//------------------------------// // The Runaway // Story: My Little Universe // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// For Connie, the night after meeting up with Bad Pearl had left its mark: both her mom and dad very angry at her for what happened. Even if it wasn't her who ended up hurting someone, she did end up getting in trouble for a number of other reasons. At her home, both of her parents got her in the living room, the girl looking to the floor as both parents berated her for what happened. "What did we tell you, young lady?" The mother began, firm in tone to get her point across. "Mom, I'm sorry." "Sorry doesn't remove what happened, Connie. Not only did you leave the store by yourself, but you also talked with a total stranger, and look what happened," her father said, pointing to the bruise on her arm, getting it when Pearl knocked her down. "B-but -" "But nothing! This is why we don't go back on any rules - to avoid anything like this happening!" Connie could feel the words hit at her each time, but that wasn't the only issue: as the parents were talking to her, her father caught something in her pocket that looked out of place. Before Connie could react, her dad grabbed it, and it turned out to be Connie's magic key! Was bad enough Connie found Pearl turning all punk, but now her parents had found her key, something she tried to keep quiet from her parents since she found it! "Where'd you get this?" Her father asked firmly, showing Connie the key with her signature face on it. "Uh ... I uh ..." "Okay, that's it. Go to your room, young lady," her father decided, putting the key in his own pocket, and pointing to the stairs. "But Dad!" "No buts, Connie. Room, now," her mother instructed. "If you'd just listen to -" "Connie!" her father yelled, telling her they weren't going to listen, no matter what she said. Connie sighed and didn't had much choice. As Connie sadly went upstairs. As she went, her mother added "And there better not be any lights on in there!" Connie flinched on hearing it, but could only agree as she went, that time without her special key with her. That kind of behavior was something Connie had to deal with for a long time, and something she hoped wouldn't last too long for her. Although, it didn't seem like it'll be over anytime soon. The parents waited until they heard Connie's door shut, knowing she was in her room by then. Connie's room was very well-managed, as instructed by her parents. Connie had the basic necessities: a bed by the window, a small lamp nearby for reading, usual stuff. She also had a bookshelf by the door, and her closet across her bed. Connie, feeling sad, just laid down on the bed. She didn't go to sleep right away, as she placed her glasses by her lamp, which she turned off. Connie didn't think she disserved to be punished for a mistake, enough to be removed of her magic key. "Why do they treat me like this? Every time I do anything, they always keep me locked away like some delicate jewel," Connie thought aloud, looking up at the ceiling. "Wish I can talk to someone who understands me ..." Back downstairs, both parents were thinking things over on what punishment seemed fitting for this. "What are we gonna do with her?" the mother wondered in a sigh, as the father looked over the key. The key was indeed peculiar, and they for sure don't remember giving it to her. Though, how Connie's face ended up on the handle was especially confusing, if not suspicious. Did Connie get it custom made while they had their back turned? As her father looked over the key, suddenly they both heard laughing, pretty loud and out of nowhere. "Go to bed, Connie!" her mother called, but the laughing didn't cease. Both parents followed to the source of the noise ... The key! The handle began to move, as it laughed with Connie's voice! Before the dad could even comprehend what, he was seeing, the key popped out of his hand, and hopped in place on the coffee table in front of them! "What in the world?" the mom gasped, trying to get the key. However, every time either one of them tried to confiscate it again, the key would bounce around and avoid being grabbed. The live key bounced around like some wild bouncy ball, bouncing off the parent's heads a number of times. At one point, while it hopped around in the kitchen, the mother finally got a grip around the handle with both hands. "Got it!" she announced. However, she felt something tickle her hands, as she began to giggle ... Which turned to laughing. Her husband watched as his wife was laughing like mad, the key being released, as it continued to tickle her, spinning like a fan blade as it tickled her stomach. After the mother was on the floor laughing for a bit, the key bounced off, and rolled off to upstairs, with the father going after it. Before either parent could get it, it slid under Connie's door, and got back in her room. Connie wasn't aware of what was going on yet as she just laid there, not changing into her PJs for sleep just yet. Though, that might've been a virtue for her, as the key bounced on her bed, getting her attention. When her parents got to the door, and tried to open it though, they got another surprise when they found the door locked! "Connie, open the door!" her father yelled, trying to open the door. However, the key then hopped over, stopping right next to the door. The key hopped in the air, and inserted itself into Connie's wall, making the magic portal open up for her. Connie didn't know where this could end up, but considering she was still hearing her parents angry at her, she was faced with a decision. Stay and face her controlling family, or try somewhere else ... "Open this door right now!" her mother demanded. Eventually, Connie made her decision. Just a bit after she did decide, the door finally unlocked itself, the door swinging into the portal opening, immediately slamming the portal shut. Both parents went right in ... Only to find their daughter missing... Connie chose flight. ~~~~~~ Things had cooled down for quite a bit for the Gems. While the argument (and revelation at the end of it) was a bit harsh, it ironically got the two hanging out a little bit more despite the harsh truths. That seemed the case, anyway, as many of the Gems sometime catch the two together doing a few things. The behavior still wasn't too changed around, Amethyst and Pearl acting like they usually do, but they didn't argue as much as they used to, which was pretty good. However, even if she was discorded, Pearl hadn't forgotten her experience as being the typical 'bad girl', thanks to Discord. While she felt that, compared to what she could've done, she'd gone off rather easily, she remembered what happened with Connie. The first meeting with her mother, and it happened to be when she was a complete clod to her by Discord's messed-up methods to prove some point to her. She could only wonder what Connie ended up going through after that kind of first appearance ... For one morning, Steven was in his room and reading a few more books he'd recently been getting hooked on. The book franchise he was looking over was called "the no home boys", and Steven had been reading them over for the last couple of days and was well invested in another part of the book when Lapis came in to see him. Steven laid down by the rim to the couch under him to see Lapis. "Morning, Steven." "Hi Lapis. Hey, check out this new story I got," Steven said, showing Lapis the book, he was looking at. Lapis took a second to read over the title. "The No Home Boys?" "Yeah, it's awesome! It's about these two boys as they travel with each other through the countryside. Living with no home as they ride trains, go down rivers, go pretty much everywhere together," Steven said, summing up the synopsis for her. Lapis took the thought in, looking over the title and picture of two boys, walking along with tied wraps on sticks. "Sounds like something the Crystal Gems would do," Lapis thought, though by mistake it came out aloud, catching Steven's attention. "They ran away from their home? Where'd they live before?" Steven asked, interested in the story. However, Lapis wasn't too sure at first on how to put it. But, after a little bit, Lapis sat down, and patted the spot next to her so Steven can sit down. Steven fell from his spot, landing on his rear on the couch before Lapis could begin. "You see, Steven. Many of us Gems come from a different planet, called Homeworld," Lapis started. She used her water from her Gem to make a sphere of Homeworld, as best she could. "Homeworld is our original home. Thousands of years ago, Gems had managed to find another planet, Earth. During this time, a group of Gems, the Crystal Gems, had decided to go against Homeworld and their purposes for Earth. Upon this decision, the Gems that fought for Earth had agreed that they must stay here. Even if it meant they can't go back home." "What did Homeworld want to do?" "Uh ... well, it's hard to explain. They tried a number of things here, though I guess from that message Blue got for us, they're no longer doing anything to benefit Homeworld anymore," Lapis explained. That only got Steven more curious. "You think we can see one of these places?" Steven asked hopefully. Lapis needed a moment to think on where Steven could go that wouldn't harm any Gem or get her and him into trouble. Her memory of those times was a bit sketchy, since she'd been trapped in a mirror for as long as she had been. However, she does remember one place in particular that could be a spot for Steven to see. So long as it wasn't active still to her knowledge. "Well ... There is one place, but I don't know ..." "Come on, please?" "Steven, I don't know if it's safe or not ..." Suddenly, While Lapis was thinking, turned away, an odd pop was heard. When Lapis turned back to the Half-Gem, his eyes were suddenly wide, sad, and completely cute like a sad puppy! Steven's eyes weren't normally like this, as the kid learnt how to transform his eyes with his Gem magic. Lapis was surprised, though felt a little guilty. "Steven." Steven didn't change his sad gaze, a small tear under his left eye. "Steven!" Still not changing. Finally, Lapis sighed and gave in to Steven's guilt trip stare. "Okay, okay, we can go." Steven blinked, his eyes back to normal, much happier, as Lapis got back up to her feet, and Lapis went to outside to get ready. Steven wondered why they weren't taking the Warp Pad, but then remembered that many of the Warp Pads don't always work, proven last time he was at the Galaxy Warp. So instead of asking, Steven got right out there to join Lapis, as the girl got out her set of large water wings, ready to go. Lapis looked to Steven, a visual invitation, and Steven happily piggy-backed on Lapis, holding onto her shoulders. With a smile from her as well, Lapis and Steven went on their way as Lapis flew off from the Beach House. ~~~~~~ While things for many had changed, some things plainly hadn't changed: Rainbow Dash was still going around with Peridot from place to place, going around in different areas of Earth to check in. Rainbow no longer had such an urge against Peridot, though she wasn't ready to fully befriend the Gem just yet. Same goes for Peridot. While Rainbow may had been annoying the first time around, but the Homeworld Gem got more used to having her tag along. That, and Rainbow still kept to her promise that she wouldn't interfere, and she was still keeping to that, which Peridot did approve of. At one point in their round-about trip, Rainbow and Peridot were done in another spot: along a very tall tower of pillars. A new Warp Pad needed to be made from scratch, the previous one crumbled under a rock. "Communication hub seems to be damaged over the thousands of years," Peridot concluded, leaving some robonoids to begin repairs on the structure. "You're not spending hours here this time?" Rainbow asked. "The robonoids can handle the repairs themselves for this spot," Peridot said, as a few were working some pillars in place, and fixing some of the cracks. Rainbow was a bit 50/50 on this: while her main mission was to make sure no one was going to be hurt, she was learning a bit more on some Gem tech than expected. "Okay, anywhere else left? We been through here, that spire place, that weird island with the smiling fish. Are we done yet?" Rainbow asked annoyed. Peridot glanced down at the Pegasus before bringing up her screen. "One more location should suffice the maintenance," Peridot stated, looking over the status on her screen. "And where's that, might I ask?" "You requested that ten times currently," Peridot sighed, before activating the Warp Pad again with Rainbow Dash. When they ended up next after checking that spot, Rainbow and Peridot both looked around at their new surroundings. The area they stopped at that time was that of a large canyon, stretching off through the area. The place looked like the life was drained out if it: with dull rocks and grey canyon walls. The walls all around them were covered in holes, perfectly made for a small person to fit inside. A few odd machines were gripping the walls and ground as well, a sort of odd tripod with something like organs in the middle of a see-through base, and a large diamond at the top. The sky itself looked lacking life, a light grey haze covering the area above them. Peridot gave a rough sigh, removing her screen before she stepped off the Warp Pad, Rainbow looking around. It did not appear like anything was ever going on there for many years, not a single sound being heard a part of their own activity. The Pegasus wasn't liking this kind of place. "Not as excellent as it used to be. A quick check at the prime control center and we'll be done here," Peridot said, walking off. Rainbow trotted over with her and walked by her side as she looked at every hole, and every odd machine. From what she saw so far, this place was more ominous than the other areas they've been to. Peridot seemed more disappointed than worried over the place. As she said, it was a lot better before, as she recalled. In spite of that, Peridot and Rainbow Dash began to go off away from the Warp Pad. "Geesh, looks abandoned for years," Rainbow commented. "5,000 years if I recall right." "So, what was this place for, anyway? Training ground? Mining?" "Gem creation." Rainbow suddenly stopped on that reply. They created Gems here?! She had a completely different view over every other hole on the wall after Peridot said that. After a bit, Rainbow went over to Peridot again, catching up. "By Gem, you mean like you, right?" "Naturally. Gems were made here by the hundreds, centuries ago, until some rebel Gems drove Homeworld away from production. Apparently, it left everything in disarray ever since then," Peridot said. Along with being used to company, Peridot was also a little more used to tell Rainbow Dash a bit about what the stuff is and what happened to the areas to ease Rainbow's curiosity. Soon, Rainbow flew over near some of the odd machines stuck to the walls. "And what about these thingamajigs?" Rainbow asked, tapping the glass area of the object. "Injectors. They're made as apart of Gem production. The Injectors can drill in and implant a premature Gemstone about five to six meters into the surface of the earth, giving it life-substances and life-force from the surrounding area to speed up the process. After a gestating period of two to three earth weeks, the Gem is able to mature, and mature as a fully developed Gem," Peridot explained, feeling the leg of one of the Injector machines. Rainbow was a bit lost in what she was talking about. "... So, you were planted, and you just pop out from holes in the dirt?" Rainbow asked. Peridot rolled her eyes at Rainbow's simpleton response to all that explanation. "Perhaps its better if I just demonstrate. Apart of my maintenance either way," Peridot decided, pulling out something from a compartment opening up from her arm. Soon, she pulled out an actual Gemstone! Rainbow looked to the type of Gemstone Peridot had with her. The Gemstone in particular didn't seem to have much color to it, even a little translucent. Just slightly, it looked like it had a five-point star on it. Rainbow gave it a better look over. If Rarity were here, she'd be ogling over it by now. Peridot looked away before walking off, the Gemstone in her five fingers, with Rainbow flying by her. "Now, we need an operational Injector, a proper area for Gem growth, one of these has to work somewhere," Peridot said, beginning to go off. Rainbow flew up higher in the air, looking around to see which one will work. Soon, she then noticed one on the very top of the canyon, isolated from the others. While Rainbow can get to it easily, she wasn't sure how Peridot was going to get there. Peridot waited until Rainbow stopped by the one, she was talking about, and her free fingers suddenly extended, and began to spin. Soon, her finger helicopter began to lift her up to the where Rainbow was, impressing the Pegasus. "Anything those fingers can't do?" "They can't make new Gems," Peridot said, opening up a panel on the side of the base, and working with some buttons on the machine. This Injector hadn't worked since the Gems stopped making any more, but after some work, Peridot actually managed to reactivate it. A slot opened up for the Gemstone to fit in, and Peridot and Rainbow watched as the drill began to work its magic. The drill dug into the earth, some debris nearly hitting them both, as the Gem was being processed through the organ-like parts of the machine. They both can actually see the actual dent in the machine where the Gemstone was going through, as the hole was finished. Soon after, the Gemstone was injected inside at a particular spot. Once in place, smaller drills worked their way within that same hole, and covered the Gemstone with dirt. The larger hole itself was covered with dirt soon afterward, the Injector relaxed, as the process was complete. The area didn't look too much like the rest of the canyon, though had some more color in it, and as such, more life. "See the Injectors still work properly, even with backup power," Peridot said. The two flew back to the ground, leaving the one Gem to germinate in its spot. Rainbow wasn't too sure what the Gem will turn out to be, but she had to wait for the next two to three weeks, if Peridot was correct. Upon landing, Peridot continued to go around the area... ~~~~~~ As the portal opened up, the runaway girl Connie had ended up finishing her portal traveling. She stumbled a little bit upon landing with her magic key in the dirt. Where did that key brought her was completely up to guess, as Connie instinctively got her glasses off the ground, as the portal closed behind her. Her bruised arm took the brunt of the fall, making it hurt even more, as her magic key moved around on the dirt. Connie took the moment to look around as the key continued to work out the details of the place. She had ended up in what appeared to be an underground cavern, a trail leading to outside through a small tunnel. While no true light from outside can be seen, there was some illumination coming from the center of the cavern, which had a large natural pool. Some smaller plants were around, like mushrooms and small bushes, but as far as plants go, that was about it. "Where am I?" Connie wondered, as the key landed by her feet after it was done moving. Somehow, the key written out a sort of rhyme in the dirt next to the pool, including an arrow pointing to the pond. Connie wasn't too sure why the key brought her here, but at least here it gave her time to think without her parents barging into her life while she was. She moved over to the pool, looking over to the words her currently inactive key made out for her. She wondered a little bit on what the words meant ... Then she remembered what she said in her room: ''Wish I can talk to someone who understands me.'' That meant here? Can she really talk to somebody here? She might as well try it, see what happens. So, she looked down into her own reflection in the water, before clearing her throat. "And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared..." Connie got down to her knees, looking deeply into the pool. "... And solemnly swore not to be scared at the prospect of being doubly marred." Upon completing the rhyme, Connie waited for something to happen, but then something compelled her: she reached out with both hands into the water. Upon doing so, instead of feeling just the cold water, she got a hold of some arms! Connie pulled upward, getting to her own feet, only to pull someone else out of the pool! The figure looked to be an exact copy of Connie, from clothing to exact expression... She basically summoned a doppelganger of herself! At first, Connie was a bit shocked at what she just did, her double looking around in some confusion at seeing herself in the same place. the real Connie didn't know what to do about this sudden new arrival either ... "... Uh ... Hello?" "... Hi ..." Basic start up, but how to proceed. Both sides were a bit confused on everything, though the real Connie felt it was a bit harder to come around. "You're ... You're me?" The doppelganger asked. Connie could only sigh. "I guess so. Needed someone to talk to, really," Connie admitted. "About mom and dad, right?" Connie would ask how she knew that, but then again, she was a copy of herself, so, perhaps history copied to the doppelganger too. Connie only sat down, as her double did the same, listening to her. "Right. We both know that they treat me - they can't trust me." "They are controlling, I know." "I just tried to figure out what's wrong with Pearl, is that too much to ask? And we both know that they can't even listen to me! *sigh* I don't know, I just need some time away from them for a while," Connie decided. "Sounds good for a little while," her double agreed. Since they thought the same, for the most part, agreement wasn't going to be of any trouble. Connie picked up her magic key, and got to her feet alongside herself, both agreeing with the idea. It was short, quick, and summed up the issues, but the two started to go out the only exit to the pool. Looks like Connie was going to spend some time with herself. Literally. ~~~~~~ Back with Rainbow Dash and Peridot, the status look over was doing fairly decently for the most part. Apart from that one part with showing how the Injector works, Rainbow and Peridot were basically roaming around to see what's what and check the status on the place in general. As far as Rainbow was concern, Peridot was done hours ago, but the Homeworld Gem was for sure she had more to check while they went through the area. Eventually, the two ended up heading over to another particular area, further away from the Warp Pad they came up in. "Prime area inactive," Peridot said eventually, working her screen (again), as Rainbow began to move off ahead of her. "You needed to run around everywhere to figure that out?" Rainbow commented, getting bored with looking around the place again. "I do. Let's move on," Peridot said, moving to another area of the place. They then stopped at one part of the place, as Peridot waited a little bit... "Uh ... I know you might be more "official" for this Gem stuff, but there's nothing here," Rainbow said. However, Peridot ignored her, working at her screen once again. Upon working a few buttons, the area in front of them suddenly outlined a square area in front of them! Soon, after a little bit, the area suddenly popped out in midair, looking like a silver, upside-down pyramid. To Rainbow, this Gem's got too many surprises up her sleeves. When the pyramid settled down, Peridot moved onto it, and the pyramid began to go down a pre-made shaft, Rainbow quickly following her inside it. As the two went down, the entrance sealed off and it appeared that there was nothing there. However, almost as if on cue, it was then two figures suddenly arrived, flying into the area: Lapis and Steven. It was a rather long flight from Beach City to the place, but they managed to get there none-the-less. However, the sight of the ominous place was a bit different from what Steven was used to. "This one of those places?" "Yes, it is. The Gems call it the Kindergarten," Lapis said, looking around. Steven looked a little confused on that name. "You mean they teach little Gems here?" "Huh? Oh, no. Actually, Homeworld used to create other Gems here," Lapis corrected, Steven amazed. Judging by all the holes on the walls, a ton of Gems were made in such a place, though seeing it quieted down seemed a bit bummed out to Lapis, knowing that the place was no longer birthing more Gems. "That's amazing!" Steven beamed, going over to one of the hundreds of holes. The holes size wasn't too big, in fact, looked like he could fit in himself, though Lapis was too tall for this to be her own hole. "Are all Gems made here?" "No, no, Homeworld was where the race originated. It's just not as easy during the last thousands of years. It's a lot like an Earth Garden: you only have so much room until you need to find more," Lapis explained. Steven can kinda understand, though that does raise another question: how many Gems are there at Homeworld? How many Gems are there alone for that matter... Meanwhile, not too far away, Peridot and Rainbow Dash had finished riding down their elevator, waiting until it attached to an underground area. The place they ended up in wasn't what Rainbow Dash expected to show up in such an old place. The room was simply huge, shaped in a green hexagon. Near the back, it seemed to have a large Gem-like object in the back. Outside the room, Rainbow saw a ton of pipes leading away, perhaps as a power source to the place. Rainbow moved in, as Peridot readied to check the status from the room. However, there didn't seem to be any buttons, levers, or anything of the sort. "What kind of Place is this?" Rainbow asked. "Kindergarten Prime Control Room, main power source. Keeps track of all the data associated with the Kindergarten," Peridot said, moving into the room. Rainbow readied to go in, but Peridot made Rainbow stop. "I'd appreciate you staying where you are," Peridot insisted. Rainbow sighed, and sat down at the edge of the room, as Peridot went towards the center of the room. Unlike before, Peridot instead stomped on the ground, and a door opened up, bringing out a control panel to her. Rainbow didn't know what she was trying to do but was ready in case something bad would come around from this. Peridot worked with the buttons for a little bit, until a large screen finally got itself up and running. "So, you can control what can go on up there?" Rainbow asked, though she wanted to fly over to her. "Correct. The machines are all operated and powered from here." "Wait a minute, how'd that other Injector thingy work outside?" Rainbow asked suspiciously. All Peridot actually did was shrug and went back to checking the files of the Control Room, Rainbow having hoof to forehead, as she sat back down. ~~~~~~ Back at the surface, Lapis and Steven both were still going around the Kindergarten, Steven learning as much as he could about the place. However, as Steven and Lapis were looking over one of the machines, suddenly they heard a familiar sound nearby: the sound of the Warp Pad. When they looked, Lapis and Steven not only saw a working Warp Pad by a bunch of red crystals, but they also had company. "There you two are!" The voice came from Pearl, who had arrived to the Kindergarten looking for them. Lapis and Steven weren't sure if she was glad to see them, or mad to see them here. "Garnet said you'd be here, but I didn't want to believe it. Lapis, what were you thinking bringing Steven to a -" Pearl changed her tone to gritted teeth. "- Kindergarten!?" "What's wrong with bringing him here, it's not a bad place really," Lapis said, looking around. To her, the place where more Gems were basically born didn't sound all that bad, but Pearl begged to differ. "Were Gems really made here, Pearl?" Steven asked. However, that question made Pearl even more angry, turning to the only Gem who could bring him here. "How much did you tell him?!" Pearl yelled, obviously angry. "Pearl, Gems were made here, how's that bad?" "Look around you! This is a horrifying place, what makes you think bringing Steven here was a good idea?" "I didn't, he wanted to!" Lapis cleared up, more to show that it wasn't entirely her fault. Pearl glared at Lapis, trying to calm down a little bit, pinching the bridge of her nose. Steven looked to Lapis in some worry, Lapis slightly feeling guilty to say Steven wanted to go here. "Pearl?" Pearl just sighed, and kneeled down to Steven's level, both hands on his shoulders. "Steven, I'm sorry. I never wanted you to see this horrible place." "But what's so bad about it? Gems were born here, aren't they? ... Is that bad?" Steven asked. Pearl didn't want him to learn anymore things about the place, but, for this question, she had to clear some things up. Pearl straightened herself up and looked down to him. "... Well, no, not technically. But Gems drain life forces from the Earth while they grow ... Well, this is just a taste of what could've happened if they continued ..." Lapis and Steven both looked at each other and looked around for a bit. That was something none of them really knew about, and seeing the barren landscape seemed to prove the fact even more. If this was just a small taste of what could've been ... Well, Steven didn't want to think about that. "I'm sorry, Pearl," Steven said finally. "Steven, I know you're young, and you're wanting to know more about Gems but ... Let's just wait on subjects like this until you're more ready, okay?" Pearl asked, calmer and caring that time. Steven didn't say much, but eventually nodded in agreement. He can afford to wait if it makes the others feel a bit better on it... As all that was going on, Peridot was still looking over the files to the Kindergarten, as Rainbow watched on in boredom. It was like looking over a slideshow, only Peridot wasn't blabbering on about each one of the documents. Not like Rainbow could read it anyway, many of the lettering and language a bit unsure of to the Pegasus. The documents in question did intrigue Peridot a little bit, not seeing such stuff in quite some time. While the writing was a bit wonky, some did come with pictures of some things. Some of these included other gemstones, injector status from the surface (one of which shown a recent completion), locations of other Kindergartens on Earth, and other things of that nature. Rainbow could've sworn she noticed some odd figures on the screens, yet couldn't make out what or who they were. As Peridot was looking it over, something did nag at her a tiny bit, and she looked back to Rainbow. "Excuse me. What was that object your friend used? The 'Fluttershy' I think it was," Peridot asked. Rainbow immediately gave a rough look to her. "Hey, I'm not saying anything," Rainbow Dash firmly retorted. Peridot gave a little groan. "I've been telling you about our own mechanics for the last four earth days, I'm sure it would be only fair," Peridot said with some annoyance. Rainbow rolled her eyes, but knew she was right. With all of Rainbow Dash's questions, the least she could do was answer hers. So, taking it out from the feathers in her right wing, she pulled out her own Magic Key, and showed it to Peridot, who looked it over intently. "Here. This is a magic key I got a while back. It's like my own ticket back to my home." "Magic key? Where'd you obtain it?" "From a package I got from a *ahem* ''friend'' of mine. He thought it'll help me out when I needed it ... for some reason," Rainbow explained, mumbling to herself at that last part. Along with the other ponies, Rainbow did end up getting her magic key like the Gems, though only at a later date, and not through some crazy act either like the others did. Of course, by friend, she meant Discord, though she didn't entirely trusted Discord with giving her a random magic key, not to mention doing the same to the rest of her friends. As for Peridot, she felt satisfied enough for that answer, not interested on where Rainbow came from, as she went back to studying up the files left over. Rainbow put the key back under her wing, and remained there as she finished up. "Let's see now ... Kindergarten status is inactive, files backed up - thank goodness. Status on the -" Before Peridot could finish, suddenly they both heard some sort of thud come from nowhere. Peridot turned back, still seeing Rainbow on her feet, looking around as well. "I thought we agreed you didn't interrupt my maintenance." "I didn't do that." Before it could go any further, more banging could be heard. Suddenly, from above, something big fell down, nearly landing on Rainbow Dash! Rainbow managed to fly out of the way, but the thing that landed got Rainbow's nerves sky high. The thing looked like a stitched-up project gone wrong, with multiple limbs attached to the wrong place. Five orange, large fingers were on top of a rounded violet head, with one large eye and no nose or mouth, looking like frills or head feathers. Its forearms, the left green, and the right violet, pulled its body up as its back legs dragged behind at first, also having hands rather than feet. Its back was lined with some sort of small toes, which moved like regular ties would. It looked about as large as Garnet was tall. It also had a long tail made up of one muscular purple arm. Peridot looked mildly surprised while Rainbow was freaked out over seeing this thing show up. "W-What the hay is that thing?!" Rainbow asked, nerves a little affray. It stared at them both with its large eye, as a mouth started to open up on its neck. Upon fully separating, it gave out a loud, blood-curdling roar, its tongue having the extra eye on it. The roar resembled a mix of human screeching, and lion's roar. Peridot and Rainbow covered their ears, not wanting to be deaf, as the roar was so loud it reached the surface, being heard by Lapis, Steven, and Pearl. However, the sound was very muffled, and barely caught by the three. "Did you hear something?" Steven asked. "Not sure. Let's get out of here," Pearl said, the three heading to the portal. Steven, Lapis, and Pearl stepped onto the Warp Pad, and without hearing anything else, went off back to the Beach House. Underground, Rainbow and Peridot were forced into fighting the huge beast, the creature in a full rage. It first targeted Peridot, charging with all its rage, but Peridot easily maneuvered away from its grip. Rainbow, despite her shock, attacked the beast by flying right at it, though the monster only had to whack her away with the fist on its tail, knocking the Pegasus away. Peridot shot at it from a higher vantage point, ala finger chopper, though that only enraged the creature more. Rainbow looked, and saw Peridot flying out through the tunnel, and quickly followed. The beast, using all five hands, climbed up after them. Despite their speed, the beast kept up with force, constantly swatting at them. The two got themselves out, back to the surface of the Kindergarten. However, the monster got itself out, just catching Peridot in its mouth! Rainbow turned back, to see Peridot setting her finger on the skin, and electrocuting it to let her go. "Any clue how to beat this thing?" Rainbow asked, both high enough so it can't reach. Peridot looked down at the enraged beast before answering the Pegasus. "Just have to make it retreat into its Gem." "That ain't no Gem, sista!" Rainbow yelled, the beast suddenly reaching just high enough to grab Peridot! The Homeworld Gem was slammed into the dirt, the beast on top of her, as Peridot struggled in the dry earth. Rainbow wasn't sure if she should at first; this Gem had tried to attack them days ago, and Rainbow knew she wasn't the friendliest Gem she met ... But her morals were bothering her. As Peridot was staring eye-to-eye with the Gem beast, Rainbow Dash flew up higher and higher. Soon, she easily had gone up a good fifty feet, her wings keeping her steady as she locked onto her target like a hunting falcon. After judging right, Rainbow Dash began her falcon dive, her pointed wings folded back to reduce any drag behind her. Peridot could see Rainbow Dash flying in fast and braced herself for the oncoming impact. As for the beast, it was too focused on Peridot to notice anything. A loud cry echoed out of Rainbow, and all over the canyon as she made a direct hit on its back. The impact caused a giant cloud of dust to spread out, Peridot trying to see clearly through the area. As it cleared, Peridot sat up, and saw Rainbow Dash standing with her wings spread, and an odd Gemstone at her hooves. The gemstone looked like it was glued together, multiple types joined up. Peridot took a moment before getting up and getting the Gemstone from the ground. Rainbow looked up to Peridot as she did that. "An impressive attack," Peridot said, putting the Gemstone in a compartment in her arm. "You're welcome," Rainbow replied, shaking off the dust blown around. Peridot them went over to the empty Warp Pad, having all of the information she had for the maintenance check of Earth. Rainbow calmed down and looked over to her. "This concludes the maintenance check. I believe our deal has concluded, and expired," Peridot stated. Rainbow just groaned: this Gem wasn't gonna be thanking her after all ... "Though, I do appreciate the recovery," Peridot added while looking at her screen. Close enough. "Well, alright then, Peridot. Guess I'll be going," Rainbow decided, getting out her key, and getting the portal open on the ground. Peridot looked to the portal with some intrigue, though looked back at her screen once Rainbow looked back at her ... "Well, see ya, Peridot." "Likewise." With that, Peridot teleported away, and Rainbow Dash finally went through her portal. Rainbow was finally going back.