The days had come and gone. Oddly quiet for the longest time for the people around Beach City or around Ponyville come to think of it. The Harmony Gems were close to coming back, but one would expect Grogar's Army to take advantage and come in. But the Ram himself had a bit more on his mind than just mindless violence.
Off out in the outskirts of his current base, Grogar was still fuming. It was bad enough that his last army attempt was thrashed by the Harmony Gems, but he also had no horns to help him, AND an entire platoon no longer functioning. This only left Budgerite, Trotter, Bray, Stubby, and Tempest Shadow to handle much of the army for him, with only one Captain of his army left that will actually follow through with him. Pacing back and forth on the cold ground and snow though, that hardly made Grogar feel any better. As for the four in question, all they could do was watch him go back and forth, quiet and not wanting to actually say anything to him. Who even knew what to say to him anyway that wouldn't make them get crushed or crumble?
Without saying a word, Budgerite nudged the only pony brave enough to talk to him, and tried gesturing her to say something to him. No way was the bird hybrid gonna squawk to him, not in the state he was in.
"Fine," Tempest sighed. And throwing caution to the wind, she began walking over to him. However, before Tempest could say anything, Grogar stopped all together and spun around to face her, making the Unicorn stop.
"Got something to say?" Grogar questioned in a low growl. Tempest gathered her composure with a clear of her throat.
"Sir, you've been pacing for days now. We know what's bothering you, but we ... we need to take action at some point, if you do want to take over," Tempest advised. Grogar looked to the ground, his teeth barred.
"Well how would you feel when your enemy is so unpredictable? He tries killing me to reforming me on a tip of a hat, and is driving me nuts! HOW can I manipulate the kid if I can't read him?" Grogar questioned, going back to pacing again.
"It's not like you made it easy for him," muttered Budgerite, not able to help it. THAT made Grogar stop and glare down at the hybrid, making her regret her life choices.
"HE'S just stubborn that's all! He just can't accept the fact that he can't break me, but he's trying every single trick in the book to stop me. ... Just like I was."
That last part was just muttered by him, but they all heard him all the same. Grogar sat down and got to thinking now, thinking over what kind of materials he had left to use.
"He and I are the same and HE'S got the entire world on his side yet I don't. What does he have that I don't have?!" Grogar wondered in anger. None of them said a word to answer THAT question, but they knew they had to calm him down SOMEWHAT. Still, before any of them could say anything, they then started to hear a small sound just underneath their feet.
"Budgerite, you're getting taller!" gasped Bray.
"Huh? WHA!" Budgerite jumped off when she saw a growing molehill start to come up from underneath her. The others stood back away from the growing molehill as Grogar stopped altogether to see what was up. Soon, the last main elite of this group popped out of the ground, shaking off the snow and shivering a little on breaking the surface.
"Sumu, you're back. ... Well? ..." Grogar asked. Sumu needed a minute, shivering from the cold. Sumu needed a moment or two to get the chill off of her, shaking off any snow stuck to her leaves. After that she gave a salute to the Ram.
"I spied on the Harmony Gems l-like you asked. T-They're coming back today. S-Something about princesses and ... you being in Tartarus?" Sumu said. Grogar could feel his hooves grind against the hard rock, but part of him knew they would piece it together eventually.
"What a bunch of bull. At this rate they're gonna learn when I brush my teeth! I gotta stay ahead of them, but how? ..." Grogar was back to pacing again, the others not sure how to answer that question. Budgerite and Bray at down and tried to think of what to do, but slowly their eyes started to drift down towards Sumu again, especially with what she said next after some thinking ...
"Why don't you ask the gods for help?"
"... Say that again?"
"Uhh ... Why don't you ask the gods for help?" Sumu repeated. Grogar turned around to face his plant spy.
"What gods? The alicorns?" Grogar scoffed.
"No, the gods. They mentioned something about that too on their way. Something about getting daddy's powers back, how they took that, or ... something. It's really confusing," Sumu said.
"....... Uhh ... sir? You're staring," Bray said, and indeed Grogar was. That info might've flown over her head, but that didn't mean it wasn't anything valuable. Grogar's blank stare off into space slowly began to turn into a sinister grin.
"O-Oh no, he's got that smile again," gulped Budgerite.
They knew that smile in particular could only mean Grogar was about to do something crazy. ...
"That's it. My ultimate opportunity. ... Trotter, Stubby on guard! Sumu, coordinates! Rest of you with me. If this works ... nothing can stand in my way. Not even the Harmony Gems."
.......
"NO NO NO NO NO! You've all done your decent amount of chaos, but I'M supposed to be the insane one NOT YOU!" pleaded Discord.
Speaking of gems, the Harmony Gems were almost ready. Getting back with all of the information they could need for the final push, they were all gathered over at the barn for a few final checks just before taking off. The whole trip to Ramicorn had left them with at least a full pile of papers and documents written by Twilight Sparkle and Jade to make sure it was at it's best for the final trial.
"Discord, we promise everything will be just ... fine," Fluttershy promised, though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little nervous, "We got it all planned out."
"But a final trial against the Gods, Fluttershy! You all were lucky to escape last time, speaking as the spirit of Chaos I can assure you that they will NOT let you go after three strikes," Discord explained. He'd get into a baseball suit for the pun but all he could do was grab a plank of wood and use it as a bat.
"Can't we at least stay here," White asked, "they're so ... merciless. If you challenge them one more time who knows what could possibly happen?"
"No," Garnet firmly said, "If we are going for a final trial against them, we need you two there to receive your powers back. Besides, someone needs to make sure our Portal Keys know where they're teleporting us. We got the documents for our case, we got the evidence we need, and we got the best lawyer on our side."
"What? Who? Which Zircon's stupid enough to do this?!" White asked in shock. Zircons were made to be lawyers sure, but there're limits to every Gem. THAT answer came when Flint stepped forward, readjusting his lawyer's outfit.
"A Zircon who's a Harmony Gem, possibly," said Flint, "Trust me, this is my area of expertise. If all goes we'll, you both can have your powers back by the end of the day."
"Now, Flint, I know you have a reputation to be stubborn as bricks, but YOU can recognize the danger right? THEY'VE drained my powers and Discord's," White said.
"I've hardly listened to you before White, what makes you think I'd do so now?"
"....... Good point," White gulped. Flint nodded and turned over towards the rest of them. He and Garnet started heading over towards the others, but they weren't the only one getting things ready. Near the barn the Off-Colors were present as well, including Lars and Sadie for the moment.
"Off-Colors, you all stay here. We're gonna be gone for a while so you need to watch over things while we're away," Garnet instructed.
"You can count on us," said Lars confidently, the other Off-Colors agreeing to terms. Good to see that someone was watching over things while they're away. With that reassurance, Garnet and Flint went over to the others.
"So, did you get anyone to guard over Little Homeworld? The Off-Colors can't guard there and Beach City at the same time," Flint inquired. Garnet smirked.
"I've got Hessonite to do that for us."
"Wait, Hessonite? But she doesn't like us," Flint said, surprised by the answer. Garnet simply smirked and adjusted her shades, a telltale sign that she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Let's just say we had a little chat," Garnet simply said. Flint couldn't ask for any more than that he can tell.
"K, that's everything," announced Connie.
"Thanks Connie. Now remember, we might have guards set up for Beach City, Ponyville, and Little Homeworld but you still have to be prepared just in case something goes wrong," Pearl said. Connie saluted her, sword in hand.
"Yes mam. I've been training all week while we were gone, so if anyone comes, I'll be ready. I set up my personal guard in town and practice emergency procedures with Nanefua," Connie explained confidently. Pearl felt so proud of her for hearing all of that, a big smile on her face. With that reassurance all done, Garnet pulled out her key.
"Everyone ready?" asked Garnet.
"We're all set," said Twilight.
"Great. Discord, if you would do the honors," Garnet said, giving the Draconequus her key. Discord was still reluctant about the whole thing, but he knew very well it was impossible to get the group to change their mind now, especially this close. All he could do was take a deep breath and just toss the key into the Barn wall, its magic quickly creating a large door for them all to go right through.
"Last chance to change your mind?" Discord asked meekly.
"Discord, this has gone on far enough. Lets get your powers back," Steven said. Before he could actually go in there, Garnet grabbed him by the shoulder to hold him back. There was a very vague chance that what'll happen next might happen but this was Discord they were dealing with, magic or no magic so ...
"Spinel. Stretch your eyes and look through there for us," Garnet instructed.
"Umm ... ok?" Spinel said. She got her hand around one of her eyes, and while one eye stayed shut, the other one stretched out and right through the portal like a good ol telescope. Ignoring some of the cringe from the Off-Colors , Spinel extended her eye into the portal a bit and got a good look around.
"Does this god world have giant lollypops in it?" Spinel asked.
Lollypops? Spinel retracted her eye back like a tape measurer, rubbing it a little thanks to the strain. Everyone looked over to the Draconequus.
"Well it's not MY FAULT the portal leads to a Candy kingdom. Guess you'll have to stay," Discord decided.
No one was amused. Not a word, but Discord already got what they meant.
"... ALRIGHT I'll fix it," Discord grumbled.
Discord walked over to the door and pulled the key right out of the wall, slamming the door shut of any chance of getting to that kingdom. Wherever the heck that was. He took a moment to clean it off of some wood and splinters, blowing on it wand whipping it clean before he gave it another try. This time he focused on the actual location. The portal opened up good and wide again, Discord staying away and by the rest this time without anymore mishaps. He was not so thrilled about it either way.
"Thank you," Garnet said.
"You absolutely sure you don't want to stay?" Discord asked one final time, looking up to Garnet from his slouched posture right behind her. Garnet's answer? ...
"Let's go everyone," Garnet announced.
So that's a no.
~~~~~~
Discord and White Diamond were just left for the ride as the Harmony Gems made it through the Portal Key's path to their destination. The portal itself lead them all out from their world and right into the cloud realm of the gods, and in a more distant spot other than right at the center of the realm so at least then they won't be bombarded straight away without getting their barring together. With no prior plan for the god realm, the count on spirits and messenger cranes were far more evident than usual, though none of them noticed the group of mortals yet.
"Okay, we're here now, but look at that. Don't see anybody special around, so why don't you all just go back -"
"Discord, we're not turning back now. You want your powers back, don't you?" Steven asked.
"Of course I do are you kidding me?!" Discord immediately responded, getting right in Steven's face. "I haven't pull a decent card trick in months."
"Then why don't you want us to do this? There isn't really any other way we can do this unless you want us to steal your powers back," Diopside noted. White suddenly freaked out.
"Refrain from your rebelling PLEASE, For the love of stars!" White shrieked.
"That's what I thought. Just let us talk to her, work one more trial and everything will be fine ... as soon as we find her."
But where though? All the group could see while looking was a few cranes and numerous other spirits amongst the world of clouds, but nothing that really matched the description of their Spirit that got them in this problem in the first place. All the flyers of the group took off above the others to get a better view of the place, but they weren't having much luck either no matter how high they flew up. Rainbow Dash especially took some extra miles into the sky, but no matter how high she flew there wasn't that many major spirits she can make out from up there.
"See anything?" called Rarity.
"That's a negative, see no one important up here," Rainbow called down.
"How can we miss her?" wondered Jade. Discord could feel his heart stop.
"Wait. Her. ... SERIOUSLY, you're just asking to get into trouble," Discord said. Bad enough they were here in the first place AGAIN, but going straight to her on the spot was just ... well, he already said it.
"She's the one that started this in the first place, so we're gonna finish it with her," Bismuth said. For some reason that didn't reassure Discord of anything, even if he expected no different from this group. Discord would try to defy or say SOMETHING to them, but that wasn't gonna make em turn back or stop anyway so all he did was grab his tail and nibble on it like someone would to their fingernails.
"There there, Discord," Fluttershy said after landing, a hoof on his shoulders. No that didn't help him out, and it only seemed to get even worse when, while everyone else was looking, a shadow began to loom over them.
"Looking for someone?"
The Spirit of the World Yet to Come. Almost as if appearing from the very air behind them, the same equine-like shape began to manifest right then and there, in her same dark cloak and all. Standing and towering over them, was just the spirit they were hoping to run into (well most of them). What flyers remained quickly bolted back down to the others as the Spirit herself only hovered above the ground to move in closer to them, the group already feeling the ice cold from the wind tossed up from the spirit's wings, even more so when she landed down in front of them, kicking up wind and a bit of clouds their way.
Here it goes. ...
"What do you think you're doing back here?" the Spirit demanded, wings spread and glare keeping them all still. Steven took a breath and decided to speak first, walking to her alongside Twilight.
"We'd like to talk to you about them," Steven said, pointing to White Diamond and Discord. The Spirit's glance just made them keep their distance, both knowing how dangerous she was, but all they got was a look before the Spirit shook her head.
"You're all truly doing this act again? Your last two attempts weren't too impressive," the Spirit said in disapproval and even disappointment.
"W-Well we want a third attempt. One more try to make a good case for them," Steven said.
The Spirit raised her head up and turned nose away from them. "Out of the question! It's troubling enough that you rebels constantly return here from the start, I'd be more than hardened if I allow yet ANOTHER trial to occur! Anyway, what would make this third trial any different from the other two?"
"We were hoping you'd say that. Because we got everything right here," Twilight revealed, levitating all of the documents she and the others had gathered over the week. The Spirit looked quizzically at the object she had, which was less of documents and more like a small book. Twilight even added a title to it and everything.
'History of a fallen hero' written by Twilight Sparkle
"What is this?" the Spirit questioned, levitating the object out of Twilight's forcefield as she started examining it over.
"Grogar's documents. It catalogues all of the information behind him, with pre-existing details AND current whereabouts. We all worked hard to make it happen, as you can probably tell," Twilight said confidently.
"What does THIS have to do with them?" the Spirit questioned, her hoof pointing to the Draconequus and Diamond yet again.
"Because that evil Ram is gonna wreck EVERYTHING under his huge hoof. I mean HUUUGE!" said Pinkie, waving her own Hooves in a circle to show the size of Grogar's hoof to her.
"We gotta get everybody at full strength if we're gonna try anything to stop em," added Applejack, "Grogar's already lost those horns of his but he's got an army bigger than a country behind him already, and he ain't gearing to give up."
"Before you just tell us to stop him, BELIEVE us, we've tried fighting him off but he's always a step ahead of us: he's toppled the diamond Authority single-handedly - er hoofedly. Well you get the idea," concluded Lapis Lazuli.
"Please, Spirit? One more time, give us one more chance to make a good case for them, then I promise, for as long as I live, we'll never bother you ever again," promised Steven.
The Spirit paused and looked over everyone around her. They all seemed to share the same amount of determination as those speaking to her, so simply demanding them to leave didn't seem like an option to her. She levitated the documents closer to her, opening it and reading over exactly what they had to say. There were fingers crossed, and everyone hanging off what word the Spirit had to say.
Her response?
.......
*rip* *rip* *rip*
She did NOT just do that. Releasing her magic, the spirit dropped what remained of the documents right down onto the floor at their feet. Whatever chance they got to prove Grogar's existence to the Spirit Council was now blown away along the wind.
"NNOO! The documents!" exclaimed Twilight, trying to fly and get them, only for the Spirit to add even more burning by shooting a weak spell into the sky, burning what remained. Their only leg to stand on and it was burned to dust, disappearing into the clouds of the god's realm.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" snapped Fulgurite in rage. The Spirit, cold as ice, remained undeterred by any of their expressions towards her.
"Grogar does not exist, he never existed, and as far as I'm concerned, he was never apart of your timeline. Discord and White Diamond will never regain their power, and that is and will be forever final," The Spirit bellowed, her wings spread as an icy wind rushed along by them all. The Spirit, feeling satisfied with the results of everything, turned and started to make her leave when she then felt something stomp down onto her robe.
"This isn't how justice works, Spirit. You all never gave Discord or White a proper trial, and you drove the entire thing," Garnet questioned. The Spirit slowly turned back to the defiant fusion.
"Excuse me? I only did what the law dictates, this is NOT personal gain. You're all just the ones who refuse to accept -"
"You hate his guts, don't you?" Garnet cut in. The Spirit nearly slapped Garnet off with her wings, but the fusion simply leaned back to dodge the swing. "You just love to see him messing up and make a fool of himself, to the point when even he doesn't want himself around."
"And just what are you trying to say?" the Spirit questioned.
"Make this a fair trial. Let both sides of the story be told, and let everyone reach their own decisions. Is that so hard to ask you to do?" Steven instructed. The Spirit looked down to both the hybrid and the fusion herself for a brief time before she went and simply pulled the robe out from under Garnet's feet ... just to find her tail under her foot still. Garnet was NOT letting her walk away without an answer.
"FINE. Since you are pathetically willing to risk your lives for this," the Spirit said.
"You dip," Fulgurite said. The Spirit just ignored her.
"In fact," the Spirit continued, "Why don't you and I make a wager. The trial will happen, as you've humbly requested, though without your evidence, the odds are against you."
"They're always stacked against us, when have they not? What're the steaks?" asked Bismuth.
"If you all win the trial, then I'll give the order myself to return White Diamond and Discord's magic to their full capacity along with their size so they don't look so ... minuscule."
"Oooooo, she even makes fancy words sound deadly," shivered Discord, backing up behind Fluttershy like a chicken. The Spirit continued.
"But when I win the trial, then all of your powers are surrendered to the council, AND you all will be put under arrest for insubordination of the gods," the Spirit added, more confident that she was gonna win.
"Under arrest?" Fluttershy gulped.
"What kind of deal's that, that's too one-sided! Little Homeworld, Equestria, we have to keep them safe from Grogar's Army, if we're locked up here, there's no one to help them," Twilight retorted. The Spirit was unmoved by Twilight's words, and simply waited to hear if they were up for the challenge or not. Garnet thought a little bit on it, but then ... smiled.
"And when we win. You will give us an apology. Right. In front. Of everyone."
"GAH! ... T-That's just ... that's so cruel."
"You better say "sike" in the next five seconds before I scream," Spinel said, not believing her ears as with most of the others. They met some proud people, but THIS is what the Spirit called cruel?! APOLOGIZING? As for the Spirit, she was now taking them more seriously as she stared daggers down at them.
"I'll take that wager, only because I know that's never going to happen! Mark my words, mortals, you all will regret the very second you discovered our existence. I promise you that," the Spirit warned, ready to take off and fly away. She only needed one look to Garnet though before the fusion stepped off of her tail, letting the Spirit fly away back towards the Council building.
"I do not like her," Peridot managed to say through her gritted teeth.
"Don't worry, I'm with ya on that one," Bismuth said.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" screamed Spinel. Lucky for them, her screaming was muffled thanks to a well-prepared bubble formed around her head by Lapis Lazuli. Spinel looked so ready to tear someone a new one, teeth sharpened into triangles and just screaming her head off like a banshee ... until she wore herself out and collapsed to her feet.
"Thanks," Spinel simply said.
"Anytime," Lapis replied.
"Y-You sure you know what you're doing Garnet? Not that I'm saying you don't but some - not me - think this is ... a bit extreme?" White Diamond muttered.
"They took your power away, AND they hurt Quetzalcoatl for basically no reason. It's time someone kicked their butts," said Garnet, cracking her knuckles. Discord freaked out a bit, jumping at her and practically begging at this point.
"Guys, girls, let's not be too hasty here pretty please. Just listen to them, I pinkie promise I'll take care of everything. You believe me don't you?" Discord asked.
"Nope. Because you won't," Garnet simply replied. Discord slumped in his spot - which was all he could do.
"If even half of what Quetzalcoatl said was true, then there's no point in trying to play by their rules. Homegirl's gonna have to make our own rules," Amethyst said.
"Yeah! God or no god, let's show em what happens when you mess with the Harmony Gems," agreed Bismuth.
"Can you at least wait until AFTER the final trial before you rebel? I know it's your thing, but you can hold it off until then can you?" White Diamond asked once more.
"....... We'll see what happens."
All the team needed to do to make their decision was look down to the destroyed piece of evidence they had, and the only evidence they had left to support any of their claims before the trial could even get started. It was painfully obvious what they're gonna do, and the decision was unanimous. Time to consort with the gods.
~~~~~~
The trial was right on schedule. With the gods beginning to gather around the court room again, filling up the room as it had been the last two times now. It was a bit exciting for the spirits who did attend because not only was this the most court sessions they've had in forever, but it was mortals who arranged this final trial completely. Who wouldn't want to miss it? Discord and White Diamond though weren't given any chances, kept in chains of magic over by the judge's stand to keep both of them from just bolting off or something. It was like a pair of guard dogs sitting by the king (not that they'd be any good at anything right now). As for the rest, they were all given their own spot in the court room since there was so many of them this time, and truth be told some were in awe at the sheer size of the court room.
"Ok so you know the game plan. No one speaks unless they're absolutely sure about their facts, okay? We can't afford to make any mistakes ... especially without our data," Flint reminded.
"We know man, you've said that ten times already," Amethyst said, "But for real ... how big of a chance do you think we got?"
"Realistically ... not very much. But what else is new?"
"Yeah random sidenote: ... Jade. Diopside. Star. Is that YOU up there?" asked a dumbfounded Rarity. The court room since their last visit had actually been given a few murals along its walls. The one that Rarity was pointing out had Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz on it, holding a particular sword in hand. They each had their own reaction to it, though it mostly was "humbled".
"... Eeehhh ... wow. Yeah, that is us," Diopside said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Your Great Honor must really like us for what we done for him," Star figured. Peridot stuck close to Star after hearing that, but decided just to keep quiet. Odds are they'll figure it out later anyway. Pretty impressive still for the three to earn a god's mural in the council's court room.
"Anyway, let's do our best today. And if we can't make this work ... no one can say we never tried," concluded Twilight.
"Look!" Pinkie said.
Then the ground started to shake. The entire court room turned silent with the noise slowly starting to grow stronger and stronger, until the front of the court room began to break open from the ground up. The room filled up quickly, the sheer size of it now being filled in by the judge himself, Your Great Honor. His colossal feet found their footing on the floor in front of him, each step feeling like a mini earthquake. All attention was brought over to him. Before saying anything though, he stretched his neck out good and long, giving it a few stretches and getting some kinks out before seeing what the situation even was.
"Hello!" called Star Quartz with a wave. The others quickly tried getting her to be quiet, remembering how angry and aggressive he was last time he saw them all.
"Star what did we just say?" Peridot frantically said. Before anyone can reply a low exhale echoed throughout the room, sounding almost like a wheezing engine as the others looked back towards Your Great Honor again, who by now was staring down at all of them.
"THE COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!" Your Great Honor bellowed, his voice as earth-shaking as ever, "DO ALL PARTIES AGREE TO HOLD TRUE IN FRONT OF THE JUDGE?!"
Everyone in the room agreed with him fairly quickly, though Your Great Honor can see the tension between the Harmony Gems and the Spirit. Still, procedures were procedures.
"WILL THE PROSECUTION PLEASE RISE AND MAKE YOUR STATEMENT?" Your Great Honor requested. The Spirit moved out to position, though not before giving a sideways glance to the Harmony Gems first.
"As you're all are possibly aware of. Again. The condemned are once again in request of returning powers to the Draconequus and the Diamond. Despite the previous evidence from the prosecution, they've requested one final chance in explanation," the Spirit explained to the crowd. Your Great Honor looked over to the Harmony Gems again, looking more bitter if anything. He could still remember what he said about not bringing this subject up again, yet here they were ... doing it again. Wonderful.
"WHICH OF YOU ARE TO REPRESENT THE DEFENDENT?"
"That would be me, sir," Flint said. The giant tortoise moved his head in a gesture to allow him up to speak. Flint looked back to his friends one more time, them giving him their silent support (Garnet especially with a wink) before he took his steps towards the judge, right next to the Spirit. Your Great Honor spoke again.
"YOUR STILL CLAIMING TO DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND'S POWERS TO RETURN. STATE YOUR REASONINGS TO THE COURT!"
Flint's calm nature was tested in front of this giant, but he kept his composure. "I would naturally, but I also know that there was a previous one that only three of us were involved in. I'd hate to re-make statements as true as they could be, so a refresher would be nice."
Your Great Honor paused and slowly turned to the Spirit. Again, another quiet gesture got the Spirit to remake her points. As for the Spirit, finding it humorous that they let HER start things off, she took a look down to Flint (more obvious this time) before speaking.
"To summarize," said the Spirit, "The previous points were regarding both survival of Discord and authority of White Diamond. Both of which are invalid: Discord is perfectly fine even without his magic and Gem kind's been thriving better as well without White Diamond's involvement. Furthermore they have a history of tyranny, are unpredictable and leaving those two with powers that can destroy reality is far too risky to allow roaming as free as they were."
"She's gone over the biggest points already!" Flint thought in surprise. The best points to give and they already swept them aside. A few bits of small talk shared among the crowds around them all, as Flint thought about what the Spirit said. Diopside was a little peeved that she didn't put the exact details but they can only ask so much. But if anyone was the one to defy even them it would be Flint, and that's exactly what happened next after some re-thinking.
"Your Great Honor, jury," Flint said, keeping himself together, "the punishment of removing their magic purely off of past mistakes is circumstantial at best. You can't judge someone purely based off of their past."
"So you are to say we should ignore their crimes? Even such crimes that could've ended in the elimination of your reality and space and time as we to know it?" The Spirit almost immediately fired back. Flint clammed up, but tried keeping together, but the Spirit continued. The Spirit started to use some of her own magic now, and with a simple summoning from her horn she brought forward a screen to better elaborate what she was going to conclude. It was like a TV screen, only unable to be touched by anyone except for the Spirit. They looked intently at the screen the Spirit was showing, and while they couldn't tell at first, a picture slowly began to show up.
"Your Great Honor, Discord and White Diamond needn't I remind you all, had caused chaos and strife throughout their existence with the powers that their worlds had placed on them: Discord has the power to bend reality to his will, and all he's done with it is make Tartarus look normal!"
And to show what she meant the screen showed what Ponyville was like during Discord's villain days: Cotton Candy clouds, Rabbits with giraffe legs galloping across patchwork hillside, Bison dancing like ballerinas, pies flying in the sky being chased by flying pigs, and practically anything else! Discord blushed on seeing his more troubled times, but he wasn't gonna lie and say it didn't look fun. But then the screen started changing again ...
"White Diamond is given the powers of creation and what has she done with it?"
A figure. A humanoid figure trapped inside what looked to be a cylinder of sorts, filled up with a green liquid, and attached and kept together by robotic wires, mostly around the head, and suspended off of the floor. THIS made Flint freeze up on the spot.
"Playing a fake god, that's what!" the Spirit continued, "No beings of any world are supposed to have the power to deny life, but White diamond has used her abilities to play with it like it was some toy. Not dissimilar to how Discord used to bend reality like it's his toy. Such defiance will NOT be overlooked, and why such powers had to be removed. I rest my case."
"DOES THE DEFENDENT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?" Your Great Honor asked.
...
"OBJECTION! She's traumatizing the Defendant!" Jade managed to say. With help from Bismuth, she got up onto her and now stood up where the others can see her. The Spirit immediately took offense to this.
"I never! I'm showing evidence to my argument!" retorted the prosecutor, "I would never show evidence that would alter the decisions of the Defendant!"
"Yeah, I don't believe a word of her," quietly commented Fulgurite, Spinel and Rainbow agreeing and possibly everyone else. Jade looked to Flint, who had his eyes fixated on the screen at what the Spirit showed everyone, a cold sweat coming down from him as if just seeing one of Grogar's torture methods in front of him. Jade knew, and she had to fix this now.
"Then we want a 5-minute recess! Please," Jade said, looking right to him.
"The judge hasn't called any of you outside of the -"
"ORDER!!!" Your Great Honor roared, his voice so forceful it almost knocked the Spirit off of her own feet, and making everyone tremble almost. For good measure Your Great Honor even stomped the ground, threatening to collapse the whole room with the floor. There was a good side to this, as it snapped Flint back to reality, but still made him collapse onto the ground.
"I WILL ALLOW THE RECESS. PROSECUTION, PUT THAT THING AWAY! WE ALL GET YOUR POINT," Your Great Honor demanded. The Spirit got the image put away and out of sight with a simple blast of magic, but Flint was still left more than trembling. Jade and Diopside turned pale.
"Oh no, Flint wait, think about what you're doing!" Diopside shouted. She and Jade got to him just in time before he could shoot the Spirit's head off. His pistol was out but Jade grabbed his hand to try and make him stop as Diopside held Flint back. Flint was FURIOUS with her, and tried fighting his closest friends to do something to her but luckily for the Gems, Twilight got a magic aura around all three of them that kept things from getting even worse. But they all then saw something on the Spirit that made Flint even more angry but forced to stop.
A smirk on her face.
Twilight dragged all three of them back to the group, who at this point was nearby the door.
"Everything okay, Flint? What happened over there? ... did you know that figure?" asked Steven.
"... That. Was me. ..."
~~~~~~
They didn't have that much else to go to, so the Harmony Gems simply stuck around over by the entrance hall to the main court room, but all of them did have a bit of a negative vibe thanks to what just happened. It was bad enough they were having to do this at all. Flint meanwhile was sitting down, almost curled up with his head between his legs as the others tried to lend their support (Spinel hugging him in her arms, Jade and Diopside keeping him company, Lapis trying to sooth his nerves with her water, etc.) Those all helped but that didn't make him feel happier.
"There, there buddy. Think happy thoughts," Spinel encouraged, stroking his head. But flint couldn't think of anything beyond what happened.
"How in the stars did she get that? T-That's when I was made in the space station, NOBODY could've seen that except for White!" Flint said in a paranoid tone, "Did she watch us for THAT long? D-did she look at White's memories or something?"
"Either that or Sumu talked to her too," Jasper said.
"Hold on now, Sumu's a plant right? No plant I've ever known's grown up this far," Applejack pointed out.
Star shook her head, "Sumu didn't say anything about Flint, I don't think. Or the Space Station either. I think she only mentioned the Spirit one or two times, and that's when everyone ran away from eachother."
"Then she has watched us that long," Flint concluded gravely.
"Well why'd she show it?" Star asked.
"I'll tell you: she did it to get Flint to be quiet," Bismuth said.
"Well it worked," Flint mumbled.
"Flint you did fine, it's that Spirit who pushed too far. I mean who shows trauma as part of their argument anyway?" Rainbow Dash had to ask. Flint huddled back up again, and while Lapis stopped her water massage, Spinel didn't release him and held him close to her. Nearby, Steven was watching this happen, and began to wonder if putting Flint in such a spot was even a good idea at all.
"Look Flint, you don't have to go out there again, I'll take the next one," Steven offered.
"Steven, no. Who knows what she'll do to you if she sees you taking my place," Flint said, worried that she'll try pulling that trick on him like she did to himself.
"Then how about I do it," Twilight offered, "She doesn't have that much to use on me, unlike the Gems so it could make it easier."
"You don't understand: I've put myself as representative, I can't just leave now! J-Just give me a bit okay? ... you can let go now Spinel," Flint said.
"Not until you're all better," Spinel said. Fair enough, though this won't help them get their trial fixed, and Discord and White Diamond were still stuck inside with the other Spirits so who knows what they're doing in there. Regardless they all knew that the Spirit wasn't gonna give up so easily if allowed these kinds of tactics, so they better arm up when they get back in there.
"If only we can somehow compete with those jerks in there, AND know what they're gonna do at the same time," Pinkie remarked. "What to do, what to do ..."
"You're trying to imply something, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight figured.
"Huh? No, I'm just saying if we had someone as big into politics and so well that they can know what the opponent's thinking this'll be a piece of strawberry shortcake," Pinkie said, sounding legitimate about it.
They all knew what Pinkie Pie was saying though even if the pink mare did not, though Flint seemed a bit 50/50 on it, his hands gripping his knees as he wondered how serious they were about this idea.
"... Jade, you okay with this?" Flint asked.
"I think we should be asking you that," Jade replied. Slowly his eyes drifted over towards Garnet. The fusion thought a bit more into it, and eventually she decided.
"Garnet? ... Only if you're okay with this."
"Take my hand."
.......
"TIME IS UP! RETURN TO THE COURT ROOM!"
It didn't matter how far away the actual court room was to the crane or Spirit, hearing Your Great Honor's voice echoing across the realm was enough to get any one back involved within a hundred miles. Flocks of the Messenger Cranes flew back as fast as their wings can carry them, and the lesser Spirits manifested in their respected seats pretty quickly too. Your Great Honor watched them all settle down, including the higher spirits attending, and he turned his eyes to Discord and White diamond who honestly hadn't moved since this all started.
"YOU TWO HAD BEEN AWFULLY QUIET," Your Great Honor noted to the Draconequus and Diamond.
"Well what do you want me to do? I can't do anything for me or my bestie Fluttershy while I'm tied up in knots like this," Discord said, trying to bite off some of the chains with his teeth, just to get his fang stuck in between the chain links. Your Great Honor lowered his head very close to the two, his eye practically like looking into a full-length mirror.
"Your ... bestie. You mean you've made friends with one of them?" Your Great Honor whispered (which to them was just normal talking).
"You kidding? We're practically BFFs, and superb pen pals. I mean it's much easier when I can just snap a letter in thin air instead of actually writing," Discord said. Your Great Honor just gave him a look for a bit before looking to White Diamond briefly, not seeing her putting up any attempt to escape.
"And you're not even trying to get loose like your Draconequus," Your Great Honor noted.
"Well, excuse me, I'm trying not to cause any more accidents ... plus I can't break them anyway," White simply said.
Your Great Honor raised his huge head, keeping both of those things in mind. The court was ready to begin anyway.
Speaking of, the Harmony Gems began to come back in and get back in their respected position in the court room, but as he and the others noticed, they also noticed that not all of them were there. A few of them were missing actually, quite a bit. Your Great Honor said nothing, but the Spirit didn't follow.
"Let me guess: some of your team had convenient "missions" to take care of. For you're not all exactly present," the Spirit stated.
"Eh, sure. So we're getting someone else to represent this case for them, and us," Peridot explained.
"And who pray tell might that be?"
*SLAM*
There was their answer. The doors to the court room swung wide open, the slamming they got from hitting the wall catching their attention very quickly. The only thing that surprised them more than that was WHO actually was attending this case for the Defendant.
A Fusion.
Right. The Harmony Gems brought a fusion to the court room, but this one wasn't anything they've seen before: the Fusion stood as tall as the Spirit of the World Yet to Come, strolling towards the front where they all were. The fusion itself had a grayish purple color to the skin and hair, its hair tied back in a smooth ponytail along down its back. Their eyes counted up to four with a gemstone on its forehead, but they still had the bottom set covered by slim reading glasses, which they gave a slight glisten in the light like Garnet's visors would. The outfit on this Fusion matched the professional suit for any Zircon, with leggings and sleeves matching the similar colors of hot pink and gray. As for any extra limbs, there were two sets of arms (as with many of these kinds of fusions) with both arms even-length, and even two sets of feet set in such a way that they appeared to have high heels.
Alongside this fusion came the rest of the missing Harmony Gems, two of which were riding on the fusion's shoulders (Steven and Spinel), as Fluttershy flew alongside them and only rested in the shoulder when the fusion stopped moving. It adjusted its glasses before taking a look to its opponents for the afternoon.
"A FUSION?" Your Great Honor questioned, recognizing the game immediately from the amount of gemstones.
"That is correct. I am Teal Garnet, here at your command," it introduced, even giving a slight bow with a hand over heart.
"So this is the game you're pulling on the gods now? One prosecutor and one defendant at a time," the Spirit firmly stated.
"Afraid to play the game, are we? There isn't any shame in backing away from a challenge if you're so sure about it," Teal said. Immediately the Spirit felt insulted again. That, and given that Flint was technically here, there was no point in going any further on it. Your Great Honor decided to continue with this anyway.
"DEFENDANTS, STATE YOUR REPLY," Your Great Honor instructed.
"Certainly. Steven, Spinel, Fluttershy, you two care for a seat by the judge's stand and keep them company. We'll call you in just a bit," Teal said, gently placing the three down by Discord and White Diamond.
"Thanks for the ride," said Spinel. Teal gave Spinel a pat on the head before straightening back up, and strolled over towards the main area of the room so they were center of attention.
"Alright then. Now, where were we before our recess?" Teal asked, though by the tone in their voice they probably already knew the answer to that.
"THE PROSECUTOR SUMMERIZED THE REASONS WHY DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND ABUSE THEIR POWER," Your Great Honor reminded.
"Ah, that's right. You went on that for quite a bit and you do make a fairly decent point, wat?"
"... You're agreeing with me," the Spirit said quizzically.
"I'm not entirely unreasonable. I mean, Discord has clearly shown to go all out with his chaos magic, turning any world upside down and all that, and White Diamond has gained a bit of a god complex since getting her special powers. When it comes to restraint for those two ... they stink."
"Uncalled for, giant woman!" said Discord.
"What are they doing? They're supposed to be helping us," White whispered in panic.
"Just let them be, they got this," reassured Steven, but they have to see it for themselves first. It did throw them for a loop anyway, given the defendant was actually helping the prosecutor out in her statements ... at first. But now getting that out of the way, they adjusted their glasses.
"Alas, that's how they were. But just because of their past crimes, does that make them who they are now?"
"Your Great Honor, the Defendant is clearly avoiding the main crimes -" *snap* The bolder Teal Garnet actually snapped their fingers to keep the Spirit from jumping in.
"How rude, and he never said you can speak either," Teal said. The Spirit glared at them but knew they were right so she kept her voice down as they continued. As for Teal, they looked up to Your Great Honor. Teal Garnet raised a pointed finger high, and brought it down right to the stand.
"I call the Diamond Authority to the stand!" Teal announced. The spirits were starting to get intrigued now, but that didn't mean that all of them were up for it.
"We ... don't do that," stated the Spirit. A controversial statement, but true none the less and Teal rolled with it, and basically acted like they didn't even hear her, awaiting Your Great Honor to do so. As for the judge, he was skeptical ... but the titan raised his foot over the stand nearby. The bottom of his foot began to glow just before he stomped the stand, covering it completely. Instead of just shattering the stand and crushing it all under foot, the stand remained in tact and as he raised his foot, two figures started to appear in place ... floating in mid air before they both fell to the floor with a thud.
Blue and Yellow Diamond.
"OOF! What in the stars just happened? Where're -" Yellow wondered frazzled, just to see the giant tortoise standing next to them. This made Blue gasp and step back, Yellow Diamond up in arms immediately until they looked around and saw everyone else.
"What's going on?" Blue had to ask.
"I'm going on, my Diamonds," answered Teal Garnet (again surprising them), "And so we're all caught up to eachother, I called you both so you can share some questions regarding White over there."
Blue and Yellow glanced over towards White Diamond, who was blushing pink for getting them caught up in this, even if she didn't make that call. Suddenly they got two and two together.
"That's Garnet and Flint," Blue quietly realized.
"Fair enough, but can't you warn us next time? I was in the middle of getting my colonies in a row when you got me," Yellow asked, slightly annoyed. Teal Garnet readjusted their glasses.
"We'll talk to the tortoise later. Oh Steeeveeen?~" Teal said.
"You got it, Teal," Steven said before going over to the stand with Blue and Yellow. He was a Diamond too. Your Great Honor huffed but didn't say anything as Teal Garnet actually began to summon something out of its head gemstone. Not really a Gem weapon, but instead a storage item in form of a clipboard and paper giant woman-sized. They got a pen out and started addressing.
"Now, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond. You two had known White Diamond for basically forever, so odds are you know more about her than anyone else, true?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. We're the first Gems she created," Blue Diamond said honestly, as one would when on the stand. Teal Garnet wrote the notes down before continuing. Teal nodded.
"As figured. Now, the prosecution has already labeled White Diamond as irresponsible and unpredictable. Do any of you agree with that statement or no?" Teal asked casually.
"... Well ... Unpredictable, yes, but Irresponsible, absolutely not. She always made sure to calculate everything she does. Every step checked, every planet categorized. I don't think anyone's ever been as prepared as she was," Blue Diamond explained, knowing her the longest. Teal Garnet was going to speak again, but the Spirit saw an opportunity here and stepped forward in Teal Garnet's way. Strangely Teal Garnet didn't say anything.
"Diamond?" the Spirit butted in, "So you claim she always makes sure she is prepared and calculates everything. So then you say that White Diamond knew what she was doing when she decided to experiment on her own kind? To create new life by her hands? To FORCE-FUSE YOU BOTH INTO GREEN DIAMOND?"
"OBJECTION! HELLO, YOUR HONOR, she's cutting in!" Spinel shouted, jumping up to Your Great Honor's ears so he can hear her. But Your Great Honor said nothing. Yellow and Blue especially felt humbled remembering how that happened, but given the circumstance they kept their reactions to a minimum.
"Yes, she knew what she was doing when trying to do that, and those other things," Yellow admitted.
"But she's grown so much better since then," insisted Steven, "She's trying so hard to be a better person; understanding her people, growing the empire with more freedom and independence. She's growing into the North Star she is."
White Diamond felt silenced, but her face was just enough to say how much she liked hearing she was doing well. The Spirit tried talking again but Teal Garnet already was a step ahead and cleared her throat.
"No further questions. Thank you for joining us today ... and not angry for being "dropped" into it," Teal Garnet said.
Steven kept from chuckling, but still smirked.
"Again. We'll talk about that later," Yellow Diamond said. Your Great Honor raised his large foot over all of them, but suddenly Teal Garnet decided to pull them all aside before any of them could end up underneath his foot.
"WHAT NOW?" Your Great Honor asked.
"They're free to stay until the end of our little game, can't they? They would want to be there for their "little" sister, think so?" Teal Garnet explained.
"You're pushing your luck ... FINE," Your Great Honor decided, "BUT THEY ARE NOT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSION UNLESS TOLD TO!"
"Sounds fair. Thank you for your time, my Diamonds, you just get comfy over there and we'll take it from here," Teal Garnet said, gently moving them over towards White so they can comfort her as the discussion continued. The Spirit tried not to show her distain for them.
"PROSECUTION? YOUR RESPONSE?" Your Great Honor said. The Spirit took a breath.
"She may have turned a few voices, but that still doesn't disprove any sort of claim she has to make. Besides that, let the records show both had been known for mind manipulation and mind control, so who is one to say that they hadn't warped any of their thinking to make them appear as innocent before the court?" the Spirit said.
"What?" quietly screamed Steven. A terrible reason yet the Spirits seemed to take her word in stride slightly more than Teal (which didn't make the Harmony Gems feel any better). Teal Garnet readjusted one of their gloves before pointing to the stand again.
"I call sweet Fluttershy to the stand!" Teal announced.
"Sweet Fluttershy?" Fluttershy muttered, blushing a little.
"Oh it's not false. Now go on, you got this," Discord said encouragingly. Fluttershy started flying off towards the small stand. The small Pegasus tried to feel confident before the court, but she just felt so small before everybody it was hard not to, making her recoil and lay down on the stand with her eyes looking back and forth.
"Fluttershy? You were the first of your friends to try and befriend Discord after Celestia released him from that stony prison, true?" Teal Garnet asked.
"Y-Y-Y-Yes I did, and ... I-I'm sorry. Everyone's watching me," Fluttershy gulped. Teal gently brought a comforting hand down to her and brought her gaze to them.
"Don't worry about them. Only look at me, okay?" Teal Garnet said. Fluttershy needed a bit of a moment to calm down, but the Spirit did take a mental note of that move. Garnet in any form always knew how to keep her friends together when she can help it.
"Absolutely. Celestia herself asked me to be friends with him just before she released him out of that cold, stony statue. It must've been so uncomfortable for him."
"And how has Discord behaved over the years since that happened? Any malicious intent on his part?" Teal Garnet asked, notes at the ready.
"Oh, definitely not! ... I-I mean, not later on. He had a few umm ... hiccups, once or twice at first, but he's grown into such a sweetheart."
"Now what about his magic? Has he maliciously used it ever since he started being friends with any of you?" Teal Garnet asked. Fluttershy looked over to Discord for a moment, thinking about the previous involvement they had with him. Discord had his fingers crossed she wouldn't sell out any mistakes, but ...
"Oh no, he wouldn't go out of his way just to hurt anybody. He's always good at his tricks, but that's as bad as they've ever gotten. I guess the worse he's done is flip around my house whenever he comes over for a visit but he is always polite enough to turn it back to normal when he leaves."
Teal Garnet wrote it down in her notes. However it was the Spirit's turn to jump in, and she was right in front of Fluttershy now, her front hooves slamming onto the table, and making Fluttershy jump.
"OBJECTION! The Defendant is leading the witness. By keeping her focus on her, she's making her say exactly what she wants her to say! I'll take it from here," the Spirit boldly accused.
"The hay, no she's not!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, but no one really paid her any mind.
"So you claim Discord has done nothing wrong, have you? Then what about his involvement with Tirek? He willingly set out with him to help him gain power, he captured you all in a cage, and left you all for dead before Tirek! Surely you're not going to ignore THAT."
Fluttershy looked confused. "U-Umm ... I am aware of him with Tirek but ... locking us in a cage?"
"Don't bother trying to deny those -" the Spirit stopped when Teal Garnet pulled her away, readjusting their glasses once again.
"Different Timeline. Remember?"
... the Spirit actually blushed.
"E-Er, w-well it's still Discord's fault the Everstorm happened by getting their worlds stuck together in the first place!" she retorted. She felt like that was impossible to dispute, but she wondered what kind of dispute it was gonna be when she saw that Teal Garnet was hardly dampened. That wasn't the same for some though.
"Oh no, not that again, I didn't do it on purpose!" Discord said in frustration. The Spirit was about to turn and speak but Fluttershy (who'd of guessed?) was up at her eye level.
"That's right, he didn't know this would happen. Discord is known to do a lot of things but there's ONE thing I know he can't do, and that's predict the future! In fact, if you must know, he left the keys for Steven because he wanted us to be friends, and nothing else. Is it wrong to try and make friends from other worlds?"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN SAYING?!"
"ORDER!!!" and with that another thunderous stomp shook the entire room to avoid a huge confrontation. The Spirit was silenced fast and all she could do was turn away from the pegasus.
"No further questions," the Spirit huffed. Teal Garnet nodded and Fluttershy flew back over to the rest, given her spot in the case.
"Wow, look at you Ms. bold and brave," said Bismuth. Fluttershy blushed but smiled. For the Spirit this was all getting out of hand. She HAD to make this work in her favor, and with many of her tools quickly dwindling she had her final one to use.
"So perhaps they're not the same as they were before, but that doesn't excuse any of their crimes. They still had too much power, they still threatened the worlds and reality, and NO ONE has apprehended them for any of it. They must be punished for their crimes so they learn the consequences! It's how punishment works." The Spirit said the last part directly in Teal Garnet's face.
Just the line Teal was waiting for. Sooner then expected, but good for them. They took a moment to move their glasses up to the second eyes, revealing the covered eyes to the Spirit, and they revealed a set of glaring eyes underneath. Garnet had the floor for a while, now it's Flint's turn.
"Is that how it's supposed to work?"
"I beg your pardon?" the Spirit questioned.
Now it was time to bring down the hammer.
"Jury, Judge. I know that there're consequences to someone's actions, and YES, sometimes you do need to punish someone to show that an action isn't okay and won't be accepted. But how right is it to make someone hurt more when they've already figured it out and trying to be better?"
The spirits, Cranes, and even Your Great Honor started listening more intently to Teal Garnet, as the Spirit was feeling more riled up. Teal Garnet went into some pacing as they continued talking.
"It doesn't matter if they're trying to be better, they can't ignore their past mistakes!" the Spirit suddenly snapped. just the thing Teal expected her to say.
"Well here's the reality," Teal said, glancing coldly at the Spirit, "It's not going to change the past. No one's in danger, so you're not protecting anyone, and you're not doing this to teach a lesson to them if they already learned it."
"Well no one else -" the Spirit suddenly was silenced again NOT by Your Great Honor, but by Teal Garnet pointing directly at her.
"Has done any justice towards them?" Teal Garnet butted in, "You've been saying that from the start, but you know what I think? ... You're not doing this out of justice. You're doing it out pf pleasure."
The whole court room actually got into quiet gasps (except for the Harmony Gems of course), and some small talk was spread around.
"It's no secret that you've hated Discord for a very long time, Spirit. Seeing him suffering like this must really please you. You're only keeping this up to make you feel better."
"Objection, Your Honor -" the Spirit was quieted again when Teal Garnet actually snapped their fingers in her face. They weren't done yet.
"Do correct me of I'm wrong, Your Honor, but isn't putting punishment on people that learned they're wrong and trying to be better for your enjoyment a bad thing? That's not "seeking justice" ... That's being vindictive."
*ZAP*
Teal Garnet quickly ducked down before the attack could strike her, instead zapping and landing into the nearest wall in a quickly explosion of electricity. The blast of smoke and debris from the wall went around the room, everyone linking it right back to an angry Spirit nearby, horn still sizzling a little.
"II will NOT get defeated like this!" The Spirit shouted, her horn glowing again for another attack.
"Don't do this, Spirit," warned Teal. But that only made the Spirit even more angry, her teeth grinding and aiming her horn directly at them.
"I'LL DO WHAT I WANT!" Rather than listen, the Spirit shot right at them again, Teal Garnet stepping to the side to dodge yet again, just for the magic beam to slam the wall, making the Spirits and Cranes scatter away wherever they can as the Spirit tried to aim her beam at her target, only slicing the floor like a knife but missing throughout the entire attack! The Harmony Gems had to step back, blocking or dodging and debris that came their way.
"Know your place, mortal! I will NOT stoop to taking orders from any of you!" the Spirit demanded, wings spread as cold wind blasted over them all in her fury.
"We're not leaving until you fix them, jerk!" shouted Pinkie. The Spirit then turned right to Discord and White Diamond. Yellow, Blue, Steven, Fluttershy and Spinel almost immediately were on defense and Steven brought out his shield as Blue and Yellow stood in the way.
"I never should've weakened you. I SHOULD'VE DESTROYED YOU!" the Spirit yelled, her horn charged with so much energy it sparked and scattered.
*SLAM!*
As quickly as it began, it ended with one powerful stomp from Your Great Honor, only instead of just slamming into the ground, the Spirit found herself underneath his foot! The vibrations felt under such a stomp was enough to shake the entire realm, and all panic immediately halted at once. Your Great honor meanwhile stood completely still, not moving a single inch like a statue as the dust cleared and everyone can realize what happened.
"OH MY STARS, HE JUST KILLED HER!" shrieked Spinel.
"NOT. REALLY," Your Great honor said, slowly raising his mighty foot. Turned out he didn't actually crushed her, a din light emitting from his foot as to not crush the floor underneath. Looking in though, the whole ground underneath looked almost caved in, as if a meteor had just slammed down hard onto the ground. The Spirit meanwhile sure looked crushed, flat on the floor but still slightly twitchy as she slowly realized what happened herself. Her wings twitched a little, her feet slowly starting to move, and the weight of hundreds of tons no longer on her back allowing her to slowly stand right back up. The hit was sure enough to knock the wind out of her, wings drooped, panting and everything as she looked around.
"You'd rather ... listen to mortals, than your fellow god?"
"SPIRIT, I AM NOT BLIND!" Your Great Honor bellowed, "IT'S ONE THING TO LOCK QUETZALCOATL AWAY FOR DIRECTLY STOPPING EVENTS, BUT IT'S ANOTHER TO TORMENT DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND FOR YOUR OWN AMUSEMENT!"
Every single word made the Spirit crumble into silence. Even more so with what he had to say next.
"SPIRIT, RETURN THEIR POWERS! THEY ARE LIFTED OF THEIR SENTENCE!"
"W-WHAT?!" the Spirit exclaimed.
"YOU HEARD ME. THE SESSION IS OVER, YOU ALL CAN GO NOW!"
The giant tortoise began to move his way back down into the cloud he emerged from, sinking down as the ground shook with all his movements. The Spirit kept trying to talk to him, to make him stop and reconsider this decision, but that wasn't going to do her much good. Soon, the giant tortoise was completely gone, disappearing underneath the floor completely and leaving the stunned and defeated Spirit to her lonesome.
So ... now what?
"....... Teal Garnet, you -" the Spirit turned around to face her, but suddenly ... she was gone.
"Down here," said Garnet, waving up to her. The Spirit looked down just to find Flint and Garnet unfused now. The Spirit only looked around at everyone present there, them all waiting for her to give them what they wanted. She knew what they all wanted, and now she no longer had a choice ...
"... Fine. This one time."
"Eh eh eh, apology, remember?" reminded Pinkie.
"DON'T PUSH IT," the Spirit warned. "One thing at a time. Bring Discord and White Diamond over here, and keep your distance."
"What're you going to do?" Yellow Diamond questioned, still on edge for her attack on them earlier.
"You can't ever make it easy, can you?" the Spirit groaned. Instead of the bringing the two over, the Spirit just walked over towards them. Discord and White both looked up to her meekly in their place, at the mercy of this Spirit in whatever she was going to do to them.
The tall being closed her eyes and took a long breath, putting all of her concentration directly into her magic. She had to keep it under control now, more so than her usual tricks. The magic from her horn swirled around in a spiral slow and easy, glowing a pure white mixed with a mess of rainbow colors. Like snakes, both sets of magic split off from her horn and formed their respected orbs of power: one pure white with sparkling stars, the other a mess of watercolors swirling into nothing and everything. The Spirit kept her wings spread and magic focused on it. The Harmony Gems started to wonder if this was their real magic or just another trick, but still kept their distance anyway.
A golden opportunity for what would happen next ...
...
"NOW!"
It all happened so fast. Galloping out of literal nowhere, and just seconds before the shot, GROGAR HAD ARRIVED!
"NO! NOT YOU!" the Spirit gasped. But the spell was casted far too late. The powers of the highest Diamond AND the spirit of chaos flowed out of the Spirit's horn right into the Ram's body, surges of energy beyond even his comprehension rushing into him. Grogar screamed the loudest any could, his eyes glowing a blinding white as his entire body spazzed and twitched like a seizure. Everyone had to stand back, nothing able to be done to stop what was about to happen. The light itself grew so bright it nearly blinded everyone, everything having to shield their eyes away from the source as Grogar himself began to succumb to the power bestowed onto him.
"What's happening?!" screamed Peridot.
"He's absorbing their magic! Take cover!" Garnet said in horror.
All that came after all of that was an explosion of white fog and smoke, making the light shining even brighter. All they can do is shield however they could. The blast lasted for ten long seconds, wind gusting strong enough to push them off their feet. Then came the end result. Slowly the fog began to lift, but even with the fog down they all can see signs of small shimmers within its wake. Shimmer not unlike those seen on White Diamond's cape.
A simple swish of the tail, and the fog disappeared to reveal the monster that was born from the magic. Silver-encased hooves sharper than the rock, fur as dark as the midnight sky, and a rough lions mane and tail that shimmered in blue and white, stars shimmering within them. The magic revived what trauma he had endured, and a set of glistening golden horns stretched and curved, glistening in the sunlight. His eyes were narrowed, blood red and streaming a deathly purple smoke. His chest and head are encased in godly gold armor, red stones lining along their wake, with his golden bell chiming his presence. Grogar stood over most mortal he saw, with Yellow and Blue being taller than him and even then it was just barely thanks to his horns.
"M-My king? ... You uhh ... you alright?" Bray stuttered, the only one brave enough (or dumb enough) to go up to him. Grogar just stood there, the only movements he was making being slight shutters. It was then Grogar turned his gaze down to the loyal yet terrified Bray, the mule only hunkering down in fear of what his lord might do. Rather than answer, Grogar slowly began to turn towards the audience around him. They were all bewildered, stunned, not sure of what to do now. But his movement only stopped when he locked eyes with the Spirit.
His grin was filled with shark teeth.
"That was exhilarating ... now who should I kill first?" Grogar growled sinisterly. The Spirit stood up, shaking off the shock before ... turning to the Gems.
"See what happens when you mortals rebel against gods? None of you listened, and look what happened!" The Spirit growled.
"WHAT?! How is any of this OUR fault?! We never even knew he was here!" exclaimed an appalled Yellow Diamond.
"You lead him here! How else could he have entered this realm?" the Spirit bellowed.
"YOU CAN'T BLAME US FOR THAT!" yelled Garnet.
"Can't I?"
They all could feel their anger rising, but strangely lucky for them, GROGAR actually settled the score by whacking the Spirit square in her head, sending her back.
"Since I hate stupid arguments I'll answer it for you: Sumu told me about you. And I teleported here myself," Grogar revealed. The Spirit growled and looked directly at Discord again, the one that created the plant in the first place. Before she could even say anything, Grogar jumped her again, this time sinking his jaws into her horn. The Spirit charged up power in a bright glow, but this only made Grogar charge up his combined magic and brought it to his teeth, making them almost melt into her horn like knives to butter, before -
*snap*
The horn was off, and the Spirit fell back in the aftermath. She fell over her own cloak and onto the ground, just to look back and find that the monster she created had her horn almost melting in his jaws.
"But ... how? Y-You can't do that to me. You're a mortal, I'm a god!" the Spirit yelled, just for Grogar to drop the horn onto the ground. Or rather what remained of it anyway.
"You're pretty bad at your job," Grogar snarled.
Looking down at the horn, Grogar raised his hoof and made one mighty stomp down on top of it. Normal Grogar would've crumbled the horn into shards and left cracks in the ground, but when THIS happened, the ground underneath Grogar almost destroyed itself, cracks reaching all over the arena! Messengers and spirits panicked and flew out of the way as the entire arena crumbled. The cracks left blasted white light, as if the cells themselves were being destroyed by Grogar's single step. Even Grogar himself was startled!
"Whoa. ... Whooooa-oh-oh-oh. Now THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!" Grogar said in triumph. He turned around and tested his newfound power again, this time slamming both hooves down onto the ground. This actually caused a major earthquake, the ground splitting fifty times over and making the Harmony Gems and Diamonds scatter away quick.
"He's gonna destroy the whole realm," said Fluttershy.
"So come on, stop him!" said Peridot, "We can stop him right?"
"I-I don't know! He has my Gem magic and Discord's chaotic magic, what can defeat that?" said a worrying White Diamond. Just loud enough for Grogar to hear and suddenly loom over her. White had protection from the others, but that was hardly much compared to Grogar.
"Easy Grogar, y-you don't know what you're dealing with here. Only I know how my magic works, it's not your toy!" Discord said.
"I think I'm doing pretty good at it," Grogar said. Then his horns began to glow again in a barrage of different colors, as if the magic itself can't decide what it wants to do but was gonna go for it anyway. Immediately Blue and Yellow Diamond got in the way, their size covering what blast would come out of Grogar, but rather than just some death-blast, Grogar instead got a aura surrounding them, wrapping around them in a large bubble. For some good measure, he also summoned up a lock and key, and numerous lightning chains wrapping around the bubble.
"Y-You got it right out of the box!"
"You're darn right I did. Remember, I have your chaotic magic AND White Diamond's control magic. I can literally create, AND destroy whatever I want."
"You can't do that! Grogar you have to stop before you go too far!" exclaimed Steven. Grogar laughed a laugh so loud it shook the ground, lowering his head until it almost smashed the bubble open.
"Stop? I just got god powers now, why would I stop? You all should've killed me when you could!" Grogar then brought his hooves up like hands, and his horns began to glow. The motions were beginning to tighten and shrink the bubble, bringing the entire Harmony Gems closer and close together. They all tried to stop the bubble from shrinking any way they can, but no matter what they did it wasn't going to work. Grogar wanted to end them all, he wanted to destroy them right there so badly ... but one single thought made him stop.
"HAHAHAHA! what am I doing?! If I kill you now, I can't watch you all suffer as I destroy your previous kingdoms. It'll be a nice gift," Grogar decided, expanding the bubble but not popping it yet.
"The only gift you'll get is a free ticket to Tartarus when we're done with you, you monster!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, slamming into the sides of the bubble.
Grogar snorted smugly, "I would LOVE to see you try. Of course I would also love seeing you as a fried chicken."
Grogar then laughed and whacked the bubble, sending it spinning with everyone inside. Grogar then got his attention to the only three members of his own army present. Bray and Budgerite both tried keeping some distance, Tempest Shadow even wary of what Grogar had become. Even the slightest slip up from any of them could kill them no problem. When regaining their senses, some looked over to the spirits nearby.
"Hey! Aren't you guys going to do something?!" Diopside shouted, banging on the edge of the bubble. But none of them would even lift a finger to stop Grogar, not after seeing what the Spirit had to deal with. That moment they knew there was no point in looking at them for help.
"Tempest ...?"
"Y-Yes, my lord?" Tempest said with a gulp.
His horns began to glow again. Tempest was alarmed, and immediately got in a battle stance against the ram as the magic spurred out of his golden horns and landing right on top of the broken Unicorn. But strangely, Tempest didn't feel any pain in the strike. No stinging, numbing, or anything really. Once the light was done, Tempest slowly opened her eyes to ...
Her horn. ... Her healed horn. Tempest Shadow was quiet, just staring at the horn bestowed onto her before looking up to Grogar. Seemed he kept his promise after all.
"I'm done playing games. Done holding off, done holding back. It's time to take control of what is rightfully mine! ... But first ..."
He then went right over to the Spirit, and without even a second thought, he grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up. A single swing sent the Spirit over her head, the cloak ripping clean off of her and revealing her true body. She appeared almost like Luna (which made it strange for Luna to see), with a human-like shape to her anatomy. The Spirit was a horse with only two legs to walk, and even then Grogar wasn't making her move by herself as he dragged her with him. The spirit struggled against the monster, pulling back and using what magic she can without blowing her head off, but Grogar's god power was making it all useless at this point.
"What's the matter? No god-like escape plans?" Grogar mocked with his mouth full, only to crunch down tighter on her. For the Harmony Gems it was surprising how little everyone else was even doing to help her, even if she was awful. They kept trying to escape their bubble, but Grogar simply got his hoof up and sliced open a portal with ease.
"Release me, you demon! Let me free!" The Spirit demanded, but no dice. Grogar did release her only after stomping down onto her wings first to keep her down, even if she was still kicking him while stuck like this. Then his attention turned to the rest of the world behind him.
"Hope you all enjoyed your last minutes of freedom. Because THIS realm and ANY OTHERS with it belong to me now," Grogar announced.
"GROGAR!" Steven screamed. Grogar simply ignored him, and with the Spirit still struggling under him and fighting, he grabbed hold of her and started dragging her through the portal he created. Bray, Budgerite, and Tempest Shadow made their leave with their new god leader, only Tempest pausing to give them all one final look. She can see how much they were struggling to get out, but also the horror and dismay on some of them. That, and with everything she heard from them ... well ... what was a mare to do?
"Tempest. Please. ..."
Tempest couldn't hear her from where she was standing, but she knew that's what Twilight was saying. She took one look at her horn, and then back to the Harmony Gems. Grogar never said NOT to do anything about them. She can either bust them out and go back to Grogar, risk of getting destroyed on the spot, or just go on her way and leave the only heroes left for whatever fate the bubble had for them. ...
She chose the former.
Tempest glanced back to the portal one last time to make sure before rushing over towards the bubble.
"Everyone stand back, I'll get the lock broken. You can break the bubble much easier from there. After that, you're on your own," Tempest instructed. Not sure how else to break it from the inside out, all they could do is listen to her.
"We're ready," Blue Diamond said. Tempest looked up towards the lock left behind by Grogar. It didn't look that complicated and Grogar didn't add a keyhole to it so a key was out of the question. Not that it would matter anyway. Tempest focused her horn good and hard, the O so nostalgic feeling of magic flowing through the horn exactly how it was supposed to. One well-aimed zap and the lightning chains were sliced off in half. The chains dropped to the ground, slipping through the cracks in the floor left by her boss, and they all began to push hard on the unrestrained bubble prison.
The bubble contorted and stretched to its own limits, until a notable pop filled the air and got them all released.
Tempest ran off for it moments after this happened, rushing through the portal just before it closed up behind her. It was the least she could do.
"We gotta stop him!" Rainbow Dash said, immediately ready to make a break for it after the demon ram. They would go after him, but their attention was first brought over to the Spirits themselves ... who were starting to go away.
"Wait! Where're you all going? You're not giving up are ya?" said Twilight, rushing over towards some of the Spirits. A few did stop and turned back to her, but a few didn't even break stride.
"Giving up on what?" one of the cranes asked. "What Grogar does in your world doesn't effect any of us."
"It clearly does, he just took one of your Spirits hostage!" retorted Twilight.
"Yes. ... So?"
"What do you mean "so"?! Don't any of you care at all? Doesn't the fact that she got taken by Grogar bother any of you?" Steven asked firmly. The lesser Spirits and messenger cranes looked to one another with some small talk mixed in ... before shaking their heads.
"Not really," said a crowned crane. It didn't even sound conflicted about it, and gave one of those "what can you do" shrugs.
Steven felt stunned.
"... Not even a little bit?" asked Fluttershy.
"We've never been this social with mortals before," explained the crowned crane, "We don't gain anything out of it, and it'll only put this realm into trouble so why raise such a fuss?"
"Besides," added another messenger crane, "it's not our fault she got herself caught. Grogar wanted her, not any of us, let the mortals figure it out for themselves."
"That's right, why should we?" chimed in another spirit.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! One of your most respected Spirits just got taken and none of you even care?! What if the Mistress got captured?! Or Your Great Honor? Are you just gonna leave them too?!" Lapis exclaimed, off of the ground. All that did was give her a peck in the face by one of the cranes.
"You mortals. You always think it's the end of the world when things don't go your way," the crane scoffed.
"Oh, and you know what THAT'S like," Amethyst huffed. The spirits just ignored them and started to go away.
"Don't go, you can't walk away from this! What're we supposed to do against a god?" shouted an angry Pearl.
"You're supposed to be the chosen heroes of your universe. Figure it out," one of the remaining spirits said, before leaving them. Some of them did try to go after them, but unfortunately there wasn't much they could do before the spirits disappeared from sight. As for everyone else, there didn't need to be any discussion on what happens now.
"What're we gonna do now?" asked Spinel.
"What we do every time. Try and save the world," Steven decided.