The next morning, the snowstorm ended, and the barn quieted to an absolute standstill. The only sounds that could be heard were the quiet chirping of birds. Sunlight crept in from one of the cracks in the wall of the barn. Sunset rolled a little in the straw mat where she had slept during the night. When she finally got up, she yawned and stretched her arms out, then turned to Peridot and Lapis, who had also arisen from bed.
“Morning, Peridot. Morning, Lapis,” she yawned.
“Morning, Sunset,” Lapis smiled. Pumpkin wagged his tail excitedly.
“I see that you have a lot of work to do around the barn,” Sunset observed. “I don’t suppose I could be of any assistance here, could I?”
Peridot chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, Sunny,” she started, “but Lazuli and I have got things covered. Just make yourself comfortable until Steven and the Gems get here.”
“How do I do that?” Sunset asked.
“Well,” Lapis Lazuli answered, “you could watch Camp Pining Hearts over there.” She pointed to a small TV set that was installed on one of the bunk beds.
Sunset shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” She climbed up the ladder to the bunk bed and popped in one of the videos that lay in front of her.
A few hours later, Sunset lay on the bed watching her third Camp Pining Hearts video when she heard Lapis's voice from down below.
“Hey guys!” Lapis was calling. Sunset stopped the video and scooted over to the edge of the bed. She peered over the edge to see a total of four figures approaching.
One was a short, chubby boy with curly black hair and wearing a pink shirt with a yellow star on it along with some jeans and some sandals, wearing a huge grin on his face.
The second was a short, chubby purple woman about as tall as the boy, wearing a white tank top with a jagged hem and black leggings with dark mauve stars on them. Her messy lavender hair went down to her ankles and covered her left eye in a bang. She had plump lips, a small nose, dark indigo eyes, and a purple gemstone on her chest that was partially covered by her shirt.
The third was a slender, tall, thinly-built woman with ivory skin, a pointed nose, thin lips, and sky-blue eyes with peach-colored hair in a pixie cut. She wore an aqua blue tunic with a small gold star in the center, amber-colored leggings, a yellow sash ribbon around her waist, and pink socks with pale blue slip-on ballet flats.
And finally, the last one was a tall crimson-purple woman with a square afro and a soft-pink/pale-blue visor on. She had on a colorful bodysuit with an amaranth-colored star with a soft pink outline, oval-like shoulder pads, and eggplant-colored gauntlets with an orange-outlined yellow star on them. The two lower halves of her body were separated straight down the middle; one half was purple, while the other was magenta.
“I hear ya guys got a new visitor,” the purple one started, smirking. “Where is she?”
“Here she is. SUNNY!” Peridot called. “Come on down and say hello to Steven and his friends!”
Sunset peered over the edge of the bed to see the strangers staring back at her. For the longest time, no one said anything. Then the boy spoke up, “Who are you?”
Sunset cleared her throat. “Sunset,” she said. “Sunset Shimmer. And you are Steven Universe?”
The boy nodded. “Yep, that’s me. And say hello to Amethyst” – the short, purple woman waved, grinning – “Pearl” the woman with the pointy nose also waved– “and Garnet.” The tall, stoic woman adjusted and said, in a somewhat businesslike manner, “Hi.”
“Who are you, exactly?” Sunset asked, very curious. “Are you friends of Peridot and Lapis?”
“You might say that,” Amethyst shrugged. “What exactly brings you here?”
Sunset sighed. She was going to have to tell the same story all over again. “It’s a long tale,” she answered, rather annoyed. So much for wanting to forget, she thought bitterly to herself.
“Just keep it short,” Garnet responded. “It’ll be better.”
Sunset sighed. “Okay, here goes,” she started. And so she retold the story of how she was framed for spilling secrets about her old school friends, how everyone back at her school hated her, and how she left her old home and ended up here.
“Wow, man,” Amethyst said, dumbfounded. “Harsh.”
“Yeah,” Sunset muttered. “That’s why I was planning to go to Beach City to forget about this whole mess for a while.”
“Well, Beach City’s kind of having its own problems right now,” Steven said. “We had to clean up the mess we made when we had to battle gem monsters a few days ago.”
“Oh,” Sunset said. “So is it okay if I stay here for a spell or two while I figure out what to do next? I’m not exactly welcome in my old home anymore, and I’m pretty sure nobody’s gonna miss me.”
“Sure, sweetie,” Lapis smiled warmly. “Stay as long as you need. We’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, guys,” Sunset grinned. “I really appreciate it.”
Elsewhere, in a red-and-black flying saucer parked in one of the barren Kindergartens, a dark figure wearing shades was watching a brightly lit screen that was filled with numbers. Suddenly, the screen changed over to a feed that displayed a visual of the barn. The figure zoomed in on the barn and noticed three familiar figures standing together.
“So,” it said ominously, “we meet again at last.” It swiveled around in its chair to see an array of chambers. “As soon as I have perfected the solution, I think I ought to do a trial run on you to see how well the formula is working. What do you think, BB-X9?”
From the darkness of the ship, an airborne drone buzzed and chirped in agreement. A thin, dark smile played about on the figure’s lips.
“Excellent,” she chuckled darkly. “I have an assignment for you. Keep tabs on these three.” She pointed to the figures on the screen. “They may be of use to us in the future. As for the young one, I’m going to see just how well he and his fellow humans fare against my army. Those egotistical, pathetic Diamonds are gonna regret sending me into exile when I’m finished with them. You are dismissed.”
The drone lowered itself, as if bowing, then disappeared. The figure swiveled in its chair back toward the screen.
“Cut the visual,” it commanded.
And then the screen turned to black, swallowing the entire ship in darkness.