My Little Universe: Season 6

by EquestrianKirin


Off-Colors PT1

It took some time for things to finally begin to chill out, but as Winter started to reach its later months, things were beginning to return to normal. With just how much had been done to Beach City thanks to some peculiar happenings however, it still left them with just a little bit more to do, though it was a cakewalk compared to last year's shenanigans.
Within Beach City, it was probably the calmest it has ever been since these shenanigans. While winter had been a bit hard on the city, it was indeed recovering one way or another. The water tower was removed altogether, and a number of houses were rebuilt good as new. In fact, one of the houses was just about finished up good as new that morning, with Steven happily bringing over a sign for the side of the house.

"I declare this house ... open!" Steven announced, placing the welcome mat right down in front of the door. The house, this one being Sadie's house, that just got finished up, and Steven was more than happy to make the finishing touches. It even got refurnished from the ground up since most of the furniture had been either destroyed or washed out to sea. A pretty good feeling when something like this had been complete, and Sadie and her mother surely were pleased.

"Millers? You humble abode awaits," Steven said, sounding rather fancy and British in tone.

"Look at that, good as new! Good job kid," Mrs. Miller said, playfully fluffing his hair before heading off inside. Steven smiled as Sadie walked over to him.

"Thanks for all your help Steven. I didn't think we'd get our home back for a long time," Sadie said.

"I'm just glad everyone was okay after the whole water tower flood," Steven replied, not recalling any causalities after the event. Sadie and Steven went up to the front door.

"Speaking of which, you said those snakes are handled now?"

"Yep: they won't be bothering you or anyone else anymore. Whelp, see you later Sadie, I'm gonna go check on the rest," Steven happily answered. The ones that flooded the town in the first place, they took care of them good enough so they wouldn't end up coming back. Sadie was more than glad to hear that as well, now the residents can live their lives without any snake whispering in their ears on what they should and/or shouldn't do.
After that, Steven went on his way to check on the rest of the city. He only got through about five different houses until he saw another familiar face further down the way as he and his friend were delivering some mail for the morning paper route. Even if some of the houses were still unfinished, the mail-run waits for nobody, and these deliveries were to the finished houses anyway.

"Lapis, Jamie," Steven called, heading right over to them. It was surely nice to see them both again.

"Hey Steven," said Lapis Lazuli. Her new form was nice, but she made it a bit cuter with Jamie letting her wear his hat for the paper route.

"See someone's doing pretty fair these days," noted Jamie.

"You bet: Beach City's spruced up pretty much. There's only two houses left," said Steven happily.

"So we've noticed. To think that there wasn't much left just last year, and now it's blooming back to its glory once again." and Jamie was right about that. Some of these spots were completely cleared off thanks to that water tower, and now barely a thing from that incident remained to be said aside from memory for the local history books.

"Yeah. Hey Lapis, how's your paper route?" Steven asked.

"It's pretty ... quiet. But hey, it's a break from how much we've done already," Lapis admitted. compared to fighting monsters, handling missions, and other gem stuff, this was a walk through the park (and town square, and the boardwalk, and the houses). It was then that Lapis suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right, Steven, we have something for you!"

"You do?" Steven asked. Jamie started to fish out what they got for him, and soon enough a package was brought out and given to him. Why wait to give it to him at his house when they could give it to him now? Steven opened up the package, and found that it was a new kitty clock. Steven's eyes sparkled on seeing the thing, and that was the main thanks they needed to see.

"Oh, and something else for you too," Lapis said.

"Two packages? Awesome!" Steven beamed.

"Uh, Lapis, we only had one for him," Jamie whispered. However, Lapis wasn't referring to a package exactly, and her gemstone began to glow behind, her hands behind her back to bring out something else she had gotten. It looked surprisingly familiar, looking like a sort of data log, and seeing how advanced and clean it looked, a fairly new one at that.

"Homeworld dropped it off this morning just after you left. Come on, open it up," Lapis encouraged. It took Steven a little bit to figure out how to open it, but eventually the thing did indeed activate, and with a simple message written out on it.

you're invited to my palace for a informal get-together. I can't thank you all enough for what you've did for me, and I'm willing to give my thanks when you arrive. Signed: Blue Diamond.

~~~~~~

Over in Equestria, events there had been pretty standard, snow still around all over Ponyville. Even so, as the town was quiet, there echoed the distant sounds of what seemed like booms, roars, alongside some battle cries. The ponies in town found this slightly curious, but they didn't bother with it too much. Though it was probably good that they didn't bother with it too much. ...

*RAAAWWWRR!*

Because just outside of town, a bit of a battle was underway with a pesky Equestrian creature vs. a dynamic duo of Gems. The monster in question this time was a rather angry, and rather tough furry lizard called a Slingtail, and this one had ended up engaging combat with the two Gems in question. And according to the area around them, this fight either had been going on for a while, or they all had really been itching to bring the pain. One of the Gems, the powerhouse blacksmith Bismuth, ended up right in front of the Slingtail, and the beast tried to swing its tail at her, just for her to grab it. The Slingtail ended up head over heels with Bismuth's powerful swing, though this wasn't just an aimless swing.

"Hey, Jay, coming at ya!"

"Right!"

Then came the final blow: with a powerful swing of her fists, the Slingtail got a gut slammed with double-fisted strength, which sent the Slingtail flying for a good ten seconds before it ended up slamming into the snow headfirst. It got stiff at first as if it was some sort of dart or arrow, but it ended up completely falling over with its head stuck in the cold dirt. As for who made the hit, Bismuth was joined in this little task by the equally tough, and all powerful Jasper! Yep, Jasper's back in action! Bismuth and Jasper smirked smugly to eachother, as the Slingtail pulled its head out of the ground, completely dazed and seeing stars, either off of the Gems or around its head.

"Had enough, you boulder? Because we're just getting warmed up over here!" Bismuth said, cracking her fists for another go whenever ready. The Slingtail turned to them, but instead of getting angry, it cowered slightly, backing up from both Gems.

"Teach you to hurl rocks at Ponyville. Coward," Jasper stated. It may be natural for a Slingtail to hurl rocks, but they drew the line at tossing boulders at houses (it started the fight in the first place). The Slingtail, tail between its legs, cowered completely and ran for the foothills. Well, a victory done for them: bismuth shared a few fist pumps with eachother, fists hitting eachother just before their hands met in a handshake. OH, how long had it been since they both had that kind of action together?

"HEY!!"

AND looked like one rainbow Pegasus was just a little late to see the action unfold for her. Rainbow Dash had tried to catch up, but even speed to make a sonic rainboom just wasn't quick enough to handle some of the action outside Ponyville. Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop, snow skidding under her hooves as she did so, and she looked around for some sort of fight just to find nothing.

"Darn it, I missed it - again! UGH, you two fight way too fast," Rainbow groaned.

"You just gotta keep up," Jasper said. She couldn't help but feel a little cocky considering how long it had been since she last did this. Rainbow flew back over to them.

"Come on, Jasper, let's check in on the rest of the troops," Bismuth said.

"Sounds good to me," Jasper, as both Bismuth and Jasper started to head off on their way back to their home. Rainbow landed in the snow, a bit disappointed that she just flat out missed a pretty good fight.

"Wonder what Pinkie's up to?" Rainbow wondered.

.......

"Bakin cupcakes, bakin hay-n cupcakes. Get some hay and you put it in a cupcake, bakin cupcakes, bakin hay-n cupcakes, HEY-N CUPCAAAKES!"

When Rainbow caught up to her friend at Sugarcube corner, she caught Pinkie Pie baking up some morning hayseed cupcakes, hearing Pinkie singing her little tune during it all. But the pink mare's ears didn't for a moment miss her Pegasus friend come in with the chime of the door's welcoming bell. And just in time for Pinkie to pop her treats out of the oven and out onto the display case, fresh from the oven.

"Morning Pinkie, see you're already baking," Rainbow noted.

"What kind of cook would I be if I didn't? And great time you came by, because may I introduce to you the new breed of doughy cupcake-y goodness: hayseed!" Pinkie announced, one of the cupcakes out for Rainbow to have. It sure smelled pretty good.

"Hayseed? That's a new one."

"I know, I'm so excited! Here, first one's on the house!" Pinkie said, tossing a free sample to the Pegasus. Rainbow actually caught it with her wings and popped it in her muzzle. The taste of fresh hay with Pinkie's magic of cooking made them a good seller right off the bat. Then again, would she really doubt Pinkie's creations?

"Thanks. So, anything new Pinkie?" Rainbow asked. Before Pinkie Pie could answer, they both heard something just outside. The sound of the mail mare dropping off today's mail. Derpy Hooves just got the mail in the mailbox, and that sound was all Pinkie Pie needed to hear, and she bolted off straight outside, leaving Rainbow spinning like a top. Guess Pinkie Pie was expecting a little something in the mail. As Rainbow went outside, Pinkie was already looking through the mail like mad, letters tossed aside as she looked through what was what.

"Find anything interesting?" Rainbow asked, just for some of the letters to land on her head. she shook them off easy, but eventually Pinkie Pie got one particular letter rolled up in a scroll. Pinkie unrolled it fast and quickly looked it over fast, just for her own eyes to rip through the paper (yeah that's a thing).

"An invite! Rainbow we got an invite!" Pinkie beamed, shoving the thing in her face. As Pinkie was hopping in place, Rainbow looked over what the letter said, at least what she could make out that wasn't torn open.

"Equestrians, you're invited to my palace for a informal get-together. I can't thank you all enough for what you've did for me, and I'm willing to give my thanks when you arrive. Signed: Blue Diamond."

"WE CAN SEE THE LADY IN BLUE TODAY! LET'S GOGOGO!" Pinkie said, super psyched about it.

Guess they knew what they were doing today.

~~~~~~

"You sure? You're sure it's fully recovered?" asked Rarity.

"We're sure, Rarity, it's been months. Your mane looks fine," assured Applejack.

Eventually the Mane Six, and the Crystal Gems were all invited back to Homeworld. Being gone from Homeworld, while on the surface didn't seem to be bothersome, but it was nice for many a them to get access back to Homeworld. The group was over in Blue Diamond's city, and their casual walk through the city was met by a number of other Gems. Their main destination was Blue Diamond's palace itself, and somewhere they haven't been to for the longest time.

"Wish the others could've come along with us," said Steven.

"I know, Steven, but they're still making amends towards Beach City. Hey, I bet they'll be just as happy when we tell them what happened," said Diopside. Yeah, it wasn't too many Crystal Gems there: Steven and Diopside being two out of four. Those that came included: Steven, Diopside, Garnet, Amethyst, and Connie. Amethyst and Connie were the guests of honor this time, since it was them who saved Blue Diamond in the first place.
Eventually, the group managed to arrive over right to the front doorstep of Blue Diamond's palace, somewhere they hadn't gone to in quite a while, and once they got to the door, Blue Pearl was waiting for them right there. The Pearl looked very pleased, a smile on her face, and awaited their arrival since earlier that morning.

"Welcome back. We're grateful to see you," Blue Pearl said, even bowing to them as if they were a set of Diamonds themselves.

"Now now, there's no need for that dear," said Rarity. Blue Pearl blushed slightly and got back upright.

"Uh, sorry. Here, let me," Blue Pearl said, beginning to open the doors to let them in.
Oh how long had it been since they last seen this throne room? Not too much had changed up in the place, it looking the same as it always had been and even still as clean thanks to Blue Pearl. It was a nice sight for sore eyes to see, but what made them especially happy was who was sitting on the throne waiting for them with a relieved grin on her face. It was a face many of them had missed for the longest time.

"Blue Diamond. Welcome back," said Garnet with a smile.

"It's good to be back, thanks to your efforts," Blue Diamond replied, grateful to be back in familiar territory.

"Good to hear you're better, Blue Diamond. ... You are, are you?" Twilight asked, flying up to her to be sure. Considering how long she was gone for, not to mention why she was missing, it couldn't hurt to at least ask about it.

"Feeling better than I had before. I want to give my personal thanks to you two," Blue Diamond said, her eyes looking down to Amethyst and Connie. The exact information on what happened did manage to reach Blue Diamond during her recovery, and while the two were happy to hear that it was still an enigma on how they did that in the first place. A human and a Gem fusing like that? Practically unheard of.

"Eh, it was nothing, just glad you're alright after everything. How'd Yellow handle it, by the way?" Amethyst asked.

"She needed several minutes to let go of me in her hug," Blue admitted, though she couldn't blame Yellow Diamond for feeling relieved about her fellow Diamond coming back after getting kidnapped.

"Nice to hear," said Garnet.

"Speaking of ... HUGIES!" suddenly Pinkie hopped up and gave Blue Diamond her own hug. Her hooves weren't big enough to wrap around her, but Blue Diamond did like the gesture and simply smiled.

"I missed you too, young pony," said Blue Diamond, gently rubbing Pinkie's head with her finger. Blue Diamond then got up, Pinkie hopping up off of Blue Diamond's lap and going back to the others. Blue Diamond then took a look to Connie.

"Steven had mentioned about you a number of times, Connie. Are you enjoying your visit to Homeworld?" Blue Diamond asked. Connie felt humbled by the towering Diamond, and recoiled slightly.

"Everything's ... well, big. Big and advanced, it's amazing," Connie admitted. It was Connie's first time visiting Homeworld, and to say the least of her reaction she was simply speechless with it all. How often does a human visit an alien city anyway? Blue Diamond was glad that she was enjoying it all for her first visit. Blue Pearl smiled softly, and it was Diopside who noticed a tear coming down her face.

"You k over there, Pearl?" Diopside asked.

"I ... I'm just happy everyone's great," Blue Pearl said quietly. Considering she was a Pearl who thought she lost her Diamond, Diopside could get the picture. Still, Diopside gave Blue Pearl a pat on the back.

"Glad you're doing good too, Pearl. Must've been tough being alone, huh?"

"Eh ... w-well uh ... in a way," Blue Pearl simply said.

"Gems, ponies, you've all done so much. You've saved Lapis and Jasper, and stopped the Cluster, and saving me as well. For that I think you all could use a reward," Blue Diamond then said, seeing that a reward was at least mandatory.

"No, no, that won't be -" Garnet tried to say, but Rainbow cut her off.

"Let's see what it is first," Rainbow quietly insisted.

"Rainbow."

"What? Come on, how often do you get a gift from a Diamond?" Rainbow insisted, shrugging. Blue Diamond couldn't help but giggle, as she looked to Blue Pearl. The pearl heard her loud and clear, and she was more than happy to go off and get it for them. When Blue Pearl returned, the object she had in hand was brought to them with great care, and Blue Pearl stopped right in front of Steven. It looked rather small, about as big as a dinner plate, its body round like an egg, and as smooth as glass. Swirls of colors suspended in place and giving it a almost surreal appearance. Steven, Amethyst, and Connie's eyes sparkled on the gift, and Steven held it in his hands.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, genially curious and intrigued by the object in question.

"A little surprise: just plant it wherever you please, and you'll find out. I think it'll be very useful for you," Blue Diamond explained. That just made them even more curious over the object, and if anyone of them wanted to see what it actually was, they'll have to wait until they get home. Still, they didn't think it was anything worthless if Blue Diamond gave it to them, so it had to do something. Steven had the honor of putting it in a bubble for later, and sending it back home.

"Thank you kindly," Applejack said.

"Yes, it looks simply divine," added Rarity, also admiring the object.

"It's my pleasure. Free to stay as long as you like," Blue Diamond said.

.......

"Do my eyes deceive me?"

Well, the happy little reunion was put on hold with that voice, the group turning over to the door where they came in. Unfortunately for them, the voice belonging to this was actually not a member of Blue Diamond, but actually the recognizable figure that was Pearlis! They hadn't seen her since their little court session involving Blue and Pink Diamond, and none of them expected her to suddenly show up.

"Oh, hey Pearlis!" Pinkie said, waving her hoof to her.

"Pearlis? What're you doing here?" Blue Diamond asked.

"Here to deal with some rebellious rubbish as all, don't worry about it," Pearlis stated.

"Excuse me?" Rainbow questioned.

"Don't tumble my rocks, pony. Now if you'll come with me, we'll suit you up for your harvesting," Pearlis informed, but naturally none of them Gems were so willing to comply. This caught Blue Diamond completely by surprise, not to mention Connie as well.

"Pearlis, what're you talking about? What did they even do?" Blue Diamond asked firmly. Pearlis turned her attention towards Blue Diamond and cleared her throat.

"Listen, my flawless, perfected, and wondrous White Diamond had officially stated and I quote, that the Crystal Gems had been banished from Homeworld due to prior events. And the punishment if any of them were to return would be harvesting, so -"

"Time out, we got Blue Diamond back, she's right there!" shouted Rainbow, pointing a hoof at the Diamond. That only annoyed Pearlis.

"I can see that, but it doesn't excuse that other incident. Now the Carnethysts will be waiting for you outside. Sorry that this news didn't get to you yet, my Diamond," Pearlis said. Being reminded of Blue Diamond felt like a stab through her feelings, but with how much they've done to solve the recent problems AND rescue her, she felt it was just a little bit unfair. ... Even if they had involvement with Pink. She motioned Blue Pearl to move before she looked to Pearlis.

"There's no reason to punish them. I was the one who called them here," Blue Diamond said, Pearlis turning to her.

"You were?"

"I did. Though I wasn't aware that White Diamond had banished them from Homeworld, it shouldn't still apply since they've saved me."

"An excellent point!" called Amethyst.

"Quiet Onyx - er I mean, Amethyst!" Guess one Gem was too used to another Gem bugging her. Pearlis flustered a bit, but quickly recovered and added, "They did save you, but still hold responsible under murder charges."

"... Can they at least be allowed to stay in my part of Homeworld? They did more than enough to prove."

"That's for my Diamond, not me. I merely found them wandering towards your palace."

"But Pearlis, surely it can be made an exception for this one time," Blue diamond said. At this point, Blue Pearl was right beside one of the ponies, catching the attention of Connie right next to her. All Blue Pearl did was silently point to the door ...

"The order of White Diamond cannot be ignored. If the punishment calls for harvesting that's what it has to be, isn't that true?"

"But in any sentence, if the crime is weakened so is the overall sentence. They've been banished for two crimes, one of which they've managed to fix."

"I never said that they were charged with your capture, they're charged for murder. Don't you care at all about what they -" when Pearlis suddenly turned around, she caught a small sight of Fluttershy just before she bolted out, everyone else having left apart from Blue Pearl standing there.

"You got to be kidding - GET BACK HERE AT ONCE!" and Pearlis raced after them. Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl were left alone, Blue Pearl going back to her diamond, feeling a little troubled.

"I'm sorry ..."

"It isn't your fault, Pearl. ... Good Luck, Rose."

.......

At this point, the group had just gotten outside, hearing Pearlis going off after them making the situation a little more troubling than it needed to be. Just getting back and already they're in trouble by White Diamond cohorts. When they got out the door though, they didn't exactly see any of those Carnethysts Pearlis told them about, at least not right at the door so they still got some sort of a start on wherever they were going off to. There was still a gap between them and the Warp Pad, and even then it was still a long run all the same so they didn't waste any time starting to go.

"You weren't kidding about that," Connie said as they went.

"I know, but it's still going on? Come on, what's with her?" Rainbow wondered.

"We'll figure it out later, now come on," Garnet instructed. They had little time to figure anything out, the longer they were here, the more risk they were in for getting harvested. Especially now when Rainbow looked back and saw Pearlis outside, and only then did the Carnethysts show up alongside Pearlis. With a snap of her fingers and pointing off ahead, the guards then began to give chase behind them.

"FREEZE!"

AND a line up right in front of them! The whole group skidded to a halt on the Carnethyst line up. Before any of them could turn back, the other Carnethysts ended up trapping them in there as well. Next thing they knew, the guards had them surrounded, making them all feel a little worried as Pearlis came up.

"Eh, sorry this didn't turn out so well Connie," Steven said, feeling very guilty about this.

"I-It's not your fault," Connie insisted.

"Actually it is," Pearlis stated, making Steven feel even worse. snapping her finger and pointing again, a number of Carnethysts separated the Gems from the humans and ponies. Garnet, Steven, Diopside, and Amethyst got separated and apprehended as the others were left alone, but that didn't mean they weren't blocked off by the other guards, the tall purple Gems keeping them back as the Gems were apprehended.

"How embarrassing. But at least you're all handled, so we can be on our way," Pearlis said, as if this was a business call rather than a capture.

"Reconsider, Pearlis please: we helped save Homeworld before, and we saved one of your diamonds."

"This again? You can save the world dozens of times -"

"Which we did," Amethyst said.

"Shut up - but it will not, repeat, will NOT cover this murder case you did. All of Homeworld knows about it at this point, I'm just appalled you went through here at all without getting called on the spot." Pearlis's words were not making things any better, and it seemed that so long as that was over their heads, they were wanted no matter what they did. At least that's what she was saying. This was more than enough for the ponies to hear.

"Ok, that's it!" Rainbow leaped up and barreled through the guards keeping them back, and actually knocking back the guards that got the Gems apprehended.

"Rainbow!" Garnet yelled.

"Less talk, more go-go, now go!" said Pinkie said, pushing Garnet forward to get her moving. The Carnethysts started to charge in for the ponies next, and Steven jumped in with his shield to keep them back. Garnet was getting a bit scared now, and Pearlis was seeing that in her face. Bystander Gems were small, but they didn't interfere with the authority Gems of White Diamond's arsenal, disappointing as that was, but understandable.

"Really, this isn't even involving you ponies," Pearlis stated, more annoyed than manipulative about the whole thing.

"It is if it's gonna hurt our friends," stated Connie. Pearlis just shrugged.

"Alright, fine, maybe we'll have some slots in the experimental lab for you," Pearlis stated, having the Carnethysts try and apprehend them as well.

"Time to go, everypony!" Applejack called. with all odds against them, they had no choice but to hightail it out of there and race for the Warp Pad. If they could at least do that they could have a better chance of getting away. The Carnethysts gave chase straight from there, but only some of them chased right behind them as the others split off to try and cut off their main path.

"This way!" Garnet said, suddenly cutting corners.

"But the Warp Pad's -"

"JUST GO!" Pinkie said, grabbing Connie and bolting for it. They didn't have time to question where to go, and even if they went that way the Carnethysts would've cornered them again. They kept trying left and right through who knows where, but the Carnethysts seemed to come from everywhere they went. Each time Garnet went down a different path in the city, they weren't too far behind. Any local Gem witnessing this kept clear out of their way so they wouldn't get run over

"How the hay are they keeping up with us?"

"They can't keep up forever. ... Well, they can, but, I don't want them to," said Garnet.

"You and everypony else. In here!" Twilight said, finding another path for them to follow. A good call on her part, since the path ahead got blocked by Carnethysts again for the fifth time in this chase. How were they even doing that, they weren't going to try and answer, they just wanted to get away from them before it could get -

"STOP!"

Any worse. Pinkie Pie hit the breaks fast, and skidded a ways ahead until she finally stopped right on the very edge! Guess they made one wrong turn this whole chase, and they ended up finding themselves in what looked like a abyss! The path ended on a cliff, none of them able to even see the bottom of this steep drop, and any longer running and Pinkie would've fallen off down. Now they got a bigger problem: trapped between a cliff and a army of Carnethyst coming their way!

"Anyone have any ideas?" Connie asked. It ewas then that Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped forward, ready to do the only thing they could do: fight.

"We fight em' off that's what. What else could we do?" Applejack asked. And unfortunately the Carnethysts ended up blocking their only escape route from their spot.

"Connie, I'm very sorry this first trip didn't turn out the way we planned," said Fluttershy, scared out of her mind.

"Attention: you're all surrounded!" called one of the Carnethysts.

"Tell us something we don't know!" called back Amethyst.

"Come quietly or we'll be forced to resort to lethal force!"

They had no choice now: either jump off the cliff or fight them off, and by no means were any of them going to take a death leap down from here! They were left at a stand still for a moment or two, until Garnet stepped out in front, the gem weapon gloves coming out and ready to fight. If they can get away, it'll be worth it. That was the only signal they needed for the final answer, and the Carnethyst started to move forward towards them. Garnet felt uneasy about it the most ...

*POOF*

"What the heck?"

What happened next just went by almost in a blur. All of a sudden, the first Carnethyst that was leading the pack got shot right in the neck by what appeared to be some sort of arrow! None of their team had any arrows to use so this was especially surprising. Several other Carnethysts ended up getting attacked and poofed with arrows hitting through them as well. They tried looking around for whatever was shooting the arrows at the attackers, and as it turned out the culprit was up on one of the building walls, clinging to it and shooting off with a bow in hand. It was too far to see who, or what, it exactly was but whoever it was, it was fighting for them. After the rain of arrows were shot, the figure raced along the walls, on its hands and feet, and right towards them! Once it was right above them, it leaped right down to them in a spin attack, slamming the ground right in front of them. The force was strong enough to make the platform crack a bit, and considering they were on a ledge basically, this meant only one main thing.

"Bubble up!" Steven said. Steven didn't waste any time, and with little aid in flight, nor time to get away, it was all they could do. The figure disappeared out of sight, and suddenly the whole ledge gave way! All of them could only brace for what impact they had to end up with, as they all fell out of sight from what remained on the ledge. Pearlis only then showed up and looked down the cliff, extremely frustrated.

"Don't just stand there, go find them, they can't go too far," ordered Pearlis.

.......

They all needed a minute to regain themselves after that little tiff, but eventually Steven finally removed the bubble that had saved their lives, or at least saved from serious injury in their mile fall. Just one little get-together with Blue Diamond and they were already on the run from White Diamond's Gems, but on the bright side they survived, and were far away from those Carnethyst guards. After the bubble was removed, they got up and tried to recollect.

"What a fall! I thought we'd be in China by now," Pinkie said, shaking off what dust got onto her mane and tail with a few doggy shakes, though some of it got onto the others, some coughing a little bit.

"That's just a myth, Pinkie," Connie said.

"I don't get it, we got Blue Diamond back that should've pulled away the banishment, shouldn't it?" Diopside wondered.

"Apparently not. Hey Steven, you ok over there?" asked Applejack. The impact did take a lot of energy to keep the bubble up, and while Steven was tired, he gave a thumbs up while laying on the ground. Fluttershy and Rarity helped Steven get up, and then Connie asked the big question, more in dismay.

"... Where are we?"

That surely got them looking around at their location. Being so far down, it looked far more gloomy and dim than the lively, bright city above their heads. Dried, grey sand laid everywhere with dull rock walls, not dissimilar to the prime kindergarten, lined up alongside them. Wherever they were, it was simply a dead-end area, somewhere not used in who knows how long. When they looked at the walls in question too, they were all lined up with humanoid-shaped holes, lining up and down the wall all over the place. The area they landed wasn't in just any normal pit, but actually some sort of large cliff side, the edge about thirty feet away.

"I think we're in a Kindergarten," Steven concluded, as some of them (Steven, Diopside, and Fluttershy) began to move over to the cliff face and take a good look around.

"... A very. Big. Kindergarten," Fluttershy managed to say.

The word "big" didn't do it any justice. In fact, it didn't even begin to cover it. Looking down from the cliff, they found colossal pillars stretching in multiple directions from underneath them, like giant trees, and every single one had holes covering the entire surface, making it all look less like a Kindergarten and more like a bee hive, the holes just as crowded too. Even the one they were standing on had so many holes in them. Millions, upon billions of Gem creation holes could be seen from where they were, so they could only wonder exactly how many Gems were created here. Now it was nothing more than husks everywhere, holes lifeless and activity diminished.

"WHOA, just how many were made here," commented Rainbow, flying around a bit and checking out the multitude of holes as the others went over and saw what they saw, just as speechless as to the sheer size of it.

"And here I thought the Prime Kindergarten was huge, it's a fly compared to this place," Amethyst noted.

"We are on Homeworld, Amethyst. This is the Homeworld's Supreme Kindergarten," Garnet said, and since she was a Gem made here, it was a sight for sore eyes for this fusion. So many different types of Gems created in one place, and all these holes proved not only that, but for just how much they would use in space to create another Gem, not a single spot missed. This told them all that Homeworld had way more Gems than expected to be. While it was impressive, that wasn't the main issue, as Garnet looked up from where they fell. It would take them forever to climb back up, and flying anyone up was out of the question with how little flying helpers they actually had, plus Pearlis and the Carnethysts were still up there.

"Oh well. Nothing for it. Let's try to find a way out of here," Garnet finally decided.