A Gemstone. Red-orange and somewhat rectangular, with facets around the edge. On common ground, this kind of gemstone wouldn't technically be that special, but today this gemstone in particular marked something especially wonderful for everyone involved, as this gemstone inside it's bubble was placed down in the center inner room of the Little Homeworld tower. This gemstone wasn't alone in the venture, being observed by the Harmony Gems themselves, making sure it was everyone who still remembered this time. For those that made it, they weren't missing this important moment.
"Feast your eyes, team. The last Corrupted Gem on the entire planet. Who'd of guessed it?" said Bismuth.
"I still can't believe this is the last one," Steven said, looking to the gemstone.
"It only took 567 gemstones to get here. Unless we're counting this one, then it's 568," Pinkie Pie said smiling, standing nearby with some party favors for the special occasion. Yes, this included a ready party cannon.
"568? That's gotta be a LOOOOOT a work," said Spinel, surprised by that number.
"It took thousands of years just to find them all. And now, we're finally finishing that up. … I just wanna take a moment and say this is the second best day of my life," Sapphire said with a smile.
"And what's your first best day?" Spinel asked. Sapphire simply showed Spinel her wedding ring.
"Let's just say it changed my life," Sapphire simply replied.
"Well what're we waiting for? Let's get her unbubbled and healed already!" said a excited Fulgurite. There was always a special feeling when an entire project, big or small, was reaching it's end. And now, seeing this final gemstone as they unbubbled her, that feeling was washing over her. It felt good, really.
"Shall we?" Jade asked.
"We shall," sighed Flint.
Nephrite had to come up for this, and after getting this new gemstone unbubbled Jade and Flint got the fusion up and ready to go in little to no time at all. It was a fairly easy process to handle by this point, given how many they had to heal, and with how little went wrong, Nephrite was more confident in taking on the next corrupted Gem.
As for the gemstone, like many others before it, as soon as it found room to start forming that's exactly what it began to do. The light started to form around the gemstone, the shape itself a bit hard to contemplate. An animal-like form started to come up, vaguely resembling a large cat or lion. Nephrite didn't give the creature much time to actually gather itself together, and they brought their hands out onto the gemstone, and began working their magic. One hand on its head to keep it focused, one on its gemstone to calm down its soul. It took a short minute, but eventually a human-like shape began to take place.
"Happy welcome back day," Steven simply said.
The welcome though had to wait. The reformation went through fairly easily, but upon completion, the healed Gem now collapsed onto the ground, laying on her back. So much time as a corrupted Gem must've really taken a lot out of her.
The Gem herself looked very tall, a head taller than Garnet would've been if she was there. Her whole body had a light orange complexion to the skin, and her hair now appearing like a large curly afro, pale yellow in color, accompanied by a sleek unibrow of brown. The outfit she had on, unlike most of the Gems they've un-corrupted, looked far more authority-based with a orange-red jumpsuit, thigh-high white boots with Jaffa-colored soles, and white elbow-length gloves.
"Huh. Let's give her a minute to wake up," suggested Steven.
"All that time as a corrupted Gem must've been so hard on her," Fluttershy said, sitting down over next to the unconscious Gem.
"A few thousand years of it would tire anyone out," said Rarity, "All the same, let's try and give her some space, let her wake up at her own pace."
"So does that mean no party cannon welcome party?" Pinkie asked, who at the point was standing on top of her party cannon.
"Let's save that for later, Pinkie" Steven said.
"And I was so ready for the party cannon return too," Pinkie sighed, bummed out that her cannon didn't spray anyone with confetti and streamers. She even got the fuse lit and everything, but she had to douse the fuse with a lick of her hoof and a grab of the fuse, small *ssss* going for a quick ten seconds.
"She does look pretty out. Hey guys, think you can find a pillow?" Steven asked.
The ponies, and Steven only now saw the look on the Gems' faces. Shock was probably the most evident reaction on most of them, the only exception being that of Flint. ALL of them were locked onto the Gem laying on the ground, not sure exactly what to say.
"Eh … y'all alright? You're all kinda quiet," Applejack asked.
"No. Way," said a very shocked Diopside.
"It … it can't be her, can it?" gasped Lapis.
"It has to be her, who else would it be?" added Bismuth.
"Who? Who is she? Was she a Crystal Gem or something?" Twilight asked, wing pointing over to the Gem on the ground. It was a bit hard to tell which side this Gem was supposed to be initially. Not a star for the Crystal Gems anywhere, but not exactly a diamond symbol on her either. Lapis Lazuli was the one who decided to talk.
"Steven? Girls? What you got there? She's no ordinary cut of Gem," explained Bismuth, "Her name is Hessonite.The Hessonite."
"Hessonite?" Steven asked, confused a little.
"I've heard stories about her while working with the Homeworld crew," explained Bismuth, "Hessonite is, in Earth terms, the Lion of lions: made to be the finest Gem Admiral of the Diamond military. I just can't believe she's actually here."
"Stories nothing, I've actually worked with the cut!" Emerald said, "You think an angry Jasper's scary, just try and survive a time with her. I kid you not, she stopped an entire fleet of Crystal Gems all by herself, and she didn't even get touched ONCE."
"What in the stars are you talking about?" Flint questioned.
"You never heard of Hessonite Flint?" Emerald asked, not believing his own ears.
"Don't forget, I spent most of my existence inside White Diamond's station, and what time I was out I left and spent in Equestria's Frozen North. So no, I don't know who she is."
"Practically all of Homeworld at least knows of her, how could you not have heard of her before?" questioned Fulgurite.
"Then why haven't we heard of her before?" asked Applejack.
*groan*
Before anyone could answer AJ's question, they all began to hear Hessonite begin to come around. Flint, despite not knowing her to a full extent, did get himself armed up just in case if there would be a fight. It wouldn't be the first time a healed Gem would just lash out on the spot, so he came prepared for it. As for the others, the other Gems kept some distance over by the door whereas the ponies and Steven simply watched her come around, although some were a bit close to her.
"Let's try again. *ahem* Happy Welcome Back Day," Steven said, this time having a better response than before. Hessonite needed a moment or two before she finally began to open her eyes, which began to reveal something else unique about this Gem: her eyes were different colors. Her right eye was pure white like snow, her left eye Vermillion red.
"Steven, come over here," Sapphire warned. Steven wasn't sure why, but he did so anyway as the ponies checked in on Hessonite.
"Good morning," said Twilight. Hessonite didn't utter a word for the first moment or two, her eyes looking around at who or what was around her. She saw the ponies and didn't do anything at first, but then her eyes began to drift over towards the Gems, her red eye seeing the star symbol off of Steven's shirt …….
"...…. Quiet, ain't she?" remarked Applejack.
As soon as she said that, Hessonite suddenly sprung to life on them! Without warning, she suddenly started spinning like a corkscrew, kicking away all the ponies that crowded her in seconds before flipping over onto her feet. Hessonite was ready for a fight one way or another.
"WHOA, hold on!" Flint shouted, trying to calm her down, but Hessonite just needed to see the pistol in his hand to jump at him. He couldn't even comprehend what happened next: Hessonite knocked the pistol out of Flint's hand and sent it flying into the air spinning, and while it did that she got behind the fighting Gem and kicked him right off his feet, only to do a side kick to send Flint spinning in the air before he landed on his back. Hessonite then stood on top of him, and caught the pistol in the air, aiming it directly at everyone else.
"Scatter!" Everyone scrambled out of the way of Hessonite's shots, though only Bismuth turned her hands into shields and blocked off much of the pistol's shots.
"Hold on a minute Hess, calm down!" shouted Bismuth.
"Nice try, but you really think you can keep me locked up without a fight?" Hessonite questioned, before firing away again. Hessonite didn't give them a chance to say anything, as she changed targets and started firing away at whatever Gem was in the room. The ONLY moment she stopped was when the pistol actually started to lose power.
"Overheated. Fine, I don't need a simple shooter to deal with this," Hessonite said, throwing the pistol aside, and was just about to charge -
"HOLD IT!!!"
FINALLY, Hessonite hit the breaks in her assault when Rainbow Dash and Applejack got in her way, stopping almost on a dime when the two showed themselves.
"COOL YOUR JETS A MINUTE!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "There's no war anymore! Nobody's enemy-labeled here, it's. Chill."
Thank the stars SOMEONE said something to Hessonite at this point, otherwise the trigger-happy admiral would've been all over everyone. The news though did make Hessonite pause for the first time in minutes.
"... Excuse me?"
"We're NOT in the war anymore, that's been and done for, hay, thousands of years now. So if you can just calm down and NOT try to kill everyone, we'll catch you up on what you missed," Applejack explained. Hessonite did not look like she was trusting any of them though, keeping a strong guard up although standing at attention.
"Heh. Me to listen to an organic. As if," Hessonite remarked.
"OKAY, how about you listen to me then?" Emerald said, quickly getting in between them before it could spiral down any further. Hessonite needed only one look at Emerald to feel almost appalled.
"Emerald! Is that really you? My stars, what did those Crystal Gems do to you?" Hessonite questioned, though she sounded more disgusted than worried for him.
Emerald groaned, "K, look we're NOT in the war anymore, it's been done, EVERYONE'S happy with eachother now! So can you just calm down and hear us out PLEASE?"
Hessonite quieted down for a minute or so, taking in what he just said. So many different Gems, some of which were defective, not to mention all of the Organics stuck with them too. But then her eyes began to drift over towards Steven Universe. He may appear Human, but there was something else about him that made her feel … uncomfortable. Steven for one didn't realize his shirt had gone up when he dove aside, revealing the gemstone underneath, and just seeing THAT made her step back a bit.
"Then where even are we? And what in the stars is that?" Hessonite demanded, pointing directly at Steven. Steven got up, realizing his gemstone was shown before he tucked his shirt back down.
"That used to be a loaded question, but now I can say with full confidence that I'm Steven Universe," Steven explained, "And you're in Little Homeworld."
"Little Homeworld? I swear, if Homeworld is destroyed while I was gone, so help me -" Hessonite paused when she felt her hair, which as she remembered wasn't as prominent as it was before. Her hands examined the afro she had on.
"Eh, here let me catch you up a bit. You've probably been corrupted by the Diamond Attack here on Earth but we healed you and brought you back," explained Steven. Hessonite scoffed at the very idea. Why would the Diamond Authority EVER do something so cruel to her? That doubt was written all over her face in a sort of sneer.
"Don't think she believes us," said Spinel. But upon seeing Spinel, Hessonite grew a bit judgeful again but rather than point her out, she instead went on moving again. Her speed almost rivaled Fulgurite, only taking one lunge to get outside of the tower and out into the open, landing five feet from the door.
Little Homeworld was NOT ready for her appearance, not by a long shot, and in some weird way Hessonite wasn't ready to see the place either. It looked pretty far into construction, but it still had a ways to go before it could fully be done. The settlement was just Homeworld enough for Hessonite to think this actually was a colony of some sort, but seeing other species going about within the settlement, including some Human and Pony visitors to Little Homeworld for some extra aid. Hessonite looked back and forth, all around her at what kind of world she woke up into.
It didn't feel right.
"This place is infested," exclaimed Hessonite, "How can this be considered a Gem colony with all of these organics walking around the place? Who's in charge here anyway?!"
"Not even five minutes and already the big questions," sighed Fulgurite, hand to forehead as everyone else walked outside of the tower. Steven went forward.
"Hmm … actually, I don't think anyone's "in charge" of Little Homeworld. Everyone's free to be whatever they want here. No one has to be what they're made to do, they can be whatever they like," Steven explained. Hessonite looked to all of the Harmony Gems and scolded.
"No wonder this place is such a mess," Hessonite scolded, "Letting all these humans and those four-legged vermin mess around with everything's leaving a bad smell all over the place."
"Hey!" snapped Twilight.
"Excuse me? You take that back right now," Rarity exclaimed, not believing what she had just heard. Hessonite simply ignored her, and looked over to the Warp Pad.
"Emerald, Diopside, you two come with me, you're only embarrassing yourselves here. … And GET OUT OF THAT FORM, Emerald. Any real Emerald would be caught dead being seen like that," Hessonite instructed, ready to go back to the actual Homeworld.
"Why you gotta make it personal?" Emerald mumbled. And surprisingly, Diopside and Emerald were actually going to do that before Steven jumped in the way.
"Steven, no!" yelped Jade, but it didn't do much.
"Wait a minute, you can't just take them away! They can decide if they want to go with you," Steven retorted.
"Don't talk back to nobility, you insulant pebble! As soon as I talk to whatever Diamond's in charge of this planet, this colony will be back in shape in no time WITHOUT all the organics running around. Where is she anyway?"
"He's the one you just called an insulant pebble, jerk!" Spinel shouted, "LOOK!"
And almost unprompted, Spinel pulled up Steven's shirt and showed Hessonite the same gemstone Hessonite saw earlier. While still grossed out, Hessonite didn't seem convinced.
"What does this prove? I can see it has a gemstone … disgusting," Hessonite said, blocking the view with her hand as she turned her head away.
"You know any Humans that have gemstones? HE'S royalty, right Steve-O? Go on, show her!" Spinel insisted. She wasn't gonna stand by and watch Hessonite insult her bestie right in front of her. Steven though had to make it clear for Spinel, leaning closer to her as she released his shirt.
"Spinel, I can't. Rejuvenated, remember?" Steven whispered. Spinel immediately clammed up after hearing that.
"... oh yeah."
"I don't have time for any of this. Diopside, Emerald, let's get out of here," Hessonite instructed. Hessonite started to go onto the Warp Pad, but Diopside and Emerald didn't move at first, a bit reluctant. Hessonite took a breath, and then she gave them a glare that would give the Diamonds shivers.
"You coming, or do you need an invitation?"
"N-No, we're coming. We'll be right back," Diopside said, reluctantly joining her on the Warp Pad alongside Emerald. Diopside stood at attention right beside her, diamond insignia and everything. Emerald didn't need to do the insignia, but he still had to stand next to her at attention in spite of everything.
"Guys wait -"
"They'll be back. Watch," Sapphire said suddenly, holding Steven's arm. Hessonite got the Warp Pad working and soon she, Emerald and Diopside teleported away in a quick warpstream, leaving Earth behind them ...
...
Seconds later, they came right on back. Covered in confetti and streamers.
"So THAT'S where my second party bomb went to!" Pinkie exclaimed in realization. Hessonite looked simply stunned, spitting out some bits of confetti before she pulled out a streamer from her hair.
"Hessonite, listen. Before you get mad, please hear us out before you decide to destroy the world okay? We'll explain everything and catch you up on what you missed," Steven promised. Hessonite still needed a moment to actually get herself together from the potential destruction that was Pinkie's surprise party bomb.
"...…. Fine. But if I don't like what I hear -"
"You'll kill me, I know, let's just go," Steven sighed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't used to it by this point.
"What? I was going to say have you reported. I'm not a barbarian," Hessonite corrected, embarrassing Steven a little.
"Debatable," Spinel whispered.
~~~~~~
"And that's the whole story. Thoughts?"
Avoiding another fight at last, the entire group sat down with Hessonite and basically explained everything to her. The details to some of the events were filled in by Lapis Lazuli and Pinkie Pie, and they made sure that Hessonite got the full story on the state of the planet, and why the Diamond Authority wasn't after them anymore. They kept their chat inside the Little Homeworld tower too instead of outside in the open (mainly Hessonite's idea since she looked stupid with all that stuff on her).
Hessonite took a long breath, hands through her hair.
"Let me get this right. The entire Gem War has been over, and the Diamond Authority. The entire authority. Now tolerate you for saving Homeworld …"
"You got it," said Spinel.
"And NOW, even after all of that, the Diamonds decided to make this an independent colony under your name?"
"Eh, it's not under my "name" exactly, and it started off as just somewhere for the healed Gems to live, but in the end, we're trying to make this a colony for anyone and everyone, where you don't have to follow the Diamond rules anymore. You can just be yourself, or even live on Earth if you'd like," Steven explained. Hessonite still wasn't sure how real any of this stuff was, but there wasn't any indication they were lying either. After all, Emerald and Diopside were believing it all and as far as she knew, they were on her side.
"How long was I gone again? …"
"Well you've been missing since the very end of the Gem War, so I'd say … 5,005 years? 5,006?" Lapis figured. The exact date she couldn't get since she never actually saw Hessonite go missing herself. Still the number was enough to make Hessonite nearly collapse, resting on the side of the nearest wall for support.
"Oh boy," sighed Applejack. "Thinkin this is too much for her on the first day."
"Maybe, but I can't say I blame her. It's a lot of change that's happened after thousands of years, and she's been left behind through all of it," Bismuth replied, speaking as a Gem from a similar situation. Of course she adapted quicker than Hessonite did.
"Hey, Hessonite. We know it's a lot to take in, and if you need a minute alone to work it all out we'll let you do that," Steven offered, hand on her back. Hessonite didn't say anything at first, taking in much of what he actually was saying this colony was about and what she had missed. There was no war. The Diamonds weren't against the Crystal Gems. But one part kept sticking out in her mind, namely about the colony.
With that particular thought building up in her head on what it actually meant, she stood back up and turned back to them … tossing her cape in a dramatic fashion.
"Alright. If that's how this colony is supposed to function, then worry not, I will be glad to follows your rules. All of this "independence" and stuff," Hessonite said, a bit confident in what she said.
"... Um … okay? Great! We'll show you how things work when we -"
"No need," Hessonite insisted. "I think I understand exactly what your policy is."
"You do?" questioned Twilight.
Hessonite, confidence regained, walked right back out of the Little Homeworld tower. She may seem like she got it down and was willing to try it, but as she began walking over towards the Warp Pad, something started to feel a little uneasy. What was going through this reformed Gem's mind?
Well they all were about to find out, as Hessonite brought out her hand, her thumb and pointer finger brought together. Emerald and Diopside knew instinctively what this meant, and Emerald immediately covered his ears.
"You guys might wanna cover your ears," Diopside warned, quickly covering her own.
"Why?" asked Spinel.
Then came Hessonite's whistle. A whistle she would use back in the war to call in her entire army at once, and now she was using that same velocity right in Little Homeworld. Any and ALL Gems within the radius of the entire colony stopped dead in their tracks with a jolt, their ears filled with the piercing sound of Hessonite's call. ALL of the Gems, once corrupted or just visiting Little Homeworld, knew exactly what kind of call that belonged to, giving Hessonite their attention. The Harmony Gems were lucky not to lose their hearing, especially with what Hessonite said next.
"Now that I have your attention, your "Steven Universe" has told me that there is no one placed in charge of this colony. That Earth is a so-called "independent planet". Well, since all of you might still be confused, I'll save you the trouble and be in charge of this colony from now on," Hessonite announced.
"WHAT?!" immediately this rang alarms to the Harmony Gems and they immediately started heading right for her. Hessonite though quickly planned the assault and "teleported" out of the way, just to knock them all down in one single motion.
"The hay?! You literally just said you're gonna follow our rules!" Applejack shouted, dazed but ready to fight anyway. Hessonite smirked.
"Aren't I?"
"You're not! This is an independent colony, we just told you that, you can't just proclaim yourself as the leader like this," Steven insisted. Hessonite wasn't too intimidated.
"I heard what you all said. And didn't you also say something about Gems being free to do whatever they want?" Hessonite questioned.
"What about it?" asked Fulgurite.
"So, that means I should be free to do what I want. Which means, I want to be in charge of this Gem colony. Is that gonna be a problem?"
They cannot believe what they just heard.
"Ok, let me rephrase: you're free to do whatever you want … so long as it's not destroying planets or world domination," Steven corrected. Hessonite seemingly suspected this kind of talk, and just laughed.
"That's NOT what you all said a second ago. Besides, you said it yourself, there's no diamond in charge of this planet. So, who's going to stop me from leading this colony? You wouldn't want to break your own rules by fighting my freedom, do you?" Hessonite said, true that her plan would work to get this colony on track. The Harmony Gems actually started to notice some confusion among the crowd nearby, wondering what they were gonna do now.
"Huddle up?" Spinel asked.
"Huddle up," said Steven. Hessonite brought her attention over back to the crowd as the Harmony Gems went right back together nearby the Little Homeworld Tower.
"Can you believe that? We just saved her life from thousands of years of corruption, and she thanks us by taking over Little Homeworld?" Fulgurite started.
"Actually yeah, I can totally believe that," admitted Diopside.
"Well what're we gonna do?" asked Steven. "She's right, we can't just make her leave."
"Why not? Steven, it's clear she's NOT going to cooperate with Era 3 like us. Did you not hear her call us vermin?" Rarity said with spite.
"Hessonite said it: we're making Little Homeworld so everyone can be free to do what they want, and now we want to kick her out for the same reason? How're we gonna help keep track of Little Homeworld if we can't stay on the track?" Steven explained.
"Steven, as long as you know you're right, it's okay to bend the rules a bit. Besides, we're talking about Hessonite here," insisted Lapis. There're was some of the group of course who were willing to at least try.
"I tried to destroy the planet but you let me stay, she's just taking over Little Homeworld, so why not try to let Hessonite stay?" Spinel reminded.
"You're just a silly Gem make to be played with. Eh, no offense," said Emerald, "You're not gonna turn over a Gem admiral that easily."
"This isn't about turning over anybody, it's just about making sure she doesn't cause trouble. Heck, maybe she'll actually make Little Homeworld better," Steven insisted.
"How hard did ya get hit, boy?" Emerald remarked.
"Watch it," warned Spinel.
"Hmm, well it's not like we're gonna be good models by breaking our own rules. The least we can do is keep an eye on her and see what happens," Twilight concluded.
"Okay, we'll try it. But can we agree to actually try and stop her if it gets too bad?" Lapis asked.
"Oh, sure we can," Steven said.
Though deep down, Steven was hoping they wouldn't have to come to that, but who knew aside from Sapphire what could be in the future? With that decision all made, the Harmony Gems went back towards Hessonite, who while she did move, didn't go too far as she was still addressing the Gems at attention. Hessonite turned to face the Harmony Gems.
"Ok, we talked it out, and we're going to give you a chance at leading Little Homeworld," Lapis revealed.
"Are you now? Well, if you all want me, then I'll gladly accept -"
"BUT," cut in Spinel, "We're gonna watch you and see how you do."
"I beg your pardon?" Hessonite questioned, no longer as cheerful about it.
"Just for a day or two, Hessonite, we're not gonna jump at you right away. I know we said you can do whatever you want, but we got our limits too, so keep that in mind while you keep charge," Bismuth explained. Hessonite wasn't impressed all that much, despite the fact they were letting her do this at all.
"That's not something you need to worry about," Hessonite "reassured", "I've always dealt with armies in the thousands, so I'm more than capable of dealing with one small colony."
"True facts right there," Diopside said.
"Not exactly what we meant, but good to know you're familiar with this," Steven said. Now typically a headstrong leader would leave it at that, but Hessonite felt a little bit playful so she decided to humor them a little bit, even if she already knew the answer.
"Well what did you mean? Is there something else about me that you wanted to keep in check?" Hessonite asked with a smirk.
"It's not like there's something else wrong about you, it's like uh … like uh -"
"Like an entrance exam!" said Pinkie Pie.
Why didn't they think of that earlier?
"... Like an entrance exam!" Steven said, actually liking the idea even better, "If you pass then you get to lead Little Homeworld. If you don't then you gotta stop taking over."
Hessonite simply looked down to Steven for a moment or two, still remembering the big story they explained to her. They didn't forget to tell her about Steven's mother and where her gemstone had ended up - it was one of the core details they had to explain to everyone - but soon Hessonite extended her hand to Steven.
"I'm sure I'll pass, but you are half-Diamond, so I'll half-listen. If you want to test me, then I'll take your little test. Then you'll just see how a colony is supposed to be handled."
Call it cocky of her, but at least Hessonite was somewhat agreeing to their terms without twisting it around this time. Steven shook her hand.
"And thus begins the longest day in history," Emerald sighed.
~~~~~~
And indeed did it start. Hessonite began her work on Little Homeworld in no time at all, placing some of her own rules and regulations in place as some of the Harmony Gems stuck around to watch her do her work. The main ones keeping an eye on her at first were Steven, Spinel, and Pinkie Pie, though they all had their rotations as the rest had their own work to do. Flint and Jade had more free time now at long last, with all Corrupted Gems to their knowledge healed so Nephrite could take a break. Despite that though, the ones that stuck with Hessonite the most outside of the prementioned trio were Diopside and Emerald, only because Hessonite instructed them both to. Hessonite's subordinates followed her close behind on her instruction, Emerald just floating on his hexagon as Diopside walked alongside Hessonite like a Pearl would to her master.
Emerald also had to make some changes to his attire: now in a standard green Homeworld outfit. Hessonite did allow him to keep his normal teeth and hairstyle.
"So now that we got our agreement settled, would one of you tell me why you're allowing all of these … "organics" to walk around here?" Hessonite asked while they were walking through.
"They've been coming around here for years," said Diopside, "their kind helped save Homeworld too kind of."
"Kind of," repeated Hessonite. Emerald and Diopside were on thin ice with this Gem, both knowing first hand just how dangerous Hess actually was, and how much Hessonite herself knew it.
"Well ok, not kind of, definitely -"
"Now Emerald, don't change your story, you're only going to embarrass yourself again. Still, I'll allow your slip up this time," Hessonite said, slight pompous in her tone.
"... Gee thanks. How generous of you," Emerald said, not really having much fun at all. So far the walk through Little Homeworld didn't seem like anything exciting, but as they continued on, Hessonite began to notice one particular organic starting to come by the place today. Though it wasn't exactly the organic herself that got Hessonite a bit curious.
"Is that who it looks like?" Hessonite questioned.
*BAM!* "WHY YOU -" *CRASH*
"Not again," Diopside groaned. As if now wasn't the worst time for another Quartz fight to break out in Little Homeworld. Emerald, Diopside, and Hessonite soon began seeing the combatants off further down the road. Hessonite will look into her own matter later, but for now, she decided to go and investigate all the racket.
Sure enough, the three Gems soon found themselves at least three different Quartzes in the middle of another skirmish, with Jasper being the one to start it off again. It looked like the fight just got started since there wasn't as much damage around Little Homeworld this time.
"Is that all you GOT?!" Jasper laughed, bringing forward another punch to an oncoming Amethyst, sending her careening off a bit. Hessonite saw this and simply smiled.
"Uh oh. Emerald? She's got that smile again," Diopside gulped.
"Hang on, I got this -"
Hessonite already started walking right to the middle of the fighting ring, cracking her knuckles and getting her shoulders loose. Emerald and Diopside weren't sure if they should be worried about Hessonite or the Quartzes, but they soon got that answer when one of the fighting Amethysts actually saw Hessonite start to come over towards them.
"And who said you all can make a arena out of this side-street?" Hessonite asked.
"Y-Your clarity!" the Quartzes exclaimed, almost immediately giving Hessonite the respected diamond insignias that she was more comfortable with. Well, all but Jasper, that is. Hessonite felt pretty good about the response, but signaled out Jasper, who herself was just standing there in confusion more than anything.
"And who are you?" Jasper spat, annoyed that the fight was cut so short. Hessonite paused on the question.
"Who am I? Is that supposed to be a joke, Jasper, because I'll let you know it's not a very good one," Hessonite explained, some added flare by tossing her cape again, to no effect on the quartz. In fact, all Jasper did was huff.
"I don't know who you are, and I don't care, now mind your own business before I smash you along with them," Jasper warned. Hessonite wasn't buying the joke at all, if this was one, but instead of just snapping at her Hessonite decided to once again play along. Jasper was ready to go back and rumble, but Hessonite practically bolted in front of her, now standing in her way.
"Here we go," thought Diopside and Emerald.
"So you think you can smash me huh? I think we got ourselves a bit of a problem," Hessonite said.
"Yeah, you don't know when to stay outta the way," growled Jasper.
"And your problem, my Jasper, is that you don't know that you've already lost," Hessonite said. THAT remark got Jasper's non-existent blood boiling.
"Really?! I can crush you with both hands tied!" Jasper bellowed. Hessonite was actually smirking to the brute of a Gem by this point. Seemed like something she'd want to see, and Hessonite brought her hands out to show what she was going to do, before bringing one hand to her gemstone as it began to glow. She picked this item up, and she was going to save it for later but for the sake of performance she brought it out anyway: a bit of wire rope. Which Hessonite proceeded to bring around behind her back, and with some signaling from a nearby Amethyst, had both her own hands tied behind her back.
"Very funny, I'm talking about my -" *WHACK*
Two seconds, and Jasper was already on the ground again in a single kick!
"I'm sorry Jasper honey, I didn't catch that," Hessonite said. Jasper wasted no more time and jumped back to try and get Hessonite, but Hessonite was blinding quick, each punch given by the angry orange quartz hitting nothing but the air. It didn't even look like Hessonite was running, but only moving in a Fulgurite-speeded blur from point to point, Jasper getting herself one kick after another. Hessonite herself didn't look like she was having any trouble, but as she kept jumping around Jasper, and kept giving her kicks, she actually was starting to get slightly bored, even after Jasper started to roll at her full speed.
When the rolling started was when the actual damage began, Jasper reckless bowling into things left and right to try and get Hessonite only to miss each and every time. At one point, during a dodge of yet another charge from Jasper's rolling, Hessonite jumped up, spread her legs, and in a scissors hit, both her feet whacked both sides of Jasper's head. It was strong enough to crack the visors on the helmet, as Hessonite landed on top of Jasper's aching head.
"Submit?!" Hessonite asked sternly.
"You hardly hit me now GET OFF MY HEAD!" Jasper demanded. Jasper tried reaching her in some quick swings, but Hessonite was almost sprinting in place on top of Jasper's head. Eventually this stomping went so fast, Hessonite was practically a jackhammer, drilling Jasper's head into the hard cold ground. Only then did Hessonite step off of Jasper's head as if she was a stepping stone, the dazed Jasper pulling her head out of the dirt, shaking off some stones and snow.
"Now that you know your place again, Jasper, I don't want to see anymore hijinks from ANY of you. I don't want my colony to be turned into a miserable crater because some of you can't keep it to themselves. Am I understood?"
"Yes, mam," said the worried Quartzes.
"Who're YOU to give me orders? I only take orders from MY superior," Jasper said as she got to her feet. Hessonite shook her head in disappointment.
"Yes, and I am! Don't tell me that I've been gone so long that even you forgot," Hessonite scolded.
"Your NOT my superior, HE IS!" Jasper made clear, pointing directly at Emerald … who slowly moved behind Diopside. Now Hessonite was getting annoyed with Jasper.
"Honestly Jasper, this joke is starting to get old. You don't belong to him, you belong to me!!" Hessonite stated crossly. Jasper and Hessonite stared eachother down, looking ready to fight yet again, but staring Hessonite square in the face started to give Jasper her headache again. One from the slamming she took no doubt.
"I KNOW who my superior is, you idiot, and he's standing right there -"
"AND," cut in Hessonite, "I'm his superior. So that means that all troops that he has under his command are ultimately mine. So …" and she took a step forward towards Jasper, eye to eye with the orange fighter to say the last piece, "You belong to me."
That again came with that horrifying diamond-shivering glare directly at Jasper's face. Jasper barred her sharp teeth like some threatening tiger, but that wasn't gonna be enough to get Hessonite away from her.
"G-Get away from me! You're giving me a headache," Jasper finally said, pushing Hessonite back before she started storming away. She couldn't stand it any further and she'd rather go and destroy something than say Hessonite was in charge of her.
"Wait, which headache? Headache as in pounding your head headache, or headache as in seeing things headache?" Emerald asked, flying by her to get an answer.
"Oh, get outta my way!" Jasper growled, actually slapping him away from her before she stormed off on her way. Emerald fell right down at Hessonite's feet as he, Diopside, and the remaining Gems just watched Jasper walk out of sight, the orange Gem looking ready to shatter the next thing in her way.
"Tell Jasper that she doesn't have to keep playing her game next time I see her. Now one of you untie the wire for me, will you?" Hessonite asked, turning to Diopside and Emerald and showing her tied hands from under her cape.
"Should we uh …?" Diopside whispered.
"I don't think it matters," Emerald replied.
After all of that played out, Steven, Pinkie, and Spinel got some bit of their points handled just from that performance alone. In case you're wondering, the three were watching off from a nearby rooftop, Spinel's eyes like binoculars (and being held the same way) as keen eye Pinkie wrote it down on some conveniently available papers in a notebook.
…….
*RAAAWWWRRR!*
With free time on their hands, and no more corrupted Gems to actually heal, some of the Harmony Gems got themselves over to the Sky Arena for some well-deserved fun practice. The training was not as forceful or dangerous as Jasper's training, so this was more in good fun, even if that meant Connie doing some practice with Jade's pre-made Chinese Dragon made of holograms. Connie kept her sword at the ready as the Dragon loomed overhead, shining off of the light of the winter sun. Much of the training was speedy lunges and a few swipes of the claws, which Connie was handling fairly easily herself. Connie had some extra audience in this little session (outside of Pearl) with Flint, Rarity, Starlight, Fluttershy, and even her own mother present to observe.
"Okay, almost got it," Connie told herself, "Just gotta aim high."
The emerald Dragon swirled around in the air some more like a cyclone before diving down for Connie one final time, roar echoing from its mouth. Connie got into her fighting stance, sword gripped hard in both hands. She took a deep breath, and then all she had to do was give one strong forward slice, landing right on the Dragon's head.
The emerald Dragon yelped, and suddenly its whole body went completely stiff like a stick, before poofing away to basically nothing.
"Well done, Connie, that was simply marvelous!" Rarity called, her joining the others in a round of applause.
"Excellent, my Ms. Maheswaran!" added Pearl. Connie took a moment to wipe away at the sweat from her forehead. Even in the winter chill she got herself some sweat from the training of hers. The first to reach her though was Priyanka, relieved to see that Connie made it through all of that alright.
"Oh my goodness, you're alright. You are, are you? That Dragon wasn't too rough, was it?" Priyanka asked.
"I'm just fine, mom, just a little tired. Thanks again for being my sparring partner Jade," Connie said, looking to Jade who needed a bit to relax herself.
"That's good … now can you please put on your coat now, before you catch a cold?" Priyanka asked, holding Connie's coat for her. Moms will be moms, and since Connie was finished fighting for now, Connie just smiled and took the coat.
"Alright mom," Connie simply said, putting on her green hoodie. The hoodie was fine and all, but Pearl also had a few things with her to keep her master warm, namely a few scarfs at her convenience, one of which Connie actually ended up being wrapped around her neck.
"Allow me to keep you nice and cozy, Ms. Maheswaran. … Better make it two," Pearl concluded, feeling a cold breeze go by her for a moment. Connie pushed the second scarf back so Pearl could stop, pulling the first scarf away from her mouth.
"I'm fine with just a coat, Pearl, really. You wear it," Connie insisted.
"As you command," Pearl simply said with a smile, wrapping the scarf around her own neck. Not the results they were hoping for.
"It's still not bringing anything back yet?" Fluttershy asked after a bit, as Connie took a seat back with the rest.
"I swear I thought this would do something. Pearl and I trained here almost every week. Maybe we need something deeper than that," Connie said in dismay. She was about to open a water canister when Pearl then summoned up what looked like a juice box.
"A refreshment?" Pearl offered.
"No thanks, Pearl, my mom already made me some warm tea," Connie said, showing the container in hand before she started drinking. Pearl paused and saw Priyanka for a brief moment. The smile didn't change, but Connie and her keen eyes started to notice a hint of … well, of something. It was a little hard to tell what it was, but Pearl just stood aside, holding her juice in hand briefly before she just placed it down.
"Alright. It'll be right here if you ever need it," Pearl said.
"Did she look jealous just now?" Connie thought. She wasn't sure if the others noticed it or not, but she did see that her mom was happier that Connie took her drink over Pearl's drink.
However, as they were still trying to figure out how to handle this situation, the Sky Arena wasn't left alone to them for much longer, as someone began to appear over by the entranceway to the Sky Arena.
"So I wasn't mistaken after all," said a familiar yet not-so-friendly voice.
Coming down the stairs towards them, Hessonite had found her way over to the arena, not only wanting to check out some nostalgia, but apparently curious over who was there as well. At least there was some Gems there for some "decent" company, outside of all the Humans and Ponies.
"You," Rarity hissed. Hessonite walked right on down, Diopside and Emerald moving over to the others.
"What's she doing here?" Rarity questioned.
"She wanted to take a trip down memory lane and see some of the old sites," said Diopside.
"She's not giving you too much trouble is she?" Jade asked worriedly.
"No, but Jasper's ticked off now. That's all I gotta say about that," Emerald replied. They'd rather not go into details about it. Meanwhile, Hessonite took a good look around the whole arena, or rather what was left of it. But for the majority of her attention, that was given over towards Connie and Pearl.
"Ah. The Renegade Pearl. I knew you looked somewhat familiar," Hessonite correctly presumed. Pearl stayed quiet, with her memory wiped and all she wasn't reacting too shocked about the sudden realization.
"You knew Pearl too?" Diopside asked.
"I think we're missing something here, who even is she?" Starlight asked.
"She's the Hessonite we told you about, the final corrupted Gem we healed just this morning … the one who proclaimed herself leader of Little Homeworld," reminded Flint. As for Connie and Pearl, Hessonite stepped over towards them, giving them both a look over.
"Is this what it looks like? A Pearl being owned by … a human?" Hessonite questioned. Connie was about to correct her about it, but Pearl was already talking to Hessonite.
"I've been assigned to my Ms. Maheswaran for a few weeks now, and even as a Human she's such a generous and perfect owner."
This just made Hessonite shake her head with a grin.
"OOHH And here I thought Jasper was the one playing games. You've isolated yourself here for so long, you'll literally follow the first thing that takes you in. Even if it meant following under that barker," Hessonite stated. Surprisingly, Priyanka actually took a step towards her.
"That "barker" happens to be my daughter," Priyanka said. Hessonite wasn't too impressed with Priyanka's "brave" stance against her.
"Did you come here just to mock us, or is there something you actually want here? Because if not, then maybe go somewhere else," suggested Starlight Glimmer, not too keen on her organic mockery either. She heard more than enough of them while working under White, she didn't want more of it from this new Gem.
Hessonite didn't answer in the form of a word, but instead she reached for the gemstone on her chest. Emerald and Diopside weren't sure if she was going for the wire rope again, but this time the object that came out was something almost all Gems had on them - her Gem weapon. Her summoned weapon turned out to be a pink-bladed sword resembling a wider-bladed French rapier, with a teal edge similar to Rose's Sword but with a slender blade and golden hand-guard.
"I wanted to relive the nostalgia for a while before getting back to work," Hessonite said, her sword aimed to the light at the ready, "The only thing I need now is a partner. I promise I won't be that hard on any of you …"
"A partner?" asked Diopside.
"OKAY, I'll do it," Flint immediately said. If anyone was going to fight Hessonite, might as well be him, but the others didn't forget how quickly he got knocked down on the first meeting. He got out his weapon of choice, which was both of his fighting pistols loaded and at the ready. Hessonite found this amusing, but the others were concerned.
"Whoa whoa whoa, you sure you wanna do this Flint? We just say her clobber Jasper without her hands, and she already beat your butt back on Little Homeworld," said Emerald, going by his head on a hexagon.
"She's not the same as other Garnets, Flint. You have no idea what she's capable of," Diopside added, holding him by the arm so he wouldn't go.
"It'll be okay, it's just a training session. You all might want to keep your distance," Flint advised.
What started off as Connie's training to try and regain Pearl's memories now turned into a duel match between Hessonite and Pearl. With everyone off watching afar from the stands, Flint and Hessonite stood facing eachother, ten feet of distance between eachother out near the center of the arena. A swordsman verses a marksman, round two. And this time Flint was more mentally prepared.
"Nice of you to join me again, though I should warn you: I am a bit of a legend you know. I always win," Hessonite warned.
"I never heard of you once. And NO, that's not a joke."
"Hmm? In that case, Looks like I'll be introducing myself."
And then the training began, Hessonite charging forward first. Being already lightning quick, Hessonite actually had to slow down in order to keep a more decent speed. Still, Flint had just seconds to retaliate and he rolled to the side to dodge the oncoming charge, the sword missing him and striking some debris. The clean slice cut it in two before she took that same stone, knocked it into the air, and kicked it right to Flint. Flint got himself on his feet, and just managed to shoot the rock into pebbles in one blast, followed by a second blast from the dust cloud. The blast from his pistol actually caught Hessonite off guard, and she jumped out of the way as the shot launched off into the sky to who knows where.
Now that Flint was more focused, the fight itself lasted much longer than before and both sides were actually pretty even with eachother, with Flint handling the distant projectiles with occasional close combat while Hessonite was constantly trying to close the gap while dodging the pistol shots as they nearly grazed her, bouncing off the ground or hitting air. The crowd watching can say the same for Hessonite's sword as well. Flint adjusted his pistol at one point for a more powerful shot, but Hessonite just dodged the explosive hit.
"My, this Gem knows his stuff. He's actually keeping me on my toes. Time to show him what I can really do," Hessonite thought during a dodge.
"Hessonite's stronger than I thought. I need to adjust myself, or I'm going to lose this," thought Flint, adjusting the settings on his pistol. Hessonite landed right on her feet in a flip, and propelled herself directly for Flint, getting the first full hit out of the fight.
And Flint responded to this with a desperate headbutt, his gemstone right between her eyes!
That strike was enough to halt Hessonite briefly, though Hessonite being more surprised Flint basically did a Gem suicide move so quickly, and so suddenly. Flint's gemstone was still in tact from the blunt force, and gave him enough time to fully adjust his pistols and start firing again, this time the shots being rapid fire. Hessonite leaped into the air, dodging some of the shots and using her sword to deflect a few others before landing on her feet again. Flint's friends were starting to get more into the fight, Diopside and Jade especially beginning to cheer for him to win.
Hessonite rushed forward again, though this time Flint's pistils collided in an X to hold back Hessonite's sword, leaving the two looking right at eachother.
"You're actually starting to impress me, Flint," Hessonite said, "You're the first good fight I've had all day. Maybe I can make you one of my generals when I'm finished."
"Thanks, but I've had enough of the war life. I've lived through that a bit too much," Flint replied, before he stepped aside to let the sword slice downward to the ground. Hessonite attempted a sideswipe of her sword, but again Flint dodged it in a duck to the ground. But he made one little mistake … getting back up.
*WHACK!*
"W-What?! I just dodged that!" Flint thought as he felt the blunt end of that same sword motion strike the back of his head. It actually cut a slight bit of his hair as he was knocked head over heels, wheeling at least three times before finding his footing again.
"Flint! Incoming!" Diopside called, getting Flint to look upward just to see Hessonite fly down towards him. It was the headstart he needed to get moving again and get him rushing forward, and turning around in a skid.
But now came the move that changed the fight, but not how they think: Flint aimed his pistol right at her and then released a powerful shot directly at her. Hessonite used her sword and sliced the blast in two, and while one half flew off and struck a pillar, the other shot flew upward. Right for the crowd!
"Look out!" Starlight shouted.
*BOOM!*
It just had to be an explosive shot of all things, Flint suddenly stopping when he realized what just happened, and seeing who it actually hit. Hessonite took her chance though, and rushed him, knocking him onto his feet and as before, standing on him and pinning him down. Hessonite felt good with her victory, but Flint wasn't caring about that fight now as he looked back to everyone up in the seats.
Starlight Glimmer's forcefield spell saved A LOT of damage, the dust clearing and revealing the unicorn's spell active and saving everyone from the explosion. Well, almost everyone. Pearl was standing in front of everyone. Just standing.
"Pearl?"
"Oh, don't worry. I feel fine," Pearl said with a smile as she turned around to them all. Her smile innocent.
And her gemstone looking almost shattered!
"Holy - STOP THE FIGHT, WE GOT A NEAR-SHATTERED GEM HERE!"
"What?" Hessonite said. In saying that, Flint clocked her under her jaw with an uppercut kick, before jumping up to his feet and running right back towards the crowd, all of them now worried over Pearl's very cracked gemstone.
"Oh no, everyone okay?" Flint asked urgently.
"We are, but Pearl took the hit from your pistol shot. It's a direct hit too," said Jade, Pearl turning to him, making him step back in surprise. Hessonite was gonna remark about it, but she too saw the Pearl standing there with her Gem almost in shards.
"What level did you put your weapon on?" Hessonite asked, impressed and disturbed by the damage in one hit.
"Does it even matter?! Come on, let's get her to a fountain before her gemstone crumbles away," Flint quickly instructed.
"No need. As long as my Ms. Maheswaran's safe and sound, I'm happy to be just the way I am," Pearl said, disturbingly innocent.
"You won't be anything for long, not with that crack!" Emerald shouted, trying to make Pearl move. But once again, Hessonite took action again, trying to reach her, only for Flint to grab her by the arm.
"Don't you take another step to her," Flint warned. "You're not taking her with you."
"Oh stars, Of course not! I would never show any Gem in this state. Besides, she wouldn't last long enough in some fountain at her condition anyway."
"Oh, and you got a better idea?" asked Rarity. Hessonite actually went over to the highly damaged Pearl, and held her close, one arm wrapped around her in spite of everyone's main feelings towards her.
"Naturally. None of you need to freak out, I'll schedule an appointment for her at The Reef, and I'll return your Pearl functional and in one piece as soon as I'm able to," Hessonite explained, not AS boastful this time and actually being serious about the treatment.
"Wait, what even is -" before Connie could finish, Hessonite held Pearl tight, and in a bolt, disappeared from sight in a yellowish blur. Wherever The Reef was, or even is, Hessonite and Pearl were already gone going right for it.
"I'm very sorry for this," Flint finally said.
…
Pinkie, Steven, and Spinel wished they could've done something for this. Spinel saw the entire thing go down through a submarine telescope outta her eye, peeking passed the remaining arena wall. Once everything was done, she retracted her eye, looking over to Pinkie and Steven, both of them just sitting there. Steven felt a bit uneasy the most, given he couldn't actually heal Pearl anymore until he would get his own powers back, and without knowing where this "Reef" is, how was he supposed to follow either? All they did do was write down more on Hessonite's performance, noting how quickly she was to help Pearl out.
…….
Now on her own, and after her short trip to The Reef, Hessonite had at least a few more spots to make before she would go on back to Little Homeworld, as she finished her travel on the Warp Pad to her final destination. For any colony to actually be successful after all, they need a proper Kindergarten to function. What better one to check then, than the Prime Kindergarten itself. Too bad the Kindergarten itself in recent years hasn't shown too much for itself other than stray rocks and tons of holes. Nothing as impressive anymore.
Hessonite began to go on exploring what remained of the Prime Kindergarten from there. Rather than bolt her way around she just went for a more casual walk, not finding too much activity within the place outside of the typical stuff. Some worn out Gem Injectors, some which were still smashed and broken on the ground, holes of numerous quartz soldiers now just sitting there abandoned.
"Just look at this place. How's any colony going to function with a Kindergarten like this?" Hessonite wondered, "Those kindergarteners didn't know what they were doing, wasting all the materials here at once. There HAS to be something left to revive this Kindergarten."
Hessonite eventually started to notice some of the holes nearby, one small one in particular in line to the ground floor.
"What do we have here?" Hessonite pondered. Hessonite kneeled down to the level of the hole, seeing the interior of it in comparison to the much larger ones up above it.
"Not very deep. The poor thing must've came out too late. Ah well, I'll just need to -"
"Hey buddy!" a voice suddenly shouted, a hand grabbing Hessonite by the shoulder. Naturally Hessonite was ready to fight a battle again as any war admiral would, but seeing who it actually was made Hessonite lower her guard slightly.
"Get outta my hole," said Amethyst. No, her so-called "general" attire didn't change, so in some way Amethyst didn't know who this was (not that it would matter given how she spent all her life on Earth). Hessonite stood up straight, turning to face her.
"Oh. So this is your hole?" questioned Hess.
"Yep, that's right. I used to live here, but now I just come by time to time and visit, see how the Fam's doing."
"The … fam?" Hessonite asked quizzically. Amethyst then saw a larger rock off nearby, a fairly big one at that.
"HEY, how're you doing? Aww, did you get taller? Hang on, I got a visitor. …" she turned to Hessonite. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
"Watch your tone, you little pebble!" Hessonite scolded, "Do you even know who -"
Hessonite suddenly paused. She wasn't blind, and had been seeing the patterns between the Gems she was meeting before.
"No, Hessonite. Try this again. … Do you really know who I am, or don't you? And if not, how much do you remember of the Gem War?" Hessonite questioned after calming down.
"Gem what-now? That isn't ringing any bells," Amethyst said, kinda lost in what Hessonite was saying. Now she could understand Pearl and Jasper probably pulling a fast one on her, but Hessonite never met this Gem before, and with no knowledge about the war itself, that only confirmed it.
"Ok. You got a better excuse at least," Hessonite concluded, "So one other question … how long have you been alone?"
"I haven't been alone, I got the fam right here. I've just been busy with the other Gems back home, doing adventures, fighting baddies, that kind of stuff," Amethyst explained. "It's just gotten quiet lately that's all, so I got some free time to check in."
So, a long time Hessonite concluded. It couldn't be over 5,000 years ago since she never heard of the Gem War before, but still a decent time for a Gem to be alone on some weird planet like this.
"In any case, I'm here to check the functions of the Kindergarten. But it seems painfully obvious this hasn't been on working order for thousands of years," Hessonite said.
"Oh yeah, Rose told me about that," Amethyst said, scratching her head, "Well I haven't seen anything "working" here for years, so I don't know what you're expecting to find here."
"You came out, didn't you? Stunted, but you came out, so SOMETHING has to work here. Where's the control room again?" Hessonite wondered. But Amethyst was still on the word "stunted".
"Hold up, what do you mean stunted? K, I'm short, but what's wrong with that huh?" Amethyst asked.
Here we go again.
"You haven't noticed it yet? Every other hole in your wall is much bigger than you are, twice as big. And I can tell you haven't been put in as deep, so odds are that made your growth a bit stunted. In other words, you didn't come out like you should."
"Like I should?" Amethyst questioned. Hessonite presented herself as an example.
"Look at me: I'm a tall Gem. Clean skin, proper appearance modifiers, smooth - … well, somewhat smooth hair. I'm the example of a perfectly made Garnet."
"You're a Garnet too? I thought only my Garnet lived here," Amethyst pondered, actually surprised. Hessonite chuckled.
"Trust me, there's plenty more where I came from. But as for you, the only thing that came out wrong is your size … and maybe your choice of clothes. That means you're not as efficient as Homeworld would like. … For stars, tell me you at least know what Homeworld is."
"Duh, Earth," Amethyst asked. Hessonite sighed, hand to her face. She's farther gone than Hessonite thought.
"You must be an Era 3 Amethyst if you don't even know that much," Hessonite concluded, but she decided to change her tune and smiled to the Amethyst. Stunted or not, she's still a soldier of some sort.
"But you're in luck, my dear Amethyst. I'm in a good mood, so I'll help you take a step in the right direction," Hessonite promised.
"I think I know where my direction is, so why don't you just do what you gotta do," Amethyst suggested, comfortable a little bit for what she was right now. Hessonite paused a bit, looking around the area a bit, and then remembered a little something she saw earlier. It wasn't just the Kindergarten she visited after all.
"It's not everyday I get to find an Amethyst the right size to fit into a patrol Tank, but if you're not interested I understand. Maybe I'll find another stout Amethyst next door in that Beta Kindergarten," Hessonite figured. She turned around and began to walk over towards the Warp Pad when -
"Hold up there, chief. … A TANK?"
"Interested now are we? Typically they're fit for Peridots to operate, but looking at you, hmm …" Hessonite walked back over to Amethyst, looking her over up and down. "You know, looks like your stunted growth actually works. You look just the right size to fit inside one and operate it!"
"Really?! But you just said I didn't come out right."
"And for a standard Amethyst, you are. But a Amethyst patrolling inside a Tank I'm sure makes up for it. And perhaps I might have one on retainer … if you'd like. You should feel honored you know, I don't ask this to just anyone," Hessonite said.
Amethyst paused and had to think on this for a little bit. She just imagined it: her, a top general for the Crystal Gem army holding the flag of the rebellion, standing on top of her very own top-of-the-line battle tank. Hessonite was right about one thing - she wouldn't ask this to just anyone, and what chance would she get again?
"...…. Do I really get to ride in one?"
"Just ride in one? I'll let you even shoot it."
"SHOOT IT?! Er wait, wait, I still got the others to talk to," Amethyst realized. Hessonite didn't mind it.
"Right, your Rose. How's this: you go back and tell your Rose Quartz your plans, and I'll have your tank ready and functional within the "Strawberry Battlefield". As you all keep calling it."
"DEAL!" Amethyst beamed. She then turned to the same rock she was talking to. "Sorry to cut this short, I gotta go. I'll come back later."
The two only had the exit of the Warp Pad to do, so Amethyst raced passed Hessonite after her goodbyes, and quickly went right on her way to tell "Rose Quartz" the good news. Hessonite simply watched the happy Amethyst go off on her own way. She knew she'll meet with her later.
…
One more bit of notes for Steven, Spinel, and Pinkie to accomplish, as the trio watched it all go down this time from one of the higher-up holes on the Prime Kindergarten. Good thing for Portal Keys. Another thing to note about Hessonite's behavior.
~~~~~~
"So it looks like she does have a soft spot for low-ranking Gems, but not so much for high-ranking Gems or to things that are not Gems," Steven concluded to everyone else.
Hessonite hadn't returned just yet, so with all the information they've gathered about her, Spinel, Pinkie, and Steven got their information sent to everyone else available, alongside them sharing what Hessonite did throughout the day. The only other one around for the time being was Padparadscha relaxing over by the Warp Pad as Ruby kept her guarding pace. It wasn't natural, but Padparadscha felt safe to be on her own for a while.
"Great deduction, sherlock hooves, but what're we gonna do with her? I DO NOT wanna relive the days as Hessonite's pawn," Emerald said, really needing an answer for this.
"I thought you said you were a General, Emerald," Flint pointed out.
"Admirals out-rank Generals, and Hessonite's stuck in charge so it doesn't even matter anyway."
"And she's very strong too. I hope Pearl's gonna be okay with her," Fluttershy said.
"Yeah, by the way, what is "The Reef"? She mentioned something about taking Pearl there to make an appointment," Rarity inquired. Lapis and Sapphire actually perked up hearing that mention.
"She's going there? Is that place even operating anymore?"
"I assume you know what that is," Rarity stated.
"I only went there once when Blue Diamond wanted her Pearl to be modified. It's somewhere where Pearls used to be sent to when they're damaged or if their owners just want them modified. But that was centuries ago," Lapis explained, pondering to herself somewhat about the location herself.
"Didn't y'all already have that Melanite girl handling them already?" Applejack asked.
"No, she just makes and distributes them. I don't think she ever did fix any cracked Pearls," Lapis said, though she had to think a little about it. They hadn't checked in on Melanite's practices for a while, but that was not important right now.
"Know where Hess is now?" Bismuth asked.
"She said something about a Tank and some strawberries, so … beats me," Spinel shrugged.
"That's the Strawberry Battlefield! A BIIIG place with floating islands, lots of sharp stuff and ubers upon ubers of strawberries," Pinkie Pie explained to her.
"Huh. Mmkay," Spinel said.
"Well we got to do something about her, and we have to do it soon," said Diopside, "I don't want to stop being me because she's controlling everything."
"Why don't we just drive her out and be done with it? I know it's against the rules, but they're not gonna be a thing if this keeps up," Fulgurite pointed out, ready to just get this over and done.
"After how she acted today, I wouldn't mind that," Rarity said.
"Everyone please, don't jump to conclusions," Sapphire said at a point. "She just returned, and is misguided. You all heard Steven, she does have a soft spot. It's just not a big spot."
"Eh too, Sapphire? You saw her make herself as Little Homeworld's leader on the spot, and twisting our own rules around! Come on, just a quick fight to prove we can take her on!"
"Can we avoid fighting her?!" Steven exclaimed. "Listen, I don't like her behavior anymore than you do, but we need to just show her how things work here a bit more. I mean, she did take her time away to help Pearl out, and they're war enemies!"
"She also played nice with Amethyst too, and she yelled at her face! Doesn't that count for something?" Spinel added.
"That's all fun and good, but how're we going to show that to Hessonite? Take it from me, she's not a Gem to just switch her worldview just like that," asked Emerald, snapping his fingers.
"Halt!"
Off nearby, a reminder of yet another problem just showed herself when Ruby stood in defiance against a passing cat Nora. Nora wasn't even acting vicious, she was just walking by and checking out Little Homeworld for a bit. One of their many targets they got to handle by this point.
"Ruby, calm down, she's not hurting anybody," said Fluttershy, looking to Nora.
"I can't allow such a threatening creature to come near my Sapphire," Ruby said. Nora meowed, which made Ruby flinch and block her way some more.
"She's not threatening, you just need to show her some kindness. Come here, Nora, come here," Fluttershy said. Nora looked over to Ruby one more time before she walked over to Fluttershy, rubbing against her hooves as Fluttershy gently stroked her fur.
"See? She's a sweetheart," Fluttershy said.
"Threat neutralized," Ruby simply said, going back to her post. Not the best response, but at least Ruby didn't beat up Nora.
"What're we gonna do with her?" asked Twilight. There was some thinking, but one Gem finally decided to try her luck. She was the best shot they had yet.
"Let me try to talk to her," Sapphire finally said. Deciding that, she began to move away from the others, and went right over towards the patrolling Ruby with Padparadscha. Padparadscha of course needed a moment or so to realize Sapphire was coming, but Ruby already caught sight of the approaching Gem, jumping up to attention and standing in Sapphire's way, hand raised.
"Halt! - Oh wait. It's you," Ruby said, lowering her guard from her cop stance.
"Hello Ruby. Padparadscha," Sapphire said, hand raised.
"Sapphire's here," Padparadscha then said smiling. Strangely though, with Padparadscha there, Ruby tried not to get too over her head when seeing Sapphire standing there, standing at attention and aside as if Sapphire was going to just pass her to see Padparadscha. Not even started and Sapphire saw better how different this was.
"You don't have to do that Ruby. Actually, I want to talk to you," Sapphire said.
"Huh? Me?" Ruby asked, only to quickly return to her stance when she realized she was off a bit, "E-Er, you'll have to consort with my Sapphire about that."
"No Ruby. You. Please," Sapphire said. Ruby then felt her hand being grabbed, and felt a fluster come up on her already red face. Ruby looked to Padparadscha for some answer on what to do, but Padparadscha didn't give her much of anything.
"U-Uh … Sapphire?"
"Ruby. Look at me, and tell me. Do you remember me?" Sapphire asked, as she moved the hair out of the way of her eye with her free hand, as Ruby found herself gazing into it slightly. One eye of pure wisdom, and something else that Ruby wasn't too sure about. What was this feeling? Whatever it was, it was making her steam up.
"Y-Yeah? We met in that pony settlement. You were standing by my Sapphire -"
"No, before that. Ruby, I know there's something still in there, you got to remember something about me," Sapphire said, holding Ruby's hand a little tighter.
"M-My Sapphire, should I do something?" Ruby asked nervously. She wasn't made to fight a Sapphire after all. Padparadscha did finally respond.
"Oh my! She's going to try and help you remember your past," Padparadscha gasped.
"R-Remember what? My life is to protect you, my Sapphire, what else is there to know?" Ruby asked, confused. Sapphire loosened her grip, taken aback on the response. How could her face NOT trigger at least a headache to the Ruby's memory, especially with how prominent she was throughout her life? Sapphire tried to think, but then glanced down to her own hand, getting an idea.
"Our wedding rings! Ruby, we both got married remember? We both even have our rings for that moment," Sapphire said, smiling as she showed Ruby her own wedding ring. If there was ANYTHING that would trigger something from recent events, it would be that of their Gem Wedding.
"We do?"
"Yes! Ruby, here look -"
Ruby didn't have hers. That was enough to make Sapphire pause. Ruby looked down to her hand too, the same one that would've held her own wedding ring as well. However, it was this moment that something actually started to click. Kind of.
"You're … not wearing it."
"Oh yeah, I remember that now," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head, "I keep getting headaches every time I keep seeing it on my touch stub, or think about it, so I threw it away. I feel so much better now, but I still don't know why that kept happening to me. Oh well, It's not important now."
……. Threw it away. Ruby threw their wedding ring away? Sapphire could feel the ice cover her feet almost immediately, as if lightning struck her right on the head it was so quick. All that showed on her face though was a look of … well, her hair was over her eye again, so kinda hard to tell at first. It wasn't happiness that's for sure.
"... Say that again, Ruby. …"
"I … threw it away?" Ruby repeated, confused.
"Oh … that's uh … what I thought you said. Thanks for clearing it up for me, Ruby," Sapphire said. Sapphire knew it wasn't entirely Ruby's fault. She kept telling herself that Ruby didn't know any better, but the very idea. The very image of Ruby just taking off the wedding ring, and tossing it like trash, it was enough to crumble Sapphire's own gemstone.
She felt a tear come down her face.
"Umm … S-Sapphire?"
"Tell me you're lying!" Sapphire suddenly shouted, holding Ruby by the shoulders, her eye streaming with tears. Ruby now freaked out, and suddenly pushed Sapphire away from her, even getting into a fighting stance in case Sapphire would jump at her again.
"My Sapphire, permission to defend against sapphire? Wait. That doesn't sound right," Ruby said, though she too felt weirded out about the whole thing.
"O-Oh my gosh, I predict you will attack Sapphire!"
"So is that a yes or -"
"No. No. I'll go. It's not your fault Ruby, I … bye," Sapphire said, getting back to her feet. Now was not a good time anymore as Sapphire hoped, so as Ruby kept her guard up, Sapphire was forced to walk away from her love. Or rather, used to be her love. Not another word shared between the blue or red Gem, and it wasn't until Sapphire was back with the rest of the Harmony Gems did Ruby actually calm down. And only NOW -
"Why'd you push her, Ruby?!" Padparadscha gasped.
"I-I'm sorry my Sapphire, I won't do that again," Ruby quickly said, diamond insignia to the rare Gem.
Back with Sapphire, everyone else simply watched her walk back, already telling that the ordeal did not go as well as they hoped it would. This was gonna be more complicated than they thought, and Sapphire simply stood there for a moment or two. Her face was deadpan emotionless, but the tear was still there.
"S-She threw away her wedding ring. … Oh guys. H-How am I gonna get her back?" Sapphire asked.
"Come here, Sapphire. Let it out," Lapis said, kneeling down and opening her arms. Sapphire immediately went into Lapis's arms, and started crying up a waterfall, trying not to scream like Padparadscha would in her whimpers and wails, a fine stream of tears going down Lapis's back and onto the ground. Seeing this all made everyone feel a bit of disbelief, though Spinel felt more uneasy than the others about it, rubbing her arm.
"So seeing Sapphire isn't enough? But how, they've been together forever, they've been through everything, that should've done something," wondered Steven in disbelief. Far as everyone knew they couldn't go any deeper in her memory than THAT. Sapphire kept crying and crying, and for a change of pace she cried some more. …
"Is it all out, Sapphire?" asked Flint.
Sapphire started to quiet down, sniffing and whimpering for a little bit before she took a long breath.
"Yeah … it's out now."
"Ok, ok," Twilight then said, walking out and beginning to pace, "So now we got Amethyst going around in a Tank, we got Ruby who threw away Sapphire's ring, we got Pearl who's off at the Reef, and we got Jasper trying to destroy everything just for the heck of it. There's got to be an easier way to do this."
"Not to mention a Hessonite who's running the place like it's no one's business and something we really should start handling," Rarity suggested.
"NOBODY'S starting anything now," Bismuth said, "Look, we got multiple Gems we got to keep track of, let's split up and keep an eye on them so they won't cause any trouble. K?"
"Great idea! I think I should watch over the big cheese puff since I'm the only one she'll actually listen to," Emerald suggested.
"YOU wanting to work? Someone pinch me, this is a first," joked Fulgurite. Emerald shrugged, and actually pinched Fulgurite in the arm anyway.
"Alright you and Fulgurite can go and do that. I'll take on Amethyst. Someone's gotta hit the breaks on that tank if she tries to let loose with it," Bismuth said, cracking her knuckles.
"I'll join you for that too, if I may. … Please," Flint said. He looked calm, but inside he was almost begging for SOMETHING to do given his vacation.
"ONLY if you don't try anymore suicidal missions," Bismuth said. Flint felt a little embarrassed about it, but decided not to push it any further than that.
"Deal," Flint said, "So we got Jasper and Amethyst, Steven what about you?"
"Hmm … Actually, I think I'd want to go for Pearl. I'll phone Connie too before I go."
"I'll come too. I haven't seen the Reef in thousands of years anyway, it'll be nice to see how it's doing after so long," Lapis Lazuli said, hand on Steven's shoulder. Nice to have some good company for the trip to a new Gem location. Next answer came over from Sapphire, after calming herself down from the initial shock, though she still had to wipe away a tear or two first.
"All good, sugarcube?"
"Yeah. And I think I'll keep with Ruby. If there's anyone that should get her memory back, it'll be her. I don't want to lose her again."
"That will NOT happen, don't you worry. Applejack and I will help you out with her too," Twilight promised, putting a gentle wing around Sapphire for comfort. Now there was only one more who didn't say much of anything about the whole thing, or what she wanted to do. She looked simply guilty, if anything.
"Spinel, why don't you come with us to the Reef? I know you're worried -"
"EH actually, I'm gonna sit this one out," Spinel admitted, "I think I've done enough for ya already, so you go and uh, be you."
"Spinel?" Steven asked. Before anymore questions could be asked, Spinel turned her legs to springs, and jumped right on out of sight, going off to who knows where. Either way, Spinel didn't want to be there. Steven did indeed try to reach her, but he was just a little too slow to do much of anything.
"We'll talk to her, Steven. You focus on what you have to do," promised Sapphire, already knowing what her problem would be with Spinel.
"Thanks Sapphire," Steven replied before he turned back to the others. "Now, All we have left is Hessonite. Who wants to watch her?"
"I don't think we have to worry about her for a while, Steve-o. If I find her messing with anyone, I'll show her we mean Bismuth," Bismuth said with a wink. They never said the rules applied outside of Little Homeworld. Steven nodded and then brought his hand out.
"For us," Steven said.
"For us," said Lapis, joining him in bringing her hand out.
"For us," said Fulgurite, joined by Emerald in bringing their hands out.
"For us," said Bismuth, her joined by Flint.
"For us," said Twilight, joined by Sapphire and Applejack.
"Alright, everyone's got what they gotta do, and we will get our friends back no matter what. Let's get to it," Steven said.
"Right!" replied everyone else.
Everyone began to split from there: Bismuth and Flint off to find Amethyst and her renegade Tank, Emerald flying off with Fulgurite holding onto his hexagon to find Jasper, and Steven and Lapis going towards the nearest Warp Pad for Pearl. This left Twilight, Applejack, and Sapphire there for Ruby and for Spinel. They've held this off plenty, so now it's time to tackle this bull by the horns.
Memory game on.