//------------------------------// // Time for Something New // Story: My Little Universe: Season 2 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// Beach City; a city that had undergone quite it's share of magical workings, mishaps, and perks. With most of the residents, odd enough, not too involved with most of the magics, some events are too big to be easily ignored by everybody. One of these had everyone as a sort of audience, and they ended up in helping a group, called the Crystals Gems, in helping clean up afterward. A choice decided by their leading mayor, and it was a nice little helping hand for how much the Gems had done for them already (not to mention what they'd been through beforehand). It was late at night. Quiet and calming, and one of these Crystals Gem, the half-Gem Steven Universe, was snoozing off in his bed. By the bed was his dog, a Gemhound named Blue, also snoozing. It felt rather comfy, and little Steven was trying to get some good night sleep. Or at least, he tried to. Steven turned to the window, a slight groan passing his lips as a green light was starting to bug him just a little bit. He tried covering his head with his own pillow, but while it helped with the light, the beeping sound, like tapping on a ipad or something, wasn't out of his head. Unlike Blue, Steven couldn't sleep with it. With a tired yawn, Steven woke up, and turned away from his bed to the source of his trouble. Gem Log: I've been in the company of these Crystal Gems for sometime now. convenient for me that they've allowed me sanctuary for the current time, Yet those same clods was what destroyed my alternative method to return to you. I'm sorry for my absence, and I hope you understand. I'd used the Warp Pad, but a unicorn identified as Sombra, had caused it to disappear. Please try to do something so I can return home. Thank you. The Gem in the with Steven was Peridot. A rather new, if not temporary member, She'd been with the Crystal Gems only for a little bit of time. Being a gem from a planet called Homeworld, Peridot would much rather be there then stuck here for good. For the moment, she was working with her touchscreen and putting in her latest thoughts (which was a regular pass time) when she noticed Steven looking down from his bedroom. "What time is it?" Steven asked, rubbing his eye as he did. "Two hundred hours in earth time," Peridot replied. Steven, even if he wasn't tired, didn't knew what she meant, so Peridot made it easy and got her finger stubs to form a number 2. Given it was still night, Steven got the rest together. "What're you doing so early?" Steven asked with a yawn. Peridot went back to her screen. "Updating my data," Peridot replied nonchalantly. Since he was up, Steven decided to get some water. "How much data do you have on that?" Steven asked, as he got a glass for himself. "Enough for it to be sufficient." "Well, a good thing they didn't get wrecked with King Sombra. By the way, how'd you do that?" "Do what, exactly?" "That thing you did; you made that hand come to life and -" Steven pretended that his hand was a gun, making the shooting sound as if he pulled the trigger. Steven then got some water from the sink as Peridot answered him. "Basic sensing. I can work my touch stubs enhancers with just a simple nudge," Peridot summed up, her five touch stubs in her free hand enhancers spinning around. Steven looked at them in amazement, though it wasn't by much to Peridot. Then again, Earth wasn't in the same league as Homeworld, so, Peridot can let that by for now. Steven sipped his water, staring at the spinning touch stubs. Peridot just sighed. "It's not that unique. Homeworld has technology far beyond you earthling's imagination," Peridot said with a smirk, putting her touchscreen away. Next thing she knew, Steven was sitting right next to her, his cup of water held with both hands, his eyes wide, and ears ready to listen. The mention of such things was surely something Steven wanted to know about, and who better to tell him than Peridot? "... You okay?" "How much cool stuff is back on Homeworld?" Steven asked. "Eh, I'd rather not," Peridot retorted. "Come on, please?" Steven asked, eagerly wanting to know. Peridot, rolling her eyes, began working with her touchscreen to show just one of Homeworld's technology. She moved her Touchscreen so Steven could see what it was. The item looked like a sort of greenish stop sign, showing a Gem standing on it. The Gem was using it like a hover board, Steven psyched. "Cool!" Steven gasped, imagining himself riding one of those. Peridot took her screen back. "Satisfied?" "Oh. Yeah I'm good, thanks," Steven said, heading back to his room. Peridot went back to her own Touchscreen, and Steven went right off to bed. The chit-chat was short, but Steven still needed some sleep. So, Steven went right off to bed, as Peridot continued fiddling with her Touchscreen. ~~~~~~ The next morning came around with clear skies, the sun waking Steven up from the extra six hours of sleep he gained. Even with him sleeping, Steven woke up to find Peridot still there, only laying on the couch instead of sitting. Apart from that, his morning went along normally. After going through his morning routine, he was just ready to head out when the door in the back opened up, showing another Gem named Amethyst. Since they've gotten more Gems in the group, a friend of theirs had edited the symbol on the Crystal Gem door. The symbol originally had five points on it, each one for the original Crystal Gems, including rose. However, that soon turned into eleven points, adding Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, Jade, Flint, and Fulgurite. With the added Gem colors, the star looked more like a Hendecagram by that point. The order of each Gemstone symbol, clockwise, shown as such; Rose Quartz, Pearl, Lapis, Fulgurite, Peridot, Sapphire, Ruby, Jasper, Jade, Flint, and Amethyst. "Mornin Peri, Steven," Amethyst said, heading right for the fridge. Amethyst had given Peridot her own little nickname, though Peridot didn't fancy it. She didn't exactly get annoyed with it though. "Hi Amethyst," Steven said with a grin. Peridot just gave a lazy wave, looking over to her. Amethyst got out some morning fruit, and enjoying an apple she grabbed. Peridot herself didn't know why Amethyst was eating, Gems not needing to eat anyway. "What're you doing?" "Eating. Want a bite?" Amethyst asked, offering her the apple. Peridot simply nodded no, as Amethyst ate the rest of it in one bite. "You are aware we Gems don't need to consume any substance to live, right?" "Doesn't mean I can't. I like it," Amethyst said, going in the fridge and eating up a milk carton (with the carton itself). Peridot had a mixed look of confusion and disgust, considering Amethyst had swallowed a whole carton of milk. "A bit beastly if you ask me," Peridot commented, after Amethyst finished up her version of breakfast. "Hey, hey, tell you what, I'll take you out to lunch and show ya," Amethyst decided, playfully nudging Peridot. As they chit-chated, Steven decided to head off on his way. "... What's Lunch?" The coast was, more or less, beautiful as it always was. Incredible to think though; that the beach was covered in rubble all over the place just a week ago from their last fiasco. Now though, all the stuff cleared up, the beach was as clear and as lovely as it should be. Steven went right on out, with Blue waking up and joining him. For that morning though, someone else was around the beach for an early morning visit. Just down the shoreline, One creature was happily bounding over to see him, joined by another. The creatures were ponies named Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and that morning, they both were ready to visit him. "Pinkie, Rainbow!" Steven called, heading down to see them. Pinkie, the giddy pink earth pony, hopped right to Steven as Rainbow Dash, the tomboyish Pegasus, gave Steven a good ol noogie to the head - her way of a hug. Blue gave Pinkie a happy lick as well. "Hey there, sport, see you're better," Rainbow said. "Yep, I'm back! Great to see ya again," Steven said, giving a friendly punch to her. Pinkie popped up behind him, her front hooves resting on Steven's bushy hair. "Did you have any funny feelings happen while you were as that mirror lion thingy?" Pinkie asked, wagging her tail as she listened. "I dunno, felt different being tall, and having petals for hair. I'm happy being me again." "That's good. Sombra also got his flank beat I heard," Rainbow said, landing for a moment. Imagining such a king getting himself pummeled was a good thought for the Pegasus. Before Steven answered, the Beach House door opened up, showing a particular Gem coming outside, still adding some extra info to her Touchscreen. "A few of these earthling inhabitants, Gem or not, do show a unique relationship towards each other -" Peridot glanced off, and saw the Ponies by Steven. Pinkie Pie, she didn't recognize, she an awkward feeling fell on them when she saw Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, unaware of some of the new Gems that stuck around, also was getting the same feeling on seeing her. Steven, Blue, and Pinkie weren't getting the vibe, as Peridot (using her helicopter fingers) hovered over and landed on the beach near the Pegasus. "Oh. Hey," Peridot said. "Uh, hi. What's uh, what's up?" Rainbow asked. "Had some mishap lately, but I'm currently well. And uh ... you?" "Oh, I'm fine myself." "You two okay?" Steven asked, confused. Peridot and Rainbow looked to Steven, a little bit unsure if they should say or not. Was it really something they should keep quiet about anymore? The two glanced at eachother before they could say anything. "Eh, we're fine, Steven. Listen, we uh ... We -" Before Rainbow could finish up, suddenly they all heard something going on back at the Beach House, like a sort of crash. On looking though, the front door was roughly pushed off of its hinges, falling down to the sand below. In a bit of rough and angry shape, another Gem stormed out of the Beach House in a huff. This Gem was a large, muscular, orange-skinned Gem named Jasper. Jasper had ended up in the group at about the same time as Peridot, yet unlike her Jasper's stay was with less helpful, and more troublesome. "Can't believe I'm stuck here," Jasper groaned through gritted teeth. She didn't adapt as easily as her fellow Homeworld Gem had, nor did she want to. Rainbow and Pinkie weren't remotely familiar with Jasper yet, as the tall Gem glanced to the ponies. "What's this?" Jasper asked, not sounding. Jasper's height alone was surprising to them both, Pinkie falling on her back as she looked up to her face. Rainbow hovered to get a better look of her. "Whoa, you're HUGE! You know any other Giants?" Pinkie asked. Jasper looked at her with an unsure look. Rainbow helped her out though. "Eh, you get used to it after a while," Rainbow assured. "I'm not staying for that long," groaned Jasper, as she moved Rainbow aside and walked off. If only that really was the case for Jasper; she didn't want to end up having any reason to stay on Earth for anymore time. The others watched her go, though Pinkie popped up in Jasper's hair (much to her annoyance). "Where you going? Can we come too?! Oh, it'll be like a road trip!" Pinkie beamed, but Jasper yanked Pinkie out, holding her in front of her angry eyes. "Leave me alone, you ... Whatever you are," Jasper said, throwing her back like some garbage, the pink pony thrown unintentionally at Rainbow, knocking them both to the ground. Jasper just stormed away from there, the ponies getting themselves up. "What's with her?" Rainbow asked. "Just perplexed that she's not at Homeworld, that's all," answered Peridot. That was the main case, anyway. "Home sick, huh?" "If that's what you Pegesi call it." ~~~~~~ Sometime later, in a isolated area of the beach, Jasper had found a better spot to vent her rage than the Beach House. The area was rocky, large boulders around for Jasper to pummel and wreck to get her anger out. Even if she was saved from one rough fate before, the Homeworld Gem didn't want to get stuck here. It didn't help that (ironically enough) the same Gems that gave her somewhere to stay on Earth was who got her stuck in the first place. "Stupid *grunt* clods *grunt*, getting me stuck here on this miserable rock *grunt*," Jasper groaned to herself, as she was punching the living heck out of one of the giant sea rocks. Jasper would beat up the Crystal Gems and their ponies, but even if she won, it wouldn't help in getting her home. She was angry, but she knew enough to know when and when not to release her rage. Besides, they'd gave her somewhere to stay for the time being anyway. After ten more punches on three more large boulders, Jasper took a moment to regain herself. For her, this was the equivalent of practicing before a boxing match (at least it appeared to be), and just as well a nice way to vent rage. Jasper leaned on the rock cliff next to her, looking up at the sky. She saw a few of the seabirds flying around a bit, but that was about it as of anything going about. Jasper shouldn't had come to this forsaken planet in the first place, if only she knew what really happened. Still, the past has pasted, and she can't do much of anything without any transportation to use. Jasper's eyes then glanced to the other rocks along the beach. She could see sand, the ocean waves, the rock cliff ... And then, something else ... "What the?" Farther down the beach, there was a bend in the path, and just hidden off behind view of a few cliff side sea rocks, Jasper could barely make out something staring directly at her. Most of the body was covered up, showing only half, but from what she could see almost seemed ghostly. She saw a sort of female figure in a silver dress, flowing down til her feet could only be seen. Her long, white hair flowed with the wind in waves, lining up perfectly at the end. It her eyes though that Jasper noticed first, an almost blind expression evident in them. Despite being further away, something about the eyes seem to be different, one of them having a odd sort of mark on it, though too far away to get an exact look. Jasper straightened herself, but she then moved away out of sight. Jasper stared for a bit more, but got herself back together, shaking her head, and she started to go in the other direction. The sighting felt a bit odd, suspicious ... And strangely calming ... ~~~~~~ Back at the Temple, the other Gems were up and about, with Pinkie and Rainbow joined with a few more ponies to join in on their visit. For the moment, the others were ready and watching, as someone had something she wanted to show her friends, and got them out at the beach to demonstrate. The Gem in particular, Lapis Lazuli, had gotten many of her Gems and Ponies together, as she got herself ready. Those there were Pearl, Flint, Jade, Steven, Fulgurite and her ponies Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Twilight. "Everybody ready?" Lapis asked. "Ready and waiting, Lapis," Pearl answered. Lapis remained calm, and the Gemstone on her back made her signature water wings connect to the sea. Lapis needed the extra water to try out her new trick, as her focus was starting to strain just a little bit. Her water wings began to spread out more and more, looking less like wings and more like gigantic disks of seawater. The extra weight though was murder on her back, the others waiting to see what Lapis was trying to do. "Close your eyes," Lapis said. "You alright?" Applejack asked. "I-I'm fine," Lapis replied, though her voice wasn't too convincing to some. Still, they closed their eyes as Lapis began to maneuver her giant water wings to go over them. Even with their eyes closed, the change in lighting and slight color was caught by some. Soon, Steven was the first to open his eyes. Above him was a simple, yet lovely display of an underwater view. The rippling effect have a nice view for them to see, but Applejack (and by that point Pearl) were more worried over Lapis, who was trying to concentrate. Even if she can control the ocean well, focusing on one part, and with apart she doesn't do so much with so much water wasn't too easy at one time. "Uh, Lapis?" Pearl asked. Lapis's concentration was starting to slip, the water starting to shrivel a little bit. "Oh my." "Move, move," Applejack firmly said, getting some out of the way. However, she and Pearl only got Jade and Steven out of the way before the concentration from Lapis finally gave out. Soon, Lapis fell to her knees, and all the water falling got everyone soaked from head to toe. "What the hay was that?" Rainbow asked, shaking water off her fur. "I'm *huff* I'm sorry," Lapis tiredly said, trying to handle herself. "Eh, don't sweat it," Fulgurite said, ringing out her hair. However as she did, a few static electric sparks flew through her hair as she dried it, and ... Well ... *ZAP* Suddenly, Flint, Pinkie, Rainbow and Twilight ended up shocked by Fulgurite's electrical lightning. It wasn't deadly, but comedically a bit much. "Oops," Fulgurite simply said. Still, Lapis didn't want to get everyone soaked. "Again, again!" Pinkie repeated. "What were you trying to do, give us a bath?" Rainbow asked. "No. I was just trying to give you a lovely view. Guess it didn't work out," Lapis said, bummed out that it didn't work. Still, her friends went over to her side. "Hey, Lapis, it's okay if it didn't work the first. Nopony can ever get it correct on their first try. You just have to practice a little that's all," Twilight assured her. Given from her past experience, she knew very well how it feels to screw up a trick. The news made Lapis feel a bit better, though it still didn't fix the fact she just soaked her friends. Oh well, she can always try again later once she practiced enough. ~~~~~~ Not too far away, back in Beach City, the lunch plan was starting to go underway with Peridot and Amethyst, the two visiting an eatery in town, chosen by Amethyst herself. It wasn't very crowded for the moment, so the two were pretty good in terms of seating. Peridot just rolled with it, still unsure exactly what this 'lunch' is, as Amethyst just ordered some of her favorite stuff for herself and Peridot. Since Peridot never ate before, Amethyst might as well get what she'd normally order times two. And heck, if Peridot wouldn't eat it, Amethyst would get dibs. Peridot was just sitting there with her, looking over some information on her touchscreen again, not even bothering to talk to Amethyst. "Sooo ... What're you looking up?" Amethyst asked. "Some solar systems off my data," Peridot replied bluntly. Another bit of silence came back around, only broken by the sound of Peridot's clicks on her touchscreen. "Ok ... how many Planets had you visited?" "Three hundred last I checked; 57 lava planets, 45 ice giants, 43 Ocean planets, 10 Iron planets, 67 terrestrial planets, 39 dwarf planets, and 31 habitable planets - earth included," Peridot replied. Amethyst did not expect her to be that much of an explorer, though Peridot didn't seem too phased with Amethyst's reaction. Visiting 300 planets is a pretty good feat in and of itself. "... Wow. That's cool." "Eh, it gets boring in between travels," Peridot stated. The two Gems waited a while longer, with Peridot having something to do while Amethyst having none to do. Soon, after what felt too long, the waiter came back with their food. What they got was a couple of large burgers, with a large fry and soda. The portions were, to Peridot, a bit much but Amethyst saw it perfect, as she went right in with eager taste. Peridot needed a moment first, just watching Amethyst eat up. Her lack of manners was a little unnerving for Peridot, as she looked down at her food. It was ... A lot, to put it lightly. She did end up getting a good whiff of the smell though, the scent of meat and condiments took Peridot off guard, as she got the burger close to her mouth. Before she tried, she took note of how to do it, looking at Amethyst eat. Though sloppy, Amethyst gave an unintentional good viewpoint on how it's done; bite, chew, swallow, repeat. The Homeworld Gem, putting each step in her head, then began at the burger. Peridot had to open her mouth good and wide just to get a full bite, her teeth making a good cut right through it. Peridot then got the good taste of her meal, her tongue never tasting such strong flavor before. She tasted the meat, the vegetables, the condiments, all of it was a new experience for Peridot. Her jaws slowly followed the chew step, going up and down, grinding up the burger in her teeth, until she proceeded with the swallow. While it did feel odd for the burger to go down her throat, the taste left in her mouth made her ignore it completely. Amethyst looked at the Gem's expression, Peridot just looking at the burger she was holding. Amethyst, smirking, was going to speak but Peridot caught herself, and set the burger down. "Mm, decent. Not much though," Peridot concluded, not acting as amazed. "Oh well, more for me," Amethyst replied, reaching for the burger, but Peridot stopped her. "I never said you can have it, I'd rather study this item," Peridot noted, taking a scan of it. Amethyst just shrugged it off as her nerd companion made the studies. Amethyst just gobbled up her meal, left the money, and began to go. Peridot waited a bit until she was sure Amethyst was out of sight ... Sometime later, Amethyst was still waiting outside. Her trip didn't turn out exactly like she thought it would, as she waited for Peridot to come back out. Eventually though, Peridot did finish her "study". However, Amethyst almost immediately realized what she really did, considering she had a small bit of mustard on her face she forgot to wipe off. "Alright, finished up my studies, we can return now," Peridot said, though Amethyst knew by the smeered stuff on her face that she did a bit more than just study. Still, Amethyst gave her the benefit of a doubt, and didn't rub it in as they started heading back. ~~~~~~ Back at the Beach House, the others were doing their own thing by the time Jasper came back. At the beachside, Lapis and Twilight were sun-bathing for a bit, Steven was playing with Blue, and Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were going about in the ocean. Pearl, Fulgurite, Flint, and Jade had already left to the Beach House to do their own thing. Jasper, not as peeved as before, went right past Twilight and Lapis without giving a second glance, going straight to the others that Peridot was with last time Jasper saw her. She didn't want to deal with Steven at all, so she went to Rainbow instead. "You there, pony," Jasper firmly said, catching Rainbow's attention out at the water. "Sup?" "Where's Peridot?" Jasper asked, getting to the point. Rainbow shrugged. "Beats me; Amethyst already -" "Yo!" Before Rainbow finished, Amethyst could be seen heading back to the Beach House, Peridot keeping up with her with her chopper fingers. Not a moment too soon. Before anyone could say hello, Jasper went straight to Peridot. Before anybody could stop her, she grabbed her, and pulled her away. "Hey, hey, what're you doing?" Peridot groaned, making her let go. Jasper saw they were alone for a moment. "You tested the Kindergarten activity, correct?" Jasper asked. "Affirmative." "Good, take me there," Jasper ordered. "Wait, what?" "Just do it!" Jasper snapped, spooking Peridot a bit. Peridot could only agree to the demand. ~~~~~~ Not a moment later, Peridot and Jasper popped right back to the Kindergarten. The place was still as barren and as lifeless as she remembered it, still having a ton of holes and a number of machines called injectors along the rock walls. Peridot got her screen up as Jasper looked around. "The status on the Kindergarten is still as barren as it was -" "Yeah yeah, now where did you do that test?" "Which one?" "You know; that Gem test, where?" Jasper reminded her. Peridot suddenly remembered that test she did, a look of shock on her face. How could she forget about it?! ... Well, aside from everything else that happened of course. Peridot nodded, and immediately went in chopper mode, flying off to where she remembered. Jasper could only follow as best she could. Being a large Quartz Gem may have its perks, but speed wasn't one of them. The area was still the same overall, but Peridot had a memory sharp as a steel trap, and knew exactly where she done her test. Down the canyon though, she stopped mid-air at what she saw. In front of her was the original area where the experiment had taken place. However, the current situation was a bit different from what she remembered. For a start, one of the injectors (which should be normally sticking on the wall) was on the ground completely destroyed! The top Gem piece shattered, the glass "organs" sprawled out on the ground, one of the legs still stuck in the wall where the injection took place, and the drill piece completely flattened and torn through. Jasper caught up and saw the same result. Peridot looked to where she had used the injector ... There was another hole where the injector used to be. It appeared a human-like shape, and decent size, but whatever it was had been and gone, destroying the injector in the process. "Great, she left," Peridot groaned, missing her chance. "That's where you did your test?" "Correct, but after everything that happened lately, must've slipped my mind," Peridot noted, landing by Jasper. Jasper may not be aware of what kind of Gem she used for the test, but she knew she was sent to do testing studies on Earth. Jasper looked to the injector with a rough expression; whatever she saw at the beach could very well be whatever Gem Peridot used, but it was hard to be sure. Besides, the Gem didn't do very much when Jasper saw her. None-the-less, Jasper just went back to the Warp Pad with Peridot, and they both went away from the Kindergarten, leaving what was left behind.