//------------------------------// // True Kind of Love PT2 // Story: My Little Universe II // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// "... STEVEN! STEEEVEEN! ... Anyone there?! ..." ....... "GUYS! WHERE'RE YOU?!" *ROOOAAARRR* Such silence in such a desolate place like the Supreme Kindergarten could only last for so long. Unable to stand being gone from her friends for any longer, the only free remaining Harmony Gem Spinel finally bulked up the courage to go out to them herself. The realm of corners was far behind her by now, and with her animal friends accompanying her in this struggle, she wasn't alone in trying to find them either. The Supreme Kindergarten was so empty, even after the more recent activity of turning it into a prison hold for Tambalon months ago. The bars were still left on some areas of the Kindergartens, many of which were broken up of course as Spinel was going through the place to try and find them. Her animal friends Lion and Blue were trying their best to find them, but since neither had ever been here before it was difficult to even know where to start. Their only main source of direction was with Blue's sense of smell, still only vaguely on the scent of the other Harmony Gems. "You still got their scent, right boy?" Spinel asked worriedly. Blue barked for his answer, though the scent was still a little harder to follow. Lion kept his pace with Blue in their search for the group of Gems and Ponies, roaring time and again to see if it'll bring any voices their way. The only voices they could hear were their own echoes through the empty space. "Steven, you better be okay, PLEASE be okay. I should never have stayed behind, I'm so stupid! I-If he's getting himself killed over me ...!" Spinel started to get more and more freaked out, yanking hard on her own pigtails as her eyes began to water. However, she still had a promise to keep and she quickly shook her head. "No, Spinel, don't lose it. You promised him you won't lose it!" Spinel told herself, trying crazily to wipe away the oncoming tears. Lion snorted to get Spinel's attention, before pointing off ahead towards Blue. The Gem dog continued his tracking some more ahead of them, his nose at work to take in every inch of the scent Blue's nose started to lead the Gem dog off the beaten path, and actually making him climb up a small bit of rubble up to a small opening in the path, made up of a recently-made tunnel during Grogar's control. It took just a few shorts hops to get there, and he began making his way inside ... They began to hear him howling. He found something. "What is it ...?" Spinel only needed a peek into the next area to find that out. Looking on into the next area was a big clearing in the Supreme Kindergarten, very flattened out and worn away by the army that used to be here But that wasn't the thing that they saw first. "G-Guys?" Gemstones. Or rather, what was left of them. Scattered among the sand and dust, in the dim light, they could see the signs of the shards of once-living Gems all over the place. A very faint shine glimmered off of each and every one of them, as if they still had a faint sign of life still inside of each shard. Nearby the shattered remains were other signs of Grogar's onslaught, the Elements of Harmony themselves laying all lifeless on the ground. Not a single twitch. Even when Lion started nudging Fluttershy's limp body, there wasn't any reaction from her. Or any of them. And then there's Steven ... lifeless. Laying on his stomach there cold in the dirt. Spinel was horrified. "No no no no no no! STEVEN!" Spinel rushed right over to him, dropping to her knees the second she got to his side. "Steven? S-Steven, you okay? You wanna say something?" Spinel said. But Steven was not reacting to anything she had to say, much to her horror. Spinel tried to shove him, push him, whatever she could to wake him up. "Come on Steven, this isn't funny. I don't wanna play this game anymore! Come on buddy, up on your feet! G-Get up!" Spinel pleaded. She even tried picking Steven up to get him to his feet, but Steven flopped back to the ground. That made Steven flip over onto his back, showing Spinel that he was still not awake ... and something else she could go without seeing. A hoof mark right on his chest, and blood coming out of his nose. Spinel tried rocking him awake over and over again, but he still wouldn't wake up. "Steven, stop fooling around with me! Y-You promised you'd come back ... right? ... Brother? ..." Spinel was starting to feel tears starting to come up. "N-No. Don't do it you," she murmured, trying to cover her eyes, "Y-You promised him you wouldn't cry. D-Don't ... don't cry! ... Stop! Just don't - ... don't ... DON'T LEAVE ME!" Spinel couldn't hold it back anymore. Wailing loud, tears bursting from her eyes, she collapsed right on top of Steven. She couldn't take it, she just couldn't! "I DON'T WANNA BE ALONE ANYMORE! COME BACK! COME BACK!" Spinel cried, wrapping her arms around Steven as she continued to cry her eyes out. Steven did so much for her since they first met, even after what she tried to do on her first day of Earth, and now she couldn't even return the favor. The sounds of her cries echoed throughout the entire Supreme Kindergarten, telling the entire world how horrible this all felt to her. What's worse: ... what could she even do? As Spinel kept just laying there crying, Lion and Blue sat nearby in silence. Blue could only whimper at the sight of it all, seeing all of his owners now gone in front of him like this, as Lion kept his gaze aimed to the ground. It may appear as a sign of silent respect, and in a way it could be, but as Lion did this he also began to take a better look at the shards that laid down everywhere around them. They were small and scattered everywhere, but seeing the one at his paws more closely began to show that they were active a bit more than they let on to be. Lion looked closer, just enough for the big cat to nudge the small shard with his nose. For just a brief moment, the gem shard glowed even brighter. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to catch the lion's attention, along with the Gem hound next to him. Curious, Blue nudged the gem shard again, and got a similar glow from them again. ... It was a long shot, but they might as well try. Lion got Blue to start looking around, and while Blue was doing that the big cat went over towards Spinel, who at this point was just whimpering as the tears streamed down her face. Lion couldn't take to her, so he had to nudge her to get her attention, looking her eye-to-eye. "What do you want?" Spinel quietly asked grimly. Lion started grunting a little as he tried to make Spinel get off of Steven for a moment. Spinel wasn't so willing though and tried to stay with him, but being so sad and weak she couldn't keep him all to herself for long. Spinel fell back a little bit and was just about to shove Lion away when she and Lion saw something else going on with Steven ... His gemstone was glowing. A lot. "Steven? ... No way. A-Are you ...?" Spinel still didn't know much about humans, though something was telling her only one way to find out. Going closer to Steven again, she rested her ear on Steven's chest and listened closely. What Spinel was starting to hear among the silence of the Supreme Kindergarten was a very faint, yet noticeable thumping. It started off slow ... then began to pick up the pace. At the same time, Steven's gemstone was almost flashing along with the thumping, as if whatever was making that noise was pumping through the gemstone as well. Spinel stood up and moved back to Lion's side, giving Steven some more space. Lion didn't seem afraid and kept Spinel from going any closer to him as his gemstone began to work its own kind of magic. No matter how long ago any Gem was created, no matter how much memory, there was always one power all Gems possess. And Steven's gemstone was doing just that. Starting by removing the hoof mark on Steven's chest. The gemstone suddenly came to life. A large pink glow shot all over the area, coming from Steven's gemstone itself, shining the brightest it has ever been. And the best part? Steven Universe was now awake! He kept his eyes open, but the very first thing he noticed now was the gemstone and all of its own life returning to it. Steven's eyes sparkled, instinctively knowing exactly what this meant as a smile formed up to his face. The proof was all right there, and to prove it, he jumped into the air. The jump, which had for so long been nothing more of normal, now brought him up a good ten feet, and kept him there through a bit of floating! Steven brought out one Gem shield in one hand, and one shield in the other hand. He then spread his arms out and threw them down, forming his signature Gem bubble shield, which then formed a spiked ball shield with a flip of the hand, which then burst open in another swing of his arms in a blast of energy! Steven had survived. "I made it ......." "STEVEN!" Spinel rushed at him, hugging him tight and even giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're alive!" "Spinel. You're here too?" "I know, I know, I'm sorry I just got so scared that you were gonna leave me alone again, and I was gonna have nobody, and I'd be stuck like it was back at the garden again! I'm so glad you're still here with me," Spinel said. Steven smiled, but then he started to look around a bit. He was not blind to the fact that the rest of his friends took the fall too, either just laying there or just shattered on the ground. "I'm sorry you had to see this too, Spinel," Steven said, down on his knees and lifting up one of the remaining shards of gemstones. "Grogar did this, I know he did. When i get my hands on that -" "It's not gonna do anything," Steven cut in, "Getting back at Grogar for this won't bring them back." "Huh? B-But what about your home? What about the planet? What about your "Happily ever after"?!" asked Spinel. Steven only had one thing to say about that. "There's no such thing as "Happily Ever After" ... I'll always have more work to do." "....... So ... We can't do nothing?" Spinel quietly asked. *arf**arf* Before Steven could answer her that time, the barking coming from Blue caught their attention. Blue had been working like a dog getting the other remaining shards scattered everywhere, walking back over to what looked like a small cluster of them placed together by the dog. It wasn't all of them by any means, but it still was enough to at least get one of the Gems together - a blue one in particular. Hopefully it was all the pieces. Steven only needed one look for his ultimate eureka moment. "Maybe there is. Spinel, try and find the rest pieces." "But aren't they shattered?" Spinel asked gravely. "Red Diamond didn't get them yet. It's exactly like you said: it's just like a puzzle," Steven said. If it meant getting their friends back. Spinel got to work with Lion to find the remaining pieces of this big puzzle, as Steven walked over to the gemstone Blue found the pieces for. Getting down on his knees again, he looked over each of the pieces closely, getting one part after the other to match each bit of pieces. It was a bit hard to do since some pieces were so small, but he did finally manage to make it come together. Very good that the first Gem he pieced together was the one that can help him out the most with it all. All he needed to do now was put his healing powers to work. One single kiss right onto the gemstone. His healing spit did it's job. All of the cracks on the gemstone started to fade away, fusing back together into it's perfect shape. Then it started to form. "Happy Welcome Back Day," Steven said. *FLASH* "... Ooohhh ... I ... where're we?" Lapis Lazuli was back. But with the reformation meant an entirely new form, and this one was a bit special compared to the flowing aristocratic dress beforehand. For starters, her outfit had completely altered from the short dress and scarf, being replaced instead by a tomboyish outfit: a backless halter crop tank top colored a nice shade of blue and navy, a pair of dark-blue puffy pants, with sandals on her feet and a ribbon tying her pants together, both colored a nice shade of bronze-gold. A more smaller detail they just manage to catch was that her hair was no longer as well-kept as before, darker shade of blue with the back of her hair longer and slightly messier. Less of an aristocrat and more of an adventurer. "... Steven! You're alive!" Lapis beamed the second she saw Steven. It didn't take her more than five seconds before she was hugging her friend too. "But I thought that we ... I mean, we were all -" "Shattered? Yeah, but it looks like my healing powers fixed you right up. And as soon as I get everyone else, we're going to save our universe. You in?" Steven said, hand out to her. Of course Lapis took him by the hand. "Definitely." "Great-O! it worked! Good thing too, otherwise we'd gotten em all together for nothing," said Spinel close by. With some help from both Blue and Lion, Spinel got hold of the rest of the remaining shards. Now knowing they can be brought back this way, the sight of them like this was a temporary issue at best. Lion had the effort of bringing the ponies with them as well, lining them up comfortably along the ground as Spinel and Blue got the Gemstones all set up and ready. "Lapis, I'm going to need you to help me out with this." "Anything you need, Steven, anything at all," Lapis replied. "Great. Now, can i see your water wing?" Steven asked. A simple request in exchange for basically reviving her from the dead. Lapis happily gave Steven that request and brought out her water wings. Since Steven revived her directly with just a single kiss, Steven actually decided something a bit more creative: gathering up his saliva, he actually dunked his face into one of Lapis's wings, opening his mouth good and wide. He sucked in some water, and spat it back out, releasing a good amount of his healing saliva into Lapis's water wings, enough to make them shine in the light. "So that's your master plan. Alright, line everyone up. We got worlds to rescue," Lapis said. "Aye-aye captain," Spinel said with a salute. She stretched her arm out one more time to tilt one of the built up gemstones just right, and moved over to join them all aside. All Lapis Lazuli herself had to do now was raise up the holy water from her own wings, and start releasing all of it right above them all in a nice shower of healing water. Time to save the world. ~~~~~~ Grogar was sure pleased. Happiest he'd been since preparations for the wedding months before or heck, taking over Homeworld in general the first time. Practicing for one final time in his personal chambers with The Spirit herself sitting not too far away in her own chains and damage, Grogar had never felt more in power than he had now. Especially with the extra satisfaction of proving wrong a fortune teller, even more so one of such a god status ... or used to. Much of Grogar's practice here was sharpening his horns on a nearby anvil, the sound similar to that of a sword being sharpened. "Well, well, well," Grogar lamented, "Would you look at that, Spirit. The Harmony Gems all either dead or to be dead. The Alicorn princesses out of commission. The Great Diamond Authority toppled. ... Not the picture you saw in your personal future, is it? Seems your skills are NOT as good as you thought." The Spirit groaned at him. So much humiliation she suffered thanks to this mortal Ram, and this itself was just a nail in that coffin. Grogar took this in stride much easier. "Oh, don't get upset you said it yourself: all of them are clearly a bunch of fools," Grogar pointed out. "Are you sure it is THEM who is the fool here, Grogar? You already destroyed your entire country to get where you are now!" "A small sacrifice, when all realms is my reward," Grogar said with a grand smile, moving pass the Spirit to check the map he had to figure out where to strike first. He had a few spots circled on the universal map, many of which would be a good start anywhere. The Spirit grew angry again. "Then will you finally be satisfied? Will the complete annihilation of every single world in this universe finally make you feel better?" The Spirit asked sharply. "Hmm, it's a start," Grogar shrugged, "I've also considered turning your realm into one of those Aredox concentration camps." The Spirit still, even now, couldn't believe her own ears. She was a god all rights, and this mortal was taking to her as if she were nothing but dirt! Stripped of her horn of magic, plucked of her own wings, she was practically made into some random ageless pony thanks to him. And NOW he wanted to mess with her own realm as well?! "... Grogar, what you're doing will destroy everything. There's still a short matter of time to stop this madness." "Now why would I do that?" Grogar questioned. The Spirit only had one more card to play, and this one was especially close to Grogar specifically. It had to work. It HAS to. "So your parents can rest in peace." ... Grogar's response? ... It first came with his hooves digging into the floor. "They were robbed from me. ... Do you understand? ... The world WRONGED me. ... And I will make it right." "They loved you, and you know it Grogar. So much so that sending you away killed them." "... The dead exist only in the past, and I need to tend to my future." "But there is no future. And if you don't stop this, it'll destroy you and everything. It will kill everyone!" the Spirit said. Grogar turned and gave The Spirit a stern look that eerily mirrored that of her own Great Honor, making what he said next even more horrific. "The world wanted to kill me. So if it dies because of me, well hehehe ... THAT'S only fair." ... Nothing. NOTHING will make this Ram stop anymore. The Spirit could show him the future over and over again until she would drop dead, and Grogar was in a position where it will be impossible to make him stop through just simple words and pictures. The Spirit had nothing. Grogar looked on away from her, back to the map again. "... Guards? Set The Spirit free. She's of no use to me anymore," Grogar ordered. Two large Pony Golems marched in to do just that, the Spirit forced up onto her hooves. "Farewell, Grogar ... I hope for a better future," The Spirit said. "There WILL be a better future. And I will show them the way," Grogar replied. The Spirit was walked out of the room, still kept chained in case she jumped at any of them. As the once powerful god was being brought out for what she figured to be the end of the world, a Gargoyle flew in and gave its report to the ram. The news brought another smile to Grogar's face. ....... Nightfall. The darkest night in history. The rimming of the many ships laid out in the docking station ready to go. They all were heavy with the weapons on board each, so a quick takeoff was impossible to make. The very least they'd have to sail out of town in order to make the takeover possible, but Grogar was in no hurry. The light of the ships, blue fire flickering, was the main source of light outside of the buildings. This tyranny caravan was about ready to set off. On Grogar's main ship, there stood the remaining hope for stopping the demonic ram. For those that remained, he made sure to advertise them all in such a chained position, leaving the weak for all to see. Blue and Yellow Diamond, hung up like ornaments above the king's throne. Cadance and Luna, sitting by said throne with their wings spread, tied up by magic-resistant rope to show their worn out wings and shattered horns to the world. Starswirl the Bearded, barely alive and right next to the throne like a tortured pet. White Diamond and Discord were basically the same thing, only under extra restraint. The remaining fighters, bounded tight and hung up just in front of the king ship, one of Grogar's weapons aimed directly at them for the "grand finale". "Ah, a clear full moon night. Perfect. And soon as we reach Earth, there in front of all to see. You and your precious love and harmony will die." Grogar's words were crystal clear to them, and while they did give him a look that could kill, that was all they really could do. Grogar proudly moved right to his throne, as they all felt the ships start to move on their way, in a manor much like that of a parade. Looking from the buildings around Homeworld, the sight was impossible to ignore. "Honestly, guys … this sucks," said Lars. "This sucks? Huh. Is that all you have to say? Over half of our friends are dead, the Diamonds had fallen, and the alicorns are crippled! … Yeah, this sucks BIG TIME," Rhodonite said. "Stop talking like that. They would want us to stay strong, we'll fix this right? Bismuth?" Diopside said. Though even she couldn't think of anything to say on that. Seeing all that happen, Grogar was just stronger. All of this was observed by whosoever dared to look out of their buildings, Grogar's flying fleet moving on through Homeworld. Any that saw their Diamonds hung up like tree lights left any and all shuddering in fear of this tyrannical rule. So many strange creatures were with this ram, equestrian beasts and mystical creatures alike, all equally ready to take over these realms. "Can't believe Budgerite and Tempest thought of ditching me the last minute. She would've LOVED to see all of this," Grogar said as they continued, sounding disappointed more than anything. Bray still felt a little bit nerved up by that experience, but all Bray could do was nod in agreement. One misword now and he would be a goner. "Yeah, it's great, really great," Bray said meekly. At least Grogar was in a better mood now. Looking away for the moment, Bray then began seeing some of the buildings around their flying ships. And yet with that, something off in the distance began to catch his eye. This sight was soon seen by many of those on board, including the remaining Gems, ponies, and eventually Grogar himself. There was something up on one of the roofs of these buildings along the path, many of the flying ships in their sights as well. And what they saw was beyond unbelievable. The Elements of Harmony. The original Crystal Gems. All reformed, all alive. And all ready to face the biggest threat yet. One in particular standing out the most amongst this group, still alive and ready for anything. "T-They're alive?" said Flint, not believing his eyes. "Twilight," breathed Starswirl. The only one not happy with this was Grogar, who felt his anger boil up a little. "Twilight? Can I get an amplifier?" Steven asked. Twilight nodded, and with a quick and temporary spell, Steven got the voice he needed. "GROGAR! The Harmony Gems's mission is to protect those we love from anything that causes them and their planets harm! Everything we love is what you're trying to take, and we will not stop until all the worlds are in peace and harmony! You don't think so, but it's our love is what kept us alive so far. We all love eachother, and this is OUR home! OUR LOVE! And THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO STOP YOU!" "What the - WHAT?! I KILLED THAT BRAT! Didn't you see me kill them, I DROPPED HIM AND EVERYTHING!" Grogar yelled, more in shock than anger at what he was seeing. Bray didn't have a clue what to say here - NO WAY should any Gem survive THAT kind of punishment. "Yes you did, and it was very scary and traumatizing sir!" Bray said. "You ready, Steven?" Garnet asked. Steven smiled with confidence. "I'm ready." "Good. Step one: free our allies. GO!" And then the entire fleet began to see them start to move towards them: Lapis carrying Jasper, Peridot carrying Connie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moving Rarity and Applejack, and Twilight flying with Steven. The others ran down on foot, jumping here, there, and everywhere as they were getting closer. Grogar shook off his shock. "Blast their remains, launch them across the horizon!" Grogar instructed. Soon the entire army was scrambling to get the job done, with much of the team closing in fast. Many of the weapons were aimed at them, but they already knew what to do and began flying and running around in such a way that it was impossible to fully aim directly. The flyers kept darting back and forth, and the runners were jumping all over the place, frustrating the animals in control of the weapons even more so. "Hold still," groaned one of the armed beings, trying to aim as best it could. But it wasn't any good. "What's wrong? Aren't you gonna shoot?" called Peridot, as she kept darting with Connie holding on. "JUST BLAST THEM ALREADY!" Grogar roared. However, none of the shoots could even be fired, and eventually they found themselves being invaded by the Harmony Gems. The first act was from Steven, who dropped down right on top of one of the weapons himself. His landing knocking the trajectory right at the ground, shocking much of them on board as the weapon spun a one eighty until it was aimed at another weapon before firing! That's one weapon blasted off the ship. The next to land was Jasper, who with her size upon landing on the same weapon, catapulted it clear off the ground and falling to the abyss below, crashing into a heap of metal. "Good one, Jasper!" Steven said. "KILL THEM! TEAR THEIR WINGS OUT AND PLUCK THEIR SHARDS OFF!" Grogar roared. "Oh, oh, here we go," Amethyst said. On Grogar's command, the army began to pour in right towards them, blades drawn, teeth barred and claws at the ready. It didn't take very long until they began retaliating with all they got, with punches, kicks, and shots of magic raining down on the opposition: Amethyst got her whips to good use by wrapping it around one of the soldiers and swinging him like a mace, wiping out a good ten of them right there. Jasper and Garnet were plowing through them too, their combined punches sending many of the foes flying. In this fight, much to Grogar's surprise, Steven was actually piling in far more than last time, with his training shining through in much of his fighting. Even one of Grogar's giant brutes tried for him, only for Steven to jump up and stomp on top of his head before rushing by him. Fighting was inevitable, but their first step needed to be handled first. Steven brought out his shield. "CATCH!" Steven called, throwing his shield right towards his friends just before a horde of Grogar's army poured onto him. Steven's shield flew far into the air, some of the army trying to stop it, but Emerald's telekinesis just got hold of it and brought the fast-moving weapon right to their chains. One hit, and they all busted out. And just in time to head to their friends, and launch the horde back. "I can't believe you're still here! Color me impressed," said Emerald to Peridot with a smirk, "And is that MY visors your using?" "HA! they're better than just visors. VISOR-RANG!" Peridot said. and like an anime mega-attack, Peridot jumped up, took off said visors, and threw them right at the crowd! These visors were not only cool on her, but they started bouncing off guard after guard, clocking them all square in the head before returning to Peridot's open hand! OK, Emerald was REALLY impressed. "OK, that's awesome." "I know." Off nearby in this fight, the flyers were getting a bit more of their own scuffle with Grogar's flying gargoyles. Rainbow Dash, Lapis Lazuli, and Fluttershy were flying all around the ships, even flying underneath them on occasion to try and one-up these flying devils. In their flying spiral, the two flyers got towards the throne, just as Jasper forced her way over after clobbering a good twenty beasts in one charge. Grogar himself was caught off guard and he was knocked out of the way by a surprise attack from Rainbow Dash. "Time for a rescue," said Jasper. "But how're you still alive? You were shattered," Luna asked. "Ask Steven when we're done," Jasper replied, getting out her sharper teeth, and with a strong bite and pull the chains snapped off like twigs. Luna and Cadance were soon freed of their chains. Starswirl was soon freed himself thanks to a quick slice of Lapis's wings, and Rainbow Dash had the pleasure of taking the shards of the Diamonds with them. "Take flight with these," Rainbow quickly said. "Good luck," Cadance replied. Cadance and Luna were in no condition to fight, so they had to take their leave while they could. The gargoyles tried to keep them there, but Lapis and Rainbow Dash kept them at bay just long enough for them to escape. Starswirl the Bearded though was a bit harder to work with. sure they got him free, but he couldn't fly away. "Give it up already!" demanded one of the guards, ready to slaughter. Jasper confronted the beast and readied to fight, but from behind her a wave of magic shoved the guards back. Jasper spun around and saw Starswirl with one hoof in front of him. Even with his horn obliterated, that didn't mean he was out completely. "The heck? You don't even have a horn!" the guard bellowed. "I've studied magic ever since I was just a colt. You truly believe magic can ONLY be used by a horn?" Starswirl questioned, before giving another wave of magic at them again. However, magic being used by the hooves was a bit harder on the already weakened pony, making him stagger in his steps. Rainbow kept him steady. "Don't worry about me. Go. Grogar will open the portal when he reaches outside the city," Starswirl said in his voice. That was all the information they needed. And now, all of their friends were out and free. "Not bad Harmony Gems. So what's the plan? Lay it down for me," said Bismuth, as she knocked a heavily-armored guard clear over her head. "Step one: free our allies," said Garnet. "What's step two?" asked Jade. "Step two: Stop Grogar before he reaches the edge of the city." Strangely simple. "You made that up on the spot didn't you?" Flint said smirking. "You can say that," Garnet admitted. There wasn't much extra time to prepare, but that would be the main goal would it? The ships suddenly started to go to war right then and there: Grogar's army against the Harmony Gems. What began as the scariest sight now turned into the biggest fight they've seen in a while, as all of the Harmony Gems, Pony, Human, and Gem alike, started to pour down the pain on Grogar's army, each one taking them on. Still, Grogar had A LOT of firepower in his troops. Quantity vs. quality. In this fight, Connie was toe to toe with one of Grogar's Hook Horrors, her sword clanging with each swipe of the beast's single clawed arms. She forced the beast back more and more, but each hit of her sword didn't penetrate the creature's thick hide. The animal tried slicing her head off, but its swing was cut short with Steven bringing up his shield right behind her back. The block stunned the creature, and gave Lapis time to tackle it away. Good save from the Hook Horror, but another guard was right behind it. Steven took it this time, grabbing it on the way and surplex'd it on its head, knocking it out cold. "Peridot, here's some help for you!" Steven called, throwing the limp body towards him. Just the thing for him to work with. "Applejack!" Peridot called. AJ raced in, and next thing they knew the unconscious guard was attacking the others around them, with Peridot controlling his armor and swords like a puppet, and Applejack as the mount. "GET OFF ME YOU BUGGERS!" Nearby, some of the fighters were having some more trouble: Lars and Flint were trying to handle the hordes of corrupted Goblins. Sure they were small, but in their numbers they were very brutal on them both, Flint lucky to blast one off without two more jumping onto him. This wasn't left unnoticed for long. "Hang on, I gotcha!" Twilight called, who at the moment was in her own fight with a pony golem. She bucked it back briefly and bolted to help them, her horn glowing strong and blasting them with one quick magical zap to knock most of them off, the rest swung off by the two combatants. "Thanks Twilight," Lars replied, just to sucker-punch a leaping goblin right in the face and sending it flying off. That's a group of Goblins out of the fight. Many of them may be doing their own share in fighting off the enemy, but some of them just weren't fighters: Padparadscha and Rhodonite found themselves trying to run from one of the monsters on board. The two Gems were far from safe, and suddenly they found themselves stuck in a corner, with the Leviathan right behind them. "HELP! THE LEVIATHAN'S AFTER US!" Padparadscha called. Rhodonite and Padparadscha had nowhere to go. "D-Don't lock up. Don't lock up!" Rhodonite kept telling herself, as the Leviathan raised up good and tall, fangs bared and webbed claws raised for the finishing blow. It made a few swings at them, and while Rhodonite dodged them, Padparadscha was struck and sent dangerously close to the edge of the ship. Ignoring Rhodonite, the Leviathan went directly towards the weaker creature. "Padparadscha! Run!" Rhodonite called in panic. "PunY RoCk," it mocked, slamming a hand on top of her. Padparadscha could barely move as it raised its second hand. Rhodonite felt a horrid sense of Deja Vu as she watched this happen. She was too scared to do anything before, too much of a coward as the beast had said before. She wanted to help, but questions raced through her mind: what if it tried to get her? what if they both fell off?! What if - "HELP!" Padparadscha called. Oh screw it. "GET OFF!" Rhodonite threw herself at the beast, the Leviathan suddenly finding itself in a headlock by the fusion. The beast roared and bellowed, backing up and swinging like crazy. Its blind attacks whacked and sent other guards and fighters flying all around it, Padparadscha contemplating what she was seeing. Rhodonite wasn't gonna let this monster nearly destroy her friends again. Finally, Rhodonite finished off the Leviathan, taking both of her arms and twisting the beast's grotesque head until they heard a loud crack, knocking the beast unconscious. "... WHOA. Did I do that?" Rhodonite had to ask. Padparadscha, with surprisingly good timing, went and hugged Rhodonite tightly for protection. Now wasn't the time to question anything. With all of them basically beating everything up, Grogar was getting more and more furious. Seeing his subordinates and subjects get pummeled was one thing, but there was one tiny fact that was just a little bit more noticeable. "WHY AREN'T WE FIRING?!" Grogar shrieked. "T-They're getting close, Grogar, what do we do?!" Stubby asked in a panicked state. And indeed, at this rate, they'll be right on top of the ram in no time. Within the crowd, even Steven was getting his own beating into the army. STEVEN! "What do you mean what?! FIRE AT THEM!" Grogar demanded, becoming more panicked as they continued closing in on him. "But sir, we can't shoot, we'll wipe out our own!" Stubby insisted, but Grogar was near his breaking point. "I SAID FIRE AT THEM! FIRE!!" Grogar roared. Bray knew the damage it would cause to his own kind amongst that scrap, and the Harmony Gems were still advancing towards him as best they could. With what Grogar said though, that didn't matter. He didn't care who else dies, as long as HE lived. Stubby turned to Grogar, about to say something he never had for so many years, and perhaps something he should've said at day one. "... No." … *CRACK!* "AAAHHH!" One bite into Stubby, and Grogar was down his "closest" comrade. Stubby was still alive, but Grogar made sure he didn't continue by throwing him right off the ship! If you want something done your way, you have to do it yourself. "Steven, incoming!" And what a time for Grogar to charge in. Just before the ram could reach the half human, Jasper got out her helmet and met him half way, both crashing skulls into eachother. The charge was hard enough to crack even Jasper's own Gem weapon, but not enough to force Jasper aside as the orange warrior threw the ram off a good ten feet. Now the whole team was faced with the boss of the army. "I don't know HOW you're still alive. But when I'm through with you, you're going to wish you weren't!" Grogar snarled, saliva and a hint of blood dripping from his jagged teeth as his horns began to glow bright yellow. "Everyone, behind me!" Steven ordered, bringing up the biggest shield he could manage. The shield was so huge he couldn't lift it over his own head, but it was more than enough to block in Grogar's oncoming barrage of lightning strikes, strong enough that Steven was sliding back. But Steven wasn't alone: Garnet brought her hand up and held the shield firm. Along with Twilight, Connie, Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis. Soon, all of them were holding it steady. They were all with him to the very end, and Steven could only smile. Eventually the lightning attacks cleared … but so did Grogar. "Where'd he go?" Connie asked. "UP!" Twilight said. Up above them was the ram, charging down from the heavens directly towards them. The entire group quickly scattered, Grogar slamming down hard enough to make the entire ship sway. However, while it seemed they got away, there was still a fusion missing, as a Pearl and Ruby stone laid on the ground. "Rhodonite!" gasped Pearl. "Play fetch!" Grogar mocked. Still angry, Grogar simply grabbed both stones and threw them right on into the sky. Falling from that height and they'll shatter for sure! "We got you Rhodonite!" called Steven, rushing with Pearl beside him. In a mighty leap off the ground, both of them zoomed right up to the two, only to hear - "DIE!" "LOOK OUT!" called Connie. It all happened so fast: with the two flying up to the two Gems, Steven and Pearl looked back just to see a green bomb thrown right at them from below, courtesy of Grogar, and they didn't have time to dodge it! Steven could only bring up his bubble shield to protect them both, but the bomb was beyond devastating, creating an explosion that covered the sky, and everything up with it. What a dirty trick! "Oh no you didn't, you party pooper!" Pinkie quickly shifted gears and charged directly at Grogar. The pink pony was faster, but Grogar was stronger and simply head-butted the mare back. Before another fight could break out, something else started to come up in the sky. The smoke cloud hung out for a bit, but there was something that began to clear the skies to present the full moon behind them. At first, they thought it was just Steven's bubble moving the smoke out of the way, some instead they saw what looked to be the top of a parasol spinning for a bit. And then … "Well what do you know! It's Rainbow 2.0! Now this is a fine mess we're in." Rainbow Quartz 2.0 had arrived. This fusion maintains the original Rainbow Quartz's skin color, but the hair is significantly shorter and is deep mauve in color along with blue and pink streaks. He wore Pearl's blazer over a midriff version of Steven's shirt, Steven's pants as knee-length shorts, and Pearl's slippers (though his feet were much wider than hers). The gems of Pearl and Steven were a shade of pink, which very closely resemble the shade of his skin color. This fusion was about the same height as Pearl would normally be, small as fusions go but clearly he was glad to be there. "COME ON! Get her! O-Or him. GET! IT!" Grogar demanded, as Rainbow 2.0 saw some Gargoyles flying directly towards them. That, accompanied by seeing Lavi and Button's gemstones falling downward, already signified his goal. "Well, that won't do at all," he said, his accent strongly posh English. After giving a quick raspberry, sticking out his tongue at the Gargoyles, he closed his parasol and zoomed downward, making the Gargoyles crash into one of the nearby buildings. Rainbow 2.0 then brought the parasol under him, like a witch's broom stick. "Rainbow Quartz powers, ACTIVATE!" he said, the parasol acting like an actual witch's broom stick as it rocketed him downward towards Lavi and Button. In no time at all, he got them gently in his hands, bringing them safely down to the others. "DANG, look at you!" Amethyst said. "Ah yes, long time no see eh? So Flint, Emerald, nice to know there's more boys in this rag-tag team of ours, don't you think so?" Rainbow 2.0 said with a wink, actually putting an arm around Flint. Flint actually got slightly flustered, but only briefly. "Very funny, but not now, we got an army to fight," Flint reminded, just as some of the guards and Grogar himself rushed them. Rainbow 2.0 decided one extra little surprise before making his leave, and without even turning to them, he opened his parasol again to block them. It was like running smack into a trampoline, and just as well as they were launched back. "What's that thing made out of?!" one of them shouted. A shield, maybe understandable, but an umbrella?! "Oh just essentials: some rubber and a lot of "NOPE"," Rainbow 2.0 said, putting a few laughs at them. "Okay, we need to quit fooling around: we can fight them all day but they're still gonna get to the other worlds at this rate," Jasper said, looking off to the edge of the city. Their fighting was giving the ships a good amount of time to get there, and now they were getting dangerously close. Rainbow 2.0 already began working his thinking cap, and he soon got a simple yet profound idea. "Well we can't have that, now can we? If the lions are trying to bust out of the zoo, it's time to shut the gates. Follow my lead!" Rainbow 2.0 said, jumping up on his parasol broomstick, and rocketing off to the front of the line of airships. He didn't stop until he was at the first ship in the line, and soon the plan became clear: he briefly got off of the parasol, and swung it like a bat to knock one of the heavy weapons towards one side of the ship. The weight shift made the whole airship pivot to the side, making a bit of a hit onto one of the nearby buildings. "Of course! He's making a barricade!" Diopside concluded. "Well what're we waiting for?" Rainbow shouted. Didn't take long until they all got to work. The first to make her move was Garnet, who alongside Flint made a combined kick into one of the weapons themselves on another airship. This one collided with at least three more, which pivoted the next ship so quick it almost made a full one-eighty! Many of the guards fell off to be sure, and Flint and Garnet rode the top of the ship until they hopped off and landed with Rainbow 2.0 on his ride. Applejack made a good kick in one of the weapons herself, and Twilight and Rarity got their magic to levitate and slam down another one on top of that. Another ship capsizing. Jasper and Bismuth made their own work together, their combine strength used on two of the ships side-by-side, and putting themselves in between the ship they were just strong enough to actually pull them together, tilting them both. "Give us a good shove over here!" Bismuth said. Lapis Lazuli flew passed them both, and she was joined by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle. Each wind gust they gave with their wings was just the thing they needed: Rainbow Dash the speed, Lapis the strength, Twilight the dexterity, and Fluttershy the accuracy. All four then slammed into the ships hard for a good push. Revived strength from them all, and both ships were pushed far too fast for the guards to fix, crashing into Rainbow 2.0's barricade and adding to it. It was more than good enough. "OK, that's it! Forget getting to the edge of town, we're leaving RIGHT NOW!" Grogar finally had enough of this. There was only one thing left for him to do. "GET HIM!" Lapis instructed, the flyers racing right for him. They tried catching up with Grogar, but the ram was not giving them a chance. Any more chances and he won't have any airships left to even invade with! With them flying right on his tail, Grogar was just fast enough to avoid their chase, making a portal and disappearing like a flash. It was where he appeared next that caught them all off guard: the other portal appeared WAY up in the sky, and Grogar launched himself right out. His hooves were glowing a magical hue, and using gravity, he started slicing the entirety of the sky, scarring the fabric of reality right in front of the remaining airships. "The portal? NOW?!" Peridot exclaimed, them all coming to regroup. "B-But where'd he go?!" Fluttershy asked. The sound of a lighter was all the answer they needed. Reappearing on top of his own weapon. and it was already lit, and aimed! "RIGHT HERE!" Then it fired. Grogar even lifted it up over his shoulders and started blasting like a complete madman! The whole group scattered around on the ship as best they could do, each shot of pure and chaotic energy ball flying everywhere and striking everything. Grogar no longer cared how much got destroyed: the buildings, his own crew, as long as the Harmony Gems die! They all kept out of firing range as best they could manage, but Grogar's reckless blasting made the projectiles strike more his side than their side. Unwittingly showing them their answer in one accidental blast at an Iron Golem. The shot itself actually didn't knock it down, but Twilight and Connie stopped and looked to the Iron Golem galloping towards her for a moment. As it was doing so though, something started happening to it: a strange aura started to mix around it, swirling like a magic orb. As this happened, its legs started to break apart, then its torso, and quickly, the Iron Golem was nothing more than a normal suit of armor by the time it reached Twilight. Only then did the aura disappear from sight in form of a cloud of magic hanging over the remaining metal. That cloud of magic held in the air for a bit before being trapped in the pure/chaotic orb like a container. The two suddenly got the exact same idea. "It drains magic. That's how to defeat Grogar! Twilight, tell everyone else," Connie said. Twilight quickly got to flying again as Connie quickly found one of the weapons off nearby. Grogar's mad shooting left so many of these ships at a standstill, and stuck in such a blast zone none of the remaining troops dared to even come out while Grogar was blasting like crazy. Little by little, everyone started to disappear around him. "WHERE'RE YOU?!" Grogar demanded. Before any answer could come out this time, Grogar's "hoof-held cannon" was shot directly off of his shoulders, and down into the depths of Homeworld below. "Right here," answered Garnet. Grogar turned around and what did he find? The Harmony Gems all lined up, with their own respected cannon already lit and aimed directly at him. Several of them held the cannon in place, Steven and Twilight at front of it, holding the mouth of the cannon directly at Grogar. Grogar froze. "You son of a -" The cannon blasted right then and there (just in time too) and slammed Grogar so hard it knocked him right off of his own ship. Grogar screamed as the momentum launched him directly out of Homeworld through the given portal he created, the explosion afterwards ringing out in the air from the other side, wherever that exit would be. Grogar's army suddenly found themselves leaderless, and scared. They tried to get away from the area as best they could, but the Gems guarding Homeworld started to gather around now. The portal itself remained locked open briefly, but started to fade away just after two orbs launched out of the portal, and towards them remaining on the ship. One orb was glowing pure white like a star, and the other, vibrant and flashy like a disco ball. It's pretty clear who these belonged to, and Garnet caught them and had them bubbled before they could strike the ground. The fusion gave them to Steven, who knew exactly what to do with them. "Discord, White Diamond? These belong to you," Steven said. Gleefully Discord practically jumped for his as White Diamond took hers. Grabbing the respected orbs immediately made the both pop like bubbles, their respected magical essence finally released back into their respected owners after too long. The effects happened almost immediately: White diamond's body began to glow a bright white hue, her eyes shining as the power enhanced her entire being (and making her taller), as Discord began to suddenly stretch and distort his smaller body into the more serpentine and erratic shape he was so used to being. The return of so much power was so exhilarating to both of them, White Diamond almost immediately spreading out her cape to show all of the shining stars in it to the entire Grogar army. As for Discord, he stretched and bent in all sorts of ways, hyped up to being back to normal. All White Diamond needed to do was turn to the army that remained and they all IMMEDIATELY were freaking out. Without Grogar to get rid of her, what chance do they have? "Do you feel better, Discord?" "I think so. Let me just see here ..." Discord simply snapped his fingers, and next thing they knew there was a fruit bowl of tap-dancing apples, peaches, and a saxophone-playing watermelon inside. "It's so wonderful to be me again!" "This feels so much better. ... If only you can revive my sweet Diamonds," White Diamond said, a bit mixed really as she looked to the remains of the Gemstones nearby. "I wouldn't doubt the best man in the world, White. Steven, wanna work your magic?" Spinel asked. "You got it. White, can I see Yellow and Blue?" Steven said, looking up to White Diamond. "You're not saying you actually have a way to fix them ... do you?" White asked. Twilight sparkle levitated the gemstones towards Steven and placed them down in front of him, getting all shards together so they all remained in piece. Before he did his magic he made sure that there was still life inside the gemstones with a simple touch, the touch making the gemstones glow slightly. Red Diamond didn't take them yet. All Steven had to do was kneel down, and give both gemstones a single kiss. One for each, and one was all it took for the same effects to take place. The cracks within all of the gemstones shifted and reattached themselves. Everyone moved back good and far for Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond to slowly take their shape again. The whole ship shifted slightly from the new weight as Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond landed onto the ship, both bolting to their feet ready for a fight just to find there wasn't one. "Oohh, what happened back - ... White?! You're back to normal!" exclaimed Blue. "Yellow! Blue!" White said, bringing the two in for her own hug. It was almost enough to knock them off of their feet, but they still had to take in what was going on around them. "Someone please explain what happened while we were out. Did we beat Grogar or not?" Yellow Diamond asked. "You both were shattered by that Grogar, but thanks to best man Steven, he brought you two and his team back to life," Discord said, giving the hero of the day a pinch on the cheek. He couldn't help himself. "Then ... where is he?" Blue Diamond asked. "That's not gonna be too hard," Discord said confidently. Getting into a dramatic pose because he can, he brought up his fingers and - *SNAP* ~~~~~~ *SNAP* "OOF! Discord," sighed Fluttershy. The teleport was by far quicker than any of them expected, much faster than typical portal keys, leaving many of them actually in the air before hitting ground. Luckily for them the ground was just a foot down, so not too bad for months of no practice. As for the location, the entire group was left shocked on where they ended up. They found themselves over on the shoreline, vast ocean one side, and a huge city the other. Tall skyscrapers, many bustling noises of people, and the appearance of motorized cars told them that they were not in Equestria at all. "That psycho was gonna blow up Empire City! Well good thing we stopped him before that can happen," said Bismuth. But that wasn't the main concerned as they looked around on the beach near the city for any signs of their Tambalon King. Fortunately for them, that actually didn't take that much time to locate him, as it took just a few turns on the beach for one of them to spot him. That blast from his own weapon left him not only laying there in the sand, partially in the watery waves of the cold ocean, but A LOT smaller without his god-like state to keep him stronger than everyone else. His size was no longer titanic as he was the size of any normal goat now, even with his horns still in tact. All that draining knocked out so much wind out of him he didn't react too much for the others going over to him, finding that they were all towering over him now. Grogar tried to summon up some form of magic, but all his concentration was doing was giving him a headache. "My ... my magic's gone. ..." "It's over Grogar, for real this time," said Jasper, "You might keep knocking us down but we'll always keep fighting for our home. Your army is defeated, and your weapons are destroyed back on Homeworld. You literally have nothing left to fight us now. Face it, Grogar, your plan failed, YOU lost. Just take it like a warrior." Grogar slowly got up to his hooves. "So it looks like it ..." "Grogar don't do this. You have no magic, and we ALL know how this will end if you try this again. You only beat them because of your magic and now that it's all gone, you're not a threat to any of us anymore," said White Diamond sternly. Grogar just stood there contemplating everything that happened so far. It was quite the day, he could say that much: losing one fight, getting stopped from even starting another one, and going from god to commoner in a single attack. Well, the Ram laid back down onto the sand, and brought his head to its side. "... Uhh ... what're you doing?" asked Spinel. Grogar didn't answer at first, keeping an ear firmly on the ground and listening as carefully as he could. ..... *gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* ....... Grogar smiled and got up. That was NOT a good sign, along with what he said next. "It's always great to have a backup plan." Every single thought stopped. Plan. B. … The entire Harmony army completely stopped on those very words, which themselves echoed in their heads for a bit. Plan A didn't work as they hoped - charging in to tear them to pieces in Sniper's world then getting the weapons loaded and out. They all made sure of that. "Plan ... B? B-But, wait, no! No, there's no Plan B, we've got all of their plans!" insisted Rainbow Dash. "We stopped his attack in that Sniper's realm, we destroyed all of their weaponry, w-what else do they have?" White Diamond wondered, growing terrified. "... This isn't right." Everyone turned to Garnet. The fusion that, for so long, had it all figured out. So what was left? What was this final plan? "It was supposed to end here. … Unless ……." Before Garnet could get an actual answer worked out, Grogar grunted, clearing his throat. "You all haven't met me? You HONESTLY think that I did all of this thinking it will work the first time? I've survived years upon years, and never once in my life did a plan work the first time. I had to try again, try new things, work it differently. Oh, I'm not following your little script? Well too bad! Twilight, over there? I told you once before I'll make you scream for Celestia, and now I'm going to keep it. I'm through with being a slave." "What're you talking about, Grogar, what did you do?!" Spinel shouted, enraged still. What was he talking about? The wrenched Ram took a few steps away, hardly taking any mind to what confusion he left everyone in, finding a perfect spot just by the edge of the beach, overlooking the calm sea, and the setting sun sky. "Grogar, it doesn't matter anymore. Just let it end here," Steven asked one more time. Grogar looked back to the child one final time. "You want me to end it? … Ok, I'll end it. Right. Now. ..." Rearing back on his hind legs, the Ram let out a mighty gutteral roar, as loud as he could muster. At first nothing seemed to happen as the entire world was silent, letting the echoing roar overcome the noise of Empire City's busy late-day traffic. The surface world may not have heard this call as anything special. Heck, Empire City might've never even noticed. But as everyone listened to the war horn that Grogar was roaring away, another more ominous sound started to slowly emit from the very world itself. It began off very low. Making the entire city itself start to quiver and shake, as if it itself was fearful of what was about to come forward. Like an oncoming earthquake, the earth itself shook and trembled, the ocean's waves rattled and starting to smash against the coastline in a angry invasion. The Harmony Gems and the Diamond Authority made a mad dash away from the beach, even the largest White Diamond being knocked off her feet in the crash of waves as seawater rushed in and began flooding Empire City right then and there in huge rushed of waves. It would've washed them all away if Lapis Lazuli hadn't stopped much of the water from doing so with her own powers, hands raised up and halting the water right at the edge of the city. If Grogar's plan was to destroy Empire City then maybe it was doing a decent job at it, but he had far more in mind than that. The water was the very least of their problems. As the waters tried to force their way into the city, the ground itself was starting to give way all over the place, starting just down from the Empire City pier. Looking inland, the ground all over began to shift and crack open, tearing apart the concrete of the roads and any buildings unfortunate enough to get caught in the cracks of the Earth. It was like the injector all over again, but only much worse. Something was coming up. Through the cracks of the earth busted out what looked like a serpent of some kind - a large snake like body with the head of a Venus flytrap, its skin rotted and green. One alone was easily stretching out as long as one of the buildings, but there was far more than just one. Each second passing was every second another one of these creatures blasted out from the ground, wrapping and coiling one after the other around any surface they can get a hold of. Anything left out on the street was swiftly taken away and covered by the sea of vines and flytraps, leaving numerous city blocks wrecked and reeking of rotting vegetation. But the worst was yet to come. At the very center of it all, forcing its way right out of the earth below risen a massive colossus. A being that itself dwarfed any and all around it, buildings crushed and pushed aside to allow its girth to reach the surface. What revealed before them all was a mass of rotting vines and plants, coiling into one another like veins on muscle, reaching down into the roots where the flytraps came from far into the ground. Nothing on Earth could compare to this creature, towering over even the tallest building in Empire City. At the very top of the mass was the head of a monster: crocodile in shape and wrapped in vines all over the body. Its mouth hung open to reveal rows upon rows of dagger like teeth, each one the size of a car and as sharp as a sword. The apocalypse had arrived. *RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!*