//------------------------------// // Pony's First Gem Mutant // Story: Universe and Sparkle // by King Xeno //------------------------------// Steven and Connie could barely hold their excitement, after three days of staying cooped up inside of Twilight's castle, they would finally be able to get out and see the new world that they were in. "All right, now it's essential that you listen to me. You're about to travel with us to Ponyville, a town that's not too far away from here, its a rather small town, but compared to what you had said about Beach City, this place dwarves your town by a substantial amount. So it may be a bit overwhelming..." Twilight began, but Steven began to drift off, not really paying attention to what was being said, and let his thoughts flow forward freely. "I wonder what it will be like. Will other ponies really be afraid of us? I don't see why they would, we aren't scary... Are we? Nah, Twilight probably meant that they would just be freaked out by us. Or maybe she was saying that Lion would scare them. What was I doing again?" Steven thought, and then noticed Twilight was speaking. "Oh man, she's still going? Is this why Rainbow Dash warned me to be careful when talking to her? Probably, but it's just like with Pearl. I can't start listening now, or I won't understand... I really need to stop doing this..." "That's all you really need to know about the place." Twilight finished and began to move forward. Steven leaned over to Rainbow Dash. "I kinda zoned out there, did she say anything important?" Steven asked, and Rainbow shook her head. "Nah, just boring facts and history and stuff." Rainbow Dash replied, and Steven noticed Lion began moving. "H-Hey! Lion, wait up!" Steven shouted, climbing onto the animal's back, before assisting Connie in getting on. Although the small village of Ponyville was not a great distance away, it seemed to last forever for Steven, who would be seeing this place for the first time in his life. He just hoped that he didn't cause too much of a panic. Rarity looked at Connie, who had Rose's Sword draped over her back. "Connie, darling? If you don't mind my asking, why are you bringing that with? I can assure you that nopony will try to harm you." Rarity said, and noticed that Connie shrugged. "I just have a strange feeling that I'll need it... Do you know what I mean?" Connie replied and Rarity nodded. They could see the tops of the buildings in the distance and new that their destination approached. However, once they arrived, it was eerily quiet, there appeared to be no signs of a pony or anything else around. This worried Twilight and many of the other ponies, seeing how it was only eleven in the morning, the town should be awake by now, with its little hustle and bustle. "Is it usually this... Dead?" Connie asked, and that seemed to make Twilight tense up. "Y-Y-You think that everypony is dead?! Is that even a possibility?" Twilight asked, but Connie quickly explained. "No! It's just an expression where we're from... It means slow, not very busy, or even completely abandoned..." Connie said, which caused Twilight to relax a bit more, but she was still tense, just based on the fact that this town was seemingly abandoned, after it had been a great home for her at one point. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but a moaning was brought to their attention. It was quiet, and sounded far away, but that at least meant that somepony was still there. "We have to go and help that pony!" Twilight shouted, and the group rushed off to see if she could find the source of the noise, while the other followed close by. After what felt like an eternity, they finally found that the sound was coming from a nearby alley. Twilight instructed the others to stay put, while slowly entering the alley by herself, not wanting to frighten whoever was there. "H-Hello?" Twilight asked, trying her best to give a smile, but the moaning continued, this time getting louder and angrier. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Twilight asked, and heard heavy thuds coming for her. What stepped out wasn't a pony, it wasn't anything she had ever seen before. To put it simply, it was a monstrous creature, made up of a bulky torso, while the rest of it was simply a mess of limbs, hands groped at the air, feet pushed against the walls, and in the center of its face was a small collection of crystals. It was at that exact moment, she realized why the town seemed so empty, they were hiding from this thing... Twilight's eyes widened as Steven's words filled her head. These Gems were forced to... Fuse... Making them these... Horrible... Monsters... Just limbs and more limbs, hands, legs, arms, mouths, eyes... The Gem Mutant began to let out cries and moans of anger and fury, before rushing at Twilight with incredible speed. She found herself unable to move, for fear had caused her muscles to ignore the frantic orders that her brain shouted at them. The Gem Mutant swung one of its massive hands, knocking Twilight out of the alley, into Rainbow Dash. Steven and Connie let out a gasp as the Gem Mutant made its way out of the alley, just barely able to squeeze its massive frame out. Rainbow managed to get the now unconscious Twilight off of her. Steven knew that he would need a more open place to fight this thing, but was unsure of where to do it, but then realized the perfect location. "Run! To the center of town!" Steven shouted, and Lion grabbed Twilight with his mouth, before turning and running, while the others followed closely behind. They could hear the Gem Mutant's groans following them, as they began to increase in volume, until they reached the point of screaming. This prompted many ponies to open their curtains, windows, even peek out their front doors to see what the commotion was, and if the monster was still there. Steven just hoped that Lion would be able to make to the center of town before... He noticed a large shadow pass over them, and the monster landed in their path. "Steven! We have to fight this thing! We can't just let it hurt anyone!" Connie yelled, and Steven nodded in agreement, before summoning his shield. They both jumped off Lion and landed, staring at the Gem Mutant with determination and fury. They both rushed forward, and the monster swung one of its hands at them, but Steven blocked the attack with his shield. The impact caused a loud sound to fill the air, almost like that of a gong, and Steven grinned. Connie took the opportunity to run around Steven and slash at the monster, landing a direct hit to one of its arms, but the beast had not been poofed. It grabbed at Connie, who was able to avoid the motions made by the massive monster. She delivered one more blow to it, this time directly at its torso, slicing the creature in two. It began shudder, before it disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, dropping several small Gem shards to the ground. Steven bubbled the shards and held it out for the ponies to see. "The monster that threatens your town has been defeated! I will send it to a place where it will be watched over carefully, and never allowed to threaten any of you, or anything ever again!" Steven announced, and the town began to exit their homes, relieved of the monster's absence and curious to meet the warriors who saved their town. Twilight began waking up, and Lion set her down, while she placed a hoof to her head. "Wha...? What happened...? Oog... My head..." She muttered, while Nurse Redheart began to see if she was alright. Steven and Connie were approached by the Mayor, who had a large smile on her face. "I cannot express how thankful I am for the both of you saving our town from that monster. I must also say that I've never seen any magic like yours before... It's... Impressive." The Mayor said, and Steven gently pressed down on the top of the pink bubble, it floated upwards a small amount and disappeared before their eyes. "What are your names?" "Steven. Steven Universe, and Connie Maheswaran!" Steven shouted, and began he was then flooded with questions. What he was. Where he was from. How old was he. Where did he learn to use magic. The questions were coming, and showed no sign of stopping, so he knew that he would be here a while. While all the events above had been happening, a mysterious being watched from between dimensions, angered by the defeat of the Gem Mutant, it began to recollect its thoughts and attempt to calm down. "GAH! How could it have been defeated!? It took a lot of magic to bring that monster here! I'll have to get more than one next time..." The voice said, before cackling maniaclly. "Those little ponies will pay for what they'd done to me, and I'll make their new friends suffer as well!"