//------------------------------//
// Bull-Headed 
// Story: My Little Universe II 
// by EquestrianKirin 
//------------------------------//

"You have NO IDEA how hard it was, I couldn't even get my horn to pick up my toothbrush without turning it into a mustard bottle, and then a porcupine. By the way, I learned the hard way that porcupine quills actually DON'T just pull out of your face, you kind of have shimmy it first before they can pop out. But anyway, I had to go around all over Canterlot to find a new toothbrush, who knew it cost thirty bits to get the exact kind of toothbrush I had -"

"Twilight, Twilight, I'm happy you got your voice back and all, but PLEASE STOP. This is hour four that you've kept jabber-jawing," said Emerald at last, looking so bored and worn out he might as well fall asleep. Twilight got herself to button her muzzle for a moment.

"Sorry, it's just been weeks since I've last talked. I just wanted to get it all out to someone," Twilight said.

"Then why not go talk to Autumn Blaze instead?" Fulgurite questioned, thumb pointing over to the Kirin.

After just one visit and Little Homeworld was already working on some new visitors. As she promised them, Connie helped get the Kirin from the Peaks of Peril to come over for a visit to the new world. Since getting their voices back too, the Kirin were getting to know every single Gem, Pony, and Human they could meet up with.

"It's okay, I've already talked to them a lot today, twice in fact. Anyway, how's all the building going on here? The others told me you two had been very busy for days and days now," Twilight inquired. Fulgurite glared at the green gremlin next to her, crossing her arms.

"Right. Well, we thought -" Fulgurite zapped Emerald with her hair.  "Okay, okay! I thought of the idea to put Jasper and Rupee in a contest that kinda backfired, and now Fulgurite and me are basically on construction duty for the next month or whenever Jasper decides to end it. ... You know, the usual."

"Wait wait wait. You guys ran into Rupee?! Where's she now, when'd you last see her?" Twilight asked, shocked that she was still even around.

"Eh tu, Twilight? Don't know, we last left her after Jasper brought down the hammer on her back in Equestria," Fulgurite said, "I'm just glad we don't have to deal with her again for now."

"You mean you two know how dangerous she is, and you just left her there?" Twilight asked. Before Fulgurite and Emerald could actually answer her (for the who-knows-how-many-time today), the group began to hear the Warp Pad go off nearby, though it was a little harder to hear given the chattering of the interacting Kirin. Just a glance over had them finding Steven coming out from said portal, holding the list he was still going over.

"Just add it to the pile for later, Twi," Fulgurite whispered. Steven had enough to deal with anyway.

"Hey Steve-O, there you are," Emerald said, as he went over to him with company.

"Huh? Oh, Fulgurite, Emerald, you're still around town! I've been wondering where you two were," Steven said, taking his eyes off of the list for a second.

"Yeah, we still got a bit to do around here. What about you, you said you were gonna check in on Pearl again," Fulgurite inquired. Steven's smile quickly turned into a more troubled one.

"Hehehe ... well uh ..."


~~~~~~


"Hey Pearl how're you doing? Did you get everything out of your system yet?" Steven asked upon entering.
The room he walked into was very quiet, with nothing around but the sounds of whimpering coming from the dark ends of the beach house. Ominous, eerie, and a sad vibe coming from every corner of it. Even just stepping into the house had Steven feeling a puddle of tears on the floor.
As for Pearl, she was sitting over by the kitchen, on a stool as she buried her face into the counter top. Steven couldn't see her eyes, but the two streams coming from the table onto the floor kinda made it too clear. Pearl looked over to Steven, her eyes so full of water they looked like rippled puddles. She couldn't even talk, just a lot of murmuring and whimpering as she tried not to just crash down into tears again.

"WHHHHYYYY?!" she cried at a point.

"Ok. Sorry. I'll just leave you alone then," Steven decided, Pearl crying and wailing as he left.


~~~~~~


"She needs some more space," Steven simply concluded.

"It's been three days straight now. You sure you can't just talk to her? You're pretty good at that," asked Fulgurite.

"Well we would, but Fluttershy says she needs to let it all out first. And she's got a lot to go," Twilight replied.

"You have no idea," Steven added. How hard would it be to help a friend when he couldn't even talk to them? Regardless, he took a look back to the list again briefly before the others took some notice in it, Fulgurite peeking over his shoulder to check it out.

"So ... what was the thing you wanted to see us for? Shopping list?"

"Oh no, this is just me," Steven said, pulling it away, "You guys wanna take a break?"

"YES," Fulgurite and Emerald said. ANYTHING to get out of all of this construction work by themselves.

.......

"Am I doing it right Garnet?" Spinel asked.

"You're doing just fine, Spinel. Now, relax ... deep breathing," Garnet replied.

As Steven was bringing back the Gems and Alicorn, the others were keeping themselves busy as apart of Garnet meditation class. With Spinel as one of her students at the front, this idea for a class had gotten a bit of attention with not just the Gems, but a few notable others as well. The poses this time weren't upside-down, just a few good stretches while on one foot to get the mind and spirit in line. There were quite a few there too: the Off-Colors being the main source of the new students Garnet was dealing with today.

"This is actually pretty fun, Garnet." Fluorite said. Though, Fluorite out-sized a lot of them as she was standing on two of her back legs to do some of the poses.

"That makes one of us, when is this gonna get good?" Tiger's Eye asked, getting pretty bored.

"We told you it wouldn't be action-related, Tiger's Eye. It's mostly ... exercise," Flint said. Tiger's Eye followed everyone else in a stretch, arms aimed directly above their heads ... but Tiger's Eye leaned to the side, and basically cart-wheeled away to the others nearby.

"Yeah, nope, not for me."

"Tiger, get back there," Jasper insisted.

"It's alright. This isn't something you can force someone into. Besides, I knew she'd quit half way through," Garnet said. Fair enough.

"Then why the heck did you put me in there in the first place?" Tiger asked. Garnet didn't answer outside of a *ssshhh*, leaving Tiger's Eye to just hush up and sit there to watch the rest do their thing with her. Many of the Off-Colors outside of Tiger's Eye were doing just fine, but as they continued to watch, Spinel was looking ... distracted?

"Hey guys. we're back," Steven announced once he got to the others. This seemed to set off a sort of quick-time reaction, because the second she heard Steven's voice Spinel's eyes shot open. She wouldn't miss Steven's arrival for the whole world. Soon as she saw him, she dropped the whole meditation class right there, and sprung right over to see Steven.

"Steven!" Spinel said, giving Steven her typical hug as per usual. It was more than hard to avoid at least one of her hugs for one day.

"Hey, party people! What're you all doing?" Emerald asked.

"Meditation Seminar," said Garnet, "You two had been working hard. Come join us."

"For a meditation class? ....... Eeeehhhh I dunno bout that. Sounds boring, and looks boring," Fulgurite said.

"Thank you," Tiger's Eye commented nearby. Finally someone actually agreed with her for the first time all day! Fulgurite still didn't feel like waiting around for them again.

"Meditation class? When'd you guys start doing that?" Twilight asked.

"At least a week ago. This one's just a practice before the bigger class tomorrow. If you two don't wanna do it, there's always some more crates to be moved to -"

"Where do we sign up?" Emerald quickly cut in. He also made sure Fulgurite was quiet this time, hands over her mouth so she wouldn't wreck their chance at a break. Garnet gave a mess verbal answer, and just presented the group by them. So as Fulgurite and Emerald reluctantly joined them, Garnet looked over to Twilight and Steven.

"I'd take it Pearl still needs space to let it all out," concluded Garnet, noticing that Pearl wasn't with them anywhere.

"Yeah she does. Sorry Garnet. But she'll calm down eventually, she can't cry forever," Steven said. Though that statement was a little bit hollow to say the least. They had their own theories as to why she was still crying so much, and given that she hadn't stopped crying since they got back from the Peaks of Peril, odds are it probably meant more than just fear of Connie's safety.

"She won't. We'll catch up with her later, but first -"

"Yes," Steven said. "You were gonna ask for us to join you in class, right?"

Garnet smirked, "You little clod. I got your spots open right here."

Garnet presented the spots to them, showing two spaces just big enough for both Steven and Twilight to fit in. She even got their respected blankets for the task too so they wouldn't stand on the snow.

"Thanks a lot, Garnet," Twilight said smiling, "I always wanted to try one of these classes, but never got the time. With all the work, and the whole silence thing, you know."

"You wanna join us too Spinel, or do you wanna sit this one out?" Steven offered. Normally Spinel would be happy to join in, but something was kinda bugging her about this idea as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Eehh, pass. I've been trying before you showed up, and I can't really get the hang of it," Spinel admitted, not sure entirely why she was having this much trouble.

"Huh. Okay, suit yourself," Steven replied.

Spinel went over back to the others standing nearby as Steven and Twilight joined with the other Off-Colors for the session-practice. It couldn't hurt to spend at least one half an hour out of the day to unwind and let their souls relax a bit with her. Too bad Spinel still seemed to be distracted a little by something, as she brought her hand to her face to swat a bug away. Steven and Twilight went over side-by-side, getting themselves into position the same time as Garnet.

However, fate had different plans ...

*mmmmoooo* ... *mmmmooooo* ... "Steeeeveeeen."

Everyone immediately stopped what they're doing when they began hearing that noise. It sounded very tired. Low. Pretty weak too. And it sounded pretty close. The group turned and only needed one look just along the snow-covered hills by the barn to see who was calling them.

"Is that ... a cow?" asked Spinel, hand above her eyes and squinting a little.
Now exactly just some random cow, but indeed the group was seeing a bovine trying to get over to them, marching through the snow as best as a half-dead bull could. The bull had a hard time just standing, and he was about thirty feet away from the wooden shelter before he just fell splat into the snow. 

"Oh my gosh," Fluttershy gasped. That was more than enough to get the others running over to him, Steven almost skidding from a quick stop when he got to his side. He got his ear on the bull's side, listening as best he could.

"... Ok, he's still breathing. Hey, you found me, a-are you alright? Can you see my hand?" Steven asked, waving a hand by the bull's face. The bull didn't answer right away, but his eyes did look up to him.

"I found you ....... I found you ..."

"Oh my, he looks awful. You poor bull. We better get him inside," suggested Fluttershy.

"Now hang on a tick," said Flint, "We don't know who he is or where he came from. For all we know, Grogar could be setting up a trap with him."

"O-Or maybe that bull's out for revenge?" gulped Rhodonite.

"Are you kidding? Look at him, he can barely walk. Whether he's from his army or not, right now he's an injured bull. We're NOT leaving him out here to become frozen beef," Steven said, as he tried to get the bull moving again. Unfortunately, the large animal was practically ead weight, and Steven just couldn't make him budge as much as he tried to do that.

"phew ... I could've benched fifty pounds if i had my Gem magic," Steven panted.

"Hang on, I'll get him," Jasper said. Not only did she lift the bull up no problem, but all she had to do was literally toss the bull over her shoulder and stroll on towards the barn. The bull mooed a little bit, but he didn't try to get out of Jasper's grip (not that he could anyway).

.......

It took a good hour or two of work, but eventually the tired and worn out bull was starting to become a bit more aware. The others kept their eye on him for the time being. They got him in a warm blanket, a nice bed of hay, and even a bit of sugarcubes as a little something extra. The bull was still a bit weaker than before, but at least he wasn't looking ready to just fall dead now. He took a moment to get a good drink from a glass of water (which by the way proved he was Equestrian), and got his pipes cleaned out from the cold air and snow.

"Huh ... not bad. Where'd you get these? Manehatten?" the bull asked, referring to the sugarcubes.

"Just a little something I whipped up," Spinel said with a shrug. The bull wasn't complaining though, and took a few more bites of the sugarcubes. He did suddenly cringe though when someone touched his back leg, giving a loud snort as Jade tried to work some bit of her own magic.

"These cuts look pretty deep," Jade noted, rubbing something into it.

"What's that you're putting on me?" the Bull asked, glancing back at her but not lifting his head.

"Some herbs from the Everfree Forest," Jade explained, "Zecora showed me how they worked, and she says it'll keep the cut from going bad."

"Hmm ... thanks," the Bull replied, resting his big head on the hay bed for a bit as Jade continued adding the herb ointment to the wounds on him, with Fluttershy's help. Looking at him though, the others could see that he looked pretty bad for just walking through the snow: aside from the deep cut on his leg, there were a few bites around his shoulders and back, his horn scratched, he even had his nose a small bruise on it.

"Sorry to say this, Mr. Cow but you look like you've been through a timberwolf fight." Tiger's Eye asked.

"MY name is not "Mr. Cow". My name is Olson," said the Bull with a snort.

"Okay, but it would still help if we knew what happened to you. Also why were you looking for me, exactly?" Steven asked the tired bull. Olson looked over to the Human, slightly turning his head but he didn't look like he was that brave in admitting anything.

"I've heard you were a healer, so I figured I'd pay a visit. It's not like anyone back where I was gives a hoot," Olson said. Steven was about to ask a few more questions, but then he paused once he took a closer look at the bull's eyes.

"Wait. ... Wait, do I know you from somewhere? You look kinda ... familiar," Steven realized, trying to think a little bit. Olson's eyes were of two colors: one green on the left, and one white on the right. It was probably Olson's main trademark if he didn't have all those cuts from any other bull his age. But then ... something seemed to click.

"Yeah, I did see you before. You were from Grogar's army, you were one of his soldiers!" Steven realized. Immediately this got everyone alarmed except for Olson, who probably was too tired to get into a fight anyway.

"GROGAR?! Get him out of here!" Rhodonite shouted from behind Flint.

"What, no! I didn't say that because I wanted him gone, I'm just stating a fact!"

"Steven, you tried that before and you nearly died. You really want to try that again with him?" Flint asked, though not scared but still alarmed that Grogar's soldier was laying in the barn.

"He could be dangerous," Fluorite.

"Guys come on -"

"I'm NOT with him anymore, alright?!" Olson suddenly shouted, hauling up onto his front hooves before he collapsed again in a loud thud. Just like that everyone looked back to Olson, now not as panicked in a way.

"You're not with him?" asked the Rutile Twins. The bull shook his head.

"NO. Where do you think all of these came from?" Olson pointed out, a hoof aimed at one of the many cuts on his body. All of a sudden it started to make more sense.

"Grogar did this?" Steven asked.

"Ehh ... well ... maybe?"

"Look, whether he did or he didn't," Jasper said.

"... You'd think so. ... It happened few days ago, not long after our last little invasion."


~~~~~~


"You all call yourselves soldiers?! You ALL are a disgrace before Tambalon!"

Those words screeched and scratched at what army remained back at Grogar's current base, namely Nichrome's army with the captain himself standing at front taking much of the hits. Olson though kept with the other bulls behind him, but he still felt rough all the same from Grogar's harsh words.

"The first moment when things go south, and what do you do? You RUN? ... Nichrome, give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave you for the Red Diamond right now," Grogar warned, his hooves digging into the hard earth as his teeth grinded together as Nichrome could only beg at his feet.

"No no no, sir please, i-it's not what it looked like. I would've stayed by your side to the very end, and I still will -"

"Then what happened back at the beach?" Grogar cut in, "You ran like a cat before a dog! What happened that was so important that you abandoned me to the enemy?"

Nichrome tried to think of something fast, his own fear making his usually quick wit scrambled. His eyes darted around over and over again until he saw the army behind him.

"I-It was them!" Nichrome said, pointing to them, "your glorious army would've been completely wiped out if I hadn't called them back. I-It wasn't cowardice, it was conserving power my lord, I swear!"

Grogar growled low. And everyone could tell was not buying it, not for anything else. Slowly he began to walk forward, making Nichrome start to move back a bit.

"... Were you really concerned about your army? Or were you concerned about yourself? ... Were you afraid? CAPTAIN?" Grogar was inches away from Captain Nichrome at this point, Nichrome unable and uncapable to even think of an answer. Nichrome looked anywhere he could for some sort of answer, but he couldn't seem to even find it. He had no choice.

"Umm ... I uhh ... m-maybe I was afraid."

That was all Grogar needed to hear before he opened his jaws, and grabbed the alien by the head, swinging him around over and over again into the dirt. Nichrome could only just take it all, as Grogar slammed him into the ground, keeping him still by slamming his hoof down onto his stomach. Nichrome looked horrified as Grogar's eyes glowed red.

"YOU DISGUST ME! I saved you from that prison on Homeworld, I even made you a captain, and you thank me by leaving me for dead?"
Nichrome's only response is screaming and covering his head from an attack. He'd get his, but Grogar then addressed the rest of his platoon.

"All of you are nothing but cowards! You'd rather save your own skins than have any dignity. Why do you think I got you all together, huh?! And thanks to you that battle was -" Grogar suddenly stopped. He wanted to test something real quick, and his expression turned more tired.

"... No. ... No that wasn't a loss. We ... won the battle. We won the battle, didn't we?" Grogar asked.

And guess who was the one that answered him?

"Yes, chief! It was glorious," said Olson. Wrong move.

"I KNEW IT! You're ALL cowardly liars! Spineless, quivering liars! I'm not building my army off of worms like you. Fight me! I'll prove to you all what Tambalon REALLY is!"

Then came the onslaught. Without any hesitation, Grogar charged forward like a mad man, attacking anything and anyone that was closest to him. The bulls among Nichrome's army were suddenly in a scramble to try and fight him, but Grogar even with his lack of horns was proving very strong even for them, at one point even lifting a bull by the horn and swinging him into four more bulls. Nichrome, being the coward he was tried to run away but Grogar quickly got to him first and went to town on him with one hoof after another.
As for Olson, he was actually one of the few bulls that tried to make a run for it, but Grogar and his glowing rage quickly found him out and jumped him in the back. The fight quickly turned into a rodeo as Olson tried like mad to buck Grogar off of him, his sharp teeth and hooves cutting in a good bit before Olson bucked him off. Grogar of course landed on his hooves, but Olson wasn't gonna stay around, and made a mad dash for it.

"Coward. LEAVE THEN! You're be cold cut beef by the end of the week without me to save your hide!"


~~~~~~


"And I've wandered around since," finished Olson.

"But what happened to the rest of you?" Steven asked. Olson huffed.

"My guess: probably up for market for 50 bits a pound ... well maybe 70. Er wait, how much is a lean cut of beef now a days?"

Everyone just kinda starred at him.

"What? When you've been in Grogar's army as long as I have, you get used to it," Olson said.

"And ... how long's that?" Flint asked.

"Good half a year. At least since last fall after he got me out of a Klugetown market trade for some beans or something. Seriously, who trades a bull for beans?!"

"W-Well that's in the past. You're here now, and we're gonna help you get better so you can be on your way. If you need anything else, just let us know and we'll get it for you," Steven promised, though mostly he wanted to change the subject before he could've gotten more detailed with it. Olson laid back down but before they could go any further, two of them were already signaling them to come outside. Try and guess who they were?

"Flint, Rhodonite, give this a chance please? We know he's from Grogar's army, but he's not looking too good to be out on his own," Twilight made clear.

"How do you know? Grogar's played tricks on you before, and look how well that went," Rhodonite said in a slightly more urgent tone than she had to, only for Flint to elbow her.

"What she means to say is that you're ... kind of being too caring to someone that you know is the enemy," Flint corrected.

"How's that any better than what she said?" Tiger's Eye questioned.

"So you guys really think he didn't get beat up and driven out by Grogar for not fighting us before?" Fluttershy questioned. Flint paused and actually thought about it as Rhodonite tried to reconsider herself.

"Well ... ok, THAT part I'll buy, but him not at least thinking about getting back at you? ... I don't know. If you're gonna keep this guy around, watch yourselves with him, okay?" Flint advised.

"Don't worry, if he looks at him funny, we'll be there to squash him," Spinel said, her fist clenched and growing as big as a bale of hay to prove her point. You can't get any more promising than that. Steven took one more glance back to the barn where Olson was laying in, images of his time with Grogar going through his head one more time. It wasn't fair to blame Olson for something Grogar had done but it still was just enough to give Steven a slight shiver. That was, until Garnet rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone deserves a chance to change. You both got nothing to worry about. I promise," Garnet made clear not just to him, but to Twilight too.

"Thanks, Garnet."


~~~~~~


So time went by, and now the group had to add "taking care of Olson" to their list of things to do. It was a small job compared to everything else, as all they had to really do was watch him and get him food or water as the healers got the main work of handling his wounds. They took turns getting him the stuff he needed, and so far Olson didn't seem to mind the treatment. He didn't try to attack them at least.
That didn't really mean that everything around them was slowing down either though, as Little Homeworld was getting closer and closer to being complete. In fact ...

"And on this day, Gems and Ponies, the new Gem War Emporium is officially OPEN!" happily announced Bismuth, her hand as scissors as she did the honor of cutting the ribbon. She had waited to this very moment to get the museum open for all to see, and everyone in town was glad to see another grand piece of the city built to completion. The small crowd of mixed characters gave their round of applause on a job well done, and Emerald and Fulgurite were sure feeling good about it.

"Finally, this is all done!" said Emerald with a thumbs up, "Keep this up and the whole city's gonna be done by spring!"

"Actually at the rate we're going, we'd be done by the next two weeks. Trust me, we got this project in the bag," Fulgurite said, giving her companion a high-five. Bismuth smirked.

"Someone's looking happy about all the extra work. Don't worry, we got WAY more to do when this city's done," Bismuth said with a smug grin. Suddenly Emerald and Fulgurite froze up. How much work did Bismuth have in mind for those two exactly?

"Don't do that B, please?" said a suddenly meek Emerald.

"HAH, I'm just tossing your rocks!" Bismuth laughed, "We'll be done with this in no time. How much do we got left? A city block? Repairing the tower?"

"I don't know, Peridot's usually been on that part. You know, until she lost her limb enhancers thanks to Grogar," Fulgurite reminded, strolling off the Museum's stoop as the three were chatting. Emerald floated by them on his hexagon.

"Yeah, while we're on the subject," Bismuth said, "I've been wondering where the heck he is. It's been a tad too long since we've actually done anything about him, and he hasn't made any surprises yet."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, which it's not," said Emerald, "We're on a roll, let's not go and jinx it, K?"

"I'm not jinxing anything, I'm just saying. Grogar's still out there somewhere, and he's probably up to something else, going around doing who knows what -"

"OK B, quit Flintin will you?" Fulgurite butted in. That immediately made Bismuth stop.

"Flintin?" Bismuth asked.

"Yeah, you know: thinking about the future, obsessing over it, then getting in a big tizzy about it. Like Flint does all the time. I coined the term a few weeks ago while working on the beams," Emerald explained. Bismuth couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"He's gonna hate you when he hears that," Bismuth chuckle.

"Ehh, add it to the pile," Emerald shrugged, "If it happens, it happens, but for now let's just go with the flow, as Amethyst would say."

"Yeah. Like Amethyst used to say ..." Bismuth actually caught herself staring off a bit, the smile on her face disappearing as Fulgurite and Emerald looked at her side to side.

"Did he say the wrong thing?" Fulgurite asked.

"Oh, no no you're all fine," Bismuth said, "... I just miss em."

"Well, I mean the others are working on it, you don't have to worry about anything," Emerald said. Bismuth though didn't feel so chipper anymore. She brought a hand to her head.

"... This wouldn't of happened if I'd just hardened up! Pearl, Peridot, and Amethyst still don't got all their pieces together, and it was a miracle we even got Garnet, Jasper, Spinel, and Lapis. The best Gems in the world just got cut up to pieces with that Rejuvenator and I didn't even stop em!" Bismuth was actually getting angry about it, but mostly it was at herself as she remembered all those shocked faces everyone got, including those that got sliced. Fulgurite and Emerald really got a step back when Bismuth's hand turned into a hammer.

"Whoa whoa easy, Bismuth, easy! I want this done more than anyone - believe me it's gone on way too long - but the only one's you should get mad at are Grogar and Spinel. And Spinel's already good with us," Fulgurite said.

"Sorry. I'm just mad at myself, that's all. I could've at least tried to do something," Bismuth admitted.

"So why don't you, my little Bismuth?"

Oh boy, here we go. Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald turned back and surely enough there was the source of the voice standing on one of the rooftops, looking as important as a Garnet would be. No, it wasn't their Garnet, but a Garnet nonetheless.

"Hessonite?" Emerald asked.

"Oh no, you just keep out of this," Bismuth warned. Hessonite though didn't seemed very fazed at all, and hopped down from the rooftop in order to see them.

"It's hard not to notice. I was just on my way to train your Peridot for you, when I begin overhearing this "Rejuvenation" problem you all seem to have," Hessonite said.

"Yeah we do, and we can handle it on our own, thank you. And when did our Peridot start listening to you?" Bismuth made clear.

"Since I found her training with your Ruby, and thought to show how a real fighter fights. She never looked so excited, especially with that Ruby," Hessonite explained.

"You're still not getting involved," Bismuth growled.

"Still so stubborn. Emerald, tell me the whole situation, every last detail. Maybe I can lend a hand here," Hessonite offered. Bismuth made a slicing motion across her throat, hoping that would shut Emerald up, but Emerald was just stuck between a Rock and ... well, a rock. Both of which could pummel him if he messed up.

"Do ... I ... have ... to?" Emerald gulped. Hessonite didn't answer, but simply gave him a look. A stern, strong look.

"Yes. You do. Or did you forget who's in charge of you again? I'd be happy to remind you -"

"DON'T! DON'T! I remember, okay?" Emerald quickly said, before she could even think of pulling her sword out for a demonstration. Emerald had no choice here, so he took a breath.

"There's this Ram named Grogar who's been trying to kill us but we've been keeping him away from town so one time he went and visited our group and stole Spinel's rejuvenator and brain-whipped all of our friends so we've been trying our best to get their memories back OKAY?" Emerald had to regain a HUGE breath after that one, even if he didn't need to breathe. Bismuth was NOT happy at all, but Hessonite was at least satisfied with the answer.

"Hmm ... That explains a lot. And where is he now?"

"Don't look at us, we haven't seen him in weeks," Emerald answered. Hessonite tossed her cape back.

"Then what're we waiting for? You three are coming with me, and we'll handle Grogar by ourselves!" Hessonite decided.

"NO WAY!" Bismuth shouted, "If I'm getting even with him, I'm doing it without you! We're not interested," Bismuth made more than clear, walking right up to her.

"Now Bismuth be reasonable -"

"NOT. IN-TER-EST-ED," Bismuth said one final time, her face inches from Hessonite's own. Hessonite would go and put her in her place, but Bismuths were not the same as Jaspers in her eyes. She was a Builder, not a Soldier. All she did was huff, and took a step back.

"Well. I can take a hint. When you change your mind, I won't be too far away. Have fun on your little ... mission," Hessonite said, strolling away but with a sort of knowing grin on her face. Hessonite strolled on until she was just out of sight before Bismuth clocked Emerald in the head.

"Why'd you tell her that?" Bismuth demanded.

"She threatened me, what was I supposed to do? Besides we didn't agree on anything, that just kinda came up," Emerald said, making sure he flew out of Bismuth's reach. Bismuth didn't want that orange Gem to get involved in their problems anymore than she had already. But the more she thought about what she said, the more she ... well ...

"Let's show her."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's show her. She doesn't think we can do anything on our own without her help, but you know what? We're the Harmony Gems, we're unstoppable! Unbreakable! And I'm going to go out there and prove that right now. We're gonna show her what happens when you doubt the Harmony Gems," Bismuth decided, pumped up, confident, and ready to go, fist in the air.

Emerald looked at her like she was crazy, but Fulgurite was starstruck.

"Yes. YES! YEEESSS! You have NO IDEA how long I've waited for you to say that! Add a plus one to your mission because I'm coming along!" Fulgurite said, starry eyed and motivated as ever. Bismuth always had that confident talk that could rally an entire army (which she probably did before). As for Emerald, he was still standing there and taking the process in.

"You even got a mission to do, or we just winging it as usual?" Emerald asked, wanting to clear that up.

"I already got one: Grogar messed us all up. Hess thinks we can't handle him. So ..."

"Emerald? You know you want to," Fulgurite encouraged.

"....... Hang on," Emerald then said. Then his body began to glow all of a sudden as he closed his eyes. Bismuth and Fulgurite didn't know what was up at first, but then they got excited when they saw him in a completely different outfit of his own design. Instead of the punk rocker outfit, Emerald was in a hardcore military uniform straight out of World War II: camo coloration all over the main suit, a ring of spikes along his Sargent's cap, and even a starry cape right behind him. He had the most serious look he had in a while too to boot.

"This is when missions get serious."

"Perfect, let's get to it team. And once we handle Grogar that's another problem taken care of for everybody," Bismuth added, fist clenched.

"No problem, except for one problem: We don't have a clue where the heck he is," Emerald said. He was not in a mood for a wild goose chase, but quick-minded Fulgurite already had an idea thought up on the spot.

"... There's always a catch," Bismuth groaned.

"Wait a minute, yeah we do," Fulgurite answered, snapping her finger on the idea.

"We do?" Emerald asked.

"Guys, Olson! He got kicked out of Grogar's Army, if anyone knows where he is, he does. Besides, this can help us find out if he's off his side or not. Double-win!" Fulgurite decided.

"I like it. Harmony Gems, to the nearest Warp Pad!" Bismuth announced.

"To the Warp!" Emerald and Fulgurite said. Not wasting anymore time, Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald went right off on their way to the nearest Warp Pad at Little Homeworld. Hessonite though, as it turned out, didn't go too far away and was simply watching this all happen with a smile on her face. She knew when she inspired, whether they knew it or not.


~~~~~~


The day ticked by, and now with some free time on their hands (and hooves in the case of this group), some of the Harmony Gems got to moving on towards the barn. They weren't going back empty-handed though, as Steven was holding what looked like a take-out bag from out of town.

"Well it's been hours. You think he's getting any better?" Steven asked as they strolled along.

"Jade's work has been healing him since he got here. He should be good enough by now, so we'll see him off when we get there. It's a good thing you decided to get him in Steven," Garnet concluded, smiling to him.

"Thanks. I just hope he's not having any trouble staying in the barn. You know how some of us can be with strangers," Steven pointed out.

"Don't fret sugarcube, they won't try to make it too rough on the bull," AJ said with a wink. Still it did give Garnet some thought as they walked along.

"Nothing's impossible. Wouldn't surprise me if one of us tried getting something out of him," Garnet said after some thinking.

"Don't be silly, we're not THAT -" Pinkie was cut off when they heard a voice coming from the barn ahead of them.

"Come on, Olson, just tell us where Grogar is already!"

"Oh boy," sighed Garnet. 

Speak of the devil. The group went right over to the barn, and sure enough Olson was finding himself pestered by Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald. Olson was not enjoying any of it, his hooves over his ears as he kept his head right on the floor.

"How many times are you three gonna keep asking that? He's already mad at me over you, don't make me a traitor to him too," Olson groaned.

"What's the difference, he already kicked you out! Besides, we already gave you a barn to sleep in, didn't we?" Fulgurite pointed out to him, impatiently.

"The hay's THAT supposed to mean?! Suddenly I'm in debt or somethin?" Olson snorted, heaving himself up onto his front hooves. Bismuth got in between them before any scuffle could happen, but she wasn't as patient either.

"Quit it!" Bismuth demanded. Olson sat back down as Bismuth continued, "Listen, all we're asking is one thing: to know where Grogar is. And right now you're the only one who can actually tell us that. I'd LOVE to get back at him if I were you, and guess what, we can do that for you right now. Just point us the right way -"

"Hello you three."

The others couldn't keep themselves away forever, and they've heard more than enough from Bismuth to get why they were there in the first place.

"We weren't pestering," Emerald immediately yelped.

"Sure. Now leave him alone so he can have some lunch," Garnet said.

"Hey Olson, we got some hayburgers for you. Eat up," said Applejack. Olson, being a bit hungry himself didn't question any of it and just started eating away at the food brought to him.

"How is it? Taste good? It's not the best this time of year, but it's still something to fill you up while in the barn," Steven asked, hand on Olson's back.

"Hmm, it's okay. I've tasted better," Olson said through a full muzzle. As they were checking in on the bull, it didn't take long before the three Gems present looked to Garnet.

"Now, Garnet, I know what you're going to say but think about it: he always knows where we are, but we don't have a clue where he is. It can give us an edge over that old goat," Bismuth explained.

"That doesn't mean go and mess with the bull. You'll get the horns that way," Garnet advised.

"I knew she was gonna say that," Emerald said, hand to forehead.

"Look, it's pushing it yeah, but you really think we're gonna get the chance again? Besides, it'll show Hessonite we got what it takes by taking him out. Don't act like she isn't ticking you off too, at least a little bit. The way she's strutting around like she owns the place, looking down on everybody," Bismuth pointed out. Garnet was quiet at first, but looked to the Blacksmith anyway.

"So is this about handling Grogar, or handling Hessonite?"

"Yeah. Yeah it is," Bismuth answered.

Garnet didn't answer.

"Eh hey, you two," Olson said at one point, "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I can't hear ya. If your gonna talk propaganda, can you do it somewhere else?"

"Sorry Olson. We'll leave you be," Garnet said. she was just about to walk out of the door and probably try to give Bismuth a bit more of a peptalk, but there was one more Gem that was just about ready to turn the tables on everybody. And she came right in with a wide swing of the barn doors. It took them just a glance of the cape and glean of her orange skin to tell them it was Hessonite.

"HELLO, GEMS!~"

"GAH, ambush!" Pinkie yelped, springing back like a startled cat and almost landing on Olson, who at the moment almost choked on his hayburger.

"Hessonite? What're you doing here?" Steven asked after calming down.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too," Bismuth added, unamused.

"Isn't it obvious? I've come to help you get your mission started. I know you didn't ask for my help, but there's nothing wrong with a little boost -"

"I already told you, we don't need your help. We'll be perfectly fine on our own," Bismuth made perfectly clear. It didn't seem clear enough because Hessonite just fluffed Bismuth's head.

"I know, you keep saying that. And you're right: you didn't ask for my help."

"I got your help right here, you big-mouthed -"

"Bismuth not in the barn! Giving her a chance, remember?" Steven quickly said, holding Bismuth's arm back as she got a hammer ready. Not that it worried Hess anyway as she walked passed her. Before she could go and tackle the bull though, she then realized she wasn't the only Garnet in the barn today. Hessonite stopped and looked dead-on to Garnet for a bit.

"Hmm ... have we met? I'd know any Garnet coming to my colony today," Hessonite questioned. Garnet glanced back to the others, some worried and some trying to make her do anything else, but Garnet was undeterred by her.

"First of all: it's not yours. Second: You met Ruby and Sapphire before," Garnet replied.

"That's not really what I meant. I'm well aware of those two from the Crystal Gems, but ... I ... huh. ..." Hessonite stopped talking again when Garnet showed at least one of her hands, showing easily Ruby's red gemstone as it glistened even in the dim light. Hessonite just kinda looked at her for a second.

"Anyway, there's no need for everyone to keep bothering Olson right now. He's still recovering, and doesn't want to hear any of this, so let's all just walk outside -"

Suddenly Hessonite was laughing. And pretty loudly, as if she heard the best joke in the world.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just you call yourself a "Garnet"? I know you two wanted to be stronger to impress the elite, but THIS?" Hessonite went back to laughing a little bit.

"WHOA hold on there, that's pushing it a bit far! There's nothin wrong with Garnet," Applejack quickly said.

"I know you wouldn't know this, little pony, but Garnets are a very respected Gem back on Homeworld. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some ... questionable examples of Garnets that tried to be perfect. Well, trying to be like me, you can say." Hessonite ran her fingers through her hair and tossed it for some flair. "But Ruby, Sapphire, if you want to impress me, try to keep your dignity with you, if that's alright. You're both plenty strong without fusing like this," Hessonite suggested, a hand on Garnet's shoulder as if talking to an old friend. Garnet tried not to show any emotions with her standing right there, but a huff still got out of her. All that came out was -

"Shut up."

"My goodness you two, don't try and make things violent right -"

"For hoof's sake, GET OUTTA HERE!"

BAM! Next thing they knew, Olson got the power just enough to ram a good portion of the group right out the barn door. Of course Hessonite was quick enough (along with Pinkie) to dodge the charge proper but the others were shoved clean out of the place, with a few of them falling in the snow while the rest stayed on their feet.

"I wanted you all to leave for a whole five minutes, and you won't shut up! Take your drama theme somewhere else, or so help me: I will TAKE YOUR GEMSTONES, SHATTER EM, COOK EM INTO A PIE AND SMASH IT INTO THE NEAREST CLOWN! YOU GOT THAT PUNKS?!"

....... They were ... stunned.

"....... O ... K ..." gulped Steven. Olson shook himself back to his senses.

"Sorry. Force of habit. Look, I'm hungry, you're annoying me. Can I have at least twenty minutes to eat before it's time for interrogation or whatever you're gonna do?" Olson asked.

"Olson, there's no interrogation, no one's going to interrogate you! A-Again," Steven took a glance to Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald before continuing. "it's all good I promise. It's just been a bit hectic for us lately that's all, with Grogar and everything, you know how it is. And sorry for bothering you so much. If you need space, we'll be on our way, ok?" Steven made clear one more time, trying not to set Olson off again. The bull looked to Steven for a bit, a snort escaping his closed muzzle. How hectic can they be compared to being in Grogar's army anyway?

"Sure. Since you didn't whip my head for snapping or threaten my life, I'll take it," Olson remarked before turning back to the barn.

"Hey, we're all friends here. ... Wait, Grogar whipped you?!"

Olson just went back in the barn, shutting the door behind him with his tail. He didn't need to finish up that sentence with any answer to give them one. The others got themselves calmed down, but Bismuth, Fulgurite, and Emerald weren't out of the woods yet.

"Why were y'all messin with him? Olson's going through enough trouble without questioning him," Applejack asked.

"Who's interrogating?! All we were doing was asking him where Grogar is, he's the one that got difficult and won't answer!" Fulgurite said.

"Why would he have to?! Did you not just hear him: Grogar whips him everytime he lashes out, and that's before he chased him off! You guys, come on, we're lucky we found him alive when we did, and he's recovering, can we please not make it more difficult for him than it already is? Grogar nearly killed him already," Steven asked.

"But Steven, that's the whole point!" Bismuth retorted, "Grogar's been after your head all winter long, he's not gonna stop until you're handed over to him on a silver platter. I know why you're giving him a chance, and that's great, but at least we can take this advantage and show Grogar up before he can show us up. You want to stop him too, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but -"

The barn door creaked open.

"... Alright. You win," Olson answered, "Get in here, and we'll talk."

"Well, that was fast," remarked Hessonite.

"Get in here before I change my mind," Olson snorted.
A bit quick for him to change his mind, but it wasn't gonna be something they'll pass up, at least for the trio of Gems in question. Bismuth and Steven both glanced to one another.

"... Well ... this works I guess," Steven shrugged.

"Yeah, it does. But hey, it's good ain't it?" Bismuth shrugged.

They got the chance, might as well take it.

.......

"So you all are at war with the guy, but you don't even know where the hay he even is? No wonder you didn't try to jump him yet," Olson said after the others got to the barn. Good thing the barnhouse had a chalkboard for him to work with, to make things slightly easier for everyone.

"We've got a bit too much to be looking into that," said Steven. True point is true.

"Okay buddy, where's he at? And how's he always just showing up out of nowhere to find us?" Pinkie asked, curious mostly.

"K, listen: you got you guys ... here," Olson began, drawing out a ... actually kinda bad drawing of the Gems and Ponies by the beach, "And Grogar's Army is somewhere ehh ... over here," Olson when drew a bad drawing of the old goat on the opposite corner of the chalkboard. "Keeping up so far?"

"... Ehh ... sure, but that doesn't help us at all," Applejack asked.

"I'm getting there, look -" Olson began drawing out some details as best he could between the first team and Grogar, which really wasn't all that good. A few hills, a forest or two, with a big thick line right where Grogar is with a few extra rocks to make sure it sunk in better. Olson knew what the drawings were, but the others ...

"Why'd you draw lollipops? Is this some alternate candy universe he's in now?" Steven asked.

"NO, those are trees!" insisted Olson, his hoof hitting the chalkboard.

"Then where're the branches and the leaves? You drew a circle and a stick, that definitely a big lollipop," Emerald said.

"I'm not that good at drawing, okay?" Olson said. As they were trying to figure out what this was about though, Pinkie Pie actually seemed to get the idea clicking in her head very quickly.

"You guys, he's at Brooding Hill! Duh!" Pinkie said.

"And ... you can tell that how?" Fulgurite asked. Now it was Pinkie's turn to get the chalk for the chalkboard, but she didn't try to alter it at all, though she did move some people aside so she can work her own magic.

"Lookie: we gotta go outta beach city, stroll through the countryside, take a shortcut through the woods, and skip right over to Brooding Hill. It's pretty easy," Pinkie explained as she drew a few arrows to each of the locations on Olson's map. Everyone kinda needed a minute to actually see what Pinkie was even talking about.

"OOHH now I see it," Emerald said.

"He's that close? No wonder he keeps showing up so fast," Steven stated worriedly.

"Yeah, so if you're dead set on getting him then you'd better go before he catches on," Olson suggested, "Heck, I'll even show you there."

"Huh? You'll show me? I know where Brooding Hill is, it's alright. You just focus on you and try getting better," Steven insisted. It was a nice thought, but they didn't need an escort.
This was when Olson started to act a bit more assertively, as he suddenly was up on his hooves and right over to Steven's side.

"Hold up, I'm fine. You got me healed up, it's the least I can do after you saved me from becoming cold beef right? Scratch my back, I scratch yours eh?" Olson insisted, even acting a little playful by getting a hoof around Steven's shoulder. A bit forward, but alright. Still, this was starting to get some alarms going off in a Gem or two's head.

"Hold on a second sugarcube, you already got messed up good by Grogar before. You sure you wanna go out and risk gettin whacked again?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not fighting him again, you crazy? I'm just gonna show your pal Steven where he's at and he'll work it out from there," promised Olson.

"You mean show "us" where he's at so "we'll" work it out from there?" corrected Fulgurite.

"Yeah yeah, sure. You wanna get going, Mr. Universe?" Olson asked one more time, this time slightly less patient as he was ready to go to the door. The whole group were sensing some bull with this guy, and not just because of species either. Eventually though, Steven got to some thinking about the subject, and actually began to walk to the door, looking to the bull that otherwise would've been fine.

"Steven, don't go," said Bismuth.

"I'll be fine, I'm just gonna check it out that's all. Maybe we can get something that'll help us handle Grogar from all of this," Steven explained.

"Okay, are you not seeing all the red flags going up? It's clearly a trap!" Bismuth warned. This made Olson step back.

"No it's not! How can I set a trap for a ram that nearly chopped me up for the meat market?" Olson pointed out.

"I - ... good point. But we're still going with you," said Fulgurite.

"Okay, I'm not saying there's not gonna be any trap or trick, but at least let me go alone so none of you get caught up in it. If it's a trap, it'll only get one of us, not everyone at once. Besides ... it's kinda my fault this happened?"

"Hold the phone, what? How's this your fault exactly, I don't see the connection," Emerald said.

"I let Grogar off the hook, and look what happened to him! Olson nearly died because of me - his whole group got attacked because I got them involved in our Steven Tag game."

"Steven, they were on their way to get us anyway, it's not your fault any of this happened! If anything, we're the ones that kept fighting them, so it should be our fault," Bismuth said.

"Be careful, Steven."

Everyone silently turned to Garnet.

"... Uh, G? You're letting him go off with Olson?" Pinkie asked. Garnet nodded.

"I don't see any path in the future when he wouldn't at least try to go there, Olson or no Olson. If Grogar is there, he would find him anyway. He'll have a better outcome if we let him go now anyway," Garnet explained. The fusion then went over to Steven and smiled to him.

"Steven, good luck out there. Don't be late for class, okay?" Garnet suggested with a smile.

"No problem. Wouldn't miss it for the Universe," Steven promised. Bismuth, in spite of everything just took a breath and smirked, giving Steven a playful fluff of the hair.

"If Garnet trusts the situation, then so do I. Show him what you're made of, kiddo," Bismuth said. Come to think of it, how much damage could a bull do anyway? Especially one that they just saved?

"Thanks Bismuth."

"Okie dokie lokie, all we gotta do now is find where Hess went!" Pinkie declared.

"What do you mean, she's right - ... where'd she go? She was right behind us, wasn't she right behind us?" asked Emerald.

All that talk, and only now did any of them realize that Hessonite was already gone, right out of the barn door and everything! They rushed outside to try and find where she was, but she was nowhere in sight. All they did find was Olson sitting there waiting for them, and that's it.

"Pinkie Pie, why didn't you say anything if you knew she was gone?" asked Fulgurite.

"Because I didn't. I just thought it'll be good to let you know," Pinkie replied.

"I'll go talk to her. Fulgurite, Pinkie, you come with me," Garnet said.

"Me? Um, yeah okay whatever you say," Fulgurite said.

"Okie dokie," said Pinkie.

"Maybe you can zap her brain, to make her forget she heard anything?" suggested Emerald.

"Emerald," sighed Steven. It hardly mattered though, even if Garnet could do that to Hessonite. Her lightning fast speed meant that she was already miles away to wherever the heck she was. As for that anyway, they already knew where Hessonite was going ...


~~~~~~


... Well ... maybe.

Hessonite was very far ahead naturally, following instructions left by Olson for the main confrontation. With everyone else busy, and to her not qualified for the job, Hessonite figured she might as well go and handle the job for them since they clearly weren't getting anywhere fast. And how long did it take Hessonite to get from the barn house to Brooding Hill?
Around a minute, probably less. And there wasn't a moment to spare as Hessonite took a good look around the place. An amazing view of Beach City, but ...

"I knew it: that Olson was lying through his organic teeth. Oh hum, looks like it's up to Hessonite to make things right again," Hessonite told herself with a smirk. But first she had to figure out where to even go. After all, despite her prideful knowledge she'd never been over here before. Nothing a good recon can't fix. And there was a tree a good field away that was just the right height to do just that. So, with just one good leap up, Hessonite got to the top of the tree and took a good look around the area.

"Now, Grogar. Whatever you are. Where are you?" Hessonite asked aloud, hand shading over her eyes to get a better view of the winter world around her. All was quiet, aside from the ever so slight breeze of the late winter air -

"HESSIE, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Pinkie screamed, suddenly standing right next to her on top of the tree.

"GAH!" Even Hessonite can never predict the scary Pinkie-Pie levels of weird. The pink mare's presence was just enough to make Hessonite actually fall off the tree, the orange Gem landing on her feet when hitting ground as Pinkie Pie slid down the tree trunk, only to be met with the end of Hessonite's sword. Not the best reunion ever.

"What the stars is the idea sneaking on me like that?! You're lucky I'm not having you reported to the Diamond Authority," Hessonite demanded. Pinkie stared at the tip of the sword for a moment or two before she hopped out of the way.

"We don't want you to run off on your own, that's all. Grogar's a super mean and super tough boss, super duper nasty! You think that maybe you don't wanna go fighting with him?" Pinkie suggested. Hessonite drew back her sword.

"That's not what I asked," Hessonite said. Pinkie looked up the tree.

"Oh, plot convenience."

"Plot convenience? ... I'm just going to assume that's a pony ideology and be on my way," Hess concluded, which was probably the best move she made today when it came to understanding Pinkie Pie. Not like she had time to deal with the mare anyway, but before she could go Pinkie kept hopping in her way.

"But we wanna help you not get hurt," Pinkie insisted.

"I don't need any help thank you. Now be a good dear and wait here until I get back, okay? Besides, it's not like it's that big of a threat if it's only dangerous to your kind. And by the way, who's this "we"?" Hessonite said pompously.

"She means us," said another voice. Hessonite turned around, just to find Fulgurite and Garnet now catching up to Pinkie Pie. Either they've been there the whole time or Pinkie's "plot convenience" made her faster than anything ever to keep ahead from Fulgurite. Even so, Hessonite didn't seem too impressed.

"You better listen to her Hessonite," Garnet warned, "We've met Grogar, and we're telling you you're making a very dangerous mistake. He's not a normal organic. He's far more than that. ..."

Hessonite smirked, a hand cleaning up her sword so it was ready to go, "Sounds like a challenge to me. I haven't had a good opponent since I first came back."

"Hess, seriously, he's not a goat to be messed with," Fulgurite said. Hessonite paused but chuckled again.

"It's cute how you think I need protection against an organic creature, and I appreciate it. But if you're so worried about it, then you don't have to come with me. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," Hess explained, thinking she was doing them a favor this way. Hessonite was just about to bolt for it, but Fulgurite wasn't gonna give her a chance, and quickly got in her way at her own lightning fast speed.

"Ok let's get this out of the way: I don't like you, well, at all Hessonite, but we're trying to help you all the same. You march up to Grogar, he'll wear your gemstone as a necklace by the time he's done with you!"

"Just because you can't handle him doesn't mean I can't. There hasn't been any opponent that I was unable to defeat in the war, and as far as I can tell, there's nothing to compare to me now. You all should be thanking me for handling this problem for you anyway."

"... Can I just zap her brain out now? Not to reset her, I'm just REALLY ticked off," Fulgurite asked Garnet, her hair sparking after hearing all of that bull from her mouth. Garnet rested a hand on Fulgurite's head and shook her own.

"No," Garnet replied. The fusion then went right up to Hessonite.

"Hessonite, listen to me. You may think he's nothing to worry about, but we're talking about a creature that has defeated the entire Diamond Authority. Even White Diamond didn't stand much of a chance. You can't win this fight. Please, just let this be for everyone to try and solve," Garnet warned.

Hessonite just laughed.

"No don't, not even as a joke!" Hessonite chuckled, "One organic against the most perfect beings in the entire universe? That's literally impossible!"

"But it's true, we're serious! Go back to Homeworld and ask em yourself, like right now before he can probably show up," Pinkie suggested, actually trying to push her along. Hessonite though took a stomp on the ground to stop moving altogether, and suddenly it was like Pinkie was trying to push a brick building.

"Ok, at first this was cute, but now you're starting to test me. Do you honestly think that this is something I can't do?" Hessonite questioned.

"That's what we've been saying, Hessonite," Garnet said.

"Well you're wrong: I haven't been given the honor of Gem Admiral for losing any fight. And to think I thought you're starting to sound like a Diamond," Hessonite remarked, though her tone wasn't meaning she was anything impressed by the fusion Garnet-wannabe.

"Good. ... At least one of us is," Garnet remarked.

Hessonite stopped.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You keep saying you're a Gem Admiral, the best Gem of your kind and the perfect leader. Start acting like it," Garnet warned. The sword was drawn out again. How dare she insist she's not a leader?! Rather than back down, Garnet actually got herself armed and ready for any fight she was gonna throw at her.

"What do you know about being a leader? You're not even a real Garnet, you're just a fusion! You can't even exist without someone to help you, whereas I only need myself to be what I am. Perfection isn't something you just build up to, it's a skill you're made with. You think I can't beat you?"

Garnet smirked. "No ... I know you can't."

And to show how much she meant that, she actually withdrew her own gauntlet gloves. It was a silent gesture to what rules there was gonna be in this duel, and Hessonite knew what that meant as she tossed her own sword aside. Both Garnets got into a battle stance and both faced eachother head on, as Fulgurite and Pinkie had to move aside to let this happen. The bell rang when Garnet said just two words.

"You first."

That did it.

Hessonite, blinding fast as usual, rushed right for Garnet for her first hit. It seemed easy for her to handle, just a straight kick to send Garnet flying away, but the fusion was not gonna make it that easy for her and all she did was slide to the side, letting Hessonite rush by her before Garnet grabbed her by the arm and swung her back. Both Garnets met up soon after that in a blinding ray of kicks and punches, and to Hessonite's surprise Garnet was actually keeping up with them with just as fast blocks and dodges. One sideways kick made Garnet duck and roll pass her, in her roll her leg out to give Hessonite an upside-down whack of her foot to knock her back. It was strong enough to send the singular Gem back about ten feet, skidding in the snow and dirt before regaining herself, as Fulgurite and Pinkie were cheering a bit.

"What technique do you all this?" Hessonite asked.

"Something I'm making up as we go along," Garnet said.

"Cheeky are we? I warn you, this muscle isn't just for attraction you know," Hessonite said, showing herself to her.

"Please you can't even do that right."

OWCH! That really got Hessonite riled up again, and got her rushing at her in a full-on ninja-like charge. This time Garnet leaned back, almost vertical, and while Hessonite would've bolted over her Garnet grabbed her midway, and proceeded to give Hessonite a good Surplex into the snow. With the momentum Garnet swung herself over Hessonite and while holding onto her, threw her over her head. Of course Hessonite landed on her feet but she was actually surprised Garnet was doing so well without any actual hit on her yet.

How was this fusion doing so good against her?

Still, Hessonite went back for her again, this time spinning in a 360 kicking tornado against Garnet, her spinning so fast it was almost a blur Garnet tried blocking the spinning kicks for the first leg, but the last second Hessonite switched legs and suddenly Garnet got whacked in the side of her torso, sending the fusion right towards the tree. A good hit, but not enough to get Garnet to stop as she spun in the air until her feet landed on the tree, giving her a good boost to launch herself back at her. Hessonite lowered her head and literally met her head-on, forcing her to skid back twenty feet from the force, but still on her feet.

"Impressive for a fusion. You're almost as good as that Flint I fought before," Hessonite remarked, before bringing her knee up to strike Garnet in the face. It was just enough to bring Garnet up before Hessonite jumped up and did a "kangaroo" kick to push her back.

"You still won't listen though, will you?" Garnet questioned, taking off her now cracked visors to show his three eyes.

"No."

That only triggered the fight to continue, both Garnets rushing in together at once, meeting fists clashing together. The very force was enough to shake the ground, Fulgurite and Pinkie startled but still invested in who will win this tussle.

"You got this Garnet!" called Pinkie.

"Show her what you're made of!" added Fulgurite. This praise for the fusion didn't suit well for Hessonite, and suddenly she went all out on Garnet, her fists moving so fast they were almost invisible! Garnet had to keep her arms up to keep the punches away, but this still left her vulnerable to a sneak-attack in the form of a swift side-kick. Even if she foresaw it, it still moved too fast to connect, and struck her legs just hard enough to make Garnet fall to the ground. Troubling for her cheering friends, but satisfying for Hessonite as she stood on top of Garnet, the fusion keeping her eyes shut ...

"Are you about done, my little faker?" Hessonite remarked, "You held up a decent fight, but if you're looking to actually defeat me, you're just wasting your time. I've never lost a fight before during the war, and it won't be happening now. ... Speaking of now, it's time you two spent some time apart."

She said as she pulled out her sword to finish the battle.

"Know your place, Fusion."

...

"Time's up," said Garnet.

Garnet spurred into overdrive: Hessonite's sword struck down onto her, but instead of making Garnet poof, it ended up striking one of Garnet's gauntlet gloves. If Hessonite was going to use her Gem weapon, there's no reason why she couldn't, and now that the gloves are on, Garnet grabbed hold of the weapon and with a single flex of the wrist, crushed it! Hessonite had to jump back from that surprise, but now it was time for Garnet to go all in. Hessonite boasted and mocked her long enough.
The fusion locked onto Hessonite, both fists now aimed right at her before the gauntlet gloves shot out as punching rockets. Hessonite, second sword ready, sliced the first one in half as it shot aside just fine, but the second one right behind it actually opened up, and grabbed the sword right out of Hessonite's hands, leaving her unarmed before Garnet rushed forward at her. With no hands for a moment, Garnet had to basically tackle her, bringing her head down like a battering ram. Hessonite reacted just fast enough to keep herself from falling but Garnet bucked up, and with the momentum whacked Hessonite square in the chin.

"She won't get to me like that, she's just a fusion! she's still holding her own though ... I got to split her up," Hessonite thought, and concluded. Bringing out two swords this time, Hessonite went right for Garnet, but the fusion was not gonna give her the chance: Garnet jumped up, did an air splits to kick away both weapons, and swung both gauntlets down right onto Hessonite's head to bring her down.

"What?! How's she doing this to me?" Hessonite thought, seconds before -

*SLAM!!*

And THEN, just like that, the fight suddenly stopped. Hessonite was on the ground, with Garnet still standing up. At first, everything was silent as both Gems concluded what happened. Hessonite lost. And she lost hard.

"Good game," Garnet said, not even sounding tired, monotone actually, "Let's go girls -"

"WOOO! YOU DID IT, YOU SHOWED HER WHAT FOR! I knew you were the leader for a reason, Garnet! I just wished everyone else was here to see this," Fulgurite said, basically fangirling over Garnet at what she and Pinkie just saw.

"Alright, settle down everyone, let's not rub it in," Garnet said, mostly for Hessonite's sake.

"You sure we can't just a little? She kept mocking everyone, not to mention calling you a faker and everything."

Garnet took a glance over at Hessonite.

"....... Okay, maybe just a little," Garnet admitted.

"Sweet," Fulgurite said. Still, that would have to wait a little bit longer, because Hessonite was getting herself back off of the ground and onto her feet again. Her head was still spinning a little from the fight, but it was more of the surprise that got to Hessonite the most.

"Wha ... what happened? I lost? ... No. No, I-I never lost to anyone before, how could this happen? I ... I'm not flawless? ... But they always told me I'm the best admiral in all of Gemkind. Did they lie to me? ..."
Hessonite couldn't even bring herself to even finish her sentence, just looking down at her hands for a moment before looking over towards the victor. Since Garnet gave her the greenlight, Fulgurite looked smugly at Hessonite.

"Sooo what do you say now?" asked a slightly cocky Fulgurite. Hessonite took a deep breath, and ended up kneeling to Garnet, head down.

"It's okay Hessonite, you don't have to make me your superior just because I beat you," Garnet insisted. But Hessonite didn't move.

"I've underestimated you. You're the first ever to truly beat me. I'm in disgrace, so ... Finish me off. Do what you will," Hessonite concluded.

"....... I ain't doing that," Garnet bluntly concluded. Hessonite looked up to Garnet.

"You're not? But why not?! I've lost and you're not going to do anything to me? I'm at your mercy," Hessonite asked, blind-sided by that response. Here she was mocking her, insulting her and tried to poof her the whole time they were here, and Garnet's response was nothing? So what did Garnet decide to do? ...

Bonk her in the head.

*bonk* "Okay, we're done."

"... Wait. That's it?"

"That's it," Garnet answered with a shrug. Garnet turned and started to walk away, but Hessonite was still very confused.

"Wait a minute, why're you doing this? You're just letting me go, even after everything?"

"Sure. I think we've beaten eachother up enough," Garnet admitted, stretching a bit from their fight. Hessonite started to see her point, though she still was puzzled all the same. In the end, she stood back up and dusted herself off of both dirt and the snow.

"W-Well ... In that case, umm ... good match. You were a great opponent, fusion - ... I mean, Garnet," Hessonite said, trying to look more professional than how she really was feeling, even extending her hand to her as if they just finished a training session. Garnet took the handshake with a smile on her own face. A simple glance into the future told her what to say to Hess next.

"You can still hang out in Little Homeworld if you'd like. There's plenty of room for one more Gem," Garnet said.

"How'd you know I was gonna -" Hessonite then suddenly remembered the Sapphire component in this fusion. "... Nevermind."

"Giving you a chance to change. ... Now, I gotta go: Steven's waiting for me," Garnet said.

"Yes, you're little friend. You do that, I'm gonna be doing some ... other things. Bye." and Hessonite disappeared in a quick orange blur pass them on her way back to Little Homeworld. NO WAY as she gonna let this failure be known to anyone else, but her mind was too mixed up to figure out anything else to do right now.

"She's still got a ways to go. Come on Fulgurite, Pinkie, let's catch up to Steven."


~~~~~~


Good thing that they stopped too, because Olson and Steven were just now making their way up the hillside towards Brooding Hill. Steven of course knew the way to Brooding Hill just fine, but he kept over by Olson so it at least seemed like the bull was more bringing him along than the other way around. It was an ... uncomfortable walk, mostly thanks to the idea of this being a trap still going on in Steven's head.

"Ok, Grogar you wanted me to come out here, and now you have me. What's the battle today?" Steven thought, as they continued along. Whether it was a trap by Grogar or not, Steven might as well be prepared for the worst. Olson could see his fist clench up a bit on those thoughts, the bull keeping up the pace with Steven as they neared the Brooding Hill itself.

"K, you ready for this?" Olson asked.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Where is he?" Steven asked. All Olson went and did was aim his hoof over towards the very to of the hill, the highest point looking out over Beach City. Steven went right on up there after taking a few breaths to prepare his nerves, and on getting to the top immediately braced for a fight ... but nothing happened.

In fact, he did not see Grogar ... well ... anywhere. Not even hiding along the cliffside.

"Olson, I don't see anything. You sure this is the right spot? ... Olson?"

What Steven turned around to was what Olson really wanted to do. Olson got himself ready. Steven was right where he wanted him to be, and just one well-aimed charge was all it's going to take. His front hoof scraped at the ground, his head lowered, and as far as he could see Steven had nowhere else to even go.

"He's right down there!" Olson said, just before he started to charge!
Steven gasped, and braced for the impact of the bull, hearing Olson's heavy hooves slam the ground in each gallop ... before Olson was yanked back by the tail by Garnet.

"IIIEEE!" Olson yelped, falling on the ground with a loud thud. Garnet meanwhile simply tossed him away from Steven, the bull landing at about two feet away from them both. A decent move. Olson got back up, now having to deal with Steven and his fusion friend.

"You idiot, out of my way! I got nothing to deal with you," Olson demanded.

"I'm not moving. And I'm disappointed in you, Olson. You'll stop if you know what's good for you," Garnet stated. Olson shook his head.

"I know what's good for me! Grogar's ticked off at the kid, not at you, and I'm bringing him right back to him," Olson said in a snort. Well nothing secret here, and the bull wasn't really trying to be anymore.

"We've spent all day healing you, and this is what you wanted to do?! Why even bother, Grogar tried to kill you!" Steven said. The bull dug into the ground again, ready for another charge.

"We're warning you, Olson. If you're smart, you'll stop right now," Garnet said.

"Well I'm not smart, so get outta the way," Olson said, and he more than proved it when he charged right for the two. Steven and Garnet stood beside eachother, not too afraid of this charging animal (they've faced worse), but when it came to the actual "fight", well all that really happened was Garnet grabbing the bull by the horns, spinning the bull in a corkscrew, and slamming him into the ground. ... And that's it.

"... Ow. ..."

"You good?" Garnet asked. Olson, dizzy, stumbled back onto his hooves before confronting the two again.

"You know, Grogar was right about you being strong, but it ain't gonna work on me. I'm taking Steven back! Once Grogar sees me with that kid in toe, he'll have to welcome me back with a nice big reward. He might make me a captain!" Olson said, actually excited for such an idea floating in his head, and one that could easily be the case if he could make this work. With hooves bumping together like one would ready a fist, he started to close in on Steven, but Garnet wasn't having any of it. She simply crossed her arms and gave the bull a disappointed look.

"You're just tricking yourself. Grogar's NOT going to reward you. He wants him and that's it, not a bull with him," Garnet bluntly stated.

"Oh yes I will!"

"Olson, listen to her. Think about it this way: if you just walk back there with me dead, he'll probably beat you up anyway because he wants to kill me himself," Steven said.

"You'll just rob him of the satisfaction," summed up Garnet. Very good points, but Olson was just getting more irritated with them. It also didn't help that they were right about Grogar's anger either, so with another snort and shake of the head he tried something different.

"Ok, fine, I'll take him back alive!" Olson decided, ready to go forward. Unfortunately that wasn't gonna work either as Garnet cracked her shoulders.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. You're gonna have to shatter us first if you want us to go with you," Garnet concluded.
Now an angry bull in rage probably wouldn't even bother to think about that, but Olson was feeling a bit unsure about either of those things. It was just enough to keep him from just charging forward again (though getting spun in the air might've helped too). He did take a step forward to them but that was about it.

"I don't know: First Grogar gets mad at me for not fighting you, and now he gets mad at me for fighting you?" Olson said.

"That about sums it up," Steven concluded. Would they expect anything different from Grogar though? Apparently it was enough to make Olson sit down in a slump. So much for his plan of dignity.

"You got my brain scrambled guys. What the hay am I supposed to do? I got nowhere else to go," Olson asked. Garnet went over to the bull and placed a hand on Olson's shoulder.

"Start with Appleloosa," Garnet simply answered, giving the bull a pat on the back ... with one being more of a smack than a pat, but that was as far as it was gonna be. So ... now what?

"Appleloosa? Hoh boy, Gems are so tricky. They'll start telling me to go and work for the fish-people next. ... Wait, that can't be right. Maybe I should work in a china shop? No that can't be right either ... Now what am I to do? ... Go to Appleloosa I guess."

Steven and Garnet were already gone by the time Olson decided to just go. Lucky for them, thanks to the mind dilemma, Olson wasn't planning to go off after them now, so this just left them walking back towards home. Steven and Garnet took at least one look back and funnily enough thought of the same thing.

"It was worth a shot."