//------------------------------// // My Little Universe: Anarchy Pt2 // Story: My Little Universe: Anarchy // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// "Clarity. We found this Gem on the outskirts this morning," reported the Agate. For Bismuth it was straight to the head of the prison hold, or the warden as the others put it. The room she was brought to was small, but bright in energy color, the color itself an assorted mix of blues and whites. As for the Clarity, she stood there with a few Amethyst guards at her side. Comparing her to the other Agates, their clarity looked a bit thicker than the other Agates, and the same one who decided to put the trio into the mining hole in the first place. "Who're you?" Asked the Agate. "I'm Bismuth, Agate." "Holly Blue Agate to you!" The other Agates corrected, rather harshly. It didn't really faze Holly Blue though. "What were you doing by the outskirts? Helping some refugee trespassers make a run for it?" Accused Holly Blue. Bismuth was a little impressed that Holly Blue got the basic idea, but she mustn't know that just yet. "No, not at all. I've come to join Aredox," Bismuth corrected. "... Why?" "Surprised you even asked." Bismuth glanced to one of the glaring Agates, before correcting herself. "Clarity. ... Is there anything wrong with that?" "I'll ask the questions, thank you. What can you do?" Asked Holly Blue. A rather odd question for an elite Gem to ask. Still, Bismuth might as well comply anyway. "Well, I can fight." "Heh, fight can you?" "I was a soldier of the Gem war." Well that wasn't exactly correct, but Bismuth needed to look good for the Agate. Holly Blue began to walk around Bismuth, looking over the large blacksmith Gem. Bismuth did seem like a large and imposing Gem, all things considered. ... "So you want to join Aredox, eh?" "Thought you might have some use for me." "Well. For the time being you'll be assigned to a post patrol. You take orders from Fire Agate here," explained Holly Blue, referring to one of the captains standing next to her. Well at least Bismuth was in the ranks, one step closer to finding the others amongst the prison hold. ~~~~~~ Well, good news: Amethyst, Steven and AJ had found the Ruby squad. But the bad news: they don't have an escape plan at all. They were in enough trouble on how they even got here at all. With their group stuck with most of the squad, they basically had to go through the motions here at this point. "This place blows," Amethyst groaned, as she, Applejack, Army, and Leggy were being escorted away to their corridors. "Quit complaining and get in line. You're lucky we even bother to feed you," said the Jasper guard escorting them away. They spent enough time outside in the yard according to the guards in charge, and now they were heading straight to their group's Mark hold. It mainly was a large building with rooms for the prisoners to sleep. Leggy didn't have much of a clue on what to do otherwise, but the others were more willing to show their discomfort. Soon as Army was tossed into her cell for example, she quickly leaped back to the barrier, and tried to bust out like a caged animal. The work she didn't mind as much but that didn't mean she liked the place. Leggy was tossed in the next cell over, landing on her head in a joined cell with Applejack. Amethyst was placed across from them, and she's been trying to bust out for a bit longer than Army, but like her it was no use. Speaking of cells, they matched the typical Earth and Equestrian jail cells, but the bars were altered to better hold stronger prisoners like the Gems. "Oh pony feathers," Applejack sighed, as the Jasper guard moved away. Leggy flipped herself around onto her feet, looking unfazed by the tossing. "You okay Ruby?" All Leggy did was nod, but they both cringed when they heard the whipping from across the jail hall. "Feisty aren't you?" "Let me out and I'll show ya how feisty I am!" Amethyst threatened, her whip at the ready. The Jasper guard didn't remotely care for it, but Amethyst gave a good whip that just slipped between the bars, hitting the Jasper. All that did though was make the Jasper grab it, and pull so hard and so sudden, Amethyst was pulled off her feet and slammed into the bars. The Gem stumbled and lost her weapon from the blunt force, and it made the other cringe on seeing it. "Try that again and you'll be out permanently," the Jasper growled, tearing the whip like string. Not a good sight to see. Once that was done, the Jasper left them to their squabbling. "So this is what you were stuck in since getting caught?" AJ asked. "Yep," said Leggy simply. Applejack sighed and laid down. They could tell that this wasn't a nice place to really be, not at all. Army, just across the wall, sat down and heard what they were saying. "How'd you get caught? Those Agates catch you on Homeworld?" Army asked. Yeah they saw them come in but details were hardly any for them to work with. "Not exactly: some freaky robot thing showed up and teleported us here. It tried getting one of your Rubies but we got caught instead," said AJ as she sat down over by the back wall. Leggy sat over down next to the orange pony. "You mean you didn't come to save us?" "No no, of course we did. ... We just weren't supposed to come along, apparently." "You weren't?" Before they could continue, there was another ruckus as another prisoner was forced in. This one looked a bit bigger, and was put into the same cell as Amethyst. Amethyst got the best view of this thing being brought in. It looked rather tall, about as big as a typical Flint Gem, though his body was a bit of a tricky one. He stood on all fours, though his arms appeared elongated compared to normal arms, about as long as his legs. His skin was slightly pale, a more silver look with a hint of blue. His hair was shaved half way along his head, and his body looked almost uneven in front and back legs, more like a gorilla than a human being except his hands were moving on palms instead of knuckles. Not a typical motion for this kind of creature. The creature looked over to the first Gem he ended up stuck with. "... Uh ... Hi?" The creature didn't answer her, and just observed the newcomer, and looked across at the pony as well. "You're new around here." "Eh yeah. Name's Amethyst." "I can see that. And is that your friend across the way?" He asked, pointing to the pony in the other cell. AJ, Leggy and Army looked right to him. "Hi Razor," said Leggy, waving to him. Razor wasn't too focused on the Ruby, but instead focused more on the new pony. "Yeah that's her," Amethyst replied. Razor moved to the back of the cell, laying down on the floor. Amethyst, not having anything better to do, went over to the prison bed, and got herself comfortable. "Never heard of a Gem being friends with ... that thing," noted Razor. "She's a Pony, and we've been friends for years now," Amethyst corrected, remembering well the first time she saw the orange pony. "Have you now?" "Yeah. We first met WAY long time ago. I had my Gem cracked before, and when I got off to get healed with the rest of my team, there she was right at the same spot, and we've been pals ever since," summed up Amethyst. Razor settled down as she was talking, glancing back at Applejack again. "You don't say. Nice you two were put in together then, unlike some of the others," Razor noted. "How many others are in this place? We saw a ton outside already." "Oh, dozens on dozens of prisoners, just counting one mark in this place. You might as well get comfy for now," Razor advised. And they might as well do so. ~~~~~~ Later on in the day, it was patrol time for Bismuth. Being new to the whole regime as it were, Bismuth took some sort time to do her own scouting among the grand prison hold. Being a patrolling officer gave her some time to check out the area a bit, and without any trouble from other passing guards. The patrol path was through the outdoor trail, heading near the main yard. For a place so crowded up, it was a rather quiet walk along the way. Still, her mind was a bit more focused over on finding her targets over just simple patrolling, but so far she hadn't found much. "Come on guys, where're you?" Bismuth thought. If she couldn't find them in here, then who knows where they had ended up? She'd be walking around all over the prison for no reason whatsoever. As she continued her walk, she eventually passed by another cell, but this one looked a bit harsher in appearance compared to most of the prisoners she had seen so far. She looked like a pony, but the pony looked beat up and mangled a bit. Her mane and tail looked torn, and her ears oddly shorter than a typical pony. Bismuth was given a brief summary of the prison schedule, but many a prisoner were out already. "Aren't you going out?" Bismuth asked. The pony recoiled, but realized Bismuth wasn't going to hit her. "... Not at this time," said the pony, her voice much like Fluttershy in meek shyness, but more raspy and dry. After a short bit, one of the Amethyst guards joined up with Bismuth, to see the weak pony sitting there. "Tell her why you're here, Cloud dancer," said the Amethyst. The pony took a bit before she started to talk. The Amethyst brute towered over her to be sure she'll talk. "I-I've been punished for trying to escape the prison! The Agates were merciful. ... The Agates were merciful. ..." Probably lucky for her that it was good enough to pass. As some prisoners walked by, the Amethyst guard pushed Cloud dancer back, to keep her from going over with them. After they passed, Bismuth and the guard walked onto the main yard, passing by a number of feeding prisoners under guard. "That thing keeps trying to run away," explained the guard, "Sandstone Agate caught her this time. Those Agates tore her up hoof to tail and says she has to present herself every morning and afternoon as an example. One more attempt and they'll poof her for sure, I know for a fact." Bismuth cringed on the images getting to her head on hearing her. Being a Gem of Homeworld for a long time meant that she can get how dangerous and merciless Agates can really be. And to think Cloud dancer called that being merciful, of all things. As the two continued on, Bismuth looked around at the prisoners, but none of them looked any familiar, really. Still, in their little walk, she did begin to catch sight of one human and one other figure amongst the crowd. ... "Wait. ... Who're they?" "Him? He keeps calling himself Steven; one of our new coming pebbles to the prison. You ask me he won't last long at all. That larger one there is called Razor, but I'd stay away from him if I were you, he's a troublemaker. The council's got their eye on him," explained the Amethyst, as she went on ahead. ....... Time ticked by, and the group was going on and enjoying the growing fruit. While they were under guard, Razor did begin to slip farther away from the weaker guards, though not trying to do another escape attempt as he did before. As he was just roaming. ... "Razor?" Razor turned quick, but he only saw it was Bismuth. "Mam." "I want to talk to you," Bismuth said. Razor sat down in submission as Bismuth approached. "I'm under your order, mam." "Do you remember a Ruby you helped escape from here on a space pod sometime ago?" Razor was silent at first, glancing around from his spot in case other guards were around somewhere. "You have me mistaken." "Now look, Razor, I live on a planet where life is free, where you can live as you wish. I don't follow these Agates at all," revealed Bismuth. "But ... you're a guard." "I only became a guard to get in here in the first place. I'm here to get my friends out, and nothing more than that. Are you familiar with any newly arriving prisoners to the hold?" Bismuth questioned. Razor didn't seemed too confident about that at all, but under her order ... "A few rubies, a Amethyst, a few others I believe. ..." "Perfect. Here, tell them to meet me over by the western arch during their second release, in between the fourth and fifth prison hold, think you can do that for me?" Bismuth asked quietly. Razor looked back to the others in the mark nearby. "... you're a spy. Sent by Holly Blue." "Now you know I'm not. Just tell them to meet me there, that's all I want you to do, trust me," Bismuth said, trying to convince him. He was willing to help Navy, why wouldn't he try again? Still, Razor turned away from Bismuth to the rest of the mark completely. Lucky the other guards didn't notice them yet, or at least didn't do anything about it. "Well ... alright, alright," Razor finally agreed. ~~~~~~ Hoping they've overheard the plan, Bismuth took position exactly where she said she would be, and all she had to do was wait for them to show up. Razor seemed trustworthy enough in this game of breakout, but Bismuth needed to be sure on what they could do before just taking off. For starters she needed them in position before they can do anything, and without catching any unwanted attention. Any agate or other guard finding them out would be more than enough trouble on the little squadron. Bismuth stayed just hidden away behind a corner of one of the prisonholds, making sure that the other guards didn't catch her hidden off away. The clock was ticking, and the longer they wait the less chance they got to get out. "That Razor. Hope he got them informed by now," Bismuth thought. The tough Gem waited a little bit more, but eventually she started to hear a set of footsteps starting to head her way. Bismuth stood at attention, looking like she was just pausing on her patrol in case it was either a Carnelian, Jasper, or Amethyst. Bismuth waited a little bit, but soon the answer came right into view. The Gem was off lucky that it wasn't any guard showing up, but instead it was exactly who she wanted to see: Steven, Amethyst, Applejack, and the Ruby Squad. "Bismuth!" Steven gasped. "SSHH! Good to see ya," Biamuth said, trying to keep quiet. "You guards make poor jokes," noted Doc. "No no, I'm not joking here, I swear on my own gemstone. Now listen, I got a plan, and if it works you'll all be out of here in no time. During one of my patrols I managed to find out where those space pods were. One of your squad got out over there, and you all can do the same. Just get yourselves inside one of those things and that'll be good enough to get you flying out of this prison, no time at all." Bismuth's plan was a bit of a on-the-fly one, and one that held many a chance for them all to get caught one way or another. "Isn't that risky?" Leggy asked. "Of course it is," Bismuth said, more confident and her hands turning themselves into power hammers. One thing Bismuth liked was a challenge. ... "Bismuth!" Well, they didn't even get very far before they were found out. One look behind, and wouldn't you know, a Agate had found them. In particular, Holly Blue Agate! What're the odds the queen of queens would find them out here? Holly Blue was quick to see the prisoners there, the towering Bismuth at the ready too, and at first Agate didn't say much. Her expression was stern and she walked over to them, hand behind her back in a military fashion. Was their escape over before it even started? "... Intriguing." "Huh?" "Only having you for a day and you're already taking charge of these prisoners. Catching seven escapees on the spot before they even reached the gate. Good work," Holly said. Bismuth glanced to the weaponized hand, and quickly connected the dots on the said matter. Though, at least the group wasn't in as deep of trouble as they first thought they would be, but it still wasn't getting them any closer to getting out either way. Tough luck for them. "Uh, thank you clarity," Bismuth said. Holly Blue nodded. "Right. Now, you get them in their stones, and put them right back in the prisonhold," Holly Blue instructed. As much as Bismuth didn't want to, she had to comply in front of Holly Blue herself. She still had her role to keep up after all, but to get them in their gemstones that only meant one thing. Bismuth looked over to Holly Blue one more time, waiting for the end result. The Rubies were a little bit unsure on words, but Bismuth raised her hammer arm to Army first. Army took a step back, glaring at Bismuth for a moment or two, before Bismuth sighed and swung her hammer. One hit and Army was in her gemstone. The same thing was done with Doc, Eyeball, Amethyst, and Leggy, each one adding another stray gemstone sitting on the ground. Soon, only Applejack and Steven remained, shaken up from the attacking, but Bismuth stopped her assault there. "Well? Aren't you finishing up?" "How? These two aren't Gems," Bismuth simply said. Holly Blue became the judge of that, and went over to the two remaining prisoners. Holly Blue looked each one of them up and down (much as they felt uncomfortable with it all) and Holly Blue didn't find anything on Applejack. But as she looked over Steven, his Quartz stone was soon found. AJ she could by but how was Steven not a Gem exactly? "Here's one Gem. You gonna do it or do I have to do it myself?" Holly Blue questioned, getting impatient with it all. Steven had to think of something, and fast. "W-Wait I'm not a Gem! We humans have things called piercings, they just look like gemstones, I swear," Steven said. However, Holly Blue glared to Steven from his noise. "Oh brother, what's with this thing's barking? Nevermind, I'll shut it up," Holly Blue said. Even if she understood him, she didn't care for it, as she cracked her knuckles. Bismuth jumped in before she could do anything. "Hold on! My clarity, he is a human. He's just got this thing called a piercing. They just resemble gemstones," Bismuth said. And THEN did Holly Blue pause ... "... Fair enough." "WHAT?" Steven gasped, voice hushed. So when he says something Holly took it as gibberish barks, but when a GEM says the exact same thing, THEN she gets it. Either she was non-bilingual or simply prejudice (latter being more likely). Holly Blue didn't let up on her whip though, whipping the ground at their feet. "That case, get them straight back to their cells," Holly Blue instructed. "Yes, your clarity," Bismuth said. AJ and Steven could only go on with the act and Bismuth moved them off around the corner. Now, Bismuth didn't want them locked up again, but what was she going to do with Holly Blue standing just twenty feet away. "Oh pony feathers. Anypony have any smart ideas?" Applejack asked quietly. All of their targets were in Bismuth's hands, and they couldn't keep them here either. What to do? Holly Blue was right there, so they had to think of something. "Uh, uh, AJ hide this," Bismuth said, giving her the gemstones. Applejack scrambled to hold them all, and hid them in the only spot they had: under her hat. And just in time since Holly Blue sounded like she was moving their way! Quickly, Bismuth shoved both of them to the wall, and Bismuth stood at attention. Her larger frame made her body like a hiding shield, Steven and Applejack just out of sight. "Back already?" "It didn't take long, your clarity. Those two were VERY submissive," Bismuth stated. Holly Blue nodded and smirked. "Such annoying animals. Hey, follow me. There's another job I want you to do," Holly Blue instructed, gesturing her to follow with her finger as she started walking off on her way. ....... Well, here they were now. Next thing they knew, they were following Holly Blue along through the halls of one of the prison-hold's buildings, this one in particular more for the guards rather than the prisoners, due to the lack of any cells and what not. For Bismuth, this turned into the most stiff walk she ever took, AJ and Steven staying very quiet, as much as they could ever be. Applejack and Steven had to match their steps with Bismuth, and not to make a single sound that might alert Holly Blue just a foot away. They'll all be in trouble the second that leading Gem catches them, especially now. "You know, Bismuth, you impressed me today. My experienced guards were lucky to handle just two or three, and you handled seven. Well, then again, they are just quartzes: nothing but brawn and little knowledge, right?" Holly Blue said. Bismuth nodded, though felt a cringe in Holly Blue's mockery. It was probably good that Amethyst wasn't still around, otherwise she'd be all over Holly for mocking her Gem cut. "Eh, yeah. ... So, what is this other job?" Bismuth asked. Holly Blue glanced back to Bismuth, and suddenly gave her a glare after a bit. "What is this other job, your Clarity." "Better," Holly Blue simply said. Bismuth rolled her eyes, not amused by the behavior at all. But she still had the others, so she had to hold herself back just a little bit longer. During the walk, eventually Holly Blue moved over to the next room, through a set of sliding doors. This room was pretty high up from the prison, windows having a clear view of the entire compound AND the skies above Aredox. The area appeared to be a docking station. Bismuth, Steven and Applejack were quick to see the rather familiar space pods docked not too far away, all up in a row. Bismuth, AJ, and Steven observed the space pods, which matched the one Navy crash-landed in back in Equestria. Guess this was where that pod came from in the first place. Suddenly, Holly turned around to Bismuth, AJ and Steven making sure they were right behind Bismuth to avoid being spotted. "Listen good: I'm putting you in charge of guarding the space pods for the time being until more Jaspers come in. If I find even one of these Space Pods launching off unprovoked, It'll be your stone. Get it?" Holly Blue instructed, not letting up on her authority-strict tone with Bismuth, despite the apparent capturing she had just done ten minutes prior. Steven and AJ only needed one look at the space pods to actually get the basic idea. Both pony and human glanced to the other and nodded in assurance, but they couldn't do anything just yet with Holly Blue standing right there. "Yes, your clarity," Bismuth said, making sure to correct herself this time around. However, it was here that Holly Blue started to take a better look at the Bismuth gem. ... "Is there a reason why're you ... so stiff?" "Eh ... no?" Now AJ and Steven were getting a bit troubled, both silently gulping. Bismuth had to stand still, but Holly Blue began to do something that made them all worry: to walk around her. Applejack and Steven did the only thing they could do, and quietly move around Bismuth themselves. What else could they do? AJ and Steven moved exactly with Holly Blue, Bismuth just large enough to keep them out of Holly Blue's vision. It turned into a game or runaround for a little bit, AJ and Steven continuously looping around Bismuth as Holly Blue was. This kept up for about five loops until Holly Blue stopped, looking suspicious for a few moments. ... "Hmm ... Eh, must be assuming things," Holly noted, as she started to head off on her way, leaving Bismuth to her guarding duty. Holly Blue walked off through the door, and the second that door closed, AJ and Steven feel out in relief, sighs all around and a huge relief sweeping over the orange pony and human Gem. After she left, they all took the look to one of the space pods. "You two get in there," Bismuth whispered. Quickly, Steven and AJ bolted inside the space pod without a second to spare, but Bismuth didn't go on in just yet. "Hold up, what about the others? Razor, Cloud Dancer, there's so many others too, we can't leave them," Steven pointed out. "Steven, just get in there," Bismuth insisted, not wanting to get caught, and she managed to close up the hatch for the time being. "Bismuth!" AJ yelled from inside the hatch. "I'll figure it out. Just tell the others that I'll be busy here for a bit. Tell them to hold tight until I show up, ok?" Bismuth instructed. She knew that they were suffering here, no doubt about that at all, and NO WAY was she going to try and leave them alone here, especially after one of them already helped one of the rubies and pointed the group in the right direction as is. Though, if she were to launch the thing now, then they are going to get into more trouble, but Bismuth needed them out of the picture and fast. She can't keep them stuck behind her back the entire time. Before AJ and Steven could handle their own word on it, Bismuth heard the doors open up again. Quickly, Bismuth turned to face whatever it was that entered, worried that it would be Holly Blue coming back for a check in on her suspicions. Lucky for them, it was just a pair of Amethysts, both of which didn't pay them much mind and chatting about other things. Applejack and Steven hid just out of sight as they went passed them, though eventually one of the Amethysts noticed Bismuth. "Hey, newbie. Heard you captured a runaway group earlier today," one of the Amethysts said, both coming over. Bismuth leaned against the space pod, blocking the visible window inside just enough so they couldn't see in so easily. "Oh hey. Yep, caught those runaways just like that," Bismuth said, trying to act casual as she snapped her finger to further the point. Steven and AJ had to keep especially quiet inside the hatch, Steven doing the 'shush' gesture as they were talking outside. "What're you doing here, B?" "Holly Blue's orders. She wanted some Gem to guard the docking station. You know, to avoid another little mishap," said Bismuth. The Amethysts seemed a little bashful about it. "Oh that. Eh, Razor's always trying his luck getting out one way or another. Dunno why Holly Blue's keeping him in here," said one Amethyst. "He's got the entire place locked down by now, he's bound to bust out at one point," agreed another. As they were talking outside, the other two tried to keep quiet, but Applejack started to feel a little disturbance under her hat. Her hat shuffled and started to glow in between the cracks. Applejack tried to keep her hat down, pulling it down with both hooves. "Say, how'd he end up in here anyway?" Bismuth asked, slightly genuine in curiosity. "You tell me. One of the Diamonds dropped him off one day, and that was it," the Amethyst answered. AJ tried to keep her hat down, but eventually her hat finally slipped out of her hooves, a light showing one of the Gems were starting to form: their Amethyst forming! The light began to worry them, and both Steven and Applejack tried to block off the light by dog-piling the forming. If they get caught now, who knew what they would do? "What's up with the space pod?" one of the Amethysts asked, seeing the slight light. Bismuth didn't even notice the light until it was brought up. Bismuth tried to block off the light herself as much as she could. "Nothing at all, just some maintenance going on in there." "Maintenance? For what?" asked the other Amethyst. Bismuth had to think fast. "Holly blue told me some of the Space Pods got messed with, and some of her Gems are trying to fix it in there," Bismuth informed. Both Amethysts paused for a moment, looking to eachother, but both did shrug it off. "Eh, well good luck with that," said the Amethysts, both guards going off out of sight. Luck saved them all. Looking inside, Bismuth saw that AJ and Steven had an extra Gem in there, which was their Amethyst. Amethyst was a little dazed, but alright overall, not remembering how they even got there in the first place. "Guys, you have to go. I'm not asking, just go!" Bismuth said, hushed but still forceful. With that near capture, they had no choice, but they don't know how to even start the thing at all. "What the? Where are we?" Amethyst asked, dazed. "No time, sugarcube," Applejack said. Steven managed to find the controls to the thing, and he began to try and get the thing started. Bismuth looked in from the hatch, seeing Steven fiddling around with the controls for a good twenty seconds before things finally got somewhere. One hit of the switch, and the Space Pod began to activate. Bismuth could only step back as it got off the ground, a bit shaky, and started to go off on its way. "I'll be back soon." Bismuth sighed. ~~~~~~ Back at the ship, the rest of the team was still waiting around for what Bismuth wanted them to do. Not a single patrol managed to find them out, thank goodness, and they found the perfect spot to handle their operation. Still, even with them hidden away, they still were left wondering on about Bismuth, their friends and the Ruby squad. In their hideaway, what remained of the Mane Six were starting to get a little antsy over how they might be doing. "It's taking her a long time. You think they're okay?" Twilight asked. "They'll be fine. Bismuth should've found them out by now," Garnet said, looking off in the general direction to the prison-hold. Nearby, Flint was pacing back and forth, awaiting the group to return, but he was unable to keep himself still since coming back. "Dude, can't you stand still?" Rainbow asked, not feeling much better from "No, no I can't. Why didn't I just go and get them?" Flint groaned, hand over his stone in frustration. The longer Bismuth took, the more troubling things felt for them. Eventually, Garnet moved over to Flint, and set a hand on his shoulder. "They're fine. In fact, they should be arriving any moment," Garnet said. As nice as that sounded, Flint didn't look convinced, as some of the others looked on ahead. "Go and try to comfort me, but I'd rather see for myself -" *BAM!* Not too far away, they all heard a pretty loud bang, about twenty feet away from them. Of course, some fo them went over to investigate the trouble. Looking off down the way, the whole group saw sight of a renegade Space Pod, which crash landed not too far away. And who popped out of the hatch: Steven, AJ, Amethyst and the rest of the Ruby Squad! "close enough," Garnet stated. "STEVEN! AMETHYST!" shrieked Pearl, running right over to them. It didn't take long before Pearl grabbed Steven in a tight hug, extremely relieved to see him and the rest alright. Pinkie Pie joined in the hug as well, and grabbed AJ in a hug so quick the two were spinning head over hooves. Flint breathed a sigh of relief when they all showed up. "I'm so glad you're okay. You two are okay." "We're okay. Thanks to some help," Steven said, smiling to the Ruby squad. They had to admit it, they wouldn't have gotten out without some help from them. Meanwhile, Pinkie was simply baling over AJ. "I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!" Pinkie wailed. AJ accepted the hug until Pearl moved the pink pony away. Still, they were glad to see them. Flint went over to the rubies. "You Rubies alright? No permanent damage?" Flint asked, as he went to the ruby squad. "We can't be taken down that easily," said Army, flexing to prove her point. Doc and Eyeball went over to the ship, but before they could go in, Garnet activated their make-shift teleporter. "No need for a ride. Just step in here and you'll all be safe back on Earth," Rarity said, gesturing to the teleporter over the ship they came in. "Really?" Leggy asked. "Peridot made this before we left. It'll get you out to safety, for sure," Garnet assured them all. Comparing to a ride on their ship to a quick ticket back out of here, the option was immediately picked. Doc, Army, Leggy, and Eyeball went right onto the teleporter. When they all were on there, after a few clicks to fully activate it, the teleporter came alive. They said their goodbyes to the Gems just before they all were teleported away, and all was said and finished. "Finally. Well, good job Bismuth. now let's go home," Flint decided, ready to go himself. ... "... Bismuth?" "Eh ... She's not here," Applejack admitted. "WHAT?!" Flint gasped, rushing over to the space pod. Not another Gem was in there, not even a Gemstone. Sure, they may have got their Ruby Squad back safe and sound, but they didn't do it so Bismuth could go missing on them! Now they were troubled all over again. "I had a feeling this might happen," Garnet sighed, looking off towards the direction of the prisonhold. Course she would feel this happening. "I should've never let her go," Flint groaned. "Yeah, why is she staying there?" Amethyst questioned. "We wanted to get some more out before we head off home, so Bismuth had to stay back," Applejack answered. "What others?! We don't need to get any more," Flint retorted. "Flint, there's others that don't deserve to be here, we swear." "But -" "Flint?" Garnet suddenly cut in, a hand on his shoulder. Flint got quiet after that, and a rough sigh escaped him. "Please be okay." ~~~~~~ One. Only one left. And that was Bismuth herself. It did feel a little bit odd to continuously going about the motions of the prisonhold even after getting those others out, though Bismuth had the right of mind here. After all, Steven and Applejack were right: there was more prisoners in here that didn't deserve to be locked up, and going through harsh treatment. She should just go. She should just go off and get home, and complete their own mission. But if she'd done that, those trapped here would continue to suffer, and considering they helped Navy escape in the first place, they had enough of a heart to be trusted. So, after sometime to get herself isolated from the other guards, Bismuth waited over by her location in question as said by Flint, and waited for Twilight to show up. Bismuth kept her eye out just in case any guards would pop up somewhere, but so far nothing was coming around that would sabotage the mission at hand, so that was good for her. As Bismuth moved off towards the arch, Bismuth soon caught sight of Twilight just flying overhead, her broad wings making her decent quiet. The Alicorn landed gently over right next to her. "Twilight, there you are. You weren't spotted, were you?" "No, I'm alright. No one noticed anything," Twilight assured her. "Good, now listen. I don't know how many, but I'm going to get the word out and try to get Razor and the others to come with us." "What?!" Twilight gasped. "SSHH. Yes, they don't deserve to be here anymore than the Rubies did. Now anyway, we'll meet you over at the eastern arch at midnight, soon as you see that moon past the mountains," Bismuth explained, pointing to the mountains near the east arch. Twilight began to understand her reasoning. Being a pony from Equestria and part of the elements of harmony, she would've thought the same thing. "What do you need us to do?" "You, Rainbow Dash, and Amethyst fly above, guide us back to the Warp Pad soon as we reach that arch. If any guards show up, you must clear them out, keep them away, get it?" "Got it. Good luck, Bismuth," Twilight said, taking to the skies again and flying off to tell the others. Bismuth had a bit of work to do, and she needed to get the others on the level as soon as possible. ....... "An escape, mam?" asked Razor. Bismuth wasted no time to getting to Razor with the plan, and at a time when no other guards were around either. "Trust me, my friends are not far away. Will you come with us, and tell your friends as well?" Bismuth said, trying her best to convince him. Razor looked down to his front feet, toes digging into the dirt. "... My courage, it ... has been so much weaker than before." "Look, we can escape from Aredox, believe me," bismuth insisted. Razor stayed quiet for a moment thinking. "... Yes ... I think I do." "Good to hear, now listen. When you tell them what's what, we'll be escaping out of the eastern arch, about at midnight tonight," Bismuth explained. All Razor did was nod his head on the given information and bismuth started to move off a little bit more before Razor spoke. "... You know. You're the first Gem outside of prisoners who wants the better for everyone. ... I've heard rumors about such, but ... I never thought I'd get the chance to meet one. ..." "Trust me, you'll meet a lot more once you're out of here. Now remember, midnight tonight. OH, and an Alicorn will be fighting for us." "A ... An Alicorn?" "Even Holly Blue won't expect that." With that final exchange, Bismuth went off back to her post, and Razor slipped off into his mark to do the same. Bismuth took a slight moment just to be sure that Razor returned to his mark without trouble, and sure enough his Carnelian guard didn't get too troubled when he came back. She even saw him already looking to one of his fellow inmates and slipping the message down to her. If that wasn't enough to convince her, then nothing would. With that, Bismuth went back to patrol, and went through the motions again. The stage was set for a great escape. ~~~~~~ Time continued to tick on by for Aredox, and Bismuth followed along through each of the patrol paths and motions like it was no big deal, knowing Razor was going to handle the messages around the prison. How many Razor was bringing along though was really up for debate, but Bismuth promised an escape, regardless of how many, and that's what she was going to do by midnight tonight. She could only hope that whoever Razor was getting together wouldn't complicate anything. Eventually it was beginning to turn to sunset. Sure, it would still be hours before the initial escape would actually begin, but she still had to be sure things were all set anyway. If the eastern gate wasn't available, the whole plan would be in jeopardy. Bismuth began to head off that way to check it when ... "Bismuth!" Return of Holly Blue. And she wasn't alone here: her Agate court following behind her. Bismuth soon found herself surrounded by the Agates, leaving her a bit stuck. She may be bigger than them, sure, but a fight would ruin everything and she knew it (unfortunately). "That ... thing you were talking to this afternoon." "Thing? What thing mam?" "That pony. With a pair of wings and a horn. What was that all about?" Holly Blue questioned, stepping forward to her. Bismuth didn't even realize that someone from the force even saw them come in with this, nor even saw her talking to Twilight earlier, so this came as quite a bug for her. "Well, I uh ... I saw it fly in, and drove it away." "Is that so?" Holly Blue questioned. The look on her face proved that it wasn't going by as easily. "Well, to tell you the truth mam, I think I was uh ... Trying to impress?" That was awfully weak, and Bismuth knew it too. She was just hoping that it would be enough to get by this Agate. Holly Blue kept them on guard, but she straightened up. "You may have proven to be a good catcher, but stay in your position," Holly Blue advised. Bismuth nodded, and was just about to go off on her way when Holly Blue confronted her once more. "One more thing: some guards found a bit of tracks by the gate. Know anything about that?" "I saw some tracks, but can't tell you anymore than that, mam." "I see. Now, I'm planning to set out a patrol tomorrow, trying to cover their tracks. I want you to come along," Holly Blue Agate concluded. Bismuth needed to consider this option. Lucky for her, the time of the escape and time of investigation doesn't intertwine with eachother, so Bismuth took it in stride. "Yes, your clarity." With that, Bismuth was let free, and the Gem continued off on her way over to the eastern arch. ... "Fire Agate. Follow her. Don't let her out of your sight." ~~~~~~ Night time. The time to finally get the operation at hand moving. It took all day, and a close shave with Holly Blue herself, but Bismuth finally managed to get things all settled down, and getting everything all set. Guards at this point were a bit vague, so she had the night all planned out and luckily without trouble. Bismuth had some time to handle some extra work before she decided to head towards one of the remaining night shift guards by the said prison hold building. She loomed near the guard for a little bit, seeing that another prisoner, Cloud Dancer, was sitting right beside her. The Jasper guard stood at attention as Bismuth approached. "Relax, it's just me. Now one of the Agates informed me morning roll call has been canceled," reported Bismuth. The guard looked rather skeptical of this claim. "No one told me anything about it." "Look over there, and you'll see why." The Jasper took a glance following where Bismuth meant, but once she did, the truth was being played out right in front of her. The prisoners were suddenly starting to pour out of the exit! Before the Jasper could do anything, Bismuth turned her hand into a pick axe, and poofed her with one hit! No way were any eyewitnesses going to get out of here if she had anything to do with it. Cloud Dancer was humbled at the sight of this, but she saw the number of prisoners running out, and Cloud Dancer hobbled along after them. Razor managed to get a fair amount of prisoners, about ten more prisoners. Once Bismuth shook herself off, she quickly raced off to join the escapee group. So it begins. Bismuth lead off the charge for the eastern arch. The group Razor got together kept close together with him and Bismuth, following as best as they could. With this commotion, not all of the guards were blind to the matter, and they were seeing some trying to stop them. Bismuth was quick to react though, and was quick to make short work of the Gems in her way, hammer hand and pickaxe hand beating every Gem that dared tried to stop them. She didn't shatter any Gems in her path, but she was relentless in her approach during this big escape. All the prisoners kept their minds straight, and went right over to the eastern gate as the message was brought on to be. Even with the night time sky, the arch was unmistakable in the night and gave them all a easy target to rush over to. In their run, they all managed to reach the eastern arch, stopping just at the center of it. The escapee group stopped there to catch their breath, though they knew the longer they stayed the more risk they all were in. Then again, the prisoners needed a guide and none of them saw what was supposed to be the guide. "Bismuth. Bismuth, where's the Alicorn?" Razor asked, trying to look for it. "She'll be here," Bismuth assured them, trying to locate Twilight and Rainbow up in the sky. However, she wasn't seeing them anywhere here, and it was starting to trouble them. The prisoners all looked around for this Alicorn, getting more anxious as time went on for their arrival, but it wasn't just them who they should be looking for. "It's Holly Blue! Bismuth, what do we do?" asked Cloud Dancer, shivering in fear. When they looked back, the whole fleet of Agates were showing up right behind them! The prisoners didn't run back, but Holly Blue and Fire went around as the rest blocked them from the back. It was not a good sign to see, and Bismuth was put in pure blame for it. "Stay here," Bismuth instructed, as she moved off towards Holly Blue Agate herself. Obviously, Holly Blue was extremely upset. "You traitorous-! Fire, get this pathetic excuse of lifeforms back to the prisonhold! I'll deal with you myself, Bismuth. No need to take you back," Holly Blue said. When finished, Holly Blue Agate pulled out her own Gem weapon to present to Bismuth, the weapon itself being a electrified blue whip! That screamed domination, surely. Bismuth was not so easily intimidated, and both hands turned into power-housed hammers. "Come here and try, you cracked slave driver!" Bismuth growled. Holly Blue and Bismuth stood up to eachother as Fire Agate confronted the crowd of prisoners, each one of them falling back in submission, but not budging as Bismuth wanted. They wanted freedom as much as any other prisoner anywhere else in the universe. Holly Blue readied her whip to attack Bismuth, no turning back. ... "HIYAA!" BAM, in came their fliers. Suddenly, Holly Blue was clocked in the head by a rainbow Pegasus, slamming her with her back hooves, aerial kung-fu style, and knocking Holly Blue off her feet and too the ground! Talk about timing. Looking up, Twilight and Rainbow caught up to them at last. "Holly Blue!" shouted Fire Agate in surprise. This distraction gave Razor time to actually rush forward, and ram Fire Agate aside, giving all the prisoners a chance to make a run for it, with the rest of the Agates running after them. Rainbow Dash continued fighting Holly Blue, darting at her back and forth like an angry magpie, whacking her with each hit whenever she could hit as Holly Blue tried to fight her off correcting. Fire Agate confronted Bismuth, but the large Gem made short work of her by slamming her aside hard. Holly Blue tried to whip Rainbow out of the air, but the speedy Pegasus didn't make it easy. After every prisoner managed to run off, only then did Bismuth and Rainbow begin to rush off too. "Talk about a crowd, Bismuth. This is the great escape all over again," Rainbow Dash commented, flying alongside Bismuth. "Let's get them to the Warp Pad," Bismuth ordered, Rainbow saluting and flying ahead to join Twilight in the sky. They knew where to go, and the prisoners had to follow them based off that. Unfortunately, the Agates weren't going to let them get away so easily. As Twilight and Rainbow looked back, Holly Blue sent out her Agates after them, spreading them out to cut off escape routes on their end, and what's worse was that they moved a lot faster than they did. Twilight wasn't going to have that, and as Rainbow Dash flew on ahead, she stopped for a moment and aimed her own magic down to the ground at the Agates. Her magic beams, launched them back, and kept them at better distance. The Agates were no match for Twilight, and they had to slow down to avoid getting blasted, giving the group enough time and distance to keep ahead. As they continued, they began to get near the destination they had in mind, though suddenly a Gem suddenly rushed forward, scaring some of the prisoners back. "Keep going, she's with me," Bismuth said, getting them back on track and running past her. The Gem was Pearl, and she was more than glad to see Bismuth return after her extra work. Rainbow and Twilight flew on by as Bismuth stopped by Pearl. "Bravo, Bismuth! You did it!" Pearl complimented. "I did didn't I? It's not over yet," Bismuth said, as Bismuth and Pearl rushed off after the rest of the prisoners, just as more Agates started to close in. The sooner they get out of here, the better. As for the rest of the group, they all were still waiting over by their hideout, and the Warp Pad when the group suddenly showed up on the horizon. The amount of the group alone was enough of a surprise, to say the least. The group stopped for a moment, unsure where else to go at first, until they saw the Warp Pad right there. Twilight and Rainbow both landed fast nearby, Rainbow skidding upon landing. Now that they were here, it was time to get on their way. "Get onto the Warp Pad," Garnet quickly instructed. Little time to think, and with the Agates closing in, they all did as told and raced onto the Warp Pad right then and there. Pearl and Bismuth caught up at this point, Pearl getting there faster, and joining the rest onto the Warp Pad. "Get it started, Holly Blue's right behind me!" Bismuth said. But as the rest got onto it, the Agates finally caught up to them. The prisoners just got out before they did this, so it left only the Ponies and Crystal Gems there. "I trusted you, Bismuth! This'll be the last time you're getting any sympathy from me. Now, run into the wastes or be torn to pieces? Fire Agate, Emerald Agate. When I give the word, we go straight into them," Holly Blue instructed, each Agate bringing out their own respected weapons. The Gems remaining drew out their weapons as well, but at this point. ... "STOP IT!" Flint demanded, getting their attention very fast. A battle right now would not help anything, or anyone. Course, Holly Blue Agate wasn't going to have it. "Quiet you! What position you have to talk over me?" Holly Blue yelled. Flint had about enough of this game. He took one look to Bismuth. A rather long look. Before turning to Holly Blue and her Agates. ... "Is that a way to talk to one of White Diamond's court?" Everyone fell silent when he said that. Agates, the Crystal Gems, Mane six, all of them. Did ... did he really say that? "W-What? ... White ... Diamond?" "You heard me right. My apologies for my colleagues pathetic, and rather overly-confident antics. We're here to retrieve those prisoners for White Diamond's experiments," Flint explained. "What're you -" luckily Garnet quickly stopped Rainbow from talking, a smile on her face. ""Impossible! we would've got a notice before you arrived," said one of the Agates. "You really expect White Diamond to waste her breath by giving you a notice on pickup? She's far too busy to deal with the likes of such creatures like you personally. That's why I'm sent here." "B-But. But the breakout." "Clearly one clod got over-excited," Flint insulted. Bismuth felt angry, but she knew what he was up to so she didn't say anything. Holly Blue actually felt humbled, as Flint stepped forward, posture in a similar manor Holly Blue herself would use on lower classes of Gems and what not. It wasn't Flint himself, but more on who he belonged to. "H-How can you allow your own squad to just tear apart my prison like this?! When those Diamonds hear about what you did here -" Flint raised his finger, and placed it on her mouth to keep her quiet. Flint looked back to the others, Pearl feeling a bit antsy about the situation, but not in much fear, but instead in some bit of power. Flint simply gave a silent look to give Pearl the freedom o speak. "You're really gonna tell the Diamonds that you refused a group from White Diamond herself to enter a highly secure facility and collect potential experiments under her command? My, oh my, Doesn't sound like a wise thing to do, Holly Blue. So do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut. That will be all." Holly Blue was speechless, and dumbfounded. When all that was finished and spoken of, the remaining group stepped onto the Warp Pad. All Holly Blue could do was just stand there and watch them go, unable to do anything to them now with this knowledge in her head. With that final thought, the remaining group activated the Warp Pad, and were off home. "Did ... Did a Pearl just show me up?" Holly Blue wondered. ~~~~~~ Mission successful. Morning at the barn, and with the Warp Pad end out of commission, not only did the Agates no longer have any sort of way to get back to them, but also the prisoners who escaped had no risk of being recovered by the Agates again. The barn surely had a number of guests, much to Fluttershy and Peridot's surprise. No group was missing this time: Ruby squad, Crystal Gems, and Mane Six all together again. The Ruby Squad had been and gone, and most of the prisoners were resting from their big escape at this point, and while many of those involved felt grateful, the only one feeling a little bit troubled was Flint (who else?). Some of the group spent their time trying to heal the others inside the barn, Cloud Dancer especially. "How're they doing in there?" Asked Garnet. "They're worn out, but other than that alright," said Steven, using his healing spit to help heal some of the escaped prisoners of the injuries they've gained in the prison. "Come on, Flint, we did great. You did some sweet acting back there," Bismuth said, playfully punching him on the shoulder. "Yes, but now what? We barely even know these things," Flint pointed out. However, Garnet had a different idea on why Flint was troubled. "Flint, there's nothing to worry over: I've cut off the connection from the Warp Pads just before we all left. Holly Blue won't be able to find us," Garnet assured him. Flint considered the options carefully, and eventually came to a similar conclusion. "I suppose you're right, Garnet. But what do we do with them now? We can't keep track of -" Flint paused, and took a slight moment to count out how many escapees there was. "... Twelve prisoners." "Most of the prisoners appear equine, equestrian to be exact. It can't be too hard," Peridot noted. "What about the ones who aren't? What about Razor?" "What about Razor?" Walking out of the barn was the thing in question, coming out alongside Fluttershy and Rarity. Bismuth took a glance to Flint before walking to Razor. "Ok, so most of you are from Equestria, I get that. Mind telling us where you're from?" Bismuth asked. Razor looked around a little bit before he made his answer, though even before he could say, his expression wasn't too promising. "No need to worry about that. Just get the others back home, if you can," Razor said, looking back into the barn. "But dear, surely you have a home somewhere to go to," Rarity said, but Razor just sat down. "I'll get home. But, this place, it doesn't appear to be Equestria at all. ..." "That's because it's not. There's a Warp Pad that can get them there, no problem," Bismuth assured, pointing in the general direction to the main Warp Pad. That seemed to lift Razor's spirits a little bit, as some of the other pony prisoners also heard the idea. "Is it far from here?" asked Cloud Dancer. "Not at all. come on, let's get y'all back," Applejack said, trotting on ahead towards the Warp Pad. Much of the prisoner group followed Applejack on her way, the others watching them go off. Razor followed them behind after a while, taking a glance over to Flint at one point before going off himself. It'll be some time, but they'll all get home they were sure of that. Or at least find a home in either Earth or Equestria. As the others followed the group to the Warp Pad, and ticket home, Garnet took some time to wait and watch them all go, keeping her eye on Flint the most. ... "Good job, everyone."