on a cracked photo of Graphite, with a hot dog in his mouth, and a smiling mare. A tall Earth Pony mare with voluminous, curly pink mane, white fur and wore a white, layered dress. Rose Quartz! They looked so happy.
"Oh, no." I squeaked, then called, "Graphite, I think I broke a photo."
"It's okay, Nellie." He assured me, "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs."
As if by response, a light glowed before me. A large cannon was resting, undisturbed in the back of the unit. I gasped and smiled, "The light cannon!" Then I shouted to Quartzite and his father, "Quartzite, Graphite, I found it!"
"Really?" The two asked, as I untied the cords around my waist and tied them around the cannon.
"Get the van!" I shouted.
It was quiet for a few moments, then the sound of an engine reached my ears. The cannon moved into the mattresses and exit the unit.
Quartzite exit the van and took a look at the cannon, "This thing could save the city! We've got to get it to the beach!"
"How? It's too big for the van." Graphite asked.
A cart rolled past us. Quartzite and his father carried the cannon into the cart. However the cannon was heavier than it looked and crashed through the cart. Quartzite, Graphite and I looked at each other and entered the van. Graphite drove the van down to the beach, dragging the cannon behind us.
"Is it gonna be okay?" I asked, referring to the cannon.
Graphite shrugged and said, "If every pork chop were perfect-"
"We wouldn't have hot dogs!" Quartzite finished with a sigh.
We saw the Red-Eye. It was larger than when I entered the unit. How long was I in there for?
"That thing's getting huge!" Graphite shivered, "It's freaking me out!"
"Can't the van go any faster?" Quartzite asked in a small panic.
Graphite put his hoof down and the van reached 50 mph, "This is faster!"
"Don't worry." Quartzite assured, then grabbed a cd case from the glove compartment, "Come on. Let's put on your cd."
"Huh, really?" Graphite asked with a blush, "Uh, come on, you've heard it."
Quartzite smiled and opened the case, "You come on."
He inserted the cd into the cd player and an electric guitar solo played, followed by Graphite's voice.
We arrived to the beach. Everything started turning red under the presence of the Red-Eye. Amethyst was washed up from the tide.
"Hey, guys!" Quartzite called, as we exit the van.
"He really had it." Pearl gasped.
"We're saved!" Amethyst cheered.
Then the Red-Eye started sucking everything into its pupil.
"We have to use it now." Garnet instructed.
She, Pearl and Amethyst ran toward the cannon.
Peal tried to find the switch, "I don't know how it works! It was Rose's!"
Quartzite turned to his father, "Dad, how do we use it?"
Graphite just shrugged his shoulders.
Pearl grabbed Quartzite, "Quartzite, this is serious." Then something hit her, "The gem. You have Rose's gem!"
"That's it!" Amethyst smiled. She picked Quartzite up and pressed him against the cannon, rubbing his gem against the surface of the cannon, "Ugh! Come on!"
"Stop that!" I told Amethyst.
Pearl sighed, "It's no use!"
Amethyst nodded, "Fine! Forget it!" Then told Garnet, "Throw me again!"
She leaped into Garnet's arms and Peal shouted, "That's not going to work!"
Then Graphite's van got caught in the gravitational pull of the Red-Eye, dragging the cannon with it. Graphite quickly untied the cord, "I got this!" Then started getting dragged toward the eye, "No! Wait! No, maybe I don't!"
"Please, work." Quartzite begged the cannon, "Unlock. Activate. Go. Please? Everyone's counting on you! You can't just be useless! I know you can help!"
"It's okay, Quartzite!" Graphite assured his son, "We'll figure out something else! Something even better!"
I nodded in agreement and whispered, "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs..."
Then the cannon started humming. It opened into the form of a blooming white rose.
"It's working!" Pearl gasped.
The cannon fell, but I tried to pick it up and aim it at the eye. It was really heavy. I felt it getting lighter on my shoulder. I saw and it was Pearl, Quartzite, Garnet and Amethyst helping me.
"This is it." Amethyst shouted, as the cannon glowed.
"Brace yourselves!" Garnet shouted.
The cannon fired a blast of light energy, in the form of rose blooming into a silhouette of Rose Quartz. Direct hit into the pupil. The Red-Eye exploded, shattering into pieces.
The debris of large rocks fell all around the beach. Even the stores close-by. Mr. Fryman's car flipped on top of a rock and the alarm went off. Oops...
"Nellie, you just saved most of Beach City!" Amethyst smiled, once everything calmed down.
"Sorry, Mr. Fryman!" I shouted.
"What?" Mr. Fryman asked.
"How did you get it to work?" Pearl asked me.
"I just said what Graphite says to shrug things off." I answered.
"That thing about pork rinds?" She asked.
Garnet put her hand over Pearl's shoulder and spoke up, "Hot dogs."
"Rose..." Graphite sobbed, wiping a tear from his eyes.
Then the tide came in. Everyone started laughing, until Graphite's van drifted past us, making it way deeper into the current of the ocean.
"My van!" Graphite cried.
"It's okay, Dad." Quartzite assured, "If every pork chop were perfect-"
I quickly covered his mouth, "Quartzite, no!"
"I live in there!" Graphite shouted, chasing after his van.
Quartzite followed after his father, "Wait up!"
I lightheartedly giggled. Everything is back to normal.
For now...
