Outside with the calming beach, and with the sea breeze going along in, Amethyst happily snoozed in the morning sun. She'd set up a beach blanket for herself along the coastline, not too far away from the Beach House, and the day was pretty much treating her pretty good with the sun warming her body up like a heat lamp. She could feel that today was going to be a nice one for her; nothing but chilling out in the sunshine without much responsibility planned out for the day ahead. All she wanted to do was just sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice jug of juice. Arms behind her head, Amethyst gave a content sigh.
"This is the life," Amethyst sighed happily. As she snoozed, Amethyst then began to hear the Beach House door open and close. She took a glance over with one eye open, and actually saw Steven and Greg come out. Greg had himself a suitcase, looking full by the looks of it, and Steven himself had a loud shirt as well, Hawaiian by appearance. A bit interesting, as the farther and son went over to her direction.
"What's up, Amethyst?" Greg said.
"What's with the getup? Going somewhere or something?" Amethyst asked, turning to face the two.
"You bet! Steven and I are heading off for a week road trip - father and son trip," Greg explained, playfully fluffing Steven's hair, the kid laughing.
"Really, now? Where's this trip going anyway?"
"Dad told me this about this awesome motel, where they serve square pizza, and have an outdoor pool right outside the motel rooms! We're going to check it out, right dad?" Steven explained.
"Right, champ. Now, we better get going; could make it there by tonight," Greg said, going off with the suitcase in hand.
"Eat a pizza for me, champ," Amethyst said, seeing them off as the two went down the beach to Greg's van. Soon after Steven left, Amethyst stretched out on the blanket again, and rested her eyes again. It did sound nice to go off on a trip with them, but, she might as well let them have their father-son time. However, her own relaxation didn't last longer than half an hour.
"There you are, sugarcube," said a pony voice. Amethyst opened her eyes, and saw that someone's shadow was in her sunlight. Upon looking up, she soon saw Applejack and Pearl standing there. Amethyst didn't expect a visit from the ponies today. The orange pony stood there for a bit, as Amethyst sat up.
"Sup?"
"Come on, Garnet wants us all for a mission," Pearl said. So much for her relaxation.
.......
Sure enough, much to Amethyst's surprise, the Crystal Gems and the Mane Six all had come around for this one, requested by Garnet, and they all actually met up at the Barnhouse (plenty of room compared to the beach house). Amethyst, Pearl, and Applejack took the Warp Pad to the barn, where everyone else was waiting. It must be pretty important if all of the team was called in. For Garnet, she was at front and facing the crowd, as the last arriving found their seats. Behind her was a large map, few spots marked of a particular location on it. Amethyst though, was still a bit tired, and not paying much attention. As for everyone else, they all listened on up to what mission Garnet had in mind.
"Listen everybody; there's an unknown presence located in the area here. Many humans who'd gone there were either driven out, or disappeared. As the Crystal Gems, we're to investigate, and take care of whatever danger's located," Garnet explained, referring to the marked spot in question. It'd been nice on the small missions, but getting everyone together for this would make this a breeze. Everyone got it right away.
"About time we got something tough to do," Rainbow Dash said, hooves together.
"Been too long," agreed Fulgurite.
"So, what're we talking here? Gem beasts, Rogue dragons, Ghosts? Help me out here," Emerald asked, psyched for it, same as anybody.
"It's an unknown presence, Emerald, of course we don't know," Flint reminded, bemused.
"What, can't I hope?" retorted Emerald.
"... Where is this place?" Star Quartz asked after a bit. That would be a nice thing to know, at least.
"The humans call the place Jersey Quarry. Not exactly a Gem location, but there's a Warp Pad close by. We'll use that to get there," Garnet explained, pointing back to the map again but further east from the Quarry. Star turned to Peridot, who was sitting next to her.
"... What's a Quarry?"
"It's where humans dig for earth minerals and stuff," Peridot replied.
"Well, dunno about y'all, but sooner we go, sooner we hogtie that troublemaker," Applejack said after a bit, hoof stomping the dirt. Star didn't even bother to ask about that one. Amethyst got to attention again after Pearl noticed her ready to fall asleep again, and flicked her head.
"Alright everyone; to the nearest Warp Pad!"
~~~~~~
With a flash from the Warp Pad, pretty soon the group had made it from Beach City, off to the Jersey Quarry. The land comparing both places changed rather dramatically; the place has turned a bit more arid, and open-spaced as they went towards the Quarry, and the heat higher than Beach City from being more inland, and heading to late spring. As for the Quarry in question, the place was huge and all down within a man-made valley, dropping a good twenty feet down. A number of human machinery, which would normally be in operation, were now just sitting there collecting dust. Buildings also stayed silent and still. The entire Quarry was made up of paths of gravel, and machines in a number of places. It was surprising to think that this was a successful Quarry up to this point. The group of Gems all looked down from the top of the Quarry walls, observing the landscape for some sort of clue as to what was actually there. Lapis Lazuli, Rainbow, Twilight, and Emerald took the better view when flying around above them.
"See anything?" Flint called from the ground.
"Nothing yet," called Twilight back.
"The anticipation's killing me!!" Screeched Pinkie, grabbing and squeezing Jasper's arm. The Gems and ponies started to venture in, heading down the wall. It was rather quiet, and nothing really seemed to be around. The flyers circled for a bit before coming in close to the other Gems.
"You sure we're at the right place, Garnet?" Rainbow asked.
"It's here," Garnet replied.
Garnet couldn't be anymore precise with what she just said.
Seconds after she said that, they all heard a low moan coming from further off. The others turned to the same direction, and it was then that something started to appear...
The source of the disturbance began to slowly move over towards them all. It looked rather tall, about a good fifteen feet tall. It had a humanoid like shape, but too many factors say otherwise; it had six arms, three eyes in a triangular shape like Garnet, a human-like head with diamond-shaped hair, and a stiff torso. It's whole body looked to be made of hard, rustic desert rock or clay, and it appeared to have a bandana-like cloth over its mouth - unusual for a corrupted Gem if that was what it was. It appeared to be hovering in the air, its legs crisscrossed, almost like its meditating in a way.
It appeared to be expecting them ...
"Holy smokes," commented Peridot. It floated there for a bit, its three eyes scanning the group it was faced against. It saw every Gem and Pony there, and each eye soon turned red, it starting to loom over to them. A few backed away, but the rest were ready for a fight on their hands (or hooves for the pony).
"Gems, to battle!" Garnet called, charging first. Rainbow, Jasper, Fulgurite and Amethyst followed her step faster than the others, and they all charged in like one single force. The Gem beast countered their charge almost effortlessly with a sway back, all of them flying by and missing. While the others had to land or skid to a stop, Rainbow Dash made a quick one eighty in the air, and managed to get a good hit right on the head. As if it was in zero-gravity, the Gem beast spun around in the air, but not touching the ground below. In fact, it still kept its meditated stance, as they continued at it. Amethyst then raced in next with her whips blazing. One swing though, and the beast grabbed it with little effort. Amethyst tried to pull back, but the beast got two of its six hands firmly gripped, and it swung Amethyst clear across the Quarry!
"Amethyst!" Twilight gasped, flying in the same direction. The beast saw her flying off, but rather than let her go, it quickly, almost out of nowhere, got her in a sudden suspension beam, forcing Twilight to a halt mid air! It quickly swung around the force, catching the other Mane Six in the same orb in one big swoop, having all six of them stuck in a force field orb! The Gems rushed for it, but it had other tricks up its sleeves; it retracted its bottom arms for a quick moment, and once they came back out, they turned into a particular type of Gem weaponry ...
Gem Destabilizers ...
Amethyst was still running helter skelter right back to where the fight was going on, not aware of what was going to happen next. The purple Gem took a moment to look ahead, still running as fast as she could, but what she saw made her skid to a halt. The beast wasn't anywhere to be seen, but it wasn't that. There. Scattered along the earth. Were a group of gemstones and magic keys, each one matching apart of the Crystal Gems! The sight of her entire team just left in their stones like this left Amethyst speechless, and once more, the Mane Six were nowhere to be seen ...
She was alone.
~~~~~~
Not too long afterwards, with a flash of the Warp Pad again, Amethyst got every Gemstone and magic key of her friends back safely. It was shocking that one Gem beast could take down this many Gems in just one fight alone. Amethyst would go after the beast and the Mane Six, sure, but with all of her friends pretty much poofed so fast, she knew she couldn't just charge after it herself without shattering on the spot. Besides, who knew what'll happen to the Gems while she was gone anyway? Even if they'll reform eventually, Amethyst would still have to figure things out herself. With the Mane Six and Steven away, and her Gems stuck as rocks, Amethyst was just stuck all alone in the Beach House. Wherever that Gem beast had gone off to, it at least gave Amethyst quite a scenario to work her way around. If Steven came back home to just have her standing, what then? Amethyst surely didn't want to see Steven crying when he comes back. Amethyst though didn't had a clue how to speed up the process when it came to reformation aside from her own, so the best she could do was try to wait it out.
And wait out she did.
For the next three days, Amethyst waited, and waited for at least one of the Gems to reform, but no such thing happened. Amethyst kept all the Gemstones together, comfortably on some pillows whenever she decided to move them around. Amethyst tried to make the best of a bad situation, but it wasn't what you'd call easy. She tried a number of things to see if it'll get something out of them, but she wasn't doing so good. During those three days, she basically hung around the stones, hoping something would trigger them coming back. Amongst these things included watching TV with them, training with them as observers, eating food in front of them, but no matter what she tried, nothing was working. It just wasn't the same thing as it would be for her. At one point, she even placed the Gemstones on the sofa, and Amethyst began to pick up a few plates, deliberately tossing them onto the floor.
"Oh no, look at this mess I made! Sure would be great for somebody to come back out and clean this up," Amethyst monologued, referring to Pearl specifically. Not the brightest idea, but she was getting anxious at this point. But, as before, nothing seemed to happen to any of the Gemstones. Just her luck. Amethyst sighed gravely, and got up onto Steven's bed, Pearl's gemstone in hand. She laid down, and held the gemstone out in front of her.
"Man, what's taking you guys so long?" Amethyst said, though of course she got no reply. She placed Pearl's gemstone down beside her, as she just stared at the ceiling for a bit. It sure was different without all the Gems and Ponies to keep her busy.
"Dang, this is torture. Wish I could go back in time and get this right. Least then It won't be so quiet around here ..."
She laid there for a while longer, just staring off to the ceiling, lonely ... However, then she suddenly heard something this onto the floor close to her. The object was small enough to fit in her hand, and was about as big as a baseball. Translucent overall, it had a figure of an hourglass inside, with the object itself split down the middle. She did remember Steven having something familiar, but she also remembered a ton of other Stevens, and Steven smashing it as well so it couldn't be the same thing as before. Amethyst took a minute or so before she got off the bed, and went down to the object in question. She picked it up, and looked it over a little bit, beginning to notice something. Along the fine line, she saw that one part was marked in. Amethyst could only assume the object was supposed to be turned that way. At one part of the line, it showed a thicker Mark, probably where it would start from its current point.
"What is this thing? Is it another time gizmo?" Amethyst wondered allowed.
Only one way to find out ...
"Well, here goes nothing."
Amethyst felt that she was able to turn it, and soon she turned one part of it to the marked spot until both marks aligned. Upon release, Amethyst waited for something to happen. After she did that, the object in her hand started to glow brightly, the shine growing more and more until Amethyst could no longer see anything in front of her.
~~~~~~
"AH!"
Amethyst woke up with a startle, eyes open wide, staring off to the sky. She quickly sat up, and found herself on her beach blanket, back outside, just like she remembered to do that morning. She looked around at the beach, and then gave a sigh of relief.
"Just a dream," she thought aloud. However, that soon changed when she felt her hand scrape something on the sand. When she turned to look, the exact same item she had found earlier was right by her side. Her look of relief quickly turned to shock seconds after seeing it. There was no way it was a dream if that was still with her after the end of her supposed dream.
"Wait, if this is here ... that means -"
Before Amethyst could finish her thought, she heard the Beach House door open and close again. There was Greg and Steven, again, with Greg holding the suitcase, and Steven in his loud shirt. Amethyst, confused, decided to test something.
"What's up, Amethyst?" Greg said.
"What're you two doing? Going somewhere?"
"You bet! Steven and I are heading off for a week road trip - father and son trip," Greg explained, playfully fluffing Steven's hair, the kid laughing.
"Where's this trip going anyway?"
"Dad told me this about this awesome motel, where they serve square pizza, and have an outdoor pool right outside the motel rooms! We're going to check it out, right dad?" Steven explained.
"Right, champ. Now, we better get going; could make it there by tonight," Greg said, going off with the suitcase in hand.
... Exactly the same. Rather than make her extra comment, Amethyst stayed quiet and watched them go. There was no way a dream can reenact so precisely and so timely like that. Instead of going back to sleep again, Amethyst got up to her feet, looking down at the time traveler tool in her hand.
It did bring her mind back in time! Which means ...
"Maybe I can save them," she realized. She glanced around the area, and got the object hidden in her pocket. Her next stop; the barnhouse.
It seemed like the biggest de ja vu for Amethyst; every exact thing repeated itself from the day of that mission; from the pep talk by Garnet to the side chats by the Gems and Ponies. If things were going to repeat, then that would mean that the mission (including the kidnapping and defeating) would also repeat itself. It was that part where Amethyst had to avoid for the sake of everyone else. After sitting through the same talk and instructions (more alert this time), Amethyst was off to Jersey Quarry again.
"See anything?" Flint called from the ground.
"Nothing yet," called Twilight back.
"The anticipation's killing me!!" Screeched Pinkie, grabbing and squeezing Jasper's arm. Amethyst then remembered that at this point, they'll go down into the Quarry, and confront the beast then. This was her chance.
"Hey, Garnet, how about we fan out? You know, cover more ground," Amethyst suggested. Before they were altogether, which Amethyst figured was how it defeated them all so quickly, so if they split up it would make it much harder for it to get them all at once. Garnet turned to Amethyst, considering the option.
"Fair enough. Spread out; call if you find it," Garnet instructed. Everyone then split up into small teams to cover more ground. Amethyst was with Fulgurite for this one, which was alright for her. Fulgurite and Amethyst went off from there along the eastern area of the Quarry, trying to find the Gem beast. She could be sure that the beast would at least be up and about by that point, so she was ready for it this time. For the first couple of minutes though, they didn't see any sign of it anywhere.
"Come on, where are you?" Amethyst thought.
"Find anything yet, Amethyst?" Fulgurite asked.
"No," Amethyst replied, though she was surprised by her own answer. Something so big should at least be able to be spotted by now. But then ...
"BACK OFF YOU -"
They all heard the screaming of Jasper, close by too, just before a loud poof echoed. Fulgurite and Amethyst raced off to see, but their answer flew to them instead; the same gem beast! The strange thing was though that it was a lot smaller than Amethyst remembered, about as tall as Pearl at most. Amethyst was left perplexed, but still got out her weapon anyway to face it. But then, the two heard something else ...
Another Gem beast floated into sight.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, Amethyst and Fulgurite were surrounded by these copies of what Amethyst thought was one Gem beast.
"T-There's more?" Amethyst thought, still in the state of shock. Suddenly she heard a stab from behind her, and saw Fulgurite was hit with a Gem Destabilizer! She poofed almost immediately, the clone grabbing it off the ground. Amethyst could understand how this was possible, for she remembered one and only one! Then the copies started to float together, and Amethyst watched them all form together, back to what Amethyst remembered. It was holding all the gemstones again, Amethyst just shocked and scared.
"What?! How?!" Amethyst shrieked, as it floated closer to her. Amethyst gave a warning shot of her whip before turning tail and running. This plan didn't work, and it was the same as before. As she ran, she got the time capsule out of her pocket, seeing it reseted itself. Amethyst quickly turned it, and it reactivated again with its light shining.
Here we go again.
~~~~~~
Her eyes shooting open again, she was back at square one; back on her beach blanket and back at point A. This time she knew what happened, and she had to think on what to do next before her friends end up poofed off again. This time, she just said bye to Steven, went straight to the mission without much trouble, and basically everything went on as normal. Amethyst, the whole time, was more or less thinking about what to try this time, impatient throughout the whole pep talk. Splitting apart was a complete bust, and sticking together made it easier for it to take everyone out apart from her. Amethyst decided to try something else.
When the group got to the Quarry again, rather than wait, Amethyst was off like a light.
"Amethyst, hold on," Applejack yelled, but Amethyst didn't listen. Instead, she rushed right into the Quarry, whips at the ready. She was in pure battle ready this time, and ready for anything.
"Alright you Gem assassin, where are you?!" Amethyst called out, ready to face it as the others stood up and watched. As it was the first time, the beast soon could be seen floating over to her. Rather than wait, Amethyst rushed at it, whips lashing out at it. Rather than grabbing the whip though, it kept dodging the attacks with little effort. Rainbow Dash could be heard flying towards her, which was what Amethyst didn't want to occur again. The beast looked to the Pegasus as she flew in hard.
"Take that!" Rainbow called, but she actually ended up going through it! The Gem beast suddenly glitched out like an AI ...
Another fake!
"Oh no," Amethyst groaned. She closed her eyes, and turned around. Upon opening them, she saw just in time, up on the top of the Quarry wall, the real Gem beast finishing off the last of the Gems, and removing the Mane Six. Rainbow tried to help, but she ended up in the same fate as the other Ponies.
"OH COME ON!" Amethyst yelled. Sad, yes, but now she was getting upset. Seemed this beast was smarter than she credited it for (seriously). The A.I clone disappeared as the real deal stared her down, almost getting disappointed itself. However, Amethyst noticed that a cut was edged on its face, slicing down on its right cheek, and the bandana cut off to show a calm frown. Amethyst rushed away, pulling out her time capsule again. This time she wasn't going to take anymore risks, as she turned it once more.
Further back in time.
~~~~~~
When she awoke this time, rather than laying about on her beach blanket, she woke up inside the Beach House, laying down on the sofa. It was the night before the mission, and she knew this from Steven still asleep in his bed, and his own suitcase by his bed, packed up for tomorrow morning. Just what she wanted. Making sure no one heard her, Amethyst got to the Warp Pad, and teleported to the barnhouse. As she hoped, not a single Gem or Pony was there.
"Sorry, guys," Amethyst said, taking out her whip. Turning to the Warp Pad, she rallied up, and slammed her whip down onto the Warp Pad, making it crack! The way she figured, that this Warp Pad gone meant they can't get there. Plus, it'll give her an excuse to keep from going on a mission anyway, so, double win!
.......
"There you are, sugarcube," a voice said the next morning. Amethyst had gotten herself back to the Beach House by that morning, confident that the mission would be a bust, and can't get started anyway. Everything went along as they'd been the last number of times, so Amethyst felt accomplished. Applejack and Pearl found her chilling outside in a beach blanket again. Amethyst thought she was clear, but ...
"Come on, Garnet wants us all for a mission."
"What?" Amethyst asked, not believing her ears at first.
"Just come on, at the barnhouse."
"Why there?"
"Uh ... Amethyst, it's too small in the Beach House."
"But the Warp Pad?" Amethyst blurted out. This time travel stuff meant that they didn't know what she did, but Pearl just crossed her arms.
"You know we have more than one Warp Pad, don't you? Just come on, okay?" Pearl said. The two left, but Amethyst felt completely stupid. Of course they had more! Amethyst groaned, hand to forehead in a slap, before pulling out her time capsule again. She was starting to get desperate.
"Okay, that's it!" Amethyst growled, switched back in time once more. She saw them getting taken away, and didn't want to deal with it again.
This time, it's personal.
~~~~~~
When she woke up that time, it came with a jolt of her body, sitting up almost immediately. Back in time again, she was back to the beach, on her beach blanket but predictably with Greg and Steven going to leave for their vacation. However, her mind was more dead set than before, and she jumped right to her feet. She couldn't waste anytime anymore. She didn't bother to say goodbye to the two this time around, and raced past them both. The two avoided getting hit by inches, watching in surprise as she went into the Beach House. No meeting, no waiting, she knew where to go and what to do. One factor she especially wanted to be sure of; the others shouldn't come. She couldn't bare to see her friends get beaten again, Pony or Gem. Amethyst went right onto the temple Warp Pad, quickly activating it. Instead of going to the barnhouse for the meeting (like she needed to hear it again anyway) she immediately teleported to the Jersey Quarry. As pre mentioned, she wasn't going to take any chances this time. Every time before, the others were with her and they were beaten down each time. This time, she had to do this herself; at least this way she can have the rest alright in the long run, and she can have a head start on fighting the Gem beast before the others. If she can defeat it before they show up, it'll be great. She got out her whip, got off the Warp Pad, and quickly spun around. Using the whip, Amethyst gave the Warp Pad a powerful hit, enough to make the pad crack! Now it was a guarantee they won't show up, and therefore, no casualties for them ...
"There," Amethyst simply said, before running straight to the Quarry. This time without backup, Amethyst may have more trouble than it's worth, but she didn't take that into account, as she slid down the Quarry wall, whips in both hands.
"Okay you, I know you're here! Just you and me, amigo!!" Amethyst shouted, psyched and rearing to go. She was ready for anything at this point, and she turned almost trigger happy with her whips; the slightest sound of the Quarry making her ready and aim to whack away. She was sure this time that the others will be fine for sure, and if she can take care of this thing before they showed up, even better. She kept walking around for a bit, but it seemed this beast took into hiding. Amethyst was quickly losing patience.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Amethyst screamed, almost barbarically even, but nothing seemed to show. It was then that Amethyst turned back to where she came in. Up on the Quarry wall, she began to notice something floating up there; the Gem beast! Amethyst snarled, readying her whip to attack. The Gem beast floated down to her, as Amethyst rushed forward as fast and as strong as she could. The beast watched her charge, and apparently it had enough with her. Amethyst lunged forward, but it just took one hand to grab her, making her stop. Amethyst struggled in its grip, trying to get free but, it wasn't any good. The two stared at eachother, Amethyst glaring at it.
"Let go of me!" Amethyst demanded, but it brought another hand up to quiet her. A third hand came up to that bandana, and actually pulled it down from the right side. Amethyst immediately stopped cold by what she saw ...
A cut down the right cheek.
That didn't make any sense what-so-ever; Amethyst remembered a cut that the Gem beast got, but that was in a different past. Did she travel to a different time period? No, Steven and Greg still left that morning so she got that right. The other Gems showing up to cut it was out of the question, due to the Warp Pad being damaged. Amethyst stopped struggling upon seeing that, as a forth arm retracted inside the Gem beast's body, and pulling out to hold something; Amethyst's time capsule! Amethyst tried to feel if it was indeed her own or not, but before she could figure it out, the third arm released the bandana, and began to twist the capsule, more and more. It shoved the time capsule at Amethyst, the capsule activating in her hands, much to her shock! It winked to her, and threw her away from it, just before the capsule activated completely, and she went back one more time ...
~~~~~~
Amethyst needed a second before she woke up, feeling a bit off from the prolonged time travel. Her time capsule was still on her chest, held there by both hands. She didn't know how far she went, or how much it will affect her future, but one thing's for sure; she wasn't in Beach City anymore. For starters, what time it actually was seemed a bit hard to tell, the only main light coming from a hole in the ceiling. Around her, it seemed a lot more ancient than it would be. For one thing, the floor and walls were made up of clay blocks, cracked in a number of places from signs of worn out time. A number of vines grew from a number of spots, only emphasizing how old the place was. Around her, Amethyst saw four pillars holding the ceiling up, each one also vine covered.
"Where am I? Guys?!" Amethyst called. But, nothing. She was alone again, and this time she didn't know where she was, or how far back she went ...
"Amethyst, my sweet little troublemaker. Jumping around time, aren't you?"
Amethyst immediately recognized the voice, and she tried to see where it was coming from. All she could see though was the four pillars ... One of which had a strangely familiar animal engraved on it. Which began to move.
"Wait ... Discord!"
"Bingo! Nice to see you again," Discord said from the engraving. Judging by what Discord had just said there, Amethyst could easily put two and two together as the Draconequus stepped out of the pillar, colors back to normal, and in some sort of explorer's outfit like Daring Do.
"So, how're you doing jumping around time?" Discord asked. With a few questions already answered in Amethyst's head.
"It sucks! I can't get anything to work, and that stupid Gem beast keeps beating up my friends!" Amethyst said, figuring Discord knew that anyway no matter what she said. If he knew she was time-traveling, what was the point really? Besides, why question the intelligence of a reality-breaker anyway?
"OH, you mean TJ. He must've been giving you a run for your money has he?"
"TJ?"
"Short for Time Jumper! He's no Gem beast; he's got his brain in tact. He's just a bit grumpy for people to play sand castle in his house," Discord said, laying down by Amethyst, his face in front of her face.
"I don't care; I don't want to go through all week by myself ..."
Discord gently wrapped around her and hugged her.
"Aww, you sweet thing you. It is hard to go through some things without your pals, isn't it? It's too bad TJ's been keeping track of you since you got your little thingy there, otherwise it'll be a synch," Discord said, pulling the time capsule from Amethyst's arms and looking it over.
"What do you mean?"
"That TJ's not attach to time very well, so he's been seeing what you've been up to, and countering it. He's smart like that."
"But how do I stop him?! I can't keep this up forever," Amethyst retorted, though Discord seemed pretty casual with it.
"I'm not one for rough news, but sorry sweetie."
"Sorry?! Discord, the nearly shattered every one of my friends, and your friends were trapped by him and -"
"AND got bonked off to a remote part of Equestria," Discord cut in. "He never liked getting messy."
"But my friends ..."
"Oh, just be patient. Tell you what I'll do, I'll get ya back to your own time period soon enough, but all you have to do, lumpy space Gem, is to just chill out. I had to wait hundreds of years until I got out of my statue, sure you can wait a week, no? Sometimes you gotta have some alone time to be a little bit older, am I right?"
Amethyst felt ashamed by that point. The Draconequus basically summed up her flaws and shoved them in her face, the factor that basically started this in the first place. Discord wouldn't normally just blabber out the answer before the problem had finished, but Discord figured that'll be longer than any of them would like. For both TJ, and Amethyst too. Regardless of the case, Amethyst stayed quiet and looked to her time capsule ...
"Discord. I'd like to go home now."
~~~~~~
Amethyst opened her eyes after her Time Travel jump again, back to where she started; Steven's bed. However, instead of where the mission started, she put herself to when she discovered the time capsule in the first place, with the Gems still stones, and Ponies still missing. Amethyst herself knew what she had to do this time. Strange thing though; the marked spots disappeared on the time capsule upon looking at it again. Though, Amethyst no longer cared about it. She kept the gemstones of her friends together on the table, and she went right to the Warp Pad with her capsule. She went right back to Jersey Quarry, no longer in the mood for fighting. But, rather than going to the Quarry, turned out TJ was already there, expecting her.
"Oh. It's you," Amethyst said, getting no reply.
"Listen, TJ right? Time Jumper? Right, look, I'm not sure what you really did to my friends, but ... Well, just, here," Amethyst then presented her time capsule to TJ, looking away from him. TJ didn't respond.
"I don't want this anymore. I tried changing the past, but it didn't work out, so you have it."
There was some silence, as TJ removed the bandana again, showing the cut cheek again. A hand reached out, and took the capsule away from her. Amethyst didn't know what TJ was going to do next, but he then made a miniature time portal (apart of his bag of tricks, no doubt), and dropped the time capsule inside. TJ then looked down at her again ...
"You see now how tedious it is to change the past." TJ's sudden new voice was unexpected, low-pitched, and regal almost. Amethyst didn't expect it to talk, but kept quiet as TJ brought two hands forward, one on her head, and one in a flicking position.
"Your friends will find you soon. Until then. Enjoy your rest."
With one flick of the finger, it was lights out ...
~~~~~~
"Uughh ... What happened?"
"Amethyst, your back! YIPEE!"
Amethyst couldn't grasp what happened back there, but next thing she knew, she was suddenly tackled to the ground in a tight hug. She felt a bit groggy, but fine, and soon was face to face with Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie?"
"Yes siree bob!" Replied Pinkie Pie. Amethyst took a moment to look around some more, seeing where she was. Somehow, someway, she was on a royal bed inside one of Canterlot's bedrooms. Amethyst saw Steven as well, so it must've been after his vacation. As for an extra, and equally surprising guest, Amethyst saw the grand Alicorn Celestia!
"What happened? How'd I get here?"
"The Gems all found your gemstone at your universe's Jersey Quarry. You've been inside your gemstone for a few days now. How are you feeling?" Celestia asked, as Amethyst got off the bed.
"I'll be okay," Amethyst replied.
"Great! Then you can see the surprise with the rest of us," Steven said with a smile.
Surprise?
After a bit, Amethyst followed Pinkie, Steven, and Celestia for a bit of ways. Celestia brought them over outside the Canterlot castle, and off to an open-spaced, open plain further off from Canterlot itself. The plains were comfy, green grass underfoot and underhoof, crossing ways between Ponyville and Canterlot. Much to her relief, and glee, Amethyst saw that everyone was alright and reformed. All the Gems were there waiting for Amethyst, and she was just glad to see them again. The destination Celestia had in mind though was actually off to the Everfree Forest. It did take a bit, for sure, but no one minded it one bit. Pretty soon, everyone was at the front doors, Celestia at front.
"Everypony ready?" Celestia asked. They all nodded, and Celestia then opened the doors. The doors lead straight off to the main castle's throne room. The castle of the Everfree, and nothing much had changed since they last saw it. Celestia brought them over to a new area of the castle, which was outside, and cleared of any debris to the point of being a pure flat platform. There, shining in the light of the open platform, was a brand new, gleaming Warp Pad! This Warp Pad looked different from the regular ones used; light gold rather than silver, and the markings of shooting stars lined the rims of it, including the symbols of the Elements of Harmony. There was also three spheres on it, facing the Canterlot doors, the one on the left glowing yellow while the other two were dormant.
"A Warp Pad?" Questioned Jasper.
"Not just any Warp Pad," Celestia noted, as she walked over to it, placing a hoof on it.
"This is a special Warp Pad. I took sometime to study on the Gem warp pads, and soon after hearing your accomplishments on Homeworld, this is my personal gift for you all. This Warp Pad can bring you from Equestria, to Earth, and to Homeworld," Celestia explained. They all were as surprised as surprised could be. This explained how Velvet Sugar came to Beach City, and how Blue Diamond came to Equestria - through this Warp Pad made by Celestia herself!
"Wait, that means you made others?"
"Correct; Blue Diamond helped make one on Homeworld, while Discord helped make the one for Earth. Let's give it a try," Celestia said. She then gently pressed one of the buttons with her hoof, and that button farthest to the right glowing green. Celestia hopped up into the Warp Pad herself. They all were surprised, but unsure. Did she mean from here to Earth, or here to Homeworld? Still, they got on, and it was big enough to accommodate everyone of them (can't be too careful to how big some users can be).
"So how does it work?" Rarity asked.
"Give it a second," Celestia said. After everyone got on, the Warp Pad began to glow slightly, and suddenly it fully activated! No sooner until after that, the entire group was teleported away from Equestria, and when the light faded away, their destination landed. The whole group was suddenly back on Earth - the Warp Pad worked! This warp pad was similarly designed, though the colors were a sea green, and only the green sphere glowing. As for where it was, the Warp Pad was actually located inland from Beach City, the area cleared away of trees and bushes, their view perfect of Beach City. Lovely, and a good spot.
"Well I'll be," Applejack said simply. Celestia hopped off, along with a few of the Gems and Ponies, and Celestia readied to press the center sphere.
"Anypony want to see Homeworld?" Celestia offered. She wasn't making anyone go by any means, and she didn't expect very many to want to go either. The original six Crystal Gems, seven including Steven, stayed on the platform. Celestia waited for a bit before finally touching the sphere, it glowing blue. Celestia got into the Warp Pad before it started again. How long it took to teleport; under a minute.
When it finished, the sight was breathtaking; it worked again! The group of Crystal Gems all looked around in amazement. This Warp Pad was blue in color, and actually having a transparent seal so it won't get damaged. For location, it was up on an isolated raised platform, like ones one might see in South American temples. For the view, it was the perfect one to see the Homeworld Capital City, in all its glory. Garnet couldn't be happier, even a tear coming out of her eye.
"Thank you so much, Celestia," Garnet said, finally. Celestia nodded. If there was one thing going through anybody's mind, it was this:
The future's going to be very interesting.