"Ready when you are! Bring it!"
Autumn continued forward, and with it now in full prime, it made perfect weather for some good ol' sparring practice. The sparring today was done with Garnet and Jasper, and the crowd off nearby consisted of the Mane Six (Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow), Steven, Blue, and Peridot. Ever since they finally got those keys back from Klugetown, they've gotten a lot more time to go back and forth, and the method much easier as well. Peridot was especially happy for it, as she can finally chill out and enjoy herself without running off doing some message, or someone's personal guide from Earth to Equus. It was a fairly nice situation either way.
Anyway, as much of the group watched, Garnet and Jasper were going at eachother, good and strong. Most of this was all in good fun, but they didn't hold back from eachother either. Each punch, kick, and swing was met with full force, something they both know they can handle. What hit was connected shook up the ground, intensifying the fight itself. Jasper was feeling pretty good with her strength, and during the fight, Garnet ended up actually getting hit with a left hook to the head. That would make anyone cringe, but Garnet got to her feet after a flip, the heel of her foot hitting Jasper in the chin. Good counterattack.
*FWEET!*
Time was up, and Pinkie provided the whistle for the timer itself. Both Garnet and Jasper stopped, though it felt kinda incomplete.
"So soon? I got a lot more fight in me," Jasper insisted.
"Next turn. Time for the best flyer in Equestria to step up to plate," Rainbow Dash said, acting as smug as usual.
"Sure thing. Don't hold back," Garnet insisted, as she got into position. Rainbow Dash was more than ready to take on the Gem fusion. Jasper just shrugged and sat on down over by the crowd in question.
"Go Rainbow!" called Pinkie, the pink mare already in a cheerleader's outfit of rainbow colors. Might as well give some support to her, right? The Pegasus surely felt pumped and ready to go in.
"And … GO!" shouted Twilight.
No sooner after she said it, Garnet and Rainbow began their fight. Rainbow Dash had a lot less resistance than Jasper did, but speed was her best friend in this tussle. Garnet made her punches and kicks, and Rainbow Dash did her bucks and whacks, much of the group either worried for Rainbow's safety, or anticipating who'll win their fight before the clock would go off. Garnet was doing pretty good, but Rainbow's added size and speed made her the stinging wasp in this fight: small, but each hit was good and strong. Garnet kept her focus on the speeding Pegasus as best she could do, but Rainbow Dash was actually raising four against the fusion. She may be smaller than the fusion, but her reflexes made her a lot harder to hit than Garnet actually anticipated.
"HIYA!" Rainbow shouted, and with a karate-styled hoof hit, Garnet felt the hit strike her stomach. Rainbow had a flying headstart, so the hit was strong enough (somehow) to knock Garnet off the ground, and making her landing on her back. KO'd.
"AWW YEAH! Score one for the Rainbow! Woo-woo!" Rainbow cheered, going into a victory dance in a mix of a wave, moon walk, and other such in her midair victory dance. It was … more surprising than impressive, though Rainbow Dash didn't realize it until after she saw the others.
"... What?" Rainbow asked in a shrug. Did she do something wrong? Sure didn't feel like she did. Garnet picked herself up off the ground, surprisingly quiet for what just happened, feeling the hoofmark still in her stomach. It took Garnet a bit before she got to her feet, but still gave a thumbs up to the Pegasus.
"Good hit," Garnet simply said.
"Getting out of practice?" Jasper asked. A move like that from a pony wouldn't be enough to completely knock her over like that. Stun her, maybe, but not knock her off her feet.
"No, it's fine. Just proves how strong you all are getting," Garnet stated. This felt like it should inflate Rainbow's ego a bit more.
"Well, we have been fighting off our fair share of world-destroying bad guys in the past. Hey, let's go another round!" Rainbow stated, hooves crossed and grin full of pride. Garnet stretched a bit, seemingly brushing off the hit she had to take.
"Another time Rainbow. I only had enough time for that. Right now, I have a mission to get to," Garnet explained, her Gem gauntlets removed. Basic enough.
"What is it this time?" Rainbow asked in anticipation.
"Just a Gem monster off to the south. I've gotten reports something huge has been terrorizing the locals there. I'll go handle it," Garnet explained, starting to go.
"Already? Well, can you hurry back? I wanted you to watch Stevonnie train," Steven reminded. Garnet looked down to him and gave him a smile, hand on his head.
"I promise I won't be long." and with that, Garnet went off on her way. They may not have a Warp Pad back at the Temple as of now, but they still had some close by, so Garnet didn't need to worry about where to go. But as she was going off, the others started to wonder a little bit about Garnet.
"Hey. Is it just me, or does anyone else notice anything funny with Garnet lately?" Jasper asked.
"HAHA funny, or not HAHA funny? Or that kind of funny someone says is funny but is weird to everyone else?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's "not HAHA funny" Pinkie," Rarity said.
"She's fine, she's just trying to be more random that's all," Steven reassured them. Saying that's reassuring with who he was talking about … it just doesn't work.
"Garnet? Being random? … You are talking about the same Garnet, right?" Jasper questioned.
"Sure I am. I helped her deliver pizza, pose for one of Vidalia's pictures, build a robot. Kinda. Lots of things," Steven explained. And that was just on the first day he got involved too, it didn't cover what she had been doing throughout the following week, before and after the camping trip.
"Now that you say that, she did ask if she could make a sculpture of me and Lazuli after our camping trip. And even after that she went to Equestria, and from what I gathered, got Pink Diamond into a appearance modifier's base with her."
"You mean a spa?" Rarity asked.
"Same thing," Peridot replied.
"She and Emerald did come by while I was training too. Something about wanting to put Emerald as a decoy," Jasper added in, though some part of her felt disappointed that didn't happen. Peridot was a bit disappointed too, but that was beside the point.
"Guys, it's okay. Garnet explained it all to me," Steven said.
"Well we're all ears," Twilight said. Steven began to think over what Garnet had said.
"There're these rivers in this timelines, and then there's these pools so out of range she can't see them coming. She's trying to do things she won't normally do and seeing what happens," Steven summed up. A sum up was a bit easier to get by than the full explanation.
"And, how long was she doing this?" Jasper questioned. Steven readied to answer, but he realized that he wasn't sure exactly. He just found out a week or two ago, but now that he thought of it, Garnet had been a bit dynamic before he fully understood it as well. This in fact, didn't start until after their White Diamond escapade, now that they thought of it. …
"Maybe we should make sure she's okay," Steven decided.
"It can't hurt. Come on, let's find out where she went," agreed Twilight.
~~~~~~
Garnet had her own thoughts to go over during her walk to the Warp Pad. She may have had her mission to work out, sure, but the fusion began to wonder what just happened back there. Her hand was still where she was hit, the moment going through both minds of Sapphire and Ruby. On one hand, they were getting stronger and can hold their own better, but … what was on the other hand was what's starting to trouble her. Well, all the same, she had her missions to work out, and as far as the goals were concerned, they came first.
The Warp for this mission was a little bit isolated, and over off within the farmlands. Typically a Warp Pad would be more openly-spaced, out for many to see, and indeed there was one like that closer to the Barn House, but Garnet had this one in particular isolated for a reason. This one was off within some shrubs bordering the surface, and covered in some leaves. Not the most complicated, but if Sadie could do it on Mask Island (from what Steven told her once upon a time, anyway), why can't she? It seemed to be doing good so far, as none of the leaves and shrubs had been disturbed since she last checked. A quick look to be sure she was alone …
"Don't worry Steven. I'll be home soon …"
With the sound of the Warp Pad, and some time to teleport, Garnet had reached her destination. It looked pretty calm for what she said she was going to do, far from hectic. In fact, it looked no more dangerous than a playgorund - a lush green forest with tall trees, some bending at odd angles like a corner or square but overall a simple forest one would go to more to clear their head more than anything. Garnet got herself up and off of the Warp Pad, and began to go around the place. It didn't look very much off of Equestria, but this wasn't any Equestrian landscape at all. As the fusion moved around through the forest, a small figure was keeping an eye on her up from the branches, looming around her like a ghost. Garnet casually continued to walk around for a bit more, looking around the scenery for a bit until her foot nudged something on the ground.
A bomb! Garnet quickly got out of the way before it could explode, jumping up into the trees just to find three more being dropped down to her. A perch wasn't gonna happen, and she jumped down from the trees again, finding the culprit standing off not too far away. The figure didn't look familiar, though kinda small and wearing a black cloak over its body, making it look like it had triangular eyes like a pumpkin. In its hand held another bomb, which like the others had two yellow dot eyes and a triangle smiling mouth on it. It threw the bomb right at her, and the Fusion summoned out one gautlet glove, grabbing the bomb and having it explode in her hand. Very nice, and not even flinching from the explosion. The figure stood there slightly stunned as Garnet walked right up to it, the glove removed, and picking the bomber up with ease. And who was it that was attacking her when she removed the cloak?
"Top of the morning, Garnet! Nothing like some training to get the blood pumping, am I right?"
Turned out, the figure wasn't a threat at all. In fact, she looked kinda cute. While not a human per say, she was in fact an anthropomorphic, Persian-green frog wearing a black cape with a hood, yellow mittens, and a pair of pale pink boots, with what looked like a katana being carried. The frog really wasn't looking to actually hurt her, and smiled to Garnet in a playful manor, tongue sticking out and all. Garnet smiled.
"It's nice to see you too, Hopper," Garnet said before dropping her, Hopper landing on the ground like a frog world do, a croak escaping her as she landed.
"By the way, have you seen Hoppy? she was hoppin excited to come train with us," Hopper asked.
"HYAAAA!"
Out of nowhere, jumping out from the nearby bushes, another figure presented itself to them in a battle cry, rushing down to Garnet skyward. The fusion reacted fast enough, her hands in a clap as she grabbed the sword this newcomer was using, stopping her in mid-air. When settled, the figure actually perched herself on said sword, hands grabbing it and feet resting on the holder. This one, like Hopper, was also some anthro, this one a gray rabbit wearing a faded pale periwinkle kimono with a pale yellow-green trim, an indigo belt, and faded blue samurai pants. She carried a katana with purple and red handle and a dark indigo blade on her left hip, and dark indigo wristbands on each wrist. This rabbit though has a cut over her right eye, leaving her with only one eye to see the world with.
"Garnet." said the rabbit.
"Hoppy." said Garnet. Hopper at the moment had some sort of device she was looking at, looking like a tablet or something, with a spinning three-way antenne off the top of it.
"Wow, Garnet, I can tell you've been training. you're strength levels are hoppin high!" Hopper said, just as Hoppy landed over nearby the frog, withdrawing her katana.
"Yes, Hopper, but there can always be higher. We should train a bit more. I nearly had the jump on you that time," Hoppy said with a smirk.
"OOHH," Hopper said. While sure it was a joke, Garnet felt like it kinda hammered in the point on her, given her last fight already.
"Maybe in just a bit, but now I need to find something. There's a roaming Gem somewhere here that I need to bring back with me."
"OH, wonder what it is this time! A Gem-powered amulet, a rogue flying carpet, or even a magical power onion!" Hopper said excitedly. Seemingly this wasn't the first time Garnet had been here, and while all of those did sound a bit interesting, that wasn't why she was here. At least not those in particular.
"Whatever it is, we have to hurry. There's someone at home I need to get back to," Garnet said. Hopper went over to her.
"Is it that kid Steven you told us about?" Hopper asked. Garnet nodded, and she even had a picture with her, pulling it out of her chest pocket. It wasn't anything too fancy, just Steven smiling as took a picture with his friends, including her, at the beach.
"Yes. I promised him I wouldn't be too long."
"So can we please see him? He sounds like a great friend."
"He is, but not yet. I don't think they're ready to hear I have secret multiversal friends," Garnet replied, starting to go off on her way to locate said artifact. Hoppy and Hopper followed her off on her way. Steven may have made friends with Equus Ponies already, but that was a bit different when compared to whatever universe this was. Just as the three went off out of sight though, another portal then went to open up, this time being one of a Portal Key instead of the Warp Pad.
"Told you we should've used the Warp Pad," Peridot said.
"Where're we?" wondered Twilight. She, Peridot, Steven, Rarity, Pinkie, Blue, and Rainbow had arrived.
"Looks like Equestria to me," Steven said.
"Unlikely: Much of the flora here doesn't appear to match the structure of Equestrian plants," Peridot noted, studying the plant a bit closely, knocking on the wood of a nearby tree. The Ponies agreed they never seen a tree like this one, although resembling some hybrid between an oak tree and a pine tree with where branches and leaves were placed.
"But where's Garnet? That key would've brought us to her, wouldn't it?" Rarity wondered, looking around to try and find her somewhere. Not too much clue except for the bomb explosion spots left by Hopper's bombs. This suggested something, but what exactly? They went over to the location, Blue taking a few sniffs of the ground. A faint hint of smoke was left on his nose, as the others looked around for some clue. Blue focused a bit on the Gem scent, and eventually after a deep inhale, made like a pointer hound, and stiffened up, one leg up and aiming his snout right into the proper direction.
~~~~~~
Well, both groups were off and on their way through this new universe. One could argue that Equus was a bit more childish in appearances when compared to Earth with the simpler designs of the flora and local inhabitants, but this world had a more "N64" style in some sort of way: many of the trees they kept passing through kinda cut off at the tops to look more like greenery platforms, distant hills look fully round and on top of a rectangle though one could argue they could be local plants or something, like the plants from the Jungle Moon or something of that sort. As Garnet, Hopper, and Hoppy went on their way, the other group trailed off behind at a farther distance. Hoppy and Garnet went along normal, Hopper hopping along behind them like the frog she was, and overall it appeared much like a simple walk through the woods.
Or that was, until -
*THUD*
The next figure kinda came out of nowhere, but this one wasn't exactly a happy soul to see this time. He looked pretty tired, worn out, and when Hopper checked him with her device, it wasn't looking good either.
"His power levels are hopping pretty low," Hopper said in worry. Garnet could see that this character didn't look too bad, and he looked less dead and more tired. At this point as well was when the others actually showed up, but they didn't come out right away, keeping hidden off nearby in the bushes instead.
"There she is. ... Wait, is that a ... rabbit?" Rainbow asked.
"Rabbit and a frog," Pinkie quietly corrected, as if it actually made sense at all. Rarity shushed them both as Garnet began to go over.
"I can revive him," she stated, before going over to him to pick him up. They were a bit intrigued when hearing this, none of them knew she had reviving powers. ... However, it just revolved her taking a water bottle out from her hair, getting water in her mouth, and spitting in the man's face. not to mention followed by a few slaps. The group cringed a little bit on the slapping, but eventually -
"H-huh - RINGO!" shouted the man, before he was then dropped. Upon getting up to his knees, the man smiled up to the trio. "Haha! Thank you for saving me!"
"Sounds kinda familiar," Peridot quietly noted.
"Tell us your name, stranger," Garnet simply said.
"My name is Ringo: a humble caretaker of the shrine on top of yonder mountain," Ringo said, pointing over to to said mountain off fairly far away. The ponies knew well now that this wasn't their world in any means, mainly because no human ever set foot in Equus before, and Ringo surely appeared as a human (sort of). Ringo's hair was styled in a ring, similarly to an onion ring. He wore a burgundy kimono, brown shorts, a white apron, black boots, and rectangular gray rimmed glasses. Ringo resembles Ronaldo in general appearance, and after hearing him sounded like him too (go figure). Hoppy took a look over to the general direction and she (along with the group), could actually see said shrine from where they were, placed up high on top of a tall hill. Then Hoppy took note of Ringo's injuries.
"How'd you get so wounded? Did you get them during training?" Hoppy asked. Ringo sighed.
"Well, you see. An innocent Foxman wanted to see the shrine. Such a sweet, sweet Foxman. Naturally, I obliged. Inside rested the sacred magic gem of ultimate power. It was then that the Foxman double-crossed me. He used the power of the gem to banish me from my own shrine. Ever since then I've been searching for someone strong enough to help me."
"So sad," wimpered Pinkie.
"What's a "foxman"? Is that another human type?" Peridot wondered.
"Not really," Steven replied. As for the three, Garnet started to think about this "gem of ultimate power" or whatever, and came to a similar conclusion to Hopper and Hoppy.
"That gem must be contained. No one should have that much power," Garnet concluded.
"Oh, you can have the gem. I just want my shrine back," Ringo insisted, hands together and looking innocent. Or trying to.
"That's not the face for a trusting man," Twilight noted.
"We'll get it back for you."
"What?" the group gasped.
"Hop five!" Hoppy and Hopper said, high-fiving eachother. Well, what the hay?
"What's she doing? clearly he's not to be trusted. He's too ... Ronaldo-ish," Peridot quietly stated, not believing her ears.
"SShh. Maybe she knows that and decieving him. ... Possibly," Rarity said. Well they'll just have to find out in just a bit, won't they?
~~~~~~
"We're Here!"
It took little time at all for Garnet's group to get there, and when they reached the shrine of Yonder Mountain, Garnet, Hoppy, and Hopper got right up front as Ringo peeked to the main platform. The pony group kept further away, hidden off out of sight further down the stairs and watching from afar to see what'll happen.
for the shrine itself, it wasn't really too extravagent, and admittly rather tiny: a main red shrine gate with an extra set of stairs leading up to what looked like a small house where this Gem of power was at apparently. And there there was the Foxman, who himself was sitting right in front of the shrine gate. A reddish-orange anthropomorphic fox, with a muscular upper body and black pants, wearing a white bead necklace around his neck, which resembled to bead necklaces worn by Buddhist monks. And they found him ... fiddling on an Iphone. Huh.
"What a fox," Rarity stated, the group taking their position over behind the smaller hill to the shrine.
"Be careful, Garnet," Steven murmured. And while they didn't hear them, Hoppy and Hopper were just as worried for her, especially after Hopper tested the Foxman's strength with her device, showing 70,000. not bad for a fox.
"His power level's off the charts!" gasped Hopper.
"Careful Garnet. Don't bite off more than you can chew," advised Hoppy. Garnet nodded and walked right up to the foxman, who really didn't pay her much mind at first, looking over what sort of news and tid bits were on cookie cats and snowman on his Iphone and finding that more interesting than this fusion.
"Foxman! Hand over the Gem," Garnet demanded, and only then did Foxman took note.
"What? ... You again?" The Foxman said, glancing over to Ringo, who actually hissed at him like some angry cat. Well, the Foxman wasn't so easily intimidated and said "Oh, I see what this is. If you want the gem, you'll have to defeat me."
The group was a little bit concerned, but hearing this challenge did actually make Peridot snicker a little bit.
"This should be good," Rainbow said.
"Is he for real? He doesn't stand a chance against her," Peridot agreed. And with just how many other things Garnet had beaten up in the past, that actually wasn't a farfetch'd thing to believe. Garnet, as they expected, was up to the challenge and summoned her weapons.
"So be it." The foxman was ready for this, setting his Iphone down and cracked his knuckles. However, just a simple crack of those knucles was enough to send a wave through the others, showing just how much power was inside those arms. how much does one man have for just flexing to have a physical impact?! Both Foxman and Garnet made a battle cry, and slammed their fists together. Both at first seemed fairly well-matched, pure strength pushing against eachother with both sides not breaking. Tension was building between the two, and Garnet tried to keep herself focused here. However, Foxman gave a triumphant-looking grin, and suddenly ...
*BAM*
Off launched Garnet. And after slamming into Ringo, Hoppy, and Hopper like a bowling ball to bowling pins, off they went, flying right off the hillside, and out of sight. As for the group, they were left flabbergasted, some wide-eyed, some with jaws wide open in shock. Rarity got her hoof to close Pinkie's muzzle before the pink mare spoke again.
"WHAT?!" gasped Pinkie. How in the hay did that happen?!
"W-What just happened?!" Peridot asked.
"Garnet got clobbered, that's what happened! Oh, he just crossed the line," Rainbow said, and in her anger, went right out of hiding. She had about enough of this.
"HEY FOXY! Come here and put em' up!" Rainbow shouted, going boxer-style with her frontal hooves. The Foxman turned around and saw the others nearby.
"What do you want? You here to swipe the Gem too?" Foxman accused.
"No, but we don't really take well to you beating our friend," Rarity warned.
"Your friend? So that's it. Well, I got a message for you - no one's getting near that Gem except for me," Foxman warned, his fist clenched and ready for another fight.
"I got a message for you, too!" Rainbow shouted, doing frontal hoof punches before jumping right at the Foxman. However, his hand was raised up, and Rainbow Dash felt like she slammed into a brick wall, and a LOT harder too. She was left dazed for a moment before the Foxman literally flicked her away back to the others. Well, guess they got a fight to deal with, and Twilight took over. Foxman raised his mighty fist for another attack, but Twilight's magical spells got to him first, and kept the arm levitated in a chain. she did the same thing to the other arm as well for good measure, all the while the others took to Rainbow. With a slam of his fists, Foxman easily broke those chains with almost no effort, which was disturbing and worrying to note. Twilight did some warning magic shots, but they bounced off his arms like it was nothing. Then came a rather scary move: gripping the ground, the entire group was lifted off the ground, all standing on a chunk of dirt the Foxman was holding above his head.
"Oh mane," groaned Rainbow, just before the Foxman rallied it up, and threw them off the mountain! Thinking quickly as they were flying, Twilight got her teleportation spell to good use, and managed to teleport the group just in time before the chunk of earth hit ground, shattering into rubble. The group teleported not too far away from the stairs.
"Why that good for nothing -"
"Rainbow, hold it!" shouted Steven, grabbing her by the tail before she could just fly back up and try again.Clearly he was far too strong for them to take if he could send them all off so quickly.
"What the stars was that?!" Peridot gasped.
"Rainbow charged at Mr. Foxman, then Twilight tried to hold him down and -"
"Now, Pinkie, we don't need a play-by-play," Rarity said, straightening her mane from the rough tumble.
"Rarity's right, mistakes happen," Twilight agreed. "Now what happened to -"
*ARF*
The group looked over to Blue again, who managed to find the scent of the fusion after some quick sniffing around the place, him making like a pointer again. Pinkie followed the stance and stood alongside Blue, pointing in the direction.
"That'a way!" Pinkie said, pointing her hoof for good measure.
"Hope you're okay, Garnet," Steven said.
.......
"I told you he was *cough* strong."
Wouldn't you know they would end up in a tree? Garnet, Ringo, and Hopper looked knocked out, if not a bit stunned but Hoppy looked unaffected for some reason, already in a criss-cross sitting position on one of the branches. Garnet felt a bit more troubled than ever. She couldn't beat the Foxman. Well, there's no doubt about it.
"Then we're gonna have to get stronger," Garnet confirmed.
"Training time," Hoppy commented.
~~~~~~
Well the first day wasn't much good for both sides of the party. So, after their little encounter, They found their next spot for a more calmed down effect when night time came around. Garnet, Hoopy, and Hopper found a rather lovely waterfall off within the forest, a steep waterfall that poured down into a shallow pool. It was shallow enough for them to sit comfortably and not get too wet. Well, even if the pool itself wasn't very deep, the three were meditating off within the flow of the waterfall, eyes closed, calm and collected and working their inner focus. As for Ringo however, he took it less like meditation and more like a shower, him in his underwear and washing his hair.
"Ringo." he cooed in a sing-along tone through his humming, the other three glancing to him with some slight confusion. ... Why was he even taking a shower? Who knows. The three went on back to their meditation after that, shrugging it off and letting him be. They all were pretty good for a minute or two, until Hoppy began to hear a tiny fly starting to buzz around them. Hoppy lost her focus a little bit when it landed on her nose, just for a sudden tongue to shoot out, grab the bug, and Hoppy seeing Hopper gleefully enjoying her tiny snack. Hoppy would go for vegetables over bugs anyday.
With them doing all of that, up on top of the waterfall, the group had made their own little camp right above them, keeping their eye on what they were doing. It was out of the way, and not in anyone's way. Well, at least they found Garnet, and found her alright overall after the fall, her and the others too. Blue and Steven took a look down to them from the perch as the rest chilled out with the calming sound of the waterfall. Steven had his hands over his eyes like he was holding a set of binoculars to see the situation.
"How's she looking down there?" asked Pinkie.
"Pretty good. She's wearing a white sleevless shirt I think. Oh wait, I think she's ... Oh, she's getting up," Steven noted.
And indeed, Garnet was. Hoppy, Hopper, and Ringo got themselves out of the water, and Garnet was ready to go. She began to summon her gauntlets in her hands, seemingly ready to do some good training practice. They began kinda small, but Garnet had some other special idea in mind, and with some focus, the gauntlets on her hands began to grow more, and more, and more, until they were ten times the size and weight! Each gauntlet looked about a rhino a piece.
"Weighted Gauntlets," Hoppy, Hopper, Pinkie, and Steven gasped. Steven and Hopper shared a starry-eyed looked as they saw what Garnet had on her. The fusion felt a little unsteady at first with such a weight shift in her arms, almost falling back, but gathering her strength and was ready to get her own brand of training started more or less. It took a lot of energy but she did gather enough power to thrust one fist forward, that move alone making the water ripple under her feet. Hopper checked her device.
"She gained ten points from that one punch!" she gasped, and indeed it was true, showing Garnet and a +10 underneath her. Good. Garnet focused up again and began to do some air punches. It sure was a difficult process, but the fusion wasn't going to be denied, and the more punches she made, the faster she went, and the more determined she got. The punches themselves, housed with so much power, made the ground shake, the tremors being felt by the group up on top of the waterfall. It started out small, but then came the moment when Garnet started to rapid-fire her punches, making everything shake like an earthquake! The group at the top felt these easily, finding it very hard to stay still even if they wanted to. Garnet kept this up for a good thirty seconds straight (not bad given the size of her gauntlets), but when she finished, so did the shaking. Pinkie Pie was the most shaken up, and when it stopped, she felt the ground with her front hoof. ... Or rather, lack there of.
"Uh oh." Steven quickly jumped and grabbed Pinkie by the tail, and in turn Blue grabbed Steven by the foot, but while it did connect Pinkie, it mostly just made them fall off the waterfall! Garnet felt good, one giant fist aimed skyward, making her giant fist more of a landing platform for Pinkie, Steven, and Blue to land on. And now, only now, did Garnet realize that she didn't come here alone.
She removed her gloves, and the three landed in the water nearby, getting soaked but not as hurt as what could've been. It took a minute for both parties to see eachother, Pinkie shaking off the water like Blue would.
"Hi!" Pinkie said with a smile, waving a friendly hoof.
"Hello!" replied Hopper, waving as well. Garnet was ... quiet. And she took a look to the three.
"I thought I told you I'll be handling it."
"I know I know, but we wanted to help you. Is that okay?" Steven asked meekly. Garnet thought it over but before she could answer -
"Steven! Pinkie! You okay down there?!" called Twilight. No point in staying out of the way this time after that accident. Garnet just sighed.
"Ok, you all can come down now!" Garnet called. On the word, Rainbow and Twilight flew out, Twilight lifting Peridot and Rarity down to the ground safely. Ringo, Hoppy, and Hopper had never seen any creatures like these before, but they didn't really feel too weirded out. They were, after all, anthropomorphic animals in their own right.
"Wait a minute ..." Hoppy went over and looked them all over for a moment or two, though while many of them weren't too familiar, she took only one look at Steven.
"Hmm ... Wait. You're Steven!" Hoppy realized. Hopper was excited herself, hopping right up to them, excitedly.
"Oh my hop, it is you! Garnet told us a lot about you, I'm so hoppin happy to meet you!" Hopper said. Pinkie shared her enthusiasm and hopped in match with the frog.
"I'm so happy to see you too, any friend of Garnet's a friend of me," Pinkie said, also matching her excitemenet. First time she ever made friends with a frog that can talk back to her.
"Sorry we didn't stay. We were just a little worried, really. You are alright, are you?" Rarity asked.
"Especially after you were launched off that mountain," added Pinkie, though something they didn't want to bring up again. nor was it something Garnet really wanted to hear them know of already. Garnet didn't answer her verbally, but instead showed them: bringing out the gauntlets again and bringing up her strength, launching herself up high into the air, near one of those "hills" and with one well-aimed whack of her foot, cracked the top off like an egg! If that wasn't proof, what was?
"So cool!" much of the group said.
"I'm ready." Garnet stated.
~~~~~~
"We're here!" Ringo announced … again.
"You gonna say that every time we go here?" Peridot asked.
Now with a full team behind her, Garnet went right on back to the Foxman the next morning. Traveling there was of little problem, as the forest they were launched into was right at foot of Yonder Mountain. Garnet stood up between her friends and the Foxman again, and as far as they all were sure of, the Foxman was looking forward to them coming back. The Foxman smiled wickedly and got up again, clenching his fists and ready to go.
"Looks like you're hungry for another delicious beating," the Foxman mocked. Garnet was unfazed by this.
"Actually that last one spoiled my appetite," Garnet stated.
"How dare you insult my cooking skills?" the Foxman yelled, his fist ready to launch her and everyone else off across the valley. Everyone cringed, and readied to get launched off again, some covering their eyes. However, the last bit of training was just what Garnet needed. She simply raised her hand, and the fist stopped cold. The Foxman was stunned, but he wasn't planning on giving up, and tried multiple punches again, all of which missed. Garnet summoned one gauntlet, and with one mighty swing, slammed the Foxman square in the stomach! The foxman groaned, and soon whimpered, landing on his side and clenching his stomach in agony. It was clear who won this confrontation.
"Hip hop hooray!" shouted Hopper. The Foxman was to the point of tears when Garnet came over to him.
"Now hand over that Gem," Garnet stated again.
"But I'm the guardian of this shrine!" the Foxman insisted.
"Wait. Guardian?" Steven wondered. Blue suddenly started to bark again when looking off to said shrine, and that their Ronaldo look-alike was rushing straight up it! Admittedly, it wasn't too surprising, considering who Ringo was compared to.
"HEY, CLOD!" Peridot shouted, already running after him. Ringo had just gotten up to the top and at the shrine, when Peridot caught up with him, grabbing him by the legs making him topple over.
"Let! Go!" Ringo demanded.
"No way, dirtbomb!" Peridot snapped, trying to keep Ringo from the Gem of ultimate power. Ringo though just managed to squirm his way out of her grip.
"You trick us!"
"Of course I tricked you!" Ringo laughed, not looking more impish, "How else am I suppose to get passed that Foxman? Now the ultimate power belongs to Ringo!" Ringo chortled. Naturally they weren't going to have that.
"Over my shattered body!" Garnet said, rushing up the steps towards him. Ringo began to head over to the Gem of ultimate power, but he was then grabbed by the ring in his hair by Pinkie Pie, pulling the man back down the steps in a somersault.
"Eh … sorry," Steven said to the Foxman, rather meekly.
"Nevermind, just stop him!" the Foxman said, pointing to Ringo. Steven, Hoppy, and Hopper spurred into action, just as Pinkie Pie was knocked away, and Ringo made a mad dash for the Gemstone in question. Garnet grabbed him by the hair ring again, and lifted him off the ground, Ringo thrashing to try and get out of it. As this was going on, Peridot and Blue had gotten to the shrine itself …
"It's over Ringo."
"HAHAHA! Don't try and counts your hops before you make them!" Ringo warned, but his confidence didn't have that much effect on them, since he was still kinda stuck in Garnet's grip. "That gem hold all the power in this world. Oh, when I get to it, you all will bow to me! And then, I'll destroy this world because I can!"
"Will you shut up already?" called Peridot from the shrine.
"Don't interrupt my evil monologuing!" Ringo shouted, just to be dropped by a bemused Garnet. She was feeling more like an idiot now.
"You don't have to even do that. ... THE GEM'S ALREADY GONE!"
"WHAT?!" shouted everyone else. The Foxman was the first to jump up to the shrine, shoving Peridot aside to look for himself. Turned out, there was no gemstone inside anywhere! After all that trouble, and the object in question wasn't even there?! The Foxman was the most shocked by this revelation, even lifting up the shrine and shaking to try and find the gemstone, but nothing came out of it.
"Where'd it go?! I've been guarding it for years, I-it should be here!" the Foxman insisted in a panic. How could the gemstone be taken without him knowing? This surprised everyone else just as much, trying to find some sort of clue. There was no footprints aside from their own though, and even then they didn't get close enough to the shrine to take it. Blue immediately got to work in trying to find the gemstone through his smell. He got Garnet this far, but he wasn't sure what the gemstone would smell like. The Foxman then turned to the others.
"Give back the gemstone!" the Foxman demanded.
"What?! We don't have it, you see any of us have it?!" Rainbow insisted, just as surprised as everyone else. But where could the stone have gone? Or worse, who could've took it? Hoppy went over to the Gem dog going about, who at this point was a bit close to the clifface. His nose was telling him that this gemstone was in a rather odd place … and coming up fast!
"Look out!" Hoppy said, grabbing Blue and pulling him back.
And just in time. Just as Hoppy and Blue got out of the way, a huge red blur flew up from the side of the cliff. Everyone else had to move aside as this newcoming creature landed down, crushing the shrine underfoot. A Dragon. A large, female Dragon.
She stood tall compared to the others, just taller than Yellow Diamond, but shorter than White Diamond, and her body alone as long as a bus, not including the slim tail and neck. This wasn't exactly a typical dragon either, more resembling a eastern dragon than a medieval one, with no wings on her back to keep her in the air. The Gem of ultimate power wasn't really seen anywhere right away, but all the colorations of red scales told them it had some association to it. A set of large antlers jutted out from her head, along with rabbit-like ears, and in her mouth canine-like teeth. Apart from that, she was all reptilian. A smooth line of hair stretched from her head down to the end of her neck.
"So the Gem of ultimate power is a corrupted Gem. Not surprised much actually," Rainbow admitted. The Gem dragon however wasn't going to stick around for this dinner, and began to rush off passed them, knocking many of them aside before she took off skyward. Ringo, desperate for the ultimate power, grabbed the Gem by the tail, and was flown up skyward. All the Gem dragon needed to do was spin in midair to launch Ringo off back to the others, hitting into Garnet. The dragon growled, and then gave a mighty roar that shook the ground. As any dragon, she began to charge up a breath weapon. It would normally be fire, but this Gem dragon had something else in her arsenal. Nearby the head, some gemstones actually started to appear: three red hexagon stones appeared around her head, and seemingly joined in with the Gem dragon's blast of energy. For the attack on her, the breath came out in a light-fast, red laser beam comb, landing right on Ringo. They weren't sure if the dragon either felt sorry for Ringo, or if she needed a distraction of sorts, but Ringo began to feel power building inside of him.
Ringo surely was enjoying it, his muscles growing. His body looked less like Ronaldo and more like Bismuth now, and an actual stone was visible in the hole of his hair ring. The apron he had on turned into a tattered cape wrapped around his waist, and he ended up gaining a staff with three rings on the end of it. Ringo decided to test his new ability on the closest figure in question: the Foxman. He released a magical energy from his staff, transforming the Foxman into …
"A-An onion ring?" gasped Steven. The Foxman's only evidence of its true self now was a fox tail at the end of the ring. The Gem dragon began to fly off away with lightning speed. None of them had time to get him though, as Ringo had the power that gemstone would've given him if he were to take it.
"We will avenge you, Foxman," said Steven, hand resting on the onion ring created. Everyone rushed to him, but Ringo had other plans. Focusing on his new gemstone, he got them all suddenly teleported away!
"What the?! Hey! … where're we?" asked Rainbow. The world they've entered into looked a bit darker than before, day or night unclear in this place. What they could see though was a number of floating, neon rights, and much of the coloration had some resemblance to Malachite's realm. A cluster of rings began to appear, and soon "Ultimate" Ringo showed up, all smug and full of power over his adversaries. Blue growled on seeing him, as Ringo settled down on a ring as it rotated.
"Welcome to the Ringo zone! My powers are strongest here. You wanna stop me? Go on, it'll amuse me. And when I'm done with you, maybe I'll destroy the world, just 'cause I can!" Ringo mocked.
"You already said that!" Peridot yelled. But now the threat seemed a lot more likely, and they couldn't let him get away with it.
The first to jump up at Ringo was Hoppy and Rainbow Dash, one aiming in the air as the other jumped from the ground up. Ringo though had a few teleportation tricks up his gem-powered sleeves, and quickly dodged them as they bolted at him time and again. His staff charged up and launched numerous rings at them both. Rainbow dodged them, and Hoppy sliced them up, the projectiles exploding on impact with the ground. Steven had to bring up his shield so none of the explosions got to them, and they too joined into this fight.
Hopper hopped right in next, and her tongue shot right out, wrapping around Ringo. It was a very risky move, and Ringo made short work of the handicap with a electric shock from his body, zapping the frog into letting him go. This did give time for Peridot and Rarity to do a combined karate kick on him. Headshot! Ringo landed on the ground roughly as Peridot and Rarity readied up again. Ringo's stuff quickly summoned up a mega-ring, and launched it right at them. The ring at first appeared powered at the center, so Rarity and Peridot moved outside of it, just for the ring to zap them both as it passed by! Two more players out of the game.
Twilight Sparkle zapped in a power chain at Ringo's staff, and Ringo tried to make sure it didn't get removed from his hand. Twilight's magic though proved just too strong, and she yanked the staff out and tossed it out of reach. While it did stop the staff's power, Ringo still had his own gemstone, and zapped at Twilight.
"Ringo! You must be defeated!" Garnet yelled. Ringo just smiled smugly.
"Nope. The name's Ultimate Ringo," Ringo corrected, before he teleported out of range from Garnet's punch. He grabbed his staff just before anyone else could do so, but Blue jumped in and clamped his jaws on the staff, trying to make him let go. Ringo kept trying to make the Gem dog stop, but in his biting, Blue then clamped his jaws down on the hand holding the staff, making Ringo shriek in pain, and dropping both staff and hound. Ringo was furious, but Blue already began running off with the staff in his teeth. Ringo then got a zapping attack again, and struck Blue, making his skid to a stop and release the staff.
"THAT'S IT!" Rainbow charged straight to Ringo, her leg ready to do a good karate kick. However, Ringo then launched up several rings at Rainbow making the Pegasus flail, and spin, falling to the ground.
"Get ready to hop, drop, and roll!" shouted Hoppy, her katana at the ready to slice him up. Ringo reacted just quick enough though, and blasted rings right at the rabbit.
"Hopper - er I mean, Hoppy no!" Garnet gasped. The group was getting beaten down one by one, Ringo needed to be stopped before they all could be torn down. Ringo saw Garnet coming his way, and he was more than willing to jump to the challenge.
"Ultimate!" he shouted. Soon, he and Garnet met up head on, and became a deadly fist fight. Both sides were striking fast and hard, and despite her training to get stronger, Garnet actually was having trouble keeping up, much to Ringo's glee. One fist slammed Garnet in the face, and stunned her just enough to get launched by one of Ringo's gem beams. The impact made her slam into the ground, cracking the zone underneath her.
"Garnet!" gasped Steven. Ringo, laughing all the while, prepared another finishing zap to her, but Steven jumped in the way just in time, just for the magic of his staff to turn him into an onion ring! Garnet froze.
"I-I'm sorry Steven … I'm not strong enough," Garnet finally admitted. That was the problem. She had fallen from Rainbow Dash already, she fell from the Foxman, and now she fell from Ringo. She just wasn't together. Garnet pulled out the picture she had on her, and glancing to the onion ring that was once Steven. The gemstone was left at the very center of the ring, somehow still connected to the onion ring, and -
"What do we have here?" Ringo suddenly grabbed Garnet's picture, and looked it over. "Not bad. But it's missing something. I know!" and much to her anger, he turned the picture into an onion ring, and ate it right in front of her. She was at least grateful it wasn't Steven that was getting eaten, but the effect was just as strong to her.
She had enough.
Getting up, she began to alter her gauntlets, which turned into spiked gauntlets with rose knuckles attached to it. The fusion charged forward as fast as she could do, going into another fist fight tussle with Ringo. This time though, the tables had turned, and it was Ringo who didn't keep up, getting slammed in the face. Ringo landed in one of his rings, spinning crazy before slowing down. Garnet then jumped skyward, up to a spring-like ring, and used the momentum from the spring to launch herself directly at Ringo! Ringo shook off just enough to see Garnet charging at him like a meteor.
*BOOOM*
And just like that, Ringo was taken down. The huge cloud of debris cleared up to reveal a brutally pummeled Ringo, the ground cracking severely under him. He was knocked out cold, and the gemstone on his head shattered to pieces. Garnet looked to the remains of the stone, which was still flickering like a lightbulb until it fully ceased light. Garnet herself needed a minute to get herself together, comprehending what occurred here. With the gemstone now shattered, how was she -
"Ugh … what happened?"
Steven! The group turned to the onion ring, and found that Steven had turned back to normal, gemstone and all. They all were worried over him, and they were glad to see him back to normal. Of course, they had little to comprehend this much, as they all started to teleport away again (except for Ringo, that is). Soon, they all found themselves back in familiar land, and back to the shrine. And good news for them: the Foxman was back to normal as well! Whatever that gemstone did, any effects it had was now gone upon its shattering.
"Yes, I'm back! … But where's the gemstone?" the Foxman asked.
"Not here. Don't worry about a thing, we'll locate it. It's best it doesn't fall into the wrong hands again anyway," Garnet concluded.
"That was hoppin amazing!" Hopper beamed, "Your power levels were hop-tastrophic!"
"That's not even a word, but I agree with ya!" Pinkie said, equally psyched. Despite all of the excitement though, Twilight still remembered what Garnet had said down there after Ringo knocked her down.
"Was that the problem, Garnet? Your strength?" Twilight asked. Garnet sighed, and turned to the start of the stairs.
"... It's alright. We got Steven back, and the Foxman. And Ringo is now stuck in his own zone. I'm feeling a lot better now," Garnet said. The others felt a little confused, but in the end, perhaps Garnet would be better to talk when they were at a better time. For now, the Gem dragon had flown off somewhere, and they had to figure out where that went off to. Garnet did gather up the shards from Ringo though, and got them bubbled up before they left the Ringo Zone, so they at least had something to work off.
They got something out of this adventure regardless. Anyway, with all said and done, they began to go. The Foxman, Hoppy, and Hopper waved goodbye, as they all went off to go, but as good as it was, this little adventure felt a little bit incomplete.
Something was wrong with Garnet. They just got to find out what.