"THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!" Twilight gasped.
Seconds after Jasper had entered the picture with Pearl by her side, everybody and everypony quickly got shocked when they saw Jasper's new addition to her form. The Cutie Mark almost seemed to glisten in the seaside sun, and it was easily seen by everypony and everybody present, regardless of who it was. Jasper kinda expected as such, considering she had returned with basically a magic tattoo on her cheek that just popped up out of nowhere. Still, this was a cause for alarm and question; how can a non-pony creature even remotely gain a Cutie Mark like this?!
"How did it happen, dear?" Rarity asked, shocked as everyone else.
"It just showed up after Pearl and I talked two nights ago," Jasper replied, gently touching her Cutie Mark with her finger. Some though like Pinkie Pie, were extremely excited to see this.
"This is SUPER-DOOPER-AWESOME-AZING! A Gem with a Cutie Mark?! Oh, our worlds are getting CLOSER!" Pinkie beamed, hugging Jasper tight. It took some muscle to get the pink mare to let go, but the idea of their worlds getting closer may not be too far off.
"... Can a Gem get this Cutie Mark?" Star asked after a bit to Flint next to her. But the Gem didn't had much clue.
"No other Gem had a Cutie Mark before," Flint replied, dumbfounded. Star went over and took a closer look in child curiosity, as Twilight spoke again.
"But this doesn't make sense. Only Ponies should be able to get Cutie Marks. No other creature has been known to get one," Twilight pondered, looking right at the Cutie Mark. Fulgurite nearby just shrugged.
"Maybe Jasper's part pony," Fulgurite suggested. Jasper of course had extreme doubts.
"Fulgurite, I can guarantee you I'm NOT part pony. You see any tail or hooves on me?" Jasper asked quizzically, unamused and annoyed by Fulgurite's comment. Fulgurite brought her hands up.
"Okay, okay, just a thought, gees," Fulgurite said, backing up before Jasper could go off on her.
"Well, whatever the answer, is there anything harmful coming with it?" Flint asked. Might as well ask that at least.
"Course not! Y'all saw ponies with Cutie Marks, and we're doing just fine," Applejack cleared up. Flint sighed, his nerves slightly calmed down. It still was strange though that Jasper, of all Gems, would earn something that only a Pony from Equestria would get.
"Well, how do you Ponies get your Cutie Marks? Do they just show up from nowhere?" Flint questioned.
"Sort of. You see, a Cutie Mark represents who one really is. A special gift or talent that stands one pony out from everypony else. When somepony finds their destiny, and their special talent, they earned their mark," Rarity explained.
"So you're not born with these?" Jasper asked, pointing to her own.
"Not at all. Nopony knows immediately what their destiny is. It takes time to get to, you know," Twilight said. It was all still confusing for Jasper when all was said and done. She did want to talk to someone else about this though.
"That aside. Where's Garnet?"
"... She and Peridot are training. Again. At the Barn," replied Star.
Next stop.
~~~~~~
At the barn in question, Peridot continued her training, keeping in better pace, with Ruby and Sapphire nearby her. Ruby was, once again, alongside Peridot in her training course, Sapphire sitting comfy nearby with Steven, Lapis, Lion, Amethyst, and Diopside. Dio and Steven were sharing some chaaps as they were watching. Peridot still kept her kicks strong, and focused, as Ruby took each one like a champ.
"Holding up, Peri?" Ruby asked.
"Doing fine," Peridot replied. Peridot kept up her rapid fire kicks and punches for a while longer, the others cheering her on, until Peridot stopped for a moment. Peridot felt alright with her fast kicks, but it was getting a little annoying with the results on herself and Ruby. She can deliver for sure, but with how much impact? By the looks of it, not very much. Ruby was still glad Peridot was improving in some way, but Peridot seemed a little indifferent. Sapphire, naturally, figured this would happen.
"Having trouble?" Sapphire asked. Peridot turned away from her.
"No, I'm fine," Peridot said. Sapphire walked over to her.
"Come on, Peridot, it's me."
"... Alright. As much success as Ruby had been, I feel like I need a stronger opposition," Peridot decided. For any student, they won't improve if faced with the same opponent. Ruby didn't know why Peridot thought of this so quickly.
"What's wrong with me?" Ruby asked quizzically.
"Oh, nothing at all! I was just thinking that maybe I might need a stronger opponent, that's all," Peridot explained, not wanting Ruby to snap at her. Before their conversation could continue, the Warp Pad not too far away suddenly activated, as Jasper and the others soon showed up. Just enough room on the Warp Pad for them to all fit, which was good. Jasper began walking over first.
"Perfect!" Peridot exclaimed, not noticing anything different on her just yet. The others noticed though, as Peridot went right up to her.
"Jasper? This may be a bit on short notice but - OH MY STARS!" It obviously didn't take very long before the others there notice Jasper's Cutie Mark on her face. However, Jasper was more focused on talking to Sapphire than talking to Peridot, as everyone else went on over. She immediately stopped over by Sapphire, the wiser part of Garnet. Jasper didn't hesitate to get to the point.
"Sapphire? Was this the reason you sent me with Pearl?" Jasper asked, pointing to her Cutie Mark. Sapphire moved her hair, her one eye locked to Jasper's Cutie Mark.
"... Nah. I just wanted you two to have fun," Sapphire responded. The ice blue Gem would never had guessed, even with her future vision, that any Gem would get a Pony Cutie Mark, yet here was Jasper with hers. This could open quite a number of possibilities too. Peridot cleared her throat from behind her.
"As I was saying -"
"WHOA! How'd you get a Cutie Mark?!" Steven beamed, cutting Peridot off. Diopside looked with intrigue, her Gem eye adjusting to examine it.
"It just happened really," Jasper replied. Peridot grumbled a little bit on being ignored like this, but Amethyst nudged her to cheer her up.
"What's with you now, P?"
"They're not listening to me," grumbled Peridot. It was clear that almost everyone was more interested in Jasper's cutie Mark, than listening to what Peridot had to say. Amethyst then got an idea.
"Hey, how about a snack break, what do ya say?" Amethyst offered. Peridot didn't had any sort of lunch with Amethyst in, admittedly, too long. But, she kept her pride in tact.
"Very well," Peridot simply replied. Amethyst and Peridot started to head off to the Warp Pad, only being seen by Ruby off to the side. The red Gem went right over to the two once she saw this.
"Where're you two going?"
"Partaking in a snack break," replied Peridot simply.
"A snack break? Peridot, it's only been ten minutes," Ruby retorted.
"It won't be long, Ruby. Not like anyone would notice, anyway," Peridot responded, grumbling at the second sentence. Looking back to see everyone more interested in the Cutie Mark, Peridot wasn't too far off. Amethyst and Peridot stood on the Warp Pad, ready to head on back. After some thinking it over, Ruby looked to the other two.
"Oh alright. I could use a break too," Ruby decided. Not expected, but the two allowed her to come along. As the trio stood on the Warp Pad, the Warp Pad activated and the two were the off. It wasn't until after the pad activated, that the others noticed something.
"Guess someone left," Fulgurite commented. When looking through the crowd, Sapphire tried to count out the people and Ponies, realizing three people were missing. Sapphire took a moment to consider her options, and looked to the sky. The weather had been getting duller, and the clouds had been gathering up for quite sometime since they showed up.
"Sapphire, you there?" Emerald suddenly said, snapping his fingers in front of her face to get her back to attention. Sapphire got back around soon enough.
"Huh?"
"You zoned out on us. K?"
"Yeah. Yeah I am. Go into the barn, I'll go get the others," Sapphire said, starting to head over to the Warp Pad. Sapphire just got to the pad herself, when suddenly the others began to feel something hit her skin ...
Rain.
"Wait. Water?" Jasper thought, feeling more raindrops alongside the others. Some were new to it still, some took it in stride, but Jasper began to remember her last confrontation with this stuff back in Equestria. Or Ramicorn, for that matter. Far as she knew, rain could only mean one thing ...
"Sapphire!" Jasper suddenly yelled. As she feared, they began to hear distant thunder, Jasper starting to shiver a little.
"Oh boy. Come on, let's hang in the barn for a while til the storm breaks," Emerald decided, going into the barn first, followed by the others. Sapphire tried to get the Warp Pad to work, but to her confusion, it seemed oddly absent. In short, it won't work! The thundering was getting louder, and stronger, and Jasper wasn't having it. She went over, grabbed Sapphire, and went right into the barn with her. Not a moment to soon; seconds after they got inside.
*KABOOM*
Jasper stepped back from the door in a jolt, as curious Emerald peeked out of the door, only to find the Warp Pad suddenly cracked! Guess a lightning strike was too much for it.
"Good thing we're not paying for that," sighed Emerald.
~~~~~~
In the Beach House, Amethyst, Peridot, and Ruby were still with eachother, no one else in the place, and the rain starting to fall hard outside at this point. Nearby, Lion and Blue were chilling out. Turned out, Amethyst had tossed some items aside from the table, one of which was one of Steven's backpacks, over by the Warp Pad, right on the rim of it (why it wouldn't work in the first place on Sapphire's end). Amethyst was still working on her "snack", as Ruby waited impatiently for her to get done. Peridot had a far more decent snack compared to Amethyst - just a peanut butter and banana sandwich - yet Amethyst was a bit more dramatic in size. The purple Gem had got herself a stack of pancakes, topped with chocolate syrup and popcorn, with a dollop of whip cream and a cherry at the top.
"You done yet?" Ruby asked, arms crossed, and foot tapping.
"Almost. This is pretty good," Peridot said, taking another bite of her sandwich. It was no burger from Beach City by any means, but it still tasted alright for her. Amethyst licked her lips, and readied herself. All it took for her though, rather than savor, was one huge bite. She shoved the whole thing in her gullet, plate included, and she slid the plate out of her mouth, which ended up having a bite taken out of it. Peridot was more subtle, and finished her sandwich a bit later than Amethyst did. Amethyst hopped off her chair, licking the food stains off her face in one sweep of the tongue.
"Gross. Now let's get going back," Ruby decided. Ruby got on the Warp Pad first, and got to activating it ...
Nothing happened.
"Huh?" Peridot and Amethyst joined her, but Ruby couldn't seem to get the thing working. She tried about ten times in a row, even stomping on it, but nothing happened. This was a little bit confusing for them, and Ruby got more frustrated.
"Come on!" Ruby groaned, still trying, but nothing happened. Eventually, a frustrated Ruby came to another conclusion.
"Okay then, guess we're walking," Ruby decided.
"Aww man," groaned Amethyst. The trio went to the door, just in time to find -
*KABOOM*
Lightning right on the rock wall! The strike wasn't too far away, and the sound mixed with the flash caught them off guard. Ruby and Amethyst were alright with it as Ruby closed the door, but Peridot disappeared ...
"Peridot? Where'd you go?"
They then heard a closed bathroom door. Amethyst and Ruby opened up the door, just to find Peridot cowering in the bath tub. Peridot looked simply freaked out.
"D-Did anyone tell you to knock?" Peridot stuttered, trying to look more casual. Another thundering boom outside just made her cower more, and ducked for cover in the tub. Of course, Amethyst and Ruby weren't buying it, and the two went over to get her out.
"Will you calm down? It's just thunder, nothing to be scared of," Amethyst said.
"Scared? Me?! ... Well, not very much. But perhaps it'll be appropriate to explain this thunder concept -" Peridot was silenced by a much closer thundering , the green Gem jumping. Ruby, Amethyst, and Peridot looked outside the bathroom, and to the front door. It was really starting to pour down at this point, and the barn was very far from the Temple. So, they didn't had much choice; they're gonna have to stay put until the storm passes by them ...
~~~~~~
As for everybody, and everypony else, they were stuck at the barn. The rain poured down with no signs of stopping, distant thunders echoing all around. From in the barn, the constant sound of rain pattering on the roof was a constant source of white noise for them. It didn't help that Amethyst, Ruby, and Peridot were missing at the moment, off to who knows where.
"Okay, so ... Two kings ace high!" Steven said, who was playing cards with the others.
"Three aces, read em and weep," Emerald said, confident in his hand. Steven just lost, but he was a good sport about it. Some though weren't so calm about the subject; Flint was very unsettled with this storm. Knowing the trio of Gems was gone somewhere, it was troubling to say the least. Finally, Flint had enough waiting.
"Well? Isn't anyone gonna try to go out to get them?!" Flint finally asked.
"They'll be fine, it's just rain," Sapphire said casually.
"It's a storm, Sapphire. And your three Gems are gone out there wherever getting drenched," Flint retorted.
"Don't you dare start, Flint. Not now," Jasper groaned. Last thing they needed to hear was Flint's worries all over again. Flint looked to her crossly.
"Fine. Then why don't you do it?" Flint said, seeing her as the strongest and toughest one of the group far as he knew. Jasper should've kept her mouth shut. The orange Gem looked to the barn door at that point, heading over to it. Sapphire was unsure about this, but Flint waited for her to go. Jasper wanted to keep her fear under wraps, so she opened up the barn doors.
Immediately, the Gem was hit by strong wind and rain, halting her for a moment. She tried to gather her nerves. She is a strong Quartz. Jasper felt the rain pour down on her skin and hair as she walked out of the barn for five steps before stopping again. She tried to relax, but then she looked up to the sky. She saw the dark clouds, the pouring rain, and the too familiar flashes of lightning. It was all looking too familiar to her last encounter with a storm. She knew she can't fight one this time, and seeing the storm was getting more troubling for her. Jasper closed her eyes on the flashes for a moment. The orange Gem took one peek to the sky, only to see a huge lightning bolt stroke right down towards her, inches from where she was standing! When the lightning disappeared, so did Jasper. They did find her, back in the barn, and to the back wall, breathing heavily. Jasper's eyes were wide open, irises shrunk, and arms gripping the wall behind her. While her being humble was a first for Pearl to see, seeing her terrified of anything was a surprise to everyone. Everyone looked to Jasper for a moment.
"Jasper, you okay?" Twilight asked. Jasper didn't reply at first. Rainbow then waved a hoof in her face, snapping her back to reality. Jasper just slid down until she was sitting on the ground.
"Geesh, Jasper, didn't think you'd be scared of some storm," Fulgurite commented, getting a rough nudge from Pearl.
"Everything okay?" Fluttershy asked, trying to comfort her alongside Steven. Jasper couldn't believe herself, and brought her head to her knees. Flint sighed nearby, seeing that this wasn't such a good idea for Jasper to do. He may be worried, but not stupid.
"Why didn't you tell me she was afraid of storms?" Flint asked.
"None of us knew until now," Sapphire replied.
"Fair enough ... Lapis?"
Lapis turned to Flint on hearing her name.
"You're a flying water Gem, think you can figure out if they're alright?" Flint asked. This is a storm, which involves both things that Lapis Lazuli can easily handle. If any Gem can handle this, it would be her.
"Uh. Ok?"
"Wait a minute, Flint. Something doesn't feel normal with this storm," Sapphire warned.
"I've seen storms - they're dangerous, but not supernatural. Go on, Lapis," Flint encouraged. Lapis looked outside, seeing the rain and wind, as she got her water wings ready.
"Here it goes," Lapis said. The blue Gem got herself ready, and began to taker off. The rain slammed down on her, but the water Gem was doing fine in it as Flint had figured. The wind was slightly troubling, but the flier Gem kept her course up in the air, and tried to find where they could have gone. However, the longer she tried, the harder it was getting. The storm was not settling, and even Lapis's control over the rain didn't help much with the strong wind messing her up one way or another. She tried to keep the rain still, but she could barely keep herself still with the wind.
"Ruby! Amethyst! Peridot!" Lapis called. It didn't seem to work though, for she couldn't see much of anything. One thing she could see was the distant lightning bolts, and the sounds of thunder. Since she was flying, she was a prime target and out in the open for any strike to hit her. However, that wasn't the thing that stopped her. The lightning bolts did go through some clouds in terms of light, allowing her to see past them if only for a little bit. Within the clouds, Lapis Lazuli began to notice something else aside from the clouds moving around in the sky. The thing flying around above her was about the size of a fighter plane, with two large wings. With each flap they made, it echoed pretty much everywhere. Lapis was freaked out, and didn't want to stick around to see what it really was. Before she could fly away, the creature made another flap of the wing, a huge gust of wind sending her flying right back into the barn, through the upper window.
"Lapis!" Steven gasped. Lapis was shaken up, but alright overall. It wasn't any better in finding where the other three had went to however. Lapis only had one message.
"Guys? That's no normal storm. It's alive!"
~~~~~~
Back in the Beach House, Amethyst, Peridot, and Ruby all were still trying to wait out the storm. With the Warp Pad down, they had limited options on what the heck to do. On the bright side, those options weren't boring all things considered anyway. Amethyst and Ruby had already gone over what storms were to Peridot, but the green Gem was still a bit nervous with the thundering booms of the lightning bolts outside, along with the rain. It didn't help that the sea nearby was making pretty big waves as well. They didn't reach the Beach House though, so they were alright. At this point, they were actually doing some hide and seek, at this point with Ruby being it herself.
"Here I come," Ruby shouted. Peridot and Amethyst both had pretty much disappeared from sight by the looks of things, but considering where they were, Ruby began to think over on where the two would be. with amethyst and her shape-shifting, and Peridot with her tiny size in general, it may be a little bit hard for the first time. Ruby had gone through this about five time now, so, it wasn't too much trouble to find at least one of the two Gems. It took Ruby some thinking, but eventually the red Gem started looking off to the cabinets in the kitchen, until she found Peridot hiding behind a bag of chips.
"You clod," groaned Peridot, who hopped down with the bag of chips. Ruby hopped down too, but now she had an even bigger problem; Amethyst. compared to the trio, amethyst had to be it the least amount of times because of her shape-shifting. And at this point, it was no exception. Peridot sat down on the couch, as Ruby kept looking around the place but with little success. Blue and Lion didn't bother to help her out during this time. Ruby kept trying to look around for quite a while, until eventually her frustrations caught up to her.
"Where are you Amethyst?!" Ruby shorted, just to end up figuring out ...
"AH! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Peridot was suddenly running in circles, the others in the house alarmed, as Peridot was trying to get something out of her triangle hair. Turned out, Amethyst had turned into a small spider, and somehow hid off into Peridot's hair without the green Gem noticing anything until Amethyst crawled out into sight. Laughing, amethyst hopped out of her hair, and turned back to normal.
"That's not fair!" Peridot snapped.
"No one said we couldn't. Besides, you can do the same at any time," Amethyst pointed out. Peridot was oddly quiet after hearing that, but quickly gathered herself and turned away.
"Like I would resort to some cheap tricks," Peridot responded.
"Cheap tricks?" Suddenly, Amethyst shape-shifted into Peridot. "I'd like to consider the matter as a physical advantage to one's form," Amethyst retorted cheekily, trying to sound like Peridot. Peridot blushed a bit.
"Impressive in my opinion, but it's hard to beat the original," Amethyst commented. Peridot chuckled on the compliment.
"So, you can do this all the time?" Peridot questioned. Amethyst turned back to normal.
"Got any requests you two?" Amethyst asked. The two thought it over for a little bit, and suddenly they got their answer.
"Sapphire," the two said. Awkward moment later, Amethyst focused, and soon they got a Purple Sapphire in front of them. Sapphire got it down pretty well, one eye and all, except for the extra Gemstone on her chest.
"How's this?" Amethyst asked, smiling and speaking like Sapphire would. Ruby and Peridot were impressed with her impressions, though Peridot seemed just a little bit uncomfortable when thinking it over. Ruby soon began to notice her and her lack of comfort.
"Uh ... Peridot?"
The green Gem soon realized the other two had noticed her.
"Nothing's wrong. I just - maybe you should tone down on the shape-shifting for a minute," Peridot said. Amethyst found it annoying, but rolled with it anyway.
"Fine. Hey Ruby, how bout you try it?" Amethyst said. No, that didn't help Peridot out. Ruby didn't see anything wrong with it, even after seeing Peridot troubled.
"Well, it's been a while," Ruby said bashfully.
"Oh come on, give it a try," Amethyst encouraged. Ruby thought it over, and decided to try it out. Amethyst waited and watched, but Peridot didn't bother herself. Ruby began to focus a little bit more, as Peridot sat down. After a bit, Ruby finally managed to work out her energy, and her arms shot out far longer than normal. She brought them high enough to touch the roof's support beams, and once she got a grip of them, she pulled herself up with one easy pull, her arms retracting back to normal as she pulled herself up. It was slightly old, but it was fun to do for her. Amethyst suddenly turned into a blue jay (or purple jay in her case), and flew right up to the beam to join her. Peridot was still down on the ground though, just watching them having their fun above her.
"Come on, Peridot, you try," Ruby encouraged. Peridot now had some more trouble with this one.
"I'm fine from down here," Peridot insisted.
"It's easy, just stretch your arms up here!" Amethyst encouraged after. Peridot still wasn't sure, but eventually the green Gem got to her feet on the couch, and gave it a shot. she brought her arms out, and tried to reach the beam the other two were on. She tried more, and more, and more again, but she wasn't stretching like ruby had done. Sweat came up on her face, groans escaped her gritted teeth, she got on the tips of her feet, but she wasn't stretching any time soon. Finally, she gave up, and slumped down onto the couch again, confusing the two.
"Peridot?" Ruby asked. Peridot just came clean.
"I can't do it. At all."
~~~~~~
The others back at the barn house were now on high alert. Since Lapis's warning about the storm, the group were watching out to see where it'll strike next. The thunderstorm wasn't helping too much, and now that something alive and breathing was flying around wasn't doing them any justice.
"So we got some freak bird flying around outside now?" Emerald summed up.
"Yeah, that's right," Lapis replied. Before it was just a storm, but now they got another monster to deal with.
"Oh brother, as if we don't have enough trouble," Flint groaned. He took the time to climb up to the top window of the barn to get a better view of the situation. It was hard to make out from the rain, but the lightning flashes were easy to spot.
"Anything, Flint?" Diopside asked.
"Not too much - this water's hard to see through," Flint groaned. Diopside then decided to get herself up to see, standing right next to him. Diopside focused her Gem eye, trying to see what was out there besides the rain. Flint waited for the word, along with the others. Rainbow Dash got herself up there too, trying to see herself alongside Diopside. Diopside, with her Gem eye focused, she got a much better view of the place. Looking up, she began to catch something moving in the sky, pass the clouds. The same silhouette was flying rather close to the barn, circling above them. The sight of it made Diopside shutter.
"Okay, Dio?" Flint asked, Diopside backing up a little bit, gulping.
"S-Something's out there, Flint. W-What do we do?" Diopside asked. Flint took another look, but he wasn't seeing what Diopside was seeing. Flint tried to think, but Rainbow Dash was getting impatient.
"Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being cooped up in here. I'm going out there! Anyone wanna join me?" Rainbow said. Flint jumped down to ground level.
"Rainbow, don't be hasty. Let us Gems handle this."
"What?! I'm plenty tough for a Pegasus, thank you very -"
"Listen to him, Rainbow."
Everyone suddenly turned over to Sapphire. Even Flint was surprised to hear her actually agree with him for once. Rainbow couldn't believe her ears, and was soon right in her face.
"You can't be serious!"
"Rainbow, you may be strong, but not invincible. With the monster and combined weather, not even you would last long," Sapphire explained. Rainbow was not having it. She was a tough pony, and this wasn't gonna change her mind. Despite Sapphire's warning, she opened up both wings.
"Be right back!" Rainbow said, suddenly flying to the window. The others tried to get her, but Rainbow moved too fast, and was out the barn in a few wing beats. Fulgurite rushed right to the window to find Rainbow flying off in the air.
"Rainbow, get back here!" Flint screamed.
Rainbow Dash found herself in a very rough storm. Her wings beating fast, the Pegasus struggled hard in the wind and rain. Rainbow kept trying to see where she was flying, but the rain stung her eyes, so it was becoming a harsher problem for her. Still, Rainbow was soon out of sight from the barn after a bit, making the others troubled for her safety.
"Seriously? You wait here, I'm going after her," Flint said, immediately heading for the door. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash began to fly away from the barn, and instead of going off aimlessly, tried the first spot she figured they'd go; the Temple. Unfortunately, that was where the wind was coming in from, and she had to fly against the strong blasts of wind and rain. On the ground, Flint was trying his best to get Rainbow Dash to come back. As some had feared, the two were directly in the line of fire. Dangerously close, more lightning bolts rang out, some almost striking Rainbow Dash in the air!
"RAINBOW!" Flint yelled, but Rainbow Dash didn't hear him. Rainbow tried dodging the lightning bolts and - while successful - began to tumble in the air! Her balance was off, and one particularly strong wind gust send Rainbow head over hooves until she slammed into the earth. Flint saw where she landed, and rushed over to her before she could try flying off again.
"Flint?!"
"Get back to the barn, now!" Flint demanded. Rainbow got to her hooves, but suddenly they both got covered in a thicker shadow. The two looked up, and Flint pulled Rainbow away just in time as something landed on the Earth! Now on the ground, Flint and Rainbow Dash both took a better look at what they had confronted. Standing fully upright, it was as tall as a fighter plane was long, with dark purple feathers, and sharp yellow eyes that glowed in the dimness of the rain. The feathers didn't look wet, but did shine in the light, much like a frog's skin. Its chest and stomach shined with white feathers, and the webbed talons dug into the ground. One shot of lightning behind the bird showed a eagle-like bird with a angry face. Strangest part: no Gemstone!
"Oh sweet Luna," Rainbow gasped. The creature hopped over to them, beak wide open to snatch one of them, and Flint pulled Rainbow away just before it could snatch either one of them. The bite was so close, it got some stray Pegasus feathers off of Rainbow's wing. The huge bird jumped up in the air again, and with a few flaps of its mighty wings, the two were suddenly thrown back, the wind currents sending them off back to the barn! Both Gem and Pony slammed into the barn side, dazed, and the bird hopped over their way again. The two got to their senses, and Flint got them both inside the barn just before the squawking eagle could get to them.
"Close the door, close it!" Flint yelled. Jasper and Applejack got the doors shut just before the bird could get them. The others could hear the huge bird just outside, waiting for something to come out.
"What in Celestia's name is that?" Rarity gasped.
"Wait, you don't know?! It's not a Gem beast out there," Flint retorted.
"It's not an Equestrian animal either!" Rainbow snapped, flying in the middle of the barn. Outside, the angry bird cawed good and loud, landing on top of the barn, and pecking at the window. No one dared go near the window as it was doing that, and the bird looked inside from there, its large yellow eye scanning the interior of the barn. However, when looking in, everyone had moved off away from sight, trying to keep quiet. Hopefully it would just go away if it saw that nothing was in there. After a bit, the bird shook off water from its feathers, making it downpour on the roof, and leak into the barn, onto the others. Then it did a rather worrying move ...
It opened the barn doors.
"Oh no. Please, please, please, please," Twilight pleaded quietly. However, the large bird then ventured inside, shaking off some more water. Even if dried, the feathers still looked shiny, as the plane-sized bird went inside. The other Gems and Ponies left the middle of the barn wide open, so the bird had enough room to settle down comfortably. It at least had the curtesy to close the barn doors as it settled in. As it walked in, they noted a sort of limp in its step, just before it settled down gently. Guess the barn was going to have a guest. The Gems and Ponies didn't know what to do at this point.
"Clod. Now what?" Fulgurite asked quietly.
"Sshh, quiet," Flint insisted. They didn't need an angry lightning bird to go off on them.
"But we can't just stay in here."
"I know I know, just let's me - Star?"
To their horror, Star Quartz was suddenly moving! The bird had just settled down when Star herself suddenly ended up right in front of it, standing in between it and the barn door. The bird took one glance to the door to find her standing there.
"Star, get back over here," Flint demanded quietly. Star quartz though didn't move, letting the bird see her. The white Gem just stood there, looking the bird eye to eye. At first, the large bird seemed to be pretty aggressive with seeing her, but it began to act a little curious, and calmed down after a full minute. The large bird settled down a bit, letting Star Quartz look it over for a little bit. Star moved off to the side of the bird, but then noticed something. One of its legs wasn't tucked underneath it, but instead resting on the side. Once more, it looked hurt as well, with a red sore on the bottom of its foot. Star looked troubled, but knew exactly who to get. After seeing that, she walked over back to the others, in particular to Steven.
"... Fluttershy. Steven. It's hurting ..." Star said, they all seeing the hurt foot now that it was pointed out. Steven and Fluttershy got the idea right away, and began to venture out. They were a bit cautious at first, but the bird didn't squawk at them, or try to fight them, now that Star had calmed it down. The others weren't too sure, but some still had confidence that things will be fine.
"Oh my," Fluttershy gasped, on seeing the hurt foot. This would explain why it was so upset anyway. Star and Fluttershy kept the bird calm, and Steven went on with trying to heal the bird. He got a good amount of his healing spit together, and gently got it onto the bird's foot. The touch felt cold, and stung the bird a little bit, but Star and Fluttershy made sure it didn't loose it on them. Everyone else watched them handle the bird for a bit, and eventually Fluttershy then came back to the others.
"So, what's the deal?" Applejack asked.
"She's sorry that she attacked you. She thought you were a different Gem. A Homeworld visitor attacked her a while ago," Fluttershy explained, telling them what the bird told her. Considering they had visitors from Homeworld with their Warp Pad, it wasn't that far off. Flint wasn't sure if he should buy it or not.
"Did she see our missing Gems?" Flint asked. Fluttershy shook her head.
"Afraid not. She told me you and Rainbow Dash were the only ones she found while flying through the storm. Guess that means the three are inside somewhere, or far away from here."
"But what do we do with the bird?"
"Well, she was kind of hoping that she could wait out in here," Fluttershy concluded, the others looking to the bird. Flint drew the line at that.
"May I remind you that thing tried to kill me and Rainbow outside just a minute ago," Flint reminded. That was true, but they took a look at the bird for a bit, it rested its head on the floor, already sleeping. Steven and Star both just finished up healing the bird, the sore healing up, and now bandaged (they found some amongst the stuff in the barn).
"Can't she stay around? She's really sorry," fluttershy insisted. Flint took a moment to think, but in the end just groaned.
"I'd normally say no. But you're all going to do it anyway, so I might as well save myself the effort."
~~~~~~
Back in the Beach House, amethyst and Ruby were trying something different with Peridot. Rather than mess around with her, the two Gems decided to try to get Peridot's powers to work properly like theirs. At least with the storm outside, and with the others gone for the time being, they had their own time to try and figure things out until the rain stops at least. Their methods on doing so, so far, had been basically teaching by example - a common, and effective method for most. Amethyst mainly did the showing, but Peridot just couldn't seem to follow her no matter how much she tried. some of the methods weren't even that hard in altering the body; stretching arms, turning into animals, even elongating her tongue at one point. However, Peridot couldn't come close to doing either one of those things. The more times she tried, the more discouraged she got.
"Okay, Peridot, let's give this a try. Ready?" Amethyst asked.
"As I'll ever be," said Peridot, grimly. Amethyst turned herself into a ball again, and began to bounce over to Ruby. Ruby caught Amethyst with some stretchy arms, and soon Ruby ended up throwing Amethyst back to her. Peridot tried to catch her, but the green Gem just got a face full of amethyst, and she fell to the ground in defeat. Amethyst quickly changed back once this happened, and Peridot didn't bother to get up. nothing mortally wounded, but she just didn't want to keep going.
"Okay, okay. Maybe if we stretch her arms, it'll make it easier," Ruby thought. Amethyst decided to try it, and Amethyst grabbed Peridot's legs, while Ruby grabbed her arms. Peridot didn't bother to stop them.
"One. Two. Three!"
Soon, Amethyst and Ruby were suddenly pulling hard on Peridot's limbs, trying to make them stretch. Peridot kept saying "ow." over and over again, but it didn't seem to stop the two Gems in trying to get her body to alter. It didn't seem to be working, and by what Peridot was repeating, it was painful.
"I think I heard a crack," Ruby said.
"That means it's working," replied Amethyst. They kept pulling and pulling, hurting Peridot more and more until ...
"JUST STOP!"
Finally, Ruby and Amethyst dropped Peridot, who was now both defeated, and sore in her limbs. The green Gem had pretty much given up on herself, and sat down on the couch, facing the window, watching the rain drip down the rooftop, and pouring outside. It was still raining quite hard at this point in time. Amethyst sat down next to her.
"Come on, Peridot, don't be like that. We can -"
"No, we can't! While I appreciate the offers from both of you ... It's just not going to happen. But not for the reasons you might think," Peridot began, not facing them both. Ruby and Amethyst weren't sure what she was going on about, but Peridot decided to just continue.
"I'm an Era 2 Gem. Homeworld just couldn't make Gems like they used to. Peridots are a recent Gem, and were given technological enhancements ... Because we don't have any powers ..."
It was quiet for a moment or two. Ruby and Amethyst know that Peridot just wasn't feeling right with this fact, and even with training, she still was powerless overall. After thinking it over, Amethyst decided to speak up.
"Per. Imma gonna be real with you for a sec. You may think you might not be special without powers Peridot, but think about how much you've done without powers before. You're smart, clever, and pretty handy with some tools. And think about how much you did; you helped build the Galactic Ray, you fought with us fighting the Osicone, and I don't know any other Gem who traveled to as many galaxies as you did. You didn't had any powers then, yet you still did great. We like you for you."
Peridot took the words in after a bit. Ruby for one couldn't had said it better herself, but she agreed with every word Amethyst had said. Peridot smiled after a bit, and soon Peridot was hugging Amethyst and Ruby both. Their moment was sweet, but mother nature wasn't letting up the storm. After a little bit, they began to hear more noises from outside. Aside from the rain, and occasional thunder, something harder was hitting the roof. It was enough to get them alert, and more things started to hit down on the roof. The rain was weakening the cliff, which means ...
*BAM*
All of a sudden, a decent sized rock had crashed through the roof! The wind outside, began to blow in hard, blowing right at the Gems inside! Peridot, being the lightest, tumbled in the wind, as the other two blocked off the wind with their arms. Peridot landed over by the fridge, dizzy but fine, but the wind was having another effect on the stuff around them. From a strong gust of wind, the TV in Steven's part of the Beach House was blown at so hard, it was rolled off of its stand, and suddenly rolled off, ready to fall on Ruby and Amethyst!
"LOOK OUT!" Peridot shrieked, arms reaching out ...
Then it happened.
"... Oh ... Peridot?"
"Whoa ..."
The TV was being held up in mid air! Peridot, with her arms out, was holding the metal TV up somehow, without it crushing Ruby and Amethyst under it. didn't Peridot just get done saying that Peridots don't have powers? Even Peridot herself was at a loss of words, but a giggle did escape her in spite of herself. Ruby and Amethyst moved out of the way, as Peridot tried to work out this sudden ability of hers. The TV rotated in mid air, cord dangling, as Peridot tried to work with her hands to get it down safely back in place. It took some notable effort, but eventually Peridot gently placed it back down on Steven's TV stand. Not exactly the way it was before, but still pretty good for a first time try. The wind had calmed down at this point, but rain still coming down inside the house, so Peridot decided instead to use the TV. With careful precision, she rotated the TV, and managed to squeeze the TV into the hole in the roof so it won't fall down. They can handle it later, but this was just a shock to take ...
And just as well ...
"Oh ... My stars ..." Ruby said.
"Did ... Did I just do that?" Peridot said meekly, not believing what she just did as she stared down at her hands. Looking to her Gem friends, Amethyst suddenly went to the bathroom, moving Peridot along. She, Peridot, and Ruby went right in the bathroom, and once Peridot saw her reflection in the mirror, it was just as shocking as the metal powers she had obtained. On her right cheek, Peridot noticed something that wasn't there before. This showed what appeared to be some sort of flower, but the petals looked like they were made of steel or iron. A seemingly common beauty, yet with something no other regular flowers have. And the metal represented that.
A perfect Cutie Mark for Peridot.
"Oh. My. Stars. I got a Cutie Mark!"
"WOO, give it up for P-Pod!" Amethyst cheered, proud of Peridot. Not only did she find a new power, but she now had a Cutie Mark herself! Two grand things in just five minutes in one day! Ruby hugged Peridot, never prouder. As for Peridot, a smile appeared on her face, as her eyes grew stars in them. Never had she felt more successful in anything in her life. She traveled to many planets, sure. She helped the Crystal Gems, sure. But how many Gems discover their Cutie Mark, AND their brand new powers in one day?! That HAS to be a record for anybody!
Soon, the rain started to let up, as if on cue. Amethyst, Ruby, and Peridot all went on out of the bathroom to see, just to find that the weather was starting to let up. The trio of Gems, along with the Gem pets, were all ready to finally head outside.
"Come on! We gotta show the others!" Peridot beamed. No better time than the present to show her Cutie Mark AND her new ability to the others. Jasper showed her Cutie Mark, and now it was her turn. Ruby and Amethyst were glad that Peridot was happy with herself. Soon, they all were finally off back to the barn. Won't the others be surprised.
.......
"... Another Mark? ... Troubling ..."