//------------------------------// // Just Like You // Story: My Little Universe: Season 4 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// Resting his drawing skill for a moment, Steven placed his colored pencil down at his side, as he grabbed his picture, blowing off some pencil shavings from his masterpiece. Nearby, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had come over from Equestria to the Temple. At the moment, Steven had his mind stuck on fusions lately since doing his very first, so, he'd been pretty busy with drawing out what he could guess some possible fusions would be for the other fusions to either himself or to eachother. He'd gone through at least ten masterpieces of work, and this one he'd figure was a keeper. "oooOOOooo! Me next! Me next!" Pinkie beamed, already grabbing some colored pencils and drawing out her own piece with her hooves and mouth. As they were doing this, The door opened up, and in entered Peridot, Ruby, and Sapphire. Sapphire was fine, but the other two seemed to be bugged about something. "Hello everyone," Sapphire said, though Peridot and Ruby didn't say anything, not looking to eachother. "Hi, Sapphire! Wanna see my Gem picture?" Pinkie Pie beamed, holding her picture up for Sapphire to see. Pinkie's picture was simple, and it showed a dull blue Gem with rainbow hair in bands. Sapphire took a moment to look at it, smiling sweetly. "Accurate," Sapphire said. Pinkie beamed on hearing that, but then their attention turned to Ruby and Peridot, who sat on the couch, not even looking to eachother. They both had their arms crossed, and a pouty look on their faces. Cute, but, what was wrong exactly? Pinkie hopped off of Steven's bed floor, and landed down in between Ruby and Peridot, a hoof wrapped around their shoulders. "Aww, you two feeling grumpy today?" Pinkie said, though the comment and slight baby talk didn't seem to help either of them. "Uh, excuse me? Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked. Still, the two didn't say a word, making Fluttershy a bit unsure of the situation. Sapphire answered for them. "Ruby and Peri had a argument at the barn. Something about the Camp Pining Hearts series, I think," Sapphire figured. "Camp Pining Hearts?" Fluttershy asked. "It's a series Peridot's been watching," Sapphire answered. Since being introduced to the series when the group was at Bayburgh, Peridot had pretty much been hooked on the series. When Ruby got involved in it though, one thing lead to another, and now the two were left angry and not talking to eachother. Sapphire didn't like them doing this anymore than the next pony. "Come on, Gemies! Turn those frowns upside-down," Pinkie encouraged, her hooves moving Ruby's lips until she was grinning. Her grin turned to a frown seconds after Pinkie removed her hooves, too hot to touch for long anyway, and the red Gem got up, going towards Sapphire. "Pierre and Percy are better," Peridot mumbled. Ruby obviously didn't think so, and ignored her. "Can we fuse back now?" Ruby groaned. Sapphire took a moment to think, but before she could answer, Pinkie Pie then showed her another picture, this time of another fusion idea Steven had drawn out. Sapphire glanced to that, and to the two Gem grumps. Then she got an idea. Since Pinkie was next to her, she made a sly hand gesture, which somehow Pinkie understood. Ruby paid no mind to it. "Alright, Ruby. Come on," Sapphire said. Ruby and Sapphire began their fusion dance for a bit, Pinkie, Peridot, Fluttershy, and Steven all watching. At first, Ruby and Sapphire were doing well, and their fusion dance undeterred and undisturbed. Ruby was all for it, but Sapphire had her own plan in mind for her hot-headed friends. Suddenly, Pinkie grabbed Peridot, and started to dance like Ruby and Sapphire were doing; balancing on her back hooves, she danced much like a normal person. Peridot didn't expect this, and neither did Fluttershy and Steven. "Whoa, hey, let -" Peridot tried to speak, but Pinkie Pie ignored her. Ruby's gemstone started to glow a bit, signifying that fusion was near. Sapphire found her chance. Before Ruby or Peridot could realize what was happening, Pinkie and Sapphire swung the two Gems towards eachother, like switching partners in a dance but more forceful and quick. Ruby's gemstone was still glowing, so the second Ruby and Peridot made contact, their bodies glowed bright. Steven and Fluttershy were shocked at what they did, and once the white blur disappeared, the result was sitting in front of them. Ruby and Peridot had fused! The fusion sitting there looked about as tall as Garnet would be. Her body shared Ruby's thicker, stocky features with Peridot's slimmer ones. As for clothes, she had a sleevless, orange tank top over a red orange shirt, both of which looked like what Amethyst would wear. She also had brown shorts, which matched Ruby's perfectly. Her hair, rather than being a square like Ruby or triangle like Peridot, were put in a star shape. The headband and visors fused into a pair of orange goggles, tied together like the mentioned headband, with characteristics of both in design. The body was a sort of coral color, and her hair had a dark brown color as well. The gemstones of Peridot and Ruby were in their proper places, though their colors were more orange rather than the typical red or green like before. She took a moment, disoriented from the sudden spin and swing, and not realizing what had happened just yet. Sapphire was smiling though, and while Fluttershy was still left a bit speechless, Pinkie and Steven couldn't be more excited on seeing this result. "WOO! HI RUBIDOT!" Pinkie said, giving the fusion a name. The fusion got up, not realizing what had happened yet. "Who's Rubidot? And what gives with that stupid -" suddenly, the fusion saw Ruby's gemstone on her hand. "Wait, what the? Why do I have Ruby's - my? Gemstone? Why is it orange?! W-Why's my hair star-shaped now?!" Slowly, Rubidot started to come to realization on what just happened. First of all, she figured out how tall she had gotten, taller than anybody else in the room. Almost right away, Rubidot tried to unfuse, but Sapphire suddenly intervened, and got her arms around Rubidot to keep her together. "Oh, you two look cute together," Sapphire complimented, making Rubidot blush a rustic red color. "W-Wait, Sapphire, I wanted to fuse with you! - Why did you make me fuse with Ruby?!" Rubidot said, both sides shifting and speaking their opinions on the matter. "Aww! I was so close," Steven suddenly said. He drew a picture of Ruby and Peridot if they fused, but his wasn't as accurate as this one; the fusion yellow, and the hair in a hexagon instead of a star. "You two will be alright. This can help you both get along, and better understand eachother. Can you do that for me?" "NO! Sapphire, let go and let us unfuse!" Rubidot demanded, this part mostly from Peridot rather than Ruby (Ruby would never demand Sapphire like that). Rubidot tried to make her let go. Sapphire didn't though, not wanting the two split right away. "Come on, Rubidot, this is awesome! You look so cuddly and cute," Pinkie beamed, hugging her as well. Sapphire only released her then, knowing Pinkie's grip, even with hooves, was much stronger than her own. "I'M NOT CUTE, YOU CLOD!" Rubidot snapped. Her anger quickly turned to pleading as she looked to Sapphire. "Sapphire, please don't make me do this," Rubidot pleaded, the Ruby side of her speaking out this time. "Rubidot. This is a first experience for of you. Do you really want that experience to be you two fighting with eachother? Besides, this could be more special than you two think," Sapphire explained. Rubidot looked less worried, and more like she began to realize what she meant. With Peridot's brains, and Ruby's brawn, what could come out from Rubidot? Rubidot looked down to her hand, the one having Ruby's gemstone, as the other one felt Peridot's head gemstone. "... You sure?" Rubidot asked. "More than sure. Besides, I can't fuse with you right now anyway; I have a visit with the Diamond today with the alicorn princesses back on Homeworld. I'd take you, but, Yellow Diamond insisted to have only the royal court of Gemkind be involved," Sapphire revealed. Immediately, Rubidot felt left out this time around, and at least Sapphire had reason to stay separated for a while. "But what're we suppose to do?" "Have fun. I'm sure some ponies and people would like to play with you," Sapphire said with a smile, referring to the three in the room. Steven and Pinkie were more than happy to comply, and Fluttershy can help with making them both feel comfortable if it came around to it. Sapphire opened the front door. "Have fun you two," Sapphire said, as she gave a wave, and walked out. Not only did it feel like Deja Vu for Peridot and Ruby, but dealing with this new fusion would make this an interesting day. And by the looks on Pinkie and Steven's faces told Rubidot that she'll be in for a interesting ride ... ~~~~~~ For Sapphire, the thought of returning to Homeworld just for a nice visit with the Diamonds other than being captured or put on death row was a nice thought to have, and also was a good reminder of what the Crystal Gems had done on Homeworld during the winter. The small blue aristocrat went off outside of Beach City, and right over to the special Warp Pad just out of town. After a quick coordinate put, and a step on the pad, Sapphire was off of Earth, and on her way back to her home planet. The Warp Stream was about the same as the other Warp Pad Streams would have it. The small wait there wasn't too different from an elevator ride to the next floor (without the annoying waiting music, of course). Once Sapphire did arrive at the Homeworld Warp, she was actually greeted right up front by Blue Diamond's Pearl. Not much of a walk, she was actually waiting for her to show up. She wasn't the only one waiting though, as Sapphire also saw Lapis Lazuli standing next to Blue Pearl. It was pretty nice of them to wait for her, and once she had showed up, they began to head off to Blue Diamond's Homeworld City. For both Sapphire and Lapis, the walk back to their Homeworld city was a calm one, and not too long of one. The entire city compared to their last recent visit to the city didn't change very much, but there was one detail as they neared the main tower that was different, but a nice thing to do. In a town square just before the tower, there was actually a décor hologram made in their honor. The exact detail itself was actually the exact same model as the ultimate fusion they used to save Homeworld. It stood tall and proud, colors matching perfectly to the original. Sapphire felt a sense of pride for what they did, and was happy there was something for Homeworld to remember them by. Sapphire, Lapis, and Blue Pearl were soon heading through the front tower entrance, and heading off into the throne room. As they were, it was clear a bit of activity was going on inside, a number of other Gems there. Sapphire and Lapis soon found Blue Diamond, next to Yellow Diamond and her Pearl. Cadance, Luna, Celestia, and Twilight Sparkle had arrived earlier than Sapphire and Lapis did, but only by just a minute or so, so, the others weren't really too late for the visit. "Sapphire, Lapis, a pleasure for you to make it," Blue Diamond said. Sapphire and Lapis smiled back to her. "Great to be here," Sapphire replied. They did take notice though, that Yellow Diamond appeared a bit rough in the face, like she wanted to get to some unforeseen point they don't seem to know about. Still, they just arrived, so, it wasn't going to be right away. Besides, the alicorns needed to get more acquainted with the Diamonds first, and Homeworld in general anyway. "How long have you guys been here? We're not late, are we?" Lapis asked, as she flew over to the alicorns. "Not at all aside introductions, Lapis," Luna assured her. "So you know eachother?" Yellow Diamond asked. That question just confirmed that they really weren't late for anything. Celestia was the one to answer Yellow Diamond on that. "They helped save our kingdom in the past, Yellow Diamond," Celestia said. "Did they now?" Yellow Diamond noted, looking to Lapis and Sapphire. Celestia nodded, and turned over to Blue Diamond, who got up from her throne. "How about we go for a walk? Would be nice to show our guests around our world," blue Diamond suggested. Twilight had already seen plenty of Homeworld from her last visit, but the other Alicorns didn't really see much of it on their flight over. "Sounds wonderful," Luna said. "Excellent. Now, off we go then," Blue Diamond said, starting to head off. They began to follow Blue Diamond out, but Sapphire seemed to stay still. Her future vision was catching something again, and it was just about to happen. "Uh, Celestia?" Yellow Diamond called. Celestia stopped, and turned back, letting the rest go with her. Sapphire didn't bother to go, despite Blue Diamond leaving, for she wanted to help Celestia out. The Alicorn turned back to Yellow Diamond and her Pearl. "You've mentioned it was your kingdom in Equestria, right?" "Well, not mine alone - I have my sister, Cadance and my student to aid me in such matters." "But you appeared to be the oldest of them all, correct?" Celestia blushed slightly; admitting she was over a thousand years old wasn't exactly something she'd like to admit for the start. Yellow Diamond seemed to be firm with her questions as well, as Yellow Pearl and Sapphire watched to see where this was going. "Right." "So you know what's in Equestria more than the other Alicorns." "I suppose I do. If you don't mind me asking, Yellow Diamond; why?" "Then follow me," Yellow Diamond said, close to a regular order, as Yellow Diamond began moving away from where Blue Diamond went. Celestia wasn't used to taking orders, being a princess of Equestria and all that, but she knew better than to try and argue with an equal, especially a ruler like this. Still, Celestia felt unsure what exactly Yellow Diamond had in mind for her. So, with a sigh, Celestia took to the air, and followed Yellow Diamond away from the others. Yellow Pearl was going to go, but saw Sapphire still with them. "Aren't you going to follow you're Diamond?" Yellow Pearl asked. "I think I'll be more needed here," Sapphire replied with a smile, following Yellow Diamond away. Yellow Pearl didn't say much else, shrugging, and following her Diamond. ~~~~~~ "Alright, let's see now," Rubidot said. After some thinking over back at the Temple, Rubidot had decided to head over to the barnhouse, and fiddle around with some more of the junk inside. It was still a dirty trick to make the two fuse the way they did, yet if they are going to stay like this until Sapphire would come back, they might as well try to stick together, both metaphorically and literally. If there was some bright sides to this fusion, one of these included the vision. Both sides could see just fine, but Peridot's enhanced visors gave Rubidot some extra detail. This only grew when Rubidot moved her goggles over her eyes. Peridot was used to it, though Ruby was given her own viewpoint on how Peridot would see the world through her visors. "Wow, this vision's incredible! You really see this all the time?" "Eh, you get used to it." It was odd for Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Steven to hear Rubidot talk to herself, but considering she was made of two people molded into one, they couldn't really blame her for doing so. At this point, Rubidot managed to pull out an old, wheel-less pickup truck. Peridot liked the advantage of extra strength from Ruby, and looked pleased with herself. Rubidot opened up the hood, and started looking over the old, rusty machinery. As she was though, Pinkie rushed over, and hopped right inside, in the driver's seat. Suddenly, Pinkie's hoof slammed on the carhorn. The sudden loud noise made Rubidot jump, hitting the back of her head on the open hood. Steven and Fluttershy jumped too on hearing the sudden noise, and both sides of Rubidot were bothing short of ticked. "What was that for?!" Rubidot snapped, both sides angry. Pinkie shrunk down in her seat, realizing her mistake, but Fluttershy quickly moved in the way before Rubidot could go ahead and hurt anypony. "W-Wait, wait. L-Let's try to avoid hurting anypony, please? I-If you don't mind that is," Fluttershy insisted, trying not to make Rubidot upset with her as well. As satisfying as it would be, Rubidot sighed. She knew Pinkie didn't mean any harm, and just wanted some fun. Steven went over to Rubidot after a bit, a question popping up in his head. "So, how does it feel to be together?" Steven asked innocently. Rubidot turned to Steven, who sat down and waited for an answer. Rubidot took a moment with herself before answering him. "Well, with Peridot's brains, and Ruby's brawn. It feels well-balanced," Rubidot admitted, which was true. With the mind power and muscle gained from both Gems fused in her, Rubidot felt pretty balanced for a Gem to be. She wasn't a complete bruiser, nor a complete egghead, she was quite a nice balance between the two. Before the fusion could continue though. "What do we have here?" They turned towards the barn door, and they had another guest showing up; Emerald. He was getting bored, and visited the barn to do some stuff, only to find a brand new fusion inside. The sight of this fusion immediately got Emerald interested. "Hi, Emerald! Guess who this is," Steven said excitedly. Emerald looked Rubidot over, mischievous smirk on his face. Seeing Peridot's gem on Rubidot's forehead told Emerald that Peridot was in the fusion. Ruby found it odd, yet Peridot didn't want to deal with Emerald again, especially when this way. "So, now there's a Peri fusion? How you feeling, perito?" Emerald joked. Peridot from inside Rubidot cringed at the confusing joke, annoyed as usual. "None of your business," Rubidot got out. Emerald was undeterred however, and continued looked Rubidot over. Emerald's smile said that he was enjoying the view. "You got some bod, Rubidot. This from Ruby, or did your mind alter it?" Emerald said, having the nerve to slap Rubidot's hip. The fusion blushed up a deep rustic brown, Emerald liking that reaction. However, his smirk quickly turned to a terrified frown when he saw her face. Rubidot's eyes were turned into a killer glare, pupils barely noticeable, and both fists were ready to punch the clod off back to Homeworld. "Try that again. I dare you." Since Emerald valued his life, he stopped immediately. "... Oh yeah, I forgot to do something elsewhere, see you later." And with that quick, and hesitant response, Emerald bolted out of the barn and out of sight. The Peridot side of Rubidot felt quiet, but very impressed with the quick results. Pinkie, Steven, and Fluttershy were a bit silent, as Rubidot simply smiled to herself. ~~~~~~ Back on Homeworld, Yellow Diamond brought Celestia from Blue Diamond's throne room, over to the nearest control room. With Blue Diamond busy, Yellow diamond could use this to get Celestia on the level. This wasn't exactly orthodox by any means, as Yellow Diamond would normally go off to her own control room, but Yellow diamond didn't had enough time for it. Celestia, although impressed with the advancements compared to Equestria's magical accomplishments, was curious over what Yellow Diamond exactly had in mind for her. Yellow Pearl and Sapphire both stood aside, as Celestia and Yellow Diamond walked over side by side. The leading Gem in question started working with the Homeworld Hologram for a bit. "Now, Celestia. There's has been some incidents that are ... unorthodox, as of late," Yellow Diamond began, catching Celestia's attention. The Gem then moved around the Homeworld hologram, clicking one area of the hologram to bring up a picture with some information. This one though seemed to be very recent, and the information showed a surveillance picture of one of the Yellow Diamond city streets. The image was enhanced, but the problem itself was just far enough out of the shot to make it too hard to tell at a glance. There were no Gems, but, something was just enough to see something move out of sight to an alleyway. It just showed the back of the object, and a strange tail ending in a warty, bumpy tail. This was what Yellow Diamond wanted to discuss with Celestia. "This was the best image my patrols had managed to get. My citizens had gone missing over the last week ... strangely, since those new portals had been created," Yellow Diamond explained, suspicions filling her voice as she looked down to Celestia again. The alicorn looked closely to the picture, in particular the creature caught within it. "Mind if you zoom in on the creature?" Celestia asked. Yellow Diamond did so, not thinking it'll help too much. The image mainly showed the creature and not much else. It was also kinda blurred a bit at first, but eventually the quality improved, and Celestia got a better view of it. The creature had grey fur, the back legs had paws on the ends of them, and the tail wasn't very long. The alicorn princess thought it over in her head on what creature would match this picture. Obviously, this might be a Equestrian creature due to the odd appearance. Celestia thought it over and over again, until the answer finally hit her ... And then she laughed. Yellow Diamond felt deeply insulted, although Celestia was just being calm on the matter. "How dare you! My Gems are missing, and all you do is laugh!" Yellow Diamond bellowed in anger. "Just point me in the right direction - it won't take very long to handle," Celestia said with a smile. Yellow Diamond glared down at Celestia as she changed the screen to show the map layout of the city. The area marked was east of the main tower, in a red diamond shape. Since Celestia was in the Blue Diamond city though, that doesn't help too much. As if sensing this, Yellow Diamond brought out the map further until both cities were visible, giving Celestia a much better view of the area. Celestia nodded her head. "I'll have them on their way by tea time," Celestia said. and with that, Celestia began to take flight, opening up one of the glass roof windows, before flying off towards her destination. ~~~~~~ As for Rubidot, the fusion was having a better time of it. After some more time at the barn, Rubidot, Pinkie, Steven, and Fluttershy all decided to try a forest walk to pass the time. The summer breeze blew around through the trees, which were bright green, and full of life. The songbirds sang their chirps and tweets in the air around them, some able to be seen flying by them. Everyone was just walking except for Pinkie, who was hopping along in front, looking around the place as she went. for Rubidot, just casually walking through a forest wasn't something either Gem put in her was used to, but it was a nice change of pace anyway. "It's so peaceful out here," Fluttershy sighed. It was nice to have some calm in this corner of the world. As they continued going through, Fluttershy's ears listened in on some tiny chirps. Turned out, a small nest of birds were nearby, just up in a nearby tree. Fluttershy, being the animal lover she was, flew up for a closer look. The three adorable chicks cuddled up together in the nest, awaiting for their parents to come back. For Fluttershy, it was a cute sight. The birds on earth weren't as used to seeing ponies as the birds of Equestria were, so, the birds didn't budge an inch, hoping she wouldn't hurt them. "Aww. They're so adorable," Fluttershy said with a smile. Curious, Rubidot decided to go over to investigate. Unlike Fluttershy though, Rubidot was a bit heavier, and getting up the tree to see made the branches shake around. Fluttershy quickly tried to keep the nest from falling until Rubidot got in a comfortable position to see the nest. Both sides of her knew just a little bit about birds, or at least enough to figure out what a bird is. "They look underdeveloped," Rubidot noted, examining the baby birds in the nest. "They're just babies, Rubidot. Oh, they're so cute," Fluttershy replied. Steven and Pinkie were about to go and see, but before they could, Steven and Pinkie heard a alarming array of chirps and squawks. Suddenly, the two closest to the nest were suddenly assaulted by an angry mother woodpecker. Fluttershy quickly got away, but Rubidot was a bit slower than her, and the bird started pecking at her head. Rubidot tried to get the bird away, only to fall down from the tree, landing right onto the ground with the bird still pecking away at her face. Rubidot tried to swat the bird away, but she was more concern over if the bird will peck a crack in her head gemstone. Soon as they moved far enough away, the angry and protective mother flew back to her nest, her chicks happy to see her. "I hate birds." ~~~~~~ Back on Homeworld, Celestia continued her flight through the Homeworld air until she saw the next city just up ahead. The sight of a flying alicorn was surely something the other Gems surely took interest in seeing her fly by. While it was nice, Celestia was more focused on trying to find the targets in question. Any longer, and there could be more trouble. The alicorn continued flying until she noticed a pair of tall Jasper Gems (one with the gemstone on her right shoulder, the other with hers on her left hand), which appeared to be Yellow Diamond's more muscular patrols as she mentioned, looking off in a similar spot as shown in the photo she saw. If the beasts were anywhere, they'd be there. Celestia gently settled herself down by the two Jaspers, who quickly spotted her long before she landed. "May I be of service?" Celestia asked innocently. The Jaspers both looked to eachother before the hand Jasper spoke. "This is strictly Gem authority business," she said firmly. Celestia didn't seemed too fazed by that answer though, and looked past them both down the alleyway. It didn't seem very far in, and she could just make out the shadows from down the next bend. Celestia quietly chuckled. "Don't worry, your Diamond's letting me do this. Excuse me," Celestia said with a smile, moving gently pass them both. The two Jaspers just looked on, unsure of how to take it. They for one never saw her before, yet Yellow Diamond put her up for dealing with whatever was over there. As for the alicorn, the second she turned that corner, she knew exactly what she was getting herself into. Just hidden off in a dead end alley, there were three greedy, and oddly familiar creatures, looking over the spoils of their harvesting. These three were actually Diamond Dogs! It was a wonder how they figured out about the warp pad, nevermind figuring out how it worked, yet the three seemed to had been around for a while, judging by how many Gems they had in their big sack. Rover, Fido, and Spot couldn't wait to get rolling, and get on their way. "Oh man, this is the biggest score we got yet!" Spot said, licking his short muzzle with anticipation. "Yeah; we better vamoose before these rocks get smart," Rover replied, tossing the bag over his shoulder and ready to head off. Celestia didn't know how they consider their shenanigans smarter than the race they're pummeling with, but, she better get things straight before they "vamoose". As Rover was about to go, Celestia stepped out in the way, the oblivious dog walking right into her. "Can I help you, boys?" Celestia asked. Rover tumbled back, all three of the dogs shocked and scared. "AHHHH-hi, Celestia, you Alicorn you!" Rover said, nervously chuckling afterwards. However, Celestia stayed a bit monotone and emotionless in the face, making Rover gulp, pulling at his own collar. "W-What brings you by? Y-You heard of that cool warp thingy too?" "I made it," she said, dryly. "Oh! W-Well, wonderful, works like a charm!" Rover said, jumping up to his paws, still holding the bag over his shoulder. "Eh, say, we'll just be heading off on our way now, if you -" "Give me the gems," Celestia instructed, a hoof out and waiting. In a cold sweat, Rover still tried to give her the slip. "Oh, what this? T-These aren't gems, they're uh ... Uh-uh Ourrrr ... laundry! yeah! Just got them cleaned up, and we're heading back." "... seriously?" Celestia questioned, eyebrow raised. The dogs obviously aren't fooling anypony today ... "... Eh ..." ....... The three were floating in a suspended state just above Celestia's head, as she returned the gemstones to Yellow Diamond in person. Rover looked grumpy, yet the others just seemed blank-faced. Ah well, at least Yellow Diamond was pleased with the effort, along with Yellow Pearl and Sapphire. "Happy to be of service," Celestia said. ~~~~~~ Back on Earth, the group found something a bit more relaxing to do, and away from the city. Not too much had happened today when it came to anything exciting, aside from an attack by the local woodpecker mother. They found a decent sized hill just outside of Beach City, and were looking up at the clouds. Rubidot found it nice to do, and gave both sides of her some thought time as they tried to point out stuff in the clouds. "This is the life, huh guys? no worries, not a care in the world," Steven said. "Nothing to do," Rubidot replied, though she wasn't as enthused as Steven was. "Well, there's nothing wrong with relaxing with friends," Fluttershy assured, as she glanced at the clouds, spotting one that looked like a flower. "OOO, look, that one looks like a puppy!" Pinkie pointed out with her hoof, happy to find it. Sure enough, a puppy shaped cloud could be seen. "What can you see, Rubidot?" Steven asked. Rubidot looked up to the clouds, thinking a little bit. "I think they're cumulus clouds," Rubidot guessed. The ponies and human looked to her, rather confused with the scientific response. Guess she didn't get the point of the game here. "No, I mean what picture can you see?" "What picture? Where?" "Look at the clouds, and try to make out a picture," Steven explained. Rubidot went on and tried again, keeping that in mind. Looking up at the clouds far above her, Rubidot could only see clouds and nothing else. "Um ... white ... cotton candy?" Rubidot managed to get out, making the comparison as simple and easy as possible for both her and the others. "Good one!" Pinkie said, easily seeing the cotton candy. Rubidot just shrugged, and looked back to the clouds. As she was staring up at the clouds though, she was starting to see more stuff in the clouds apart from the actual cloud. She saw a tree, a swan, and even a bowl of popcorn at one point. As she was looking though, then she saw a familiar figure show up in the clouds. Sapphire. "How do you think Sapphire's doing?" Rubidot asked, turning onto her stomach to see the others easier. "I'm sure she's doing just fine," Fluttershy said. "You think so?" "I'm sure the gal's gonna come back soon, then we can all play," Pinkie beamed, liking the idea of it. It was fun hanging out with Rubidot, but Sapphire didn't had much chance to hang out with them either. Rubidot just stayed there, staring up at the clouds some more when ... "having fun?" "Sapphire!" Steven beamed. Sure enough, Sapphire was done with her trip, and had come back around alongside Lapis Lazuli. Lapis was amazed, and excited to see Rubidot there, and Sapphire could see the two were doing well with staying together, even after their argument earlier. Rubidot sat up, even with that being taller than Sapphire by a little bit. Rubidot was glad to see her. "Sapphire, you're back!" "The visit was interesting. I think Celestia and the Diamonds are getting along well, and I think they'll have a wonderful time for the future," Sapphire informed smiling. After witnessing with Celestia apprehension of the Diamond Dogs, quickly no less, Sapphire could easily see that Yellow Diamond had some form of respect to the alicorn for handling the problem so easily. Still, Sapphire remembered the deal she said to Rubidot before leaving. "So. Do you want to fuse back yet, Ruby?" Sapphire asked. Rubidot no longer felt needed to fuse together for much longer, but after seeing what advantages came with this fusion in particular, it seemed ... Well, it seemed a bit soon. Ruby liked to fuse back with Sapphire, but being fused with Peridot was interesting to say the least. Peridot was finding it interesting too, especially with the extra height and extra muscle from Ruby put for her. Both sides didn't had much chance to do more stuff as Rubidot... "... Actually. Can we ... stay together a little longer?" Rubidot asked sheepishly. Sapphire smiled. "As long as you want," Sapphire concluded. Rubidot smiled, as Sapphire and Lapis started to go off away, leaving Rubidot to have some more fun experience. Steven, Pinkie, and Fluttershy stayed with Rubidot, still happily checking out the clouds, as Lapis and Sapphire went off back to the city. "So, is that Rubidot you said?" Lapis asked. "That's her." "It's nice to see Ruby and Peridot getting along." Sapphire turned back with a smile. "I knew they would."