"Oh, do be careful Spike, those gems are one-of-a-kind," Rarity said.
It was that time again for the white fashion unicorn, time to add some more gems to her fashion designs. With little Spike with her, he and Rarity both were off earlier that day, and the two were off Gem collecting. NO, not the Gems that they knew and cared for, the types of Gems that were found in Ponyville. You know, the kind that don't talk and walk around like Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet do back in Beach City. Pulling the wagon behind her, Rarity trotted back to Ponyville with a wagon full of brightly colored gemstones. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, that sort of thing. Spike, not in the presence of the Gem friends, wanted to gobble down his favorite treat.
"Can't I just have one, please?!" Spike said.
"Oh ... Oh, alright, but only because you're so cute," Rarity said, lifting up a bright blue diamond, and giving it to spike, who happily slurped it up in one gulp. His forked tongue whipped around his lips on the taste of it.
"mmmm, blueberry," Spike said, thinking on the taste of gemstones.
"Help me with my dress, and you can have some more if you want to, Spikey-wikey," Rarity offered, her hoof rubbing his head. Spike smiled in a goofy way, a bit perplexed with Rarity's beauty.
"I'll be happy to, Rarity," Spike said, following the unicorn back. Suddenly, as they were going through, something began to rustle in the nearby bushes off the path, catching them both off-guard. After a little bit, Spike went over to investigate. Upon getting close, a huge creature roared at them from the spot, jumping out with a huge crocodile head. Rarity and Spike got spooked, Spike hopping into the gem pile to avoid any pain ... then a familiar laugh rang through the air.
"W-wait ... Amethyst?"
Indeed, the Gem was in front of them, altering her head to look like a crocodile, as she laughed herself silly.
"OH man, I got you two good," Amethyst laughed. However, after calming down (and changing her head back), Spike popped out of the pile, a few gemstones landing in Amethyst's sight. She stopped laughing and noticed the large wagon full of them. Immediately, Rarity realized what she was doing, and what Amethyst was to begin with.
"Geesh, graphic much?" Amethyst said, getting up and looking to Rarity with a sort of disgust.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't - I mean -"
"HA, just kidding! I know Gems here aren't like back in our world. What can match up to mine, anyway? My Gem is AWESOME!" Amethyst cleared up, a little ego-centric at the last bit, but still.
"Uh ... you're not upset, darling?"
"Nah, it's cool. Not all gems are magical back home anyway. You do what you want, I'll see ya later," Amethyst said, heading off on her way again. After regaining their nerves, Spike stumbled out of the pile, a gem or two falling out. Rarity got all the gems up with her magic and placed them into the wagon. Soon, the duo was off on their way. As they were, something else nearby was spying on the group. Three figures were hiding in the bushes, until Rarity, Spike and Amethyst were gone entirely. Upon such, they went out in the open, though were more interested in Amethyst than what Rarity and Spike had (oddly enough). The three looked a bit like strangely shaped dogs, huge forearms and shorter hind legs. Each one looked different from each other: one tan, short, and with bent tipped ears. Another was much larger, greyish-blue fur, and ears that fully droop down. The third was about medium sized, ears fully erect, and having a dull brown fur.
"You heard that, dogs? Otherworldly, magical gems. Jackpot!"
"Yeah, Rover, sound delicious!"
"Easy, Spot, you want that unicorn to hear?" Rover asked, looking to make sure Rarity was gone. After making sure, Rover looked to the largest dog.
"Fido, keep an eye on that two-legged monkey, be right back. C'mere Spot," Rover said, starting to head in the opposite direction from where Rarity came. Fido nodded and started going off to follow Amethyst. Seemed they had their own plan to go.
Not too far away, Amethyst got herself isolated, so to not bug anyone, and pulled out her gold key. However, the Gem wasn't aware of Fido, still watching her, as Amethyst threw her key upward. The key landed perfectly into the ground, opening up the doorway in a tree. Without much thought, Amethyst went right on through, grabbing her key. However, Fido still needed to watch her, so, before the portal closed, the large dog grabbed a large branch nearby, and jabbed it in the gap. Sure enough, the portal didn't close all the way, like a cracked door. Not too long after, Rover and Spot showed up soon enough. Fido pointed to the bright line of light, and Rover quickly opened it right up.
~~~~~~
Back in Beach City, the Gems in question weren't doing very much as of late: Garnet wasn't around for the moment. Amethyst, Steven, and Lapis were trying something together, as Pearl was doing the dishes in the kitchen. What the others were trying out was actually apart of Steven's card game from a TV show he liked.
"I summon the sad grape bundle!" Steven said, putting down a card, the picture of crying grapes on it. Amethyst and Lapis both were a bit unsure over this 'crying breakfast friends card game' Steven told them about, and it was a confusing game none-the-less.
"Okay uh ... I summon the ... Sobbing Waffle special," Lapis eventually decided, a little unsure on her choice.
"I cast ... whatever this is," Amethyst said, throwing down a card with a teary-eyed milk carton on it.
"Ha, I win!" Steven said, full of glee. Lapis was bummed out, though Amethyst could care less for this confusing game all and all. However, none of them really looked outside for that moment, and then they heard a knock at the door. Being polite herself, Pearl answered the door first. Standing at their doorstep were the three dogs from Equestria: Rover, Fido, and Spot. Their appearance alone was a bit surprising to see with their disproportionate legs, and rough appearance.
"Uh ... Hello there," Pearl said. Rover glanced to the other gems inside, seeing they all had a sort of Gemstone on them.
"Eh, you are the Gems, yes?" Rover asked.
"... Yes?"
"Good, good, your pony friends told us about you, wanted to ask a few questions for our ... research," Rover explained. As they were talking, Spot was eyeing Pearl's shiny ... well, Pearl. The sight of such a perfect, ripe Gem was making the pup drool, panting a bit. However, Rover and Pearl caught him doing that, and Rover flicked his temple.
"Sorry about that, just missed his morning kibble," Rover said, a bit quickly before adding "Anyway, want to answer a few things? We'd love to learn a thing or two about your uh ... kind." Pearl suddenly looked a bit happy to hear that: a chance to teach some newcomers about Gems of their world! A bit bummed that she didn't get to teach Steven much last time she tried, so perhaps she can make up for it here.
"Why didn't you say so in the first place? I'd be happy to," Pearl said, as the dogs walked in. Amethyst, Lapis, and Steven got up, as the three dogs came in.
"You three from Equestria, I guess?"
"Yep, nice place to live. Alrighty then," Rover said, getting out a list from the pocket in his vest. Spot was still a bit fixated by the beautiful gemstones, though at that point he was eyeing Amethyst's gem, drooling again on the sight of it. Amethyst got pretty uncomfortable from this dog. Rover looked to Spot, annoyed again by the pup's stare, and eagerness. So, he went to the door, dropped Spot outside, and closed the door behind him. Spot was a bit bummed that he was left out, as Rover began to go through his 'questions', as Fido moved aside so they wouldn't be distracted.
"So, one: What magic does your Gemstones have?" Rover began. Pearl looked to her own Gemstone before answering him.
"Well, our Gemstones hold a lot of magical properties within them, giving our kind their assorted special abilities, and Gem weaponry. Allow me to demonstrate," Pearl said getting up. A little over-dramatic in her actions, she pulled out her spear weapon as an example, Rover 'taking note' of it. Pearl only showed it for a little bit before she made it disappear. Fido moved off to Steven's bedroom, above everyone else, as Rover continued on.
"Can your Gemstones be removed in anyway?"
That question was a bit confusing for the Gems, Amethyst and Pearl glancing at their own Gemstones.
"Well, not exactly. You see, our gemstones are the core reason behind our natural being. If anything happened to them, why, we wouldn't be here now would we?" Pearl explained, her last bit more of a joke than most, as she added a laugh or two. Rover tilted his head in some confusion, but he wasn't too focused on the questions anyway. Fido readied himself.
"...So, you are attached to that thing?"
"In a way, yeah we are. Course, it's not much of an issue for us, so long as it doesn't get damaged itself," Pearl explained, her fingers gently touching her own gem. Fido got up on his own back legs, his frontal paws ready to do their work.
"What happens to the rest of you?"
"Oh, well if we're damaged too much, we can always rejuvenate within our Gemstone at any time," Pearl explained.
"Retreat in your Gemstone," Rover thought, though the thoughts were more focused on those magic Gems themselves. Fido took that detail very well. The three true Gems had their back to Fido, so, they weren't focused for the moment. However, Steven looked over and noticed a shadow of Fido, upright, fists in the air like two hammers. Before the kid could react, or anyone for that matter, Fido laid it down on the three. Lapis, Amethyst, and Pearl flicked as the powerhouse whack landed right on their cranium. What shocked Steven the most was that the blunt force was so strong, and so sudden, the three poofed! He wasn't sure if it was brute force, or just the surprise of it, but either way, the three were suddenly back in their Gemstones. Fido quickly caught the three in one paw. Their magic keys also flew around in the air, but Fido missed them, as they all fell on the couch, as Fido shoved them into a small bag they brought.
"Yes!"
"Hey!" Steven yelled. However, Rover quickly grabbed him, and threw him in the bathroom. Rover and Fido quickly ran off for it before Steven got outside. Upon running out, Spot ended up flung out of the way. The little type followed them, as Steven rushed outside. However, the three dogs still had their portal to escape open, and they quickly rushed in! Steven wasn't fast enough, as he tried to get into the portal. However, the last second, the portal closed, Steven landing in the sand headfirst. After spitting out the sand, Steven realized that he had just lost three friends, to three random dogs who just wanted their Gemstones...
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
~~~~~~
Back in Ponyville, the ponies were a bit unaware of what had happened, still going on their daily routine. In the boutique, Rarity and Spike were both busy with their latest dress creation. Spike was mainly the little helper while Rarity worked her magic (literally, and metaphorically), as she worked the gems into the dress. The pony dress was aligned with colorful gems along the trim, looking like Rainbow Dash's hair in coloration until each Gem was perfectly aligned with one another. However, looking it over, Rarity felt that something was missing. Spike licked his chops, hoping for some bite of the Gemstones, but Rarity used her magic to drag Spike away before he could eat the dress.
"Can't I just have one?" Spike asked, hoping she would let him.
"Spike, this is fashion design you're wanting to eat, not just some fancy snack," Rarity reminded. However, for his efforts, Rarity did promise him a few more gems for his help, so, she levitated three other gemstones towards the little dragon, the three landing in his claws.
"Course, I did promise a few gems for you," Rarity said with a wink. Spike, smiling wide, gobbled up each gemstone fast like it was nothing, enjoying the taste of the yummy gems.
"Anything else you need help with Rarity?" Spike asked.
"No no, that's all for now. You can go," Rarity said, lining up the mannequin with the said dress just right. Spike nodded and started walking out (though not without hitting the door first, while looking at Rarity). With his dignity intact, he went right on out of Rarity's home. As he did, he then heard something else go on nearby. Not too far away, a few feet behind Rarity's boutique, a familiar white portal appeared. However, rather than any Gem, the three Diamond Dogs tumbled through, still having their gemstones with them. Spike quickly recognized Pearl, Lapis, and Amethyst's gemstones in their grubby paws, as Fido shoved them in a brown handbag, before the three ran off snickering to each other. It didn't take very long before the little dragon realized what happened.
Almost as if on cue, the dragon wasn't the only one who was rushing back for help. As the little guy was running off, another portal opened up in his way. Though Spike tried to stop, he ended up running right into Garnet's leg. That portal was opened by Garnet, Steven, and Fulgurite, when Spike showed up.
"Hey, Garnet," Spike said in a daze. However, he quickly got himself back together, as the three entered Equestria, the portal closing up behind them. Garnet was a bit focused by the time they showed up, as Fulgurite spoke.
"Oh, hi Spike," Fulgurite said.
"You see any dogs?" Garnet asked urgently. Spike then remembered why he was running around.
"Over there, I saw three Diamond Dogs running off back! I think they got -"
"We know what they got," Garnet said.
~~~~~~
Further away, Fido, Rover, and Spot all were heading off through some open, rocky landscape with their special stash. The gemstones in the bag were a bit funky, looking like they were moving around, but the enclosed space didn't give Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis any space to rejuvenate. The rocky area was a goldmine for many jewels, and where the Diamond Dogs do the most Gem excavation. There was a number of open holes as well, which the three started to head over to. However, the bag was banging around more and more, the Gems trying to get themselves out. However, Fido covered up the bag even more, until the bag began to slip. Rover quickly fixed it, tying the opening together so the gems wouldn't end up getting themselves out.
"These things are squirmy. Here, Spot, you handle it," Rover said, dropping the squirming bag to Spot. Spot held it like it was a bag of fish, but they all knew special Gemstones were in there, so, they didn't try to get rid of it. So, with the beg, Rover, Fido, and Spot went back underground. Unaware to them, they were soon found out by the particular pals of the Gems in question.
Nearby, Garnet, Steven, Fulgurite, Spike, and the mane six followed them back to their hideout. After getting the information out, everybody/everypony got right to it, the ponies guiding the Gems to the location. It was a bit rough to believe that these Diamond Dogs would be at it again after a long time of no trouble. Guess they upgraded from Ponies, to whatever else was available for them. In this case, Gems.
"You sure they're in there?" Steven asked.
"We delt with these mutts before, I'm sure they're in there. Let's go and kick some doggy butt," Rainbow insisted, beginning to fly over. The others soon followed, some more motivated than others. Without much time wasted, the group began to head down, Garnet taking the lead. The Gems didn't know how tough these Diamond Dogs were, but, if one was tough enough to poof Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis so quickly, then they are a threat to be reckoned with.
Soon, Garnet landed down at the bottom of the hole, landing on her two feet. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight flew in just fine, yet the others had a bit of a tumble. Garnet made sure to move out of the way before they landed. After getting themselves up, they looked around from where they landed. The tunnel from above lead down to a labyrinth of passages, many of the tunnels going every which way. Normally, it would appear a bit hard to figure out, but that alone wasn't too much trouble for Garnet... Or the fact they were in sight already.
"Hold it!" Fulgurite ordered, rushing over too fast for the dogs to react, or do anything.
"Alright, hand them over," Garnet demanded.
"Hand? Hand what?" Rover asked, turning to Garnet.
"You know what, our friends."
"We don't know what you're talking about. Fido, do you know?"
"No, sir," Fido replied.
"Spot, what about you?"
"Not a one, nope, especially no talking Gems - ow!" Rover whacked Spot on the back of the head for the slip up. Not like it would've helped anyway, with the squirming Gems still in the handbag. Garnet crossed her arms, towering over the dogs as the rest came over to make sure they don't run off.
"DIG DOG!"
Suddenly, all three went underground, digging away, and covering the holes before they realized it! They popped up down one of the tunnels and started running like mad. Course, everyone rushed off and followed them. The three dogs kept dodging and weaving, holding onto the bag, until they got through a particular tunnel. They all rushed off into it, but they all ended up in a complete halt. In front of them, much to their dismay, was piles upon piles full of gems! All different colors, shapes, sizes, all in a complete mess, and all over the large room! The three dogs weren't around, most likely hiding in the piles themselves, but the Gems were simply at a loss of words on seeing the piles of Gems everywhere.
"Geesh, graphic much?" Fulgurite thought aloud, looking all over the place. The ponies, not exactly stopped by the piles, went off first to look around. Rainbow dove into pile after pile, trying to find the Gems in question. Pinkie was doing something similar, as Twilight and Rarity used their magic to look through the piles. Eventually, Fulgurite and Steven joined in, but Garnet wasn't so sure about this exactly. She can sense her gems, but she can't sense them around here, despite all of the Gemstones around. Garnet needed a bit to relax but got her mind straight as she looked down another tunnel, seeing a tunnel going straight upward. Garnet went right for it, and sure enough, saw the three dogs making for the surface. Course, Garnet wasn't going to let them get away that easily, giving a whistle for the others to hear. They saw her, just as Garnet jumped upward through the hole to outside, the three Diamond Dogs tumbling out onto the surface, the tied bag stuck with Spot.
"Give back our friends!" Garnet demanded, upon landing outside. Fido and Rover growled, as Spot stayed behind them. Rover then suddenly gave off a whistle, as the others joined Garnet at the surface. The whistle ended up giving the Diamond Dogs more reinforcements, as a ton of guard dogs suddenly dug up to the surface, with spears at the ready! A bit of a surprise for everyone there, but it didn't seem too hard to deal with. However, as the dogs readied to fight, the bag Spot was holding suddenly made him loose grip of it. The large guard dogs soon rushed into battle, fighting the large gems and pony group. However, the battle seemed more one-sided, the Mane six and Gems dealing with the mutts fairly easily. Even so, the bag was still squirming around like crazy, until finally, Spot lost his grip! One of the Guard dogs was punched hard in the face, the spear flying through the air until it cut the bag open. But rather than the three Gems, a huge light suddenly began to glow, catching everybody/everypony's attention! The three spiraled into the air, a bright light surrounding them all, as a shape began to take form. Soon, a final form fully took place, landing on the ground with everyone watching.
This new Gem had Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis within it, their Gemstones in their proper place, though all of them were a duller blue rather than their respected colors. This tall figure was twice as tall as Garnet, with a set of four arms. The coloration of the body mirrored the Gemstones, one on the back, one on the chest, and one on the forehead. The gem's clothing was a bit different, consisting of a long-sleeved dress, the flowing rim only going down to near her knees, with a lighter pair of pants attached to a sort of futuristic, steel boots that go around the calf. Her hair flowed down to the base of her back, well maintained in waves, in a color of light blue with the tips in a slight lavender. The face of the Gem actually had three eyes. The top eye was a light blue, just under the large Pearl gem, the left eye was a dark blue, and the right eye a dark purple. The Gem also had some goggles, which were put over the deep blue and purple eye. The arms were covered in some lighter gloves. After fully forming, the tall Gem looked down at everyone with a smile on her face, seeing the gawking eyes of the dogs themselves, along with the ponies and even the Gems. Garnet had her mouth slightly a gape, her eyes covered by her own shades.
"How do you do, everybody? Tanzanite has arrived!" She said with enthusiasm, taking the look a bit casually. Rover snapped himself out of it, and quickly howled to get the guards to recapture this sudden new Gem. However, Tanzanite was a bit hard to catch, the large Gem going by them with ease. Suddenly she then began to do something else: pulling out her weapon! As first, it seemed like it was Pearl's spear, but Lapis' water wings came out from the back, wrapping around the spear. Amethyst's whip then came out, wrapping around the water spear until they all fused together as well. What it ended up being was a long, pure silver trident, about as long as Tanzanite is tall. All four hands readied themselves, holding onto the Trident as the dogs attacked. Everyone saw Tanzanite poured it on them all, beating many of them very easily with a few swings. At one point, a guard dog tried another approach and used some rope. However, Tanzanite got one end around the trident. many of the dogs tried to pull the weapon away, but then the tall Gem tried something else. With two hands holding on just enough, the other two suddenly got the trident spinning. Like a fork with spaghetti, the rope wrapped around the trident, the dogs getting stuck in the rope themselves. Fido stuck his head out of the rope ball, along with Spot and Rover. Looking with a 'you got owned' look, she pulled the ball out and then, like a professional basketball player, threw the group of pups right to the hole - a perfect throw. When they all were gone, everyone looked to Tanzanite, who looked down at them herself.
"W-wha?! Where'd she ... Where's the others?" Twilight asked.
"You're looking at them," Garnet concluded.
"So ... you know who we are, right?" Rainbow asked, flying to her eye level.
"Course we do, Rainbow. Nice to see the world from your point-of-view," Tanzanite said, playfully fluffing Rainbow's mane.
"B-but how?!" Twilight asked, shocked as ever.
"Typical fusion - a trick we Gems know," Tanzanite answered.
"Well, I'll be. You Gems got a lot of tricks don't ya?" Applejack said.
"Yeah, we do. Well, gotta unfuse now, hope to see you again soon!" Tanzanite said. Suddenly, her body began to turn white again, the Gems turning back to their regular colors before three figures came back to normal: Lapis, Amethyst, and Pearl. Pinkie was the first to jump over, hugging Lapis first.
"Oh, I was so worried! you are alright! How did it feel to fuse? does it feel funny? Can you do it all the time, or -" Pinkie was cut off from her fast-paced rambling when Applejack covered her mouth with her hoof.
"Well ... that was interesting," Pearl admitted.
"Yeah. Never fused like that before," added Lapis. Soon, Garnet confronted the three, with a big smile on her face.
"Impressive. Tanzanite," Garnet said. The three knew what she was talking about but were just glad that they were alright. Steven and Fulgurite hugged them, along with the ponies.
"Glad to be back," Amethyst said, accepting the hugs like the others.
"Alright. Let's head back home," Garnet said, pulling out her key, and opening the door to the ground under them. Saying goodbye and tank you to the others, the Gems were off back home, and through the portal. After they left, the ponies started to head on back themselves. They weren't too worried over the Diamond Dogs, as they weren't getting out of their bind anytime soon.