//------------------------------// // Beyond the Stars // Story: My Little Universe: Season 2 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// Well, they've been working on it for weeks, and now with the finishing touches had finally been done. The great Galactic Ray had finally been finished, and the Gems and Ponies were ready to go. In the morning light, the ship in all of it's glory stood strong as the light beamed off the clear smooth surface. Like a resting plane in an airfield, the only thing on the Galactic Ray was some small bit of snow, which didn't bother it at all in terms of function. Still, it was good that nothing bad happened, and everything was fixed. All the Gems and Ponies can't wait to get rolling, especially a selected few. For Garnet, this was very exciting with what will come out of this, if everything goes well. Many of the Gems in their group hadn't seen Homeworld in thousands of years (apart from Jasper and Peridot respectively), so how much had changed since last time. Heck, the Ponies, and even a Gem or two, hadn't seem Homeworld ... well, ever. So, this could be a good experience in discovery if she ever saw one. The Mane six were excited to extent too; now given permission directly by Celestia, things were looking bright. Since meeting with the Gems, the idea on seeing their home planet was nothing short of exciting. This also goes for Steven, and by account Amethyst. Both strictly Earth Gems, the two had not seen Homeworld ever for as long as either lived. This also meant that they had to learn a thing or two once they show up; at least the others had some experience on Homeworld so they knew a bit on what they're getting into. With the sun peaking up for the cool morning, the number of Gems, Ponies, and some of their friends from Beach city all gathered by the Galactic Ray in order to see the group off. With the Mane Six, and most of the Crystal Gem group on one side, the only ones out of the group were Flint and Jade, but they were still there to see them off. It was the least they could do. For the others, it consisted of Celestia, Luna, Greg, Connie, Discord, and a few others from Beach city close by who got the news. It was going to be a rather long trip, and if it'll take all winter, than they won't see their faces until the snow melts away from Beach City. Steven had on his spacesuit, holding his helmet to his side, yet the rest of the Gems didn't really need that. The Mane six were pretty much the same with their respected spacesuits, all hyped and ready for takeoff. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had their spacesuits with extra wing attachments. "It's nice for you all to come see us off," Lapis said. "We wouldn't miss it, dear. We wish you the best of luck in your journey," Celestia said. "Thank you, princess," Garnet said with a smile. It will be good to hear that. Connie and Steven both had a moment alone nearby. "Well, I guess you'll be going?" "Yep. Don't worry, I'll be back by the spring, I promise," Steven assured her with a wink and a thumbs up. Connie shared the smile, though wished they could have some fun for the winter. Before things get too bummed out, Discord tapped her shoulder. When Connie turned, Discord dropped something in her hand, and gave a similar item to Steven. The object looked like a small box, a small button on it. "What's this?" "Just a little something for you to keep connected as all. Click that cute little button there," Discord insisted. Curious, Connie clicked her button, and the other box by Steven started to beep. Steven clicked it, and suddenly a screen popped up on both ends. It was basically Discord's version of a Facetime phone call. "Now you two can chit-chat from light years away," Discord said with a wink. Surprisingly generous of him, but Discord wasn't going to see the kid for the next winter, so, he might as well give him that regard at least. However, Celestia had seen what Discord did, and went over to him. She signaled Twilight to come over as well. "I see you have some of those on hoof, Discord?" "Oh, I know where you're going with this," Discord chuckled. One snap of his talon, and the two had the same communicators as well ... and a clock, which landed by Steven. The clock looked more oval, and colored kind of funny but it was still a electric clock alright. Guess something had to keep track of how long they were gone for anyway when off of Earth's orbit. Besides, who knew how slow or fast the orbit was on Homeworld anyway? After getting their own communicators, Celestia turned to Twilight. "Twilight? I'll always be here if you need me. Don't be afraid to contact me on your progress while you're there, okay?" Celestia advised. The younger alicorn understood Celestia's advice, and nodded her head. "I promise, Celestia," Twilight assured. Celestia brought a wing around Twilight, and gave her apprentice a goodbye hug, which Twilight returned the gesture. As they were doing that, Garnet looked on with a smile. But, then came Flint and Jade, who were still standing away from the other Gems. "Last chance to change your mind?" Garnet offered. "I've already made it clear, Garnet; I refuse to return to that planet, and that's final," Flint firmly stated, arms crossed. Jade, though not saying it in words, just nodded in agreement. Garnet was hoping for them to at least consider, but if it was still no over these past couple weeks since starting, then she couldn't change their mind now. Besides, there's a ton already heading off so she's got plenty to work with. Still, not every Gem was going aside from Flint and Jade; they needed some group to keep Earth good while they're away. In this case, Lion, Blue and Star Quartz were picked to stay, though Star herself felt a little bit out of place for that. "... You sure it is best? ..." Asked Star Quartz. Garnet got Peridot's attention for Star's answer. "Positive; we need Gems to stay here and keep track of Earth, right?" Peridot explained. She already gone over this with Star Quartz, though the Gem in question (although not showing it) felt that she should be more helpful with them to Homeworld. Either way though, if she can't go, then very well. The Gems and Ponies were all ready to go at this point, but as they were, much further away, Kyra was keeping watch over what was happening. Sitting by the trees, he was just out of sight from everyone there. With Celestia and Luna there as well, it was probably not a good idea for him to go out. But with that, he couldn't go on the ship to join them. Secretly though, Peridot was keeping an eye out for him; with what had just happened yesterday with Yellow diamond, they didn't need for a supposed criminal of the Homeworld Diamonds coming with them. Maybe they might get lucky, who knows? Still, no one else bothered to ask (thank the stars), and were about ready to head off on their big trip. There was a couple more goodbyes, and farewells shared with everyone else as the Gems and Mane Six ventured inside the ship. Course, Steven couldn't leave without one goodbye hug to Connie, which will be the last one for a while. Inside then ship, the technical Gems quickly went right to the main control room. There was a number of seats for the group to settle, much like any human-made spaceship would have but with more room and more futuristic tech to it. Right at the controls, Peridot, Fulgurite, and Pearl immediately began to start up the ship for the big takeoff. Sensing the takeoff from outside, Celestia and Luna got the crowd to move back a bit as they heard the spaceship start up. The rockets outside started to glow, and the loud humming of the engine started to increase. The techy Gems worked out more of the activation without any trouble, more of the ship coming alive inside and out as they did. Each flick of a switch, each click of the touchscreen brought more life to the Galactic Ray, and the anticipation and excitement on some of them was strongly evident. "Activating turbulence," Peridot said, moving a few switches upward, the rockets outside igniting. Pearl turned back to the others. "Strap in everyone," Pearl advised. Steven strapped himself in, and so did the other ponies. By the time everyone did, they could feel the ship start to move a little bit. Fulgurite clicked up two different buttons, and those two activated the large wings, which actually started to flap like an actual manta ray. Each flap was strong, and got the ship off the ground time and time again as it gained some speed. The faster it went, the easier the spaceship could get off the ground. The Galactic ray aimed upward, and the people outside watched the ship take off into the air at breakneck speeds. The wing beats were less forceful, but kept up with the speed to keep the ship moving. When they were high enough, Pearl, Fulgurite, and Peridot all touched the same touchscreen with the same switch. They all smiled in determination, and together they all moved it forward. Outside, the wings actually detracted, but the jets blasted out full power, rocketing the ship upward fast! It was a sight to behold for those watching on the ground, waving goodbye. For Steven and the ponies, the G-forces quickly hit them as they rushed up higher and higher in the sky. It felt strong, gluing them to their seats. Looking forward, the sky turned from the sky blue, and starting to darken as they past the main cloud cover, and reaching out of the atmosphere. Even with the G-forces, the Galactic Ray was holding up just fine - as Discord expected it to. The spaceship left a purely white smoke from the engines blasting behind them, and the stars began to form in front of them. What felt like forever only took twenty minutes of G-forces, before the pressure finally started to weaken. After a while, Fulgurite got the switches back in place, and the wings spread out again to keep the ship straight. The engines calmed down into a nice humming sound, a blue glow of the working engine keeping them moving forward. "Okay, you can look around if you want to; it'll be a while before we get there," Peridot informed, glancing at the others. Steven unstrapped himself first, and got himself out of his seat. Pinkie and Rainbow both got out too, and quickly joined him. First order of business; looking right out the window to see Earth from space. Every child has that sort of dream, and Steven's got the ultimate opportunity right here. Quickly, Steven, Rainbow and Pinkie went right to the closest window apart from the main driving controls. The first window had Pinkie Pie pancaking herself to the thick glass, with Rainbow and Steven taking in as much as they could get. It'd been just twenty minutes, and the three had the best view they could ever see of Earth. with the stars in the back, they could see the oceans, the continents, and the clouds all over their part of the world. "Wow ..." Steven said, eyes wide in amazement. Of course, he wasn't going to leave his friends on Earth out of this sight; he got his communicator and didn't hesitate to press the button. Seconds later, the screen opened, showing Connie center frame. She still appeared outside, so, they didn't really go too far. "Hi Steven! So soon?" "Guess where I am?" Steven said with a grin. Steven moved the screen so Connie could see Earth from where he was. "WOW, that's incredible!" Connie beamed. This was just a taste of what's to come. ~~~~~~ Time went on by for a while longer. It was rather impossible to say how many days had past, because the sun and moon no longer helped in telling time. The only time Steven had )or any of them for that matter), was the fancy clock given to him by Discord. The clock said it was 3 AM, though it wouldn't matter what time it was in the long run. If a day had past before the time was completely to anyone guess, but they could assume at least one day had past since leaving. To help with the time keep, Twilight decided to write down how much time passes with each check. the 3 AM became Twilight's third write down, the first one just seconds after leaving Earth behind, and able to move around. At the moment, Steven was in his room on the Galactic ray; which was purposely designed to resemble his own room at the Beachhouse so he was more comfortable. Steven had gotten a few items with him to pass, and in this case he was looking through a manga he brought with him. The room was a bit small, though that didn't bother Steven very much. After a while, the door slid open and Steven saw Diopside standing there. "Hey, Steven!" Diopside beamed. "Hey Dio, how ya doing?" Steven asked, as Diopside came into the room. "I'm doing fine. Hey, come here, I got something fun to show ya," Diopside insisted, excited as ever. It did not take very long before Steven was brought to another part of the ship by Diopside. The area Diopside brought him to, actually, appeared to be an empty room - nothing really in it. Steven wasn't sure what exactly this room was for, or why Diopside brought him in there. Lapis, Peridot, Pearl, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were there too, though only Lapis was aware of what'll happen out of the crowd. Lapis was in a one-piece space suit. "Ready Steven?" Lapis asked, excited. "Ready for what?" Steven asked. "Yeah, what is it?" Peridot asked. "Well, Diopside, Pinkie, and myself had convinced Fulgurite to install this room in just for you. Just stand here," Lapis explained, moving Steven to the middle of the room. Pinkie couldn't wait to get started, barely able to stand still. Diopside and Lapis went over to one of the walls of the room, where Diopside suddenly activated an extra slider. She moved the slider down, until it was all the way at the bottom. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but after a little bit, Steven slowly started to float up, leaning to the left. Steven suddenly realized what was going on. Pinkie laughed happily, and started spinning wildly in the air. "Whoa! Cool!" Steven beamed, upside down at that point. The others were floating too, some more surprised than others. Lapis got up with ease, and "swam" over to Steven as the others tried to get themselves upright, but only resulting in funny spinning. Lapis went by Steven like she was on flying on her back. "Surprise Steven! Your own zero-gravity room!" Lapis revealed. Steven was psyched by the surprise, but not everyone was as excited. Lapis saw Peridot especially struggling to keep herself on the ground as Pinkie floated upside down nearby. "How's this happening - this shouldn't be possible!" Peridot said, trying to stay on the ground. "It's fun to fly," Pinkie beamed. "But Gem's bodies adapt to gravity, we shouldn't be floating around." "How can you do that if there's no gravity to begin with?" Lapis asked. Peridot realized she had a point, but that didn't stop her from trying to get back on the ground. However, bouncing on the walls, Pinkie suddenly bumped into her, and Peridot was flung off to the wall., hitting her back as she floated upside down. Pinkie was going all nutty over the zero gravity, and was basically having a ball with it. "WEEE!" Pinkie beamed, spinning around in the air. She wasn't looking much on where she was going, and accidentally was hitting the others a number of time. At one point, she spun right into Diopside, the two spinning together for a bit until they slowed down. "Diopside, Lapis, get us down from here please," Rarity insisted, trying to find her footing. "Aww, already?" "At least have us out of here, then you can play as much as you want," Pearl said, agreeing with Rarity. Each to his own, apparently; Lapis floated over back to the touchscreen, and slowly turned the gravity back on. She didn't want anyone falling on their heads so going slow was good. Course, Pinkie and Steven were bummed out that it was done so quickly, as they didn't had much time to play around. After Rarity and Pearl walked out, Steven and Pinkie stayed put, bummed out. "Hey, don't be so glum chum; we can still play around in here," Diopside assured, with a wink and a nudge. Steven and Pinkie immediately grew much happier. Guess that's what they'll be doing for the next couple of hours. ~~~~~~ Dear Princess Celestia: So far, our trip to Homeworld has gone through fairly well without much trouble. I know I'm supposed to be on a mission, but, I'm personally excited to explore such a lively and unique planet, and it seems the Crystal Gems are too. It's too bad not all of us could go, but, I can understand why you, or the others couldn't join us. I'm still not sure how much distance we have yet, but I'll notify you the second we touch down. Your faithful student; Twilight Sparkle With a few more clicks, Twilight sent off her message back to Canterlot from the communication device Discord gave her. As of late, Twilight had been trying to get used to being in space. She had a mix of intrigue and excited only matched by Pinkie Pie. She was in space, for Celestia's sake! If anypony would tell her she would be in space a few months back, she'd say no right up front. Yet, here she was, in a spaceship heading off to planets unknown. Of course, this also strengthened her role as a friendship princess too; being the princess of friendship in equestrian was huge enough, but to expand that to other worlds was beyond even Celestia's own! Not saying Twilight considered herself higher than Celestia, of course not, but this was something not even Celestia had done herself. Back to conditions, the metallic floor and futuristic room was something new for Twilight, to put it lightly. Being an natural born horse, nevermind an alicorn, she was more used to ground under her hooves instead of metal flooring. After finishing the message, Twilight closed the communicator screen, and decided to have a walk about. Not much to really do aside from reading one of her books for the twentieth time. Each hoofsteps on the metal floor gave a notable metal clunk, something earth doesn't do too much unless it was stomping in the dirt. Still, it wasn't much of a distraction for Twilight, her mind pre-occupied with what Homeworld could be, and what they should prepare for. After all, none of her friends had ever seen or heard of Homeworld before they met the Crystal Gems, including herself, so it probably would be best to get some know-how at some point. As she kept going though, she was so pre-occupied, she accidentally walked right into Amethyst. "Oh, sorry Amethyst," Twilight said. "Eh, it's cool. You seen Peri anywhere by the by, Garnet's got me looking for her," Amethyst asked. Yet, Twilight shrugged. "Not sure, why? Does Garnet want to see her?" "Nah; said something about her and Homeworld. Not like I need it," Amethyst replied, crossing her arms. Amethyst didn't consider herself being one to put under schooling, but Twilight found that surprisingly coincidental, as Twilight wanted to prepare herself for Homeworld too. Course, Twilight hadn't seen her since blasting off, so, it might be difficult to find her. "funny; I wanted to know a bit on Homeworld myself. Let's go look for her, you and me both," Twilight decided. Thinking it'll go faster, Amethyst agreed to let the alicorn help her out. For the next while, Twilight and Amethyst both went down hall after all looking for Peridot. It started off a bit quiet at first, Amethyst unsure really on what to talk about. Eventually though, Twilight did turned to Amethyst. "Say, Amethyst? You're a Gem right?" "Yeah, so?" "So ... Do you know anything about Homeworld that I should know about?" A question Amethyst didn't want to hear. She was reluctant to talk at first, looking away from her equally purple friend. Not that she didn't want to tell her, but, her knowledge was ... well, lacking. her hand moved her hair back as she turned back to Twilight. "Well, how about we just find Peridot first, she can blabber on about Homeworld better than me," she offered. Twilight took a moment to think, and Amethyst could be right on that, though that didn't mean Twilight didn't notice her reluctance. After a little bit more, the two then began to near Peridot's designated room. Her room was a bit larger, and designed by Peridot herself to her own liking; mainly looked like a lab. It seemed Garnet got her attention first, because by the time Amethyst and Twilight showed up, Peridot had a projection screen set up in her room along the wall, most likely for the Homeworld images for some teaching method on Peridot's part. Twilight wasn't deterred, but if this was just some slideshow, Amethyst didn't know how she'll survive the boredom. Peridot just got out a pointer when the two showed up. "Oh, Twilight, Amethyst. See Garnet told you what's going on," Peridot said. "Well, she told me anyway, Twilight just followed. So, what's up?" Amethyst asked, as she and Twilight went into the room. Peridot got everything set up, and ready to go. "Garnet informed me that you're not fully knowledgeable about Homeworld, and since I've been most recently acquainted with Homeworld, I took it upon myself to teach you and the others about how Homeworld operate through a series of current images and lectures." ... Amethyst ditched the idea almost immediately, and went right out. "HEY!" Peridot snapped. But, Amethyst was not having any of it. "You'll be staying, are you Twilight?" Peridot asked in a groan. "Course I will; I've been wondering what Homeworld was like anyway," Twilight replied, having a seat in Peridot's room. As for Amethyst, she just went off towards her own room. She wasn't going to struggle through hours of lecturing by Peridot's own words. If Peridot's lectures were close to Twilight, then Amethyst didn't want to bother herself with it. She'd probably fall asleep after the opening intro anyway. As Amethyst went along her way, she then heard the sounds of grunts, punches, and kicks from down another hallway. Heading over, Amethyst looked through an open door, hands casually behind her head, and saw she found Jasper's room. The room looked more like a training room than a bedroom, with Jasper practicing her fighting on a dummy in a fashion similar to a boxer (for the moment). "Hey, what's up?" Amethyst said, getting Jasper to notice her. "Sup," Jasper replied, letting Amethyst walk in as she continued practicing her fighting. Jasper's room didn't had much of a bed, but instead a sort of chill-out bench, so, Amethyst sat down and she watched Jasper for a bit. "So, this what you've been doing since we left?" Amethyst asked. "Yeah, so what?" Jasper replied, taking a break for the moment. "Nothing, just wondering," Amethyst replied, glancing away. Jasper took a few more punches before it was enough to knock the dummy over. Amethyst scooted over as Jasper had a seat. "Say, Jasper?" Amethyst asked eventually. "What is it?" Jasper asked. The purple Gem sighed, stretching a bit. It may be a little unfair to Peridot, but Amethyst got out the question anyway. "Thoughts on Homeworld?" Jasper wasn't sure what the question exactly meant. "What?" "You know; what's it like? Got any pointers or something?" Amethyst asked nonchalantly. Jasper didn't think she'd be the one getting asked for pointers. Then against, Amethyst was another fellow Quartz, so, Jasper took a moment before talking. "Eh, well Homeworld's alright I guess. Not as free in dynamics as Earth, but not as full of surprises," Jasper admitted, thinking about Homeworld a bit. "Really now?" "Yeah; Homeworld's like uh ... How do I put it? The whole planet's like your - what's it called - military. Every Gem type is assigned to a task, and that's that. I'm assigned to a soldier," Jasper explained, using herself as an example. Amethyst still was unsure on the fact. "So wait, you can't do anything else?" "Overall, not exactly. Different Gems have different tasks, and they're stuck with it. Servants, mechanics, soldiers, they're all assigned to just that and not much else." Amethyst took a minute to take it in. Basically speaking, Homeworld's just some job site, with everyone working in a particular role with no decision on their part. Not exactly the best sort of place by the sound of it. "So, every single Gem's just put under work, huh? No breaks or holidays?" "What's holidays?" Well that answers it. "Guess that's a no then ... Are all types decided right away?" "What's with you and these questions all of a sudden? You do know something about Homeworld, don't you?" Jasper suddenly asked. Amethyst felt herself withdraw again, looking away. Rather than continue, Jasper just got back up after her short break. "See someone's attached to their own Homeworld. Anyway, why are you bugging me about it? Go talk to Peridot if you're gonna bug anyone," Jasper stated, setting up a sandbag as Amethyst went on. "Because she'll bore me to death with her lecturing! Seriously, I didn't come along just to have a sit-down and look at some slideshow," Amethyst gripped, wondering how Twilight was holding up with the lecturing. After Jasper got the sandbag fully situated, she turned to Amethyst. "Listen Amethyst, here's all you need to know; listen to the Diamonds, keep to what you're made to do, done and done. Since you're a Quartz, you'll be stuck with me when we get there," Jasper summed up. It was enough for Amethyst to get the idea anyway, and she wondered if Jasper would be the only Quartz she'll end up meeting. Will they're be any others like her, or more like Jasper? Either way, if any of the other Quartzes were like her and Jasper, then she'll have a rockin good time with her visit! The idea of restriction though didn't seem to suit her, if even half of what Jasper said was true. Maybe she'll get a free pass for being a visitor? Still, it was probably best if she didn't try anything funny on the first day there (whenever that would be). "Alright cool." ~~~~~~ Time ticked by, with everybody and everypony trying to pass the time on route to Homeworld. Honestly, while the destination itself was exciting, the journey itself off of Earth to Homeworld was a bit of a wait, and just figure out what the hay to do. Some kept themselves busy with some basic activities (reading, basic training, etc.) while others didn't had very much to do aside from watching the stars roll on by as they flew along. For Peridot, there wasn't very much to really do. After her own lecturing bit with Twilight and a few others, Peridot was basically left with nothing much to do. She didn't had her enhancers still so fiddling with that was out of question. Peridot was left in her room, pretty much stuck with nothing to really plan out, fiddle with, or really handle. No one wanted her to do anything for the moment - which bugged her plenty. At least before on her flights through space, she had stuff to do and had her enhancers to boot, but that wasn't the case here. With so much time to herself, Peridot ended up with her mind stuck on what she heard and saw before they left. In particular, it was about Yellow diamond and Kyra. If Kyra did end up messing with their trip back home, then their trip would be in far deeper trouble than any of them would know. What can she do now though? Telling them now wouldn't be a good idea, since they couldn't turn back now. She still could hear Kyra's words echoing in her head. "Not. a word. About this." But why would he want it quiet if he respects Rose like a god? He would at least tell Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst about it. Peridot paced around, trying to figure out what the heck to do about this. "Okay, Peridot, think, think, how the stars are we going to do this?" Peridot wondered. As she was pacing though, the green Gem was about ready to just go on when her door suddenly opened up. Standing on the other side was Garnet, both hands behind her back for some reason. Garnet was smiling too. "Doing well, Peridot?" Garnet asked. "Doing what?" Peridot thought. "Eh, I'm alright. You?" Peridot asked, as Garnet walked in. As she did though, Peridot glanced at Garnet's hands, and realized she was holding something... "We're doing good. Mind helping me out?" Garnet asked, fully showing Peridot what she brought in. Peridot's eyes bulged wide, and was left speechless; a diamond communicator! "Discord got me another one after Kyra got the first one. Wanna make a call?" Garnet said, with a wink. "THANK YOU," Peridot thought. Garnet really does think of everything. Quickly, Peridot got the communicator in her hands. Kyra wasn't with them, so no interruptions this time. Excited, Peridot got the communicator to activate. Garnet and Peridot watched the screen soon begin to show itself, but rather than the regular yellow diamond colors, these colors were more blue. As for who answered it, it wasn't the same Yellow Pearl like before. Physically, she appeared almost identical to their own Pearl, and Yellow Diamond's Pearl, as she also possessed a thin, tall build, a pointed nose, and pixie hair-cut. She had sky blue skin and chin-length, messy, periwinkle hair which covered her eyes. Her gem, a powder-blue pearl, could be seen on her chest. Her outfit consists of a periwinkle bodysuit with an open diamond-shaped keyhole neckline, a knee-length, frost blue, and sheer skirt. If this Pearl appeared on the screen, that could only mean one thing ... "This is the Blue Diamond control room. Who may I ask is making this call?" She asked. Peridot cleared her throat; it may not be the right Diamond, but it was still a Diamond. "Uh, Peridot reporting in!" Peridot said, making a diamond symbol out of both hands. Garnet found it kinda cute, though she didn't do it herself. "Which Peridot?" "O-Oh, uh Facet-2-F-5-L, Cut-5-X-G," Peridot informed. An odd way for a full name, but, it works. The Blue Pearl took a moment to think. "You're one of Yellow Diamond's Peridots." "Uh, yeah I know, I-I thought -" "Nice to see you again," Garnet suddenly said, cutting Peridot off. The Blue Pearl didn't know who else was there, or the indication really. "Who are you?" Blue Pearl asked. Garnet removed her shades, but rather than open all three of her eyes, she only kept open one - her blue eye. It took a little bit before the Blue Pearl then realized who she was (sort of). "... Sapphire? ..." All Garnet did was nod. It took a sec, but Blue Pearl turned away from the screen, apparently looking to someone. Pretty soon, a hand was brought forward, and the screen was moved so that the Diamond in question could see for herself. Sure enough, the signature hood, and appearance matched Blue Diamond perfectly. For Peridot, she was a bit unsure why Garnet wasn't unfusing, or anything like that. It took a bit before Blue diamond spoke. "Fusion. You're the one Sapphire became after she fused with the Ruby," Blue Diamond questioned. Garnet nodded for Blue Diamond's answer. "Right," Garnet simply replied. Peridot felt a bit nervous, mainly because Kyra already endangered them enough with his talk with Yellow Diamond, if Garnet called to do the same, how much more trouble will they be in?! Oddly, Blue Diamond didn't seem very upset towards Garnet. "Is Sapphire alright? How is she?" "She's just fine, my Diamond," Garnet informed with a smile, showing Sapphire's Gem on her own hand for proof of it. While colored different, the slight patterns of light was enough to prove that was Sapphire's Gemstone. A smile came to Blue diamond's face, small but still noticeable to the fusion. "And Lapis Lazuli? I see she's not there with you," Blue Diamond pointed out. "You want me to get her, my Diamond?" "That would be very appreciated," Blue Diamond encouraged. Peridot was surprised that Garnet didn't end up getting into any sort of trouble, even if she was from her court. Well, part of her was, anyway. As Peridot's door opened for Garnet to go, apparently Garnet had planned ahead on her future vision. Soon as she got out, she soon saw Lapis going down the hall at that moment. Perfect timing in her book. "Lapis? Come here, please," Garnet called, grabbing Lapis's attention. Peridot poked her head out, seeing Lapis come down. "What's the deal, Garnet? Something wro-" Lapis was suddenly cut short the second she looked in and saw Blue Diamond on the screen. Immediately her mood turned from calm to shock, as she immediately did her Diamond symbol, much like Peridot did when it started. "M-My Diamond! Oh my stars, I-I didn't realize -" "There, There Lapis. I see you're doing well," Blue Diamond complimented, as Lapis went in with a blush on her face. It'd been thousands of years since she'd seen Blue Diamond face-to-face, so, of course she was nervous. Besides, she didn't expect, or remembered installing any diamond communicator to the ship. "Uh, yeah I am. And you're looking well too," Lapis said, complimenting Blue Diamond. "Thank you. It's been so long since I've seen both of you." "Us too. We're actually going to arrive back to Homeworld shortly," Garnet revealed. Blue Diamond looked happy to hear that sort of news. "Wonderful to hear." However, her mood turned monotone again. "Though, I'd like to ask you one question." "What's that?" "Who else is coming with you?" Blue Diamond asked, nice and clear so not a single word was missed. While Lapis and Peridot were unsure, Garnet seemed undeterred by Blue Diamond's question, adjusting her shades. "Organic or inorganic?" "Either or." "Well, a number of your Homeworld Gems, and Earth Gems are with us. We also have a group of Equus residents as well that will be visiting you." "And who's among that group?" "Earth ponies, Pegesi, a unicorn, and an Alicorn. I'd made sure of it," Garnet informed. Blue Diamond breath a sigh of relief, but that did sound a bit confusing for Lapis and Peridot. What did she mean by that? "Thank you for letting me know. I'll be looking forward to seeing you two again." After that, the message was done, and the communication had turned off. As Garnet picked up the piece, Peridot felt very confused. "You made sure of it? Sure of what?" Lapis asked, scratching her head. "That Kyra wasn't coming," Garnet said. Peridot immediately tensed up on mention of it, shocked beyond belief. Garnet turned back to her. "And Peridot; don't be scared to say anything to any of us. If you think we need to know, then say right out," Garnet explained, walking out with an assuring smile. Peridot was left speechless ... ~~~~~~ After that message being received and given, things had cooled down for some, Peridot mainly. To Peridot, the thought of what they'll do to them upon arrival had been bothering her for a while. But now with Blue Diamond with such information that Kyra wasn't with them, maybe their visit will be far less dangerous. It was nice that Blue Diamond wasn't deterred by Garnet, and was grateful that both Sapphire and Lapis were alright after thousands of years. Still, that's one Diamond, and it was Yellow Diamond who got told that sort of message (among other things). Lapis and Garnet were excited to see her again, but Garnet knew they needed one pit stop for so they will have enough power for the rest of the flight. During the flight, Pearl took a moment at the controls, keeping her eyes forward on what was coming up. While she was there, Fulgurite went over to her after a bit. "Alright, Pearl, ship going well?" Fulgurite asked. "So far so good, but the ship's starting to lose energy," Pearl said, bringing up the energy levels of the ship. It showed a battery-like shape, but the levels shown were rather low. Among the many things that the plans dictate, nothing said any sort of power, and that was a big problem! At this point, they were simply soaring through space, though a planet did show up not too far away. With not much other option with their current power level, Pearl began bringing the ship for a quick landing. It did not take very long before everyone on board felt the ship land on a planet surface, and it quickly got everybody and everypony up and checking it out. The mane six and Steven got on their space helmets so they too can check outside of the ship. For where they landed, the planet surface wasn't anything too special or unique for its type. The area consisted of ice dunes, icy mountains and cold plains that stretch on in high waves for as far as the eye could see. As one could easily imagine, it was far too cold for any normal organic creature to cope, so the spacesuits were an absolute must to have if anypony or any human were to go outside. They didn't think it wasn't Homeworld they landed on, so, Steven and Pinkie bolted outside to see what futuristic world they ended up on. However, the pink pony and human Gem quickly found out the planet wasn't as fancy as they though. Nor did the ground appear as safe to walk on. Seconds after they got out, their running soon turned to sliding, loosing their balance fast on the infinite ice sheet, skidding a good ten feet before they slowed down. Some of the others came out, but didn't rush out on the ice like they did. "Whoa! Homeworld got turned into Iceland!" Pinkie gasped. "This isn't Homeworld!" Garnet called. "It's not? But why'd we land then?" Rainbow asked. "Low on energy - it just needs a rest before the final flight. In the mean time, we'll have to wait here," Garnet explained, if she remembered Luna's instructions correctly back in Canterlot. When the ship was done charging, then it should be a clear shot right to Homeworld. But until the ship recharges, than they had to stick around here for a while. "And how long will that be?" Twilight asked. Garnet just shrugged. "I'll keep an eye on it. The second it's ready, we'll go. By then we should have enough energy to fully reach Homeworld. Until then, you go off and have some fun," Garnet explained, before heading back into the ship. If they were going to stay for a bit, might as well have some fun with it. "WOHOO!" Pinkie beamed, skating along the ice with some well placed hoof pushing. Steven had a harder time getting up though, but eventually he got to his feet. Just as he did, Pinkie zoomed by and got Steven riding on her back. All in good fun. Not too long after landing, both Pinkie and Steven were already pretty far from the ship as they zoomed about along the infinite ice sheet. Since there wasn't any sign of land, there was no need to slow their sliding and skating. Eventually, both playmates had found one particularly high, and steep dune. If they were to compare it to anything, it would probably be like the hill in Beach City leading to the lighthouse (including similar shape) the main difference was that it was made of ice, so, this immediately spawned a big idea for both of them to give a shot at. "Ready?" Steven asked with a big grin. Pinkie winked. "Three two one, Geronimo!" Pinkie announced, before hopping forward. Pinkie's sudden speed got her and Steven down the hill, Pinkie on her back. The sliding started slow, but they moved faster and faster, momentum pushing them down the smooth icy surface. Steven and Pinkie laughed it up, and they both were going down fast. With nothing blocking the way, both had no reason to slow down, and were spinning around as they went. Eventually, the two did begin to slow down, side by side as they looked back to where they started. What was most surprising though, was how far they actually went. Looking to the top, they appeared to had gone at least a good seventy feet from where the hill ended. Surely awesome. Of course, not everyone got out onto the icy planet. Inside, Garnet kept an eye from the front window of the Galactic Ray, watching the ponies play with Steven on the ice. If there was one thing she appreciated from these six was how friendly they were, each in their own way. With Twilight with a mission to Homeworld anyway, this job is as good as done. And with such a long time gap between before and now, this could be a turning point for all Gem kind, never mind just the Crystal Gems. Garnet couldn't wait to get there and get things started and mended with a planet she'd been away from far too long ... "Yo, Garnet!" Her thought process was interrupted when Amethyst suddenly showed up. "Yes?" "You know when this baby's flying again?" "We only landed for a short while, the ship won't be ready for -" Garnet click a screen to see the charging battery. "About the next hour or so." "That's it? Then come on, everypony's having a blast!" "Maybe in a bit," Garnet decided. Amethyst nodded, and went out to join them. For Garnet, she just looked back outside. The only main regret that Garnet had was not everyone went with her. Garnet hoped that much, but guess it was close enough. Garnet looked up to the sky, seeing many stars. One of them was to the Gem Homeworld, much closer this time ... They're so close.