//------------------------------// // Peridot's New Groove // Story: My Little Universe // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// --Data Log 352-1-- Current activity on planet Earth had proven inefficient for Homeworld. A new species had evolved over the last 5,000 years since Homeworld's last attempt, though they hadn't replaced the human race as of yet- a supposed ally to the humans could be the only explanation for their sentience. I'll be arriving to Homeworld shortly. The Galaxy Warp, mid-day, and the Homeworld Gem, Peridot, had finished up her second visit to planet Earth, getting herself out of one of the working Warp Pads. Since her last visit, the warps had remained unaffected, and still in operation. Unlike before though, she didn't have her robonoids with her, so she was alone for the time being. Heading along towards the Galaxy Warp, Peridot removed her touchscreen, finishing her other report. She'd been going about Earth for a while, though her own personal curiosity over these new creatures was getting over to her for quite a bit. As Peridot went over to the main Warp Pad, she was unaware that she was actually being watched nearby. Hidden behind one of the bordering rock columns around the Galaxy Warp, a pair of peering eyes looked on from the corner, seeing Peridot nearby. The Homeworld Gem didn't notice anything odd as she neared the main Warp Pad. So, a talon reached out from the hiding spot, and something else was dropped onto the ground, catching Peridot's attention. The talon and eyes disappeared, yet the item stayed on the ground. The item, actually, appeared to be a golden key, with Peridot's smiling face for the handle. Peridot wasn't sure if she recognized anything similar or what. Peridot went over and picked the key up with a sort of levitation beam from her hand, in case it might react from actual touch from her floating fingers. It looked in peak condition, not a scratch onto it. "Peculiar," Peridot noted. The key only became more peculiar when the key winked at her! Peridot looked at the key skeptically, as the key began to react and move about from within the levitation beam. Peridot kept it under control at first, but suddenly the key somehow got free, and landed nose first into the ground at Peridot's feet, making the signature door portal open up from under her. Peridot quickly deployed her helicopter fingers to avoid falling in, and she flew aside before landing. The portal did get her attention quite a bit, but not enough for her to jump in. Instead, she picked out the key, and gave it a quick scan. Her screen though revealed it to be unfamiliar to her knowledge, or to earth knowledge. Much like Rainbow Dash when she tried to look her up. Could this come from the same place Rainbow did? If that was the case, it could make for some great study for Homeworld to learn, maybe a better spot than Earth had been for them. Before she tried, she gave a quick look to be sure she wasn't being tricked into anything threatening her or her work. But as before, she didn't seem to be in any danger, nor able to see anybody else around to set this up for her. She then got another idea: she her fingers in chopper mode, and she began to descend into the portal gently, looking over the portal area. "Must be a primitive form of Warp Steam," Peridot told herself, noting a similar appearance to the Warp Pad. However, she wasn't going to cheat her way out of that one; the key falling and the portal shutting on her! The force began to affect her, and she was soon starting to fall downward despite her helicopter fingers. Eventually it became too much, and she began to plummet! Curling up in a protective ball, Peridot waited for the impact, as the other end opened up. Since she was falling, and the portal opened upright, Peridot ended up rolling on the ground until she slammed into something hard. She landed upside-down, to see the portal close and the key in front of her. She found herself in a completely different place. The area was more colorful than Earth was, more primitive feeling as well. Peridot got herself on her feet to see that she was in a clearing amongst a forest, the trees slightly different from what she saw before on Earth. Soon, she got out her touchscreen to give an extra on her current position. Her screen loaded for a bit but came up empty. "Seems I ended up in a ... Unfamiliar planet. Earth-like in structure, calm weather, firm ground structure," Peridot noted, adding the notes in her touchscreen data base. She looked around a bit more and noticed some birds nearby. She gave them a quick scan, recognizing it simply as some blue jays in the trees. However, nearby she noticed something else: a raccoon. The raccoon noticed Peridot but didn't run away at first as she approached - a good thing to note. She gave it a quick look over at the scanner, seeing what animal it was, and noticed that it was at least a foot shorter than a normal raccoon at Earth. "A change in size in comparison," Peridot noted, as the raccoon suddenly heard something, and moved away. Peridot was a bit busy with her work to notice anything else, adding the last bit to the data base. "Okay, a good start. Now where to -" Peridot suddenly heard a sort of low hissing sound right behind her. Not exactly like a snake, but still a hissing noise all the same. Peridot turned and found herself staring right at a reptilian set of jaws and huge teeth. The crocodile was simply gigantic, large enough to swallow her in one bite easily. Peridot, eyes locked in front, got a scan out. While it appeared to be a crocodile, the touchscreen data came up empty again. "Convergent evolution, perhaps," Peridot figured, as the beast hissed, mouth wide open. Peridot started to back away, activating her helicopter fingers before the beast could snap its jaws shut on her. Peridot thought she was safely away, but the beast suddenly reared back, and almost got her! Peridot flew off from the forest soon after that. Peridot continued flying for a while more, until she was sure it was safe to land. The fly off from the forest had got her in a more opened area of wherever she ended up. It still had a more colorful charm to it, and as Peridot was flying, she figured out the air was much cleaner in comparison. The clouds didn't hold any evidence of smog, or even much smoke for that matter. The clouds, at least there, didn't seem to really be moving. And not in the same way as little wind, but they literally didn't budge while she was flying. That, to her, was a surprising conclusion, and she quickly got that information amongst her data. However, before she could continue ... "Hey, you missed a cloud over there!" "Sorry." Peridot looked up and noticed two creatures flying above her. They looked like Pegesi, or "Rainbow Dashes" as Peridot still called them, though they didn't have the same look as Rainbow Dash did. One of them was actually a dull grey, with a shagged mane and tail of a light yellow, and she couldn't exactly see who gave her the order. What was intriguing apart from that, was when that same creature started to push the cloud directly, her hooves out front and pushing it with little effort. It was indeed a head scratcher for Peridot, as it got her flying away towards another stray cloud, closer to the ground. She tried to move it like that Pegasus was doing, but her arm only went through it rather than push it. She looked back, checking how that other pony did it, but she couldn't get it. Second time she tried, it only got rid of the cloud. Groaning, she landed back on the ground, getting her notes out again. "Clouds seem to take on a physical shape, and able to be moved directly by the Rainbow -" "Hello!" The voice suddenly made Peridot jump on hearing it, seeing the same grey Pegasus that was just moving the cloud. She must've spotted her when Peridot tried to move that cloud earlier. She was flying upside-down, her wings keeping her up, and she had a unique sort of wall-eyed stare to her. Peridot took a moment before she answered. "Greetings." "Were you trying to move that cloud?" She asked, pointing a hoof to where the cloud used to be. "Perhaps," Peridot replied, getting out her own scanner on the Pegasus again. As with Rainbow Dash, the scanner wasn't as familiar with the animal. Unlike before though, some information did come up from Rainbow Dash's last visit with her, saying the creature as a sort of Pony - a Pegasus actually. Peridot compared the Pegasus to a pony from Earth. However, comparing this creature to a pony from Earth, they were a lot smaller than she thought. She was at the same height as a pony, but she was very compact in length. "Half the size compared to Earth's species," Peridot noted, adding it to her notes. The Pegasus looked at the touchscreen, completely confused on seeing such futuristic techno stuff being used. She hovered so she could try to read it, but the language was weird to read for her. Peridot finished up the writing before the pony spoke. "Are you from the future?" "Well, my planet is more advanced than yours, I'm sure," Peridot stated, her touchscreen going away as the pony looked more surprised. "OOOO, you're an alien?!" she gasped. "Is that what you creatures call an extraterrestrial visitor?" "An Extra-ter-what now? Is that a movie or something?" She asked, tilting her head. Peridot simply groaned. "No, no. You know, another sentient being from another planet." "What do scents have to do with -" "No! A - ... smart thing visiting off planet," Peridot corrected. Suddenly, the pony seemed to understand, but that only got Peridot more annoyed. "OH! I get it now! Welcome, welcome! I'm sorry," she said, a little embarrassed. "That she got?" Peridot thought. She didn't expect this sort of species to be that simple in thought, at least compared to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow knew enough to know what sentient meant, but this pony wasn't as good on brains. Got looked to her touchscreen again, adding more info on the stuff she gotten from talking to this Pegasus. "Guess some subspecies are more ignorant than others," Peridot noted. "So, what brings you to our planet?" She asked, smiling to her. Peridot took away her touchscreen, needing a second or so. Course, she didn't decide to come here exactly, more it was a true accident, but study and exploration was something she could do before just jumping back herself. "Exploring a bit." "Goodie! Say, Cloudsdale isn't too far from here, want to come for a visit?" She offered. Talk about jumping for it; one mention of exploring and she's already being invited to somepony else's place. Could be a good place to try to get a better idea of how the Pegesi go about their day. Peridot removed her touchscreen and got herself hovering with her helicopter fingers. "Lead the way." ~~~~~~ --Data Log 352-2-- It'd been two Earth hours since first arriving in this new area. I've never planned on ending up here, yet by the appearance of the landscape, it can be a good area of case study. Luckily for me, their time zone has an uncanny resemblance to Earth, though I'd feel that their closest star hasn't moved. My escort, identifying herself as the "Derpy Hooves" subspecies, is currently bringing me to this Cloudsdale. I have yet to see any sort of human activity, but ill keep my vision sphere out for any sort of sign. Soon, the Homeworld Gem and grey Pegasus both continued flying, starting to near Cloudsdale. The great city in the sky was entirely made of cloud, a few waterfalls pouring from the lower clouds in multiple areas. One of these was actually rainbow colored, which reminded Peridot of the first Pegasus she'd met upon arriving to Earth. The Pegasus she was with, Derpy, began to fly off closer to Cloudsdale with Peridot hovering around nearby her. While it wasn't the first time for Peridot to see such a large place, it was the first time she saw one made purely of clouds. They continued to fly through around, Peridot seeing more Pegesi of different colors, appearances and cutie marks. Main similarity was that they all had wings, some broad, some pointed. "Are all of your species able to maneuver on cloud surfacing?" Peridot asked at one point. "You mean walk on clouds? Yeah, only Pegesi can do that," Derpy said, landing on a cloud to show her. Peridot tried herself, but all that did was made her fall right through. She quickly got herself flying again and wanted to figure this out for herself. She got out her touchscreen, quickly making a scan of Derpy's hooves before she got to flying again. Her scanners show that the pony hooves had some sort of strange aura between the hoof and the cloud surface, though she couldn't entirely make out what the stuff actually was. She kept that in her files for later, but then her attention reverted back to the rainbow waterfall again, and she wanted to figure that out too. Derpy caught her gaze, and fluttered over with a smile on her face, nudging her along. "What's that?" Peridot asked. "That's rainbows! It can overflow sometimes, and we have to drain it somehow," Derpy explained, as Peridot looked into her touchscreen. She got rainbows in it (aside from the Pegasus name), but the description of it for Earth differed from this type of Rainbow. One rainbow was just reflecting water droplets from the sun, but this rainbow seemed to be more liquid than it should be. "Drain?" "That's right," Derpy said. Suddenly, something seemed to click, as if she just remembered something. "Oh yeah! I gotta show you the Weather Factory, you're gonna love it!" Soon, Derpy got Peridot flying off with her, pulling her by the arm to get her moving. Soon enough, Peridot and Derpy ended up at the place in question: the Weather Factory. The area they were in had a number of rainbow pools, the colors in rings around the center. As a part of priority, Derpy and Peridot had to wear worker uniforms, which consist of a white coat and helmet. It was a bother for Peridot, putting on a coat with hole at the front instead to the sides. Derpy had no such problem, yet Peridot felt odd with her arms jutting forward like some mummy. Still, at least she can work her fingers correctly without her free moving arms and shoulders. "Is this really necessary?" Peridot groaned, feeling both uncomfortable and awkward. "Only until we go. Come on, look at the beautiful rainbow!" Derpy insisted, pointing to one of the rainbow pools. Peridot got one finger to work into a sort of flask, scooped up some of the rainbow, and gave it a good look over. "So, your kind are able to create pigment in liquid materials?" "Uh, well, not pigs, colors. We take water, and mix colors into it." "Same thing ..." Peridot thought, rolling her eyes before adding the liquid rainbow information into her database, yet it was a bit hard in her stance to work with. "I assume making these liquid rainbows isn't the only thing you do?" "Oh, I wish it was that easy; we have to move clouds, get it to rain and snow, making sure no clouds stray away, lots of things. Our duty as Pegasus after all," Derpy said. "I see ... Can I take this off yet?" Peridot asked, groaning as she tried to get comfortable in her forsaken coat. "Not while we're here. Can't be too -" Derpy then accidentally walked into somepony, her cap falling in front of her. "- careful." "Excuse me," the worker said, as he continued off, Derpy putting her helmet back on. Peridot just sighed, but at least she's learning as time would go. ~~~~~~ --Data log 352-3-- Just moved off from Cloudsdale. This world has a sort of unique set of rules compared to Earth or Homeworld. Their star had moved rather dramatically over the last hour, despite being dormant for the previously mentioned hours beforehand. The species known as Pegasus have the ability to manipulate their planet's weather patterns - an ability far stronger than I first anticipated from this planet's creatures. I'd yet to see any sort of human beings as of late, and I've come to the conclusion that, in the region anyway, they've either replaced humanity or humans had moved away. Peridot had flown around for a while more, giving her a large view of the situation around her. The grassy fields, the scattered oaks and spruce trees told her she might be further away from some actual civilization on the ground. Cloudsdale was behind her, and Equestria was ahead of her. Pegesi weren't flying about with her, giving her time to look around in peace. The area around her was open, calm with the occasional rabbit hopping about. As she flew, she could've sworn she saw a herd of wild deer, prancing along the open field under her. Alongside her, Peridot notice a number of birds go along their way through the clouds around her. Even if Peridot didn't care for Earth too much, this place was different for her - in a good way, of course. "Not much evidence of human activity on the premise," Peridot told herself, landing to get a closer look. She could feel that the area wasn't as polluted as Earth's own plains were, with the grass soft and healthy underfoot. The animals around her seemed curious of her presence, some coming out to see her. From the underbrush came out a few animals, including a raccoon which went right up to her. Peridot didn't appear too interested at first, yet the fact these creatures just went right up to her got at least some attention. Perhaps the locals made them used to company? Still, Peridot kept to her study, walking for a change as they followed her in curiosity. "Seemed these Pegasus creatures took better care of these animals," Peridot though, noting their lack of fear. At least, that fear wasn't shown until they all suddenly looked off towards the forested area behind her. The animals started to scatter; Peridot unsure what was going about. With a sigh, Peridot readied her blaster, ready to shoot whatever was in there. With a few rustlings of the bushes, and a couple of steps, a large figure began to head its way out of the forest, to face this newcomer to its territory. The creature, at first, looked like a large lion but with a scorpion tail, and a set of bat wings. Peridot stood tall enough to state it face to face, but it was still bigger than her by quite a bit. With its wings raised and spread, it gave a rather impressive threat display, wings flapping, and teeth barred. Peridot wasn't really impressed, and just aimed her weapon at it. The beast growled at her, and all Peridot did was blast it in the face. It didn't do very much, but it did make the animal very angry at her, charging at her and roaring at her. "Get lost, you freak!" Peridot said, trying to shoot again, but the beast whacked all of her fingers away from her, scattering them all over the place! Suddenly, Peridot turned from neutral to freak out, losing her only main source of protection to her hands. The lion monster stared her down, teeth sharp and the mouth into a strong growl. "Eh ... did I inform you as 'Freak'? ehehehe ..." Her main response was a stronger roar, strong enough to actually make her fall onto the ground. Soon as she did, the lion's large paws slammed into her arms, keeping her down. With her fingers scattered, Peridot couldn't exactly do anything, and was at the mercy of the angry, and slightly burnt creature. Another roar screeched at her, Peridot cringing, and waiting for whatever the beast was going to do to her... Suddenly, the beast and Peridot then began to hear something nearby, like a sort of musical symphony nearby from a flute. Peridot didn't have any clue where it was coming from, nor what it actually was, but the animal started to listen closely to the notes, as it moved off of Peridot and began to calm down. Peridot took the moment to rush away, trying to find her fingers, as the beast started to move away. The flute music soon stopped after a while. Peridot scrambled to get her fingers back to her arms, but during it, she only got about three fingers. "Stupid thing, where are they?" Peridot groaned, looking around as best she could. However, finding green fingers amongst green grass wasn't the easiest thing to really do. As Peridot kept looking around, the rest of her fingers she didn't manage to find over the last twenty minutes was already gathered, and Peridot found someone bringing them over to her. "Looking for these?" She asked. Peridot looked up, and in front of her was a human girl, brown skin. she was wearing a faded, pink-red cape with a buckle holding it together, a black eye-patch, along with a black dress with white wrappings on the arms and a gray pouch around the waist, pale baby blue stockings, and grayish-black boots up to her knees. While Peridot found at least three fingers herself, she'd found the other seven with little trouble, even with a patch over her eye. Peridot got her fingers in the right place, before getting up. For height, she didn't seem any taller than the ponies around the place. Catch was, she appeared to be a human in an overall sense - same body structure and everything. "Thanks ... Human?" Peridot wondered, getting out her touchscreen. "Much obliged," she said, giving a small bow to Peridot. Peridot shrugged that off, and quickly added in an extra human note in her data. As Peridot was looking over her notes, the newcomer took notice of Peridot's gemstone. For Peridot, she wasn't sure if this thing was a human, considering everything she'd seen so far wasn't human at all (physically, anyway). After the quick add-in, Peridot redirected her own attention back to her. "Are you okay? That Manticore got you pretty good," she asked. "Negative. So, that's called a Manticore then. Was that you who did ... whatever you did?" Peridot asked, looking back to the forest. "If by that you mean, did I calm it down, then yes," she stated. Then, she showed Peridot what she used; a sort of silver flute, with a mark along the back that looked like part of a plant. Peridot made a quick scan of it, reading out a strong magical aura around it, similar to the aura of the Pegasus but stronger and more concentrated within the flute than in the hooves of the Pegesi... At least, it seemed like the flute at first had a lot of magic. "Interesting," Peridot said to herself. "It's not that hard, really -" "Can I scope that?" Peridot asked, cutting her off as she got her fingers out, ready to grab it. The girl nodded and gave the flute to her. Peridot kept it in midair, and scanned it again, away from her. That time, though, the magical aura wasn't as strong as before. The readings were less strong as before, yet the flute still had some aura inside of it in spite of it. "That is a Calmer's Flute, it helps to calm nerves of those who hear it. Rather cool if I do say so," she commented, as Peridot looked back to her. Before the girl could do anything, the Homeworld Gem scanned her, and did a comparison on the levels. While the Flute itself had just a bit of magic, the human herself was the one with magic. A LOT of magic! A very powerful, strong aura of magical properties covered her entire body from head to toe like a full body suit, according to the readings and images shown from the scan. It did surprise Peridot, looking to her with a different view from just some simple human like before. From what she saw, she wasn't a human, but a being purely of magic! "... Identify yourself ... Please," Peridot said, a bit more frazzled than before. "Me? Oh, Connie the Second, but just Connie is fine. And you are?" She asked, acting friendly to Peridot. "Uh ... Peridot," she answered. Connie extended her hand to her in friendship, a smile on her face as well. "Nice to meet you," Connie said. Peridot collected that time, the friendly gesture, and shook her hand. If she can sooth a beast like the Manticore, she figured, she might as well try to keep herself under better control. Connie then looked up to Peridot's Gemstone. ~~~~~~ --Data log 352-4-- Had my first encounter with a true Human individual since being teleported by the primitive key warp pad, despite identifying herself as something called a 'Doppelgänger' or something of the sort. I could only assume that's a sort of subspecies of humanoid creature that'd evolved during the 5,000 years as well. The previous theory on human extinction within the region became too precarious because of this. She'd been my escort and informant for a few hours now, the star moving far more quickly than anticipated. By the point I'm imputing this, the star had already made it halfway around the planet, the planet's moon risen. The Connie had given me a place for sanctuary for the time being until the star had come around again. Away from the forest, and onto the more open plains, Connie and Peridot had settled down by a freshly made fire, out in the open. Connie, not exactly settling down anywhere yet, had grown used to it. Peridot was fiddling around with her touchscreen, adding more information as Connie sat down by the fire, seeing the key that got Peridot in Equestria in the first place by the ground. "Peridot?" "What?" Peridot asked, removing her touchscreen for the moment. "That key. Did that get you here?" Connie asked, Peridot picking up the odd key by her. Must've ended up dropped once she opened her touch screen. "I never intended to come here, but apparently this object is self-aware," Peridot explained, letting Connie look the key over. Connie, even a Doppelgänger and never having one herself, had seen this before with the real Connie back in Beach City. "Wait, wait, where did you get that thing?" "It appeared before I got the chance to get back home. Just a primitive Warp device used by lesser Gems, I assume," Peridot concluded, tossing it aside. However, when she did, the key came to life again, and made a U-turn, and hit her in the back of the head. Peridot turned, ready to shoot, only to find the key again. "Peridot, that's no ordinary key, you know that don't you?" "Course I do, it warped me here -" "No, no, did you see who gave it to you?" "Negative. Like I mentioned, it just appeared by me. Reason?" Despite that, Connie still felt that if Peridot had gotten her magic key like the others, then maybe she was needed for something in the future. What entirely remained to be said, but it was still worth noting. "You sure you didn't see anything around once you got that key?" "I don't like repeating myself," Peridot stated. Though, just for the sake of it, Peridot then went on and scanned the key in question. When she did that, to her surprise, the readings of that same magic aura were practically pouring from the key. Not in the same amount as her doppelgänger, but it was still a lot for such a small object. Course, it probably needed a lot of power to open portals really. "Well, know anyone else that has something like that?" "The Rainbow Dash had obtained one, along with a Fluttershy, yes. Said it was like 'a ticket back home'," Peridot explained, remembering Rainbow Dash from her first maintenance check on Earth. "You must be a part of their group then!" "Excuse me? What group?" "The Crystal Gems, who else?" Connie answered, thinking since she was a Gem, she could've been originated here. That made Peridot stop in her mind tracks. That name rang some sort of bell in her head, but she couldn't place exactly what that was at first. The fact Connie knew of any other Gems aside from Peridot was enough to pique her interest. "Crystal? Gems? ... Elaborate." "You never heard of them? They're a group of Gems protecting planet Earth from Gem Monsters that keep coming around." "She must mean the corrupted gems," Peridot thought, before saying "And what figures make up the Crystal Gems?" "There's a lot of Gems in their group: there is Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Lapis, Fulgurite, and Steven mainly. They're a lot of fun," she explained. Even if she herself hadn't met either one of them, the doppelgänger still retained all the knowledge from the real Connie until she and her split up. These names weren't ringing up as many bells as before, but it did help her out still on information alone. A group of Gems she never heard of before, something Homeworld should know about. "Well, I appreciate the information, Doppelgänger," Peridot concluded, getting up. "I think I should be going on my way." "You sure?" "I'll be fine," Peridot insisted, her fingers started to work to chopper mode again. "Well okay then, see you later," Connie said, and waved goodbye to Peridot, as the Gem flew off on her way. First Derpy, now Connie. ~~~~~~ --Data Lod 352-4-- My own investigation on this planet had paid off more than I hoped; for I've discovered that a group of Gems had been living on earth, hiding from Homeworld, for thousands of years. They're referred to as the Crystal Gems from what I recall and made up from a variety of Gems. As for studying, this planet ruled by this small equine species holds more potential value than we'd first realize. Peridot, after spending just one day within Equestria, felt that it was time to go back to Homeworld. The Homeworld Gem herself already had gotten the key working correctly (doesn't take much time to figure it out in her case). With a click, and an opening of the door, Peridot got herself back to point A; the Galaxy Warp. Not where she originally wanted to get to, but at least it was by the main Warp Pad. It was nighttime, the moon fully illuminating the area. "Alright, studies checked, Kindergarten secure, gemstone gestation going smoothly. Alright, let's -" Suddenly, as Peridot was about to step onto the main Warp Pad, she then noticed that the moon's rays was started to dwindle away, as a dark cloud loomed overhead. A minor distraction to say the least for Peridot, but the cloud moved down towards her, beginning to cover the entire area around her. Peridot, as quickly as she saw it, soon wasn't able to see anything beyond the Galaxy Warp, as something began to step into view Peridot readied her blaster, in case of an attack. The shadow began to decimate as strangely as they began, but unlike before, the shadow covered the main Warp Pad, so she wouldn't be able to get herself back to Homeworld. An extra shadow kept the other portal open for the time being, and soon she saw somepony else standing nearby. "Salutations, my dear," he said, rather formal for somepony looking like a tyrant of a king. "Identify yourself," Peridot demanded. "Sombra, my dear Gem. Planning on leaving so soon?" Sombra asked, walking over to her. Peridot tried to activate the Warp Pad, but the shadows over it somehow made the pad unable to work. Sombra chuckled a little bit. "Now, why would you go off so quickly? After all, the Homeworld can care less if you return or not." "How do you know about Homeworld? I don't remember informing you on anything," Peridot stated, surprised he knew what Homeworld was anyway, and angry for him thinking they could go on without her. "I'd never said it was you who had to inform me anything. Still, it won't change much for you, now, would it?" Annoyed, Peridot shot a blast at Sombra, but Sombra easily dodged it in his shadow state, and was soon circling around her. "Don't act like you know anything; I'm proud to be in my position to Homeworld." "Are you? All they see you as is just a toy, a tool in their little arsenal. Won't be surprised if they replaced you by now," Sombra pointed out, whispering to her by that point. Angry, Peridot jumped back, and shot three more blasts, each one missing or barely doing anything. "I admit, there's other Gems like me operating at Homeworld, but they gave me the task to come here! They trust me to -" "What? Check on a planet they could care less for? They only got you here so you're out of the way, get another Gem in line so when you do return, they can easily turn your precious parts into scrap and have their newcomer do a better job than you'd ever do," Sombra explained, not even trying to sugarcoat anything for Peridot. The unicorn was following on clever lies and half-truths at that point, but it did seem that it was working by the look on Peridot's face. "Don't bother yourself; once they read my reports, they'll reconsider their choices, and keep me as their prime kindergartener and study." Much to Peridot's annoyance, Sombra chuckled on hearing her being a prime Kindergartener. To him, that was where baby fillies and colts go for school, not where Gems are created from rock. "Oh dear me, and here I thought being a rock was a metaphor, but no, you really are as naïve as one." "How dare you!" Peridot readied to shoot again, but Sombra's front hooves slammed into all of her fingers, keeping them down as he stared her in the face. Sombra would normally use his fear magic on her by that point, but he'd wanted to keep her mind intact and keep things subtle for the moment. Besides, Peridot wasn't a Gem for Earth's side anyway. "Now now, I know the truth can hurt, but -" "Quiet you! Homeworld would never betray me; every Gem is important to the Homeworld, including me, and they would've easily notified me about my execution if that was the case, but they didn't did they? My role will not be replaced, I am no traitor, and you have no say on the matter!" There was a silence for a good while, Sombra looking just a little bit disappointed in the result. As angry as Peridot had gotten, Sombra could guess she was a harder one to crack open, unlike Ruby and Steven before. Plus, it was a bit ironic on her part; freaked out on seeing the Doppelganger but calm in the face of Sombra. However, he still was left with a smile, as the shadow around the Warp Pad began to recede ... "Well ... See you've picked your side then ... I do have one more question for you?" "And what would that be?" Sombra's smile grew more devilish before he answered. "Exactly how are you gonna get home?" "... The Warp Pad?" "What Warp Pad?" Peridot was a bit confused, but when she turned around, the result was shockingly clear. The shadows Sombra covered the Warp Pad with had literally eaten away at the Warp Pad, almost like acid, and Peridot was simply looking at a large empty space. The only thing left was Steven Crying Breakfast Friends sticker on the ground. "W-What? No!" Peridot gasped, realizing what the heck happened to the Warp Pad. It was her only main way back home, and Sombra had disintegrated it right behind her back! As for the devilish unicorn, he gave a personal nod at a job well done, before starting to head to Peridot's key portal. "Ta Ta, dear Peridot," Sombra said. And with a bow of his head, Sombra went through Peridot's portal back to Equestria, only then did the portal close up before Peridot could do anything. Not like she would, for she was simply sitting where the main Warp Pad used to be. How could she not notice the Warp Pad being destroyed right behind her?! With all this information, and Sombra had simply cut off her only way to get her back home. If Sombra was telling the truth or not no longer mattered. Peridot was stuck on Earth... ~~~~~~ As for Sombra, the unicorn soon landed back on his own Homeland, his four hooves feeling the fresher grass underhoof, and the moon still high above him as the night was in full swing. The portal was about to close, but Sombra quickly placed a durable stone to keep it open for him. As he sat there, he didn't immediately rush off just yet. Instead, he conjured up something in front of him; a few darker versions of Peridot's finger studs that he stomped on, as he started to work out a message for Homeworld. He only got enough fingers to make out the screen, and his large hoofs couldn't type in the message so easily. So, with some extra magic, he got a branch, dulling out the end so he wouldn't rip up the board, and started typing the message. --Data Log 352-5-- I've tried my best to get back to you, but there had been some complications. I've been ambushed by these clods called the Crystal Gems. These traitors are still alive on Earth after all this time. still forbidding us from recolonizing Earth, still despising Homeworld the same as before, if not more so. They've tried to capture and harvest me like so many others that were left, as it turned out, but I've managed to avoid them for the longest time. I need assistance here on earth before they find me out, please hurry! Sombra stopped there, and was about to send it off, but began to reconsider the exact message written out. It seemed a bit unsettling, sure, but Sombra felt that it needed something extra in it to really finish off the message itself. So, he decided to edit the message. So, it came out like this: --Data Log 352-5-- I've tried my best to get back to you, but there had been some complications. I've been ambushed by these clods called the Crystal Gems. These traitors are still alive on Earth after all this time. still forbidding us from recolonizing Earth, still despising Homeworld the same as before, if not more so. They've tried to capture and harvest me like so ma "There we go," Sombra thought with a nod. A little bit of speculation within a sudden cut off of a message was the icing on top of this cake. With the message complete, Sombra worked out, and soon got the message out to Homeworld himself, rather then go to Homeworld to do so. He was sure they'll get it. "Oh, things are going to get interesting."