//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: That Distant Shore // Story: Laughter // by TheLegendaryBillCipher //------------------------------// Twilight appeared in Starlight’s office in a purple flash, her wings flared in alarm. “I came as soon as I got the message, is everyone alright?” she asked, looking around quickly. She turned to the desk to find Starlight, Spike, Pinkie, and Spinel all sitting around eating donuts. “I thought you said Queen Chrysalis attacked!” “She did,” Pinkie said around a mouthful of donut. “She webbed me up in a closet and used a chunk of her throne so I couldn’t use my magic to escape,” Starlight remarked, levitating her donut up to take another bite. “Then what happened?” Twilight asked. “Spinel here apparently fought her and scared her off, all by herself,” Spike said, pointing to the Gem. Spinel looked away bashfully. “It just…felt like the right thing to do,” she said with a shrug. She looked to Twilight with an apologetic smile. “Might’ve damaged your school in the process though. Sorry.” “Spinel, a simple spell can fix a school,” Twilight said, tucking in her wings and approaching the Gem. “What matters is my friends -- and I guess by extension, your friends -- are alright.” “What you did, for ponies you don’t even know? That was pretty gutsy,” Starlight agreed. “Thanks for saving me.” “Sounds like you already got this friend thing pretty down pat,” Spike pointed out, stuffing his face with another donut. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Indeed.” Twilight levitated a donut over to herself. She smiled at the shape and color. “I don’t even think you need lessons. Maybe you know how to be a good friend, you just needed the right motivation to remember.” “You did say you were stuck in a garden in space for six thousand years.” “Maybe you’re right,” Spinel said. She looked at the floor with a huff. “But I don’t think I should be here. I already really messed up with the Injector, and fighting you guys.” “Hey, I fought them before too. I fought Twilight here twice,” Starlight said, gesturing at the princess with a hoof. “Or…more than twice I guess with the whole time travel thing. Anyway, point is: ponies can reform, and make something better of themselves if shown a little kindness. I’m sure Gems can too.” “I know you can,” Pinkie said with a wide grin. Spinel chuckled at her. “Maybe you’re right: maybe Equestria isn’t the place for you,” Twilight continued. “But maybe wherever you were going is.” Spinel’s shoulders slouched and even her pigtails drooped. She covered her face with one hand. “I was going to Earth to kill Steven Universe…Pink Diamond’s son…” she muttered. “But,” Starlight said, drawing out the word with a sheepish grin. “You were shown a little kindness, right?” “I don’t want to kill him anymore, no.” Spinel shook her head. “But would they even take me in like you ponies did?” Pinkie reached over and removed Spinel’s hand so she could look her in the eyes. “I know they will, Spinel. You and I were put on our respective worlds with a purpose, and that purpose is to make others happy! And I know you can still do it! Get your laugh back, show them what you can do, and I know you can fit in. Pinkie Promise.” Spinel smiled softly and mimicked Pinkie as she crossed her chest and covered her eye. The two shared a giggle as Starlight and Twilight smiled at one another. “So, you can leave still, right?” Spike asked, interjecting the tender moment. Twilight and Starlight frowned at him, and he shrugged. “I just wanted to know, in case we needed to do some kind of spell. Helpful to know beforehand.” “I think I just messed up the coordinates the first time,” Spinel said. “But the Injector should have enough power to get me to Earth.” She looked between the ponies and the dragon. “I can’t thank you all enough for…well, everything.” “What are friends for?” Pinkie asked, giggling. And the others laughed along with her, even Spinel. Spike and Starlight joined them when they returned to the drill. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy going around the decayed area, sprinkling a pink-colored potion on the ground while Rarity, Fluttershy, and Zecora watched. “How in Equestria did I not notice something this big?” Spike remarked, gawking up at the floating drill. It hadn’t budged since Spinel had deactivated it, but the ominous pink sky around it still made it look threatening. “Well, Twilight’s list did say go to Canterlot just for scroll paper,” Starlight said, frowning at the headmare. Twilight chuckled nervously. “What? I know for a fact they have the highest quality paper. Only the best for the students, after all.” Zecora turned to the group and smiled at Spinel. “Ah, Spinel, you will be happy to know, I have found just the cure to make things regrow. So, have no fear of left behind blight, once you embark on your homeward flight.” “Thanks,” Spinel said, rubbing her arm and looking away. “I’m just glad you were able to clean up my mess.” She perked up when she realized a familiar presence wasn’t nearby and quickly looked around. “Where’d Pinkie go?” The other ponies blinked and looked around themselves, surprised their energetic friend had managed to sneak away so quietly. “Where in tarnation did she go?” Applejack remarked. “I think I saw her heading to town,” Rainbow Dash said. “She was in quite a hurry.” “Don’t worry,” Twilight said, smiling up at the Gem. “I’m more than sure she’ll be here to see you off.” Spinel smiled and nodded. “Like Pinkie said, I’m sure this Steven Universe will take you in,” Starlight said. “Just…be yourself. Preferably the one who doesn’t try to kill him.” She grinned sheepishly at Twilight’s scowl. “SPINEL!” came a familiar shout, and all at once the group was enveloped in a dust cloud. They coughed as it cleared away, and found a panting Pinkie Pie standing in front of the Gem. “Oh good, you’re still here.” “Where’d you run off to, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “Normally, this is something I’d only do with Maud -- my sister who I know you’d love and would love you because, ya know, you’re a living gemstone and that’s her thing -- but I made you something!” Pinkie said at a rapid pace. Spinel tilted her head. “What’s that?” Pinkie reached into her mane and produced a bracelet, adorned with seven rock candy crystals. They came in seven different colors: blue, orange, yellow, purple, white, mint green, and pink. The pink candy was the largest and heart-shaped, square in the middle of the other six. Spinel took it and admired it with a smile. She looked to Pinkie. “It looks nice, but what is it?” she asked. “It’s a rock candy bracelet! You wear it on your wrist,” Pinkie said, gesturing with her hoof. She smiled up at Spinel. “You seem like you have a hard time with being alone, which I completely get. This way, you’ll always have a reminder that you have friends, somewhere. You’re supposed to eat it, but, it also lasts a long time, so also good for a reminder!” Spinel sniffled and slipped the bracelet on, admiring it. Then she scooped up Pinkie in a tight hug and nuzzled her cheek against her curly mane. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” she muttered. “From one Element of Laughter to another: you’re welcome,” Pinkie replied, hugging her back. The pair released one another and Spinel wiped at her eye with her palm. She turned to the other ponies with a sad smile. “Thank you all so much for steering me in the right direction.” “That’s what friends do,” Twilight said. “Maybe we did get a rough start,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “But, you learned your lesson.” “And that’s the first step on the road to friendship,” Rarity agreed. “Safe travels,” Fluttershy murmured. “And if you do come to visit again, how about ridin’ something less threatening?” Applejack asked with a chuckle. Spinel giggled. “Will do.” She extended her arms out and pulled all of the ponies, and Spike, into one last hug. “For a bunch of four-legged, multi-colored shrimps, you ponies are alright.” “And dragons,” Spike interjected. Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. Spinel released the group and coiled her lower half. In a single bound, she leapt to the top of the drill and turned back to the ponies. With a smile, she flashed them a peace sign, before disappearing from the edge. A few seconds later, the drill gave a whirring noise and slowly lifted into the sky until it was out of sight. The ponies waved to it all the while until at last it had turned into a sparkle in the sky. “You think she’s going to be alright?” Starlight asked Twilight. “I know she is,” Pinkie said to herself with a hopeful smile, tears in her eyes. “How’s the future look, Garnet?” Steven asked as he reclined on the lighthouse hill. The rest of the Crystal Gems -- Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl -- were sprawled out next to him. “Do we all just stay like this forever?” Garnet smiled and adjusted her shades, but abruptly sat upright. “No!” she gasped. An ominous wind buffeted the group and the evening sky turned pink. Steven and the Gems looked up and got to their feet as the clouds parted. A massive Injector slowly lowered from the sky until it was hovering a few feet from the ground. The group backed away from it. A figure appeared on the edge of the heart-shaped crystal at the top, her body shadowed. She had wild-looking pigtails and glowing pink eyes. “Hey! Are you Steven Universe?” she called down. “Um…yes?” Steven offered with a nervous grin. The figure grinned. “Perfect.” She leapt down and landed on the ring around the bottom edge of the Injector, Spinel’s form becoming visible. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” she said. “You must be Amethyst, and you must be Garnet. And Pink Diamond’s Pearl...well, isn’t that just…swell?” “It can’t be,” Pearl muttered. “Oh, but it can be. And it is,” Spinel said, running a hand over her pigtails. “You might not recognize me -- I’ve had to go through a lot.” In another bounce, she landed on the ground in front of Steven and the group. They took a hesitant step back. She extended a hand -- and by literal extension, her arm -- over to Steven. “My name’s Spinel. I’ve heard a lot about you. All of you.” “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Spinel,” Steven said, shaking her hand. She retracted it back and Pearl covered her mouth as she stepped forward. “This was not the future I predicted,” Garnet remarked, adjusting her shades. “Spinel…it really is you. My stars…I…I…” she muttered, tears brimming at her eyes. “Who is she?” Amethyst asked. Spinel’s eye twitched. “I was Pink Diamond’s playmate, before she came to Earth,” Spinel explained, placing a hand over her gemstone. “But she…abandoned me in her garden…for the last six thousand years.” “My stars, Spinel…I’m so sorry,” Pearl said. She reached out and set a hand on her shoulder pad. “I never knew what happened to you. I thought she might’ve bubbled you, or…or…you had been shattered. I had no idea you…you were abandoned like that. And then with everything that happened here…you slipped my mind.” “I can’t believe mom would do something like that,” Steven said. He looked back at the Gems and sighed. “Actually, I can believe it.” He turned to Spinel. “So, what happened, Spinel? How come you’re here now?” “I, uh, caught your little message to the universe, actually,” Spinel said with a sheepish grin. “So…I guess I should thank you, for telling me the truth, in a way.” “What’s that supposed to be?” Amethyst asked, looking up at the Injector. Spinel chuckled nervously up at it. “Just a…Mega Injector…full of bio-poison.” She turned to the Gems. “It’s a long story.” “Well, you have plenty of time to tell us, over donuts,” Steven said, setting a hand on her shoulder. “Spinel, welcome to Earth.” “Thanks, it’s nice to be here, instead of that garden,” Spinel said, grinning geuninely. “A bunch of dead plants can get kinda dull.” “Well, you’ll find there’s a lot more than dead plants here on Earth,” Garnet said with a welcoming smile. “You’ll never have to be alone again.” “Follow us, we’ll show you around,” Steven said, gesturing towards the beach below the lighthouse hill. The other Gems were already walking towards it. “And then maybe we can find a parking space for your Injector!” Amethyst called back. As Steven walked away next, Spinel looked down at the rock candy bracelet on her wrist. The pink heart shimmered in the evening light and she smiled sadly down at it in remembrance. “Yeah, maybe I’m not alone…” she muttered to herself, before walking after the others. Some bounce was already returning to her step.