//------------------------------// // Snowfall Stars PT2 // Story: My Little Universe II // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// "Woooooo, THAT'S a doozy! … Wonder what the big doozy is today? ……. Oh well" Outside of Canterlot, despite the holiday and winter's joy, time didn't stop for Tempest and Nichrome's patrols to start closing the gap between themselves and Canterlot itself. The broken Unicorn and metallic alien continued through the forest just before the mountains themselves. Tempest Shadow especially kept her visual around the area, the forest itself noting to be somewhat familiar. In their patrol, the two captains started closing in on a seemingly open area of the forest. It wasn't a clearing exactly, more like a borderline cutting through the underbrush. With all the snow covering everything it was a bit hard to tell the difference between ground and - *CRACK* "AAHH! Save me, save me!" shouted Nichrome. Tempest looped back, and pulled Nichrome out of the crack in the river. Tempest turned back and without hesitation grabbed hold of Nichrome, pulling him out of what could've been a waterslide to hypothermia. "You okay?" "Yes I'm okay. I'm telling you, the sooner we take over the better. What kind of creatures are they, building a trap like this?" Nichrome growled, before shaking off the cold cold water, Tempest getting wet from Nichrome's shaking, but she did go and check the hole in the frozen river. "This isn't a trap, Nichrome, but this is a good sign." "What is? My near demise?" Nichrome questioned. "We just have to travel upriver now, and it should lead us directly to Canterlot. This is the same river I woke up next to after Storm's Canterlot invasion," Tempest figured. Nichrome looked down through that hole again, seeing the river flowing underneath it. "This isn't a trap. Sure it's not," he murmured. The patrols began to make their way across the river, being careful not to smash it open any further. But before they could continue on further … *roar* "Now what?" Nichrome griped. "Take cover!" Tempest ordered. Much of the army did as instructed, and raced off out of the clearing of the river to find some cover within the forest around it. Some stuck near trees while others hid in the bushes, which Tempest and Nichrome took the latter option and dove into some foliage. They were just in time. The giant shadow that followed didn't stop as it flew by. A low thunder of a wing beat echoed by them as the shadow moved by, everyone watching to make sure whatever went by wasn't turning around. Nichrome was left shaky on seeing it as they soon started to move back out of their hiding place. "It's clear now." "For a minute there … what was that thing?" "I would call it a Dragon. But something's off with it … and it's heading where we're going. It might be going to Canterlot," Tempest confirmed, cautious on the conclusion herself, considering what they're even doing there. "THAT THING going to a Pony castle for Hearth's Warming Eve? Right, and my best friend's a Diamond. Which they're not, since they've locked me up for hundreds of years," Nichrome said. Tempest didn't bother to correct him on it, simply giving him a stern look. "Let's warn Grogar anyway," Tempest simply replied, before she took the lead again. Orders were orders, even with a threat already on its way to Canterlot ... ~~~~~~ So after leaving the theater, Connie and Spinel eventually caught up with Steven and continued on through Canterlot for a while more. However, since the play about the Candle Queen, Steven was left kinda stuck with the stuff he just watched. It might not effect him as much as it would've before, but it still hung over his head like a cloud. They didn't immediately jump at him about it though, as Steven was keeping himself busy with handling Spinel and White Diamond (which still wasn't working), not to mention handling the festivities before Hearth's Warming Eve. At least now he had Lapis and Jamie to help him out somewhat. Their next activity turned into a crafting challenge in making a delicious gingerbread house, everyone working on their own piece, while some were working together. As Connie, Lapis and Jamie were working on one of the Gingerbread houses, Steven was handling one of his own design. Or at least he tried to, but he was distracted. "Am I doing it right, Steven?" asked White Diamond at a point, trying to be careful with her gingerbread house. Or rather, lack there of. "Where's your Gingerbread house?" Steven asked. "I've been trying to make this work, but … the building materials are so unstable," White Diamond said, and to better prove her point, she grabbed one piece of gingerbread, and tried to press it down on what roof she made … only for it to crumble to pieces. Weakened and she's too strong for this. "I barely touched it that time. Steven, how are you doing it without it crumbling in front of you?" White Diamond asked in dismay. "Well, you don't force the pieces on. You just place them in, and let the frosting keep the pieces in place themselves," Steven explained, as he began to work out the pieces she had left into making a proper Gingerbread house. White Diamond simply watched Steven work his own kind of magic, not wanting her house to be wrecked again. Nearby though, there was some who started to feel a bit peeved that Steven was helping what she thought was a warlord. So … *crumble* "Oh no, my house broke up. Steven, can you help me buddy?" Spinel asked. Steven actually ignored her this time. "Here, I gotcha," Pinkie said, quickly fixing up Spinel's house before Spinel could say otherwise. "... Yeah … thank you. …" Spinel sighed. So from there, they continued their work on this crafting, but little by little, the others were starting to sense the awkwardness building up between Spinel, Steven, and White Diamond. It was a bit of an awkward time between Spinel and White Diamond already, given their ill interaction so far, but Steven's addition since the play only seemed to make it worse. Lapis and Connie knew exactly what the problems were here, but they couldn't bring themselves to actually say it. Finally, one draconequus couldn't stand it. "OH FINE, if no one else is going to say it," Discord finally said, moving around his working table and going straight over to Steven, White, and Spinel. "Say what, Discord? There's nothing wrong, is there?" Steven asked. "Oh sure, nothing's wrong. It's not exactly like you three were making things awkward since -" Discord snapped his talons, but again nothing happened "for the love a - give me that." Discord then snatched three gram crackers and some frosting, quickly scribbled on "awkward" and slapped it on Steven's forehead, the frosting like glue. "These gags are just stupid without my magic, I swear. Now the flow's all messed up." "There's nothing awkward," insisted Spinel, "Really, we're all just new to the whole shindig. I'm happy with my best friend, Steven's happy, even White's happy!" "Yes, we're all uh … fine," White Diamond simply said, with a smile on her face. Discord wished he didn't have to be THIS BLUNT, but his lack of magic wasn't making this easy. "I'd normally play around, but since I got no magic I'll just go and make it blunt: Candle Queen looked almost exactly like Pink Diamond! You saw it, I saw it, we all saw it." NOW it was out. Discord just sat there in a slump as it wasn't as fun to "be forward" with anything. Why couldn't he just morph their gingerbread into a diamond at least to mess with them some more, yet ultimately help them at the same time? "Well this is no fun," Discord grumbled. "It's okay Discord, you said what needed to be said," admitted Lapis. No that didn't help. "NOPE, that wasn't her, it was just a play! Right guys?" Steven said. Unfortunately, everyone else was already getting the same idea well before Discord even mentioned anything. "Okay, she did look like her. A-A lot. … the play was accurate to her too," White Diamond admitted, flustering up all over again. Steven though didn't want to hear it. "Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, it doesn't matter. It's all done, everything about her is over, we're all moving on from the past, and we're gonna have fun this Hearth's Warming Eve," Steven declared, all the while working on the gingerbread house of his to keep his mind busy. "Eh, I think I'm the only one outta the loop here, what's his beef with Pink?" Spinel asked. She wasn't directly talking to Steven, just anyone who'd listen, but Steven reacted anyway. "I don't have a beef with anyone!" Steven insisted, though a little more harshly than he wanted it to. "Sorry, I just don't want to think about that right now. I don't want a holiday where we go through anymore drama or adventures - I want to relax and enjoy myself this Hearth's Warming Eve. No fight, no bad guys, no sad crying, just a fun, and jolly holiday. Now can one of you pass me the gumdrops?" "Oh, sure, here ya go," Pinkie said, passing Steven the gumdrops WITH sprinkles to boot so Steven had something extra for his gingerbread house. The others around him started to get back to their own work on their gingerbread houses from there. … With everyone busy with their work from there, it felt like the perfect time for Grogar's army to make their move. Grogar, alongside his four-team lackees AND the Dazzlings took position over a road down. Just close enough to see them, but far enough away to not be detected. "Look at them building those houses like it's no one's business. Dazzlings? You know what to do," Grogar instructed. "A deal's a deal. Let's give Steven our little surprise," Adagio said. "We didn't make a surprise, we're just bringing him over here," said Sonata. Normally Adagio or Aria would put her in place, but Grogar got them covered with one single glare. "shutting up." "Thank you. Now you three go. Soon as he's here, I'll take it from there," Grogar concluded. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata started off on their way, as everyone else hunkered down and waited. The trio had the easy part, and they got the fun part. ... "Let's save these questions until after the holidays, huh?" Jamie concluded. "Yeah. Nothing to think about except for presents, gingerbread, and - ... Dazzlings?" Connie said, after glancing off ahead. "Dazzlings?" Lapis asked. Soon, the crowd working on the gingerbread houses just got a little bit bigger, as the Dazzlings caught up with them after the play. Sonata, Aria, and Adagio came over right towards Steven, with Sonata more interested in the Gingerbread House being made. They were still wary of Discord, but the draconequus somehow wasn't raising any alarms yet, him even moving aside, but they got one other problem to handle though … "Where have they been?" Spinel thought. "STEVEN!~ Hi buddy!" Sonata beamed, the first to get to him as the other sisters caught up with her. Just the Dazzlings showing up made White Diamond and Spinel back away from him. Then Adagio saw Jamie. "HE'S here too? Dang it. I better make this quick," Adagio thought. She then brought her attention back to Steven. "See you're busy working on one of the Gingerbread Houses," said Adagio. "Hey girls," said Steven, "Did you three have fun going around Canterlot?" "Eh, it's alright. Not different since the last time we were here. Tacky," Aria remarked, seemingly more interested in checking her nails than the actual place. Adagio cleared her throat, but then the ponies, Jamie, and Lapis took notice of these three, with Pinkie Pie showing up first by jumping into view of Adagio. "Hello, I've never seen you three before. My name's Pinkie Pie, who're you?" Pinkie introduced. "Another one?" Aria said, actually stunned that there's more than one Sonata Dusk in the world. In pony form, but still. "My name is Adagio. This is Aria and Sonata," introduced Adagio, shaking the pink mare's hoof. She needed to make her move fast before anyone could have the time to say something, and with Jamie ALREADY trying to look to Lapis about the trio, it HAD to be now. "Uh, Steven? On our way back, we've decided to give you a little something. For letting us finally come back home, and everything. But it's a bit too big for all three of us to carry, so -" she started walking closer to him. "- we'd like you to just come here so we can show you." "You guys didn't have to make a present for me," Steven admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm repaying you back, remember?" "We know, we know. But you've been such a good guy to us, we thought it was only fair. Isn't that right, girls?" Adagio said. Unfortunately, the two didn't really seem like they were paying attention. Aria simply gave a nod of the head, not saying anything, and Sonata wasn't even paying attention at all, more focused on the houses being made. "So is that chocolate or cinnamon graham crackers?" Sonata asked White Diamond. Adagio had to improvise fast. "So anyway, you coming?" Adagio asked. Steven paused to think about it. Looking to the others, he did see some concern over on Lapis's face, presumably after Jamie told her about what the Dazzlings tried to do. Steven still didn't see the harm in it though. "Alright, let's see what you got for me," Steven decided. "Buuuut, I'm going too," Spinel said, wrapping her arm around Steven. "It's okay Spinel," Steven said. "Yes, and we really only wanted Steven to come along -" "I'M GOING." Spinel stated. "... Fine, you're going, whatever. Let's go," Adagio said, whatever can make this go faster. It was just gonna be a little bit more complicated now with another person with them. "Spinel," Grogar growled. "Steven's mine. The rest of you handle the living toy." "Y-Yes, my lord," said Stubby. But today there's one more little twist to this Hearth's Warming that will change everything. For everyone. And it all started with Pinkie Pie feeling a familiar tingle in her tail. It started off low, but quickly escalated into her entire body having a fit. It was enough to make her jump off of her own seat, spazzing out like a mad man for a good ten seconds straight until she finally collapsed on the ground. "... Did she just die?" Aria bluntly asked. "No she did not. Pinkie, what happened? You okay?" asked Lapis, going over to her. In seconds, Pinkie Pie sprung up to her hooves as if she bounced off a spring. "BIG DOOZY ALERT!" Pinkie yelped. "Big … Doozy?" "Yeah, you know a big doozy, something very crazy that nobody's expecting but will happen any second now," Pinkie explained, weirdly casual about it. "What?! Where?!" asked Starlight. *ROAR* Here we go. "MOVE PINKIE!" shouted Rainbow, bolting in and pushing Pinkie Pie out of the way just mere moments before something HUGE landed right where Pinkie Pie was standing. The impact was like a meteor landing, kicking up snow into a huge cloud, knocking over all the tables and gingerbread houses into the actual houses nearby. Unwittingly this gave everyone a barricade as well, as most of them looked to see what exactly landed. As the snow cloud cleared, it revealed a vary large creature had come into Canterlot today. A long slim tail wiping away the snow off the ground as it turned around to face them, its vulture-shaped muzzle looking almost sharp like an actual beak, and its eyes darkened in a red crimson. Dagger-like spikes jutted out from its neck down to its shoulders, and its skin-wrapped wings spread open wide enough to cover much of the small street. Emerald-glistened scales covered its entire body, with a light yellow layer running along its belly, up its neck and down its tail. All signs of this being a Dragon, but its front limbs were missing completely. "There it is," Pinkie commented, pointing to the two-legged Dragon. "WHERE'D THAT COME FROM?!" everyone else thought. The Dragon straightened up, shaking off some of the snow cloud so it could see a little better, and took a moment to check out its crowd. A mixture of ponies, Gems, and humans amongst the crowd today, looking around the rest of Canterlot and seeing numerous other ponies, among other things. As for Grogar's group, they … couldn't believe what just happened. A DRAGON. Right in Canterlot?! They all tried to keep out of sight as the Dragon surveyed the area. "A d-d-d-d-d-dragon?! What do we do?" asked Bray, scared as a mouse before a cat. "We about that's what, now GET MOVING," Grogar quietly instructed. They didn't need to be told that twice, and they all quickly made a mad dash to get out of Canterlot as quickly as possible. No matter how close he was for getting Steven, it wasn't worth getting attacked by a DRAGON. Lucky for Grogar, the Dragon didn't seem to notice straight away, keeping its eyes over to the main group out in the open. "Alright, where is she, may I ask?" the Dragon asked, lowering its head towards the closest ones amongst the crowd. "She? She who, all she's are here," Sonata stuttered. The Dragon snorted. "Celestia, that's who. She hiding from me now?" Oh boy, not this again. It'd been a long time since they had to get THAT word out to the world, and it wasn't any fun. But if this Dragon wasn't aware of what was going on, it was probably best that they bring it up to speed. "Celestia?" said Lapis, "Um … she's not exactly here anymore. She ……. died," Lapis informed, feeling a bit humbled and awkward about the news. The Dragon lowered its head right down to Lapis's level, a rumble so low it could've come from Canterlot's caverns. "Is that the best you can do?" the Dragon remarked, unimpressed. "No, for real, she is dead," insisted Lapis, more forward this time. The Dragon though wasn't buying it. "Very funny. The one time Celestia doesn't give me food for the winter, and she happened to be dead. Coward," the Dragon concluded, licking his muzzle as he eyed the crowd. Everyone could probably sense one Alicorn get triggered from who knows where. They all weren't stupid though, and immediately got themselves armed up as best they could. "Back off scaly, no one's on the menu!" Rainbow Dash warned, getting right in the Dragon's face and actually bucking the beast's muzzle. This made the Dragon's face shake slightly, stunning the beast briefly. The Dragon shook his head. "Bad enough Celestia's late. Now you want me to starve?!" the Dragon roared. "What, no, that's not it!" Steven insisted. "Though that wouldn't be bad if you did," White Diamond managed to say. No that didn't help. "That's not realistic. If I weren't on a Gem-free diet, I'd eat you," the Dragon said. THAT made White Diamond immediately clam up, stepping back in wide steps until her back was to the wall. He began to aim his sights towards the humans of the group, but this immediately got everyone up in arms, Lapis and Spinel the first to jump in the Dragon's way. "We're NOT letting you eat our friends, ESPECIALLY on Hearth's Warming Eve," Lapis stated firmly. She just got Steven back, and she will NOT lose him again. "Got that right! Besides, they taste gross anyway, you eat them you'd be sick for a week," added Spinel, trying to give a good excuse to have this beast try anything else. The Dragon wasn't too fazed. "I don't care if they're radioactive! I've eaten worse," the Dragon said. WHAT could be worse than that?! They were not going to let this Dragon come closer though. "OK, does age matter? He may look like he's a teen, but he's really thousands of years old!" Spinel said, pointing to the gemstone he had on him. The Dragon had about enough of this. "I'm BORED with these games! I'll eat them NOW." The Dragon made its assault, and despite being so huge it moved surprisingly fast, lunging forward with its mouth wide open. Starlight quickly shot a magic blast right at the beast, but while it did move his head away, the Dragon swung back from the side, grabbing Jamie, Connie, AND Steven in one swift bite! Pulling the Humans out of the crowd, he simply raised its head, and … *gulp* "Ooohh no, you did NOT JUST DO THAT! GET OVER HERE!!!" Spinel was NOT taking that sitting down. Almost immediately, she leaped right at the Dragon's head, and with as much strength as she could muster, pried his jaws open. "STEVEN, hold tight, I'm saving you!" Spinel shouted down the Dragon's throat. Annoyed, the beast just clamped his jaws shut right down on Spinel. This didn't last long, and the Dragon felt his jaws forced open again, THIS time Spinel using her legs like a car jack. The next thing she did was stretch out her arm, and shot it right down into the Dragon's mouth, right down his throat! The Dragon couldn't move, feeling Spinel's spaghetti arm look around for Steven and his friends. "Ok, ok, where're you? Where is he, where is he? OH, wait!" Spinel worked her arm like a fishing pole, and after a few quick pulls and heaves, she got Connie, Jamie, AND Steven held tight in her hand. All three looked steaming, and covered in saliva, not even counting how freaked out all three looked after nearly being eaten alive. "GOT EM!" Spinel called, showing everyone her catch, holding them outside of the Dragon's mouth before giving them to the others, who … didn't know HOW to react to this. The Dragon opened its mouth a little bit, and clamped down on Spinel's legs again, THIS TIME swinging Spinel around like a rag doll, before throwing her into the nearest building. "Guys! You three uh … okay?" Starlight asked. "I feel violated," muttered Jamie, not moving an inch. Lapis used her water to clean all three of them of the Dragon's saliva, but the green beast wasn't done with them yet, after coughing a little bit from Spinel's "specialty method", charging up for a good Dragon firebreath. Lapis stood defiant, her water wings blocking the fire, and making a huge cloud of steam that covered the whole area. The Dragon though brought its foot down into the steam anyway, and in the stomp felt something under his claw. The Dragon blew the steam away, and take a wild guess on which human it had under its claw? "STEVEN!" exclaimed Connie. Blindly she tried to force the animal off of him, Steven knocked unconscious from the sheer impact of the stomp. "I'll just take this and get on my way, thank you," the Dragon said, not even sounding threatening and just wanted to go. With Steven unconscious, The Dragon curled his claw around him, and with a few flaps of his wings started to take off on them! "Get back here with him!" called Rainbow. She, Fluttershy, Lapis, and even Starlight took flight after the Dragon, the green beast trying to swat them away with his tail as he tried flying away. The flying team kept trying to dodge the tail, and were getting closer to reaching Steven, but the Dragon made sure to keep them further back by a few backwards Dragon fire blasts. One blast in particular got dangerously close to Fluttershy, almost singeing her wing feathers. Discord jumped into action, racing out and catching her as she fell down to the ground. "STOP!!" Lapis, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash were determined, but when Spinel regained herself and saw what was happening, she went faster than any of them, springing off one rooftop after another to try and reach the Dragon with her best friend. She sprung from one roof to another, jumping higher and higher each time the Dragon flew farther up. Spinel was so close in her final leap, so close to reaching Steven. And the Dragon launched her back with the force of a single wingbeat. "Steven …" Spinel muttered, as she was rocketing back down to the ground. Spinel slammed into Lapis and Rainbow on the way down, in a way cushioning her fall but that made all of them land back onto the grounds of Canterlot. "We're okay!" said Lapis. "Physically or emotionally? Because … I think Spinel's ..." Fluttershy didn't need to finish. They all could see Spinel's heartbreak in her eyes. Her best friend was gone … ……. "A dragon! A D-D-D-DRAGON! Of all the times for that monster to show up, it just HAD to be now!" Grogar thought as he kept running with his lackees in toe. "But what about the attack? Tempest? Nichrome? The army?" asked Budgerite as they were running. "Call it off, or let them deal with it!" Grogar snapped, "That dra - dra - dra - UGH, I WILL NOT stay here with it flying around." *roar* A roar that chilled his old bones. He turned his gaze to the sky, just to see the same Dragon started flying overhead. He didn't had much time to see that Steven was in one of his talons, but he really didn't care as with the rest of his group, all of them running as fast as they could to avoid being caught by the creature. So it didn't take the Dragon much time to see them running out of Canterlot. "They sure look appetizing. One measly morsel won't be good for a Hearth's Warming dinner. … Let's add one more to it and call it a day," the Dragon decided. "He sees us!" said a horrified Budgerite. "Then GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Grogar demanded, even pushing them aside so he can gain a lead. One hit of Bray, and the donkey rolled into Budgerite and Stubby, causing a three-way pile up. They ALL thought they were going to be caught for the Dragon's next meal. All three of them hunkered down in horror. "Happy Hearth's Warming everyone, it's our last!" exclaimed Budgerite. But the Dragon flew right by them. He knew which one was his meal, and the scrawny subordinates weren't gonna make the cut. He wanted something to sink his teeth into, and for Grogar, HE was it. "You serious?!" Grogar yelled, looking back and seeing what happened. But he didn't stop though, and kept going as fast as he could, panic taking over what he should think to do. He tried some vague attempts to fight the beast, but the Dragon's hardy scales blocked off many of his Gem-destabilizing lightning strikes. All the Dragon had to do was open a talon, and snatch the Ram right off of the ground like an eagle. Grogar thrashed and bit into the Dragon, but it was no good. Just like that, the Dragon had taken Grogar away. Bray, Budgerite, and Stubby just screamed, and ran off in a panic. ~~~~~~ As for the rest of the Harmony Gems, with no idea of where the Dragon actually went to after taking Steven, they went straight to Canterlot Castle. The group got itself right to the throne room in short time, catching up to not only the rest of the Harmony Gems, but the princesses as well. The whole throne room already was looking festive for Hearth's Warming Eve thanks to their help, but now was no longer the time for it, especially after they all explained everything to them. "So you mean to say that a Dragon kidnapped Steven to eat him? And in broad daylight with NO GUARDS alerted?" asked Starswirl. "It wasn't exactly like he was sneaking around," Starlight said, "He kept saying something about Celestia "being late" for something, and next thing we knew he's flying off with Steven in his claw." "What did he mean by that anyway? Did he and Celestia had a deal before? Because it sounded like it was going on for a long time," Lapis added, trying to figure that out. Starswirl, Cadance, and Twilight looked to one another for a moment. "I don't recall Celestia ever mentioning this to anypony, not in the years since I've returned," Starswirl said, stroking his beard. "I don't remember her saying anything either. This Dragon must just be lying, Celestia wouldn't make a deal like THIS for any reason!" Twilight insisted. The idea that Celestia would ever dare make a deal with a Pony-eating DRAGON of all things, it … it just sounded WRONG! "Does it matter WHY he's doing it, Steven's still stuck with that overgrown lizard," said Fulgurite. "Just point us where he went to!" "Fulgurite's right, we can't just wait here. Do any of you have any idea where he could've gone? Anything at all?" Connie agreed. The royals though didn't seem to have any answer. At least, not at first. Eventually though, Luna got up and moved over towards the waiting crowd. "Did any of you get a good look at this Dragon? What did it look like?" Luna asked. "What's THAT got to do with anything?" asked Rainbow Dash. "It means a lot more than you think, now please? What did this Dragon look like?" Luna insisted. It took them a bit before Lapis Lazuli answered. "Okay. He was very tall, I guess average size for a Dragon, with green scaled along his body except for his stomach. And, it's funny, he only had two legs and a pair of wings," Lapis explained. "Oh. … oh, I was afraid of this," Luna said gravely, catching their attention. "Afraid of what?" asked White Diamond. On that mention was when Luna had her worries confirmed. There was only one green Dragon with two legs that she knew, and if this "Dragon" mentioned Celestia already … well, that was more than enough. Luna stood up and took a breath. "What visited Canterlot wasn't a Dragon, persay, but a Wyvern," Luna began, using her magic to show a projection of a Wyvern in flight, "Wyverns are far rarer than Dragons, but they are far more dangerous. And this particular Wyvern had been residing near the Mountains of Canterlot for hundreds of moons now. At least that's what Celestia told me after I came back." "Wait a minute, this isn't another "Pink Diamond" story, is it?" asked Emerald. The princesses looked a little confused. "I'm sorry?" asked Luna. "He means a story about what we think is a perfect and great person, but just tells us they're not so great as we thought they were," explained Starlight. Twilight did NOT want this to be that kind of story herself, but unfortunately, the look on Luna's face seemed to suggest otherwise. "It can be like that. Celestia tried to remove the Wyvern away from Canterlot, but she couldn't. It was just too stubborn to leave, even for her. So, she could only make a deal with it: if she could provide food for the Wyvern during winter, then it will not try to attack Canterlot." "It doesn't sound like things turned out well for the Wyvern this year, huh?" concluded Fluttershy. "Forget the Wyvern, what about Steven?" said White Diamond urgently, "He's going to get eaten if we don't find him in time." "Well then, he's gonna have a worse day, because Steven's coming home tonight," Bismuth promised, fist clenched. "Luna, where's the Wyvern at?" "Why bother?" Shocking and stupid to ask. Everyone in the throne room turned to Spinel, the only one NOT immediately willing to just go out and find Steven, and instead was just sitting over by one of the castle windows, huddled up as if she was on a perch. Even if she didn't knew Steven as long as everyone else … she took it the worst. "Spinel, don't start talking like that. We'll get him back, I swear," encouraged Connie. "How do you know? He's probably next in line for that Wyvern's dinner menu by now," Spinel murmured in grief. White Diamond plucked up some courage. And actually spoke to Spinel. "Now, Spinel, Steven can survive something like this. He has escaped my Space Station twice, so if he can manage that -" *BAM!* Spinel couldn't stand hearing anything from her, and gave the Diamond a solid punch right to the face! "SHUT IT! This is all your fault anyway!" Spinel shouted, finger aimed directly at White Diamond in anger and blame. "My fault?! How, I didn't know what a Wyvern even is, let alone -" "LIAR!" Spinel shouted, clocking the Diamond in the face again, sending the Diamond off her feet. Spinel edged her fingers into claws, teeth sharpened, and she tried to reach her but the others weren't going to have it and quickly got in her way before she could do anything else. Namely Sapphire being the first brave soul to do so as Spinel stretched herself to a more threatening size. "Spinel, stop! You're making a mistake!" Sapphire said. "Oh, I'm the bad guy now huh? PLEASE, She probably planned this the whole time! Letting Steven actually like her like some average chum, and then call in some random Dragon outta nowhere, and then PRESTO, problem gone! Why wouldn't she do that?! Did you see her track record, huh? THIS IS NOTHING FOR HER TO DO!" "And do you think killing her will bring Steven back Spinel?!" Sapphire shouted. … Spinel suddenly stopped altogether. What would be the point in attacking White Diamond? Steven would still be stuck somewhere with the Wyvern either way. Her look of killer anger suddenly shifted into a sorrow one for a brief moment, eyes wide as tears began to come down her already tear-stained face. For a good ten seconds, time seemed to have stopped, but eventually Spinel's limbs retracted back to their normal size, no longer sharped or edged, as her gaze moved down to the floor. She REALLY wanted to … but what's the point? (Steven Universe the Movie - Who we Are parody) Spinel; Here we are, back together … Here we are, back together, and it's wrong. Just a second ago, we were singing our song. … But now. He's gone. Because of her … Happily ever after, there we were … Spinel went back to her window and huddled back down again for some more self-loathing. For the time it was really all she was thinking to do, with no idea where Steven is or if he was still alive or not. For a bit, none of them were actually talking. But one Gem did eventually speak with a soft smile. Bismuth. Bismuth; When has it ever been easy? Hasn't it always been hard to be us? Spinel didn't seem to notice at first, but she did start hearing Bismuth walk over to her. The Gem, tears in her eyes, looked up to the blacksmith of the Harmony Gems, her cheeks moist from the tears still. Bismuth; When you go against the grain There's always somebody around you can't trust. Spinel didn't know if she meant who she was thinking, Spinel glancing over to White Diamond for a short moment. Bismuth then helped Spinel off of the perch of her, a gentle yet strong hand bringing her to her feet. Bismuth; That's why we got to have eachother why we'll figure this out, we must! Bismuth looked out to the group around them, Spinel feeling how much confidence Bismuth had in her. Bismuth; Because we're The Harmony Gems! And we never give, We never give up on our friends Bismuth went over to Sapphire and Lapis, a arm around their shoulders as all three of them smiled. Spinel had some idea about what Bismuth was saying, though she seemed a little bit unsure still, even if they tried so hard for Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli. Bismuth; As long as one of us is standing to brandish the star We'll find a way, to save the day, that's who we are! Bismuth got in a action pose by the end of that line, joined in by Connie, Pinkie, Discord, and Fulgurite, all in their own action poses for the moment. Still, Spinel simply walked by them, down in the dumps and all. Spinel; Here we are, back together … Here we are back together, and it's wrong! Look at them, they're not even singing along Spinel presented some of the others as an example, but her grief was still there, as she stopped at the center of the room, dropping to her knees. Spinel; If I could just stop, right there we'd be … Totally fine Totally us Totally ME! Now it was Connie's turn to cheer her up, going beside her and helping her back up. Connie; Even if it takes a thousand years to get him back, we will You may not know him as long, but we do. Connie and Spinel went over closer to the group, the singing soon joined by Lapis Lazuli, who flew over towards the two, she and Connie moving towards the group as Spinel just stood there watching and listening. Lapis; Believe us, Spinel we've known him longer We've seen him get through us and come back stronger Connie + Lapis; That's why we believe in him And we believe in YOU! Bismuth; Because we're The Harmony Gems! And we never give up no, we never give up on our friends! As long as one of us is standing to brandish the star! Connie and Lapis moved back over towards Spinel. All this inspirational talk, it was actually starting to bring Spinel back out of depression, a smile beginning to form on her face with stars in her eyes. Connie; We'll find a way Lapis; To save the day Bismuth; THAT'S WHO WE ARE! With a wink from Bismuth, Spinel was finally convinced. Inspiration has been achieved. Spinel took a breath and clenched her fists. "You're right, we can't stop now. Hey Luna, where'd you say this thing lives?" Spinel asked, now more than willing to get going, same as everyone else. "Celestia was the only one to actually see it," explained Luna, "But she always said it was living in a mountainside cave a few peaks north of Canterlot, just pass the nearest pine forest. You should be able to find the cave from there." "A few mountain peaks? That could take forever," said Emerald. "Then we better get cracking," said Spinel, ready to go. "Now you're getting it," said Bismuth. Spinel+Bismuth+Lapis+Connie; We'll find a way To save the day That's who we are! Now time to work out a plan. Shouldn't be too hard. With most of the group going off to handle just that, there was only one who didn't feel like she was going to be much help anymore. Only Connie, the one to bring her there, actually saw her start to walk away. "White?" Connie asked, going over to her. "No. You all go save Steven. I'll just be out of the way …" White Diamond decided. "Look, if this is about what Spinel said, she didn't mean it. She's just scared about Steven," Connie said, walking to her side. "Connie, we both know she's not. You and Steven probably mean well, but … I shouldn't have come." Connie only had one thing to say. "No. This is exactly why we brought you." ~~~~~~ Back in the Beach House, and Flint had just finished up another addition to the Unfamiliar Familiar book series. It really was the only thing left for him to do while everyone else was off doing who knows what, but the least Spinel gave him some security with the Dazzlings and all that. It was quiet, and content for the Gem admittedly. He was getting into the next book, about twenty or so pages in, when he heard the familiar sound of the Warp Pad going off, two Gems now standing there. "Hello, Flint," Sapphire said, once she and Jade got off the Warp Pad. "Oh, hey there Sapphire, Jade. How's the world coming along?" Flint asked, though he was so invested in his book that he didn't exactly look their way more than a few seconds before getting back to his page. "It's going along just fine, Flint," Jade replied, as Sapphire went over to the kitchen, "Everyone's over in Canterlot, celebrating the holidays. They've just finished watching the Hearth's Warming play actually." "Oh. Well that's good. Glad they're having a good time over there," Flint said, going back to his book. Jade looked alongside him, seeing some of the books were already completed, Flint on the third book in Unfamiliar Familiar. "You've been getting into reading?" "Steven's idea," Flint said, flipping the page "You know, for being only words on a page, it's actually not too bad. These Familiars apparently have this "spiritual connection" with their owners, it's pretty interesting." "Interesting. Well, nice that you're relaxing too," Jade said, walking over to join Sapphire in the kitchen as Flint got himself readjusted, laying on his side as he continued reading. Sapphire and Jade were glad for it, but as the two were looking around the kitchen, the two smaller Gems noticed a little detail with the kitchen they didn't exactly plan for. Which was odd, since Sapphire swore her future vision guaranteed it. "Dishes were supposed to be in here," Sapphire mentioned. But the sink was practically empty, not even any stains of dough. Flint glanced up to them. "Oh, if you're looking for those dishes, they're in the cabinet up there. I took care of them while you guys were gone, since Steven and Spinel kinda left in a hurry with company," Flint explained. Sapphire and Jade looked to one another and went to check the cabinets. Sure enough, there were all the dishes, cleaned and almost glistening in the light they were done so well. "... Oh. … Well. Thank you." "Something wrong?" Flint asked. "No. We'll just um … wash the floor." "Already took care of that," Flint said, pointing down to the floor. Sapphire and Jade looked down and, ever so faintly, they saw their own reflection on the clean wood. "Okay. … Maybe we can -" "I alphabetized Steven's books, cleaned the bathroom for the heck of it, I even had some time left over to wash Pink Diamond's gemstone. It's drying off on Steven's bed up there," Flint informed, flipping through a few pages. Flint looked over to them, seeing their … somewhat stunned looks. "What? You're on holiday, and I just figured you didn't want to work when you would come back home. So I did it for you guys," Flint summed up. "Yes, we can see that," Jade said, though admittedly the two were stumped. They literally had no reason now to stay with Flint. Sapphire could only come up with one thing after some quick thinking. "I'm gonna go wash up," Sapphire said. "Here, let me help you with that," Jade added, hesitantly. THIS they knew Flint didn't do already, yet weird anyway. Flint watched them go to the bathroom, but kept much of his focus on his book as Jade and Sapphire went inside. But as he was chilling out, his ears picked up not only the running water, but some quiet talk going on in the bathroom. It was a bit faint, so he couldn't catch what they were saying exactly. As Sapphire and Jade were talking, Flint sat up and looked over to the gemstone on Steven's bed for just a second, before going back to his book. "Did you see this will happen, Sapphire?" Jade asked while she and Sapphire were in the bathroom. "... I did. But it was so improbable, I didn't think on it. He literally cleaned the whole entire house. … The one time I didn't want that to happen," Sapphire said, troubled ironically despite the calm expression. Sapphire actually did take off her gloves to wash her hands in the sink, a little vigorously. "... What do you think, Jade?" "What do I think?" Jade asked. She could see why Sapphire would ask, given Jade knew Flint longer than anyone else on the team, so she took a moment to think as Sapphire went and dried off her hands. Even with hot water on her hands, they still turned to ice after a quick wipe down. "I think that we should at least try to stay here with him. If he asks us directly though, we have to tell him." "He's supposed to have the day off," stated Sapphire. "I know, and I'd rather not have him get involved in another adventure. Again. But either we tell him and then he goes, or he will become nervous, and go anyway. Unless you see a Future Vision that says otherwise? …" Sapphire paused and focused her future vision as best she could do. As Garnet this would be easier, but as a Sapphire the paths were a bit more linear. She checked a Future Vision which they just tell him up front: Flint would just go without question, even if they tried to stop him. She checked a Future Vision which they try to not tell him: Flint would grow curious and go anyway, like Jade said. She even checked a Future Vision which they attempt to make up a story: … Flint would eventually go and check their story. She tried to think of any scenario, but the results were a bit short ... "Dang it," Sapphire huffed. "Sorry." "No, don't apologize. … but he's not goin. He needs this," Sapphire concluded. She could only hope then that this won't end up in a Fire Mammoth incident all over again. Sapphire and Jade walked back outside of the bathroom, still seeing Flint going through some more pages of the book he got. They didn't know if he overheard what they said or not, but he didn't look ready to jump at them for it so they took it in stride, as Sapphire got her white gloves back on. "Washed up?" Flint asked. "Yes, we're both clean now," Sapphire replied. Jade and Sapphire started going to the kitchen to try and do something when Flint spoke up again. "Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing by uh … staying home?" Flint asked. "Nnnope," Sapphire simply answered. After seeing Sapphire's ice powers start to frost up the faucet by mistake, Flint folded the corner of his page and closed the book. "Okay what're you up to?" Uh oh. "Up to something? Do we look like we're up to something?" Jade asked, as she attempted to go into the cabinet to find a snack to bring back. It was something to do, but being distracted she grabbed a bag of cookie cutters instead. Flint pondered anyway. "Hmm. Well no, you two don't look like you're up to something. But whenever you guys don't look like you're up to anything. You're up to something," Flint concluded. "It's nothing you need to worry about. We can handle it, you focus on being relaxed," Sapphire answered. Good enough answer to anything at this point, as Jade fixed her mistake and got the bag of Chaaaps instead. Flint did start looking suspicious towards them on hearing that: Something was going on, but Sapphire and Jade weren't telling him anything about it. Sapphire and Jade moved over to the Warp Pad again, keeping some very small talk so Flint couldn't hear them. "That should do it. let's get back to Steven." Unfortunately … "STEVEN! Sapphire, Jade, what happened to him?!" Flint asked, now up on his feet. How could he hear them when they were so quiet was anyone's guess, but Sapphire and Jade turned back to him. "Flint, don't freak out," Sapphire advised. "Where is he?" Flint demanded. The ONE TIME he stayed behind and something bad happens. Sapphire and Jade weren't going to keep playing the fool to someone like Flint, so the two turned around. "Steven got taken by a Wyvern," Sapphire bluntly answered. "He was WHAT?!" "A Wyvern took him away from Canterlot. It's a very large Dragon but with -" "I know what a Wyvern is, Unfamiliar Familiar had one in book two chapter five," Flint cut in, "But what're you two doing here if he's off with that thing? Shouldn't you all be trying to find him, or better yet, rescue him?" "Everyone's already working on it, Flint, they're tracking him now. Sapphire and I agreed to watch over the Dazzlings," Jade replied. Flint though was fuming, and actually summoned his pistol. "Of all the times for this to happen, now I got to -" suddenly Flint stopped. He was close to just jumping on the Warp Pad and just go off after Steven for some Dragon slaying, but some thoughts clicked in his head that made him stop. Did he want to go and do this himself, absolutely, but his eyes then looked to the two Gems who placed him in this house in the first place. He didn't forget how much he worried Sapphire with the Fire Mammoth thing, and Jade always did try her best to help him out already. … "Wait. … Wait, no. No. Nnoooo." "No?" Jade asked. "You guys want me to not worry. So I'm not going to," Flint concluded, as he simply walked back to the couch and sat back down. Sapphire was actually taken aback by this response. "You're okay with this? You're not going to go off after him, or check on our story, or suspiciously see if we're lying or not?" Sapphire asked. Flint paused, but then shook his head. "Not today. I need to trust in you all a bit more, and if you say you got this, then you got this. It's my day off, and I'm taking it. Besides, someone's got to keep an eye on Pink Diamond while you're gone," Flint explained, glancing over to where Pink Diamond's gemstone was resting. Sapphire and Jade paused themselves, but eventually smiled to eachother, and then to Flint. "Thanks for understanding Flint," Jade said, "We'll be as quick as we can." "I know you will, you will," Flint reassured. Sapphire and Jade felt reassured themselves that Flint won't run off, but looking back, despite him going back to his book they both can tell that Flint still felt somewhat nervous. Jade nodded to Sapphire, and Sapphire walked back over to Flint. "Flint?" "Hmm?" Flint asked. Sapphire looked him face to face, and she went ahead and gave him a kiss on the gemstone. Even if she wasn't Garnet, she still had the slight ability to share her visions with others, and Flint soon saw the end result of the Future Vision Sapphire seen. The most probable one, and one that was looking the happiest too. Flint gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sapphire. What would I do without you?" "Freak out, I would think. See you tonight for the presents, Flint," Sapphire said, going to join Jade back on the Warp Pad. Flint simply waved goodbye, and when the two Gems left on the Warp Pad, Flint stretched and sighed. "I'm sooo glad you're back Sapphire. You all got this," Flint concluded. … ~~~~~~ … "Lovely morning …" Steven felt a bit cold, but that didn't stop him from coming back around from his knockout. The ground was no longer covered in snow, but instead just cold rock. Light wasn't all that much except for the entrance to the shallow cave, a slight blinding light of clouds and white snow falling down making up for it. It took him a bit to work it out, but he did see Grogar again. Grogar was just there. Sitting there right by the exit, seemingly waiting for something. "... YOOOOUUUU!" Exclaimed Steven. Steven immediately rushed for the only exit, just for Grogar to lift up one of his back hooves, place it on his stomach, and shove Steven right back into the cave. "About time you woke up. Though I'd hate to admit it," Grogar said, confirming that Grogar wasn't just a mistake of the eyes. Steven stood up. "Where are we?" Steven asked, looking around for a bit. "In a cave. What does it look like? You wanna leave, go ahead and try," Grogar huffed. It sure was a bit forward for Grogar to say, and at first Steven kept thinking this was just another one of Grogar's tricks. So, rather than just bolt off to make it back to Canterlot, he instead just walked to the edge of the cave. And one look was all Steven needed to find that this cave was at least five miles up the mountain! Steep cliffs lined the edge, and one step, and he'd be in the hospital by the time he'd get to the bottom. Some stray stones were knocked off the cave entrance and disappeared into the snowy cover below. "Well, aren't you gonna jump?" "Ok, I wanna get out of here, but I'm not THAT desperate," Steven made clear, just for Grogar to shove him back into the cave again. "Good. It wouldn't be satisfying anyway," Grogar simply said. Steven sat back up, but this felt a bit out of place. Grogar kicking him wasn't anything new, but the ram did not look like he was enjoying himself. "So what happens now? Doesn't look like either of us can get down from here," Steven inquired. Grogar snorted. "I can go on my way at anytime. But this is the best shot I got right now, and I will NOT let you slip away, or let your "friends" come up here and grab you. So here I stay, and here you stay," Grogar said, as he took a stone off of the ground and began to chew on it. He had to sharpen his teeth for what he was planning to do with him. But before Grogar could continue, his jaws suddenly clamped shut when they both heard a distant roar from outside. Steven stood up. "What's that sound?" Steven wondered, and to Grogar's annoyance he actually tried to go out and look. "Get back in here," Grogar ordered, shoving Steven back again. This time he moved inward into the cave, keeping his hoof over Steven's mouth as a shadow moved by the cave entrance. Once the shadow left, Grogar moved off of Steven, who now sprung to his feet. "Okay Grogar, I know this is a trick of some kind, but who're you tricking? Me? My friends? Whatever THAT was?" "I don't like this anymore than you do, believe in me," Grogar growled, as he moved back to the front of the cave, sitting back down. "I would've loved to have you back at my army and torment you some more there while everyone else is invading Canterlot, but looks like THAT didn't happen. Now I'm stuck here with some hybrid runt inside, and that … that … Tartarus-spawn flying outside." And another distant rumble of the roar only signified what the Ram was talking about. Steven still wasn't sure if he should believe Grogar or not, but after Grogar said that, a slight smile formed along his muzzle. "But you know … maybe this can work after all." "What will work? Grogar, what're you planning to do with me?" Steven asked. Grogar snickered, which was NEVER a good sign for Steven who already felt uneasy. "Kill you, of course. But not just yet. It is Hearth's Warming Eve, after all. So why not have myself a personal dinner by nightfall? It would be more festive that way." "D-Dinner? I won't let you -" Steven said, but as he tried to summon his shield, he got his harshest reminder. His shield was NOT coming up at all by this point, only a very slight flicker like a lightbulb before disappearing. As Steven felt a shiver run through him, Grogar felt more confident in Steven's capture without his magic to back him up. "Get comfortable, lad, because you're not going anywhere," Grogar made perfectly clear. He snickered a bit as he got himself comfy. ... Unfortunately, waiting was all Steven could do. So as the minutes ticked by, they waited. Grogar just sat there by the cave's edge, occasionally making some toy out of a rock, or even gnawing on one to sharpen his teeth. The only time he would move away from his spot was a little bit further into the cave whenever that shadow would go by, whatever it was, and then just walk right back and sit down again. As for Steven … it was torture. A creature that can, and will, tear his head off was just sitting there and WAITING to kill him, not even giving him any chance to leave, and all Steven could do was pace around, MAYBE kick some rocks to let the clock tick by. It was frustrating … and scary. All at the same time. And one stray rock Steven kicked, knocked into Grogar's head. "Keep it down in there. I might make it less painful if you do," Grogar said, rubbing where the rock struck him. Steven didn't want to hear it. "Well excuse me if I'm a little frustrated. Today was supposed to be a great day, Hearth's Warming celebration and everything. But instead of spending it with my friends, I'm stuck up here in some mountain cave." "So sad, you gonna have me crying any moment now," Grogar said, rolling his eyes. He took another bite from one of the rocks, crumbling it in his muzzle before spitting it out as pebbles. "Doesn't that hurt?" "Lad my life's full of pain, this is nothing to me," Grogar said, "I can crush skulls with these chompers. Though, something tells me you'd figure that out by tonight." Grogar proceeded to put the whole rock in his mouth and, like a nutcracker, clamped his jaws shut to crumble the whole thing into little pieces. Steven felt himself flinch a bit, imagining if that rock was actually someone's head for a second, namely his head. All the lone time stuck there with Grogar had left Steven thinking. Contemplating even … He took a breath. "You do know there're other ways, don't you Grogar?" Steven asked. Grogar growled. "This again? You tried that speech on me a dozen times, and NONE of them worked," Grogar huffed, kicking some of the rocks towards Steven to keep him quiet. He did not drag him up here just to be lectured again. "Well, not if you don't let me. You don't have to be a tyrannical ruler all your life, you can try for something better. Something that maybe doesn't always involve fighting, or torturing, or -" "If I did anything else, I'd be DEAD. Torture hardens the heart, Steven. Without it, what would I be today?" Grogar cut in. "Happy? Like everyone back in Little Homeworld?" Steven answered, with slight firmness in his tone. Grogar snarled at that answer, his teeth barred as his front hooves dug into the ground. But as he would love to just attack him, he kept himself recoiled. He can pummel him later. "Shameless, lad. You don't know what you're even talking about. Go talk to your mindless robots," Grogar huffed, actually laying down for a little bit. Steven was starting to get more annoyed with him. "You know, half of those Gems at Little Homeworld were corrupted thanks to you and fought by your side while you ruled Homeworld. They're lost, confused, and still a little bit messed up, but they're getting the help they need!" "Good for them. Who cares?" Grogar huffed. "I DO. And I always will, and if I didn't care, you'd be dead right now! I would've let you fall in that Injector goo back last time you were at Beach City, and left it at that." Grogar was getting more upset, now standing up to turn to the Human. "And you think just because you did something I never asked for, I'm gonna bend my horns for you? I've been wondering about that mistake, but that's why you saved me, isn't it? Because you thought I'd just fall at your feet like some miserable lamb!" MISTAKE? Steven was reaching his boiling point, a loud groan escaping him. "I only did that because I felt sorry for you! But you know what, I don't even know why anymore, because ALL OF THIS is your own fault! You were willing to destroy the entire Earth just so you can win a fight. Which you lost! TO ME! Nobody on Earth, Equus, or anywhere is making you do any of this! Are you just going to keep living like this until someone can give you a chance for something better?! Because I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU ONE!" Grogar had enough, and roared at Steven, making him move back into the cave. The ram's eyes started to glow an ominous red as he closed in on him, moving him to the back of the cave. "You don't have ANY POWER to control what I do! You will NOT manipulate me into your world view! I know very well how life works, and I will NOT take some blind advice from some WORN OUT! STUPID! USELESS BAG OF MEAT! Without your powers, or strength to back you up, you might as well be blowing smoke. You're a waste of my time." Steven couldn't believe what Grogar just said, and actually moved so HE was at the cave exit, and not Grogar. That was something he always had been wondering about since this whole thing started. In fact, it was enough to make Steven push Grogar back, which would normally be suicide. "Clearly I mean something to you! If I'm no big whoop, then WHY are you keeping me here?!" Steven exclaimed, Grogar actually wondering where Steven was going with this, "You said it yourself: without my powers I'm not even a threat to you. I'm not strong, I can use my weapons, I clearly can't talk you out of it - I'm useless! So why are you still focusing so much on me right now when there's SO MANY people better than me? Why not just kill me and get it over with?! Look, there's a cliff right there, and I can't float, all you got to do is ram me off the cliff and BAM! No more Steven Universe, no more problem. What is it about me that's making you think I HAVE TO DIE?" "ENOUGH!" Grogar roared, finally having enough. He clamped his jaws down onto Steve's leg, and started thrashing and banging him around on the ground over and over again before tossing him to the side of the cave wall. And Steven was still alive, even after another thrashing from the ram himself. "Keep that bull mouth shut, STEVEN UNIVERSE. You're right, there is something about you that needs my attention, but to the lava pits am I going to tell you what that is!" "Why should it matter anymore? If you're gonna kill me anyway," Steven questioned, getting onto his knees and rubbing his head from the thrashing. Grogar could feel himself tremble. He wanted to wait for nightfall, but this was O SO HARD TO DO. Finally he jumped over Steven, and spun around to face him, blocking his only exit again but this time ready to fight him. "You wanna fight THAT badly?!" Grogar snarled. Steven knew that talking him out of a fight wouldn't ever work, so instead he got in a fighting stance, ready for the ram to come at him. Grogar dug his hooves on the ground, his jaws opening wide, and - Suddenly the ground started to shake. "QUIET!" All that yelling Grogar and Steven were doing finally alerted the Tartarus-spawn outside. The ram and the human looked to the front of the cave, but instead of seeing clouds and snow, all they could see was the large glowing eye of the draconic monster, looking right at them both! All that anger Grogar had just moments ago was suddenly replaced by an almost primal fear, as he spun around to see the danger. "I'm hungry for ram and whatever that is. DON'T TAKE THAT FROM ME!" The Dragon moved its head back, and shot its jaws into the cave, attempted to snatch any of them from the prison cell they left themselves in, but they were just far back enough to avoid the jaws. Grogar tried to find more room behind him, but was left with nothing. While those jaws could reach him, its long tongue had no problem, and gave both of them a VERY SLOPPY LICKING. "Gross." Steven muttered. And in this VERY RARE moment, Grogar had to legitimately agree. "You have to come out sometime. I want my Hearth's Warming dinner TONIGHT." "Get away from me!" Grogar demanded, but he couldn't bring himself to fight it. As for the Dragon, it simply responded to the ram's demands with a loud huff, smoke bellowing from its nostrils and filling up the whole cave with a thick cloud of ash. That made both Steven and Grogar cough like mad, and the large jaws were pulled out of the cave, only for them to see its glowing eye again, before it moved away. Steven turned to the ram, but it looked like the ram didn't realize it just yet, stuck with his back to the wall and simply staring ahead some more as if frozen in place. "His dinner. … Wait. That's right: Grogar's scared of Dragons. That means … Grogar's trapped in here too," Steven thought in realization. Steven snapped Grogar out of it by clapping in front of his face, though he had to pull back as Grogar lunged forward to bite whatever was in front of him. Grogar shook his head to wake himself up, realizing himself what happened. He took one look at Steven before turning away. "What're you looking at?" Grogar snarled. Steven nodded his head only once. "Tell you what. I'll stop trying to make you change your ways. I'll even help you escape this Dragon, but you're gonna have to call off your attack. Deal?" Grogar was about to respond, but the distant roar outside made him stutter. On one hoof, he'll get out of this alive, but on the other hoof … "Go drop dead." "Oh, okay, you'd rather sit here and wait for that Dragon to eat you? Fine, I'll just go then," Steven decided firmly, actually ready to go and do just that. He didn't get far though, and Grogar pulled him back. "I never said you're leaving this cave!" "Seriously stop with the murder stuff for a minute! We got bigger problems right now," Steven shouted. Here they were trapped on a mountain by a Dragon and he STILL was only thinking about Steven's death?! Grogar had about enough, and forced Steven onto the ground, his head hanging over the edge of the cliff, Grogar's hoof pushing him down. "Just pipe down! All I see before me is a pathetic Human who's trying his best NOT to get killed. You ARE going to see the Red Diamond tonight, and nothing YOU say's going to change that. Got that?" Something forced itself out. "I don't care how desperate you are, you're not making me see her again!" "Wha - ... Again? What do you mean "again"?!" "THAT DOES IT!" The Wyvern wasn't far away at all. In fact, seeing them stick out just far enough from the cave made the beast dive right down from the sky, skimming down the side of the mountain with jaws wide open. Seeing such a huge creature like that forced Grogar to move back, Steven having mere seconds to straighten himself. The Wyvern was so close he could feel its scales rub against his back. "I'm trying to have a afternoon nap in my den," the Wyvern snarled, "But if you two are going to constantly shout and scream the whole time … then I'll just have to have my dinner early." "Oh no," gulped Steven. Grogar immediately made a desperate move, and shoved Steven towards the Wyvern. "Eat him, he's far more ripe than me!" Grogar demanded. Instead, to Grogar's horror, the Wyvern grabbed Steven … and dropped him away. "I don't typically have dessert … before the main course." "Of course you wouldn't." Grogar gulped. "Run." Steven bluntly stated. The Wyvern inhaled for a fire breath, and Grogar, no longer caring who did what, made a mad dash to get out of the cave. He and Steven both only needed a brief moment to get the heck outta there, fire spewing into the cave moments after the two jumped out. Steven barely got his footing on a ledge by the cliff, but Grogar, being the Ram he was, made descending the mountainside look easy as he bolted down as quick as he would on flat ground. Steven could only glance down his way before he had to jump down again to avoid a fire blast from the Wyvern. Steven and Grogar, both seemingly out for themselves at this point, kept a rush down the steep mountainside. Grogar had no problem with his hooves digging into the rock and snow with each bound of motion. Steven though was struggling to keep up in running down the hill, the Wyvern roaring good and loud before he took flight to dive after them. His jump though dislodged some rocks off the cliffside, basically causing an avalanche right behind them of stone and rock! "Heads up!" Steven shouted. Grogar was gonna shout back, but he quickly saw what he meant as the rocks began to fall. Grogar dodged them fine, his bounding leaps to avoid boulders almost making it look like he was flying. Steven tried dodging himself, but there was one particular rock that landed in front of him that Steven actually fell onto the flat top. It took him a second or two to see what happened, and next thing he knew, he was sledding down the mountain. "Not what I had in mind, but this'll work," Steven concluded, using the rock like a surfboard as he gained some more speed. Good thing too, because the Wyvern was catching up fast, and the rocky snowboard was just the thing to keep Steven agile enough to didge both bite, claw grab, and fire blast. Plus it helped him go down the slopes faster and safer than down on foot. Seeing Grogar running though, and slowing down compared to Steven's snowboard, Steven already knew what he was gonna do. Despite what he said a minute ago. "Grogar, quick! Jump on!" "If you think I'm going to -" "WILL YOU JUST JUMP?!" Steven shouted. Grogar looked back, and saw the Wyvern closing in fast. Freaking out, the ram made his move. "Make room!" Grogar shouted, jumping up and landing on Steven's snowboard. He even pushed on the ground with Steven just to go faster away from the Wyvern. The beast wasn't gonna make this any easier though, his wings kicking up more stones to cut them off with, and the Wyvern even tossing some fire balls in for good measure. How strange fate was making these two work together. Steven kept the rock steady, moving side to side as rocks flew passed, and Grogar actually turned around and blasted away any that were moving too fast to dodge. Call it coincidence of fate, or just dumb luck, but they were trying to keep eachother alive during their ride down. "Wow, thanks," Steven said, actually surprised on the extra mile. "Don't get chummy on me, just drive," Grogar ordered before blasting away another rock to pebbles. The Wyvern folded his wings in now, closing in the gap even more. Grogar and Steven were getting worried again, but that was the least of their problems, as Steven looked on ahead of them. The steep cliff was ending, and there's no way around it. "I guess we're doing this," Steven gulped. Like they had any choice. And right over the cliff they went, rocketing high up into the sky! The Wyvern missed Grogar and Steven by inches before crashing onto the edge of the cliff. As for Grogar and Steven, the two of them were screaming high above the ground, disappearing from the Wyvern's line of sight passed the pine trees. He only knew they landed from the explosion of snow not too far away. As for Steven and Grogar … well, their crash site looked more like a snow pile, the rock they were riding on now a bunch of pebbles scattered amongst the trees, the main rock actually knocking a tree over. Steven for one popped his head out of the snow bank, whereas Grogar just blew it off of him in an explosion. "Looks like we gave the Dragon the slip. Sorry about the landing …" "You saved me again. … What's with you anyway?" Grogar groaned, shaking off what snow remained on his fur. Grogar probably won't ever really understand the point, but Steven just sighed, laying on top of the heap of snow. "Oh nevermind. I'm just gonna chill here for a minute." "If that's a joke -" And they both heard something else rise above the snow. But rather than the Wyvern again, the sound this time seemed more like a familiar voice calling Steven's name. Steven straightened up right away, but for Grogar, he just groaned. THIS, combined with the Dragon nearby? "Oh Forget this!" Grogar decided, using his magic FINALLY to cut open a portal out of there into the nearest tree (much to Steven's dismay) "I've had enough for today, you stay and get eaten." And Grogar, frustrated by yet ANOTHER confusing life save, went right on through out of there, leaving Steven standing there again by himself. Steven, in spite of this, didn't have that much time to actually think about it, as the shadow of the Wyvern loomed overhead. Steven looked up and saw the huge creature landing down almost on top of him. "Ok, Steven. He's not gonna leave you alone. Time to fight," Steven told himself. Despite not having any powers, or any actual means to defend himself against the Wyvern, the least he could do was try. Fists clenched, and in a battle stance, he stood to face the Wyvern. "You're kidding, aren't you?" the Wyvern remarked. Steven didn't answer, ready for whoever were to make the first move. It seemed way too easy, but the Wyvern readied for a quick bite. One bite and the Wyvern will have his snack before his main course meal of ram. Steven took a step back, the Wyvern opening his jaws good and wide … "YAAAAHHH!" The Cavalry is here! The Wyvern felt like a meteor slammed him square on his head, as Bismuth was drop from high in the sky, both hammer arms slamming down right on top of the head, and slamming him into the ground in a single swing. "Bismuth! You made it!" exclaimed Steven. Bismuth jumped off of the Wyvern after that, going right to Steven. "We're all here, Steven. You holding up?" "Yeah, sort of," Steven replied. "What hit me?" murmured the Wyvern, shaking his head, only to see another figure standing right next to Steven. Bismuth stood brave against the Wyvern. "Call it a heap of Harmony Gem," Bismuth said smugly. The Wyvern snarled, and rather than answer Bismuth, the Wyvern charged up and blasted directly at her a huge breath of fire. Steven only hid behind Bismuth, covering his head as flames shot out from all sides of him. Bismuth hardly even felt it, just standing there smiling as the flames eventually stopped. A fire that would've turned any pony to bones and Bismuth treated it like a warm breeze, even with fire still burning on her shoulder, which she just brushed off. "Not bad. Got another one?" Bismuth remarked. The Wyvern was stunned. "Joke's on you! Bismuth can't melt!" Steven shouted. "You little - why won't you let me eat? I'm in no mood to fly away this winter," the Wyvern snarled. "You better start flying then, because we're NOT going to watch our friend get eaten, and you know why? Because we're the Harmony Gems! And if there's one thing we NEVER do, is leave our friends behind," Bismuth explained, hand resting on Steven's head. The Wyvern wasn't amused. "You think you can beat me by giving me some speech?" "Nah, I'm just keeping you busy while the ambush starts," Bismuth said. Seconds later, another portal opened up right behind the Wyvern's heads. This portal didn't appear like a portal key though, but instead a pink circular portal that could only belong to one animal. One pink Lion coming through in a mighty roar, with Connie riding on his back with an ice sword in hand! The Wyvern turned around, but didn't react in time to counter the feline's claws gripping its neck, making the Wyvern rear back, trying to shake the Lion off of him. Connie leaped off of Lion, and with the extra boost, swung the ice sword on the Wyvern's laws. The sword, rather than slice into him, actually started spreading ice around the beast's jaws, giving the animal a ice muzzle. Connie meanwhile fell downward for a good ten feet before she was caught by Twilight and Fluttershy. The Wyvern shook his head, not able to breathe any fire with the ice on its mouth. Lion jumped off of the animal, landing towards Steven and Bismuth. Lion's turn came up in the form of a mighty roar. With its wings spread, the forces of the roar made the Wyvern stumble back, landing belly up. "Rope squad, you're up!" called Bismuth. "On it, Bis! Let's go guys," said Rainbow Dash. She, joined by Spinel, Fulgurite, Starlight, and Applejack, raced on out to the open. Starlight got the magic rope summoned up in short order, and while the Wyvern tried to regain himself the squad started wrapping him up. Fulgurite and Rainbow Dash handled the wings as Starlight and Applejack focused on the legs on a hog tie. Spinel got the special job in wrapping rope around the Wyvern's mouth, even adding a Hearth's Warming bow when she was done because why the heck not. "Teach you to eat my friend," Spinel remarked, before jumping off of the Wyvern's head. Well, now the beast was stuck, and breaking the rope wasn't gonna be so easy since it was magically enhanced by Starlight. "That oughta hold him for a while. Let's high-tail it before he gets loose," said Applejack. "Sure. Thanks for coming back for me," Steven said. "Of course we'll come back for ya, we won't leave you for that Wyvern. Let's get going, champ," said Bismuth. Honestly he couldn't agree more. Enchanted rope or not, the Wyvern wouldn't keep itself in those binds for very long, and they needed to get moving. "Okay, let's go home," Steven said. The Wyvern struggled some more, as he could only watch his meal running off on him. It was gonna take a bit too long for him to get himself out of those binds, and before the Wyvern knew it they were gone. Eventually, the Wyvern settled down in defeat. "I'll just go find some fish somewhere …" the Wyvern thought. This was NOT worth it. ~~~~~~ Well that was some adventure, but Hearth's Warming was not done just yet. For the rest of the afternoon, moving in towards sunset, Hearth's Warming Eve went on without anymore trouble. Steven, for one, just relaxed throughout most of the afternoon yet still found himself enjoying the holiday despite the setback by the Wyvern. He only wished he could've got something through to Grogar during his time with him, but as Grogar kept telling him, it wasn't going to happen the way Steven was doing it. He should at least be glad he was home in one piece. With friends. By the time Celestia's sun was resting over the horizon, the celebration itself was calming down somewhat with much of the Harmony Gems (and Dazzlings by extension) together over in the castle. The active celebrations were fun and all, but Steven decided to just have some more casual time this holiday in the castle, some time with his friends with piano music playing in the background, he and Spinel heading over to one of the dinner tables for their Hearth's Warming Mint Candy Cake. "Behold our tasty creation," announced Spinel once Steven placed the cake down for the others to enjoy. "Wow, Steven, Spinel. It looks amazing," said Lapis with a smile, and indeed it did. A light green frosting cover over a pink cake, with dollops of pink and white icing lining the edges along with peppermint candies of green and red stripes. "Ooooo, it smells so minty fresh," said Pinkie. "Thanks Pinkie. Who wants a slice?" Steven offered, cake cutter in hand. The answer was pretty easy to work out, as practically everyone at least wanted to try a slice of the cake. One after the others, slices of the cake were passed down from one another, though Steven made sure there was enough for everyone there. The first to take a bite, naturally, was Pinkie Pie herself, who was quick to gulp it down. Her eyes sparkled, but for a brief moment her fur became blue, as she breathed out cold air and even snowflakes before turning back to pink. "WHOA! That is some strong mint. … I LLLOVE IT!" Pinkie said in glee. "Sweet, it's actually Pinkie Pie approved," joked Spinel, seeing Pinkie as the veteran of sweets. If SHE loved it, what was to doubt? Steven sat down over by Connie with his slice, though Spinel got her own seat right next to Steven (as it had been all day long). At first they just enjoyed the cake, no longer having any awkwardness like there was back during the Gingerbread houses. But as they all were enjoying the Hearth's Warming cake, there was still one more problem they needed to handle. And she was sitting over by herself a few tables away. Steven and Connie could see White Diamond herself just sitting over there, not feeling wanted by at least one of the group, actually trying this whole "eating" thing out with what looked like some small gumdrops. "Ready?" Connie asked. "I think so," Steven replied. Connie then got up for a moment, with some excuse of getting a drink as she walked away, leaving Steven and Spinel there to finish up their cake. They didn't start right away, Spinel not noticing what was actually happening as she ate her cake until - *ahem* Steven knew what it was, standing up himself but Spinel was left a bit startled when Connie stood there with White Diamond next to her. White Diamond didn't know what to say. Spinel didn't know what to say. And Steven and Connie didn't need to say anything, simply standing back and letting them try to talk. All that did though was make them both turn away from eachother. They need a better approach than this if neither were gonna talk directly. Then they remember the piano. With a nod of the head, they both got the same idea, and went over to the pony playing. For a moment, the music stopped altogether when Connie tapped his shoulder, whispering what she and Steven had in mind. All the pony did was get up, and moved aside, as Connie sat down and readied herself. White Diamond and Spinel simply watched, as Steven began to sing. Steven; Why don't you talk to eachother? Why don't you talk to eachother, just give it a try Why don't you talk about what happened? I know you're trying to avoid it, but I don't know why Steven's voice was perfectly in tune to Connie's music, both of them in synch to one another in their song. White Diamond and Spinel, humbled, knew exactly who Steven was talking to in this song. It was almost magical, the way he was singing to them both. The two though still were too hesitant to say anything to eachother, but the song continued anyway. Steven; You might not believe it … You might not believe it, but You got a lot in common You really do … Slowly, White and Spinel started to feel their emotions start to come up, as they looked to eachother again. Something along the lines of sorrow. Regret maybe, given everything that happened between them so far today. All day avoiding eachother as best they could, one from shyness the other out of anger … but all the same, what good was that even doing? They both gave a sigh. Steven; You both love me, and I love both of you That line did it. Their emotions began to swell up, and Spinel started to cry. What kind of person was she to keep denying White like this? White Diamond tried not to cry herself, but her face was still filled with just as much grief. It wasn't Steven that was talking to them anymore, but someone that was probably just as close, if not closer to them than Steven ever was. The soft voice of a Diamond long since gone … White Diamond spoke. "Listen, if I were you, I'd hate me too," White finally said, "After everything I did to you, how could you not hate me? I probably deserve so much worse than this. … I'm sorry you had to be around me." "That wasn't the problem," Spinel finally admitted, "I might've gotten over all of that, eventually, but something in me just … snapped. When you said you were gonna leave everything behind again. I didn't want to be alone again … like Pink did." "Like Pink did. ... Oh, Spinel, I-I'm sorry. I really am. And she didn't only leave you behind …" White said. Spinel sniffed a little, wiping some tears again, but then she smiled a little bit. "Well, you know ol' pink …" "She always did what she wanted," the two Gems said. Steven; I know you both needed I know you both needed It was a small talk, but for the first time all day they were finally beginning to see where eachother were. One Gem a jester made to sit in the Garden, the other a ruler of an entire race. Both of which were left behind for their own faults by the same Gem. After that short bit, Spinel and White looked to one another again … and it was Spinel who brought out her hand. Steven; Someone who knows what you're going through … The song became their guide, as both Diamond and Spinel gem started a slow dance together. Both Gems holding hands and keeping in tune to eachother. The dance itself was slow, but Spinel and White Diamond were enjoying it bit by bit. It was sweet in a way. Steven; You might not believe it You might not believe it but You got a lot in common You really do … Their slow dance turned into a duet of movement, Spinel and White Diamond in a gentle dance. White Diamond even spun Spinel during their dance, a gentle twirl like a ballerina under White's hand, and Spinel too did the same for White Diamond afterwards. Everyone seeing this were just smiling, seeing them finally starting to make a connection. And at the end of their dance, the two Gems just smiled. Steven; You both love me and I love both of you … You both love me and I love both … Of you. Happy Hearth's Warming.